Civil Services Times

Out of seven authors, three Indian have been figured to compete for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. The Man Asian Literary Prize is given annually to the best novel by a writer from one of 26 countries in South Asia and East Asia. To be eligible, a book must either have been written in English or translated into English. The winning author is awarded $30,000 and the translator (if any) $5,000. Novelists Chang-rae Lee (“The Surrendered”) and Vikas Swaru (“Q&A,” the novel upon which “Slumdog Millionaire” was based) also served as judges this year.

Previous winners of the Man Asian Literary Prize include Chinese writers Bi Feiyu (“Three Sisters”) and Su Tong (“The Boat to Redemption”) and Miguel Syjuco (“Illustrado”), of the Philippines.
Jamil Ahmad, Pakistan - The Wandering Falcon (Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)
Jahnavi Barua, India - Rebirth (Penguin India/Penguin Books)
Rahul Bhattacharya, India - The Sly Company of People Who Care (Pan Macmillan/Pan Macmillan India/Picador)
Amitav Ghosh, India - River of Smoke (John Murray/Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)
Kyung-sook Shin, South Korea - Please Look After Mom (Alfred A. Knopf)
Yan Lianke, China - Dream of Ding Village (Grove Atlantic)
Banana Yoshimoto, Japan - The Lake (Melville House)
Four of the shortlisted novels were originally written in English; the novels from South Korea, China and Japan are all judged in translation.

Three-time Grammy winner singer Etta James, a pioneer of 1950s rhythm-and-blues and rock music known for her show-stopping hit “At Last”, died at the age of 73. With songs like “The Wallflower” and “Good Rockin’ Daddy”, the three-time Grammy winner was a key figure in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, and her signature song, the 1961 ballad “At Last”, proved her mastery of the blues. She won her first Grammy in 1995 for her album, “Mystery Lady: The Songs of Billie Holiday”. She also won Grammys in 2003 and 2005, as well as a lifetime achievement award in 2003.

Olympic fencer and movie sword master Bob Anderson appeared in some of film’s most famous dueling scenes – died at the age of 89; donned Darth Vader’s black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original ‘Star Wars’ films, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ . As a competitive fencer, Mr Anderson also represented Great Britain in the 1952 Olympic Games and the World Championships in 1950 and 1953 in the sabre event.

Lionel Messi of Argentina has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) prize for the best player of 2011, becoming only the fourth player in history to win the trophy three times. It was the third-straight year, the Argentina and Barcelona star has won the award, putting him in select company alongside some of the game’s all-time greats. It should be noted that Messi had previously won the Ballon D’Or in 2009 and 2010 and was named the man of the match in Barca’s 2011 Champions League final victory over Manchester United

The 69th Golden Globe Awards were conferred from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 15, 2012. Multiple winners for the night included the silent film The Artist which won three awards and The Descendants winning two awards.

The television series Homeland also won two awards:

Best Actor, Drama: George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Best Actress, Drama: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo.”
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn.”
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners.”
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help.”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation.”
Best Animated Film: “The Adventures of Tintin.”
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris.”
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, “The Artist.”
Best Original Song: “Masterpiece” (music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry), “W.E.”
TELEVISION
Best Series, Drama: “Homeland,” Showtime.
Best Series, Musical or Comedy: “Modern Family,” ABC.
Best Actor, Drama: Kelsey Grammer, “Boss.”
Best Actress, Drama: Claire Danes, “Homeland.”
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Laura Dern, “Enlightened.”
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes.”
Best Miniseries or Movie: “Downton Abbey (Masterpiece),” PBS.
Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce.”
Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Idris Elba, “Luther.”
Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story.”
Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones.”

Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.’s PayPal division, has been named as Yahoo’s Chief Executive Officer. It should be noted that Yahoo has been without a permanent CEO since September, 2011, when it fired Carol Bartz. Tim Morse, Yahoo’s chief financial officer, was serving as interim CEO since Bartz’s ouster. As the new CEO of Yahoo Inc. Scott Thompson will have to make new strategies to boost visitors to Yahoo’s sites and attract more advertisers amid competition from Google Inc and Facebook. 

Brazilian teenage footballer Neymar, has been voted South American soccer’s Footballer of the Year. It should be noted that Neymar helped Santos to win the 15th Copa Liberatores Cup in 2011. Uruguay’s Oscar Washington Tabarez was named coach of the year for the second time in a row.

India has always pursued a foreign policy that is purposeful, result-oriented and pro-active. This has been the hallmark of our sixty years as a democratic state. India today enjoys an inimitable profile in the international arena as a factor of steadiness, a model of plural and secular democracy, and an economic powerhouse that is destined to play a greater role in the international affairs. After successfully implementing a “Look East” policy to promote trade and investment with its Asian neighbors, India has adopted a similar policy toward West Asia. The UPA Government has launched the “Look West” policy, in recognition of the facts that “the Gulf region has become a major economic partner, “is a home to over 6 million Indians and “a major source of oil and gas.
This has resulted in increased interaction, enhanced trade and economic relations and launch of negotiations towards FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The Government is keen to cooperate with the Gulf countries in the promotion of peace and stability in the region. It has appointed a Special Envoy for the Gulf and West Asia.

This region shares a long historical association with India. It is the source for India’s ever expanding needs of energy. It is also huge markets for Indian goods, services and skilled manpower.

1. Book “A.R. Rahman: The Spirit of Music” is written by Nasreen Munni Kabir.
2. Book “Ladder to the Moon” is written by Maya Soetoro-Ng. The author is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, President of the United States of America.
3. Book “Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a Parliamentarian: is written by former Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee.
4. Book “Hand of Destiny” is written by C Subramaniam.