Bachchan awarded honorary doctorate

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan was Thursday awarded an honorary doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia.

"I am truly overwhelmed and immensely pleased to be the recipient of such a distinction," 69-year-old Bachchan said after receiving his fourth doctorate for his contribution to the world of entertainment.

"The recognition of my contribution to Indian cinema and its effort to reach out to an international community fills me with intense pride and humility - pride for being able to be a link between Australian and Indian professionals of the film and creative industries and humility for a chance to be the medium in doing so.

May this help strengthen the existing bonds between our two countries," he said.

This is the fourth doctorate awarded to the actor. He was earlier conferred upon by the De Montfort Univ, Leicester UK, Jhansi University and the Delhi University.

The actor had two years back turned down the honorary doctorate from QUT as a mark of protest against racial attacks on Indian students. Australia's High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese congratulated the Bollywood superstar on his honorary Australian doctorate.

"I congratulate Bachchan on his honorary doctorate from QUT, an important academic institution in my home city of Brisbane. Bachchan has made an inestimable contribution to global cinema and this prestigious award is a marker of the impact of his films in Australia," he said.

"The rise of Bollywood in Australia reflects the phenomenal growth that is taking place across the spectrum of the Australia-India relationship, from booming trade and investment to education links and two-way tourism," Varghese said.

"I want to thank Bachchan for his enormous contribution to global cinema. In accepting this award he will encourage the important cultural conversation between India and Australia," Varghese said in a statement.

The Queensland University of Technology conferred the award during a ceremony at Old Government House in Brisbane this morning.

The legendary actor, who has just finished shooting for his first Hollywood film 'The Great Gatsby', travelled from Sydney to accept the honour.

The prolific actor is playing a shady businessman Meyer Wolfsheim alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of the jazz age.

Friday, the actor will launch an international travel bursary at QUT in the name of his late father Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a leading Indian poet of the 20th century and the second Indian to receive a doctorate in English literature from Cambridge University.

’Paranormal Activity 3’ manages to scare

"Paranormal Activity 3"; Cast: Christopher Nicholas Smith, Katie Featherston, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown; Directors: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman


"Paranormal Activity 3" is a surprising film. Yes, horror films are expected to shock. Yet the beauty of this film lies in it managing to give you the creeps even after you have seen the first two. You realise that there isn't much new added to this one. That it does so without being cheeky or over the top, is its greatest strength.

After hearing strange sounds in his new house, a wedding videographer in 1988 decides to fit the house with cameras to record these paranormal activities. His younger step-daughter however seems to have befriended the paranormal entity even as the incredulous wife, despite proof, refuses to believe, that is until something scares her out of her skin.

You have seen the first two and you know how the story progresses and what happens. You are supposedly immune to the chills and fears since you know how and where it comes from. What will surprise you hence, is how this film, despite your self-assurances, manages to sneak up on you and terrorise you.

Just like the first two, this one does not aspire to explain anything to the audience. Neither does it try bigger sound or visual tricks. Instead, it relies on the proven formula and tricks of the first two films, and manages to scare you in the same surreal fashion.

Charlie Chaplin is undoubtedly the greatest filmmaker ever and will perhaps remain so till the death of cinema. The reason for this is that his films understand the importance of the purity of cinema to squeeze emotion out of its audience. What Chaplin did with the comedy genre, the "Paranormal Activity" series does with horror.

Yet, it was by no means the first to do so. How can anyone forget the game changer - "Blair Witch Project". Yet, the difference between the two films of this series, and the three of "Paranormal" is that while the former tried to do something different in its sequel, the latter absolutely refuses to do so.

In playing the same tricks it played in the first, and explaining as little, or even less, it teaches one of the greatest lessons of filmmaking - that simplicity and minimalism backing a good plot can often do more than expensive visual effects and a complex plot line.

Usually, a sequel tries to outdo its original. Surprisingly, "Paranormal" seem to have no such aspirations with all three films relying on the same bag of tricks. That it continues to feel so fresh, is indeed the most paranormal activity in the series.

Pakistan joins India on UN Security Council

Pakistan narrowly won a hotly-contested seat to the UN Security Council, joining India for a two-year term on the 15-member decision-making organ of the world body. India, which is already serving as a non-permanent member for the 2011-2012 term, is believed to have voted for Pakistan, as their positions are similar on many international issues, except for Kashmir.

Pakistan, which just about scraped through Friday securing 129 out of 193 votes in the UN General Assembly, exactly the two-third majority required to win the seat, begins its two-year term Jan 1, while India's term ends Dec 31, 2012.

Manjeev Singh Puri, India's deputy permanent representative to the UN, embraced Haroon after the vote and said that he warmly welcomed the election of Pakistan. "Pakistan and India share common perception on so many global issues, and we look forward to working with them," Puri said.

Pakistan's principal opponent in the Asia-Pacific region, Kyrgyzstan, won just 55 votes.

This would be the seventh time Pakistan would serve on the Security Council, and the fourth time its term would overlap with India. India won its latest two-year term by securing a landslide 187 votes.

Pakistan's ambassador, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, said he expected to work well with his Indian counterpart as he received a congratulatory call from Indian envoy Hardeep Puri while talking to journalists.

"We hope to play our usual role of taking on matters which affect the underdog, so as to speak," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

With regard to India, Haroon said that both countries "have been beneficial in starting dialogue" and avoiding "usual tendencies."

The elections replace five of the 10 temporary members of the council every year.

Guatemala ran unopposed and Morocco won easily, but Togo's victory took three rounds and the fifth seat is still contested.

Gaddafi stashed away $200 bn

Slain Libyan despot Muammar Gaddafi secretly salted away an estimated staggering $200 billion in bank accounts, real estate and corporate investments around the world before he was killed. The Libyan dictator, who faced an ignominious but gruesome death, had hidden huge amounts of cash, gold reserves and investments and the amount is double that Western governments previously had suspected, the Los Angeles Times reported.

It claimed that Western officials have struggled all year not only to identify Gaddafi's money but also to convince countries such as India, China and Russia to seize Libyan investments as required by the UN Security Council resolutions.

If the value proves accurate, the paper said, Gaddafi will go down in the history as the most rapacious as well as one of the most bizarre leaders of the world on a scale with the late Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire or the late Phillipino president Ferdinand Marcos.

The newspaper said that US administration officials were stunned last spring when they stumbled upon $37 billion in Libyan regime's accounts and investments in the US. They quickly moved to freeze them, before Gaddafi or his aides could shift them. Similarly, governments in France, UK, Germany and Italy have seized control of more than $30 billion held in these countries.

Asha Bhosle enters Guinness records

Legendary Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle has entered the Guinness World Records for the most number of single studio recordings. Asha has recorded up to 11,000 solo, duets and chorus backed songs like 'Mehbooba Mehbooba, 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne', 'Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja' and several others in over 20 Indian languages since 1947.

The 78-year-old was conferred with the Guinness honour at the Asian awards function held in London on Thursday.

'Aaj mujhe lag raha hai ki mein world ki recognised singer hoon. Mein apne chahanewalo ka dhanyawad karti hoon. Aur asha karti hoon yahi pyaar bana rahe. Jis tarah se apne mere gaano ko saraha hai ussi tarah meri acting ko bhi karenge' (Now I feel I am a recognised singer in the world. I thank my fans and hope they will continue to love me. I wish they will appreciate my acting skills as much as they enjoyed my songs)," Asha said. She thanked music researcher Vishwas Nerurkar for helping her get the coveted title.

The veteran is also set to make her acting debut with 'Maaee'. Directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, the film features Padmini Kolhapure as Asha's daughter. It is the story of a woman who goes on to live with her daughter and son-in-law after being abandoned by her only son.

BlackBerry services hit again

BlackBerry users across much of the globe experienced outages in key functions for a second straight day on Tuesday, despite maker Research In Motion having said on Monday that it had fixed the problem.

The glitches that impaired messaging, emails and Internet browsing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa spread to India and South America on Tuesday, Canada-based Research In Motion confirmed. "Some users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, India, Brazil , Chile, and Argentina are experiencing messaging and browsing delays," it said in a statement.

"We are working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused." Many users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa reported on Monday not being able to receive or send email, use instant messaging or browse the Internet, though the problems did not appear to be the same for each user, or affect all users.

Research In Motion said late on Monday that all services had been restored to users. The company had not said what caused the problem. Then on Tuesday , RIM's customers began posting messages online saying Blackberry services were down again.

Cyber threat

Highlighting the fact that nuclear proliferation and nuclear security remain a “serious threat in our neighbourhood”, prime minister Manmohan Singh has asked the government to equip the armed forces with necessary means to thwart all threats to the country, including those which go beyond conventional warfare.

Speaking on the occasion of the Combined Commanders Conference in the capital, Singh noted that international strategic and political environment have deteriorated, which must be factored in while adopting policies.

Describing cyber threats as an emerging “major source of worry”, he pointed out that cyber and information warfare could “qualitatively change” the concept of a battlefield.

“Terror groups are highly networked, nimble-footed, and more lethal... (the situation) calls for appropriate responses,” he said.
“In this age of rapid information flows and explosion of technologies, one of the most important security imperatives is our ability to respond to all challenges quickly and in an integrated fashion.”

Singh said, “We have to work assiduously to address problems in the North-East and deal with left-wing extremism comprehensively.”

He stressed that armed forces have to be sensitive to the needs of the weaker sections of society and ensure that the fruits of progress reach them.

“Issues related to use of scarce resources such as land and water, and strengthening institutions of governance require much closer attention than they have received in the past,” Singh said.

He told the commanders that the government will never hesitate in procuring funds for modernisation of the armed forces. Singh said modernisation of the armed forces should not be limited only to acquisition of foreign equipment or foreign technologies.

“We have to progressively reduce our dependence on external sources. This has to be a national effort, involving our armed forces, our scientists and captains of Indian industry,” he said, adding that development of an indigenous defence industry was a national security objective.

Singh asked the commanders to ensure transparency, probity and accountability in procurement procedures and work towards reducing time for processing the same.

Game over

The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to stir things up a bit in its 83rd annual general meeting with the introduction of an item under the special mention. It was on the IPL franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala. A few minutes after the start of the AGM at 12 noon, the news started trickling out of the BCCI headquarters that KTK had been terminated. It was later confirmed by the new BCCI president, N. Srinivasan. “Because of irremediable breach committed by the Kochi franchise, the BCCI has decided to encash the bank guarantee in its possession and also terminate the franchise.”

The Kerala-based franchise, owned by a consortium of multiple owners called Rendezvous Sports World, had had a jinxed journey since it won the bid in March 2010 for $333.3 million. There had been many casualties—while the first IPL commissioner Lalit Modi lost his job for tweeting details of the consortium, Union minister Shashi Tharoor had to quit the government after a row over his friend, now wife, Sunanda Pushkar owning sweat equity in the consortium.

Then came several notices and termination threats from the BCCI to corporatise the consortium, which it somehow managed. The franchise’s bank guarantee, worth Rs:156 crore, was encashed. It was supposed to renew it (for the next season) by March 26, 2011. Despite many notices KTK allegedly failed to do so. In April 2010, the BCCI working committee rejected demands from KTK and Sahara Pune Warriors, another franchise, for a reduction in franchise fees. The two new franchises had sought a 25 per cent waiver because the BCCI had reduced the number of matches from 18 mentioned in the bidding document to 14.

The existing bank guarantee, which was for 2011, was encashed by the BCCI as it would have lapsed on September 26, 2011. This has been disputed by Mukesh Patel, chairman, Rendezvous Sports World. “The BCCI notice is wrong prima facie. We have never defaulted,” he said. Though the franchise took the issue to court seeking an interim relief from the BCCI encashing its bank guarantee, the Bombay High Court rejected the petition.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla, who is the new chairman of the IPL governing council, said the decision was taken keeping the players’ interest in mind. “We will soon convene the meeting of the governing council where the matter will be discussed. We don’t want players to suffer as they are contracted with the team for two years. It’s our responsibility to take care of them.”
Despite the legal setback it remains to be seen whether it is the end of the road for KTK. Two other IPL teams, Kings X1 Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, had also faced axe but managed a last-minute legal reprieve in the 2011 edition.

Changes to the Laws of Cricket

                                                 International cricket is set to witness a slew of changes in all three formats with amendments to rules coming into effect from Oct 1. One of those changes - the fielding side using two new balls per innings in ODIs - will be seen in the five-match series between India and England, beginning Oct 14.

The amendments have been approved by the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Executive Board following proposals made by the ICC Cricket Committee at its meeting in London in May.

Starting with two new balls per innings, several other amendments have been made in the 50-over format.

"Each fielding team shall have two new balls for its innings, to be used in alternate overs, i.e. one from each end," said ICC in a release.

While the total number of powerplay overs remains at 20 per innings with the first block of 10 being at the commencement of the innings (for an uninterrupted match), the remaining second and third block of powerplay overs may not be taken so as to commence earlier than the 16th over nor be completed later than the 40th over.

This restriction will not apply for reduced innings of scheduled duration of less than 40 overs.

The minimum interval for an uninterrupted ODI match has been increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

With the latest changes by the ICC, a batsman can now be adjudged out for obstructing the field (all three formats).

"A new playing condition has been introduced, clarifying that on appeal from the fielding team, if the umpire feels that a batsman, whilst running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause thereby obstructing a fielder's attempt to run him out, the batsman should be given out obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run out would have been affected or not," said the release.

The circumstances described in the new playing condition (i.e. a batsman significantly changing his direction of running without probable cause) are only one example of an action which will qualify as wilfully obstructing the field.

Accordingly, it is still possible for a batsman to be given out obstructing the field in circumstances where he has not significantly changed his direction of running provided that the umpire feels that by some other actions it is clear that the batsman had intended to obstruct the field. This will depend on the circumstances of each case.

A runner will not be allowed any more across three formats.

Bowlers will now be able to attempt to run out non-striker before delivery.

Previously, the bowler could only run out a non-striker backing up if he did so before he had entered his delivery stride. This meant that as the bowler's back foot landed, the non-striker could move down the wicket before the bowler actually delivered the ball, gaining an unfair advantage.

Harbhajan axed

                                             Off-colour Harbhajan Singh was Thursday dropped while young spinner Rahul Sharma and paceman Sreenath Aravind were the two new faces in India's depleted 15-member squad for the first two cricket one-dayers in next month's ODI series against England. 

Gautam Gambhir, who missed the ODI series in the tour of England because of concussion, returned to the squad which will be without the services of a host of seniors, including Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh because of injuries.

Vidharba paceman Umesh Yadav and Jharkhand speedster Varun Aaron also figured in the team announced by new BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a marathon meeting of the selection committee here.

The team, to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has a predominantly young bowling attack with Praveen Kumar being the spearhead. The national selectors have picked as many as five fast bowlers and three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Sharma. Parthiv Patel, who did reasonably well in the recent ODI series against England, has been retained along with upcoming batsman Ajinkya Rahane of Mumbai.

The first ODI of the five-match series will be played in Hyderabad on October 14,, while Delhi will host the second game on October 17. Mohali (Oct 20), Mumbai (Oct 23) and Kolkata (Oct 25) will stage the other three matches. Kolkata will also conduct the lone Twenty20 match against England on October 29.

The team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Sreenath Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Job seekers to be screened

                                              Workers from nine countries, including India, seeking jobs in the UAE, may soon have to undergo screening for infectious diseases before they fly to the Emirates, if a scheme unveiled by the Health Ministry works according to plans. Migrants from India, Pakistan Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria and Sudan could face disease checks after three months, if a pilot phase targeting job seekers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka run smoothly, a news report has said. "(How we roll the rest of the scheme out) will depend on our evaluation," Ibrahim Al Qadi, director of the Ministry's preventative medicine department, told Arabian Business. 

The initial phase of the scheme will come into effect from October 1. "We are going to evaluate our situation from these two countries. After three or six months we will sit down again, and plan how we go further," Al Qadi said. The scheme is designed to bar migrants at risk of spreading infection from entering the UAE and to curb the entry of contagious diseases in the Gulf countries. Immigrants are required to undergo a second compulsory screening on their arrival in the UAE, before securing a visa. Those that test positive for contagious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis or hepatitis B will be deported. Al Qadi said the scheme would eventually apply across all categories of workers, irrespective of the incidence rates linked to their home country. "Incidence rates don't matter," he said.

"Our main plan is to completely stop the entry of any infectious diseases, because once they enter, it will create a problem for us inside the country," he added. Doctors practising in the UAE are required to inform the ministry if they treat an expatriate who is diagnosed with an infectious disease. Under existing laws, expatriates are required to undergo medical checks before securing a residency visa in the UAE. However, the ministry said in May the potentially month-long period before screening could allow for the spread of some diseases before diagnosis. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have required migrants from certain regions to undergo health checks in their home countries for some time.

Vettel VS Ferrari

                                                                               The German has often been rumoured to be on his way to the Scuderia with Fernando Alonso even extending an invitation of sorts in recent weeks.

However, instead of making the move - or even putting into place the potential for it - Vettel signed a new long-term contract with Red Bull at the start of this Championship.

And the decision is paying dividends for the 24-year-old, who is just one point away from winning his second successive Drivers' crown with Red Bull.

Asked for his thoughts on Alonso's invitation, Ecclestone told the official F1 website: "Well, seeing the situation as it is now it would be an appropriate means to slow him down..."

As for the German's massive lead in the Drivers' Championship, the F1 supremo reckons no one can stop Vettel from winning the crown, even "if he decided to go on his holidays for the rest of the season there would be no one to take it away from him."

And Ecclestone puts Vettel's success largely down to who he is as a person.

"Sebastian has an absolute will to succeed but has stayed very grounded. No win, however big, will stop him being grounded. That is immensely important in this business.

"Seb is relaxed and will always remain true to himself - that is why things come easy."

Amazon ignites tablet war

                                                                           Amazon.com Inc took the wraps off its long-awaited "Kindle Fire" on Wednesday, tacking on a mass market-friendly $199 price tag that poses a serious threat to the dominance of Apple Inc's two-year-old iPad. The eagerly anticipated gadget, while lacking many of the high-tech bells and whistles common on tablets from cameras to 3G wireless connection, may sound the death knell for a raft of devices based on Google Inc's Android. The software powers tablets made by Samsung, Motorola, Asustek, HTC and LG Electronics.

Dotcom-entrepreneur and billionaire-CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled to a packed audience the gadget he hopes will wed Amazon's books, movies, music and other content with cloud or Internet-based storage and Web browsing.

"People have been waiting for a tablet for 200 bucks for a long time and this is the best one I've seen so far," Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief of gadget review website Engadget, said.

The Kindle Fire tablet has a 7-inch screen, free data storage over the Internet and a new browser called Amazon Silk.

Amazon expects shipments to start on Nov. 15 -- hitting store shelves at Best Buy and other chains just in time for the peak holiday shopping season.

By pricing the Fire at less than half the iPad – yet stripping out costlier components and features -- the Internet retailer hopes to get the device into millions of consumers' hands, who in turn will buy Amazon content. One key differentiator that might help the Fire stand out during the cut-throat holidays is Amazon's "EC2" cloud computing service, which supports Internet browsing and helps speed loading of websites. That was not available on rival tablets, Stevens noted.

"Expect a blood bath as pricing will have to get extremely aggressive," said Mark Gerber, an analyst at Detwiler Fenton & Co. He expects Amazon to sell at least 3 million Kindle Fires this holiday season, taking the No. 2 spot in the tablet market.

The Fire was unveiled alongside several rock-bottom-priced versions of the basic Kindle reader, with the lowest at $79 -- a clear challenge to Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook that will surely force the ailing bookstore chain to try and match.

"These are premium products at non-premium prices," Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said. "We are going to sell millions of these."

Analysts had expected Amazon's tablet to be priced around $250, roughly half the price of Apple's dominant iPad, which starts at $499. The Nook Color e-reader costs $249.

The Web retailer might be angling for a lower-end slice of the market that Apple -- which maintains a careful grip over its higher-end branding and margins -- has traditionally steered clear of.

Bezos said Amazon is making "millions" of the tablet, without being more specific. However, he urged customers to pre-order the device. When the original Kindle e-reader came out in 2007, it quickly sold out.

Colin Sebastian, an analyst at RW Baird, kept his Amazon tablet sales forecasts the same on Wednesday on concern about potential supply issues. He expects two million to three million units to be sold this year and four to six million next year. "While we think the Kindle Fire could easily be the most
successful Android-based tablet to date, the Nov. 15 launch date, and the possibility of issues with ramping production -- Apple encountered significant production issues with the iPad 2 -- are the key reasons we are maintaining our current tablet estimates."

Breaking into a crowded tablet market will be difficult. Companies from Hewlett Packard Co, Motorola, Samsung and Research in Motion Ltd have launched tablets, but none has taken a big bite out of Apple's lead. Apple dominates the North American tablet market, with 80 per cent of the 7.5 million units shipped during the second quarter of 2011, according to Strategy Analytics.

Bezos took a jab at its larger rival during the New York press conference on Wednesday, noting that the Fire needs no wires for syncing. An image of a white USB cord appeared on the screen behind him, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Bezos didn't mention Apple but the picture of the cord resembled those commonly used to connect iPhones and iPads to computers.

Still, Michael Yoshikami, who oversees $1 billion at YCMNET Advisors, discounted any serious hit to Apple -- for now -- because of Apple's similarly rich library of content. But he thought Apple may need to start offering some sort of subscription-based video streaming service -- iTunes is download primarily -- to respond. Rivals without their own content or services to support their devices, such as Samsung, are most exposed, he added.

"HP's decision to get out of tablets is actually looking fairly bright," he said.

Having its own tablet is important for Amazon because the company has amassed a mountain of digital goods and services that could be sold through such a device. The tablet might also encourage customers of Amazon, the world's largest Internet retailer, to shop online for physical products more often.

Amazon recently redesigned its main shopping website to make it easier to navigate for mobile users. "Getting this device into the hands of customers means Amazon can expand their e-commerce footprint -- this is a strategic focus for the company," said Eric Best, an Amazon veteran who now runs online commerce company Mercent.

"Every Kindle Fire user, by virtue of the better browser and richer operating system, has the potential to become a more frequent Amazon shopper."

Meanwhile, competition at the high end of the market is heating up. Motorola on Wednesday announced it will offer 4G-LTE upgrades for Motorola Xoom users on Verizon Wireless, improving loading speeds.

                                                             Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was given a five-match touchline ban by the Football Association on Wednesday for comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson after his side's defeat at Chelsea this month.
In a statement, the FA said Ferguson had also been fined 30,000 pounds ($48,220) for his post-match comments which included him saying he "feared the worst" when he found out who was refereeing the match at Stamford Bridge.
The ban, which starts on March 22, includes the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley although it does not apply to Champions League matches.
"The Commission found the charge of Improper Conduct relating to media comments proven, following remarks made in relation to match official Martin Atkinson in post-match interviews after Manchester United's fixture with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 1 March 2011," an FA statement said.
While a three-match ban was handed down on the 69-year-old Scot for his remarks about Atkinson, the FA's Independent Regulation Commission also invoked a suspended two-game touchline ban for a similar offence in October 2009.
As well as the Cup semi-final against City, Ferguson will also have to watch the potentially crucial title showdown at Arsenal on May 1 from the stands as well as the league matches against West Ham United, Fulham and Everton.
Ferguson's latest comments came after the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge when he was annoyed that Chelsea's Brazilian defender David Luiz was not shown a second yellow card for a foul on striker Wayne Rooney.
Frank Lampard's penalty earned Chelsea the points while United also had Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic sent off.
"You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway -- and we didn't get that," Ferguson told MUTV. "I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst."
Ferguson has 48 hours to appeal against the ban.
West Ham United's manager Avram Grant is also in trouble with the FA after comments he made about referee Mike Jones after his side's FA Cup defeat by Stoke City at the weekend.
The FA said the Israeli had been charged with improper conduct and has until March 21 to respond.

Kerala inching towards Great Grey Shock

Going by the alarming fall in birth rate, Kerala would soon acquire the status of an 'old age home', says experts in demographic studies. A detailed analysis of 2011 Census report indicates that the present fertility rate of the state has plunged to 1.8.

Experts have warned that the present situation is quite similar to that of Japan in 1970s, where the fertility rate had gone down to a dismal 1.5. Japan witnessed a demographic shock because of the social burden of its rapidly aging society which left the country crippled.  

Not Again

 Thai school had to apologise to a Jewish human rights group after its students caused a controversy by taking out a Nazi-themed parade featuring Adolf Hitler and his SS guards, a media report said.

In one of the photographs, a group of girls, dressed in Nazi SS guards outfit and wearing the Nazi symbolic swastika armbands, have been captured marching through the school ground, Xinhua reported.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group based in Los Angeles, Monday issued a statement protesting the "disgraceful display", accusing the school administration of "glorifying Nazis".

The outrage came after some photographs taken on a sports day in the school, in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai province, were posted online.

The high school apologised soon after receiving the protest. 

India-Pakistan

 Raising slogans promising support to each other against terrorism, several Indian and Pakistani citizens Saturday gathered near Rajghat here and formed a human chain to protest the July 13 Mumbai blasts that left at least 19 people dead and injured 130.

The event was organised by various NGOs from both sides of the border. Holding posters and flowers, those gathered raised slogans like "Atankwad ho barbad, humari dosti zindabad" (Terrorism should be destroyed, long live our friendship).

"It's high time that peace prevailed in both the countries and I think that is not possible without the cooperation of the citizens," said Sheema Kirmani of Tehrik-e-Niswan, an NGO from Karachi holding a poster that read "Shak ke bavandar se bahar aao, milkar shanti failao" (Come out of the whirlpool of suspicion, spread peace together).

Agreed Faisal Khan of Delhi-based NGO the National Alliance of People's Movement, who said that cowardly attacks like the one in Mumbai could never rattle the strong Indian democratic and secular setup.

"They (the perpetrators) think that such attacks would result in communal violence in the country. But they fail miserably every time," Khan told IANS.

The participants agreed that terrorism plagued both the nations and it was time that people got together and cleared misunderstandings, if any existed.

Theatre person and political analyst Anwer Jaferi from Karachi said: "Same kind of attacks happen in Pakistan too and these are just attempts to spread hatred between the two communities and countries."

Jaferi said his theatre group was performing an anti-war play in different Indian cities when the blast took place in Mumbai. So, they decided to join the event.

Formula one & gaga

Arjun Rampal announced Thursday that American pop star Lady Gaga will perform at the Formula-1 after party, which will be hosted by the Bollywood actor's restro-bar, Lap.

"Huge event for India to get a star of her calibre. She has one million Twitter fans and over 40 million Facebook fans. It's a great feeling to get an icon like her to perform at your club at your lounge. She is very excited to come to India and to perform here," Arjun said.

The Airtel Grand Prix of India will take place at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida Oct 28-30.

"The F1 is one of the most glamorous and expensive sports in the world. There is huge fan following for this sport. So excited to be associated with Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) for this venture. At our lounge we are excited to show the world how great Indian circuits will be in the form of Buddh Circuit. We are creating this lounge at Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort in Greater Noida from Oct 28 to Oct 30," he added.

Gaga will perform on the last day, while international DJs Roger Sanchez will perform on day one, Edward Maya second day and Tom Navy on day three.

The tickets for the first two days will be for Rs.30,000 per person while the Gaga show will cost Rs.40,000.

Formula one

British Formula One (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton Tuesday stepped on the gas to vroom, zoom and vow about 10,000 frenzied fans on a 500-metre stretch on the outskirts of this tech hub in a McLaren Mercedes.Apart from swaying the car zig-zag and going in circles with the front wheel locked while rear tyres turned rapidly emitting thick smoke, Hamilton displayed some breathtaking stunts, including back-up spin over (reversing, tucking around and straightening) with deafening screeching sound.As thousands of fans missed his first race demo due to unprecedented rush and chaotic scenes at the open venue, a sportive Hamilton readily agreed to do another round of race before the curtains came down on the one-hour show of speed, brute force and bravado.

Making his fourth visit to India but first to Bangalore, Hamilton also treated a couple of Vodafone (sponsor) contest winners and select celebrities on the fast lane for hot laps, demonstrating his extraordinary motor racing skills and expertise in handling sports cars with aplomb.