35th National Games of India,Trivandrum,Kerala Jan 31 - Feb 14,2015

 

The 2015 National Games of India, also known as the 35th National Games of India, will be held from January 31,2015 to February 14,2015 across seven districts in Kerala, India.

It is the 2nd time that Kerala is hosting the national games after it hosted the 27th National Games in 1987.

The opening ceremony of 35th National games Kerala will be hosted at Green field stadium Karyavattam, Trivandrum on Saturday January 31,2015 at 6.00 PM. Union minister of urban development Venkaiah Naidu  inaugurate the opening ceremony of national games 2015

Sachin Tendulkar was selected as the goodwill ambassador for the games

The Mascot of the 35th National Games is'''Ammu''', The Great Hornbill,the State bird of Kerala

The Games Village is constructed based on the novel concept of Prefabricated Housing Technology. The Prefabricated housing would go well with the concept of ‘Green Games’ as it is environmental friendly, light weight, energy efficient and faster to construct

A total of 365 pre-fab houses occupying 5 athletes per room while team officials and coaches will be allocated single or double rooms. Social infrastructures such as kitchen, food courts, reception desks, medical centre, recreational zone, health club, open air theatre, conference halls etc. are included in the Games Village

Sports Event	Number of Medals
Aquatics	50
Archery	15
Athletics	44
Badminton	7
Basketball	2
Beach Handball	2
Beach Volleyball	2
Boxing	20
Canoeing	36
Cycling	20
Fencing	12
Football	2
Gymnastics	20
Handball	2
Hockey	2
Judo	14
Kabbadi	2
Kho Kho	2
Lawn Bowls	8
Netball	2
Rowing	18
Rugby Sevens	1
Shooting	38
Squash	2
Table Tennis	7
Taekwondo	1
Tennis	6
Triathlon	4
Volleyball	2
Weightlifting	15
Wrestling	24
Wushu	15
Yatching	1

2015 Africa Cup of Nations -Teams That Qualify For QF

 

  

QF Draw

Saturday Jan 31,2015
Congo Vs DR Congo



DR Congo beats Congo 4-2

Tunisia Vs Equatorial Guinea



Equatorial Guinea beats Tunisia 2-1

Sunday Feb 01,2015

Ghana Vs Guinea


Ghana beats Guinea 3-0

Ivory Coast Vs Algeria


Ivory Coast beats Algeria 3-1
Goal Scorer
For Ivory Coast -Wilfried Boni(26&88)and Gervinho(90)
For Algeria - Hilal Soudani(51)

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Congo	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Equatorial Guinea (H)	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
3	Gabon	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
4	Burkina Faso	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tunisia	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	DR Congo	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
3	Cape Verde	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
4	Zambia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ghana	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Algeria	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
3	Senegal	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	South Africa	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ivory Coast	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Guinea	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3[a]
3	Mali	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3[a]
4	Cameroon	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

Mitt Romney bows out of presidential race

 

Former U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced this week that he would not enter the race again in 2016 for the third time, and political strategists believe that his exit will improve the position of another contender, Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida and younger brother of former President George W. Bush.

According to an official statement Mr. Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, said he was “convinced” he would have won the Republican primary contest again, but “I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee.”

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visits China Saturday Jan 31,2015

 

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj accompanied by Foreign Secretary, S. Jaishankar (left) being welcomed on her arrival at the Beijing International Airport on Saturday. Jan 31,2015

Significantly Ms. Swaraj routed her journey to the Chinese capital through Kunming — one of the starting points of the 21 st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) — a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has invited India to join the MSR, but New Delhi has so far, refrained from making a firm commitment. Starting from Kolkata, Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, is also the point of termination of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor — a part of the MSR, which the Indian side is negotiating with the Chinese. However, India has become a staunch supporter of the China-initiated, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also likely to be used for funding MSR projects.

The Sino-Indian border differences are unlikely to draw prime attention during the talks between Ms. Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Sushma Swaraj’s visit is also seen as preparation for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China later this year

FII inflows at 6-month high of Rs 33,688 cr in Jan 2015

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 12,919 crore (USD 2.1 billion) in January, while they bought debt worth Rs 20,769 crore (USD 3.34 billion), taking the total investment to Rs 33,688 crore (USD 5.45 billion), latest data with Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) showed.

This is the highest investment since July when overseas investors had poured in Rs 36,046 crore.

In 2014, the net investment by overseas investors into the debt markets was Rs 1.16 lakh crore, while in equities it stood at Rs 98,150 crore.
Overall, net investment by foreign investors stood at Rs 2.58 lakh crore in 2014

2015 Australian Open Mixed Doubles Final Sunday Feb 01,2015

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis beat French-Canadian pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor 6-4,6-3 in straight sets in the mixed doubles final in Melbourne

 

 

 

Prior to this victory, LeanderPaes(41) had won 8 Men's Doubles and 6 Mixed Doubles Title in his glittering career while the Martina Hingis owned 14 Grand Slam titles, including 5 singles

Thus Leander Paes and Martina Hingis added 15th Grand Slam title to their respective tallies with a win in the 2015 Australian Open Mixed Doubles in Melbourne.

 

2015 Australian Open Men's Single Final -Novak Djokovic Vs Andy Murray Sunday Feb 01,2014

 

Novak Djokovic(Serbia) beat defending champion Stan Wawrinka(Swiss) 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0 in another dramatic five-set contest to reach the Australian Open final.

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray to claim the 2011 and 2013 titles. 

Novak Djokovic with his coah Boris Becker

While the history is against Andy Murray, the Scot is used to rewriting it.

It would be his first title at Melbourne Park, from his 4th final appearance, the most required in the Open era to win the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

The 3 finals played an lost by Andy Murray are -
2013: Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-2
2011: Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
2010: Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11)
 

It would also end another long barren streak for British men`s tennis, as he would be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1934 to clinch the Australian title.

Andy Murray became the first British man since Perry to win a grand slam title in 76 years when he clinched the U.S. Open in 2012 and the first to win Wimbledon in 77 years in 2013.
Both times Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic in the final.

In the 2015 Australian Open SF,Andy Murray beats Tomas Berdych(Czech) 6-7,6-0,6-3,7-5

Andy Murray with his coach Amelie Mauresmo

Novak Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open crown, beating Andy Murray 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0

 

 

Novak Djokovic may never win as many Wimbledon or US Open titles as Roger Federer or as many French Open championships as Rafael Nadal but when it comes to the Australian Open the Serbian reigns supreme

The only man to win more Australian titles than Djokovic is Roy Emerson, who chalked up six in the 1960s when the grand slams were restricted to amateur players and the Australian Open was played on grass at different cities all over the country

Novak Djokovic has captured as many Australian Opens as Federer and Nadal combined and beaten Murray, his other great contemporary rival, in three finals. 

The key to Djokovic's success in Australia is his incredible fitness. The Australian Open, more than any other grand slam, is as much a survival of the fittest as a test of skill, played on Melbourne Park's hardcourts at the height of the southern hemisphere summer.

In 2011, he won his second Australian Open, first Wimbledon and first US Open titles. He won the Australian Open again in 2012 and 2013 then a second Wimbledon last year.

Sunday's win gave him his eighth career grand slam singles title, lifting him alongside Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi and Fred Perry

 

Only 7 players have won more, headed by Roger Federer(Swiss) with 17 and Rafael Nadal(Spain) on 14, who is tied with Pete Sampras(USA)

60th Filmfare Awards Saturday Jan 31,2015

 

'Queen` and `Haider` emerged as clear winners with Kangana Ranaut bagging the Best Actress and Shahid Kapoor winning the Best Actor award.

Vikas Bahl's `Queen` won 6 awards in 6 categories who took away home the black trophy for the Best Director.

Complete list of winners

Best Film (Critics) - Rajat Kapoor (Ankhon Dekhi)
Best Film - Queen
Best Director - Vikas Bahl (Queen)
Best Actor - Shahid Kapoor (Haider)
Best Actress - Kangana Ranaut (Queen)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) - Tabu (Haider)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) - Kay Kay Menon (Haider)
Best Music Director - Shankar-Eshaan-Loy (2 States)
Best Lyrics - Rashmi Singh - Muskurane ki wajah (CityLights)
Best Debut (Male): Fawad Khan, Khoobsurat
Best Debut (Female): Kriti Sanon, Heropanti
Best Story: Rajat Kapoor, Ankhon Dekhi
Best Dialogue: Abhijat Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani, PK
Best Screenplay: Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi, PK
Best Playback Singer (Male): Ankit Tiwari, Galliyan (Ek Villain)
Best Playback Singer (Female): Kanika Kapoor, Baby Doll (Ragini MMS 2)
Best Debut director - Abhishek Varma, 2 States
Best Actor (Critics) - Sanjay Mishra, Ankhon Dekhi
Best Actress (Critics) - Alia Bhatt, Highway
Best Editing: Abhijit Kokate and Anurag Kashyap, Queen
Best Production Design: Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray, Haider
Best Choreography Award: Ahmed Khan, Jumme Ki Raat (Kick)
Best Background Score: Amit Trivedi, Queen
Best Cinematography Award: Bobby Singh and Siddharth Diwan, Queen
Best Action: Sham Kaushal, Gunday
Best Costume: Dolly Ahluwalia, Haider
Lifetime Achievement Award: Kamini Kaushal

Italy MPs Elect Judge Sergio Mattarella as President Saturday Jan 31,2015

 

Italy's Parliament has Elected Constitutional Court Judge Sergio Mattarella as the country's president.

Sergio Mattarella(73)will succeed Giorgio Napolitano, 89, who stood down earlier this month citing "signs of fatigue".

The result, confirmed on a third day of voting, will be seen as a boost for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who nominated Sergio Mattarella.
Sergio Mattarella was elected after three inconclusive rounds of voting, in which no candidate secured the two-thirds majority needed to win.
Saturday's fourth round required merely a simple majority of the 1,009 eligible voters to produce a result.
Applause broke out in the Chamber of Deputies as Sergio Mattarella's vote passed the 505-vote threshold.


Italy's president is largely a ceremonial role, but includes the power to appoint a prime minister.

Giorgio Napolitano named five prime ministers during his eight-and-a-half-years in office

2015 Australia India England Tri-Series Final - Australia Vs England @ Perth Sunday Feb 01,2015

 

Squads

Australia
Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith, George Bailey (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood.

England
Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

England won the toss and chose to field

Australia scored 278/8 in 50 Overs
Steven Smith            40
Glenn Maxwell         95
Mitchell Marsh         60
James Faulkner        50*(in 24 Balls with 4x4 and 6x4)

Wicket Takers(England)
Stuart Broad                3/55(10 Overs)
James Anderson          2/38(10 Overs)
Moeen Ali                   1/39(10 Overs)
Steven Finn                  1/53(10 Overs)

England scored 166/10 in 39.1 Overs
Moeen Ali                  26
Joe Root                    25
Ravi Bopara               33
Stuart Broad               24
Match Result - Australia won by 112 Runs

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell had a day to remember, scoring 95 Runs and taking 4/46 

 

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson took 3/27 in his first international match of 2015