Russell Crowe drives his real-life gladiators to brink of glory

Canberra, Oct 1 (IANS) Russell Crowe is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars but his role this weekend as owner of Australian rugby league team South Sydney might be the most nerve-wracking of his career.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have not won a league title since 1971 but for the past eight years Crowe has made it his business to break that drought, reports Xinuha.

This Sunday, Crowe’s team face the Canterbury Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) grand final in Sydney, an achievement its fans would not have dared dream about when the side was rooted to the bottom of the table in the mid 2000s.

Three last-place finishes had many rugby league followers discussing when, not if, the club would fold.

Crowe, a long-time Rabbitohs fan and financial backer, along with Australian businessman Peter Holmes, bought a 75 percent share of the club in 2006, after the club’s second stint in the national competition seemed doomed to fail.

The film star has since used his Hollywood profile to secure sponsorships worth millions of dollars and generated mass interest in the game at home and internationally.

In the US, Crowe drafted talk-show host Jay Leno to publicise a deal with one of the world’s best players, and ESPN’s prime-time football programme to talk about his love for his club.

When Oprah Winfrey visited Sydney, Crowe spoke about the club to several million viewers.

The club, also known as Souths, was the first to be sponsored by a film, Cinderella Man starring, who else, Crowe.

The club once on its knees is now financially secure.

One of the players Crowe was instrumental in recruiting to the club was Englishman Sam Burgess. Burgess will finish his five-year Souths career to return to Britain but has nothing but admiration for Crowe.

“To me, he’s just a good friend. I know he’s the boss of the club but he’s just one of my good friends. I can talk to Russell about whatever. We’ve created a good friendship over the years and one that will continue forever.”

Burgess vividly remembers how Crowe worked to bring the forward from Bradford, England, to the other side of the world.

“Russell called me one day and it was the first time someone contacted me from the club. I didn’t believe (it was) him at the start, it took some convincing. A few weeks later I went and met him, he was filming in England doing Robin Hood … He made me feel pretty comfortable from day one.”

Such was Crowe’s impact on him and Burgess’s high regard for the club, his brothers Luke, Tom and George also made the move to South Sydney in the following years. All four are expected to play in Sunday’s big game.

Should the Rabbitohs triumph, a brass bell will ring out. Crowe bought it for $27,000 in 1999 as the club began the legal battle to return to the NRL.

“I bought the bell at a Souths fundraiser in 1999. The last bidder to drop out was the Canterbury-Bankstown club, our opponents this week,” Crowe said on Twitter this week.

“Significance of the bell: it was the very same bell that started the first game of professional rugby league in Australia in 1908. Where and when should we ring the bell,” he asked fans.

Russell Crowe drives his real-life gladiators to brink of glory

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Indian, Indonesian navies conclude joint patrol

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The 24th edition of Indian-Indonesian Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) has concluded, an official statement said Wednesday, adding the defence relations between the two countries is growing.

“The close defence relations between Indian and Indonesia have been growing steadily with regular joint activities and exchanges of personnel between the armed forces of the two countries,” a statement said Wednesday.

The exercise, which started Sep 9, concluded Tuesday.

CORPAT is a joint patrolling exercise held twice a year by the two countries.

Indonesian Navy (Tentara National Indonesia Angkatan Laut) and the Indian Navy have been carrying out coordinated patrolling twice a year since 2002 near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) to keep this vital part of the Indian Ocean region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

“The aim of the co-ordinated exercise is to enhance mutual understanding and inter-operability between the navies, prosecute vessels engaged in unlawful activities, conduct SAR and take measures against sea pollution,” the statement said.

In the exercise, naval ship KRI Pattimura and maritime patrol aircraft CN 235 represented the Indonesian Navy while INS Kesari (with Chetak integral helicopter) and one IN Dornier participated from the Indian Navy.

First Admiral Harjo Susmoro, Commander Sea Task Force, Western Fleet Command headed the Indonesian delegation.

Pattimura entered Port Blair along with INS Kesari Sep 27 to attend Closing Ceremony on completion of sea phase of joint exercise.

CN 235 aircraft with senior officer embarked arrived at Port Blair Sep 28. The Indonesian delegation called on Vice Admiral P.K. Chatterjee, Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command during their visit.

Indian, Indonesian navies conclude joint patrol

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Amazon has high expectations from India business:Bezos

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Amazon has very high expectations from its Indian operations, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said here Wednesday.

“People feel that we are in India for the last one year; we started a software development office in Bangalore 10 years ago. In the last one year the local team is doing shockingly, stunningly well. We are open for a year and we have very high expectations,” he said.

Bezos was in conversation with former Nasscom President Kiran Karnik at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

The US-based Amazon recently said it was investing $2 billion in India’s e-commerce space. With 243 million Internet users, India’s e-commerce industry is growing at 38 percent year-on-year.

Speaking about Amazon’s India operations, Bezos said in India, Amazon will set up performance centres, upgrade logistics services, and develop mobile platform and new tools and techniques to help small and medium businesses grow.

He added that India is an amazing country, which is full of opportunities and boasts of people who are hard-working, vibrant and have a zest to succeed.

While talking on small and medium entreprises (SMEs) in India, he said: “Don’t be intimidated by the Internet, lean into the future and get hooked to the digital platform.”

“After our first year in business, the response from customers and SMEs in India has far surpassed our expectation. We see huge potential in the Indian economy and for the growth of e-commerce in India.

“With his additional investment of $2 billion, Amazon team can continue to think big, innovate and raise the bar for customers in India. At current scale and growth rates, India is on track to be our fastest country ever to a billion dollars in gross sales,” he said.

“What is stunning about India is the speed at which it is growing and that is one of the tailwinds for the growth of e-commerce,” Bezos said, adding that “India is unbelievably energising; the people are focused on learning and extremely inventive.”

Amazon started globally by selling books. When asked whether e-books and kindles are threats to paper books, Bezos said the carrier of the content is not as important as the content.

Amazon has high expectations from India business:Bezos

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Deceased medic's parents get Rs. 27,25,000 compensation after 12 years

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Twelve years after a 19-year-old medical student was crushed under the wheels of a truck in Ahmedabad, the Supreme Court has awarded compensation of Rs.27,25,000 with an annual interest of 9 percent holding that deceased was a diligent and outstanding student and ascertaining his future income at Rs.25,000 per month.

Awarding the compensation, an apex court bench of Justice V.Gopala Gowda and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said: “The deceased was a diligent and outstanding student of medicine who could have pursued his M.D. after his graduation and reached greater heights.”

Pointing to the academic brilliance of the deceased medic, the court in its recent judgment said: “Today, medical practice is one of the most sought after and rewarding professions. With the tremendous increase in demand for medical professionals, their salaries are also on the rise. Therefore, we have no doubt in ascertaining the future income of the deceased at Rs.25,000 p.m. i.e. Rs.3,00,000 p.a.”

The deceased student, Raj Ashvinbhai, succumbed to injuries after a truck crushed his two wheeler July 12, 2002.

The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals had awarded compensation of Rs.18,59,200 which was scaled down to Rs. 11,39,200 by the Gujarat High Court. In both the cases, it was coupled with nine percent interest per annum from the date when parents of the deceased had filed application for accident claim.

Enhancing the compensation, the court erred both the Tribunal and the High court in not following the principles laid down by the apex court for determining the “loss of love and affection” to the parents of the deceased medic by awarding a mere sum of Rs. 15,000.

The apex court enhanced it to Rs.100,000.

Similarly, the apex court hiked the funeral expanses from Rs.5,000 awarded by the Tribunal and maintained by the High court to Rs.25,000.

The court also set aside the the contributory negligence in the accident set at 20 percent on the deceased medic holding that from the evidence produced on record, the two-wheeler of the deceased was dragged up to a stretch of about 20-25 feet on the road after the collision with the offending truck.

“We do not see any direct evidence that shows negligence on the part of the deceased that led to the accident,” the court said setting aside the 20 percent contributory negligence.

The Tribunal had in fact calculated the compensation at Rs.223,24,000 but after deducting 20 percent contributory negligence (assumption of negligence of deceased medic in the occurrence of accident) the final compensation came to Rs.18,59,200.

Similarly, the High court by a different parameter determined the compensation at Rs.14,04,000 and after deducting 20 percent contributory negligence the final compensation awarded by the High court came to Rs.01,39, 00.

Deceased medic's parents get Rs. 27,25,000 compensation after 12 years

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Microsoft Devices launches new Lumia devices

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Microsoft Devices Wednesday launched three new Windows smartphones – Lumia 830, Lumia 730 and Lumia 930, a top company official said here.

Lumia 830 will be available in India from Oct 8 at Rs.28,799, Lumia 730 will be available starting Oct 6 at Rs.15,299 and Lumia 930 will be available from Oct 15 at Rs.38,649.

“We recognized the potential of the affordable smartphone segment. Building on our momentum in this space, today we introduce three new devices, Lumia 930, 830 and Lumia 730, which we believe will help us consolidate our position in the mid-priced smartphone market in India,” Ajey Mehta, managing director, Nokia India Sales, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy said.

Lumia 730 is a dual SIM phone.

Going forward, the company will focus more on affordable devices in India, but he declined to comment on the number of affordable devices that might be rolled out. He also declined to give a roadmap for high-end and affordable devices ratio of the company in India.

Microsoft Devices launches new Lumia devices

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FC Pune City rope in Greek veteran Katsouranis

Pune, Oct 1 (IANS) Indian Super League (ISL) franchise FC Pune City Wednesday confirmed the signing of veteran Greece international Kostas Katsouranis.

The former Benfica defender will join ex-Juventus star David Trezeguet to further strengthen the team.

He is the first player to feature in the money-spinning tournament to have participated in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

He was the stand-in captain for his country in Brazil after the team’s regular captain, Georgios Karagounis, was restricted to mostly substitute appearances.

“It is not an impulsive decision for me, I had been in touch with the FC Pune City for over a month. What really attracted me to join them was their desire to win and promote football in India,” Katsouranis said.

“Our team needed a strong playmaker who could play box-to-box. It was one position which we wanted to fill and now with the inclusion of Kostas in the team, we are surely a more balanced unit” said Franco Colomba, head coach of the team.

The 35-year old midfielder made his international debut in 2003 against Sweden and scored his first goal against Kazakhstan in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier. He was instrumental in Greece’s 2004 UEFA Euro win.

“We are delighted to have Kostas in our ranks and would like to extend my heartiest welcome to him. He has been a phenomenal performer for his country and we at FC Pune City are confident that his inclusion will be a game changer,” Gaurav Modwel, CEO of the franchisee said.

The team’s moral was further boosted when three of their players – Lenny Rodrigues, Pritam Kotal and Arindam Bhattacharya – were called up for national duty for two friendly matches against Palestine.

FC Pune City is owned by Rajesh Wadhawan Group. The inaugural ISL season will begin Oct 12.

FC Pune City rope in Greek veteran Katsouranis

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School year begins in rebel-controlled Ukraine

Kiev, Oct 1 (IANS/EFE) Schools in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk controlled by pro-Russian separatists finally opened Wednesday after a month’s delay.

Igor Kostenko, a minister in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said the school year had begun and that most schools would open.

“In the areas where shelling by the Ukrainian military on, the decision to open schools would be made by teachers and parents,” he said.

Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists and was inhabited by nearly one million people before the outbreak of the armed conflict, has been divided into two areas by the rebel authorities.

The clashes between the pro-Russians and the Ukrainian government forces continue near the region’s international airport, despite the peace deal signed by both sides last month in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

“The shelling in Donetsk’s capital, during the months before the ceasefire, heavily damaged 20 out of 150 schools, while at least 46 other schools were partially damaged,” Kostenko said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported new ceasefire violations Wednesday morning by the pro-Russian militias in at least six areas in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The UN estimates say that more than 3,000 people have died since April in Donetsk and Luhansk, due to the clashes between the government forces and rebel militias.

–IANS/EFE

ksk/ks/dg

School year begins in rebel-controlled Ukraine

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