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CNN host Larry King has declared that his long-running talk show, ‘Larry King Live, will come to an end this fall.

The show, ‘Larry King Live’, the centrepiece of the CNN prime-time schedule, has had severe decline in the ratings in recent years, which led to speculations that King’s current contract, which expires in June 2011, could be his last.

However, King will stay on at CNN part time, and would host an undetermined number of specials “on major national and international subjects.”

Asked by his guest Bill Maher on his Tuesday night show about the speculation in the media, Mr. King said “that had nothing to do with it.”

King said that he approached CNN management about the change and they “graciously accepted.”

“With this chapter closing, I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders,” the New York Times new quoted him as saying in the blog post.

He also said that, the show was recently recognized by the Guinness World Records as being the longest-running show with the same host in the same time slot since it started in 1985.

Apparently, King is expected to announce a new 9 p.m. program over the summer.

Source: CNN

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, says it will now start the process of registering “.xxx” by making checks on ICM Registry LLC, the company that wants to run it.

ICM’s founder Stuart Lawley says he thinks the new address could attract at least 500,000 sites, making it after “.mobi”, the second biggest sponsored top-level domain name, or TLD, the name for web address suffixes .com or .org.

Lawley expects to make $30 million a year in revenue by selling each .xxx site for $60 — and pledges to donate $10 from each sale to child protection initiatives via a non-profit he has set up, the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, or IFFOR.

He already has 110,000 reservations, he says, and could get .xxx up and running within six to nine months after ICANN checks that ICM has the financial means and technical know-how to run it. “I think we could do a million or more. There are several million adult TLDs already out there,” he said before the ICANN board meeting.

Lawley also says he will make it easy for web blocking software to filter out “.xxx” sites by requiring them to carry a machine-readable metatag marking them clearly as porn. “It will promote more labeled content,” he said. “People who want to find it know where it is and people who don’t see it or want to keep it away from their kids can use mechanisms to do so.” Sceptics note that porn sites
would likely keep existing “.com” storefronts to allow their businesses to be found more easily.

ICANN has rejected the “.xxx” domain three times since ICM first proposed it in 2000, but an outside panel earlier this year criticised the board’s rejection in 2007, saying it did not deal fairly with the application.

The board of the non-profit company that controls Internet addresses acknowledged on Friday that its refusal to accept “.xxx” was “not consistent with the application of neutral, objective and fair documented policy.” It agreed to re-examine the “.xxx” application.

Source: AP

Dino Morea was recently at the Atria Mall, Worli to inaugurate Bezel, a multi-brand lifestyle watch store from Gitanjali Lifestyle. Accompanying him was the lovely Tarina Patel who was present at the 900 sq ft store, with its Italian style décor.

At the inauguration, Chronotech also announced the brand’s association with Dino as its new brand ambassador as the star unveiled the new Prism collection from Chornotech. Rahul Vira, Head, Timepieces, Gitanjali, said, “We see an immense potential in the fashion and luxury watch market in India, and are pleased to offer today’s modern with-it consumer a range of unique Italian, French and Swiss brands to suit the varied needs of his/her lifestyle.” Bezel offers consumers an impressive choice from a wide range of time wear collections that combine technical precision with high fashion. In the next five years, Gitanjali Lifestyle aims at opening 60 stores across the country

Source: Times of India

So what exactly is a vuvuzela?

It is plastic horn, brightly coloured, and seen in abundance at sporting events in South Africa. The first vuvuzelas seen at sporting events in the early 90s were made from a sheet of metal. A standard vuvuzela is 65cm long but some can be up to a metre long.

Where do they originate?

No-one really knows. The most commonly-held belief is that it is related to the kudu horn that was blown to summon African villagers to meetings.

However, earlier this year, the Nazareth Baptist Church claimed the vuvuzela as its own – used by its members on pilgrimages – and threatened legal action to stop them being used at the World Cup.

What does “vuvuzela” mean?

Again, it appears to be a matter of debate. Some think it comes from the Zulu word for “making noise”. Others say it is township slang for “shower” because it “showers people with music”. Many believe it means “pump up”.

How did it end up as a fixture of the football stadium?

The Nazarath Baptist Church says it “lost” the vuvuzela back in the 1990s when a supporter of South Africa’s biggest football team visited the church. Unable to take the long metal trumpet inside the football grounds, he re-modelled it in plastic.

Vuvuzela-makers say they began to mass-produce the instrument in plastic when the original tin version began to make appearances at games during the 1990s.

So describe the sound?

The typical pitch of a vuvuzela is said to be B flat below middle C.

On its own, it has been compared unflatteringly to an elephant passing wind. When there is a football terrace full of the instruments, the sound has been likened to a swarm of angry wasps.

Know more about the Vuvuzela here

A Malayalee association is organising a unique initiative to lead a delegation from UAE to Kerala for exploring the art, culture and traditions of the south Indian state.

The initiative “Discover Kerala”, which has been taken up by the World Malayalee Council (WMC) in association with Kerala Tourism Ministry, will enable a group of 20 UAE nationals to visit “God’s own country” by the year-end.

“Through the first-of-its-kind initiative, WMC aims to familiarise the chosen delegates, including government officials and prominent community members, with Kerala’s tourism potentials, especially backwater tourism and eco-tourism, and the art forms, culture and traditions of the state,” WMC publicity and media convener Sajan Veloor said.

“We are also trying to let them understand the potentials of Ayurvedic treatment methods,” Veloor said, adding, this will be the first time that a group of Emiratis are visiting Kerala on an official trip.

“Officials of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing have already expressed their interest in such an initiative. On the other hand, we have secured the support from the Kerala Tourism Ministry. Our members from the business community are sponsoring the Emirati delegation, by bearing all expenses for their travel and stay,” he said.

Source: Times of India

The Quiz Foundation of India (Chennai Chapter) is proud to announce ‘The QFI Open Quiz 2010’, the sixth edition of the annual open quiz, which has become a fixture on the Chennai quizzing calendar.

Date: 26th of June, 2010 (Saturday)
Venue: Tatvaloka Auditorium, Eldams Road, Teynampet, Chennai

Schedule of Events

I. Quizzicus Indica: The India Quiz
Quizmaster: Yagnyesh (Yaggy)
Research Team: Arun Ramanath, Venkatesh (Matti) & Rohit
Timings: Prelims – 10:00 a.m. and Finals – 11:00 a.m.
Team size: Maximum of 3 members

II. General Quiz
Quizmaster: Samanth Subramanian
Research Team: G. Swaminathan & R. Jayakanthan
Timings: Prelims – 03:00 p.m. and Finals – 04:30 p.m.
Team size: Maximum of 3 members

MindMasters 2010

Career Group of Institutions present “Mind Master 2010- The Business Quiz”

Date: 26 June 2010

Venue: Career College BHEL Bhopal

Open to : All UG Students

Quizmaster: Ambesh Tiwari

For details contact Aditya-9893710236
quiz@ciim.ac.in

The KQA will celebrate the 27th Anniversary of its founding with ASKQANCE 2010–a two-day festival of Open Quizzing. 

The programme:
19th and 20th June, at The Institute of Agricultural Technologists, Queen’s Road, Bangalore.

Day One (19th June 2010)

Event I
By Hooke or by Crookes
Open  Science Quiz
Schedule:  0930hrs to 1230hrs

Event II
Hoarse Latitudes
Open Travel Quiz
Schedule : 1300-1545 hrs

Event III
Son of Lumiere
Open Movie Quiz
Schedule: 1615hrs-2000hrs.

Day Two (20th June 2010)

Event IV
Kibitz Simple
Open Sports and Leisure Quiz
Schedule: 1000hrs to 1300hrs

Event V
Sesame
The Open Quiz
QM: Arul Mani
Schedule:1400— 1630hrs

Event VI
KQA Founders’  Trophy Quiz
Face-off between Mega-Whats city-winners
QMs: Arul Mani and Kiran Vijayakumar.
Schedule: 1700hrs-1900hrs

 More details on the official site here

PhaseForward ACE 2010 is Asha Hyderabad’s annual fund-raising Corporate Quiz.
The proceeds from the 2010 edition of ACE will go primarily for the mid-day meal programme at the Ramakrishna Upper Primary School (RUPS) and also to other projects supported by Asha Hyderabad.

Date:12 th June, 2010 (Saturday)

Time: 1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Venue: Khemka Auditorium, ISB, Hyderabad

Quizmasters: E.M. Bhargava, Srinivas K.S., J. Krishnamurthi

Please visit the Official Site here for more details