Best Spring Trips 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.

Best Spring Trips 2012

Spring's here, and that means a new crop of travel picks. Here are ten trips, selected by our editors, that are perfect for the season. Don't see your favorite destination here? Tell us in the comments or submit it to our new online community,

National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.

Blooming-the people of Tokyo gifted Washington, D.C., with 3,000 ornamental cherry trees. The living gift pink and white blossoms have heralded spring's arrival in the nation's capital since 1912 when  spawned the nation’s signature springtime celebration, extended to five weeks (March 20 to April 27) for the 2012 centennial edition. Daily events pay tribute to the relationship between the United States and Japan. While some—like the high-energy National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Saturday, April 14—are date-specific, many extend through summer.


The National Geographic Museum’s "Samurai: The Warrior Transformed" exhibition, March 7 to September 3, explores the history of the samurai military tradition and includes artifacts such as a suit of armor presented to President Theodore Roosevelt. Also on display is the early 20th-century hand-tinted photographs of Japan taken by Eliza Scidmore, the first woman to serve on the National Geographic Board. Scidmore played an integral role in bringing the cherry blossoms to Washington.


The free Library of Congress exhibition, "Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship," illuminates the story of the landmark trees through watercolor drawings, Japanese color woodblock prints and books, and photographs.


During the festival, take the U.S. National Arboretum’s self-guided “Beyond the Tidal Basin” tour to learn about ongoing efforts to preserve the District’s blooming cultural ambassadors.


Our guide to Washington, D.C. >>


Photos of D.C. landmarks >>

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Indians top buyers of space in world's tallest tower

Indians top buyers of space in world's tallest tower

Dubai: Indians top the list of buyers in the world's tallest tower having acquired space worth $7.9 million in the first seven months of the skyscrapers opening. Prominent buyers of swanky apartments in the 100 floor Burj Khalifa tower include London-based NRI businessman Raj Kundra, who presented an apartment to his wife Shilpa Shitty.

Local businessman of Indian origin B R Shetty, who is managing director and CEO of the New Medical Centre Group of Companies in Abu Dhabi, has also bought the entire 100th floor in the tower. Rizwan Sajan, Chairman of Danube Group is also reported to have recently purchased an apartment in the tower.

As the world still reels under a economic downturn, the local UAE nationals come second having spent $2.62 million on buying space in the tower, a news report citing real estate information company Reidin.com has said

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Other major buyers of tower's space include Australians $1.25 million, Omanese $1.14 million, Chinese $0.62 million and Iranians $0.73 million. According to Reidin.com, the figures are based on the actual transactions registered with the Land Department of Dubai.

Reidin is an exclusive partner and primary data source for the information service in the emerging markets is Real Estate Regulatory Agency and the Land Department. In November, Raj Kundra gave an apartment in Burj Khalifa to his wife and actress Shilpa Shetty as wedding gift.

Burj Khalifa has 900 studios, one, two, three and four bedroom units, while the exclusive Armani Residences located in the world's tallest tower has 144 fully furnished private apartments. It offers luxurious recreational and leisure facilities including four swimming pools, an exclusive residents' lounge, health and wellness facilities.

It also boasts of the world's highest fine dining restaurant on 122nd floor and at the top. It also has the world's highest observatory deck with an outdoor terrace on Level 124.

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rankings chats top10 prospects scouting reports

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2011.

Since winning the 2005 World Series, few teams have gotten less of a bang for their buck than the White Sox. They've spent more than $600 million on payroll since the 2006 all-star break, more money than any other American League Central team save the Tigers, yet have only a 440-445 regular-season record and one playoff victory to show for it.

With his farm system failing to supply impact players, GM Ken Williams constantly has had to be on the lookout for OPT—other people's talent. He has chosen poorly in recent years, hamstringing Chicago with bad contracts for Adam Dunn, Jake Peavy and Alex Rios.

After Williams committed $93.5 million to bring back Paul Konerko and add Dunn last offseason, many analysts picked the White Sox to win the AL Central in 2011. But they started the season 11-21 and essentially conceded at the trade deadline, when they dealt Edwin Jackson.

For a cost of $40 million, Dunn gave them the worst batting average in big league history for a player with 450 plate appearances (.159), Rios had the majors' worst OPS among batting qualifiers (.613) and Peavy delivered just seven wins and 18 starts. That trio still has $103 million remaining on their contracts.

Manager Ozzie Guillen, who was signed through 2012, went public in September with his demands for a contract extension. It was the second year in a row he had pushed his financial desires through the media. The White Sox released him from his contract, receiving reliever Jhan Marinez and shortstop from the Marlins after Miami signed Guillen to a four-year deal.

Williams called 2011 his most disappointing season of his 11-year tenure as GM, and he said he went to owner Jerry Reinsdorf more than once to ask if the club wanted a change in the front office. Reinsdorf wasn't ready to hand the reins to longtime assistant GM Rick Hahn, so it fell to Williams to pick a new manager. He tabbed special adviser Robin Ventura, who has no managerial experience at any level.

The club could struggle to contend in the immediate future because it has done a poor job of signing and developing its own talent. Chicago has the worst farm system in baseball, and it's no coincidence that it ranks last in draft spending in the last five years ($18.3 million) and has had little presence on the international amateur market in that time.

Because the system has little to offer in the way of immediate help, Williams made moves to acquire young arms in December. He sent Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays for righthander Nestor Molina, then shipped Carlos Quention to the Padres for righty Simon Castro and lefty Pedro Hernandez. Castro and Molina immediately became Chicago's top starting pitching prospects.

The White Sox never were a leader in Latin America, but their international operations have been in shambles since former senior director of player personnel Dave Wilder and two scouts were caught in a scandal taking kickbacks from prospects in 2008. Chicago made a move to bolster its international efforts in November, hiring Blue Jays director of Latin American operations Marco Paddy.

Whether the White Sox will decide to invest more heavily in the draft remains to be seen. They haven't drafted a truly productive homegrown position player since 16th-rounder Chris Young in 2001. They've had more success with more recent pitching selections such as Daniel Hudson, Addison Reed and Chris Sale, though Hudson was given to the Diamondbacks in a 2010 trade for Jackson.

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A top story from Ares Technic was making the rounds through Digg and Reddit yesterday, bashing Google for being a "little evil.

A top story from Ars Technic 

was making the rounds through Digg and Reddit yesterday, bashing Google for being a "little evil." The charge is based on an unusual case, where Google helped Indian police nab Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid, an IT professional living near New Delhi, for posting disparaging messages about Sonia Gandhi on an Orkut group. Vaid was charged under section 292 of Indian Penal Code and section 67 of the Information Technology Act, for posting disparaging, "vulgar" content about Gandhi in a group entitled "I Hate Sonia Gandhi." The creator of the group, interestingly, was not charged.

While the law may be outrageous in its limitation of free speech (my opinion), Google's response to it was far from. And it certainly wasn't evil. If Google wants to operate in India, their local branch must follow local laws. And while everyone seems to claim that Google's actions in this case, and in the infamous case of Chinese censorship, violated their motto of "Don't Be Evil," it seems that very few people actually read Google's explanation of their de facto motto. According to Google's Code of Conduct, "'Don't be evil' is...about doing the right thing more generally – following the law." Google can choose not to operate in certain marketplaces where the feel that following the local laws would clash with the other principles of "Don't Be Evil," like "acting honorably and treating each other with respect," but the search giant cannot just decide to break the law.

In any marketplace, Google needs to weigh the ethical benefit of its service, which offers free information to people, against the ethical limitations of the marketplace, such as censorship. Google decided that it was more evil in China to deprive the population of any search results than to censor some results. Now it's made the same decision in India--and rightly so.

Every time Google is required to comply with local laws, it is accused of being evil; every time Google stores or analyzes a new piece of information--like mail or health records--it is accused of being invasive and violating users' privacy. These cycles are predictable and they predictably pass (do you know anyone who doesn't use Gmail because they are worried about Google reading their email?).

"Don't Be Evil" is (sadly) a lot for any international company to live up to. Google actually pulls it off quite well.

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Solang Valley, India's newest destination for adventure sports

Solang Valley, India's newest destination for adventure sports 

India s top adventure sport destination at solang valley , manali

Manali: Winter sports is no longer confined to the breathtaking locales of Jammu and Kashmir. Solang Valley in Himachal Pradesh is fast turning into a popular destination for skiers and comes alive when much of northern India retreats into the warmth of well-heated homes.

Foreigners and locals throng the snow-capped slopes of the picturesque valley snuggled between the Beas Kund and Solang village for skiing, snowboarding and sliding. It is located 13 km northwest of the hill resort of Manali at an altitude of 8,000 ft.

The valley played host to a first-of-its-kind skiing event, the Alpine Premier League, this month. Over 350 participants showcased their skills in a bid to be anointed the king of mountains.

The Feb 5-9 competition also saw state teams from Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, besides Indian army skiers who dominated both the men's and women's fields. Twenty-four competitors from overseas came to slide down the slopes of Solang.

The daunting Himalayas and the fresh powdery snow provide the perfect setting for an adventure sport enthusiast to freak out.

Still regarded as an elitist sport because of the expensive equipment, the locals are getting adequate help from the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali and private companies like Ski Himalayas to provide skiing equipment free for training.

Shiva Kesavan, who created history by winning India's first gold in an international winter sports event at the Asia Cup in Nagano, Japan, in December, sees Solang as a huge step forward for the sport.

Kesavan, born in Vashist near Manali, is a four-time winter sport Olympian. Highly respected and admired among the winter sport community, Kesavan feels Himachal has a lot to offer to adventure sports.

"Conditions here are perfect for winter sports; Himachal is fast becoming the hub for adventure sport in the country. However, the work is still in progress. There needs to be dedicated space for different events, the slopes are still a little bumpy but the standards will improve gradually," he told IANS.

Youngsters in Solang seem to be taking to skiing like duck to water. Enthusiastic boys keenly wait for their turn to enter the Gondola, a sort of cable car, to take them to the highest point of the slope so that they can blaze a trail down.

Kesavan feels these are encouraging signs and the government should take notice and provide support.

"Youngsters here are taking to the sport in a big way - this is great news. The Indian government needs to start a comprehensive training programme so that these guys can make it to the international stage," he said.

Peter Tobler, a snowboard instructor in Switzerland, first came to Manali 16 years ago. Since then the Durham-born Englishman has been a regular here and feels it is one of the best places in the world to snowboard.

"Snow conditions here are fantastic; the slope is a great challenge. Solang is a paradise for winter sport. The valley has great potential and is as good a place as any in the world," Peter said. ians

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holidays in 2012 good places

Munnar is situated at the confluence of three mountain streams – Muthirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala, at about 1600 m above sea level, this hill station once used to be the summer resort of the erstwhile British administration in south India.

Munnar is considered to be one of the most favored romantic/honeymoon destinations in India. Its cool climate, pristine fresh environment and green waved tea carpeted mountains are the perfect setting for a great kerala honeymoon or romantic holiday.

Munnar Tea plantations

Munnar has a lot of stories to tell about itself. The story of the tea plantation dates back to the British era in India, an experimentation on 20 acres of land lead to a successful growth of the tea plantations in Munnar. Today, most parts of Munnar are carpeted with the breath taking greenery of tea plantations. Before, it was home to tribal communities and many species of wild animals.

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IPL 2012: Glittering ceremony marks Pune Warriors India's first home match

Visakhapatnam: Apr 8, 2012

After suffering reverses in their respective previous encounters, both Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargerswould look to get their campaign on track when they meet in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Monday.

 

Pune: Apr 8, 2012

Pune IPL franchisee owner Sahara India Pariwar hosted a grand opening ceremony of its Pune Warrior team ahead of their first home match against Kings XI Punjab at the new Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune.

Bollywood divas, including Preity Zinta, Jacqueline Fernandes, Dia Mirza, Neha Dhupia, Prachi Desai, Sameera Reddy, Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra performed in the ceremony.

The inauguration was conducted by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and 'Saharasri' Subroto Roy Sahara, Managing Worker and Chairman Sahara India Pariwar.

Bachchan said, "Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium is not just a cricket stadium but a world class hi-tech stadium which is build with a unique blend of art and technology, human mind and machine, dream and reality, and passion and dedication. In this stadium the warriors of today will show their might and the warriors of future will get trained."

Thanking Bachchan, Roy said, "I am not worthy for these words and nor that such a beautiful stadium's name is kept on my name. It was my helplessness that I had to do this. Pune is my city and I love the people of Pune. I dedicate the stadium to the people of Pune and the citizen of our nation."(PTI)

A hard fought win for pune this ! They were restricted to a below par total but their bowlers fought it out hard after getting the danger man levi in the first over.Dinda was the star of the day and he picket up four wicket-two in his very first over.Murali kartik bowled brilliantly too Disappointment for mumbai , they were certainly the stronger team on paper but their batsmen let them down

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