MUMBAI: Mr. Amit Jain has been appointed as Managing Director of AkzoNobel?s Decorative Paints business in India and Sri Lanka.

The world?s largest paints and coatings company, AkzoNobel is active in the region through its subsidiary, ICI India Ltd, which manufactures and supplies the market-leading Dulux brand.

Amit succeeds Mr. Rajiv Jain, who will be retiring as Managing Director following 35 years of valuable service in various leadership roles. During his time with the company, Rajiv transformed ICI India and was instrumental in establishing the Dulux brand?s strong market position.

"We are thankful to Rajiv for his dedicated leadership and wish him the very best for the future,? said Tex Gunning, the AkzoNobel Board member responsible for Decorative Paints.

Amit Jain will be joining AkzoNobel from MTV Asia, where he was in charge of business for India, China and South East Asia as Executive Vice-Pesident and Managing Director. He was also responsible for leading the creation of Viacom?s Indian joint venture, Viacom-18 (which launched the successful Colors channel), as well as elevating brands such as MTV, Nick and Vh1 into leadership positions.

Before MTV Networks, Amit spent more than a decade with Coca-Cola in India and across Asia in several business roles. He started his career with ICI India.

Added Gunning: ?We have ambitious plans for the Indian market and we?re delighted to welcome Amit to AkzoNobel. His multi-dimensional experience will allow us to redefine our Indian business, both in terms of vision and scale, as well as taking it to the next level.?

Confirming its strong focus on the Indian sub-continent, AkzoNobel has formed an independent business unit for India and South Asia, reporting directly to the global head office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

MUMBAI: As you bid adieu to the much harrowing heat this weekend, don‘t forget to tune into UTVi for the entertainment packed weekend. These programmes -Techtree, Autocar Show, Cracking Careers, Life & Style, Real Estate and Logo will be aired over the weekend (May 30th, 2009 and May 31st, 2009).

This week on Techtree, (Saturday, 30th May at 6.30 PM & Sunday, 31st May at 11.30 AM) UTVi will tell you how to make the right gadget-choices this season! Join Malaika Shenoy on a yacht for some summer-fun and to sample some technology from the high seas. We also tell you what gadgets to throw in your vacation knapsack.

This week on The Autocar Show (Saturday, 30th May at 10.30 AM PM & Sunday, 31st May at 12.30 PM), UTVi has a hot little exclusive for you! Hormazd Sorabjee drives the eagerly awaited Volkswagen Polo! Also on the show, you will find out how the Apache RTR 180 feels with that extra grunt, and catch up with team Autocar in Delhi as they embark on the last leg of the 20,000 km cross country drive!

On Cracking Careers (Saturday, 30th May at 8.00 AM PM & Sunday, 31st May at 5.00 PM) this week, as the Civil Services are catching the attention of many young MBAs, find out what is making young Indians quit corporate jobs to become public servants. Also on the show this week, it‘s time to upgrade your skills with short courses in finance offered by the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Watch Life & Style on Saturday, 30th May at 10.30 PM & Sunday, 31st May at 1.00 PM. In Health & Fitness, UTVi tells you how to get back in shape weeks after turning mommy, Perizaad Kolah tells you all her secrets!! Also on the show, find out the best Sunday brunch options available in the city of Mumbai!

This week on Real Estate (Saturday, 30th May at 12.30 PM & Sunday and 31st May at 11.30 PM) UTVi tells you how realty is being repackaged by developers, using innovative marketing strategies. You can also find out if these offers are indeed genuine and how will developers be able to pack in more for the same sale amount. Also watch out for a taste of retro design at Mumbai‘s Mocha Mojo.

On Logo (Saturday, 23rd May at 2.00 PM & Sunday, 24th May at 9.30 PM) If you thought advertisers had retired to the pavilion post their IPL innings, think again! This week on Logo, UTVi team goes behind the wicket to see if the T20 World Cup will see as much euphoria as IPL 2.0 and what brands like Pepsi, Reliance, Reebok and Emirates are doing to create buzz around yet another 20-20 tournament.

On Smart Money this week, UTVi team will tell 30 year old Brij Pandey how his sister‘s wedding can be bigger and better but with minimal strain on his finances and if you‘re looking to cash in on the market rally by redeeming your mutual funds, we tell whether it‘s the right time and what you need to look at before taking the plunge.

MUMBAI: As Manchester United and Barcelona prepare for the grand finale, NewsX brings an exclusive preview of Champions League Final 2009 with - Goalpost: Night of Championships. The show will take a close look at each of the two teams and will analyze the team and their players‘ performances. The show will also share relevant statistical information, which will be the trigger point of discussions and analysis.

This half an hour show would feature the renowned former Nigerian striker Chima Okerie as the studio guest. Along with him, the panel will host other experts sharing their opinions including some key people from the leading soccer content provider goal.com.

MUMBAI: The much anticipated news is out! MySpace, the world?s premier social portal, today disclosed the three bands that will be performing at India?s first ever MySpace Secret Show. True to its commitment of presenting a platform for India?s growing non-mainstream music genres, the impressive line-up for the MySpace Secret Show includes MOTHERJANE, Scribe and Black. This gig is exclusive and free for MySpacers and will take place at Bandra Bandstand Amphitheatre in Mumbai on Friday May 29th from 6.30 PM onwards.

Going away from the popular Indy and Bollywood music categories, the MySpace Secret Show is here to provide a live platform for scores of young, avant-garde musicians. The concerts will be a medium to present alternative music genres, including rock, metal, folk, sufi, electronica, bhangda and so on.

Cochin based band ?MOTHERJANE? which won the "Asian Voice of Independent Music Awards (AVIMA)" for Best Asian Rock Act 2009 is eagerly awaiting the D-Day. Suraj, the lead singer of the band says ?It?s always great to be part of making history. With the number of independent artists and bands sprouting all over India, (maybe more than 15000 of them) the non-filmy music scene in India is on its way to become the biggest in the world. The secret shows are proof that a brand like MySpace is very aware a revolution is brewing?

Mumbai based band ?Scribe? known as India‘s torchbearer for hardcore and alternative rockers ?Black? will get the show started.

Eager to play for an exclusive clique of rock-music fans on their home-turf, Vishwesh from Scribe says, ?It couldn?t have been a better time for such an event to come our way, when we are planning to launch our upcoming album. It is an honour to be part of a revolution because we had always heard about Secret Shows happening abroad and now, we are a part of the first MySpace Secret Show in India.?

Talking about their excitement on performing at the first Secret Show, Shawn from Black says, ?We are very excited to be one of the performers at India?s first MySpace Secret Show. We look up to both the other bands that we will share the stage with on Friday. It?s definitely going to be a blast!?

Hari Krishnan, Country Manager, MySpace India says: ?MySpace India is excited to support and encourage independent musicians of all levels in India. We are very excited to have one of the hottest rock bands in India, MOTHERJANE, headline the very first Indian secret show. They have a great live act. We also expect great energy and performances from Mumbai?s own metal band Scribe, and upcoming rock act, Black. All in all, it should be a great night of Indian rock music.?

MUMBAI: India‘s largest online gaming company, Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd and Kwality Walls have received an overwhelming response in Mumbai for their ongoing national gaming tournament Paddle Pop Gaming League ‘09 (PPGL‘09).
The gaming league is hosted in six cities that includes Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Each city will have their own leagues akin to that of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The tournament is played on 4 games based on the Paddle Pop brand character and his new ‘Pyrata‘ adventure theme and the winning participants and teams stand a chance to appear on Cartoon Network and win Xbox consoles, PSPs and prizes from Giny & Jony, EA and Zapak Games.

As PC/internet games becomes increasingly popular amongst children, the thrill and the rewards attached to PPGL‘09 will definitely getting them ‘gaming‘ a lot more this vacation. The final round of the tournament will be played in the first week of June.

According to Zapak CMO Arun Mehra, "This time Paddle Pop Gaming League is in its second year and with the kind of response received, I am sure it will become an annual summer activity for years to come."

Commenting on the successful turnout, Kwality Wall Category Head Punit Misra says, "The Paddle Pop Gaming League has allowed the brand to engage with even more kids this year and so far, number of brand interactions online, is very encouraging! With Zapak as our strategic partner, we created this exciting and popular property last year and are looking to making it even bigger and better this year!"

MUMBAI: Your browser may not support display of this image.In a remarkable and hard-hitting new documentary CNN?s Arwa Damon looks at the tragic legacy for families ripped apart by sectarian violence in Iraq and the choices that they and the country now face ? justice and reconciliation or revenge through a renewed cycle of terror. She weaves together a series of profiles of those caught up in the terror and asks what they have in common, if they can return to ‘normal life‘ ? or if they are doomed to generations of a dysfunctional society plagued by daily horrors.

Your browser may not support display of this image.As a CNN correspondent based in Baghdad, Damon chronicled daily the grim tally of atrocities including kidnappings, torture, rape and murder committed by Shi‘a militias, Sunni insurgents and Al Qaeda. But she generally did so away from the streets as they were simply too violent and dangerous to report from. Now she seeks to understand the horrors of what millions of Iraqis lived through and how killers often still live in the same neighbourhood as their victims? families. She puts names to the nameless, turns the statistics into real life stories and asks whether it will happen again.

Your browser may not support display of this image.One such name is Raed, a 25-year-old business graduate who was killed by a militia for allegedly being an agent for the Americans. His hands and feet were chopped off before he was decapitated ? by people his family knew. As his father says: ?They were our neighbours, people who sold vegetables at the market, people we shared blocks of ice with in the heat of summer.? Now he swears he won?t rest until his son?s killers are brought to justice and that means only one thing - the killers? execution. Umm Haider trembles in anger as she says she will take matters into her own hands: ?If the government doesn?t do anything, we women ? and I am not a killer ? but I will blow myself up in the midst of their families.?

Abu Abdullah is a young father of three and until recently a Sunni insurgent commander. For him it was a simple equation ? kill or be killed. Pitted against Shi?a militia, he admits that he ?arrested a number of them and enforced the judgment of God on the killers? while if the US withdraws he is ready to take up arms again: ?A new battle will start to eliminate the occupiers, agents and government-led militias against the Sunnis.?

Dr Abdul Mohsin is one of a handful of doctors dealing with what seems a whole nation suffering from post-traumatic stress. He believes that 70% of Iraqis have suffered psychological trauma, a statistic borne out on the streets of Baghdad where children?s games are based on everyday reality ? playing ?soldiers on patrol? and even mock executions. Damon also hears from the director of the Baghdad morgue, a man who probably saw more bodies and grotesque proof of cruelty than just about anyone else. His facility now runs a grotesque slideshow as relatives scan photos of mutilated dead bodies in the hope of discovering what happened to their loved ones.

In ?INSIDE IRAQ: LIVING WITH THE ENEMY?, Damon shows in unflinching detail that although some think the worst may be over and security improving, reclaiming the streets may be less than half the battle. In a deeply embedded culture of fear and violence, as long as killers walk free and the bereaved have nowhere to turn, Iraq?s future may be doomed to repeat its past.