MUMBAI: Ekta Choudhary ? Miss India Universe 2009 supporting the Fight Against Cervical Cancer (FACC) today called for immediate action against cervical cancer and urged women to go in for regular check-ups and pap smears. Statistics indicate Cervical Cancer kills eight women every waking hour in India. FACC is a CSR initiative of The PRactice, a leading communications consulting firm that aims to generate awareness about cervical cancer amongst the Indian masses and encourage women to get pap smears. On the occasion of Mother?s Day (May 10, 2009), this campaign is also supported by the Fortis Group of hospitals who will provide pap smears at discounted prices.

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in Indian women. According to WHO estimates, every year 132,082 women are diagnosed with cancer and 74,118 women die from this disease. Currently there are about 365.71 million aged over 15 years and each one of them is at the risk of contracting this cancer. Globally it affects 500,000 women and a fifth of them reside in India. The Pap smear can be the greatest defense against cervical cancer. The Pap smear can detect cervical changes early before they turn into cancer.

Ekta Choudhary - Miss India Universe 2009, said, ?Cervical cancer is a danger to the growth of our society. Women being the nurturer need to be protected from this danger; due to lack of knowledge a large number of women are suffering from deadly diseases like cervical cancer. For the future of our country we must educate our fellow sisters about the dangers of cervical cancer. Only when we come together to protect and help each other we can make a difference. Precaution is better than cure, lets educate ourselves for a better future .We owe it to ourselves .Let us join hands together to save the ones who are the reason for our existence. Get a Pap smear test now. A gynaecologist should be your best friend for the rest of your life.?

On the occasion of Mothers Day, May 10, 2009 Fortis La Femme, GK- II and Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital Vasant Kunj are offering pap smears at a discounted rate of Rs. 240 a test.

?As a centre dedicated to womens‘ health, we are doing our bit to create awareness on cervical cancer. A simple test like pap smear can help detect this disease that is taking upto 70,000 lives a year. We will initiate talks on cervical cancer in schools, colleges and other ladies organisations to promote awareness. We are also offering a discounted price on Pap smear on Mothers‘ Day? said Gurrit Kaur, Facility Director, Fortis La Femme.

Sunil Kapur, Head-Sales & Marketing, Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj, said: ?Cervical Cancer is a silent killer in India. Due to the low levels of awareness in India, 8 women dying every waking hour due to cervical cancer. These statistics should prompt Indian women to regularly visit their gynaecologist and get pap smears. As a tribute to mothers‘, Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj supports the fight against cervical cancer and will be offering pap smears at a discounted rate on Mothers? Day, May 10, 2009.?

MUMBAI: Twenty20 Cricket comes to Dubai for the first time, as Pakistan take on Australia in a one-off tie on the 7th of May. After an absorbing 5-match ODI series that Australia won 3-2, it?s now time to shift focus to the shortest version of the game. And the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, which hosted the first two ODIs of the Chapal Cup and impressed everyone ? from the commentators to the fans to the players to the experts, has been decked up especially for this occasion. The T20 will give another chance to Cricketing aficionadi all over the world to catch a glimpse of the stadium?s unique lighting system, dubbed the ?Ring of Fire?.

All the action will be live and exclusive on TEN Sports, the most widely watched sports channel in the subcontinent.

With the T20 World coming up next month, this game is of special significance to both sides. Brett Lee, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, is likely to don a yellow-and-green jersey for the first time since Boxing Day 2008. And with Michael Clarke returning home, Brad Haddin will take on the mantle of Australian skipper. Having lost 2 of their 5 T20s so far this year, the Kangaroos know they have quite a few aspects to work on; and this match will provide them the perfect opportunity to see which of their youngsters can perform when thrown into the deep end of the pool

Pakistan, the runners-up at the last T20 World held in South Africa, always fancy themselves in this format; and with an ebullient bunch of youngsters in their side including the gifted Ahmad Shehzad, they see this as a great opportunity to test their developing squad against one of the best sides in the world. And having won 4 of their 5 matches in 2008, they?re eager to prove themselves to be strong contenders for this year?s T20 world.

MUMBAI: ENM, India?s premier full-fledged electronic news monitoring agency has bagged three IPL teams other than the league owners, IPL, for monitoring the matches. ENM will offer an extensive monitoring of all the matches for the season to the owner and the three franchises.

ENM will provide a comprehensive TMIR (Television Monitoring Intelligence Report) that highlights the visibility on numerous television networks. The parameters used for monitoring are prime time vs. non-prime time, coverage on 130+ television channels and date wise reporting of coverage over a specified period of time. Individual teams will be monitored vis-?-vis the other teams with such classificatory variables as Team, Owner, Match Schedule, Channel, Zone, Tone and Issues. The report will facilitate measurement of the present marketing strategy and enable the league and franchises to hone their strategy for the next season.

MUMBAI: Once upon a time a simple girl next door, now the glamour girl of Bollywood and went on to rule the silver screen. Meet the talented and hard working girls, who believes in never say die attitude, our very own Bollywood beauties Asin Thottumkal, Anushka Sharma, Mahi Gill, Genelia D?Souza and Sonam Kapoor on Superstars Superlives as the special episode ?Claim to fame? features about their life, career and success story this week Monday-Friday, May 04-08, 8.30pm only on ZoOm.

For this tall, dusky southern beauty, language barrier is not an issue. Asin Thottumkal made a name in Bollywood within a short span of time purely through her instant charisma and talent. She knows her subject well, as she soon struck success with ?Ghajjni? along side Aamir Khan. On one hand, another promising newcomer Anushka Sharma, a model turn actress; she struck gold with her recent debut film ?Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi? with Shah Rukh Khan which created a stir where her sheer performance captured the mind of the audience. For Mahi Gill it was a tough decision to come to Mumbai though a new beginning following a painful divorce. After a long struggle in Bollywood she got lucky when director Anurag Kashyap picked her for a role in Dev D. They say, ?To a good actor, acting comes easy?, and for Genelia D? Souza of Jane Tu Ya Jaane Na fame there is no looking back. She holds that free flowing acting abilities in her. She is a natural performer with true personality, sweet and charming with her on screen persona. When one talks about glamour, one cannot forget the ultimate glam girl, the new girl in B-town Sonam Kapoor. She is extremely talented and hardworking. She proved the industry wrong that star kids need not work hard to top the charts.

So tune in to know about your favorite Bollywood Beauties and journey

with them on the special episode of Superstars Superlives ? ?Claim to fame? this Monday-Friday, May 04-08, 8.30pm only on ZoOm.

MUMBAI : The Festival of Media (FOM) has rapidly emerged as the focal point for the world of Media Agencies and Media Owners.

At the Awards held at FOM, Valencia last week, that were judged by a global jury, in the most coveted category of Best Communications Strategy, the jury members unanimously chose one winner- none other than India‘s independent media agency, Madison Media for its BBC World Service Trust‘s Anti - Aids Campaign. The Agency used the insight that the major deterrent against the use of Condoms in India was the discomfort to mouth the word and the Campaign sought to de-taboo the word.

The FOM Awards are designed to celebrate the very best in Media work from around the world. 28 prominent Jury members from around the world - including Maarten Albarda, Worldwide Director of Media & Communication Innovation, The Coca Cola Company, Mainardo de Nardis, CEO, OMD Worldwide, Harvey Goldhersz, Worldwide COO, MediaCom, Charlie Hiscocks, Group Brand Communications Director, SAB Miller, Jack Klues, Managing Partner, VivaKi, Richard Prenderville, Head of Global Brand Marketing, Reebok International, amongst many others- judged 650 entries in 2 rounds - the first shortlist round was held over 2 days in London and the final round was held in Valencia. A total of 50 awards were given out amongst 26 categories excluding Media owners‘ awards and categories and Indian agencies all put together have won 3 awards.

Says Punitha Arumugam, Madison Media Group C.E.O, "We are all delighted that our work done here in India has been recognized on a global platform."

At the recent GOAFEST held in Goa in the first week of April, Madison Media also won 2 Gold and 2 Silver Awards.

Madison Media is a unit of Madison World, which has 20 Units across 10 Specialized functions in Advertising, Media, Outdoor, PR, Rural, Retail, Entertainment, BTL, Mobile, Events and Sports; employing over 700 communication professionals across 9 cities in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

MUMBAI: Barcelona are hoping to dash all hopes of a second consecutive all-English UEFA Champions League Final, as Europe?s premier club competition enters the home stretch.They take on Guus Hiddink?s Chelsea at London, in the 2nd leg of the second semi-final on Wednesday, the 6th of May. However, all eyes will first be on the mouth-watering return leg of the first semi-final between Arsenal and Manchester United, which kicks off in London on the 5th of May.

Both matches will be Live and exclusive on TEN Sports, the most widely-watched channel in the subcontinent, with coverage beginning at 23:30.

The good news for Manchester United ahead of their tie at the Emirates Stadium was that key defender Rio Ferdinand returned to training. He had been coughing blood after damaging his ribs and bruised a lung at Old Trafford last week, and was unlikely to be fit before this encounter. United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose side goes in with a slender one-nil advantage from the first leg, had earlier sounded a warning to Arsenal that they wouldn?t be able to stop the Red Devils from scoring again.

No wonder then, that Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger called on his team to focus hard on this game, though they must enjoy taking on the holders as well. Wenger is optimistic, though, for Arsenal are unbeaten in 24 Champions League matches at home ? a five-year run ? and have lost just once in United‘s last ten visits overall. Moreover, they haven?t as much as conceded a goal at home during this campaign, drawing only with Fenerbahce in Group G.

United, on the other hand, haven?t been as great when travelling. They drew at Villarreal and Celtic before brushing aside Aalborg 3-0. They then failed to find the net against Inter at the San Siro, and had to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo?s genius to send them through at the expense of Porto. That said, their away record is still impressive ? they haven?t lost an away-game in 11 since their loss to Milan in 2007.

Arsenal and United were both involved in Premier League action over the weekend, with the Gunners winning 3-0 at Portsmouth and United overcoming Middlesbrough 2-0. So, full of confidence and looking in good form, the two rivals look set to put on a real show during what promises to be an epic encounter on Tuesday night.

In the other semi-final, Chelsea host Barcelona at Stamford Bridge with the scoreline blank following a goalless first leg at the Nou Camp. Hiddink played a 4-4-2 system in an entertaining 3-1 Premier League victory over Fulham at the weekend, pairing Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba up front to great effect. "If we want to play a little bit for ourselves when we are not fully concentrated, then we give away chances, like we did against Fulham, but, if we do that on a higher level, we will be exposed and punished," Hiddink said. With Barcelona missing central defenders Carles Puyol and Rafael Marquez, the Dutchman could fight fire with fire on Tuesday but he is more likely to beef up his midfield and leave Anelka on the bench.

Barcelona, meanwhile, were devastating against Real Madrid as they closed in on the Spanish title, ripping their bitter rivals to shreds. "We are going to Chelsea to win, to attack and to qualify for the final in Rome -- Chelsea know that," said their upbeat coach Pep Guardiola. That after former Real star Emilio Butragueno described the current Barca side as their best ever, better than even Johan Cruyff?s dream team of the ?90s.

Chelsea knocked Barca out at the round of 16 stage in 2005, but were eliminated by the Catalans in 2000 and 2006. So, with all the portents of a needle clash, this is one encounter you wouldn?t like to miss