Lionel Messi receives Golden Boot as Europe's top scorer

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was presented with his second Golden Boot award on Monday in recognition for scoring the most goals in Europe's domestic leagues last season.

The 25-year-old Messi scored a Spanish-league record 50 goals for Barcelona, edging out fellow Spanish league star Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid by four goals.

Messi dedicated the award to his teammates, with Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol present for the ceremony in Barcelona.

"It is a prize for scoring goals, but without my teammates I couldn't have scored them," Messi said. "I share this award with them as I always do.

"I don't fight for individual awards, I fight for titles. My goals are reclaiming the league crown, winning the Copa del Rey and the winning the Champions League again. Those are my goals, team goals."

The Argentina international won his first Golden Boot in 2010 for his 34 goals that helped Barcelona win the league title.

Messi is among the favorites to win the 2012 Ballon d'Or for the world's best player.

"We won't see another player like him, and if we do, it won't be for a very long time," said Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova. "It's not just for the goals he scores, but for how he sees and understands the game, that is what makes him so great. On Saturday, he ran 50 meters to defend a corner in the 89th minute with a 5-0 lead. Not many players would have done that."

Luis Suarez Miramontes, the former Spain international and 1960 Ballon d'Or winner, presented the award.

Messi, nicknamed "The Flea" for his uncanny ability to dribble through defenders, has shattered a number of records over the past year.

He scored an unprecedented 73 goals in all competitions for Barcelona last season, breaking the previous European club record of 67 goals set by Bayern Munich's Gerd Mueller in 1972-73 and the prior world club mark of 70 established by Archie Stark of Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League in 1924-25.

In March, Messi passed Cesar Rodriguez's 57-year-old milestone of 232 goals to become Barcelona all-time leading scorer. He also scored a European Cup-record-tying 14 goals in the Champions League, where he netted a record five goals in one game.

Messi has scored 17 goals in all competitions to start this season, and has his sights set on yet another milestone he is sure to reach very soon. He is just two goals away from equaling Brazil great Pele's feat of 75 goals for club and country in one calendar year, set in 1958.

"Obviously, it's an honor to be close to the numbers of a person who is so important to football," Messi said. "But, again, they are only statistics.

"My goal is to win as many titles as I can before the end of my career. I have always been like that. Then I can look back at what I have won and take stock of my career."

Force India's Hulkenberg to join Sauber 2013 season

Nico Hulkenberg is to join Sauber as one of two team drivers for the 2013 season, the Swiss Formula One team confirmed on Wednesday.

“It’s a well-placed team and very competitive,” said Hulkenberg. “Plus it’s a team in which young drivers have repeatedly delivered exceptional performances. I would like to take up that baton.”

The German driver will finish the season with current employers Force India, with whom he returned to Formula One this year.

“We’ve been observing Nico for some time now and his performances have been very persuasive,” said Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn. “I’m sure he will fit in very well.”

Sebastin Vettel won Indian Grand Prix 2012

For the second successive year, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull wowed the spectators at the Buddh International Circuit here on Sunday afternoon as he registered a stupendous victory in the Indian Grand Prix. He finished nearly 10 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso, who pushed his Ferrari past the line in 1:31:20.181s. Mark Webber, Vettel’s teammate, came in third (1:31:23.961s). 

Vettel now leads the championship race with 240 points, 13 clear of Alonso. 

Last year, Vettel showed the Indian audience why he is the most feared competitor in Formula One with his amazing driving skills on a virgin track that most drivers certified as the most challenging after Spa Francorchamps (Belgium). And on Sunday afternoon, he demonstrated in no uncertain terms that he is only a few steps away from becoming a legend. 

Vettel’s fifth victory of the season and 26th of his six-year-old career meant that the Red Bull driver has almost got his foot in the door in his bid to win the 2012 World Championship. Three races remain in the season and, given the form that Vettel and his team are in, it’s difficult to imagine another driver laying his hands on the world crown. 

Alonso , who finished second, however, maintained that he fancied his chances of winning the 2012 world title. “Yeah, of course, I think I can win the championship. We have races in Abu Dhabi, Austin (U.S.) and Brazil to come, which means 75 points to play for. We have our chances,” the Spaniard said.

Sun Network brought IPL's Hyderabad franchise

The Chennai-based Sun TV Network has bought the Hyderabad franchise of the Indian Premier League, which fell vacant after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dropped Deccan Chargers this month for its failure to give a bank guarantee and other issues. 

Sun TV Network bagged the franchise for Rs. 85.05 crore a year, to be paid for the next five years.

PVP Ventures, Hyderabad, made the second highest bid of Rs. 69.03 crore. 

Four parties had bought the tender documents, which were opened at a meeting of the IPL Government Council held on Thursday. 

The new owner will be given an opportunity to form a team and compete in the IPL from 2013, and in the Champions League. 

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL) had bought the franchise in 2008, paying up Rs. 428 crore. Its inability to give a Rs. 100-crore bank guarantee and other issues resulted in the termination of its contract. 

The DCHL had rejected a Rs. 900-crore offer from PVP Ventures, the only bid received at the Chennai auction held in September. With the matter in court, the DCHL announced in October that Kamala Landmarc Real Estate Holdings Private Limited bought the franchise for an undisclosed amount. 

After the DCHL contract was annulled, the IPL invited bids for new franchise in respect of Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Indore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam.

British novelist Hilary Mantel wins 2nd Man Booker Prize

British novelist Hilary Mantel made history by becoming the first woman and first British author to become a two-time winner of the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her book 'Bring up the Bodies'. 

She first won the prize in 2009 for the novel Wolf Hall. 

60-year-old Mantel's best-selling novel, Bring Up The Bodies, beat five other shortlisted titles including Will Self's Umbrella, which was the bookmakers' favourite. 

Others in the contest were India's Jeet Thayil (Narcopolis), Tan Twan Eng (The Garden of Evening Mists), Deborah Levy (Swimming Home), and Alison Moore (The Lighthouse). 

Only two writers Australian author Peter Carey, who won in 1988 and 2001, and the South African J M Coetzee in 1983 and 1999, have achieved this feat. 

Bring Up The Bodies chronicles the downfall of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII. The judges said it "utterly surpassed" its predecessor, Wolf Hall. 

Sir Peter Stothard, chairman of the judges, making the announcement at the awards dinner at Guildhall, hailed Mantel as "the greatest English prose writer" of modern times and praised her ability to re-cast one of the most familiar episodes in British history. 

"This is a bloody story of the death of Anne Boleyn but Hilary Mantel is a writer who thinks through the blood," he said. 

Mantel described the process of writing this book as a gruelling experience, saying: "I can't remember a time in my writing life when I was so beaten up by a book."

Djokovic won Shanghai Masters final

Novak Djokovic saved five match points in the second set before outlasting two—time defending champion Andy Murray 5—7, 7—6 (11), 6—3 Sunday in the Shanghai Masters final. 

In another entertaining struggle between the two, Djokovic seemed headed for defeat when Murray was serving for the match at 5—4 in the second set, but saved one match point in that game before breaking back for 5—5. He then saved four more match points in a tense tiebreaker and carried his momentum into the deciding set, breaking the Briton twice to earn his fifth title of the year.

It was Murray’s first loss in Shanghai in 13 matches. 

Murray saved two match points in the final game, but sent a backhand long on the third.

Vettel wins Korean GP 2012

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday to move ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the Formula One championship standings by six points with four races remaining. 

Vettel started second on the grid behind Mark Webber but overtook his teammate on the first turn and never relinquished the lead, finishing 8.2 seconds ahead of Webber. Alonso was third, 13.9 seconds off the pace. 

“The foundation was there with a good start,” Vettel said. “I wasn’t sure because I was starting on the dirty side of the grid but I was able to get some good grip and get inside at the first turn.” 

Vettel, who also won the previous races in Singapore and Japan, is moving within sight of a third straight championship title something only previously achieved by Juan—Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. 

Webber claimed his first second—place finish of the season but the Australian was disappointed with his start from pole. 

“The initial launch was not good,” Webber said. “There was some wheel spin and from there I knew I would have issues. It was very mediocre.” 

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fourth, followed by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton finished a disappointing 10th, despite starting third on the grid.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean avoided the first—lap incidents that he was involved in at the Belgian and Japanese GP’s to finish seventh ahead of Toro Rosso drivers Jean Eric—Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo. 

It was Vettel’s fourth win of the season and the first 1—2 finish for Red Bull. Vettel leads the driver’s standings for the first time this year. 

Alonso has not won since the German GP when it looked like he was going to run away with the championship. He was the innocent victim of first—lap collisions in Belgium and Japan. 

Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi made contact with Jenson Button on Turn 3 of the first lap, sending the McLaren driver to an early retirement. Kobayashi was handed a drive—through penalty for causing the collision. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg also went out on the first lap.

Paes-Stepanek won Shanghai Masters Doubles

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the ATP Shanghai Masters, their third tour-level title of the season, after defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-7(7) 6—3 10—5, here today. 

The fourth seeded Indo—Czech pair saved four of the five break points and broke their opponents twice to pocket the match and the trophy in one hour and 36 minutes. 

It was a kind of a grudge match for Paes as both Bhupathi and Bopanna had refused to play with him at the London Olympics. They rebelled and forced AITA to pair them together at the marquee event. 

“Today was a bit more of a personal match for us three Indians. Radek came in and he made it fun for me. He relaxed, laughed, joked. Said, ‘stay smooth, relaxed and have a hungry intensity’ I come up and make it fun for him and try and take over whenever I can,” Paes said. 

Paes and Stepanek had joined forces at the start of the season and straight away won the Australian Open. They also won the Miami Masters. 

Last month they were finalists at the US Open and they came into Shanghai on the back of a runners-up finish at the Japan Open in Tokyo. 

“We’ve had a great year. It started off with a big bang. 

To do well early in a partnership is something that can happen. But to continue playing well right through the whole year shows the quality of tennis that we play,” said Paes. 

Paes and Stepanek, who have already qualified for the season-ending World Tour Finals in London, shared a USD 207,320 purse.

Physics Nobel for quantum scientists

A French-American duo shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for inventing methods to observe the bizarre properties of the quantum world — research that has led to the construction of extremely precise clocks and helped scientists take the first steps toward building superfast computers. 

Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland (both 68) opened the door to new experiments in quantum physics by showing how to observe individual quantum particles while preserving their quantum properties. 

A quantum particle is one that is isolated from everything else. In this situation, an atom or electron or photon takes on strange properties. It can be in two places at once, for example. It behaves in some ways like a wave. But these properties are instantly changed when it interacts with something else, such as when somebody observes it. 

Working separately, the two scientists developed “ingenious laboratory methods” that allowed them to manage and measure and control fragile quantum states, said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. “Their ground-breaking methods have enabled this field of research to take the very first steps towards building a new type of superfast computer based on quantum physics,” said the academy. “The research has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks that could become the future basis for a new standard of time.” 

The two researchers use opposite approaches to examine, control and count quantum particles, said the academy. 

Mr. Wineland traps ions electrically charged atoms and measures them with light, while Mr. Haroche controls and measures photons, or light particles. 

In an ordinary computer, information is represented in bits, each of which is either a zero or a one. But in a quantum computer, an individual particle can essentially represent a zero and a one at the same time. Making such particles work together, certain kinds of calculations could be done with blazing speed. 

One example is the factoring, the process of discovering what numbers can be multiplied together to produce a given number. Quantum computers could radically change people’s lives in the way that classical computers did last century, but a full-scale quantum computer is still decades away, the Nobel judges said.

Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry

Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals. Such studies are key for developing better drugs. 

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the two researchers had made groundbreaking discoveries on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors. 

About half of all medications act on these receptors, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs. 

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, which let it respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and vision.

Dr. Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Kobilka, 57, is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. 

“I’m feeling very, very excited,” Dr. Lefkowitz told a news conference in Stockholm by phone. “I did not hear it ... I wear earplugs, so my wife gave me an elbow,” he said. “And there it was. ... It was a total shock and surprise.” 

Dr. Lefktowitz said he had no clue that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize, though he added it has always been “a bit of a fantasy” to receive the award. 

Dr. Kobilka said he found out around 2-30 a.m., after the Nobel committee called his home twice. He said he didn’t get to the phone the first time, but that when he picked up the second time, he spoke to five members of the committee. “They passed the phone around and congratulated me. I guess they do that so you actually believe them. When one person calls you, it can be a joke, but when five people with convincing Swedish accents call you, then it isn’t a joke.”

The academy said it was long a mystery how cells interact with their environment and adapt to new situations, such as when adrenaline increases blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster. Scientists suspected that cell surfaces had some type of receptor for hormones.

Using radioactivity, Dr. Lefkowitz managed to unveil receptors including the receptor for adrenaline, and started to understand how it works. Dr. Kobilka’s work helped researchers realize that there is a whole family of receptors that look alike a family that is now called G-protein-coupled receptors. 

The award is “fantastic recognition for helping us further understand the intricate details of biochemical systems in our bodies,” said Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, president of the American Chemical Society. “They both have made great contributions to our understanding of health and disease,” Dr. Shakhashiri said. “This is going to help us a great deal to develop new pharmaceuticals, new medicines for combating disease.” 

Mark Downs, chief executive of Britain’s Society of Biology, said the critical role receptors play is now taking for granted. “This ground breaking work spanning genetics and biochemistry has laid the basis for much of our understanding of modern pharmacology as well as how cells in different parts of living organisms can react differently to external stimulation, such as light and smell, or the internal systems which control our bodies such as hormones,” Mr. Downs said in a statement. 

The Nobel week started Monday with the medicine prize going to stem cell pioneers John Gurdon of Britain and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka. Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland won the physics prize Tuesday for work on quantum particles. 

The Nobel Prizes were established in the will of 19th century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Each award is worth 8 million kronor, or about $1.2 million. The awards are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896.

Euro Union won Nobel Prize for Peace

The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe despite being in the midst of its biggest crisis since the bloc was created in the 1950s. 

The Norwegian prize committee said the EU received the award for six decades of contributions “to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. 

“The stabilizing part played by the European Union has helped to transform a once torn Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace,” Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. 

The EU rose from the ashes of World War II, born of the conviction that ever-closer economic ties would make sure that century-old enemies never turned on each other again. It’s now made up of 500 million people in 27 nations, with other nations lined up, waiting to join. 

The idea of a united Europe began to take on a more defined shape when, on May 9, 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed that France and the Federal Republic of Germany pool their coal and steel resources in a new organization that other European countries could join. 

“Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners,” the committee said. 

The citation also noted the democratic conditions the EU has demanded of all those nations waiting to join, referred to Greece and Spain when they joined the 1980, and to the countries in Eastern Europe who sought EU membership after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. 

The prize focused on the EU’s historical role as a builder of peace at a time when the union’s existence is under challenge from the financial crisis that has stirred deep tensions between north and south and when there are questions about the form in which the EU will survive. 

“The EU is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest,” Jagland said. “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU’s most important result- the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights. 

“The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace.” 

It was not yet clear who would accept the prize for the EU.

Vettel Won Japanese Grand Prix

 © Jim Armstrong

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix from pole on Sunday to close within four points of the top of the championship standings as leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari crashed out of the race at the first turn.

Vettel, who also won the previous race in Singapore, is moving within sight of a third straight title -- something only previously achieved by Juan-Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher -- with five races left.

"It was an important step today," Vettel said. "There is still a long way to go. I don't know what happened behind me today but Alonso was very unlucky. We never know what is going to happen in the next race so it was important to take points today."

Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was second, 20.6 seconds behind Vettel for his first podium since Korea in 2010, putting in a performance that should boost his chances of retaining his place in the team.

"It's a huge relief to be back on the podium," Massa said. "It was a great race and shows we are here to fight for the victory and the podium."

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi delighted home fans by taking third place -- holding off a strong late challenge from McLaren's Jenson Button -- for his first-ever F1 podium, becoming the first Japanese driver on a podium here since 1990.

"It was a very tough race," Kobayashi said. "I got off to a good start but really had to fight and it took everything I had to hold off Jenson. To get a podium here in Japan in front of these great fans is fantastic."

The race got off to a tumultuous start with a series of collisions in the first corner sequence. Alonso made contact with the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and appeared to sustain a puncture, fishtailing off the track and the car stalled, leaving a disconsolate Alonso to trudge back on the short walk to the pits.

Despite the setback, Alonso remained positive about the position he's in.

"Clearly, this result has practically wiped out the advantage I had before," Alonso said. "But if I'd been told at the start of the season that we would have been in this situation five races from the end, I'd have happily signed for it."

Also on the first bend, Lotus' Romain Grosjean rammed into the Red Bull of Mark Webber, forcing the Australian to the back of the field after starting from second. Grosjean was given a drive-through penalty for causing the collision, and given he was suspended for a race for doing the same in Belgium, the Frenchman may well receive further punishment.

Webber, who started from the front row, wasn't pleased with Grosjean's move.

"I haven't seen what happened at the start, but it's been confirmed that it was Grosjean who hit me," Webber said. "We're trying to fight for results each weekend and it doesn't help so, yeah, it's frustrating as a few of the big guys suffered out there today."

Also at the first corner, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg came together with Williams' Bruno Senna, ending the German's race.

Vettel avoided all the trouble behind him at the first turn, and quickly established a comfortable lead.

Massa overtook Kobayashi after the first set of pit stops and managed to close the gap slightly but Vettel maintained a strong lead to the chequered flag.

Vettel blocked Alonso during the final moments of qualifying on Saturday when the Ferrari driver was arriving at a chicane. Race officials reviewed the incident and reprimanded Vettel but allowed him to maintain pole position. That decision may have been a factor in Alonso's aggressive start.

Sauber driver Sergio Perez's day came to an end when he spun off the track on the 19th lap trying to pass Lewis Hamilton at the hairpin turn. Perez will replace Hamilton next season at McLaren as the Briton moves to Mercedes.

With the winner decided early on, the focus for many of the fans became third place where Kobayashi was battling it out with Button, who won here last year.

Kobayashi, who started third on the grid, prevailed by half a second to become the first Japanese since Aguri Suzuki in 1990 to celebrate on the podium in front of home fans.

Hamilton finished fifth, 20 seconds behind Button, and in front of a chain of cars fighting out the lower points positions. Raikkonen took sixth ahead of Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, with Pastor Maldonado of Williams eighth and Webber recovering for ninth. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo held off Michael Schumacher of Mercedes to take the last point.

In the drivers' championship, Alonso and Vettel look like fighting it out for the title. Raikkonen is 33 points behind Vettel in third and five points in front of Hamilton. Webber and Button are 59 and 63 points off the lead, respectively.

Red Bull extended its lead in the constructors' championship to 42 points ahead of McLaren, with Ferrari a further 20 points behind.

Facebook Crosses One Billion

Facebook now has over a billion monthly active users, according to its billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 

“If you're reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honour of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,” he wrote on his Facebook Wall in a post from East Palo Alto, California, on Thursday.’

Adobe launches new version of Acrobat

Adobe, the creator of the popular portable document format (PDF), on Wednesday, announced the release of the latest version of its PDF reader, the Acrobat XI suite. 

Speaking at the launch, Umang Bedi, Managing Director, South Asia, Adobe, said the new suite had the flexibility to not only enable editing of PDF documents but also “seamless” integration with the Microsoft Office family of document formats as well as Sharepoint, a Web application platform developed by Microsoft. 

Acrobat XI would enable editing and sharing of documents across multiple form factors such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets in a seamless manner, Mr. Bedi said.