Forbes magazine revealed the annual list of the Richest People. Bill Gates is no longer the richest person, Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire with a net worth of $53.5bn, has been crowned the world’s richest person.
Recovering financial markets and commodities and strong economic growth from some Asian-Pacific and Latin American economies helped to increase the collective wealth of the world’s richest by $2.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion and the number of billionaires increased from 793 to 1,011. Average net worthrose $500m to $3.5bn.
Mukesh Ambani, chief executive of Reliance Industries, landed the number four spot with $29bn, up from seventh. Lakshmi Mittal, owner of ArcelorMittal, secured the fifth spot with $28.7bn. For the first time, China, with 64 billionaires, is the region with the most members outside of the US, which has 403, followed by Russia with 62.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s State of Law Coalition is widely expected to win the most seats according to preliminary results from the election. The Iraqi National Alliance opponents have also admitted Mr Maliki’s State of Law Coalition had done well, especially in Baghdad and in the Shia south of Iraq.
But it is unlikely one party will form a government alone and there may be months of negotiations on a coalition. Mr Maliki faces competition from the Shia-dominated Iraq National Alliance and the secular coalition of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. An official with Mr Allawi’s Iraqiya alliance said the bloc was leading in the northern and western provinces.
The final official results will not be declared until the end of March, though preliminary results are expected in two or three days. The voter turnout in Iraq’s general elections was 62%.

American Defense Secretary Robert Gates was keeping up the pressure on Iran, in the latest move Gates went to Saudi Arabia for consulting about how to respond to Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. U.S. official said Gates would discuss shared concerns over Iran’s nuclear intentions during meetings with Saudi King Abdullah and senior leaders.
Saudi Arabia has long warned of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran gained the bomb but does not openly support tougher sanctions. Saudi Arabia see Iran’s expanding missile capability as an even more immediate threat.
Gates would also discuss on improving defense ties with Saudi Arabia.

Contending that dialogue was the only way forward with Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the decision to hold foreign-secretary level talks was a “calculated” one but there can be no meaningful discussion till terror from Pakistan is ended.
Denying that he had sought mediation by Saudi Arabia, he asserted in the Lok Sabha that all problems with Pakistan can be resolved bilaterally if it adopted a “reasonable” attitude in dealing with terror elements which target India.
“Our policy towards Pakistan is consistent, cautious and realistic,” Singh said replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address to Parliament during which he lambasted the opposition BJP for spreading disinformation.
He specifically rebutted charges levelled by senior BJP leader L K Advani that the government was talking to Pakistan under US pressure.
Underlining the need for keeping communication channels with Pakistan from breaking down, he said the scope of any “miscalculation can only worsen in an environment of no contact.”
To buttress his point, he said the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union, even at the height of the Cold War had kept communication channels open.
Referring to the recent Foreign Secretary-level talks, Singh said it was not a “sudden” decision but a “calculated” one. He pointed out that he had earlier offered to resume talks on humanitarian issues.

Rangapanchami occurs a few days later on a Panchami (fifth day of the full moon), marking the end of festival celebrations involving colours. Rangpanchami2010 sms collection @ Rangpanchamisms. Many asked this question, What is the purpose of HOLI festival? Holy called the Festival of Colors, is a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and others. It is primarily observed in India.Rangpanchami festival is a continuation of the Holifestival and is observed mainly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of North India. The festival is observed five days after Holi Dhuleti.In locations connected to the god Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon, and Barsana. These places have become tourist destinations during the festive season of Holi, which lasts here to up to sixteen days.

Karnataka Budget 09 10, Refuting the Opposition charges, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today claimed the state’s economy was on a sound path, despite adverse economic situation in the country.

Participating in the discussion over motion of thanks to Governor in the floor of the Assembly here, the Chief Minister said Karnataka was one of the few states in the country in terms of performance in resource mobilisation.

Stating that resource mobilisation was expected to cross the last year’s mark, Mr Yeddyurappa said even the RBI study report had lauded the government’s efforts on the matter.

Asian Cup 2011 Qualifiers, The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Finals jigsaw puzzle was completed Wednesday after Australia, Kuwait and Jordan took up their places for next year’s continental footballing extravaganza.

The trio’s qualification ticked off the final 16 names in the hat for the April 23, 2010, draw in the host city of Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The Socceroos were the first to breast the tape yesterday with a 1-0 defeat of Indonesia at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

That left Kuwait needing a point off Oman in Muscat later and this was duly accomplished, thanks to a goalless draw.
Jordan beat Singapore 2-1 and their victory combined with the other group match result in which Iran beat Thailand by a solitary goal saw the West Asians rejoice at the packed King Abdullah Stadium in Amman.

The group standings were also finalised after the match day 6 action.

QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR AFC ASIAN CUP QATAR 2011™ FINALS

Direct bye to the Finals
AFC Asian Cup 2007: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic
AFC Challenge Cup 2008: India
AFC Challenge Cup 2010: DPR Korea
AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ hosts: Qatar

Eligible through qualifying
Group A: Japan, Bahrain
Group B: Australia, Kuwait
Group C: UAE, Uzbekistan
Group D: Syria, China PR
Group E: IR Iran, Jordan

RIYADH: A Saudi cleric’s fatwa last week calling for those who promote co-educational environments to be put to death has shocked international and Saudi communities, according to a report.

According to the Arab News daily, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Barrak said recently that the mixing of men and women in the workplace or educational institutions was religiously prohibited.

“Whoever allows this mixing allows forbidden things, and whoever allows them is an infidel and this means defection from Islam. Either he retracts or he must be killed because he disavows and does not observe the Shariah,” he said.

Al Barrak’s claims his fatwa is based on grounds that ikhtilat, or the mixing of men and women, allows for the possibility of seeing what must not be seen and engaging in forbidden conversations, Arab News added.

Al Barrak, who is thought to be around 77, is viewed by Islamists as the leading independent authority of “Wahhabism”.

In 2008, he had said in a rare religious ruling that two newspaper columnists should be put to death if they did not renounce their “heretical articles” in public.

However, this announcement has been heavily criticised by both religious and political figures in Kuwait, according to the country’s Al Watan Daily.

The country’s MP Yousef Al Zalzala, called the announcement as “ridiculous” and told the daily that the fatwa carries no weight religiously.

“Nothing in the Islamic faith stipulates death for those who are in pro-mixed gender environments. The Islamic religion is a religion of forgiveness. Needless to say, most of the Islamic scholars in Kuwait already rejected this proposition.”

According to the Arab News daily, Kuwaiti scholars claimed that such an edict could come only from a senile person or someone who wants to sow sedition in the nation by allowing the killing of innocent people.

“Officials need to step in promptly and make the authors of such edicts face legal measures to ensure no innocent people are killed or harmed by those who want to implement the fatwas,” Arab News quoted Dr. Ajeel Al-Nashmi, head of the GCC Religious Scholars League as saying.

India and Saudi Arabia have signed five accords relating to security, economy, defence and energy sectors to boost cooperation.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi King Abdullah inked the accords in Riyadh declaration that aims at beginning a new era of strategic partnership between the two states. The two states agreed to increase cooperation in information exchange relating to terrorist activities, money laundering, narcotics, arms and human trafficking, and further develop joint strategies to combat the said threats. The Indian Prime Minister and King Abdullah condemned terrorism and extremism and affirmed that the issue has acquired global dimensions and poses a threat to all societies.
The treaty, signed by India’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, further enhances existing security cooperation and is aimed at helping in apprehending wanted persons in the two countries. Manmohan Singh and King Abdullah also discussed the peace process in the Middle East.

The 15th Tour de Pakistan Cycle kicked off in Peshawar today in Peshawar.
Governor NWFP Owais Ghani opened the event. The cyclists would cover a distance of 1685km in 11 stages, which would climaxed in Rawalpindi. As many as 55 teams were invited for the event, however, Afghanistan is only foreign team that is taking part while Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Nepal teams did not turn up despite their confirmation. The sprint would finish on March, 13 at Mazar-e-Quiad, Karachi after passing through some major cities of NWFP, Punjab and Sindh. Besides Afghanistan teams from FATA, Pakistan Army, WAPDA, Railways, Sui Southern Gas and cyclists of the four provinces contesting for the top honor.