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PARTYGAMING shares rocketed 26% today after the online gambling company said it was to merge with Austria's Bwin in a $3.3 billion (Pounds 2.1 billion) deal. The move will create the world's biggest listed internet gaming business, and save an estimated EUR 55 million (Pounds 46 million) a year.

Investors who own more than a quarter of PartyGaming's shares have already given the deal their full support, including some directors. Shareholders will meet in the first quarter of next year to vote on the deal.

The companies had held protracted talks about a potential merger but some investors fretted that the two were struggling to reach an agreement. Their relief that a deal had been reached sent the shares up 67p to 324p. Bwin's shares climbed 7.2% in Vienna before being suspended.

The enlarged group will be owned 48.4% by PartyGaming shareholders and 51.6% by Bwin investors. PartyGaming boss Jim Ryan and Bwin's Norbert Teufelberger will be co-chief executives of the merged company.

Shares in London were on the rise as a bevy of positive trading updates fed optimism among investors. The FTSE 100 gained 34.41 points to 5354.09.

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PartyGaming wasn't the only gambling group attracting interest. Playtech shot up 34 3/4p to 444 1/2p amid vague speculation that William Hill, off 0.2p at 169.1p, might be taking a look. The gambling software group already has a joint venture with the bookie. "Because they are strategic partners, it could make sense," said one trader. "It's one of those, like you get in the pharmaceutical sector, where it might be more cost effective for William Hill just to take over Playtech. Then again, it might just be talk because it's so quiet today."

On the mid-tier, Rank Group climbed 7.3p to 116.5p as it proved bingo is making a comeback. The casino and bingo hall operator said there had been a growth in visits to Mecca Bingo for the first time in a decade. Chief executive Ian Burke said: "We believe we can modernise the bingo business."

Rank made a profit in the six months to June of Pounds 25.1 million, a little up on last year. The numbers prompted City analysts to issue buy notes. Overall customer numbers increased by 11.9% to more than 2.5 million. Rank said it would pay an interim dividend of 0.74p a share, having not paid one this time last year.

Elsewhere on the mid-tier, Connaught jumped 4.2p to 35.9p after the crisis-hit social housing services provider won a reprieve. Connaught has agreed a short-term overdraft facility and a deferral of loan payments with its lenders. On Monday, Connaught said it was short of cash and was set to breach the terms of its bank loans.

soccer jerseys Are takeovers on the horizon in the water sector? Traders have long been talking up the likelihood of deals and today UBS made the case again.

But it wasn't the usual candidate -- Northumbrian Water -- that the City big-hitter reckoned was the best to snap up, but United Utilities. Analyst Ajay Patel said: "For investors looking for some gearing into [the] UK water M&A theme we see better value in United Utilities [than Northumbrian]."

UBS has kept a hold rating on Northumbrian but raised its price target for from 280p to 320p, which includes a "10% premium for potential M&A". HSBC was also a fan of United, 1 1/2p stronger at 563 1/2p.

But the bank's analysts were less impressed by the rest of the industry, downgrading Northumbrian and Pennon from buy to hold Replica Watches
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Boxing: Jean Pascal thinks Nottingham fighter Carl Froch will be too strong for Arthur Abraham in their crucial SuperSix fight in Monaco in October.

Pascal, the WBC and IBO light-heavyweight champion who will be ringside for the fight, said: "Arthur Abraham is a good fighter, but he isn't quite as strong and I know Carl can punch like crazy.

"He's a heavy hitter, he has a long reach, he's tall, he's strong, and I guess because of that he's going to be able to get the win."

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Pascal hasn't ruled out a re-match with Froch - the only man to beat him in their super-middleweight clash in Nottingham - one day "Of course I want that rematch," he said. "Carl Froch is the only guy who beat me. We had a great fight and we had shaken hands on that.

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Tipped: Carl Froch "So I said if he's still champion or I'm still champion we're going to fight again in Montreal.

"If he still wants that fight, we can make it happen because that's going to be a great war."

Pascal says it is hard to pick a winner of the SuperSix.

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" I thought it might be Froch or Dirrell, but now maybe I lean more for Andre Ward," he said.

"So it's really a tough pick and I think Ward, Dirrell, and Froch have good chances to win the tournament. The winner of this tournament will become a great superstar and I think they're going to move up to try to challenge the best at 175 pounds."

Don't miss Carl Froch on Pascal, Exclusive in tomorrow's Post.

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Vice chancellor of Laxmibai National University of Physical Education (Indore), Maj Gen (retd) SK Mukherjee, on Tuesday called upon the budding engineers to work as a team because it delivers good results. He said the qualities of various individuals can be combined to achieve perfection.

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Mukherjee was speaking as the chief guest of the National Conference on Civil Engineering for Infrastructural Development, organised by the civil engineering department of DY Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi. The vice chancellor of University of Pune shoes size 13 for women (UoP), R Shevgaonkar, was the guest of honour.

Mukherjee pointed out that the application of knowledge was foremost and the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge has to be minimised, which is possible if students are alert.

"Proper planning is the key to success. The process of planning should start at an early stage and the teacher can play a vital role in this aspect," he said.

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Shevgaonkar stressed the need for 'sustainable development' which should go hand-in-hand without disturbing the environment.

Principal of DY Patil College PP Warnekar spoke about the institute's tradition, future objectives and goals. Head of the civil engineering department AS Kote was present.

Credit:Kiran Dahitule

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MOURNERS packed a church yesterday for the emotional funeral of a hero soldier described as the "coolest Scots Guardsman to walk the Earth".

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Dad-of-one Lance Sgt Dale Alanzo McCallum, 30, was shot dead on August 1 at a checkpoint in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan.

His parents, sisters, friends and son Kevin, nine, watched as 1st Battalion Scots Guards carried his coffin in, draped in the Union flag with the words "Dad" and "Son". And his family sang in tribute at the Willesden New Testament church in North London.

Commanding officer Lt Col Lincoln Jopp called him a "noble warrior" who "died protecting his men" under heavy fire.

Ltn Col Jopp, who had to pause with the emotion, said the "coolest Guardsman" was known for his love of dancing and had a "crusade to teach white men to dance".

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His mum Lurline Watson, 54, said: "My son grew into an incredible young man."

L/Sgt McCallum was born in Jamaica and moved to the UK at 16, joining the Army at 20. His sister Melissa said: "Dale's was a light that warmed every heart. He was a legitimate and titanium chronograph watch strong black man who understood and respected life in every sense."

"Big sis" Sandra Tackie Archer said he had always been "a fighter and protector".

And his partner Edith Gierzs said: "I'm so proud Kevin is my son from you."

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A late night freshers' and Friendship Day bash of about 490 student hostelites, mainly from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (Sims) in Khadki, went sour on Sunday night, when the Pune police busted the illegal party at a city jeweller's farmhouse on the city's outskirts.

The presence of 235 college girls, many in short skirts, took the police by surprise, even as visuals on television channels rocked the city. The episode was reminiscent of a March 2007 drugs-and-liquor rave party busted by the police at Sinhagad in which 280 youth, including air hostesses, software engineers and collegians were arrested.

Some of the women students said they paid Rs300 per person and that their seniors had forced them to attend the party at the two-storey farmhouse 'Sindhu,' which has a swimming pool. Located in Theur, 25 km from Pune, the farmhouse is situated amidst sugarcane farms and guava orchards.

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While there was no evidence of drugs being consumed at the party, 88 students were arrested for consuming liquor without permit and were later released on bail. Boxes of beer and liquor valued at Rs17,000 were confiscated from the site.

While the students had left their hostels in 10 luxury buses at around 7 pm, the police raid began after 10.30 pm. The women students were let off after nearly 12 hours, at around 9 am on Monday. The men were detained for nearly 20 hours, till 4 pm. Symbiosis College authorities arrived at the spot at 2.30 am and were present till the police action was completed.

The party was well-organised, with the students arriving at the farmhouse in 10 buses. Parked on a narrow road connecting Ahmednagar highway with Theur junction, the buses caused a traffic jam, forcing the locals to call the police.

Alok (25) and Sushil (22), sons of city jeweller Chittaranjan Ashtekar, who owns the farmhouse, were among those arrested. Other prominent student organisers arrested include Abhijit Suresh Patil (25), Kapil Satish Mehta (25), Sunit Sanjeev Saraf (25), Abhishek Yogesh Malik (26) and Sajid Hasan Nadaf (21). All of them were released on personal bonds of Rs2,000 each by a city court.

Deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Ravindrasingh breitling watches Pardeshi said assistant police inspector Balwant Mangade reached the spot and found liquor being consumed openly and the students dancing to loud music. The party organisers could not produce the police and excise department's permits for their bash, following which he initiated action.

Mangade called for a police force, including woman constables, and the team assisted Yves Saint Laurent by inspectors Suhas Garud, Pravin Khanapure, Narayan Pawar and others, swung into action.

"We called the district health officer for medical examination of the students. A seven-member team from the district health department examined all the 489 students of which 81 (all men) were found to have consumed liquor. Barring 88 students, including seven who had organised the party, all were sent back to the hostel by buses," Pardeshi said. Bus contractor Suresh Jadhav said the students had hired the buses from the tourist firm that regularly supplies vehicles to the college.

Chittaranjan Ashtekar's brother, Balasheb, said that some of the organisers of the party are friends of his nephews, Alok and Sushil, who were requested to make their farmhouse available.

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CHENNAI: A gang of four holds up a car, smashes the windshield, yanks out the driver, keeps two other passengers at kniefpoint, snatches a suitcase and a bag, and flees. The denouement: Pothys textile showroom became poorer by Rs 81 lakh.

The incident that happened just past noon on Mahalakshmi Street in T Nagar is sure to make businessmen across the commercial capital of the city break out in a sweat. At any given point in time of a day, hundreds of crores of rupees in hard cash get carted away across T Nagar, between shops and banks, without much security.

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Traders believe moving money silently without involving police or other security men is the safest way. Very few of them have moved on to better methods where bank officials, with full security come to the showroom and collect the cash during the end of business hours. The Saturday incident, however, may force a rethink.

"We make our own arrangements to carry cash to the bank. We have a pilot vehicle and an escort vehicle to carry cash. We have our own security and have never encountered any problem so far," said PR Subramanian, managing partner of Kumaran Silks.

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RMKV, another major textile group in the state, thinks it's safer to have the bank come to you rather than hauling the cash bag to the bank. "We have never heard of such a robbery in T Nagar. However, we feel safer now as we never carry cash to the banks. The bank officials come to our showroom in a secure van and collect it," RMKV managing partner Shiva Kumar said.

Pothys owner, S Ramesh, now regrets his decision to not provide security to the vehicles that carried the cash to the bank. "We have been doing it for more than 10 years. We did not provide any security to the vehicle that carried cash. Generally we sent three or four people to the bank along with the cash. The distance to the bank from the shop is so short that we never felt the need for any security," Ramesh said. He said that during festival season huge amounts were carried to the bank more than once a day.

When crores flow on the roads of T Nagar, police say they are willing to provide security, but traders seldom approach them. "Most of them carry cash to the banks by themselves. When they carry huge cash they can inform us. We can at least Gucci Shoes alert our patrol vehicles to follow them," said P Sakthivelu, joint commissioner of police, south.

For Reprint Rights: timescontent.com

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MARK BRENNAN says Louth's brave bid to rewrite history is based on their refusal to be Leinster losers any longer.

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The big centre-forward accepted that Wee County players have become known as 'nearly men' after 53 years without a provincial title.

But Peter Fitzpatrick has given his players belief that they can shake off their inferiority complex and finally reign supreme.

Brennan said: "Players want to do well this year, not just be part of the Louth team and be happy with that. They want to be part of a Louth team that wins something.

"We're all on the same level now, playing for each other, and we've shown we're prepared to battle to the very end.

"Looking back over the years, some Louth teams were easily turned over. They didn't want to win it enough and they thought a good performance would do. But every player on this panel now wants to win."

That insatiable appetite has inspired a thrilling campaign so far, with wins over Longford, Kildare and Westmeath to qualify for a first final since 1960.

But to win today they'll have to make history by the double, as they must also claim a first championship victory over neighbours Meath since 1975. It's a big ask and Brennan admitted: "A lot of our younger lads had never even played in Croke Park before the Westmeath game.

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"We were told to enjoy the game, which we did, and it'll be just the same against Meath."

They'll enjoy it a whole lot more if they pull off a famous win and march on towards a first ever All-Ireland quarter-final tie.

From goalkeeper Neil Gallagher to Paddy Keenan and Brian White in midfield and Shane Lennon at fullforward, they've clearly got the ability to beat Meath to the Yves Saint Laurent Shoes local bragging rights.

"Everyone on both panels will know each other - some drink in the same towns and villages," revealed Brennan.

"Our club teams play each other a lot in challenges and stuff so there'll be a great rivalry out there on the pitch. But afterwards we'll all be back together in the players' lounge."

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Byline: Donal Keenan

IN SPORT, sympathy is like a Chinese takeaway meal -- it is usually tasteless and you are needy almost immediately. Louth's footballers could have shovelled loads of sympathy into their systems in the last week but it would made no difference to their status as just another qualifier trying to make progress in the 2010 Championship. And it is crucial to their search for respectability that Louth do not wallow in self-pity. The manner in which they were denied a Leinster title was cruel and unjust. But it is done. It is time to move on.

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They should stop the tape of the Leinster final at 70 minutes and reflect. They had plenty of chances to put the game beyond Meath's reach. They should never have allowed themselves to be at the mercy of bad officiating. In their defence, it can be argued that inexperience and the lack sexy lingerie of knowledge of big days led to the carelessness in front of goal. But they need to take the lessons learned into the next stage. One of those lessons is that it was too easy for Meath to disrupt Louth's midfield. Paddy Keenan was targeted cleverly by the Meath management team and the players applied the tactics properly. Keenan was unable to impose himself on the game and that weakened his team. Louth should have expected it and prepared a counter ploy. To be denied a Leinster title in their circumstances is naturally disappointing. But Louth should realise that they frightened potential opponents with the quality of their play last week. Louth have made extraordinary progress. But they are capable of Replica Chopard Watch more and it would be a pity if they dropped the ball when they are on the brink of something special.

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WOMEN are more organised in the workplace than men, according to a survey.

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Researchers found women are better at meeting deadlines and turning up on time for work, while men struggle to keep on top of things, often forgetting to phone people back and losing documents on their messy desks.

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The study of 4,000 workers by label makers DYMO said that more than one in 10 men have been warned by their boss about their poor organisation and more than one in 20 men have missed out on a promotion because of it. Cheap gucci shoes

The figures were released yesterday by Lord Sir Alan Sugar's new sidekick on The Apprentice, Karren Brady, who is spearheading a DYMO campaign. She said: "Good organisation can really help your performance at work."

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