Mata praises ‘amazing’ Bale following double PFA award success

The Chelsea star missed out to the Wales international – who was also named Young Player of the Year – for the main award, but is confident of bettering Spurs in the top-four race

Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata has hailed the talents of Gareth Bale after missing out on the Professional Footballers Association Player of the Year award to the Tottenham star.
Mata turned 25 on Sunday as the Blues registered a confident 2-0 win over Swansea at Stamford Bridge to reclaim third spot and pole position to secure Champions League football next season.
And the Spaniard is positive about Chelsea’s prospects come the end of the campaign, with a Europa League semi-final second leg also to come on Thursday.

“Congratulations to Gareth Bale for being named player of the year and young player of the year,” Mata wrote on his blog for Grada360.com. “He’s a superb player with amazing skills and he’s only 23 years old.
“I couldn’t have thought about a better way to celebrate [my birthday] than a victory and the company of my family and friends.
“We managed to beat a competitive Swansea, a team with some friends of mine like Pablo [Hernandez] and Michu.
“[They are] three key points in our aim to be in the next Champions League, even more after Arsenal and Tottenham’s draws [against Manchester United and Wigan respectively].”

Tom McKeown

Pup named Huckleberry crowned ‘Beautiful Bulldog’

 

If at first you don’t succeed, wipe the slobber off and try again.

Just ask 4-year-old pup Huckleberry, who was crowned Monday as this year’s “Beautiful Bulldog.”

Huckleberry competed for the title in 2010, only to walk away empty-pawed. That changed this year, when he strutted down a blue runway at Drake University in Des Moines dressed in a beige suit as the main character from the movie “Forrest Gump.”

“He’s just a lover,” said his owner, Stephanie Hein, as Huckleberry sat next to his miniature basketball toy and a suitcase similar to one owned by Forrest Gump.

The contest is now in its 34th year and is held ahead of the annual Drake Relays track and field meet. The university’s mascot is a bulldog, and each year’s winner becomes the mascot for the relays event.

Huckleberry beat 46 other bulldogs to don the crown and cape, and competition was stiff. There was a bulldog dressed as a “Thing” character by Dr. Seuss, another wore an eye patch and fake hoop earring to match his pirate-dressed owner. Diva, donning a tutu, took home the prize for best dressed.

Huckleberry seemed unfazed by all the attention, more interested in a dog-friendly cake that’s served annually from the gold-painted throne. He threw in a few slobbered kisses to his owners.

When not competing, Huckleberry likes to cuddle and hang out with a girlfriend bulldog who lives nearby, according to Hein and her husband, Steven.

Huckleberry wore a Mohawk when he initially competed in 2010. But Stephanie Hein spent weeks shrinking and sowing together this year’s outfit, which included a blue-checkered T-Shirt similar to the one worn by Forrest Gump.

“He was just a puppy then,” she said of his first attempt. “But he’s certainly grown into himself now.”

Apple dumps 8 million defective iPhone5

 

Apple Inc.’s Chinese manufacturer Foxconn recently got a very expensive lesson in quality (and a rude shock too) when the Cupertino-based technology giant shipped back, with a return-to-sender note, a consignment containing up to 8 million defective iPhone 5 smartphones.

[Representation Image]

While that has triggered online speculation about another delay in the unveiling of the much-awaited and hugely rumoured transparent iPhone 6 smartphone, the rejected consignment most probably belongs to the current generation of the smartphone, the iPhone 5, and not the upcoming iteration.

Nevertheless, the rejection of the entire consignment, first reported by China Business News is estimated to cost Foxconn upward of $250 million in just labour costs, not to mention the cost of the parts and inventory that will go into replacing the defective devices.

The report (translated by Google Chrome) maintains that, on March 15, 2013, Apple returned five million mobile phones citing “non-compliant” and “dysfunction” issues with the devices. Considering that Foxconn will have been, by now, fairly adept at manufacturing the iPhone 5, this lends further credence to rumours that the rejected lot might well be of the upcoming iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S devices.

Quoting unnamed “Foxconn insiders,” the report says that the number of rejected phones could go up to as much as 8 million. It says that Terry Gou, Chairman and President of Hon Hai Precision Industry (a.k.a. Foxconn) walked onto the shop-floor of the manufacturer on April 16, and urged supervisors and workers “to enhance the yield, professional training, the promotion of morale” while announcing the setting up of a quality control office after the latest debacle.

China Business News maintains that Foxconn stands to lose 200 yuan ($32) apiece in labour costs, which would add up to $256.8 million for 8 million faulty iPhones. It adds that this would imply that two-thirds of Foxconn’s profits for 2012 “will go down the drain”.

The portal did not clarify which model of the iPhone failed Apple’s quality tests, and this is fuelling rumours about a delay in the upcoming iPhone 6. But if it’s the iPhone 5 that Foxconn got wrong, we’ll soon know because an 8 million hole in the supply chain will not go undetected at the retail front, where customers will be told to wait longer than usual for the arrival of the device.

In addition, keep an eye out on ‘scrap sales’ in China for iPhones if they can’t be salvaged to Apple’s liking by Foxconn.

UAE Residents wake up to lightning and rain on Sunday morning

UAE residents woke up to overcast skies, lightning and slight rain on Sunday morning. The roads are wet and motorists are warned to drive carefully.

 

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy in general today, with the cloud cover increasing over the islands and some northern and eastern areas.

According to the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the amount of clouds will increase over scattered areas, with a chance of rain. A slight fall in temperatures is also expected over some areas .

Winds will be moderate in general, fresh at times. However, it may kick up dust in some internal areas.

Sea will be moderate becoming rough gradually by night .

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in some internal areas will hit 44 degree C, with a minimum of 23 degree C.

Humidity is also expected to touch 95 per cent in coastal areas.

 Rain in forecast for the next couple of days in the emirates.

SRK to lock horns with Akshay, not Salman Khan during Eid

‘Mental’ will not release during Eid this year, leaving the other actors to battle for box-office glory

Salman Khan bows out of the box-office race during Eid this year, leaving Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar to battle it out.

For the last four years in a row, Eid is exclusively reserved for Salman Khan. And every year, he indisputably wins box-office glory.

This year, however, things are going to be different, with SRK and Akshay Kumar pitched against each other.

Audience will have to choose between SRK’s ‘Chennai Express’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again’, which will hit theatres on August 8.

With the date not so far away, the two actors are working overtime to ensure they meet the Eid deadline.

“Akshay and the unit (of Once Upon…) have been shooting at nights. They’ve also been dubbing throughout the day to make up for lost time. This way, once the shoot is finished, the film can straightaway go into post-production,” reported Hindustan Times.

The situation is similar on the set of ‘Chennai Express’ as well, with the media reporting on how SRK has even set up a temporary business office in Wai, where the movie is being filmed, so that he doesn’t disrupt the schedule.

In fact, Akshay and SRK have put all other movie commitments on hold and are focusing only on their Eid release.

“Akshay has put all other work on hold. Right now, Once Upon… is of utmost importance. All his public appearances, except for a few promotions for the film, have been restricted,” reported the Indian daily.

While the two big stars are working endless hours, Salman Khan is taking it easy.

His brother, and movie director, Arbaaz believes there’s no point in rushing ‘Mental’ to meet the August 8 deadline.

All Salman’s Eid releases, barring the recent ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, were blockbusters. There was ‘Wanted’ in 2009, ‘Dabangg’ in 2010, ‘Bodyguard’ in 2011, and ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ in 2012.

“For his (Salman’s) film to come on Eid, he should have started work as early as January, but they started sometime in March. So it is difficult,” Arbaaz told a news agency.

“There is no need to do a rush job on any film. The stakes are too high, the expectations are too high. So, no need to get fixated because a Salman Khan-starrer is a Salman Khan-starrer.”

Salman is currently shooting for younger brother Sohail’s ‘Mental’

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All aboard India’s first passenger train with the Google Doodle!

If you’re a fan of spotting Google Doodles, this is a great week for you.

A day after Google honoured Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler with a doodle, the search giant has come up with one more to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train in India.

The doodle is a simple affair, with a steam locomotive pulling a train. The engine forms the first “O” in “Google”. The whole doodle wears a very old-worldly look and resembles a painting more than a drawing. The train is surrounded by open fields and palm trees, trying to bring back the charm of the 19th century.

The first passenger train in India ran between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane on April 16, 1853, signaling a new era in travel and communication in the country. The train was pulled by three locomotives – Sultan, Sindh and Sahib and had about 400 passengers on board its 14 carriages. The journey of the first passenger train in India lasted for a good 57 minutes between Bori Bunder and Thane and had just one halt.

Celebrating the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train

 

Interestingly, this was only the first time a passenger train was run in India. The first rail line had come up near Chintadripet Bridge in the then Madras Presidency in 1836 as an experimental line.

After the first passenger train was run between Bombay and Thane, the first passenger railway line in north India was opened between Allahabad and Kanpur in 1859.

The train doodle is a slightly less interactive one this time round and slightly inaccurate too, given the fact that the train was actually pulled by three locomotives.

To celebrate Euler’s birthday yesterday, the doodle was a partly animated one. The doodle included geometrical figures and mathematical formulae, scribbled on a partially yellow piece of paper. Some of the mathematical elements on the doodle, included the mathematical constant, his polyhedral formula, now written as v-e+f=2.
 
An important name in the field of mathematics, Euler’s genius can be affirmed from the fact that he is the only mathematician to have two numbers named after him – the Euler’s number in calculus (e, i.e. approximately equal to 2.71828), and the Euler’s Mascheroni Constant (gamma), also called as “Euler’s constant” (approximately equal to 0.57721).

Earlier in December, Google had honoured another mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan on his 125th birthday. The doodle in the memory of this genius was endearing, to say the least and best described what Ramanujan lived for – his love for mathematics. The doodle showed a young lad, believed to be young Ramanujan, on his fours, writing the mathematical constant Pi, which is approximately equal to 3.14159. The word ‘Google’ was thoughtfully etched out of the different formulaes and other mathematical depictions.

Rare Beatles guitar set to fetch $200k at auction

A VOX custom-made guitar played by the music legends, John Lennon and George Harrison in mid 1960’s is expected to fetch between 200,000 to 300,000 dollars at an auction on May 18.

The guitar, which was built by Mike Bennett and Dickey Denney, was used by Harrison in ‘I am the Walrus’ and Lennon used it during a video session for ‘Hello, Goodbye,’ the New York Daily News reported.

Bids will be taken at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe, as well as online at JuliensLive.com.

A signed copy of The Beatles’ ‘Please Please Me’ will also be auctioned and is expected to fetch 30,000 to 50,000 dollars.

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Shane #Watson has worked as hard as anybody around his cricket: Ricky #Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has lent his support to under-fire vice-captain Shane Watson, saying he backs Shane’s decision to return home at the time of the birth of his first child.

Watson was barred by team management from taking part in the third Test against India in Mohali along with three other cricketers for disciplinary reasons.

The all-rounder flew back home to be by the side of his wife Lee Furlong. The couple announced Thursday the birth of their son Will.

“Shane worked as hard as anybody around his cricket, there’s no doubt about that,” Ponting was quoted as saying by The Age.

“He’s obviously made a blue here – I don’t like to refer to it as homework because it wasn’t homework – not getting his tasks done that were given to him by the coach.”

“I’ve never known him to be anything other than a very good team player and a great bloke to have around your team.”

Ponting, who Thursday scored his 80th first class hundred in a Shield match against Victoria, praised Watson’s commitment and passion for the game and asked the media not to look too much into high-performance manager Pat Howard‘ comments on Watson’s team commitment.

“I loved every moment that I played with Watto,” he said.

“To tell the truth, I think I understood him and his personality as well as anyone that I ever played with.”

“I tried to get as close to him as I could.”

Ponting said, “I tried to know him as well as I could both on and off the field and I actually felt by doing that I got as much out of him as I could as a player.”

Ponting said Howard’s comments were made under pressure.

“Pat’s known Shane for 12 months and (Australian captain) Michael (Clarke) and Shane have known each other for the best part of 20 years,” he said.

Ponting, who also returned home from Sri Lanka two years ago to be alongside his wife, said Watson’s decision to fly back home was the right one.

“(It’s) obviously a personal decision and he probably doesn’t care how it looks,” he said.

“What the girls go through when we’re away is hard enough as it is but there’s certain things in your personal life you don’t want to miss.”

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Oprah named most influential celebrity for second year

Oprah Winfrey was crowned America’s most influential celebrity for a second straight year on Friday, despite having dropped off daily television in 2011.

Forbes magazine ranked Winfrey, 59, ahead of Hollywood titans Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood and towering over other TV figures such as journalist Barbara Walters and financial guru Suze Orman. Forbes said that 48% of people surveyed rated Winfrey as influential, down just one point from last year.

The list was drawn from polls of Americans conducted by E-Poll Market Research, which ranks more than 7,500 celebrities based on 46 different personality attributes. Winfrey ended her daily The Oprah Winfrey Show in May 2011 after 25 years to launch the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which features lifestyle programming aimed at women.

After struggling in the ratings since its launch, OWN has seen audiences rise recently, thanks to Winfrey’s January world exclusive with cyclist Lance Armstrong admitting to years of doping, and her wide-ranging interview with R&B singer Beyonce.

Forbes noted that Winfrey’s magic had rubbed off as well, with one of her protégées, TV physician Dr. Mehmet Oz, ranking sixth on the list. Film directing, however, seems to be the profession most associated with influence, as four directors, including Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese, crowded into the Top 10.

E-Poll Chief Executive Gerry Philpott said that while influence could mean different things to different people, most often it reflects someone’s impact on the culture. Reflecting on Spielberg’s runner-up ranking, Philpott said “To this day, ask anyone what they think about before going in the ocean,” referring to the filmmaker’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws.

Dropping out of the Top 10 entirely was last year’s No 2 finisher, actor Michael J. Fox, who has been out of the public eye of late. Eastwood, who made headlines by addressing an empty chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention, rounded out the Top 10.

The Top 10 Most Influential Celebrities of 2013, according to Forbes are; 1. Oprah Winfrey 2. Steven Spielberg 3. Martin Scorsese 4. Ron Howard 5. George Lucas 6. Dr. Mehmet Oz 7. Barbara Walters 8. U2 frontman Bono 9. Suze Orman 10. Clint Eastwood The full list can be seen at http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/03/14/oprah-winfrey-tops-our-list-of-the-most-influential-celebrities/

Russian Cricket Team Starts Spring Preparations

The United Cricket League Russia is preparing for the 2013 games. The popularity of this sport, which has a great following worldwide, until recently was relatively unknown in Russia, points out Tanvir Khan,a member of the team management. He says that it is not surprising that the vast majority of players in the Russian League are Indians, Pakistanis, natives of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka having Russian residence permits. They are all in the majority of cases, like me, either graduates of Russian universities, businessmen or students.

Tanvir Khan: “The United Russian Cricket League unites eight teams of 11 players each. Some of them are very good and great players. Last year, the League of United Russia was recognized and registered with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in London.

We also have 200 additional players. And among them are a few Russians. Our matches are held at the Moscow State University’s (MSU) baseball stadium which has an artificial turf cover. We play every Saturday and Sunday during the four months of favorable weather conditions. These games invariably attract quite a few Russians, some of whom want to try their hand at the game and have shown impressive results.”

Having crossed from Europe, from its homeland in Britain, to the colonies in South Asia and Africa, cricket has become extremely popular there. And now in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka it is revered as a national sport. The young students, who had come to Russia from these countries to study during the past decade or so, just could not give up their passion for cricket. We are organizing matches in Russia for the 13th year and are also participating in international matches, says Tanvir Khan. And very successfully too for we have won Silver in the European championship.

This year we have scheduled 64 games – says board member of the League of United Russia, Tanvir Khan. We expect the arrival in Moscow of teams from Latvia and Estonia. And then we shall visit them in Riga. Our colleagues in Belgium have invited our team for a friendly match. And this is not at all the complete list of our travel plans for which preparations are on going.

On May 1, this year, the Russian team will hold its first home match at the cricket stadium in MSU. It is possible that some Russian players will also take part in the match. This sport is gaining more and more recognition among the Russians.

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