Sunday, July 31, 2011

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries Taste Cakes for Wedding Day

Kim and fiance Kris Humphries stopped by Hansen Cakes in L.A. on Friday for some wedding cake tasting. Although the 30-year-old bride-to-be has recently revved up her fitness routine, she put aside her wedding slimdown plans to find the perfect sugary confection for her and Humphries' big day.

Kim's sister Khloe, 27, wore Vera Wang for her Sept. 2009 wedding to Lamar Odom. "I hope she does [Kim's, too]," Khloe gushed to E! News. "Just because I love her, and I feel like when you think of weddings, you think of Vera Wang. It would be a perfect fit."On July 23, Kim and her NBA beau, 26, celebrated their bachelorette and bachelor parties in Las Vegas. Although they initially promised not to see each other, Kim wandered next door and crashed Humphries' fete at LAVO.

Christina Aguilera over hot photo gallery

Christina Aguilera was born on 18th December 1980 in Staten Island New York. A leader in the parade of Mickey Mouse Club veterans who stormed pop at the turn of the millennium, Christina Aguilera was the sexy, brassy diva of the bunch .

While revealing a vocalist with considerably more power and range than her erstwhile rival. Soon, Aguilera distanced herself from the rest of the teen pop pack beginning with her carnal sophomore .

The Golden Stag International Festival. Her first big break arrived in 1998, when she recorded “Reflection” for the soundtrack of Disney’s Mulan, a performance that lead to a contract with RCA Records.

Its lead single, “Ain’t No Other Man,” was another blockbuster and Grammy winner for Christina, and the tour was her most ambitious to date. In 2008, Aguilera released her first hits collection, Keeps Gettin' Better, which was available exclusively via Target in the U.S.

Christina Aguilera and Selena Gomez Top ALMA Nominations

Christina Aguilera and Selena Gomez lead the ALMA Award nominations, which the National Council of La Raza announced Thursday.Gomez is up for Favorite Movie Actress-Comedy/Musical, Favorite TV Actress and Favorite Female Music artist. Her Disney show, Wizards of Waverly Place.

Aguilera is also up for Favorite Move Actress-Comedy/Musical and Favorite Female Music artist, as well as Favorite TV Reality, Variety or Comedy Personality or Act for her role as mentor on NBC's The Voice.The American Latino Media Arts Awards, which now feature fan voting, honors the accomplishments of Latinos in entertainment.

Don't Love Acting As Much As I Used To says Angelina Jolie

She is one of the highest paid "Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie" in the world, but the Oscar winner's main passions are actually outside of the field. In an interview with the Financial Times published Friday, Jolie, 36, opens up about becoming a mom of six has changed her relationship with work.

When I was younger I needed more. I was trying to question things in life so you find these characters that help you find things and grow."Now, she adds, "I'm older and I know who I am and I'm less interested in the character helping me answer something than in being able to answer it for myself.

She has no plans to retire in the near future, she admits: "I don't love as much as I did. I love being a mom."She and her longtime love Brad Pitt have six children together -- Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and 3-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne -- and the family is famous for their nomadic lifestyle. "Home is wherever we are," she says. But does she ever feel rootless? "Yes, but happily. I'm very bad at staying in one place. I'm also bad at sitting still There's so much to explore in the world So I love travel.

I prefer [being behind the camera] to acting," she admits. "I think I've learnt something from all of [the directors I've worked with] -- even the ones I didn't like I also learned a lot from Clint Eastwood about how to appreciate the members of the crew, empowering them to do their job."But Jolie doesn't plan to stay in the business forever. "As Brad and I get older we're going to do fewer films. I've been working for a long time, he's been working for a long time," she says.

Naomi Watts hot and sexy photo gallery

Naomi Watts was born on 28th September 1968 in Shoreham, England,the young Watts suffered the trauma of losing her father when she was only seven years old. Four years later, she relocated to Australia with her mom and began to study acting. Eventually, she began going on auditions - it was at one where she would meet her best friend Nicole Kidman - and landed her first film role in "For Love Alone" (1986).

Cast as a snobby schoolgirl, the teen actress made an impression and her career was born. Watts went on to co-star with Oscar winner Brenda Fricker, Josephine Byrnes, Kym Wilson and a young Russell Crowe in the Australian miniseries "Brides of Christ" (1991). Duigan tapped her once again when he cast her in a supporting role in "Wide Sargasso Sea" (1992).

Then came along a strange, brilliant man named David Lynch. Watts was next cast in what was hoped would be her breakthrough, an ABC TV series called "Mulholland Drive," created by and directed by Lynch. Although the network passed on the quirky drama, Lynch was able to shoot additional material and create a strange, trippy picture that painted a dark picture of the dream factory of Hollywood.

Also that year, she delivered a strong performance in "Mother and Child" (2010), playing a woman whose mother (Annette Bening) gave her up for adoption as a baby, leading her to lead a successful, but lonely life that nonetheless remains inexorably entwined with that of her mother's. Watts' heartbreaking performance earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Leann Rimes hot and latest photo gallery

Leann Rimes was born on 28th August 1982 in Jackson, Mississippi.With her phenomenal early success, LeAnn Rimes has gone from being the little girl from Garland, Texas with the big voice to a contemporary, cosmopolitan young woman. Possessing one of the most spectacular voices in the business, as well as an incredible gift for performing.

She recently ventured through the historic and rugged Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to record a musical special for "Music in High Places." Airing on DirecTV throughout Spring 2001, and on VH-1 in June and July 0f 2001, the show is an excellent showcase for LeAnn's personality and extraordinary vocal talent.

Inspirational Songs, and accomplished a feat never before achieved by a Country artis–the album debuted simultaneously on three Billboard Magazine charts (Pop, Country and Contemporary Christian). Next came The Early Years: Unchained Melody, a compilation of her compelling early work, which went multi-platinum.

She will soon head back into the studio to record her eighth album, on which she hopes to take some musical departures and give voice to the new and exciting directions in which she is moving as an artist. She is also looking to explore more options in film and television.

Peyton Manning


Peyton Manning has a new long-term deal in time to report to training camp.
He still hasn't been cleared to practice.
Colts owner Jim Irsay said he was "thrilled" to sign the only four-time MVP in NFL history to a deal that likely will keep him in Indianapolis for the rest of his career. Details of the contract were not immediately available but it is believed to be for five years. The contract reportedly is worth $90 million.
New England's Tom Brady earns $18 million a year.
"Signing Peyton was a top priority for this organization and we are thrilled that the deal is complete," Irsay said in a statement released by the team Saturday. "We feel that it is a salary cap-friendly deal and it allows us more flexibility."
The deal comes nearly five months after the team used the exclusive franchise tag to prevent Manning from negotiating with other teams. Had Manning signed the one-year offer, he would have made $23.1 million this season.
By getting the long-term deal done, Manning's salary cap number will be reduced, allowing the team to sign more of its own free agents.
Other key players that Indy is trying to work out deals with include running back Joseph Addai and left tackle Charlie Johnson. They still have not signed first-round pick Anthony Castonzo, either.
Manning will not practice because he's continuing to rehabilitate from neck surgery in May. It was the second time since March 2010 that he had neck surgery.

Seahawks move on
Seattle coach Pete Carroll expects former Viking Tarvaris Jackson to be the Seahawks' starting quarterback on opening day.
"In this situation, to make things the most competitive for our team, Tarvaris needs to be our starter right now," Carroll said. "He comes in as our starter, he's going to own that position."
Jackson signed a two-year deal with the Seahawks on Friday.
Carroll says Jackson's familiarity with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell gave the newcomer the edge over Charlie Whitehurst. Jackson and Bevell worked together in Minnesota from 2006-10.
Jackson alternated between starter and backup during five seasons with the Vikings, starting 20 games and throwing almost as many interceptions (22) as touchdowns (24).

Saints' Ingram signs
Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram couldn't wait to put on his jersey.
Moments after signing his rookie contract with the New Orleans Saints, Ingram was pulling his No. 28 jersey over shoulder pads, grabbing his helmet and trotting onto the field at club headquarters halfway through the second practice of training camp.
Ingram reportedly signed a four-year contract worth nearly $7.4 million.

TSA


Apparently we are not the only ones who are getting a little tired of all those YouTube videos of shirtless kids in airports screaming during TSA pat-downs. The agency recognizes that this doesn't look too good and is really pissing people off, so starting in August the TSA is going to use a radical new screening method based on the Israel system of pinpointing terrorists. And if there's anything we know about Israel, it's that they are the bad-ass experts at snuffing out suicide-bombing lunatics. Don't mess with Israel. They are like The Fonz of the Middle East.
I hope you are ready for this because if you thought going through Customs was a pain in the ass now, get ready for it to be even more awkward, uncomfortable, and intrusive. When you go to the airport this week be prepared for the TSA agents to ...
... talk to you some more.
Yup, it's going to be even worse than being on a play date with a parent you can't stand. Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole announced this week that actually having a convo with parents to try to figure out why the kid keeps setting off the detector may work just as well as putting the tyke through a strip search. Now that's a brainstorm! Best of all, it will cost all of us taxpayers less than all that fancy technology that takes pictures of you naked and reads your mind or whatever.
So the upside: Your kid may not be publicly humiliated so much. Airports are already staffed with a number of "behavioral detection officers," who are already watching you as you stand there in line, trying to assess whether you look nervous because you are not sure if the bottle of Suave shampoo in your carry-on breaks any liquids size rules, or if it's because you are a maniac plotting world destruction.
The downside: You may get racially profiled. Sorry, this is just the way it goes, Israel admits that, too. So while we may not see as many screaming kids or outraged breastfeeders, get  ready for a whole new crop of controversial videos that is sure to keep the hating on the TSA party going for many, many years to come.

HipHop


By now the world is only just beginning to wrap its head round the enormity of the tragedy in Oslo, Norway. Almost a hundred people dead–most of them children at a summer camp–in not one but two different acts of terror on the same day.
This is an act of terrorism. It bears repeating because some news outlets–even supposedly reputable ones–don’t seem to think that acts like these are worthy of the label unless it’s carried out by Muslims. Of course, as we all now know, Muslims weren’t responsible for these events. In fact, they were quite clearly one of the targets.
Anders Behring Breivik hates Muslims, in particular what they have done to his “beloved Norway.” More broadly, he hates the notion of multiculturalism. We all have heard over the past several days about his virulent hatred for any kind of tolerance or inclusion, let alone the kind of anti-racism espoused by the “cultural Marxists” from whom he saves particular bile in his 1500 page manifesto. His links with far-right Islamophobes like Stop the Islamization of Europe and proto-fascist groups like the English Defence League are really the best indicator for what Breivik was trying to achieve.
Perhaps then it’s not such a surprise that among the myriad blights he profiles in this long screed is a music genre with its own history of criminalization:hip-hop.
To those unfamiliar, it may be strange to think of Norway, a country of under 5 million people and typically thought of as lily white, having any kind of hip-hop scene to speak of. More than 200,000 of these 4.8 million, however, are immigrants from Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan or Turkey, along with countless others of mixed heritage. Over the past two decades, Norway’s hip-hop scene had varied from duos like Madcon–whose members are both of African heritage–to the all-white trio Warlocks–because, as we all know, there are plenty of white kids attracted to hip-hop.
One of these kids, believe it or not, was Anders Breivik. In the mid-90s he was apparently a part of Oslo’s insurgent hip-hop community. His best friend was Pakistani, and, if his manifesto is to be believed, the two of them were among the most infamous graffiti artists in the city.
At some point, however, Breivik had a change (or loss) of heart, and now lays the blame for many of Norway’s social ills squarely at the front door of what he now calls the “ghetto/ethnic/multiculturalist lifestyle”:
I personally know of more than 50 individuals who started with hashish and marijuana as a direct result of the hip-hop mentality. Many of these went from light drugs to heavier drugs such as amphetamine and even heroin. I personally know that more than 20 individuals, from my ‘hip-hop community’, have become severe drug addicts and some of them are probably dead today.
Breivik goes on to estimate that around 40% of drug addicts in Norway have been somehow duped into it by hip-hop. It’s a ludicrous claim, bordering on the delusional, but not quite as delusional as Breivik’s overblown, almost self-congratulatory guess at how much property damage he committed as a tagger:
During my two most active years at the age of 15 and 16, I estimate that myself [and his crew] inflicted property damage (through bombing raids – “tagging”) of approximately 2 million Euro combined of which I inflicted aprox. 700 000.
It’s a familiar narrative: pop music produces drug addiction, property damage, and from there it’s only a short jump to all manner of social decay. To Breivik, the sounds of the microphone and turntable, embraced by kids of every race the world over, are little more than the soundtrack of the invading brown hordes.
Anyone, however, who takes a cursory look at Norway’s recent musical history will see a very different picture–one of much more atrocious acts than petty vandalism.
From 1992 to ‘95, probably right around the time Breivik was popping open his first Sharpie, no less than 28 Christian churches across Norway were burned in acts of arson or attempted arson. The culprits for several of these weren’t Islamic fundamentalists, but native born Norwegians Bard “Faust” Eithun and Varg Vikernes, members of the country’s rising black metal scene.
While in prison for killing a fellow musician, Vikernes became a leading figure in what is termed the “estoteric Nazism” movement, a strange mixture of Norse paganism and old-fashioned white power ideology. Eithun was convicted in 1992 of beating a gay man to death outside the Olympic Village in Lillehammer. Both have since been released.
In 2001, Benjamin Hermansen, a sixteen-year-old Ghanaian-Norwegian school student, was stabbed to death in the multiracial suburb of Holmlia; the Norwegian police called it “Norway’s first racially motivated murder.” He was killed by three members of a neo-Nazi gang known as “the Boot Boys,” who had been known to orient to the local street punk and Oi! scenes.
Neither black metal nor punk rock are to blame for these deaths or arson. In fact, the Nazi component makes up barely a fraction of either scene. And yet, according to the logic of Anders Behring Breivik, the punks and metalheads should be just as much to blame as hip-hop is for drug use and urban decay. The only reason they aren’t mentioned is that ultimately, Breivik has a lot more in common with Vikernes and the Boot Boys.
What may be most horrifying about Breivik’s notions on hip-hop is how he believes this particular “problem” can be solved:
“As for the fate of the hiphop industry; banning it altogether is not the optimal solution as it would cause overwhelming short term outcry and it would eliminate positive aspects as well. However, I believe [in] significant restrictions in the rights of media companies which will include censoring negative and destructive lifestyles. An alternative is to limit such marketing to future ‘liberal zones’. Certain positive aspects of the hiphop movement should be allowed to survive such as break dance and positive genres of the music as long as it positively influences the self confidence of European youths and only if it can be re-defined as a European tradition…”
There’s a term for this: apartheid. Perhaps that’s not so surprising considering that Breivik also calls for Israel to “finish the job” in Palestine and for the re-imposition of white rule in South Africa. Ask any Black blues musician what it was like to play in the Jim Crow south, and they’ll likely paint a picture similar to Breivik’s (final) solution.
And yet, here in the States, we’ve heard this basic line before–and not just from the fringe lunatics. We’ve heard Sarah Palin call Common a cop-killer and Don Imus claim that rap was responsible for his own hatred toward women. We’ve heard it from city councils outlawing baggy pants and police chiefs targeting backwards ballcaps.
Likewise, the kind of anti-Muslim hate spewed by Breivik has become a fixture of everyday life. The crusade against multiculturalism is one that runs the gamut from the vile protests against the Park51 community center in New York City to the speeches of David Cameron and Angela Merkel.
As ordinary Norwegians figure out a way to heal from the devastation, the stakes have never been higher. What the tragedy in Oslo and the racist rants of Anders Behring Breivik show us is that the fight for a world of true equality and justice is one that touches every aspect of our lives. If his kind have their way, then this cruel brand of white-bred repression will extend from the halls of power into our schools, our communities, and yes, even our record stores.

Complex


Complex
As the Harrisburg City Islanders slowly shuffled off to their Skyline Sports Complex locker room, eyes were focused downward and locked on the beat-up turf and heads swiveled from side to side.

Yep, another unsavory result.

Only this time, unlike some other recent outings, Bill Becher’s club was unable to salvage anything Saturday night as the Wilmington Hammerheads claimed a 2-1 victory that put the City Islanders in a precarious spot with just three USL PRO games to go. No victory. No draw.

No points.

“It was disappointing,” said veteran winger David Schofield, who made his second straight appearance after missing five games with a groin strain. “Obviously, they played their game plan, sat in and made it difficult for us — and we didn’t have an answer for it.

“We’ve gotta be better.”

With the USL PRO playoffs just three weeks away and the City Islanders (9-6-6, 33 points) four points out of first yet trying to fend off a dangerous Los Angeles club that’s a half-dozen points back with six games left, Harrisburg must be better.

The City Islanders certainly weren’t good enough to solve a weary Wilmington outfit — the Hammerheads won 3-1 Friday at New York — content to clog the middle of the field defensively and wait until an opportunity to get forward materialized.

Most of the time, David Irving’s club had at least nine players behind the ball. And most of the time, those nine players and keeper Brock Duckworth (4 saves) were clustered across the field in the final third in a space no wider than penalty area. Still, the City Islanders continued to attack inside.

While it worked early, when some nice one-touch combination play from Sainey Touray and Jose Angulo led to an Angulo rebound and 1-0 lead, it never worked again.

“Paid off for them in the end, I guess,” Becher said.

“Over and over, we were trying to force it through the middle,” Schofield added. “It wasn’t working, because they were playing for that.”

After conceding Andriy Budnyy’s finish in the 29th minute and a Chris Banks penalty kick in the 60th, the City Islanders were in trouble. Again. This time, they could not rally.

“[Wednesday] we weren’t at our best away, but still we pulled it out,” Schofield said of a 3-2 win at Dayton. “[Tonight], we weren’t able to come up with [another goal] later on. If we put ourselves in these situations, sometimes we will, sometimes we won’t. We’ve gotta be better right from the start.

Gwyneth Paltrow hot and sexy photo gallery

Gwyneth Paltrow was bornon 27th September 1972 in Los Angeles, California, USA. The daughter of TV producer Bruce Paltrow and Tony-winning stage and screen actress Blythe Danner. Her arts-loving parents moved the family to New York City when she was 11 years old, resulting in Paltrow and her younger brother Jake being towed to downtown experimental theater productions and uptown operas.

Paltrow made her own professional stage debut there in 1990; the same year she graduated from the exclusive Spence School. From her Upper East Side townhouse, Paltrow headed back to California and a semester at the University of California in Santa Barbara before deciding that she really preferred to be down in her hometown pursuing an acting career.

In 1995 that the young actress stepped out from her look-a-like mother's considerable shadow. David Fincher cast Paltrow as the loving wife of a homicide detective in the hit thriller "Seven," which not only gave the actress her first high-profile role, but also introduced her to co-star Brad Pitt - at that time, the hottest actor - literally and figuratively -in the business.

She went back to what she did best, starring in the romantic drama "Two Lovers" (2009), playing the neighbor of a suicidal man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with her despite her romance with a married man (Elias Koteas). Paltrow's performance earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She next reprised Pepper Potts for the highly anticipated sequel, "Iron Man 2" (2010), which earned an astounding $130 million overseas prior to its American release.

Jenson Button


enson Button won an exciting and wet 25th Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren on Sunday, making the most of his 200th Formula One race on the course where he claimed his first victory five years ago.
Button won from world championship leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso while long-time leader Lewis Hamilton in the other McLaren had to settle for fourth in the end.
Australia's Mark Webber finished in fifth spot, having started the race sixth on the grid.
Button and Vettel had the best strategy for the second half of the race when they chose hard tyres and stayed on them even as light rain set in.
The rain caused Hamilton to spin, he got a drive-through penalty and changed to intermediates which ended all his hopes of a second win in eight days, the first being the German GP.
Vettel increased his championship lead again thanks to the second place, now holding 234 points from 11 of 19 races.
His team-mate Webber has 149, Hamilton 146, Alonso 145 and Button 134.
Vettel gained valuable points but the second straight McLaren win showed that the season is far from over when it resumes after a four-week summer holiday in Belgium in late August.
"Guys, perfect going into the summer break. Let's come back and win them all." said Button via team radio.
Vettel won the start from pole ahead of Hamilton, but soon came under pressure from the 2008 champion who could clearly drive faster in the wet conditions and almost effortlessly passed in the fifth lap as the German went wide.
A drying track after morning rain prompted the drivers to get dry-weather slicks and Button overtook vettel in the 14th lap for a double McLaren lead.
But the drama unfolded later as different strategies were chosen and light rain set in as well.
Hamilton spun in the chicane in the 47th lap as Button snatched the lead and Vettel closed in on the McLarens as well.
By that time Button, Vettel and Webber were on harder tyres with which they could complete the race, while Hamilton and Alonso on softer rubbers required at least one more pit stop.
Webber and Hamilton were the first to pit for intermediates while the others stayed out on slicks which proved the winning formula.
Hamilton's woes were complete when he was handed a drive-through penalty for getting his car back in the right direction on the track after his spin, which forced Paul di Resta off the course.
Up front, Button coasted to victory in the fourth straight wet GP in 1 hour 46 minutes 42.337 seconds, with Vettel 3.5 seconds adrift and Alonso 19 seconds off the pace.
Earlier, Nick Heidfeld escaped a burning Renault unharmed after a second pit stop in the 24th lap.
"The pitstop took longer than it should have. Probably something overheated," Heidfeld said in first television interviews.
"I was a bit (scared). After I stopped I think the fire marshals were trying to put the fire out and then there was a small explosion on the left. I've never seen anything like that before."

UBS


UBS AG (UBS) hired Mike Stewart from Bank of America Merrill Lynch as co-head of global equities, replacing Yassine Bouhara, who will shift to a new role as head of emerging markets in October.
Carsten Kengeter, CEO of the investment bank, said in a memo that Stewart will become co-head of the equities business with Francois Gouws. They will be "driving our growth strategy for equities globally, and will lead our securities businesses in the Americas," he said in the memo reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires.
Stewart will join UBS in late October when he completes garden leave, the time period when an employee is often told to stay away from work, while still remaining on the payroll at his former employer.
At UBS, Stewart will also become head of Securities Americas.
In his new role, Bouhara will focus on "linking and leveraging" UBS' capabilities across its investment bank, fixed income, global capital markets and equities businesses in targeted markets.
UBS had a major presence in emerging markets, particularly in Brazil, before the subprime mortgage meltdown. The company then pulled back in the region, but later re-rentered Brazil with its acquisition of brokerage firm Link Investimentos.
Both executives will report to Kengeter and will be on the executive committee of the investment bank.
The appointments follow a tough second quarter for the Swiss bank. On Thursday, UBS scaled back ambitions to rebuild its investment bank into a global heavyweight, as the firm's net profit fell by half in the second quarter, hurt by a sharp drop in its fixed-income business. Within the U.S., UBS has dealt with an exodus of investment-banking talent. The Wall Street Journal reported June 1 that at least 17 senior U.S. bankers, including Cary Kochman, former co-global head of mergers & acquisitions, defected to rival firms over the prior four months. Many departures have stemmed from complaints about low compensation.
Recently, UBS also moved 50 professionals in its "cash trading" group to one of its midtown New York City offices from Stamford, Conn. as part of a broader plan to relocate a couple of hundred equities employees to the city, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Despite that small personnel shift, UBS still plans to maintain a presence in Stamford, this person said.

Bear Grylls


NTERNATIONAL TV star Bear Grylls will have to eat a jar of Vegemite with a box of dry Weetbix and tuna if he loses a ping pong competition against an Albury man.
Jimmy Ladgrove, 20, will go head to head in a game of “Aussie pong” against Grylls in August, using saucepans as bats.
Their uniform — a singlet, shorts and thongs.
“Aussie pong” requires practice and expertise, according to its creator, who moved to Melbourne this year to study TV production at NMIT.
Getting in hours of practice since he found out he’d won the “Solo Beat Bear” competition two months ago, he is certain he will win.
“It’s actually pretty hard, and he’s so busy I don’t think he will have time to practise,” he said.
Mr Ladgrove thought a jar of Vegemite and dry Weetbix would be far from the most disgusting things Grylls has eaten.
“He has eaten some pretty gross things, like a dead zebra,” he said.
“It’s only a little jar anyway.”
But what if Grylls does win?
“I put Vegemite on pretty thick, I love it, so I’m not too concerned,” Mr Ladgrove said.
The former Albury High student said he will consider adding a lemon to the mix, to give the combination a bit more of a “zing” if Grylls required more flavour.
It’s not the first time Mr Ladgrove has won a competition.
Last year he won a date with Kim Kardashian in Melbourne.
He believes it’s all about the law of attraction; think positively and envisage what you want and it will come to you.
Going up against his idol on August 31, Mr Ladgrove said he loves the optimistic outlook Grylls portrays, particularly through social media like twitter.
“Because of people like him, I’ve gotten to think positive,” he said.

Louis


The St. Louis Rams have finally inked their first round pick Robert Quinn, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Rams training camp started today, so the team will be anxious to get their new defensive end on the field as soon as possible. Quinn had some issues with his former agent and recently signed a new one, which complicated his situation. Though rules have complicated his signing, Quinn and the Rams have agreed to a deal and he will be practicing with the team soon.
Quinn was the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and he should give the Rams some much needed help at defensive end. Though rookie QB Sam Bradford had the Rams on the brink of a playoff berth, albeit out of the weak NFC West, there's no question that their pass rush needed some serious help.
The investigation into violations at North Carolina kept Quinn off the field in 2010, but he put up an impressive 11 sacks in 2009 for the Tar Heels. For more on Quinn's signing and the St. Louis Rams, check out SB Nation's Rams blog Turf Show Times.

Fedor Emelianenko


It’s funny how quickly things change, less than 14 months ago Fedor Emelianenko was one of the most beloved combatants on the planet, with his near ten year unbeaten streak and humble attitude it seemed that nobody could get enough of him.
Then for the first time in his career he suffered a legitimate defeat at the hands of the submission guru Fabricio Werdum in June of last year and since then has failed to get back on the wagon suffering back-to-back losses to Antonio “Big Foot” Silva and tonight to Dan Henderson.
Emelianenko walked to the Strikeforce cage without his usual fan support from those in attendance Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois but it failed to bother the Sambo champion.
From the opening bell Fedor took the center of the cage throwing bombs at Henderson who was quick to return fire and gave as good as he got.
As we entered the final minute of the round it seemed that “The Last Emperor” had the upper hand buckling the light-heavyweight kingpin before rushing in on his fallen prey.
However, Hendo wasn’t done yet utilizing his wrestling to reverse position and get on top and land a big uppercut before following up with some grounded strikes until senior referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the action.
Most fight fans in attendance seemed to believe that the bout was stopped early and Emelianenko agreed in his post-fight interview.
But any way you cut it; this is the third straight defeat for the former ruler of the heavyweight division and could be the last time we get to see him step into the cage.
Post-fight when asked about whether or not he would return to the cage he simply said “It’s gods will” and I believe it will be quite some time until we have a decision from him.
We have to take into consideration this was the last bout on his contract with Strikeforce and Showtime who would likely be interested in re-negotiating a deal.
It’s a common misconception that public interest in Emelianenko is at an all-time low but that couldn’t be further from the truth – If we look at the recent numbers his popularity has been higher since he lost to Werdum than before and I have no doubt that this rating will reflect that.
He’s not alone; UFC hall of famers like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell both reached their peak as performer long before they reached their peak as a draw.
The problem moving forward for the great Emelianenko is because of his name value he will only be matched up with combatants from the top of the division where he may struggle.
It has been suggested by numerous places that he should make the cut down to 205-lbs because he has never been a large heavyweight weighing around the 230-lbs mark but he has stated in the past that he has no interest in moving weight classes.
At 34 years of age and having done almost everything there is to be done in the sport I feel it is time for “The Last Emperor” to step down from his throne.

Guyana


Flight 523 from New York had just touched down and passengers were applauding the pilot's landing in the South American country Saturday when something suddenly went wrong.
The Boeing 737-800 slid off the end of a rainy runway, crashed through a chain-link fence and broke in half just short of a deep ravine. Yet all 163 people on board survived.
Officials were starting to probe the cause of the crash even as they marveled at the lack of fatalities.
"We must be the luckiest country and luckiest set of people in the world to escape so lightly," said Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy, who said more than 30 people were taken to the hospital. Only three had to be admitted for a broken leg, bumps, cuts and bruises.
The Caribbean Airlines plane had left John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday evening and made a stop in Trinidad before landing in Guyana. The airline said it was carrying 157 passengers and six crew members.
Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, recalled how applause at the arrival quickly "turned to screams."
"The plane sped up as if attempting to take off again. It is then that I smelled gas in the cabin and people started to shout and holler," she said.
When the plane crumpled to a stop, Ramsingh said she hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence.
The plane came to rest off the end of the 7,400-foot runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, which sits on a ridge in a forested region just south of the oceanfront capital of Georgetown.
The plane stopped a little short of a 200-foot ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo.
"We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured," said Jagdeo, who came to the crash site before dawn.
George Nicholas, Caribbean Airlines chairman, told reporters that officials with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to arrive today to take over the investigation. He said investigators from Guyana and Trinidad, the airline's base, will help.

Princess Anne


Standing on the battlefield at Culloden some years ago, my companion considered the dreich, dreary moor and said: "Thank God we lost." This is heresy in the Highlands, so I glanced up sharply as he went on: "If Charlie had won, we'd all be Catholics." It's fair to say that monarchy inScotland, if it is considered at all, remains wrapped up in some ancient prejudices.
It is remarkable how little Scots obsess on the reigning family when compared with our neighbours in the Union. The Royals visit in the summer, but unless you live in Deeside you wouldn't know. There is a summer garden party at Holyrood, invitations to which are referred to ironically (but with secret pride). The Royal Yacht, where Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall had a pre-nuptial swally, is parked in Leith Docks, gawked over by tourists and the occasional Scot wanting to see where Princess Diana lost her virginity. Lèse majesté is a national pastime.
The reasons go back a long way. Our king, James VI, became James I of England in the 1603 union of the crowns. When his Stuart line was thrown out by William of Orange, the incomer was welcomed by many Scots. But William never visited, nor did his successor Queen Anne, who saw through the union of parliaments in 1707.
In fact, no monarch dropped by until George IV in 1822. This is telling, because with his arrival we perked up, naming every square and bridge we could after him. Our previous disdain clearly masked a hankering. For similar reasons, Scotland was fond of Victoria; it's said that on the train north she would draw her blinds to block out the blighted English north, opening them only when she was over the border. Oh yes, we liked that. But she was still a bit up herself – she wanted a statue on Arthur's Seat – so rumours flourished, culminating in Mrs Brown, a film about how it was the rough love of a ghillie that got her over the death of Albert.
The Queen Mother was certainly discussed, because she was from the county of Angus. But the main question was whether she had been subject to a child-swap, and was actually the daughter of a village woman, so was a "wee bauchle fae Kirriemuir." And the Queen? The usual apathetic respect, except from the Archers, a group of elderly men who dress as Robin Hood, act as her bodyguard, and who between them own 103% of the land. The Duke of Edinburgh? Please! Prince Charles? Little interest, even if his talking to flowers mirrors the title of one of Scotland's most famous poems, Hugh MacDiarmid's A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle.
The small warm glint in the Scottish demeanour is saved for Princess Anne. The hardest-working royal is often in Scotland and, for a time, she was thought to be about to become 'Princess Lyon', a sort of Queen of Scots. Barely a rugby game passes without her supporting Scotland from the stands. Her connection – despite racy rumours – is due to her son Peter playing for the Scotland under-18s while at Gordonstoun public school.
This loyalty has been noted, and that affection will transfer to Zara with her decision to get married in the Canongate Kirk, that holds the remains of Adam Smith. Such things aren't quickly forgotten. One could argue that Anne's family appeals to Scots because they are (for royalty) down to earth. That might be true, but the truth is that we like them when they like us. Which is why, even in the full pomp of his power, first minister Alex Salmond isn't ready to try to ditch the monarchy yet.

Hannah Montana


Miley Cyrus is showing her support for the gay community with her latest tattoo. The former ‘Hannah Montana’ starlet showed off her seventh piece of ink on her official Twitter page on Friday, July 29 along with the message, “All LOVE is equal.”
18-year-old Cyrus got an equal sign tattooed on her ring finger. If the finger is in fact her left ring finger, Miss Miley is taking her equal rights message one step further by getting this particular digit tatted — this is the finger that is reserved for wedding and engagement rings.
Some sources like The Daily Mail are saying that this tattoo might also signify The All Love is Equalcampaign recently launched by Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby. However, Cyrus has also been outspoken about gay rights in the past. When Casey Anthony was found ‘not guilty’ on murder charges a few weeks ago, Cyrus tweeted, “You know the world is skewed when people get away with murdering children but we cant get gay marriage legalized in the state of California.”
Cyrus has never been shy about voicing her thoughts, and this tattoo is just one more way the singer can express her personal beliefs. It’s always great to see pop stars speak out for LGBT rights, especially stars who have a large influence on younger generations. The equal sign joins Cyrus’ other pieces of body art, including a heart on her pinky finger (pictured), a dream catcher on her ribcage, and an anchor on her wrist.

Beauty And The Beast


DISNEY fans take note, this year's MATA summer show at Minehead's Regal Theatre, Beauty and the Beast, will be performed from August 12 to August 27.
Disney's acclaimed modern classic is brilliantly transformed to a new level of entertainment through the magic of theatre, bringing the unforgettable music, colourful characters and magical adventure to life.
Performances take place daily at 7.30pm except on Sundays and Monday, August 22. There will be 2.30pm performances on Saturday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 24.
Tickets cost up to £10.00, available on 01643-706430.

Nick Lachey


After dating for five years, star celebs Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo got married on a private island. They kept helicopters and planes away by pulling a fireworks permit, surprising the paparazzi who hoped to fly in with telephoto lens cameras to spy on the celebrity couple on their special day.
Vanessa Minnillo replaces Jessica Simpson as Mrs. Lachey
The footage of the celebs private wedding ceremony aired on Saturday, July 30th to the delight of pop music fans familiar with the former teen idol. Lachey used to be married to actress and singer Jessica Simpson and the two were wed for a short time. They actually allowed cameras to film their first year of marriage for a reality television series called "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." The publicity stunt proved to be a romance killer and they divorced back in 2006 shortly after the show ended.
Vanessa Minnillo was a former Miss Teen USA who was also a music business insider. As a host on MTV, the pretty and smart brunette stood in sharp contrast to the ditzy blonde bombshell Jessica Simpson. She and Nick Lachey dated as a live-in celebrity couple for years, and the former boy band star from 98 Degrees seems to be exceptionally happy with his new bride.
Was Jessica happy to hear Nick was marrying Vanessa Minnillo? Suffice it to say she countered with an engagement announcement of her own that came out shortly after Nick made his announcement.
Nick and Vanessa Wedding
To keep their wedding private, they had to go to extremes. There was Hollywood fanfare of the modest type as the two got married on a private island owned by billionaire Richard Branson with TLC cameras rolling for the exclusive. At the time, only 35 guests were present. Their wedding planner also handled the exclusive wedding of Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as well as A-List reality TV star Khloe Kardashian (who wed NBA player Lamar Odom).
Wedding Fireworks
Since the FAA will not allow planes to fly in airspace dedicated to fireworks, the celebrity couple pulled a permit. While there were fireworks between Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo as they danced the night away barefoot on the Bahamian beach the night of their wedding, the evening ended with fireworks in the sky that kept the paparazzi cameras from capturing a glimpse of the festivities that day.
ABC News reports, "Helicopters and paparazzi around the island ... for us that's nightmare scenario," Lachey said. "We really don't want that to happen."
To prevent their wedding photos from showing up on celebrity sighting websites and magazine covers worldwide, they did something pro-active.
"We pull fireworks permits -- the FAA will not allow any type of aircraft over the area if there's a permit," Sacks said. What an unfortunate surprise that must have been to Paparazzi who found out the location of the secret wedding and were hoping to get photographs!
Celebrity Weddings
All celebrity wedding planners should remember this trick. Why? Because even though fans want to see the paparazzi photos, as human beings people also understand some moments in life really should be left private -- even if you are rich and famous Hollywood celebs loved by gossip columnists.
Cheers to Nick and Vanessa -- the hot new Hollywood power couple -- for deciding to be more low-key than he was with Jessica. They were officially married July 15, 2011.

Ubaldo Jimenez


Late Saturday night, the Indians traded their best pitching prospect, Drew Pomeranz, their second-best pitching prospect, Alex White, plus Aeros first baseman Matt McBride and Aeros starter Joe Gardner for Ubaldo Jimenez, the ace of the staff for the Colorado Rockies.
The deal is contingent on Jimenez passing a physical Sunday.
Pomeranz is listed as the player to be named, because as the Indians’ first pick in the 2010 draft (the fifth overall selection), he cannot be traded for one year from the date he signed, which means he must remain property of the Indians until Aug. 16.
The Indians also acquired outfielder Thomas Neal from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for middle infielder Orlando Cabrera.
Jimenez, 27, was one of the few marquee names of this trading season, which ends at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday. He carries a 6-9 record and 4.46 ERA, but most of his struggles came in April and May, when he was 0-5 with a 5.86 ERA.
Until he gave up four runs in one inning Saturday night, Jimenez had posted a record of 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 10 starts for the months of June and July.
Last year, he posted a 19-8 record and 2.88 ERA and was selected to pitch in the All-Star Game. His career record is 56-456 with a 3.66 ERA.
The trade was held up for part of Saturday evening, because the Rockies allowed Jimenez to start, angering the Indians. Apparently, the transaction hadn’t been totally wrapped up by game time.
One of the attractive aspects of the deal is Jimenez’s multi-year contract. He will earn $2.8 million this season and $4.12 million in 2012 guaranteed. In 2013, he has a club option for $5.75 million and another for 2014, worth $8 million.
However, because he was traded, he has the right to opt out of the 2014 option. Both option years include a buyout of $1 million.
Jimenez’s contract also includes a clause that increases his compensation the more innings he pitches starting with 200. For each 10-inning increase to 240, he receives $50,000.
The risky part of the deal is that the Indians have left themselves a large hole after trading pitchers that have been judged to be potential stars.
McBride was batting .297 with 14 homers and 53 RBI at Akron, and Gardner was 7-8 with a 4.99 ERA in 19 starts.
Neal, 23, was San Francisco’s 36th round pick in the 2005 draft. He is batting .295 with 13 doubles, two homers and 25 homers in 60 games at Triple-A Fresno of the Pacific Coast League.
The right-handed hitter has played all three outfield spots. He is being assigned to Columbus.
Cabrera is one of the few veteran voices in the clubhouse and is batting .244 in 90 games. Until Cord Phelps and then Jason Kipnis were called up from Triple-A to make their major-league debuts, Cabrera was the Indians’ everyday second baseman.

Justin Bieber Songs


There's a rumor going around that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber have broken up over a text to his ex.
The ex in question is another pop star who hasn't quite reached the celeb status of Selena, although Jasmine Villegas looks an awful lot like the Bieb's current ladylove. Jasmine was the opening act for the second leg of Justin's tour last year.
The internet rumor is that Selena caught Justin sending a text to his ex, so the two have called it quits. Of course this could just be one of the many Bieber-related rumors floating around on the web (he dies every other weekend), but it's also not all that hard to imagine it being true
After all, Justin Bieber was dating Jasmine Villegas before he met Selena Gomez, and since Selena and Jasmine look so much alike, it's possible that Justin has been using Selena as a rebound to try and get over Jasmine this whole time. Or maybe the biggest male pop star in the world has taken a page from Selena and decided that he's not ready to settle down -- she recently said she doesn't want to marry Justin, so what better way for him to get back at her than texting an ex?
Jasmine Villegas better watch out coming after her doppelganger's man, and she better not have any songs similar to Selena's -- after all, Kim Kardashian has gotten all litigious over her Old Navy lookalike that's dating her ex Reggie Bush.
So what do you think -- did Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber really break up, or is this just wishful thinking on the part of Beliebers and guys that have a thing for Gomez?
Check out Jasmine Villegas singing "Jealous" below -- wonder if it's aimed at a certain someone?

Syria


Over 124 people were killed Sunday in a fresh government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters across Syria, activists said.
At least 97 people were killed when the Syrian army stormed the flashpoint central city of Hama, activists told the German Press Agency.
"Hama is used to massacres by the Assad family, but we tell this tyrant the more you kill us the more we are determined to oust you," the activist, who requested anonymity, told the German Press Agency by phone.
In 1982, a government crackdown caused the deaths of up to 20,000 people in the city, when the town's Sunni population attempted to revolt against then president Hafez Assad's minority Alawite sect.
On Sunday, tanks stormed the city at dawn, shelling different neighborhoods. Electricity and water supplies to the main areas were cut before the attack began, said Omar Idlibi, a Syrian activist based in Lebanon.
Troops surrounded one of the major hospitals to prevent the wounded from reaching it. Over 100 people were injured in the attacks.
Activists also said that four buses filled with security forces personnel arrived at the Southern entrance of Hama, located around 200 kilometers north of Damascus.
Activists believe that Sunday's attacks are decisive in their battle against the regime.
"The harsh crackdown is a means of telling protesters even if Ramadan starts we will keep killing you if you go out to the streets," Idlibi said. "But we tell them we will continue and won't stop no matter what means you use on us."
Activists wrote on the Syria Revolution page online that "if this campaign fails to achieve its goal, it will mark the beginning of the end for the regime."
On Friday, protesters vowed that pro-democracy protests would be held every night in the fasting month of Ramadan and continue until dawn.
Local human rights advocates say that more than 1,500 civilians have been killed since protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad began in mid-March. Over 350 security personnel have also been killed.
In the southern Harak town, in Daraa province, several including a three-year-old girl were killed after security forces stormed the town.
Tanks have surrounded Harak and black smoke was covering the city and no one can reach the town as all roads are blocked, an activist in the provincial capital Daraa said.
"I just want to address the Arab world and tell them their silence is killing the Syrian people, this regime has no mercy," the activist said.
In the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, at least six people were killed when tanks stormed al-Joura district early Sunday, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said. Some 50 people were injured.
Syrian troops were also advancing elsewhere in the country, as tanks entered the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyya, where over 200 people have been arrested in recent days, regional media reported.
Meanwhile State-run agency SANA praised the Syrian Arab army on the occasion of the August 1 national day, saying it "represents an honorable and brilliant image of the military institution ... through its valor in providing security and stability for all citizens."
It continued the government line of blaming terrorist groups for the unrest, saying the army was confronting "criminal acts of armed terrorist groups who terrified the people, killed innocents and sabotaged private and public property.

Pottermore Clues


J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore website has announced its first challenge to fans.
The website, launched by the bestselling author of the Harry Potter series of books, is meant to extend the brand to the web by offering online challenges, franchise backstories, e-book sales, and social networking.
The site recently posted this message: “Can you find The Magical Quill? Day 1 clue How many breeds of owl are featured on the Eeylops Owl Emporium sign? Multiply this number by 49.”
New clues will be posted through Aug. 6. Winners will get the opportunity to gain early access to Pottermore.
Others authors are no doubt watching to see whether Rowling can continue to retain and build interest in the world of Harry Potter through her new website. The Harry Potter book series has concluded and the movie franchise finished up its run with the eighth and final installment, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” currently in theaters.

Sony Ericsson Mobiles

Apple’s next flagship phone, the iPhone 5, is rumored to arrive in September -- and the Galaxy S2 for Samsung, Droid Bionic for Motorola and Sensation 4G for HTC are also expected to play major roles as the smartphone wars heat up this fall. That competition will serve to benefit the consumer, however, as smartphones are now getting increasingly better specifications.
The latest entry is Sony Ercisson’s first dual core smartphone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo. It's the company’s flagship device for the remainder of this year.
Sony Ericcson recently posted a second-quarter loss in July as the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan weighed more on its earnings. The company had already warned that disruptions to its supply chain forced it to delay the broader launch of its Xperia Neo phone until early in the third quarter.
With that loss weighing heavily on Sony Ericsson, the Xperia Duo's release becomes more critical. It runs on Google’s Android operating system. "Our shift to Android-based smartphones continues, with smartphone sales accounting for more than 70% of our total sales during the quarter," Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg told shareholders.
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Not many Sony Ericsson handsets are currently available among major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. However, that will soon change, as a few of its smartphones are heading their way to AT&T and Verizon stores. These offerings include the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia X10, Vivaz and Xperia neo. But none of them are embedded with dual core processors.
The largest of them all is Xperia Arc, which features a 4.2-inch display, 512 MB RAM, 8-megapixel camera, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Li-Po 1500 mAh battery. But the beefy specifications of Xperia Duo make the smartphone one of the more powerful handsets the company is planning to offer.
Two Android phones announced by Sony Ericcson at the end of the first quarter include the Xperia Play, with gaming functions from Sony's PlayStation console; the very thin Xperia Arc high-end phone; and the Xperia Neo, which is a smaller mid-range phone reminiscent of the Arc.
Here's a comparison between Samsung Galaxy S2, Motorola Droid Bionic and most speculated features of iPhone 5, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo.
Display:
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo has a 4.5-inch 540 x 960 pixels (qHD) LED-backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen compared to Samsung Galaxy S2’s 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen. Motorola Droid Bionic will come with 4.3-inch or 4.5-inch 540 x 960 pixels (qHD) TFT capacitive touchscreen display. In case of iPhone 5, most of the rumor points toward 3.5-inch or 3.7-inch 960x640 at 312 ppi display screen. In fact, according to analyst 4-inch display is considered to be the best.
Input features:
Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo is expected to come with scratch-resistant surface, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, multi-touch input method, Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine proximity sensor for auto turn-off and Timescape UI.
Common features found in Galaxy S2 and Droid Bionic includes multi-touch input method, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, touch-sensitive controls, and proximity sensor for auto turn-off. Samsung Galaxy S2 also has Gorilla Glass display support, TouchWiz UI v4.0 and Gyroscope sensor. The features like biometric fingerprint reader, MOTOBLUR UI with Live Widgets and Gorilla Glass display similar to Motorola Atrix cannot be ruled out in Motorola Droid Bionic.
With iPhone 5 expected to closely resemble iPhone 4 expect scratch-resistant oleophobic surface, multi-touch input method, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, three-axis gyro sensor proximity sensor for auto turn-off
Memory:
Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo is expected to come with 1.5 GB RAM making it the largest capacity RAM found in a smartphone making it a feature phone for great multi-tasking experience. The Samsung smartphone has 1 GB RAM while Droid Bionic is expected to come with 1 GB RAM while iPhone 5 RAM will be revealed only after a tear down but most probably it will not exceed any of the above mentioned phones.
Camera:
The smartphone from Sony yet again comes with another surprise as it is expected to come with 12-megapixel 4000x3000 pixels camera compared to 8-megapixel 3264x2448 pixels camera found in Samsung Galaxy S2, Droid Bionic and iPhone 5.
And the features include are autofocus, LED flash, touch focus, image stabilization, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, however Galaxy S2 and iPhone 5 will have dual-LED flash support.
With installation of the APK posted by Android fans and developers in forums like XDA, Samsung Galaxy S2 will be able to support Skype video chat app.
Operating system:
Samsung, Motorola and Sony smartphones has Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread) support while iPhone 5 is expected to come with Apple’s latest iOS 5 operating system.
Processor:
Another surprise include the 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 processor going to be featured in Sony’s smartphone. Samsung Galaxy S2 has dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 Mali-400MP GPU Exynos chipset processor. Motorola Droid Bionic will have a dual-core 1GHz processor but it may feature Tegra 2 or TI OMAP4 processor. The iPhone 5 is expected to come with iPad 2's processor.
Battery:
When it comes to battery Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo comes with a whooping Li-Po 2500 mAh dwarfing Galaxy S2’s Li-Ion 1650 mAh and Motorola Droid Bionic’s Li-Po 1930 mAh battery. The iPhone 5 may feature battery capacity more than that of iPhone 4.
Other features:
The other features of Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo include SMS threaded view, MMS, Email, Push email, IM, HTML browser, stereo FM radio with RDS, digital compass, HDMI port, active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player, MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player, TrackID music recognition, NeoReader barcode scanner, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Facebook and Twitter integration, document viewer, Adobe Flash 10.2, voice memo-dial-commands and predictive text input.
Sony’s dual core smartphone is expected to make its first appearance in September, the month when iPhone 5 is expected to make its appearance as well.
Meanwhile, the latest news on Samsung Galaxy S2 points that Sprint Wireless could become the first carrier to launch its version, according to the latest FCC document posted on the Internet. Sprint’s Galaxy S2 will be a WiMax-based phone, while Droid-life Verizon Wireless has confirmed (and retracted afterward) via Twitter that the carrier’s upcoming phone will include 4G/LTE.
The latest news on Motorola Droid Bionic suggests that the smartphone, according to a report from Droid-life, can be expected in early September, as opposed to earlier rumors of an August launch. Other sources have mentioned that the phone will feature the same 4.3-inch screen, as opposed to the rumored 4.5-inch screen.
Finally, the latest Apple iPhone 5 rumblings show that a schematic for designing cases for the next iPhone has leaked similar to what happened before the iPad 2 arrived, giving consumers an idea of its shape and profile. The case leak points towards a thinner iPhone with curved edges and larger display screen stretched right to the edge of the device.
Reports also suggest that the Home button will go larger and may support gesture-based controls. Early this year, a Chinese publication had reported that the iPhone 5 will sport an improved antenna, 4-inch screen and NFC e-wallet support.
And the release date of the iPhone 5, according to Apple Insider, is expected to be between Sept. 6 to 15 with an initial shipment of 4 million units. With iPhone sales staff being hired between Aug. 16 and Oct. 29, it requires at least a month or more in training about the product.

Samsung Mobile


Sounding even more tightlipped than Microsoft when it comes to disclosingWindows Phone 7 sales, Samsung says it will stop reporting shipment figures or forecasts for competitive reasons.

The Wall Street Journal listened in during an earnings call on Friday, during which Robert Yi, Samsung's chief of investor relations, told investors, "As competition intensifies, there are increased risks that the information we provide may adversely affect our own businesses."
Samsung simply said that during the second quarter, unit shipments grew by a "high single-digit percentage" compared to the previous quarter, according to the WSJ.
Samsung's "new information policy," as its executives call it, may have something to do with a bitter patent battle it currently faces against Apple. Both companies have filed lawsuits that aim to block imports of the other's mobile devices in the U.S., on account of striking resemblances.
Comscore recently crystallized its second quarter shipment figures to reveal that Apple, not Samsung,was the world's largest manufacturer by shipment units alone (in other words, the number of devices the manufacturer delivered to carriers, not the actual number of devices sold). But although Samsung's shipments lagged 0.9 percent of the global market behind Apple's, it grew twice as fast year-on-year. Much of Samsung's second quarter success is due to the China launch last week of the Samsung Galaxy S II, which has yet to launch in the U.S. According to Samsung, a single Galaxy S II device sold every 1.5 seconds since the phone's April launch, and the smartphone did much to boost Samsung's presence within European markets. It shattered the company's sales records by reaching more than three million units sold within the device's first 55 days of existence.
See PCMag's review of the Samsung Galaxy S II (Unlocked) and slideshow below. PCMag mobile analyst Sascha Segan called it the finest Android smartphone available today, but astronomically priced at $799 for the unlocked verison.

Jaipur


Jaipur
A team of Vastrapur police was sent to Jaipur in connection with investigation of the Vikram Rabari case. The investigators want to know whom Rabari met and where he spent the days before he was nabbed by police from a government hospital in Jaipur earlier this month. Rabari had tried to commit suicide allegedly because of 'harassment' by police.

"We have seized Rabari's mobile phones for further analysis. We are also verifying the documents found from his office and residence, and trying to get clues for further investigation. We are yet to find out the number of debtors who had got loans from Rabari or his associates. Search is on for the two suspects who helped Rabari flee from the city," said a Vastrapur police official.