10 little-known facts about Azim Premji

Wipro bigwig Azim Premji once again featured on the Forbes richest list for 2011. Premji who owns close to 80 per cent in the soap-to-software empire, ended up richer by Rs 10,600 crore at the end of fiscal year 2011.

The chairman of India's third-largest IT company recently made news for getting rid of his joint CEOs and rightsizing his managerial strength. Also, in the largest act of philanthropy by an Indian, Premji pledged to give about Rs 8,846 crore ($2 billion) to improve school education in India.

Here's are 10 interesting facts about Premji.

Bentleys, Rolls, stolen in Europe, sold to desi rich

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has made a startling discovery that many top-of-the-line cars like Aston Martins, Bentleys, Rolls-Royce, Ferraris, Hummers and Lamborghinis bought here by high networth individuals, including top politicians, businessmen and Bollywood stars, are actually cars pilfered from European countries and South Africa.

Tillakaratne alleges match-fixing in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: The ghost of match-fixing has returned to haunt international cricket with former Sri Lankan skipper Hashan Tillakaratne claiming that his country has been rigging matches since 1992 and questioned the selections made in the World Cup final loss to India.

Top divorce lawyer asks Prince William to sign pre-nuptial agreement

LONDON: One of Britain's most successful divorce lawyers, Ayesha Vardag, has advised Prince William to sign a pre-nuptial agreement to limit the potential financial payout in the event of a divorce. William, British Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, would tie the knot with Kate Middleton on Friday.

At least 250 people killed in worst storm in southern US states

PLEASANT GROVE, ALABAMA: Dozens of massive tornadoes tore a town-flattening streak across the South, killing at least 250 people in six states and forcing rescuers to carry some survivors out on makeshift stretchers of splintered debris. Two of Alabama's major cities were among the places devastated by the deadliest twister outbreak in nearly 40 years.

SC refuses to interfere in Lokpal bill drafting committee

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to interfere in the constitution of the joint committee for drafting of the Lokpal Bill to fight corruption, saying the petitions were "premature".

Android tablets vs iPad: What developers favour

TORONTO: Google's Android platform has lost some allure for software developers still smitten with Apple, while Research In Motion and Microsoft have fallen further behind the two leaders, according to a survey on what devices new apps are likely to be developed for.

Android smartphones may soon recognise your friends

SAN FRANCISCO: Northern California startup Viewdle released software that lets Android-powered smartphones recognize people's faces.

Purulia Exposé: India's best kept secret

In the wee hours of December 18 1995 a mysterious weapon consignment was dropped from the sky over Joupur Jhalda area under Purulia district of West Bengal. The consignment was discovered the next morning. Until now nobody knew what really happened. Today Kim Davy the seventh man and the leader of the operation reveals everything to TIMES NOW.

China census shows population ageing and urban

China's census shows its population grew to 1.34 billion people by 2010, with a sharp rise in those over 60.

Storms and tornadoes kill scores in southern US

Ferocious tornadoes and storms in the south-eastern United States have killed at least 77 people and left a trail of devastation.

Wiki logs: Post-9/11, Qaida plotted

WASHINGTON: Classified military files obtained by the WikiLeaks website reveal a range of potential al-Qaida plots against the US, including post-9/11 aircraft attacks on the West Coast, The New York Times reported Monday.

Gilani defends ISI, says govt backs all actions of spy agency

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday mounted a defence of Pakistan's ISI in the wake of reports that the US had listed it as a terrorist support organisation, saying the spy agency had the backing of his government for all actions.

Bomb attack on Pakistan navy bus kills three

ISLAMABAD: A roadside bomb ripped through a Pakistan navy bus on a key thoroughfare in the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing three persons and injuring more than 15 others in the third such attack in two days.

Chinese man fears end of world, attacks father

SHANGHAI: A Chinese man who feared that the world was coming to an end screamed "we will die together" before attacking his father and nephew in Shanghai.

Pentagon lists mosques where al-Qaida recruited, reveals WikiLeaks

MONTREAL: Al-Qaida recruited and trained militants at mosques and Islamic centers in cities around the world from Montreal to Karachi, according to a leaked Pentagon list.

Wiki files: 9/11 mastermind Khalid defied Qaida, killed Daniel Pearl

BOSTON: The mastermind of 9/11 attacks Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was warned by a senior al-Qaida military commander not to kill Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 and that he should be "freed" but the American was killed anyway, according to leaked WikiLeaks documents. The 38-year-old Pearl, who was the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, was beheaded by his Pakistani captors in February 2002 after being abducted.

Sony considers two-week shutdown due to power shortages

Sony Corporation is considering shutting down some of its company premises in Japan because of the continuing power shortages. 

French woman defies burqa ban as law comes into force

AVIGNON: A young woman left the southern French city of Avignon for Paris on Monday wearing a niqab to defy a ban on full-face veils in public places on the first day it came into force.

France arrests Muslim women as ban on niqab begins

PARIS: Police in France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim population, arrested two protesters wearing niqab veils on Monday as a ban on full-face coverings went into effect.

Google denies Panda hit on rival

Google has defended recent changes to its search system that reduced the prominence of some popular websites.

Egypt: Former PM Ahmed Nazif and ministers face trials

Egypt's former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and the former interior and finance ministers are to be tried on corruption charges, officials say.

400 yrs late: Vatican honours Galileo

ROME: Four hundred years after Galileo Galilei first demonstrated his telescope to scholars on a Roman hilltop, the astronomer condemned by the Catholic Church was celebrated on the same spot with a multimedia art exhibit that, oddly enough, included an installation from the Vatican.

Lokpal Bill panel meet: Civil society members present draft

NEW DELHI: The joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill on Saturday had its first meeting when civil society representatives presented a new draft of the legislation to the government with both sides expressing hope that the new law will be brought in Monsoon session of Parliament.

Japan quake: Technology lifeline for businesses

Japan has escaped the worst, so far, of one type of meltdown.

But the disruption, the economic pandemonium caused by disasters, panic and threats of rolling powercuts, has hit business hard, threatening another type of crisis.

Sharad Pawar: The King of all corruption in India. A call to duty for Young India!

In the history of Independent India, there has never been a more corrupt man than Mr. Sharad Pawar. He is now worth more than Rs 10,000 cr (Rs 2,000 cr in outright cash and more than Rs 8,000 cr in market valuation of his Land bank).

Jaipur students take NASA by storm

JAIPUR: Jaipur lads have brought laurels to the country after winning international competitions on space science organised by American space agency NASA ahead of the first International Day on Human Space Flight to be observed on Tuesday.

Lokpal Bill: Cong rejects Anna Hazare's telecast demand

NEW DELHI: Tensions between the ruling party and civil society activists went up a notch on Monday as the Congress virtually rejected Gandhian Anna Hazare's demand for "videographing" or telecasting proceedings of the joint committee drafting the Lokpal bill.

BlackBerry chief ends BBC interview after India and Middle Eastern countries query

TORONTO: Research In Motion (RIM) founder Mike Lazaridis ordered a BBC reporter to end an interview after he was asked about his problems with India and Middle Eastern countries over security issues.

'India against Corruption' member Anna Hazare on fast unto death over Lokpal Bill

NEW DELHI: Veteran social activist Anna Hazare started his indefinite fast unto death on Tuesday to press for the demand to involve civil society in formulation of the anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill.

Brother vs brother: Gaddafi sons bicker over plan to push dad out

TRIPOLI: At least two sons of colonel Muammar Gaddafi are proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to a constitutional democracy under the direction of his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan said.

Kumar Sangakkara quits Lankan captaincy

Kumar Sangakkara has quit the post of the Sri Lankan captian. This comes just three days after Sri Lanka's World Cup final defeat at the hands of India.

World Cup: India goes crazy on networking sites

MUMBAI: Thousands of cricket fans from around the world turned commentators as the World Cup Final unfolded at Wankhede on Saturday. Ball-by-ball updates flooded social networks with audiences posting messages about everything they saw on TV and even live at the stadium.

Another record? 68 million watched World Cup final

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Team India's victory at Wankhede will not only go down in history as one of the greatest cricketing victories for the country, but also as one of the most viewed sporting events on television ever.

5.7 magnitude earthquake jolts North India

NEW DELHI: An earthquake struck on Monday in North India and its effect was felt in Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Noida also.

Sachin, Zaheer, Yuvraj make it to ICC's team of the World Cup

NEW DELHI: Their crucial contribution in guiding India to their first World Cup title in 28 years on Saturday fetched the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan a place in the International Cricket Council's Team of the Tournament.

Cricket World Cup: Indians dedicate win to Tendulkar

India's cricketers have dedicated their World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka to legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

 

India deserved to win World Cup, says Sangakkara

MUMBAI: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said his team were disappointed at missing out on a second World Cup title but proud to go down to a team that deserved victory more. 

Cricket World Cup: Sachin Tendulkar - myth or man?

"To us he is no more a person
Now but a whole climate of opinion
Under whom we conduct our different lives."
W H Auden, from his elegy to Sigmund Freud

Shahid Afridi is "THE MAN" -

Shahid Afridi Arrival Home Sibteintv Exclusive - This is an interview which was recorded.

3000 Pak fans selling final tickets in black?

Mumbai: For the match in Mohali on Wednesday, the city hosted over 3,000 guests from across the border. The visitors from Pakistan had come to the country hoping they would see their team go on to win the World Cup. They had bought tickets online for both the semi and the grand finale on Saturday.

A look back at all the nine World Cup finals

India, who had won just one match in the previous two editions, stunned West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final when they defended a modest 183 by dismissing their rivals for 140. 

Team India fought on empty stomach in Mohali!

MOHALI: The Indian and Pakistani fans were not the only ones to be hit by the heavy security and traffic situation in Mohali on Wednesday. It has been learnt that MS Dhoni's team began the all-important semifinal clash with their neighbours without having their lunch!