GENERAL NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

Thursday, February 05th 2009
J K Rowling made Knight
Famous British author of the Harry Potter series J K Rowling has been conferred with the Knight of the Legion of Honor - France's highest civilian award. Ms Rowling was presented with the award by French President Nicholas Sarkozy at a ceremony in Paris.

Monday, February 09th 2009
'Slumdog millionaire' sweeps up awards at the BAFTA 
It seemed like the night of the underdog at the British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) as the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" won seven out of its 11 nominations at the BAFTA. It won the awards for Best film; best Director (Danny Boyle), best adapted screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Best editing (Chris Dickens) and Best Sound (Resul Pookutty). A R Rahman won the BAFTA for Best music for Slumdog Millionaire and the critics choice for best music composer in 2008 for the song " Jai ho". Slumdog Millionaire has also won 11 nominations at the Oscars. 

Tuesday, February 10th 2009
Zakir Hussain bags a Grammy
The Indian Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain won a Grammy in the contemporary world music album category for his collaborative album "Global Drum Project". For the album Zakir Hussain worked with Mickey Hart of the rock band 'Grateful Dead', Nigerian percussionist Shikiru Adepoju and Puerto Rican jazz percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo. 

Friday, February 13th 2009
TOI wins award for 'Plain English'
The Times of India the Indian daily has won Britain's Plain English Campaign International Media Award 2008. TOI has won this award for simple and effective use of the English language and also for raising awareness of plain English within its press coverage across India.

Friday, February 13th 2009
Space traffic a growing concern
What seemed like a scene from a science fiction movie actually took place late on Tuesday when a 12 year old, 560 Kg satellite belonging to US company Iridium crashed at a speed of 40,000 Kmph into the defunct 950 Kg Russian Cosmos satellite. The Russian satellite was put into orbit in 1993. The crash occurred 600 km over Siberia. This has been termed highly unusual by NASA officials and it was the first high-speed impact between two intact spacecraft. The debris that have resulted due to the collision can be of risk of damage for the Hubble space telescope and the Earth observing satellites.

Monday, February 23rd 2009
At the Oscars
Slumdog Millionaire, the hot favourite at the Academy Awards, won 8 Oscars in the categories of Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Film Editing (Chris Dickens), Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Best Sound Mixing (India's Resul Pookutty) as well as Best Original Score and Best Song. A R Rahman won two Oscars for Best Original Music Score and for Best Song (Jai Ho). Noted Hindi Lyricist Gulzar shared the Oscar with A R Rahman for the Best Song category. British Actress Kate Winslet won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the film 'The Reader.' Sean Penn bagged the Best Actor award for his role in the film 'Milk'. Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for "The Dark Knight".