NG’s Best Wild Animal Photos of 2008

(Courtesy: National Geographic Society) Stalking India's Hemis National Park, a snow leopard lives up to its name in U.S. photographer Steve Winter's award-winning National Geographic magazine image.

On October 30, 2008, "Snowstorm Leopard" was named best overall photo in the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is organized by the Natural History Museum of London and BBC Wildlife Magazine. "This is the hardest story I have ever done because of the altitude and the steepness of the mountains," the U.S. photographer told National Geographic. "At night it was 30 below zero.

" Over ten months Winter's 14 "camera traps" shot more than 30,000 frames in pursuit of the endangered cat.

Man and whale size each other up in the winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition's underwater category, announced on October 30, 2008.

The photo was taken by Brian Skerry on assignment for National Geographic magazine off New Zealand's Auckland Islands, where a "pristine population" of southern right whales, in Skerry's words, was discovered only ten years ago. The U.S. photographer said he had deployed his assistant Mauricio Handler (pictured) as bait for this friendly 70-ton giant.

"The whales were highly curious of us. Many of these animals had never seen a human before," Skerry told National Geographic News.

A black colobus monkey has its fur singed in preparation for sale at an illegal bush-meat market in Gabon.

The image won the One Earth Award, which "seeks to highlight the interaction between humans and the natural world," at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition on October 30, 2008.

"They singe the fur off, then sell the animals naked but intact," U.K. photographer David Maitland explained. The shot was taken in Gabon's capital city, Libreville, where sea turtles, crocodiles, porcupines, antelopes, and other protected animals were openly on sale.

"It was only afterwards that I realized how strong this image was," Maitland said. "It was very upsetting to be there."

An aptly named winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, "Deadlock" was captured in the dead of night in a Belizean rain forest.

U.K.-based David Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake--and still didn't see the conclusion.

"I would love to have seen them go their separate ways, but I was exhausted," the photographer said. "The frog was all the time trying to pull the snake off, but the snake just wouldn't let go.

"This frog is actually incredibly rare, which lends to the bizarre nature of the whole encounter," he said.

French photographer Cyril Ruoso pursued the screams of hunting chimpanzees through dense forests in Tanzania's Gombe National Park--and captured this winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, announced October 30, 2008, in London.

The central and dominant figure, unwilling to share his half of a wild pig, is a 31-year-old male known as Frodo, lead hunter of his group. "Frodo is a warrior," Ruoso said.

"He catches the prey 80 percent of the time."

Such a large catch is rare for Gombe's chimpanzees, which usually target small monkeys, Ruoso said.

"He would jump all over me, then run away," said Stefano Unterthiner of the black-crested macaque in this winning photo from the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. "He was always hanging around."

Unterthiner followed a group of the monkeys on Indonesia's Sulawesi island for six weeks, always wearing the same clothes, so they would recognize him.

The rare animals spend 99 percent of their time foraging in the forest and rarely venture along the shore, according to Unterthiner. Until recently the local tradition was to eat them for Christmas dinner, he added.

A snowy clash of white-tailed eagles during a Polish winter is among the winning images in the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, organized by BBC Wildlife Magazine and London's Natural History Museum.

After finding a dead moose next to a rail track, photographer Antoni Kasprzak waited five hours until the two birds, a juvenile and an adult, descended and began fighting over the carcass.

"The old, more experienced bird won, forcing the immature eagle to wait its turn more than an hour," Kasprzak said.

Terrorist Siege Has Ended in Mumbai (Gallery)

Even as the special forces and the police succeeded in freeing 200 people who were holed up inside the Oberoi and Trident Hotels for the third day, four Israeli and United States nationals held hostage in a south Mumbai Jewish religious centre were found dead when commandos stormed the building late on Friday evening.

A National Security Guards officer in the rank of a Major, who was not officially identified, gave his life in the attempt to rescue the four hostages held by terrorists at the Chabad-Lukovich religious centre in Nariman House in the Colaba area. The two terrorists who had taken over the centre were also killed.

NSG commandos had engaged in periodic exchanges of fire through Thursday in the course of efforts to rescue the Nariman House hostages. Early this morning, the NSG used a helicopter to lower commandos on to the roof of Nariman House. Several explosions were heard soon afterwards.

In the evening, the NSG, backed by specialists from the Indian Army’s Engineers Regiment, blew several holes in the building’s walls in an attempt to facilitate access into the premises.

When the NSG entered the building, though, they discovered the bodies of the terrorists and the hostages lying on the second, third and fourth floors of the five-storey building.

The dead hostages were officially identified as Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, the head of the Chabad-Lukovich centre, and his Israeli wife Rivka Holtzberg. Sandra Samuel, a Mumbai resident who worked as a cook for the Holtzenberg family, had helped their child, Zvi Moshe, escape the building soon after the terrorist attack began.

Earlier, NSG commandos succeeded in eliminating two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who had taken positions inside the Oberoi Hotel and Trident Hotel in the Nariman Point area. The NSG operation opened the way for the rescue of upwards of 200 guests and visitors who were trapped in the adjoining hotels during the fighting. Mumbai Police officials said the survivors included nationals of over 20 countries.

The police recovered the bodies of 24 people killed in the fighting, most of whom are thought to have died when terrorists burst into the building firing from assault rifles and lobbing grenades.

Six other bodies were recovered from the buildings earlier. NSG officials said two assault rifles, a pistol and several unexploded grenades were recovered from the two terrorists killed during the fighting. Around midnight, the NSG was still engaged in sanitising the building and conducting checks for hidden explosives.

Maharashtra Director-General of Police A.N. Roy said 155 civilians have so far died in the terror attacks which began on Friday. Another 318 people have been injured. However, speaking to journalists in the evening, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said the final death toll could go up to 200.

Six foreigners among 101 dead in Mumbai Terror attack

Pigeons fly as the Taj Hotel continues to burn in Mumbai on Thursday. Armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station on Wednesday night, killing at least 101 people including Anti Terror Squad Officer Hemanth Karkare.

At least 101 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, police said on Thursday.
"At least six foreigners have been killed and the death figure has gone up to 101 now," Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer told Reuters from Mumbai's control room.
"Police have a figure of 287 people injured."

Sachin Tendulkar Dhamaka Album

Indian Tennis sensation Sania Mirza (Biography)

Sania Mirza is a star tennis player in India.

Sania Mirza was born in Mumbai, on November 15, 1986, and brought up in Hyderabad. Coached by her father, Imran Mirza, (as well as her other family members) she began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 18 in doubles. Sania Mirza was ranked 91st in the singles category and 44th in the doubles category in the WTA rankings of September 08, 2008.

Sports Career
Sania Mirza holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam tennis tournament when she was seeded 26th in the 2007 U.S. Open. Earlier in 2005, she had become the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 U.S. Open, defeating Mashona Washington, Maria Elena Camerin and Marion Bartoli. In 2004, she finished runner up at the Asian Tennis Championship. In 2005, Mirza reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. On February 12, 2005, she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title, defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals.

Mirza won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. Mirza does not enjoy playing on clay. Her best performance in French Open singles was a second round appearance in 2007.

As of September 2006, Mirza has notched up three top 10 wins against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis.

At the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Mirza won the silver in the women's singles category and the gold in the mixed doubles collaborating Leander Paes. She was also part of the Indian women's team that won the silver in the team event.

Mirza had the best results of her career during the 2007 summer hardcourt season, finishing eighth in the 2007 U.S. Open Series standings. She reached the final of the Bank of the West Classic and won the doubles event with Shahar Pe'er, and reached the quarterfinals of the Tier 1 Acura Classic.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, she reached the third round before losing to Anna Chakvetadze for the third time in recent weeks. She fared much better in the doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in mixed with her partner Mahesh Bhupathi and the quarterfinals in the women's doubles with Bethanie Mattek, including an impressive win over number two seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.

She represented India at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the women's singles and doubles events. In singles, she retired in the round of 64, while she was trailing 1-6, 1-2 against Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic. She teamed up with Sunitha Rao for the doubles event. They got a walk-over in the round of 32, but lost to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina by 4-6, 4-6, in the round of 16.
She has stated that two of her best friends are fellow WTA tour players, Anna Chakvetadze and Bethanie Mattek.

Career highlights
• 2008 Australian Open, lost in the final of Australian Open mixed doubles with partner Mahesh Bhupati.
• 2008 Australian Open, seeded 31st in the tournament, loses to Venus Williams in the third round 7–6(0), 6–4. Reached Finals of mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupati.
• 2007 U.S. Open, seeded 26th in the tournament, reaches the third round defeating US veteran Laura Granville 6–3, 7–5, before losing to Anna Chakvetadze 2–6, 3–6.
• 2007 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, won the doubles title partnering Italian Mara Santangelo, beating the top seeds Liezel Huber and Cara Black 6–1, 6–2.
• 2007 East West Bank Classic beats Martina Hingis for the second time in a row in the second round 6–2, 2–6, 6–4.
• 2007 Acura Classic, reaches quarter-finals after defeating two Top 20 players Shahar Pe'er and Dinara Safina. However, she lost to top-seed Maria Sharapova 6–2, 6–1.
• 2007 Bank of the West Classic, reached third career final after defeating Akiko Morigami, Tatiana Golovin, Patty Schnyder and Sybille Bammer, but lost to Anna Chakvetadze 6–2 6–3. Claimed the Doubles title with partner Shahar Pe'er, beating Anna Chakvetadze and Victoria Azarenka 6–4, 7–6.
• 2007 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, won the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek as the 1st seeds. In the final they defeated Alina Jidkova and Tatiana Poutchek 7–6 7–5.
• 2007 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, reached the semifinals as the 3rd seed, finally losing to 1st seeded, and eventual champion, Anna Chakvetadze 2–6, 7–5, 3–6.
• 2006 15th Asian games, Doha, Qatar: Mixed doubles - won gold medal for India partnering Leander Paes. They beat Japan's Satoshi Iwabuchi and Akiko Morigami 7–5, 5–7, 6–2

• 2006 15th Asian games, Doha, Qatar: Singles - won silver medal losing to China's Jie Zheng 4–6, 6–1, 1–6
• 2006 15th Asian games, Doha, Qatar: Team Tennis - won Silver medal for India pairing Shikha Uberoi. They lost to Chinese Taipei team.
• 2006 Sunfeast Kolkata Open singles: reached semi-finals, losing to eventual champion, Martina Hingis 6–1 6–0
• 2006 Sunfeast Kolkata Open]] doubles: Won the tournament partnering Liezel Huber. They beat Yulia Fedak and Yuliana Beygelzeimer 6–4 6–0
• 2006 Bangalore Open (Hyderabad Open in the previous years) doubles: Won the tournament (partnering with Liezel Huber)
• 2006 Won Silver medal in Qatar Asian Games 2006 Women's singles final and Gold medal in mixed doubles (partnering with Leander Paes)
• 2005 Japan Open: reaches the semi-finals of women's singles and doubles (collaborating Shahar Peer of Israel); reaches her highest doubles ranking of 114.
• 2005 U.S. Open: reaches fourth round by defeating Marion Bartoli of France in straight sets (7–6(4), 6–4) before losing to top seed Maria Sharapova 6–2, 6–1. Voted Best Player of the day on the 3rd day for winning her second round match despite bleeding toes.
• 2005 Forest Hills Tennis Classic, New York: reaches her second WTA final but fails to win.
• 2005 Acura Classic: upsets Nadia Petrova in 2nd round but loses in the third round to Akiko Morigami of Japan (2–6,6–4,4–6). By beating the 8th-ranked Petrova, she breaks into top 50 in world rankings for the first time ever.
• 2005 Dubai Tennis Championships: Upset reigning US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 6–2 in 2nd round to reach the quarter-finals

• 2005 Hyderabad Open singles: Won the tournament defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6–4, 5–7, 6–3 in the final and became the first Indian woman to capture a WTA singles title.
• 2005 Australian Open singles: 3rd round: Became first Indian woman to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament.
• 2004 Hyderabad Open doubles: Won the tournament (partnering with Liezel Huber) to become the youngest Indian to win a WTA or ATP tour title and the first Indian woman to capture a WTA tour title. entered the singles as wild card but lost in the first round to the eventual winner Nicole Pratt.
• 2003 Wimbledon Championships Juniors doubles: Won the tournament (collaborating with Alisa Kleybanova) to become the youngest Indian and the first Indian woman to win a junior Grand Slam title.
• 2003 Afro-Asian Games: won four gold medals - Women's singles, Mixed doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi), Women's doubles and Women's team events (the last two golds in partnership with Rushmi Chakravarthy).

Controversy
As a Muslim, she has garnered criticism from some Orthodox Islamic groups, as her attire allegedly did not conform to Islamic dress codes. According to one report published September 8, 2005, an unnamed Islamic scholar had issued a fatwa, saying that her attire is contrary to what is permitted by Islam. A further report published the next day on this fatwa elaborated that Mirza was unfazed by the comments Large numbers of Muslim clerics protested her attire, accusing her of being a "corrupting influence on the youth." She has been widely attacked and vilified in Islamist circles, including a cleric named Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui who said "The dress she wears on the tennis courts…leaves nothing to the imagination, She will undoubtedly be a corrupting influence." Islamist groups such as Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind allegedly threatened to disrupt her tennis matches, following which the Calcutta police had to tighten security measures to protect her. Mirza, a Muslim from Banjara Hills, also attracted a response from the Major Shia Organization in India, The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board. The Board disapproved the edict issued by some Muslim clerics on dresses worn by Mirza while playing, and asked them not to meddle in the sports arena.

In 2006, some newspapers reported that Mirza declined from playing with an Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er for fear of violent protests from India's Muslim clerics and their opposition to the existence of Israel. However, these reports were dismissed by Mirza as "baseless" and in 2007, Pe'er and Mirza teamed up again at Wimbledon. The duo made the third round of Wimbledon before being knocked out by the top seeds.Mirza said in January 2008 that she considered quitting the sport because of undue controversy surrounding her actions. Mirza was pictured resting her feet during a press conference at the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in close proximity. She faced possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act after a private citizen complained. Mirza protested that, "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise", and said that she meant no disrespect. On February 4, 2008, Mirza said that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open the following month, citing the series of controversies and upon advice by her manager.