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CONSIDER THIS IN YOUR THOUGHT

Consider this

# After Fred Astaire's first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933 said, ''Cant act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!'' Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.

# An expert said of Vince Lombardi: '' He possesses minimal football knowledge. Lack motivation.''

# Socrates was called, ''An immoral corrupter of youth.''

# Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn't read until he was seven. His teacher described him as ''mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.'' He was expelled and refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.

# Thomas Edison's teacher said he was too stupid to learn anything.

# Henry Ford failed and went broke five tmes before he finally succeeded.

# Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He did not become Prime Minister of England until he was 62, and then only after a lifetime of defeats and setbacks. His greatest contribution came when he was a ''senior citizen.''

( source: Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor hansen)

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Major causes of Failure in life that holding us back

Some of the Major causes of Failure in life that holding us back

Life's greatest tragedy when men and women who earnestly try, and fail. The Tragedy lies in the overwhelmingly large majority of people who fail, as compared to the few who succeed. Here are some Causes from the Books of Think and grow rich..

1.LACK OF SELF- DISCIPLINE. Discipline comes through self- control. This means that one must control all negative qualities. Before you can control conditions, you must control yourself. Self- mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle.If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

2.LACK OF WELL- DEFINED PURPOSE IN LIFE. There is no hope of success for the person who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price.

3.ILL HEALTH. No person may enjoying outstanding success without good health. Many of the causes of ill health are subject to mastery and control. These, in the main are:

a.Overeating of foods not conductive of health

b.Wrong habits of thought; giving expression to negatives.

c.Lack of proper physical exercise.

d.An inadequate supply of fresh air, due to improper breathing.

4.PROCRASTINATION. This is one the most common causes of failure. '' Old Man procrastination'' stands within the shadow of every human being, waiting his opportunity to spoil one's chances of success. Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the ''time to be right'' to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will be'' just right'' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

5.OVER- CAUTION. The person who takes no chances, generally has to take whatever is left when others are through choosing. Over- caution is as bad as under- caution. Both are extremes to be guarded against. Life itself is filled with the element of chance.

These are just the basic causes of failure. Napoleon Hill in his think and grow rich book mentioned about Thirty Major causes of failure.

( source: Think and grow Rich by Napoleon Hill)

UK general election voting begins

Millions of people across the UK have started casting their votes in the general election.

Polling stations up and down the country opened at 0700 BST and people will be able to cast their ballots until 2200 BST.
More than 44 million people are registered to vote. The first declarations are expected at 2300 BST.
As well as picking MPs for Westminster, voters will elect councillors in 164 local authorities across England.
Voting in the general election will take place in 649 constituencies, with nearly 4,150 candidates standing for election across the country.
Polling in one constituency - Thirsk and Malton - has been delayed until 27 May because of the death of one of the candidates during the campaign.

ELECTION 2010 ON THE BBC
•Results live on BBC One from 2155 BST
•Also on BBC HD and BBC News Channel
•Live coverage on

The vast majority of constituencies will conduct their counts overnight, with about 20 not due to begin the process until after 0900 GMT on Friday.

Among the council elections taking place, voters will choose representatives in 32 London boroughs, 36 metropolitan authorities and 20 unitary authorities.
In these elections, a total of 15,785 candidates are contesting 4,222 seats.

Voting will also take place to choose mayors in Hackney, Newham, Lewisham and Watford.
UK Independence Party Euro-MP Nigel Farage has been involved in a light plane crash near Brackley, Northants.
Mr Farage, who is standing in the general election in Buckingham, suffered non life-threatening injuries when the aircraft came down just after 0800 BST.
He was taken to hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire, while the pilot has been sent to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8663716.stm

The Rules For Being Human

1. You will receive a body.

You may like It or hate is, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around.

2. You will learn lessons.

You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. you may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistake, only lessons.

Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The ''failed'' experiment that ultimately ''works''.

4. A lesson is repeated until learned.

A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end.

There is no part of life that does not contains its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6.''There'' is no better than ''here''

When your ''there'' has become a ''here'' you will simply obtain another ''there'' that will again look better than ''here''.

7. Others are merely mirrors of you.

You cannot love or hate something about person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you.

You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie inside you.

The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

10. YOU WILL FORGET ALL THIS...

( Cherie Carter - Scott )

Billionaire Buffett defends Goldman

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has defended Goldman Sachs, saying faulty government regulations were to blame for most of the economic turmoil of the past few years, not investment banks.

Mr Buffet and and Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's top two executives, met reporters in Nebraska, a day after taking questions before a crowd of about 37,000 at the company's annual meeting.
Mr Buffett has been one of Goldman's biggest supporters since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed its civil lawsuit against the bank last month.
Berkshire holds five billion dollars (£3.3bn) in preferred shares of Goldman, and Mr Buffett said he had no plans to sell them because they remained a very good investment and were paying 10% interest a year.


Goldman shares have fallen 22% since the SEC filed its suit on April 16, closing Friday at 145.20 dollars (£95.50). Berkshire holds warrants that would let it buy the stock at a discount price of 115 dollars (£75.60) per share.
The US government claims Goldman misled investors about a deal called Abacus, involving complex mortgage-related investments that later plunged in value. Mr Buffett said he had studied the charges against the investment bank and had "no problem with the Abacus transaction".
The SEC says Goldman misled investors by failing to disclose important information about the Abacus deal. Goldman allegedly did not tell investors that one of its clients, hedge fund Paulson, was betting against the securities.
Mr Buffett said ACA, the bond insurer involved in the Abacus deal with Goldman, was responsible for assessing the transaction's risks and that it should not have mattered that Paulson was betting against ACA's interests.
Mr Buffett, meanwhile, said the US economy was improving with manufacturing businesses showing the biggest gains, but said housing had yet to improve significantly because of the number of unsold homes on the market.
He said several of Berkshire's roughly-80 companies had started employing workers, so he was confident the unemployment rate, now at 9.7%, would improve.
( source: Press Association)

Huge Greece bail-out deal agreed

Eurozone members and the IMF have agreed a 110bn-euro (£95bn; $146.2bn) three-year bail-out package to rescue Greece's embattled economy.

In return for the loans, Greece will make major austerity cuts which Prime Minister George Papandreou said involved "great sacrifices".
The EU will provide 80bn euros in funding and the rest will come from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The deal is designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt.
However, it must first be approved by some parliaments in the 15 other eurozone countries.


Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, said up to 30bn euros would be disbursed to Greece in the first year. The first loan tranche will be released before 19 May - the date of Greece's next debt repayment, he said.
The leaders of the 16-nation Eurogroup will hold a summit in Brussels on Friday to "draw initial conclusions from the Greek crisis", he added.


Shoring up confidence


HEWITT ON EUROPE
Gavin Hewitt BBC Europe editor This was a day the European Union never imagined - that what could turn out to be the largest bail-out ever would be needed by a country using the euro.
Rescuing Greece remains very unpopular, especially in Germany, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was the only way to ensure the stability of the single currency.
What persuaded eurozone countries and the IMF to lend Greece such a large sum was the fear that if Greece defaulted other countries like Portugal or even Spain could follow. Plenty of doubts remain, however.


The Greek economy will shrink by 4% this year and today's cuts could deepen the recession.
What the plan does do is to buy time and shelter Greece from the fierce winds of the markets.


The IMF is expected to approve its portion of the loan this week, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

In return for the financial support, the Greek government has unveiled a fresh round of sweeping efficiencies, including further tax rises and deeper cuts in pensions and public service pay.


The Eurogroup is trying to speed up rescue efforts for Greece amid fears its debt crisis could undermine other debt-laden states that use the single currency. Anxiety about contagion has focused on Portugal, Spain and the Republic of Ireland.
Germany has been the most reluctant to bail out Greece, but its Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said there was a "good chance" of getting German parliamentary agreement by Friday.
Yet he said Greece had to implement its new austerity programme "quickly" and "to the letter".


'Evident' anger

The Greek economy is still deep in recession and on Sunday the government forecast that GDP would fall by 4% in 2010.
The country's national debt - currently at about 115% of GDP - would rise to 149% by 2013 before falling, it added.
“ It is not going to be easy on Greek citizens, despite the efforts that have been made and will continue to be made to protect the weakest in society ”
George Papaconstantinou Greek Finance Minister


Mr Papandreou told a televised cabinet meeting that active and retired public sector workers would bear the brunt of the new wave of budget cuts.

"With our decision today our citizens will have to make great sacrifices," he said, describing public anger at the new wave of cutbacks as "evident".
"Our national red line is to avoid bankruptcy," Mr Papandreou said, adding that "no-one could have imagined" the size of the debt that the previous government, which left office last year, had left behind.


The austerity plan aims to achieve fresh budget cuts of 30bn euros over three years - with the goal of cutting Greece's public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%.
Measures include:
•Scrapping bonus payments for public sector workers
•Capping annual holiday bonuses and axing them for higher earners
•Banning increases in public sector salaries and pensions for at least three years
•Increasing VAT from 21% to 23%
•Raising taxes on fuel, alcohol and tobacco taxes by 10%
•Taxing illegal construction

Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Greece had been called on to make a "basic choice between collapse or salvation".
"It is not going to be easy on Greek citizens, despite the efforts that have been made and will continue to be made to protect the weakest in society."
New emergency legislation authorising the cuts and tax rises is now being drafted and is due to be put before parliament for approval by the end of the week.
However unions have vowed to fight the round of austerity measures. The third nationwide general strike in as many months is scheduled for Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece's austerity plans were "very ambitious" and would spur other troubled eurozone members to do all they could to avoid the same fate.
"These countries can see that the path taken by Greece with the IMF is not an easy one. As a result they will do all they can to avoid this themselves," Mrs Merkel told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/8656649.stm

JAIPUR FINEST QUALITY INDIAN CUISINE..

The JAIPUR restaurant is one of the biggest purpose built Indian restaurant in Europe, probably in the whole world. This Stunning looking restaurant serving up Indian food at Milton Keynes for more than 20 years.  If we look back the history of Jaipur is an Indian city, known as Pink city was founded in 1727 by Maharajah Jai Singh II, a Kachhwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. And initially his capital was Amber, which lies at a distance of 11kms from Jaipur.

The Jaipur restaurant is one of the extra- ordinary  Indian Cuisine. It has achieve so many awards for food and excellent service. Most recently Amardeep Singh Anand, executive chef at the Jaipur, won the coveted Healthy heart Award at the national finals of the South Asian Chefs Competition 2009.

Founder Mr Mohammad Ahad is proud of the Jaipur's reputation. The location of this Restaurant 599 Grafton gate east . Central Milton Keynes MK9 1AT.

By Shoppingforest

Play it Safe on Internet

How to avoid viruses, hackers, scams and other headaches

The Internet is without any doubt the greatest wounder of the modern world, but it does come with some certain threaths and downsides. A communication revolution and increased access to information are great. But not if the person doing the communication is a CON artist after your ONLINE banking details, or the information being accessed is yours- and private. Of course, there are threats to privacy and security in the real world, but on the Internet things rather different. Because the wrongdoer may take from of a piece of software, entitrely invisible to the vistim: from a virus that wipes your hard-drive to keylogger that attempts to keep a record of the username and passwords you type into webpages and then sends them tjo someone on the other side of the world. All of this is rather unsavoury , to say the least. But if we follow some preventative medicine then we can paly it safe.

THE BAD GUYS
The villains that threaten your files and privacy fall into two categories: bad software_ known as malware
and bad humans, known as hackers.  Here is some invisible threats that we need to avoid.

MALWARE: ''Malware is short for '' malicious software'', which is pretty well sums up what it is: computer code written with the express purpose of doing something harmful or shady. People often use the word ''virus'' to refer to all of them but there is actully a number of different types of malware which is-

> VIRUSES
> WORMS
>TROJANS( short for Trojan horses)
> SPYWARE
>ADWARE AND THE VILLAIN IS ''HACKERS'' the term 'hacker' is somewhat fuzzy. And its orginal meaning is a legitimate computer programmer ( see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker). But its the popular definition that concerns the people that someone who wants to break into, or medde with your computer.
They may be a professional out to steal your secrets or a ''script kiddy'' playing with a prefab trojan.
As far as we are concerned, it does not matter. We dont want them, or their handiwork , inside your computer.
Here is some Preventative medicine to protect your Internet security and play with safe.

Rule# 1: Avoid running dodgy software
Rule#2: Keep Windows or Mac OS up tp date
Rule#3: Consider switching browser and mail program
Rule#4: Hide behind a firewall
Rule#5: Scan
Rule#6: Enable wireless security
Rule#7:Dont act on virus warnings without checking their validity.
If we follow this Rules we can at least able to protect the invisible threats.

 ( source: The rough guide to the Internet by P Buckley and D clark)

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Unique Thai Heritiage Wood Carving

                      Thailand's Finest Hand made wood Carvings FOR SALE!

These wood carvings are uniquely designed from many different artists in northern Thailand. Hand Made carvings like these are truly artistic and great centre pieces in any decor. Thai Craftsmen and craftswomen take great pride in creating hand carved sculptures and wood carvings in natural wood. These carvings take months to perfect and finalize the carvings. Each peice is uniquely designed and added with the carvers artistic touches bring a uniqueness to each piece making them truly unique designs.


These designs truly reflect the Thai heritage and culture of great respect for Asian hand made Carvings. Decorate your home or office with a unique style not seen in any department store. Each item is handmade to bring a truly Thai Decor style and these Piece of Wood carving is one of them. It has been imported from Thailand. And has been used for The Famous Indian Restaurant 'The jaipur' at Milton keynes. This is unique piece of Wood carvings will be extra- ordinary collection for any decoration at home, office or Restaurant. This Hand made wood carving truly a master piece.


PLEASE NOTE THIS ITEM IS LOCAL DELIVERY ONLY AND CUSTOMER CAN VISIT AND MAKE OFFER AT JAIPUR RESTAURANT AT MILTON KEYNES 599 GRAFTON GATE EAST, CMK MK9 1AT.


Please be advise that only genuine customer are welcome to visit this master piece at PLEASE NOTE THIS ITEM IS LOCAL DELIVERY ONLY AND CUSTOMER CAN VISIT AND MAKE OFFER AT JAIPUR RESTAURANT AT MILTON KEYNES 599 GRAFTON GATE EAST, CMK MK9 1AT.


Please be advise that only genuine customer are welcome to visit this master piece at Jaipur Restaurant. Any question or any inquires please email at
info@theshoppingforest.com
I would like to welcome the respected bidder and take a chance to win At ebaY.co.uk or buy it price.
With Best Regards
 SHOPPINGFOREST

 

Call for radical business reforms

Business leaders have heard calls for "radical" economic reform and demands for political leadership which will champion wealth creation.

Government needed to be "downsized" to shrink the state or the state will shrink the economy, the leader of the Institute of Directors warned.


Director general Miles Templeman told the IoD's annual convention in London that business leaders are worried about the prospect of a hung Parliament.
The IoD called for an "enabling Government", which leaves business to create wealth but helps provide a world-class transport, energy, and education and skills system.


The directors also told politicians to help create world-class levels of low taxation and regulation to foster a "dynamic and flexible" economy.
Mr Templeman said: "We're a week from the General Election but we're still years from bringing the deficit and the size of the Government under control.

"If the truth be told, no political party is advocating the scale of spending and deficit reduction we need, not just for the next few years, but for the next decade.
If British business is to compete effectively in the 21st century we need a fundamental root and branch reform of the state. Government has got to get smaller and better. Unless we shrink the state, the state will shrink the economy.
"While political parties agree that the deficit is a problem, there is little agreement on how it should be tackled. So it doesn't surprise me that so many business leaders are worried about a hung Parliament.


"The risk is that there will be no agreement on the nature of public spending reductions, and that on this key issue a coalition or minority government will be paralysed."

(Source: Press Association)
http://www.pressassociation.com

G20 hopeful on economic recovery

The global economy is emerging faster than expected from the deep recession, finance ministers from the world's leading economies, the G20, have said.

After talks in Washington, they said the pace of the recovery was largely due to the huge amounts of government money pumped into national economies.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he welcomed the greater sense of urgency being shown over Greece.
The country has asked for an EU-IMF bailout of its debt-ridden economy.
Greece's finance minister is due to take part in IMF talks on Saturday.

Earlier this month, a deal was agreed under which eurozone nations would make available to Greece emergency loans of up to 30bn euros ($40bn; £26bn) in the first year, with a further 10bn euros coming from the IMF (International Monetary Fund).


'Different speeds'

In Washington, G20 finance ministers said government efforts to jump-start recovery were paying off.
"The global recovery has progressed better than previously anticipated largely due to the G20's unprecedented and concerted policy effort," the statement said.
But it stressed that the process was happening "at different speeds within and across regions".


"We recognise that in such circumstance different policy responses are needed."
Timothy Geithner spoke of "decisive and coordinated measures at home and across the G20", which means, he said, that "the world economy is growing and the financial system is healing".


The G20 statement added that members should develop credible strategies for reducing stimulus spending and to allow ultra-low interest rates to rise to more normal levels.


The finance ministers also asked the IMF to analyse in detail a proposal to levy taxes on big banks and other financial institutions to stem risk and pay for possible financial failures.


The statement said that such measures would look at "how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution towards paying for any burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system".


Greek crisis
Although the statement did not mention what was the most pressing threat to global financial stability, Greece did loom large in G20 discussions, the BBC's economics correspondent Andrew Walker in Washington reports.
Mr Geithner called for Greece, the IMF and the EU to move quickly to produce a package of strong economic reforms and financial support.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the G20 was concerned and was monitoring the situation closely.
"It is of course a source of concern to us and we will continue to closely monitor the situation," he said.
Mr Flaherty added that Greece had undermined the confidence of the financial markets and should come up with a credible programme to fix the government finances.
Athens had hoped that just the promise of EU support, agreed last month, would be enough to reassure markets and help its recovery.

But Greece's problems have continued to hit investor confidence in the euro and other European economies.
On Friday evening, several thousand protesters took to the streets of Athens to demonstrate against further austerity measures.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/8641402.stm

Abraham Lincoln Didn't Quit

The sense of obligation to continue is present in all of us. A duty to strive is the duty of us all. I felt a call to that duty.( Abraham Lincoln)

Probably the Greatest example of persistence is Abraham Lincoln.If you want to learn about somebody who didn’t quit, look no further.

Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life.

He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.

He could have quit many times but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of America.

Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up. Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House.

1816: His family was forced out of their home.He had to work to support them.

1818: His mother died.

1831: failed in business.

1832: Ran for state legislature- lost.

1832: Also lost his job wanted to go law school but couldn’t get in.

1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.

1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.

1835: Was engaged to be married , sweetheart died and his heart was broken.

1836:Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.

1838:Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.

1840: Sought to became elector- defeated.

1843: Ran for Congress-lost.

1846:Ran for Congress again this time he won-went to Washington and did a good job.

1848:Ran for re-election to Congress lost.

1849:Sought the job f land officer in his home state-rejected.

1854:Ran for Senate of the United States-lost.

1856:Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention-got less than 100 votes.

1858:Ran for U.S Senate again-again he lost.

1860:Elected president of the United States.

The path was worn and slippery.My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out-of-the-way, but I recovered and said to myself, ”IT’S a slip and not a fall.” (Abraham Lincoln after losing a senate race)

Source: Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen page 230, Overcoming Obstacles)

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The Origin of Words' Fool'

A fool and his money are soon parted.

 The root of fool is Latin Follis, originally meant ‘bellows, windbag and came to mean ‘ an empty headed person. In the same way that windbag does in English. The use of fool to mean a jester or clown also goes back to the Middle Ages.

People in the 16th century seem to have been particularly aware of the ways in which someone may come to grief through lack of wisdom, especially in their dealings with others.

A fool and his money are soon parted, a fool at forty is a fool indeed, and there is no fool like an old fool all come from this period. Two centuries later foolish behaviour was still matter for concern in 1711 the poet Alexander Pope published the line which has in turn became proverbial, ‘ Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.’ Eager prospectors have been mistaking worthless minerals such as iron pyrites, or fool’s gold, for gold since the late 19th century.

The term foolscap for a paper size dates from the late 17th century, and is said to be named after a former watermark, representing a fool’s cap.

Sadly, a traditional story that after Civil War parliament gave orders that a fool’s cap should replace that royal arms in the watermark of the paper used for the Journals of the House OF Commons apparently has no basis in fact.

( source: The origins of words ans phrases by Reader’s Digest)
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Indian cricket suspends IPL chief

India's cricket board has suspended IPL chief Lalit Modi over corruption allegations in the worst crisis to hit the Indian game this century.

The Indian cricket board, the BCCI, began a crucial meeting on Monday without Mr Modi, with discussion of action against him high on the agenda.


Mr Modi, who is being investigated by tax officials, denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
Some of the world's top cricketers play for the lucrative IPL.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar waited until the end of the IPL final on Sunday to announce Mr Modi's suspension.


"The alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr Lalit K Modi... have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," he said in a statement.

Mr Modi was suspended from "participating in the affairs of the board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India".


He was given 15 days to demonstrate why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.

Mr Modi was originally scheduled to attend Monday's meeting but refused to do so. On Sunday he changed course and said he would attend but the charges against him would have to be made in writing, prompting the suspension.
The BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi has described it as the worst crisis in Indian cricket since a match-fixing scandal involving senior national players in 2000.


Modi defiant

In Sunday's final in Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings beat the Mumbai Indians by 22 runs but correspondents say events on the field in Mumbai were overshadowed by the continuing allegations of corruption and money-laundering.

When he heard of the suspension, Mr Modi reacted defiantly.

"Good for them," he told Indian TV channel NDTV. "Are they so scared of me attending? Are they so scared of the truth?
"I will not be able to attend the meeting, but I will wait for my turn," he said.


Earlier, in an address to the crowd after the IPL final, he insisted the league was "clean and transparent".


"There have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources," he said.
"I reassure you that if there has been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility."
The crisis erupted after Mr Modi revealed on his Twitter account that a female friend of Shashi Tharoor, a junior government minister, had invested in a consortium awarded a new IPL franchise in Kochi.


That revelation caused a storm which sparked Mr Tharoor's resignation and also led to government investigations into the teams, sponsors, broadcasters and event managers associated with the IPL.
The IPL has become a multi-billion dollar industry, which attracts some of India's wealthiest businessmen and women.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8643302.stm

Economy growth 'better with Labour'

The UK has improved its standing for economic growth among top nations under Labour even though output has expanded at a slightly slower pace than under the previous period of Conservative rule, research has suggested.

A study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) found UK output has grown at 2% a year under Labour, compared with 2.2% in the period from 1979 to 1997.
However, the group said when the figures are adjusted for population increases, Britain has risen to second place in a table of growth rates among the world's top seven developed nations under Labour, from third place under the Tories.
The UK also rose from third to second place in rankings of productivity growth, although for actual levels of productivity it remained in fourth place below France, Germany and the US.
Meanwhile, the number of people working as a proportion of those aged 15 to 64 years is higher than in 1997, but still ranks fourth among the seven countries.

NIESR criticised Labour, saying the party had not run the country "in a sustainable way".
Director Martin Weale said: "Labour has delivered an improvement in Britain's productivity performance relative to other large economies and this relative improvement has survived the recession.


"But the labour market has not done as well as one might have hoped and performance during the recession has been disappointing."
He said that a "higher level of saving is needed if income is to be sustainable".


NIESR added talk among the parties of ring-fenced spending on certain public services "make it harder to resolve the fiscal legacy of the current Government".
( source: Press Association)

http://www.pressassociation.com

Church tops young music rich list

Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins and Leona Lewis have topped a list of the richest young musicians in the UK.

All three singers are said to be worth £11m each in the study of music stars under 30 compiled by The Sunday Times.
It reveals that X Factor star Cheryl Cole more than doubled her wealth in 2009. Her personal fortune of £10m puts her in fourth place.

Cole's Girls Aloud bandmates come joint ninth, with £5m each. Craig David, on £8m, is the highest man at seventh.
Katie Melua ties with Cheryl Cole in fourth place, followed by Joss Stone, who is worth £9m.
Full list

Church, who has only recently stepped back into the spotlight, also held the top slot last year in the list of under 30s.
The classical singer, from Wales, launched a brief pop career in 2005, before moving into TV presenting and is now working as a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber's TV show Over The Rainbow.


TOP 5 MUSIC EARNERS UNDER 30

1. Charlotte Church - £11m
1. Katherine Jenkins - £11m
1. Leona Lewis - £11m
4. Cheryl Cole - £10m
4. Katie Melua - £10m Source: The Sunday Times
 
Fellow Welsh singer Jenkins has also turned her attention to TV, recently appearing on the ITV show Popstar to Operastar.

Lewis, who has had two number one albums since winning X Factor in 2006, was placed sixth in last year's list.
Cole, who appeared at number 10 last year, boosted her fortune by signing up to be an X Factor judge.


She is also involved in several lucrative advertising campaigns, including L'Oreal, and released her debut solo album last October.
In a separate list looking at music millionaires of any age, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Paul McCartney and Simon Fuller all feature in the top 10.

The list was topped by Edgar Bronfman, the chairman and chief executive of the Warner Music Group, who has a fortune of £1.6bn.
The full annual list of Britain and Ireland's richest people will be published on Sunday.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/8638465.stm

Amazon sees strong surge in profits

The release of the latest Twilight Saga blockbuster movie on DVD led the best seller list in the UK, contributing to a 45% hike in sales across Amazon's international arm - up 37% with currency effects stripped out.


Amazon notched up net income of 299 million US dollars (£195 million) across the group, up from 177 million dollars (£115 million) a year earlier.


The UK saw strong demand for The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD featuring Hollywood heartthrob Robert Pattinson, but other top sellers also included author Stieg Larsson's trilogy of novels, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker.

Amazon's global net sales grew 46% to 7.13 billion dollars (£4.7 billion), led by a 47% leap in the US and Canada.
Its first quarter earnings were better than most analysts were expecting, but the firm's outlook for the second quarter suggested sales growth would slow. For the current quarter, Amazon expects revenues of between 6.1 billion to 6.7 billion dollars (£4 billion to £4.4 billion), which would be an increase of up to 41% year-on-year.
Revenue from books, CDs, DVDs and other media grew 26%, while electronics and other "general merchandise" revenue increased 72%.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, said the group remains "heads-down focused on customers".
Electronic book reader Kindle remains its worldwide top selling product, with the Kindle selection now at 500,000 titles.



But a major competitor to Amazon's Kindle e-reader has launched since the end of the first quarter - Apple's iPad tablet device, which can also wirelessly download books.

( source: Press Association)

Public borrowing hits record £152bn

The extent of Britain's financial woes has been laid bare as official figures confirmed annual public borrowing hit £152.8 billion - the highest since records began.

The grim record for public sector net borrowing came after the UK slumped into the red by another £23.5 billion in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).


But borrowing for the financial year to the end of March came within the Chancellor's lowered Budget forecast.

Excluding financial intervention, annual borrowing reached £163.4 billion, which was comfortably below Alistair Darling's latest prediction for £167 billion and far lower than his original £178 billion estimate.


Britain's public sector net debt is now a record 62% of gross domestic product (GDP).
The budget deficit widened by £14.8 billion in March to take the gaping hole in public finances to an all-time record of £107.6 billion over the financial year, more than double the £49.7 billion recorded a year earlier.


Borrowing has soared amid the recession as unemployment and Government actions to help prop up the economy have taken their toll.
However, there were signs of further improvement in the figures.

Total tax receipts rose 3.8% in March, having now risen in four out of the last five months.

VAT receipts rose after the rate reverted back to 17.5% in January as the Government's temporary reduction ended, while corporation tax increased by a hefty 51.4%.


( source: Press Association)
  www.pressassociation.com

Manchester United 'named top club'

Manchester United scored another title success as it was valued as the biggest football club in the world.

Despite a turbulent year for British clubs, the Old Trafford side held on to top spot in Forbes Magazine's list of the world's 20 most valuable football teams.

Seven of the 20 teams featuring in the table heralded from England - despite the Premier League being the most indebted in Europe, according to governing body Uefa.


United, which has now topped the table for six years, was valued by Forbes at 1.835 billion US dollars (£1.19 billion) after a 2% fall from last year.
Newcastle United, which was rated as 20th most valuable, was a surprise inclusion after being relegated last year.
Arsenal came third, ahead of Liverpool in sixth, Chelsea in ninth and Tottenham Hotspur at 12th. Big-spending Manchester City trailed in 19th place.


Peter Schwartz, a business sports writer for Forbes, praised Manchester United's resilience as "one of the world's biggest sporting brands".

Real Madrid was forced to settle for second place - despite signing Cristiano Ronaldo from United last summer.
The world's 20 most valuable soccer clubs generated a combined operating 650 million US dollars (£422 million) in operating income last season, a Forbes spokesman said.

( Source: Press Association)

FIA Formula One World Drivers Champions 1990- 2009

 Some of the greatest driver of Formula One Racing Champions since 1990- 2009

                                                    JASON BUTTON 2009 CHAMPION

 

                                              LEWIS HAMILTON 2008 CHAMPION

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                

KIMI RAIKKONEN CHAMPION 2007

FERNANDO ALONSO 2005-2006

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER 1994-1995

2000-2004

MIKA HAKKINEN 1998-1999

JACQUES VILLENEUVE1997

DAMON HILL 1996

ALAIN PROST 1985-1986

1989-1993

  

NIGEL MANSELL 1992

 

AYRTON SENNA 1988

1990-1991

( Source: Shoppingforest)