THE INDIAN DREAMER

I found a lot of people searching about Sania Mirza's photos and wallpapers, so I decided to look for the best sources myself. Here are two websites with a good collection of Sania's wallpapers : http://mirzamania.blogspot.com/ & http://www.icelebz.com/celebs/sania_mirza/

Enjoy!

Most of us would have our money on the Indian ODI team by now. But what about the T20 squad? After winning the T20 World Cup and beating Australia in Mumbai, the Indian T20 team seams to be out of pace..... They have lost to Australia down under and although they won the T20 international against Sri Lanka, we all know it was only the Pathan brothers who saved the team from a humiliating defeat. And losing the T20 series against New Zealand 2-0 goes to show that the Indian T20 team might just be out of contention for winning the World Cup 2 times in a row.

But then look at the positive side, Indian T20 team has played maximum T20 cricket in the recent times. The discovery of fresh talents in the IPL has only strengthened the reserve bench. India has no shortage of Big Hitters and inning builders. Undoubtedly, India has serious advantages over other International T20 teams, at least theoretically.

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara lifted the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Trinidad and then admitted it was tough to pick a victor of 21st June at Lord's. But if he had to choose a likely winner the batting legend said the finalists in the inaugural event in 2007, India and Pakistan, might be the ones to look out for because of their batting strength and an ability to innovate. Lara displayed the trophy to a packed house at the Queen's Park Oval during the interval of the T20 International between the West Indies and England, part of the promotion of June's event that will take place in England.

The former Indian captain Anil Kumble is quite sure that India will bring home the trophy again. The skipper said, "In my opinion India have the best balanced side. If they play to their potential they will lift the Cup again. It's a fantastic side and all the players in the team showed good form in the IPL. Playing at home England are strong while New Zealand and Australia also look good. It will be a most competitive tournament."

On the other hand, Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan hates Twenty20 Cricket and believes that anyone can win the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in England. "I don't watch Twenty20 cricket because it is just Toolah (chance) cricket. It is not about skills or talent. That is why I think any team can win the World Cup," Imran told reporters at the Karachi Press Club.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on June 5th at England. Imran, who heads his Tehreek-e-Insaaf party Pakistan said that India may have a role in the isolation of Pakistan in international cricket. That shows the Pakistanis will keep crying always. Why don't they realise their own mistakes.

When the BCCI’s incumbent vice-president Lalit Modi floated the idea of having a domestic cricket league – on the lines of the English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) league – way back in 1996, the BCCI was not enthusiastic about the idea as it felt that such a league would run counter to the zonal system of domestic cricket, which includes the Ranji and Duleep trophy matches. For about a decade, it remained an idea whose time had not come.

As destiny would have it, in 2007, Zee Group’s chairman Subhash Chandra decided to do a Kerry Packer in Indian cricket. Kerry Packer, the legendary Aussie media tycoon, who was upset over the Australian Cricket Board’s refusal to accept his AUS$1.5 million bid for the television rights to screen Australian Test matches and Sheffield Shield Cricket on his Nine Network, started a rebel tour named the World Series Cricket in 1977. Taking a leaf out of Packer’s book, Subhash Chandra, whose Zee group alleged discrimination in the allotment of telecasting rights by the BCCI, launched the Indian Cricket League (ICL), a parallel cricket league at the domestic level in India, which kick-started its first season in November 2007 with six teams—Chandigarh Lions, Chennai Superstars, Delhi Jets, Hyderabad Heroes, Kolkata Tigers and Mumbai Champs.

Though the BCCI wouldn’t like to acknowledge it more than anything else, it was Subhash Chandra’s press statement in April 2007 announcing the launching of a rival cricket league that forced the BCCI to move into top gear to translate Lalit Modi’s idea into a billion-dollar league, which the Indian Premier League (IPL) is. The IPL, which was unveiled in September 2007 is, in actual fact, BCCI’s answer to media mogul Subhash Chandra’s ICL.

Alizee is going to sing for a film under an Indian Music Director. Debajyoti Mishra (native of India) is scoring music for a French film by Oscar-winning director, Luc Jacquet.

The 11 tracks in the film will be a mixed bag of French and English numbers, and the director has already roped in Grammy winner, Laura Pausini, and popular singer Alizée to sing the tracks."

The news has been obtained from a very trustworthy source in India, The Times of India News Paper. More can be read at the following links:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/India_Buzz/French_connection/articleshow/3700033.cms

http://www.alizee-fanpage.com/fr/news/2008/1/12/alizee-sing-movie-soundtrack-also-featuring-italian-singer-laura-pausini

http://www.alizee-forum.com/showthread.php?t=23586

Alizee Forum declares the news as a rumor because first of all they do not know anything about the Times of India. Secondly, the news still remains unconfirmed.

India should expect more terror attacks like Mumbai from Pakistani terror camps with high body counts and symbolic targets (May be Indian VIP's), a study by a leading US think tank has warned.

"India will continue to face a serious Jihadi threat from Pakistan-based terrorist groups, and neither Indian nor U.S. policy is likely to reduce that threat in the near future," said Angel Rabasa, leading author of the study and a senior political scientist with RAND Corporation, a nonprofit US research organization.

"Other extremist groups in Pakistan likely will find inspiration in the Mumbai attacks, and we can expect more attacks with high body counts and symbolic targets."

The Mumbai terrorist attacks suggest the possibility of a rise of a strategic terrorist culture, the study said. The reason for this can be the failure of Indian Government in building pressure on Pakistan.

The RAND study identifies the operational and tactical features of the attack, evaluates the response of Indian security forces and political leaders, and analyzes the implications for India, Pakistan and the United States.

The 62nd World Newspaper Congress, the 16th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009 will take place at the Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC) from 22nd to 25th March 2009. Its a great opportunity for India to prove its worth in the rising world. India is undoubtedly world's biggest democracy, where the press is not only free and fiercely independent - but also undergoing extraordinary growth.

India now ranks internationally as the second largest press market, after China, with almost 99 million copies sold daily - an increase in circulation of 36 % over the past five years. Well over 200 million people read newspapers every day and 19 of the world's top 100 selling titles are to be found in the country.

The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has asked the government to immediately ban broadcasting of the Indian TV channels in Pakistan.

Committee member Tariq Azeem said that the Indian government had closed the transmission of the Pakistani TV channels. He asked the government to ban the transmission of the Indian TV channels. Senator Haji Adeel said the government should ban only the recreational Indian TV channels. We would be aware of the Indian propaganda from the Indian news channels, he added.

Information Secretary Ashfaq Gondal assured the committee that he would hold talks with the Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and the cable operators in this respect soon.

ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair announced today that Chandrayaan image counter has crossed the 40,000 mark. It has sent more than 40,000 images to the base station in the last two months.

These images are currently being analyzed and will undoubtedly prove precious to the scientific community. The ISRO chief said that while there were many lunar missions in the past, none of them has been able to provide comprehensive data in the form of images so detailed.

The Chandrayaan has been able to capture images of the lunar surface and get a complete picture of the moon with resolutions of up to five meters. Compare this with earlier missions, which capture images with a 100-meter resolution and that too of a very limited area.

The images from the mission will be used to study the composition of the lunar surface and to learn in detail the mineral composition of the moon. The comprehensive mapping will also help the country plan future missions to the moon.

News has arrived that Alizee will participate in Les Enfoirés 2009, which will be at the Palais Omnisports in Paris-Bercy... sometime between January 21st and 26th of 2009. This years theme will be cinema and the first single with Alizée as a participant is already recorded! Alizee has been participating in Les Enfoirés since 2001. But this concert will take place in Paris. Another concert has been scheduled in March this year at Grand Rex Theater in Paris. So french fans have enough chances to enjoy an Alizee concert. What about an Alizee Concert in India? We have got a large no. of fans here too. Orkut's Alizee fans community has nearly 15000 members. When will she look at this healthy fan base. India stands fifth in searching alizee content on web (based on google report). And it is much ahead of China, Russia & Japan. But still she has been to Japan & Russia and not to India.

But we can have some relief with a news that says she has got a plan to hold a concert in Asia in 2009. When and where it will be, this is not sure.

I have a question - Can a fan club of her organize her concert? I know that would require a huge amount of finance and also such a thing has never happened in past. But is it possible - based on the strength of the Fan Club?

Alizee India - Alizee's Indian Fan Club

Hindus celebrate a host of winter festivals in mid-January. In North India, it's Lohri on the 13th. On the 14th, people observe Makarsankranti across India, Uttarayan in the West, Pongal and Tamil New Year in the South, and Magha Bihu in the East. Best wishes to all Indians all across the world.