Indian news

Now, Modi targets Manmohan on attack on Sikhs in Pak

2009-05-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ambala, Haryana: Flagging the attack on Sikhs in Pakistan to target Manmohan Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the prime minister being a Sikh should have done "something" to protect the interests of the minority community in the neighbouring country.
Modi also accused Manmohan Singh of being a "total failure". Despite being a Sikh, the Prime Minister had failed to protect the interest of his community in Pakistan where it was being subjected to torture and forced to pay 'Jazya'--tax-- (by the Taliban), the BJP leader said, adding he should have stepped in.
Modi claimed that several senior UPA leaders including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Congress veteran Arjun Singh, were not in favour of Manmohan Singh occupying the post of the Prime Minister again.
"Only the Gandhi family -- Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka -- has been describing Singh as a successful PM " while the fact was that he had failed to deliver as Prime Minister, the BJP star campaigner todl an election rally.
"He (Singh) is a failed Prime Minister," Modi said. Reiterating that Manmohan Singh was the country's weakest-ever Prime Minister, he said it was ironical that the Congress had been hailing him as a hero.
Referring to 26/11, he said the Manmohan Singh government had failed to effectively handle the Mumbai terror attack. Talking about the UPA, he said at present there were half a dozen aspirants for the post of the Prime Minister in the formation.

BJP expresses concern over targeting of Sikhs in Pakistan

2009-05-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

Expressing 'deep concern' over reports of Taliban targeting Sikhs in Pakistan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday demanded that the Indian government take proactive steps to save the lives of people of Indian origin.
The BJP demanded that the government should take proactive steps to save people of Indian origin living in Pakistan, a party statement said.
'The government utterly failed to protect the people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and elsewhere. Efforts by the government so far have remained technical only and have not yielded any tangible results,' the statement added.
Quoting sources, Pakistani channel Geo TV had said that Taliban militants had taken over the shops and homes of the 35 Sikh families and arrested community leaders Kalank Singh and Sewa Singh in the Ferozkhel area of Lower Orakzai Agency.
Following this, a local jirga ruled that the Sikh community should annually pay Rs.15 million ($187,000) as jaziya or protection money. Earlier reports had said the Taliban had demanded Rs.50 million but that this had been reduced.
When the Sikh community expressed their inability to pay, the Taliban then auctioned their houses and other belongings, forcing them to migrate from the area. There were reports the militants had demolished the 11 houses of the Sikh community after they failed to pay the jaziya tax.

Kasab will not be tried by juvenile court

2009-05-03T10:45:00.002-07:00

A special court in Mumbai on Saturday held that Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman who rampaged through the city last November, is major and above 18 years of age. The court arrived at this conclusion after examining evidences and witnesses produced by the prosecution.
Defence attorney Abbas Kazmi said that he would not challenge this order in the High Court.

PM, nuclear deal non-negotiable: Rahul Gandhi

2009-05-03T10:45:00.001-07:00

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Sunday said that his party's prime ministerial candidate Manmohan Singh and its commitment to the India-US nuclear deal were not negotiable.
'From my side, I know - and I do know my mother's views on this - that he is the best prime ministerial candidate,' the 38-year-old told CNN-IBN in an interview here.
Gandhi's comments come a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he was ready to hand over the party's leadership to young people and that Rahul, son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was an ideal candidate.
Rahul Gandhi said: 'He (Manmohan Singh) is our candidate and we are going to stick by him. Like we did in the case of the nuclear deal.'
He said he was concerned over the election results but insisted that there 'are some issues in which there can be no compromise'.
He added: 'For instance, we could have said 'forget the nuclear deal'. But we did not take that approach. We persisted with it. Pretty much all of us knew that our government could have fallen if we persisted with it.
'But I am very clear that we need to take a longer-term perspective,' he added.

Congress supporting Quattrocchi and Afzal: BJP

2009-05-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his statement that the case involving Bofors payoff suspect Ottavio Quattrochi was an 'embarrassment' to the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday said it proved that withdrawal of the Interpol lookout notice for the Italian businessman was a 'political decision' of the UPA government.
It also said that the UPA government wanted to 'save' Afzal Guru, sentenced to death for the 2001 attack on Parliament House, for the sake of 'vote bank' politics.
'The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) wants to save Afzal for vote bank politics and Quattrochi for his connection with the first family of the Congress. Both these decisions have once again proved that 'Congress Ka Hath Quattrochi Aur Afzal Ke Saath' (The Congress' hand - party symbol - is with Quattrochi and Afzal),' said a statement issued by BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
A decision on Afzal's execution is pending as the mercy petition filed by his family has not been accepted or rejected as yet.
'The BJP deplores the absurd logic of PM Manmohan Singh that India would have been looked down upon by the world community if the Red Corner Notice against Quattrochi was not removed,' the statement added.
In an interview to a news channel, the prime minister had said: 'The Quattrochi case is an embarrassment for the government of India. We have tried to extradite him from Malaysia. We have tried to extradite him from Argentina. We have failed. The court says we do not have a strong case.'
'It's not a good reflection on the Indian legal system that we harass people while the world says we have no case. The Interpol had asked the government of India that why do you want to treat him under the Red Corner notice,' Manmohan Singh added.
Italian businessman Quattrochi is a suspect in the Bofors gun purchase payoff scandal of the late 1980s.
The BJP spokesperson said this was a 'futile attempt to defend the indefensible act' of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) withdrawing the lookout notice.
'This also proves that withdrawal of Red Corner Notice against Quattrochi is not a CBI decision but a political decision of the UPA government. Instead of proceeding with the investigations, the UPA government offered Quattrochi a parting gift,' the statement said.

Lankan forces poised for final assault on LTTE

2009-05-01T10:34:00.002-07:00

A pre-dawn breakout bid through the high seas by beleaguered Tamil Tigers was foiled by Sri Lankan navy on Friday, who sank their three boats killing 23 sea Tigers as the army appeared poised for a final assault.
The Lankan warships which have blockaded the small coastline off Mullaittivu, still held by the Tigers noticed an attempt by three LTTE boats to take to sea and sank them after challenging them, a naval spokesman said.

This is the second time in less than four days that Sri Lankan navy has thwarted attempts by Tamil Tigers to put their boats to sea. The encounter comes as reports say that the entire LTTE leadership including its supremo V Prabhakaran are holed up in a small stretch of land.

On the land, the army tightened their siege of the last strip of land controlled by the Tigers and appeared poised to launch the final assault.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said, "the Tigers have no land escape route left. We have troops in place to move anytime."

In the battle-front, three Divisions of the Sri Lankan force estimated to number around 22-30,000 have surrounded the Tigers, whose fighting cadres are reported to be around 900-1,200.

Indications that the government forces could be ready to go for the kill also came when the government drop leaflets over the LTTE held areas carrying President Mahinda Rajapaksa's appeal to the Tamil civilians to flee across the front lines.

"Your suffering is prolonged by the LTTE who are holding you as a human shield for their own safety," Rajapaksa said adding that "I appeal to everyone of you who come over to the cleared areas."

The President promised to ensure safety to all civilians.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected the calls for a cease-fire. "We fearlessly stood up to a brand of terrorism that the entire world believed was invincible," he said in a May Day address.

The Tamil Tigers also today took their war into the cyberspace by hacking into the official website of the Sri Lankan army.

The hackers believe to be Tiger computer experts replaced the contents with photographs of civilians killed in military action in the north east.

In a further embarrassment for the rebels 58 child soldiers, including a senior female LTTE leader, gave themselves up to the authorities in Kilinochchi.

India concerned over harassment of Sikhs in Pak

2009-05-01T10:34:00.001-07:00

Taking serious note of Sikhs being driven away from their homes by the Taliban [Images] in Pakistan's northwest region, India on Friday conveyed its concerns to Islamabad [Images] over the treatment meted out to the minorities in that country.
The Ministry of External Affairs summoned a diplomat of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi [Images] to register its unhappiness over the development. The Indian High Commission in Islamabad also conveyed similar views to the Pakistan Foreign Office there.
"On seeing reports about Sikh families in Pakistan being driven out of their homes and being subjected to Jaziya (protection tax imposed on non-Muslims under Shariah law) and other such impositions, the government of India has taken up with Pakistan the question of treatment of minorities with the government of Pakistan," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu [Images] Prakash said.
Reports from Aurakzai said Taliban had imposed Jaziya and destroyed the houses of 11 Sikh families who failed to pay the huge tax of Rs 50 million each till April 29, when the deadline expired.
Sources said that India has conveyed its concerns over the treatment meted out to Sikhs by Taliban in Pakistan's troubled Aurakzai tribal region, saying it was a 'serious matter'. The Pakistan government has the responsibility of ensuring safety and security of Sikhs, who are a minority community in that country, they said.

Avtar Singh Makkar, the president of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee [Images], seeking permission to visit the Taliban-dominated Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, to assess the condition of the Sikh families residing in those areas. Makkar's request comes in the wake of reports about the residences of Sikh families being razed for the non-payment of jazia -- the tax imposed on minority communities.
"We have also written to the Pakistan government to seek permission to visit these areas," Makkar told rediff.com.
He added that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also requested Dr Singh and Mukherjee to look into the issue of harassment of Sikh families by the Taliban in Pakistan.
"Badal sahib has requested the PM to give top priority to this matter and take it up with his Pakistan counterpart to ensure that Sikhs are not harassed by the Talibans or any other religious groups," the SGPC chief said.
The Taliban have reportedly levied a hefty tax of Rs 50 million on members of the minority community who are living in areas controlled by them.

Duminy scripts Mumbai win against Kolkata

2009-05-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

East London: JP Duminy smashed an unbeaten 52 off 37 balls to help Mumbai Indians carve an 11-run victory against a fighting Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match here today.
Duminy hit four towering sixes and a four to propel Mumbai to 148 for six after skipper Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and elected to bat while Kolkata, despite Brad Hodge's brilliant 73 off 60 balls, could manage only 139 for six in their reply at Buffalo Park.

Duminy also stitched a 35-run partnership with dubutant Ajinkya Rahane (10) to hand Kolkata their second defeat in five days in the tournament.

Kolkata gave a good fightback to come close to achieving the target but fell to the bowling of Zaheer Khan who returned 3 for 31 while Graham Napier and Abhishek Nayar plucked one wicket each.

In their previous match, Mumbai had defeated Kolkata by 92 runs.

Duminy took charge of the proceedings when his team was struggling after star openers Sanath Jayasuriya (6) and Sachin Tendulkar (34) were removed by Knight Riders inside eight overs.

Kolkata pace spearhead Ishant Sharma started by conceding nine runs in the opening over but Ashok Dinda gave Knight Riders a big breakthrough in the fourth over.

IPL 2009 - Match 23: KKR vs MI Images

2009-05-01T10:26:00.001-07:00

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (R) of Mumbai Indians walks back after getting out during the IPL T20 match against Kolkata Knight Rider at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009. Mumbai Indians have currently 61 runs for the loss of three wickets in ten overs.

Australian cricketer Brad Hodge (C) of the Kolkata Knight Riders celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of unseen Indian batsman Abhishek Nayar of Mumbai Indians during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 90 runs for the loss of four wickets after fifteen overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

South African cricketer Jean-Paul Duminy (R) of the Mumbai Indians plays a shot as Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper Horne Van Wyk(L) looks on during their IPL T20 match at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

Indian cricketer Ashok Dinda (C) of Kolkata Knight Riders celebrates after taking the wicket of Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya (L) of Mumbai Indians during their IPL T20 match at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (L) of Mumbai Indians runs between the wickets during the IPL T20 match againist Kolkata Knight Riders at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009

Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during the IPL T20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

India's Sourav Ganguly of Kolkata knight Riders looks back at his stumps after being bowled out during the IPL Twenty20 match against the Mumbai Indians at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

South African cricketer Horne Van Wyk (L) of the Kolkata knight Riders dives to successfully avoid being run-out by Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh (R) of the Mumbai Indians during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle of Kolkata Knight Riders walks back after his dismissal during the IPL T20 match against Mumbai Indians at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009.

Mumbai Indians cheerleaders perform during the IPL Twenty20 match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at The Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on May 1, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are currently 59 runs for the loss of two wickets after ten overs as they chase 149 runs to win

IPL 2009 - Match 21: DD vs DC:Images

2009-05-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers looks to the sky during the IPL Twenty20 match against Delhi Daredevils at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009.

South African cricketer Dirk Nannes of Delhi Daredevils (C) is congratulated by a teammate after his dismissal of unseen Deccan Chargers batsman Australian Adam Gilchrist during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009.

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma (front) of Deccan Chargers dives to make his ground during the IPL Twenty20 match against Delhi Daredevils at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009

New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori (R) of Deccan Chargers celebrates with teammates the dissmissial of Azharuddin Bilakhia of the Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. Deccan Chargers have scored 137runs for the loss of five wickets in 16 overs.

Barbados cricketer Dwayne Smith of the Deccan Chargers looks back to see if he is safe as Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik of Delhi Daredevils tries to stump him out during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. Deccan Chargers have scored 139 runs for the loss of five wickets in 16 overs

South African cricketer Dirk Nannes of Delhi Daredevils (R) is congratulated by teammate Sri Lankan Tillekaratne Dilshan (L) after his dismissal of unseen Deccan Chargers batsman Australian Adam Gilchrist during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009.

South African cricketer AB de Villiers of the Delhi Daredevils bats during the IPL Twenty20 match against Deccan Chargers at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009.

Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag of the Delhi Daredevils slams a shot from RP Singh of Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009

Tillakaratne Dilshan of Delhi Daredevils plays a shot against Fidel Edwards of the Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009.

Indian cricketer RP Singh of Deccan Chargers and teammates celebrate the dismissal of Delhi Daredevils batsman Virender Sehwag (R) during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. Delhi Daredevils won over Deccan Chargers by six wickets.

IPL 2009 - Match 22: RR vs CSK Images

2009-05-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Indian cricketer Kamran Khan (R) of the Rajasthan Royals celebrates the catching out of Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel of the Chennai Super Kings during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 83 runs for the loss of two wickets in ten overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

New Zealand cricketer Jacob Oram (R) of the Chennai Super Kings plays a shot from Shane Warne of the Rajasthan Royals as wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat (L) waits to make a catch during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 148 runs for the loss of four wickets in eighteen overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

Chennai Super Kings Cheerleaders entertain the crowd during the IPL Twenty20 match between the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 110 runs for the loss of four wickets in sixteen overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

Indian cricketer Suresh Raina of the Chennai Super Kings plays a shot against Australian cricketer and Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 93 runs for the loss of four wickets in thirteen overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

Rajasthan Royals team members celebrate the dismissal of Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden of the Chennai Super Kings during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 81 runs for the loss of two wickets in ten overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel of the Chennai Super Kings plays a shot against the Rajasthan Royals during their IPL Twenty20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 30, 2009. The Chennai Super Kings are 81 runs for the loss of two wickets in ten overs after the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first.

India ill equipped to tackle terror, says US report

2009-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Washington: The Mumbai terror attacks have put the spotlight on how India's outdated and overburdened law enforcement and legal systems are hampering the country's counterterrorism efforts, says a US State Department report.
"Although clearly committed to combating violent extremism, the Indian government's counterterrorism efforts remained hampered by its outdated and overburdened law enforcement and legal systems," said the State Department's annual report on global terrorism released Thursday.
The Mumbai attackers appeared to have been well-trained and took advantage of technology, such as Global Positioning System trackers.
But "local and state police proved to be poorly trained and equipped and lacked central control to coordinate an effective response", said the report, exposing the inadequacies in India's counter-terrorism apparatus.
The Mumbai "attack was the most recent in a long list of lethal terrorist incidents" in India in 2008. But "none of the perpetrators of these attacks has yet been prosecuted", the report noted. However, in response to the Mumbai attacks, India's parliament has introduced legislation to restructure counterterrorism laws and proposed creating a National Investigative Agency to build a national-level ability to investigate and prosecute alleged terrorist activity, it noted.
Also in response to the Mumbai attacks, the Indian government amended some existing laws to strengthen the hands of security and law enforcement agencies in fighting terrorism.
Two themes have framed the public debate on the new legislation: states' rights vs. federal power, and civil liberties vs. stronger law enforcement powers, the report noted.

India is not safe for 2011 World Cup: Miandad told ICC

2009-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Former captain Javed Miandad [Images] argued in International Cricket Council's [Images] recent meeting in Dubai [Images] that if Pakistan is unsafe to host 2011 World Cup matches, India is not a safe venue either.
Sources privy to the meeting that took place in Dubai last week said Miandad, now a director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and governing council member Shakil Sheikh made a strong plea that if the ICC [Images] has security concerns about having the World Cup matches in Pakistan, the situation in India and Bangladesh is also not encouraging.
"They argued that the security situation in India had also not been very good in recent times and there was no guarantee it would not deteriorate in coming months while the situation in Bangladesh also remained uncertain," the source said.
The duo claimed that there are also doubts about India hosting the hockey World Cup or the Commonwealth Games [Images] in 2010.
ICC president David Morgan and CEO Haroon Lorgat told the PCB delegation, led by president Ijaz Butt, that apart from the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore [Images], financial reasons also played its part in the decision to move the 2011 World Cup matches from Pakistan.
"Morgan and Lorgat told the PCB delegation that the ICC had already suffered financial losses due to the late relocation of the Champions Trophy [Images] from Pakistan," one source said.
"They made it clear that because of the security situation the ICC was forced to move the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan after considerable delay which had already led to losses in earnings from the tournament," the source added.
The source disclosed that Morgan and Lorgat had told the PCB members that no executive board member is willing to play in Pakistan following the unprecedented attack on the Sri Lankan team.
"Morgan and Lorgat noted that such an incident had never happened in any country to any cricket team and it was a big setback for Pakistan cricket. They insisted the attack had changed the views of many ICC member boards who earlier were undecided about playing in Pakistan," the source said.

Jaguar Land Rover to hit Indian roads in June this year

2009-05-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Mumbai: Tata Motors-owned British luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to launch its premium brands in the Indian market next month, the company said in a statement Friday.
"We are delighted to be formally entering the Indian market, an economy which is still growing appreciably, and able to offer our premium products to a whole new group of customers," a JLR statement said.
"It is an important strategic move for Jaguar Land Rover and will enable us to realise our competitive potential in this significant market," JLR chief executive David Smith said in the statement.
In India the JLR's first showroom will open at Mumbai's Ceejay House in Worli in June. The import and sales will be managed by Tata Motors' newly-formed luxury car division.
Jaguar and Land Rover were acquired by India's Tata Motors from American carmaker Ford last March for 1.7 billion pounds (about $2.5 billion) The luxury cars will be imported by Tata Motors, which is also the manufacturer of the world's cheapest car - Nano, and will be sold through its sales and dealership network.
The initial lineup will include the Jaguar XF, Discovery and Range Rover models. The moves comes as a logical step for the automaker to tap into India's growing luxury car market.
"This is a natural move for both businesses and will allow Jaguar and Land Rover to establish a strong and deserved presence in India.
We are very pleased to provide the opportunity for Indian customers to access the premium products for the first time," Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant said in a statement.
The India debut comes at a time when JLR, with production facilities at Halewood, Solihull and Castle Bromwich in Britain, has been hit by the recession in Europe and is seeking a 800 million pound rescue package from the British government.
The company, which has a workforce of over 15,000, has retrenched 450 workers this year and is looking at 198 voluntary retirements in its managerial team to cut costs.

Come Sept, Mobile number portability may only cost Rs 300

2009-05-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Consumers may not have to pay more than Rs 300 to change from one mobile service provider to another while keeping the phone number intact, a facility likely to start from September 20.
"It will be one time cost for subscribers seeking portability but the charge is not yet finalised by the department of telecommunication and the telecom Regulatory Authority of India, on which they are working.
So far, it seems the charges would not be more than Rs 300 but this could be even below Rs 200," sources close to the developments told PTI.
Deliberations by the government is being carried out to keep cost and charges at a level so as not to discourage subscribers willing to change their service provider, an optional facility, and at the same time make the service providers a viable business model, they said.
The charge is directly linked to the number of subscribers, who would seek the change in service provider out of the total mobile user base of about 400 million.
The DoT has offered licence to Syniverse Technologies for north and western region and MNP Interconnection Telecom Ltd for eastern and southern region to rollout number portability across the country.
There is no comparable market in the 50-60 countries which has adopted number portability as the pre-paid subscriber base in the country is almost 90 per cent of the total subscriber base and has low average revenue per user.
"Majority of the countries had initially levied charge to mobile subscribers seeking to switch their service provides but five years later majority of them were forced to waive it and the same is paid by the winning mobile operator," MNP Interconnection Telecom chairman (designate) and president,Interconnection Solutions, Telcordia, Richard Jacowleff said.
Telcordia is a US-based telecom solutions provider and is the 74 per cent stake holder in Indian JV MNP.The combined investment in the first phase by MNP Interconnection Telecom and Syniverse Technologies is estimated to be $20 million for installing and managing number portability clearing house and centralised datacenter.Both the companies hope to launch the service on the same day -- tentatively September 20 for the first phase of launch.
However, that would be possible if telecom operators are also geared with the requisite upgradation of system for the new system, the sources said.In the first phase, the facility would be launched in the telecom cricles of Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharastra.In second phase, the service would be launched in the rest of the 14 circles would be within a year.Syniverse India operation head Sanjay Kasturia said global average seeking porting in the first year would be 3-4 per cent."We will keep our infrastructure ready for 15-20 per cent of total mobile user base initially and scale it up in accordance to the demand," Jacowleff said.

Dilshan half-century helps Delhi to victory over Deccan

2009-05-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

A half-century by Tillakeratne Dilshan steered the Delhi Daredevils to a six-wicket win over Deccan Chargers at Centurion as they joined them at the top of the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
The previously unbeaten Chargers scored a modest 148 for nine in their 20 overs and Sri Lankan Dilshan, who scored 52 not out off 46 balls, and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who made 41 off 30 balls, laid a solid platform for the run-chase.
Their fourth-wicket stand of 79 came from 66 deliveries.
Dilshan hooked West Indian fast bowler Fidel Edwards for six as the Daredevils won with eight balls to spare.
Earlier, Australian Dirk Nannes had hurled down his left-arm fast deliveries to great effect, undermining the Chargers innings from the outset.
The 32-year-old dismissed in-form openers Adam Gilchrist (8) and Herschelle Gibbs (0) in his first two overs to deal the Chargers a severe blow.
The Hyderabad side stuttered to 55 for four at the halfway stage, before West Indian Dwayne Smith provided some momentum with a powerful innings of 48 off 28 balls.
But Indian left-armer Ashish Nehra claimed two wickets in the closing overs, and there were two run outs, as the Chargers innings fell away.
Nannes picked up two for 16 in his four overs and was named man-of-the-match.
CHAMPIONS LOSE
In the second match of the double-header, the Chennai Super Kings beat champions, the Rajasthan Royals, by 38 runs.
Left-hander Suresh Raina ripped into the Rajasthan bowling in a top-class innings of 98 off 56 balls that carried Chennai to an imposing 164 for five.
Off-spinner Yusuf Pathan struck a quick blow when he bowled Super Kings opener Matthew Hayden for a single with his first delivery and finished with impressive figures of two for 17 in three overs. Munaf Patel took two for 25 and leg-spinner Shane Warne one for 24, but the rest of the Rajasthan bowling was unimpressive.
South African all-rounder Albie Morkel took the new ball for Chennai and claimed two for 16 in his first three overs to immediately restrict the Royals.
Ravindra Jadeja (37) and Pathan (20) took the innings forward with their busy innings, but Lakshmipathy Balaji had the dangerous Pathan caught at long-off to reduce the Royals to 86 for four after 13 overs.
Seamer Balaji then wrapped up the tail to finish with four for 21, the Royals being bowled out in the final over for 126 as Kamran Khan did not come out to bat due to an ankle injury.
The victory moved Chennai into fifth position, three points behind Delhi and the Chargers, while the defending champions slipped to sixth place.

Raina powers Super Kings past Rajasthan Royals

2009-05-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

A cracking 98 from Suresh Raina paved the way for Chennai Super Kings' 38-run victory over defending champions Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Centurion Park here Thursday.
The breezy 55-ball knock from Man of the Match Raina guided Super Kings to a challenging 164 for five in 20 overs in what appeared to be the repeat of 2008 IPL final. But this time, Super Kings avenged their loss as they restricted Rajasthan Royals to 126 runs in 19.3 overs with some good performances from bowlers Lakhsmipathy Balaji (4-21), Albie Morkel (2-21) and Jacob Oram (2-27).
The win was Super Kings' first in the IPL against Rajasthan Royals after having lost both their matches last year. The win was also Super Kings' first after three matches.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne's decision to field initially proved spot on. The maverick Warne introduced spin in the second over with Yusuf Pathan (2-17), who removed openers Matthew Hayden (1) and Parthiv Patel (3) in quick successions to leave Super Kings in trouble.
Raina and Badrinath (29) then got Super Kings back on track with their 67-run stand for the third wicket. Raina was in no mood to waste time and he set the tone of his innings by hitting Dimitry Mascarenhas for a six and four.
At the other end, Badrinath relieved the pressure off Raina and the duo picked Pathan for some special treatment. While Badrinath rotated the strike, Raina kept up his powerplay and hit 10 fours and five sixes during his stay.
Warne's 'wild thing' Kamran Khan was not in his element as Raina hit the youngster for one six and his captain Mahendra Dhoni (22 not out) hit two more in the same over.
Raina fell short of a deserving century while trying to hit Munaf Patel but scooped the ball to Graeme Smith.
Chasing 165, Rajasthan Royals faltered from the start and failed to get a good partnership. Ravindra Jadeja (37) played a lone hand but that was not good enough to take his team closer to a win.
Super Kings' bowlers were disciplined in their performance and Morkel got some good swing with the new ball. He picked up Graeme Smith (2) and Swapnil Asnodkar (10) while Balaji wrecked the middle-order.

A.R. Rahman, Nandan Nilekani on Time 100 list

2009-05-01T09:12:00.001-07:00

Oscar winning Indian music director A.R. Rahman of 'Slumdog Millionaire' fame, his Sri Lankan co-performer M.I.A. of the hit 'O Saya' song and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani have made it to the Time 100 list of the World's Most Influential People.
The new list to be published in the May 11 annual Time 100 issue is the pick of the magazine's editors and may not be confused with the popular choice in TIME.com's online poll that 'just happened to be' won Monday by 'moot - the mysterious 21-year-old creator of the influential Web message board 4chan.or'.
'In our annual TIME 100 issue, we do the impossible: name the people who most affect our world,' said the editors as they relegated moot to the 35th position and instead chose ailing Democratic senator Edward Kennedy for the top spot.
British premier Gordon Brown makes it to the second spot, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the eighth place, Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani is sitting pretty at the 19th position, just a spot ahead of President Barack Obama.
A.R. Rahman, who gets the 59th position in the editors list, 'won two Oscars, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for giving Slumdog Millionaire its frenetic sound', notes Padma Lakshmi actress, author and the host of 'Bravo's Top Chef', in an accompanying piece.
'In India, a country of a billion inhabitants, where film and pop music are one, A.R. Rahman, 43, dominates the music industry so totally that he has supplied the sound track for a whole generation,' she writes.
'A veritable Pied Piper, he has shaped modern India's music for more than a decade. Now the 'Mozart of Madras' has the world's foot tapping along with him,' adds Lakshmi, noting the award winning 'Jai Ho' is now the campaign song for India's Congress Party.
Vikas Swarup, the author of the novel 'Q&A' that became the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', describes Nandan Nilekani, placed 31, 'as a middle-class kid from a small town, (who) rose to become a co-founder and co-chairman of Infosys Technologies and a key player in India's growth story'.
'In a blog post about 'Slumdog Millionaire', Nandan Nilekani alluded to the film's valuable subtext - that it doesn't matter where you come from, only where you are headed,' he writes. 'That could serve equally as an epigraph for Nandan's own life.'
'As the new India, fuelled by its robust democracy and favorable demographics, seeks to make the transition from a developing nation to a developed one, it will need the vision and talent of people like Nandan Nilekani,' Swarup adds.
The great thing about M.I.A., as Maya Arulpragasam placed 43rd is known, 'is that she doesn't have some global plan', writes producer director Spike Jonze.
'She just has things she cares about and is interested in, from all over the world... She reacts to whatever is in front of her: 'Those are booming Indian drums', 'That is a dope producer', 'Those kids are making sick beats'.'
'And she has great taste. Anyone can hear all this stuff, but to be able to
curate it, you have to have taste, and Maya Arulpragasam, 33, has it,' he adds.

Now, Gilani sees "foreign hand" behind Karachi violence

2009-05-01T09:11:00.004-07:00

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the involvement of a foreign hand in the recent spate of violence in Karachi could not be ruled out.
Addressing media persons here, Gilani said the government is committed to take stern action against anybody who challenges the writ of the country and is involved in violation of the law.
"All institutions in the country are strong and working within their constitutional frameworks," The News quoted Gilani, as saying.
At least 27 persons have been killed and over 30 were injured in continuous incidents of violence over the last two days in Karachi.
Several hotels, restaurants and vehicles were also torched in different parts of the city.
The violence and an unending process of firing had erupted in the city after two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were found shot dead.

Varun unhurt as dais collapses in Pilibhit

2009-05-01T09:11:00.003-07:00

A dais that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi was standing on collapsed Friday in his Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh, but he did not suffer any injuries, police said.
'The four-feet high dais collapsed just before Varun was about to start his public address in the Bithaura area of Pilibhit,' additional superintendent of police D.K. Chaudhary told IANS on telephone. Pilibhit is about 250 km from Lucknow.
The stage prepared by party workers could not bear the load of around 15 people who had climbed on it, he said. According to police, no one was injured in the incident.
The Supreme Court Friday extended Varun Gandhi's parole till May 14, one day after balloting concludes in India's five-phase general elections.
He was charged under the National Security Act by the Uttar Pradesh government and arrested March 28 for reportedly making communally inflamed remarks. The Supreme Court had released him on two weeks' parole till May 1 after he gave an undertaking that he would not deliver hate speeches.

West Bengal lagging behind due to Left policies: PM

2009-05-01T09:11:00.001-07:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said West Bengal was 'lagging behind' in development due to the policies of the state's ruling Left Front.
Addressing a rally in Dumurjala in Howrah, on the outskirts of the city, the prime minister said: 'West Bengal lags behind because of the Left's policies.'
He also said the time for change had come. 'Paschim Bangal mein badlaav ka samay aa gaya hai. Industrialisation zaroori hai. (The time has come for a change in West Bengal. Industrialisation is necessary),' he said, but added that such development should not come up on fertile land.
The prime minister also said incidents like Singur and Nandigram 'should not be repeated'.
He was referring to Tata Motors being forced to shift its Nano plant from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat following sustained protests by anti-land acquisition groups in this state. The state government was also forced to shift the Nandigram SEZ project after massive protests over procuring fertile land for setting up a hub of chemical industries.
Manmohan Singh also charged the Communists with helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections by dividing the secular votes.
'Their stand on a lot of issues have not kept pace with time... I advise them to change their thoughts to remain on par with the needs of the time.'
The prime minister regretted that the Left voted along with the BJP against the trust motion in parliament last year.
'In a way they are helping the BJP in these elections by dividing the secular votes,' Manmohan Singh said.
He also said the Third Front, led by the Left parties, had no chance of coming to power. 'The Third Front parties do not have any programme. They don't have any long term vision for the country's development. Their single point programme is to thoughtlessly oppose every work done by the Congress.'
Manmohan Singh was on a day's visit to the state to campaign for alliance partner Trinamool Congress candidates.

SC lifts stay on Gujarat riot cases

2009-05-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court on Friday lifted a stay on the trial of 2002 Gujarat riots cases and directed the authorities concerned to set up fast track courts and conduct hearings on a day-to-day basis. The apex court ordered the setting up of designated courts for riot cases in Ahmedabad, Anand, Sabarkanta, Mehsana and Gulbarga districts.

Images: Kings XI Punjab Vs Mumbai Indians

2009-04-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

In a low scoring match Kings XI Punjab overcame Mumbai Indians by three runs at Durban.Team Mohali who chose to bat after winning the toss were restricted to 119 but did well to take the fight back to the Mumbai Indians.Take a look.

Indian cricketer Karan Goel of Kings XI Punjab looks back towards his shattered wicket after being stumped by Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Pinal Shah of India during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Indian cricketer Karan Goel of Kings XI Punjab overbalances in front of his shattered wicket after being stumped by Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Pinal Shah of India during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

England cricketer Ravi Bopara of Kings XI Punjab walks off the ground as Mumbai Indians fielders celebrate his dismissal during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians celebrates after taking the wicket of Kings XI Punjab's batsman Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kings XI Punjab scored 119 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their alotted 20 overs.

Yuvraj Singh of Kings XI Punjab watches the ball during the IPL Twenty20 against Mumbai Indians at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kings XI Punjab scored 119 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their alotted 20 overs.

Indian cricketer Wilkin Mota of Kings XI Punjab is clean bowled by Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga of Mumbai Indians during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga of Mumbai Indians celebrates his wicket of Indian cricketer Piyush Chawla of Kings XI Punjab during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Irfan Pathan of Kings XI Punjab shouts in joy with teammates after dismissing the Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Sachin Tendulkar of Mumbai Indians leaves the ground after losing his wicket off bowler Vikramjeet Malik of Kings XI Punjab during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009.

Royal Challengers vs Knight Riders: Images

2009-04-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum (C) of Kolkata Knight Riders and South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher of Royal Challengers Bangalore (R) watch the ball after playing a stroke off the bowling off England bowler Kevin Pietersen (L) of Royal Challengers Bangalore during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkota Knight Riders are 59 runs for the loss of three wickets in ten overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders walks off the field after his dismissal during the IPL Twenty20 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkota Knight Riders are 59 runs for the loss of three wickets in ten overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle of Kolkata Knight Riders hits a ball to the boundary during the IPL Twenty20 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are 62 runs for the loss of three wickets in ten overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

England cricketer Kevin Pietersen (L) of Royal Challengers Bangalore delivers a ball to an unseen West Indian batsman Chris Gayle of Kolkata Knight Riders during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are 59 runs for the loss of three wickets in ten overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly of Kolkata Knight Riders walks off the field after his dismissal during the IPL Twenty20 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are 71 runs for the loss of four wickets in twelve overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Australian cricketer Brad Hodge of Kolkata Knight Riders (L) watches a ball delivered by Indian bowler Pankaj Singh of Royal Challengers Bangalore during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are 96 runs for the loss of four wickets in 15 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

South African cricketer Mark Boucher (C) of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot against Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Royal Challengers Bangalore won by five wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders.

South African cricketer Mark Boucher (C) of Royal Challengers Bangalore hugs team captain Kevin Pietersen of Britian to celeberate victory after hitting a winning shot off West Indies spinner Chris Gayle of Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Royal Challengers Bangalore won by five wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders.

South African cricketer Roelof van der Merwe of Royal Challengers Bangalore plays a shot against Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Royal Challengers Bangalore won by five wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders.

South African cricketer Mark Boucher (C) of Royal Challengers Bangalore hugs teammate Manish Pandey of India as they celebrate victory after hitting a winning shot off West Indies spinner Chris Gayle (R) of Kolkata Knight Riders during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 29, 2009. Royal Challengers Bangalore won by five wickets.

India Inc freezes hiring but no layoffs amid downturn: PwC

2009-04-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Grappling with the economic downturn, most Indian companies have frozen their hiring plans for the short term, even as majority of them still rule out layoffs as a way of controlling costs, a PwC survey released on Thursday said.
Over three-fourth (76%) of the respondents are reviewing their recruitment strategy to manage their costs in these unprecedented times, the survey by global consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed. The report stated that most companies have frozen or deferred hiring and are adopting a "wait-and-watch" policy.
However, most companies are shying away from employee layoffs as a way of controlling costs, with as much as 84% of the respondents voting against it. The survey, carried out across 12 sectors and over 100 respondent companies, found that the IT/ITes sector is severely conservative in its hiring plans, with 84 per cent firms stating they have put a freeze on recruitment.
Moreover, about one-third of Indian companies (35%) revealed they have frozen salary increments for the coming year and are reducing bonus or variable pays.
"Most companies in India are gearing up for tough times but are avoiding knee-jerk reactions, employers are uncertain about the extent, duration and depth of economic slowdown and the timing of a recovery," PwC India leader (People and Change Practice) Sankar Ramamurthy said.The Banking, Financial services and Insurance sector (BFSI) is among the worst hit, with more than half of the respondents focusing on recruitment freezes in the wake of the economic downturn.
Interestingly, a smaller number of companies, about 21% in the financial services sector, have also admitted to considering layoffs, even as 43% mentioned selective hiring plans.
Other sectors which have put a freeze on their recruitment plans include FMCG (70%), Manufacturing (63%), BFSI (57%). Meanwhile, retail is another sector which has been badly hit by the slowdown with the major growth plans witnessing a setback and respondents from the sector were not averse to resorting to layoffs if other actions proved insufficient.
Further, smaller firms with employee strength of less than 100 are focusing on selective hiring for critical positions only.
As per the PwC report, the top three focus areas which are being addressed by most companies during the downturn are recruitment, employee policies and compensation.
The PwC survey also revealed that about 70 per cent of the companies were making changes to their compensation policy and the same percentage have revised their employee policies and practices.
A significant majority of companies plan to re-deloy their workforce to businesses that are relatively better off.

Sri Lanka vows to capture Prabhakaran, dead or live

2009-04-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Colombo: Sri Lanka has vowed to capture cornered Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran 'dead or alive' even as it turned downappeals for a ceasefire from Britain and France. The military establishment, which is determined to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has also rejected calls that aid workers be given access to the war zone in the northeastern coast of Mullaitivu.
Thursday's Island newspaper quoted Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as making these remarks during interactions with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Wednesday.
Thousands of Tamils in the West, particularly in Canada and Britain, have been noisily protesting for days demanding that the international community put pressure on Sri Lanka to end its military campaign targeted at the LTTE because of widespread civilian casualties. Although Colombo said this week that it will stop using heavy calibre weapons and aerial attacks to avoid civilian suffering, Rajapaksa has told Miliband that the government was determined to finish off the LTTE.
The comments came as the military continued to push ahead towards the final remaining base of the LTTE, which faces decimation after more than a quarter century of leading an armed campaign to form a Tamil state.
Rajapaksa, a younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the humanitarian concerns voiced by many were a ploy to extricate LTTE founder leader Velupillai Prabhakaran from an isolated sandy strip on the coast of Sri Lanka's northeast. A truce, Rajapaksa told the visitors Wednesday, would only help the Tamil Tigers to regroup. 'The only person who can stop this war is the president of Sri Lanka.
The military had orders to either capture or destroy Prabhakaran and other top LTTE leaders,' The Island quoted Rajapaksa as telling Miliband. The defence secretary added that over 200,000 people had been rescued by the army from the LTTE since March.
'On April 20 alone we secured the release of over 45,000 men, women and children,' he said, vowing to rescue the remaining civilians too within a short time. Rejecting reports that civilians were harmed due to firing by the army, he urged Miliband not to be duped by the LTTE 'disinformation campaign'.
'All the stories disseminated from the no fire zone were doctored by the LTTE for the consumption of the international community and the Western media. Do you think a terrorist group like the LTTE will allow anyone to express independent views detrimental to its cause?' he asked.
Separately meeting the French minister, Rajapaksa said the UN would not be given access to the LTTE zone despite civilian presence. 'The defence secretary said no one was safe in that area and the government could not guarantee anyone's safety,' the newspaper reported. The LTTE and many human rights organisations say that the military offensive have killed and injured a large number of Tamil civilians. The authorities here deny this.
Colombo -- and many rights activists -- has in turn accused the LTTE of forcibly keeping back the civilians in its truncated territory with a view to prevent a final military assault. LTTE's critics say it is using the civilians as a human shield. Meanwhile, Japan has decided to send its special envoy to Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, to the island nation.
His three-day visit will end May 2. 'Akashi will meet government officials to call for ensuring the safety and security, including smooth provision of relief assistance, to internally displaced persons in the northern part of Sri Lanka,' a statement from the Japanese embassy said Thursday.

IAF's Sukhoi-30 MKI crashes, pilot dead

2009-04-30T10:57:00.002-07:00

A sophisticated Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft today crashed near here, killing one of the two pilots.
This is the first time that a Sukhoi-30 MKI, a frontline fighter plane, has crashed.
The incident occurred at around 10.20 am near Rajmathai village, about 70 kms from here, when the plane, the squadron of which is based in Pune, was on a routine exercise, DefencePRO Lt. Col N N Joshi said.
According to district officials, one of the two pilots, who were both holding the rank of wing commander, was killed.
The other pilot managed to eject safely from the aircraft, they said.
A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident, IAF sources said.

WHO raises swine flu alert to phase 5 - pandemic imminent

2009-04-30T10:57:00.001-07:00

Geneva, April 30 (DPA) World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan has raised the pandemic alert for swine flu by one level to phase 5 in Geneva.
The declaration Wednesday night of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent. It is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region.
'Based on an assessment of all available information and following several expert consultations, I have decided to raise the influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5,,' Chan announced at WHO headquarters.
WHO did not rule out that it may yet up the level once more, to the highest-possible phase 6, which would mean that a global pandemic was underway.
Chan said all countries should activate pandemic flu plans, which had been prepared following the avian flu outbreak earlier this decade, and called on governments and health authorities to be on high alert for influenza-like illnesses and pneumonia.
WHO said the decision to make the transition to phase 5 was based on the geographical spread of the disease as well as the fact that evidence supported sustained human-to-human transmission at the community level.
'We are seeing this in Mexico, and as information emerges from the US authorities we are also seeing that there,' Chan said.
'A pandemic by definition means we have established transmission in multiple countries, multiple regions of the world,' explained Keiji Fukuda, WHO chief of health security.
'We are seeing it now in two countries in one region,' he added, referring to the United States and Mexico.
'If this continues we expect it to be in other countries and regions,' Fukuda noted, saying the WHO was 'in the process of moving towards' phase 6, but added that 'we are not there yet.'
While phase 6 would mean that the new outbreak had taken on global dimensions, it would not indicate how severe the disease had become.
'A pandemic virus is precarious, unpredictable and will take us by surprise,' Chan said.
Numerous times during her press conference, Chan stressed that the nature of the virus was still not yet fully understood, including how severe the disease could get. She said the virus was showing signs that it could range from very mild to quite severe.
'Let me say it is important to take this very seriously, to maintain vigilance and to track the virus as it evolves,' Chan said, but cautioned that 'we need to maintain a level of calmness so we will continue to manage this in a rational manner.'
There was no need for border closures, restrictions on movement of people, good or services, and to stop eating properly cooked pork products.
However, there was still need for awareness, also at an individual level, and WHO officials reminded people to maintain proper hygiene and limit some physical contact, such as greeting friends with hugs and kisses.
Monday, the UN agency had raised the pandemic alert level from phase 3 to phase 4.

Indian Army to celebrate 71st Armour Day

2009-04-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

The Indian Army would celebrate 71st Armour Day tomorrow to honour the arrival of armoured vehicles in place of horses in the Indian cavalry regiments.
Armour Day is celebrated each year on May 1. On this day in 1938, the Scindia Horse became the first regiment to convert to tanks.
The first equipments they adapted were Vickers light tanks and Chevrolet armoured cars.
With the passage of time, the Indian Army became better equipped. In 1943, the Indian Armour updated itself to the Sherman tanks (M4) of American origin.
This transformation in the army was updated post independence with the coming in of the Centurions Mark 7 and AMX-13 light tanks.
Since then, the Armoured Corps has operated the indigenous Vijayanta tank, the Russian T-54 and T-55 tanks and the T-72 main battle tank, which has been the workhorse of the corps for the past three decades.
With the combination of forces and armoured vehicles , the Indian Army was able to register a first-rate performance in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. Equiped mainly with Shermans and Centurions , the Army was successful in destroying the sophisticated Pakistani Patton tanks to form the famous graveyard, "Patton Nagar" near Khemkaran in Punjab. Lt.Col.(later General) A.S Vaidya Col Caleb were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for their gallant performance in the Khem Karan sector.
Lt Col AB Tarapore was posthumously honoured with the Param Vir Chakra for his valiant action against the Pakistanis in the Shakargarh bulge in the 1965 operations.
In 1971, the Corps had was in the forefront of operations. Tanks broke through Pakistani lines both in the Western and Eastern fronts fighting the Pakistan forces.
2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal fought gallantly and sacrificed himself in the battle of Basantar River earning his regiment, the Poona Horse, yet another Param Vir Chakra.
The mechanized forces have time and again shown their supremacy in achieving the desired strategic plans.
The Armoured Corps is continuously modernizing itself. The authorities are renewing the existing task forces to bring them at par with the best.

Advani went to Pakistan, praised Jinnah: Rahul Gandhi

2009-04-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Thursday told crowds here that it was senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani who had spoken in favour of Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah and not Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'Who says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is weak? It is the BJP that showed signs of weakness. During the Mumbai attacks, we gave a befitting reply to the terror attack,' Rahul Gandhi said, addressing a massive rally here on a scorching afternoon.
'It was L.K. Advani who went to Pakistan and spoke in favour of Jinnah. Our prime minster never went to Pakistan,' he said amid thunderous applause at the Ghantaghar Ramlila Grounds in Ghaziabad, which goes to polls May 7.
He said: 'A real leader is one who can make right decisions at the right time. The BJP bowed to militant pressure and released one of the most dreaded terrorists, Maulana Masood Azhar, who was also behind the Oct 26 Mumbai attack. Jaswant Singh himself escorted the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist in the Kandahar hijack case,' he said.
Ghaziabad, on the outkskirts of the capital city, is an important constituency as BJP president Rajnath Singh is contesting from here. Surendra Prakash Goel, the sitting MP, is the Congress candidate.
Impatient crowds waved at Rahul Gandhi constantly and gave him a rousing welcome as his chopper landed amidst high security.
'How can India shine when the poor man of this country is without food, shelter and employment? India Shining (the BJP catchphrase during the 2004 election) should reach every home of this country,' he said.
Rahul Gandhi said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, during the last five years, worked for the upliftment of the common man of India.
'Real progress and real development is one in which every citizen, whether poor or rich, is developed and progressing. The UPA realised this and worked in the direction of making India a truly successful nation. The actual credit of the country's development goes to farmers,' Rahul Gandhi said.
He also recounted schemes like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, saying these were aimed at making the 'life of an average Indian better'.
Speaking from the dais on a scorching afternoon, Rahul Gandhi also hit back at the BJP for opposing the India-US nuclear deal.
'Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was very determined about the nuclear deal. He told me that he would sign the nuclear deal whether the government goes or remains,' Rahul said, during his 25 minute speech.
The country is still struggling with power, water and infrastructure, which are key to development. He referred to Delhi's Congress administration, saying it was the 'government of development, education and far-sightedness'.

I won't return to SA until Knight Riders start winning: Shah Rukh

2009-04-30T10:53:00.001-07:00

Mumbai: Bollywood star and owner of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders Shahrukh Khan returned here this morning from South Africa to cast his vote during the third phase of general elections on Thursday, but told reporters that he is disappointed with the performance of his team.
He was quoted as saying that he would not be returning to South Africa any time soon till he was assured about his team’s chances of winning the second edition of the IPL.

Asked for his comments on KKR skipper Brendon McCullum reported threat to resign if the team did not make it to the semi-finals, Khan said: “He is fantastic; he just needs to get his batting form in order.”

On former skipper Sourav Ganguly’s rich vein of form, Khna said: “As always fantastic. Dada is playing well. But, we have to win as a team.”

“It’s hard for me to see the boys so demoralized,” Khan said.

Kings XI Punjab pip Mumbai Indians in low-scoring match

2009-04-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Durban: A lion-hearted effort by the Kings XI Punjab bowlers glossed over the frailties of their batting colleagues as the Mohali-based outfit edged out Mumbai Indians by three runs in a low-scoring thriller in the Indian Premier League here today.
Chasing 120 for a win, Mumbai Indians managed 116 for seven, thanks to JP Duminy's 63-ball 59 which proved not enough in the end.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 45 saved Kings XI Punjab the blushes as the side fumbled and faltered its way to 119 for eight wickets.
In reply, Mumbai Indians realised, much to their horror, that their boat was rocking dangerously early in the chase.

For them, the first 19 balls yielded only 12 runs while costing them the wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya (0), Sachin Tendulkar (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (3).
Irfan Pathan had Jayasuriya caught in the lone slip with his first legitimate delivery and in the next over, Vikramjeet Malik sent groans across the stadium when Mahela Jayawardene caught Tendulkar at point.
Not to be left behind, in-form Yusuf Abdulla trapped Dhawan plumb in front with a toe-crusher and at 12 for three, things looked far from rosy for Mumbai.

Dwayne Bravo (15) scratched around for a while before Ramesh Powar got rid of him.

Earlier, barring Sangakkara, none of the Kings XI Punjab batsmen could make their presence felt. Sangakkara waged a grim battle with a 44-ball 45 on a day when only three of his teammates returned double digit scores.

Yuvraj Singh's decision to bat first backfired and by the first strategy break, the Punjab side crawled to 50 in 10 overs with three top order batsmen, including the skipper himself, cooling their heels in the hut.

Openers Karan Goel (12) and Ravi Bopara (6) just could not get going and the first three overs yielded only 10 runs.
The subdued start would have pleased any rival captain but not Sachin Tendulkar who tossed the ball to Harbhajan Singh in the fourth over and the offie struck with his third delivery.

Goel, having slog-swept the spinner for a six in the previous delivery, stepped out to court peril and return stumped after completely misreading the line.
Dwayne Bravo followed in Harbhajan's footsteps and struck in his first over, removing Bopara.
A lot was expected of Yuvraj (10) but the left-hander let down once again, leaving his team in dire straits.
Tendulkar pressed Sanath Jayasuriya into service and the wily Sri Lankan responded by removing Mahela Jayawardene (7).
To make it worse Irfan Pathan's (7) was a brief stay, cut short by Zaheer Khan, and Lasith Malinga then castled Wilkin Mota and Piyush Chawla off successive balls to dash hopes of Punjab's rearguard defiance.

Shah Rukh looks to exit Kolkata Knight Riders

2009-04-30T10:51:00.001-07:00

Kolkata: After dropping “Kolkata” from Indian Premier League team (IPL) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), actor Shah Rukh Khan has started discussions with Nokia, Sahara, the Anil Ambani group, and several other companies to sell the team he bought just over a year ago for Rs 300 crore, and exit the business.
According to sources in Red Chillies Entertainment, KKR’s holding company, “Shah Rukh Khan has been trying to sell a stake in KKR for some time now. But since most companies he approached also wanted management control, Khan is now talking to Nokia, Sahara, Anil Ambani and others to sell his entire shareholding.”

Khan’s public relations officer, however, said she would not be able to confirm the development because she had not met the actor.

None of those who have reportedly been approached confirmed the development. Sahara India’s communications director Abhijit Sarkar said: “We have not been approached by Shah Rukh Khan yet. But if he does, we would be happy to buy the team.”

D Shivakumar, vice-president and managing director (markets), Nokia India, sent a text message saying: “Shah Rukh Khan will keep the team.”

A Reliance Communications spokesperson declined to comment. “A lot of people negotiate with Anil Ambani. I cannot comment unless there is something concrete on table.”

According to the Red Chillies official, Khan wants to exit, owing to the team’s poor performance — so far the team has won only one rain-curtailed game under the Duckworth Lewis method — and rising costs.

“If the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) does not increase the number of teams for next year, Khan could get double what he paid,” said the Red Chillies official.

Khan is supposed to pay Rs 30 crore per year for the next 10 years. The total annual cost for the team is about Rs 75 crore.

Khan had earlier said that KKR was easily the most successful IPL franchise, making a Rs 13 crore profit last year. However, his costs trebled last year owing to interventions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Cricket Association of Bengal.

According to initial calculations, Red Chillies had to pay Rs 90 lakh per match and was supposed to earn Rs 3 crore if all stadium tickets were sold at Eden Gardens. Red Chillies had to pay Rs 20 lakh to the police and municipal tax of Rs 5 lakh. So its expenses per match would have been over Rs 1 crore. But this figure had trebled.

Last year, however, Kolkata Police demanded Rs 2 crore as security fees, against Rs 50 lakh that the organisers of the IPL offered. Then, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) demanded Rs 25 lakh from Red Chillies as amusement tax for holding IPL matches at Eden Gardens.

To settle the dispute between Kolkata Police and the IPL organisers over the cost of security arrangements at Eden Gardens, Red Chillies Entertainment had to agree to pay Rs 75 lakh as security fees.

About 5,500 uniformed personnel and about 1,500 sleuths were deployed to secure the stadium and its surrounding areas, since many celebrities were expected to watch the IPL matches at Eden Gardens.

Rakhi Sawant gets 12,515 marriage proposals in 20 days

2009-04-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

From businessmen, doctors to models and NRIs - over 12,500 men from across the world have sent applications to marry controversy queen Rakhi Sawant after she announced a 'swayamvara' as part of a reality show on NDTV Imagine.
Within 20 days of the announcement of the unique reality show 'Rakhi Ka Swayamwar', expected to go on air next month, a huge number of men have sent their profiles to woo Rakhi.
The item girl-turned-actress, who has mostly hit headlines for her outspoken ways, is overwhelmed with the response.
'I want to thank everybody for their continued support. This huge response has proved to everybody that my 'swayamvara' and 'shaadi' (wedding) is not a joke. My only wish is to find a person who will always be my support system and will respect me for what I am,' Rakhi said in a press release.
Rakhi had shocked one and all when when she had announced that she would choose a groom for herself through a reality TV show.
After a series of selection procedures, Rakhi will choose from among 15 grooms on the show and will take the help of viewers to decide on her ideal man.
According to the channel, the capital has topped the list of Rakhi's prospective grooms with 2,465 entries. Mumbai follows a close second with 1,980 entries. Most entries are in the broad age group of 18 to 35.
Those who are keen and are yet to register for becoming the love of Rakhi's life still have a chance as the last date for registration is May 5.

Unhappy with non-performing bowlers, Dhoni hints changes

2009-04-27T19:19:00.001-07:00

Clearly unhappy with the lacklustre show of his non-performing bowlers, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said time is ripe to bring in some changes in the squad.
Today's six-wicket defeat against Deccan Chargers left the last year's finalists in an unenviable position with just one win from their five outings and Dhoni pointed his accusing finger at the bowlers for the team's string of poor shows in the second edition of the Indian Premier League.

"I think the bowlers are letting us down," a dejected Dhoni said after the match.

"We really need to come up with some ideas, maybe a few other combinations and test our bench strength," Dhoni said.

With Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs going great gun, Chennai bowlers had a forgettable outing today.

Lakshmipathy Balaji conceded 41 runs in 3.3 overs for his one wicket while Manpreet Gony gave away 20 runs in his only over, prompting Dhoni not to press him into service again.

Among others, Joginder Sharma bled 14 runs in his only over, while Albie Morkel conceded 29 in his three wicket-less over.

Dhoni didn't spare the batsmen either and felt Chennai batters struggled in the middle overs.

"We are getting good start but have been struggling in the middle overs. Middle order is not clicking, we need to work on that as well," said Dhoni.

Incidentally, Dhoni himself has not been in great form in the tournament so far. His counterpart Adam Gilchrist, meanwhile, had no such worry and credited his bowlers for restricting Chennai to 165.

"Chennai got off to a good start and I think we did well to pull them back. They looked like getting 180-190 but our bowlers just hung in.

"RP Singh did cop some runs but he bowled an important last over and I think we did well," he said.

Gilchrist, however, admitted that he erred in not allowing Pragyan Ojha complete his full quota of four overs.

"I think I made a mistake there. Ojha bowled two overs and took two important wickets (of Matthew Hayden and Dhoni) for just 11 runs. Maybe my mind got it wrong. He (Ojha) has done a great job in the tournament so far," he said.

Gibbs, who was adjudged man-of-the-match for his unbeaten half-century, thanked his captain and said Gilchrist's presence at the other end took pressure off his shoulder.

"In Twenty20, we are not expected to get our eyes in. But with Gilly going after it right from the first ball, there was no pressure and I could relax," Gibbs said.

"We tried to made the maximum use of the first six overs. With Gilly going so well, I didn't have much to do," he said.

Images: Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Mumbai Indians

2009-04-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

Indian cricketer and Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 33 runs for no loss.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar of Mumbai Indians pats teammate Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 72 runs for no loss.

Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 111 runs for no loss after 10 overs.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians pat during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 111 runs for no loss after 10 overs.

Cheerleaders of Mumbai Indians perform during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians are currently 148 runs for three wickets

South African cricketer Jean-Paul Duminy of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians scored 187 runs at the end of their innings.

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Mumbai Indians scored 187 runs at the end of their innings.

Sri Lankan cricketer Lasitha Malinga of Mumbai Indians celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Brendon McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 match at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth on April 27, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders are currently 19 runs for the loss of two wickets chasing 188 runs to win

We are getting better by every game: Tendulkar

2009-04-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar was happy the script went according to plan and felt they were improving in each match as they hammered the Kolkata Knight Riders by 92 runs in the Indian Premier League match here today.
The batting maestro and his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya set the St George's Park on fire with some blazing shots. Both raced to half centuries and Tendulkar credited the Sri Lankan for his innings.

"It was a good partnership. Sanath picked up the pace nicely," said Tendulkar, who was adjudged man of the match for his 45-ball 68.

However, the manner in which they batted, a 200 plus score looked well on course and Tendulkar admitted as much.

"Everything went according to plan but maybe 200 plus would have been a better total. We are getting better by every game," said the record runscorer in both Tests and one-dayers.

A dejected Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum said they would have now to go back to the drawing board.

"We will have to pick ourselves and get back on track," said the New Zealander.

Mumbai Indians pacer Zaheer Khan said the opening partnership between Tendulkar and Jayasuriya set the tone. "Sachin and Sanath, playing the way they did was amazing," said the India pacer.

IPL merchandise sales doing well in second season

2009-04-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Indian Premier League (IPL) fever is on and cashing in on the cricket mania are sportswear brands with their special merchandise - jerseys, shoes, caps, bags, key chains et al.
The sports merchandise has caught the fancy of cricket fans in the second season of the IPL and invited encouraging response despite being held far away in South Africa, say company owners.

Sportswear brands like Reebok, Adidas and Puma, apart from 24-hour home shopping channel HomeShop18, convenience store Twenty Four Seven and online trading community eBay India are selling team specific merchandise to cash in on the cricket frenzy in the country.

While some are foreseeing good profits, others are just beginning to set their cash registers ringing.

"We had created IPL merchandise for the first edition of IPL as well. The response is very encouraging from people this time too. People are buying their favourite team colours to show their support for their teams," a representative from Reebok told IANS.

Though Twenty Four Seven has received a good response to its affordable range (Rs.15 to Rs.400) of jerseys, shirts, caps and other items such as key chains, tattoos, bottle chillers, car flags and wrist bands, the company's president says the sales might have been better had the IPL been held in India instead of South Africa.

"Although the response is heartening, we believe that if the IPL had been held in India, the response would have been better as a lot of fans prefer the merchandise for cheering their teams at the venue of the match," said Modi.

However, for companies like Reebok and HomeShop18, which have entered a tie-up to sell merchandise for four teams - Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings XI, Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers, the change in venue has meant more business.

"The change in venue has opened up a new opportunity for us in terms of online sales. We are now selling IPL merchandise through ebay.com and shop4reebok.com," said the representative from Reebok, which has launched a campaign "With Me? Show Me...Wear Your Passion", urging fans to support their favourite team by adorning the team colours and be a part of the team.

HomeShop18 has introduced a special show "Reebok 20:20 Cricket Mania" - dedicated to market and sell Reebok merchandise for IPL at subsidised rates.

"We have exclusive offers on Reebok jerseys, caps and bags, plus an amazing combo of the three available at Rs.1,999 which is 26 percent less than the MRP of Rs.2,697 and we are expecting a great response," HomeShop18 CEO Sundeep Malhotra said.

ebay India too has tied up with Bollywood actress Preity Zinta's Kings XI Punjab team to sell its merchandise including products like car flags, fan caps, cheering sticks, optical caps, expandable banners, mugs, badges and collectibles that allow fans to decorate their desks, homes and even cars to show their fan spirit.

While no definite sales figures of the IPL merchandise have been quantified by any company, they have admitted the sales have been encouraging.

Bollywood's style icon Feroz Khan is dead

2009-04-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Bollywood's flamboyant actor-producer-director Feroz Khan, known for blockbusters like 'Qurbani' and 'Dharmatma', passed away at his farmhouse here after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 69.
Feroz Khan, who died late Sunday, will be buried at the Johnson Market burial ground at 5.30 p.m. Monday, his younger brother Sanjay Khan said.
Sanjay told media that the funeral procession would be taken out from his brother's farmhouse to the Johnson Market Graveyard in the evening.
He is survived by son, actor Fardeen Khan and daughter Laila. Fardeen Khan is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of yesteryear actress Mumtaz who had played lead roles in many of his films.
Feroz Khan, who was last seen in the 2007 comedy 'Welcome', had divorced his wife Sundari 24 years ago.
The filmmaker, who was known to have led a quiet and simple life in Bangalore, had been battling cancer for the past one year and was under treatment in a Mumbai hospital. Family sources said his death was not 'unexpected' as his health had been falling steeply.
Family sources said actor Hrithik Roshan, who is married to Sanjay Khan's daughter, and his filmmaker father Rakesh Roshan were expected to arrive here to pay their last respects to the director.
The actor, who was born in Bangalore on Sep 25, 1939, died at his farmhouse on Tumkur Road here.
The actor did his schooling in Bangalore after which he went to Mumbai to pursue a career in Bollywood.
He acted in popular films like 'Arzoo', 'Aurat' and 'Safar' as well as played important roles in his own directorial ventures 'Qurbani' and 'Dharmatma'. He won a Filmfare award for best supporting role in 'Aadmi Aur Insaan' in 1970 and was honoured with the lifetime achievement award in 2000.

Deccan Chargers v Chennai Superkings: Images

2009-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Top ranked Deccan Chargers take on Chennai Superkings. The contest to watch out for is Matthew Hayden versus Adam Gilchrist. Both these former Aussie players have been in rich vein of form and will be eager to let their bat do the talking.

West Indian cricketer Fidel Edwards of the Deccan Chargers shouts a successful catch behind appeal against Parthiv Patel of Chennai Super Kings during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field first against Chennai Super Kings

West Indian cricketer Fidel Edwards of Deccan Chargers celebrates the wicket of Parthiv Patel of Chennai Super Kings with teammates during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field first against Chennai Super Kings.

Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden of the Chennai Super Kings plays a stroke to the boundary off Indian pacer RP Singh of Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 65 runs for the loss of two wickets in seveon overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden of the Chennai Super Kings plays a stroke to the boundary off Indian pacer RP Singh of Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 65 runs for the loss of two wickets in seven overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings plays a defensive shot off Indian pacer RP Singh of Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 88 runs for the loss of two wickets in ten overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma of the Deccan Chargers jumps while celebrating the wicket of Suresh Raina (R) of the Chennai Super Kings with his team captain Australian Adam Gilchrist during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 96 runs for the loss of two wickets in eleven overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Chennai Super Kings plays a shot as Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers looks on during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 97 runs for the loss of two wickets in eleven overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Chennai Super Kings gains his ground successfully against an attempt of getting stumped out by Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of the Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings are currently at 99 runs for the loss of two wickets in eleven overs after the Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field.

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers plays for boundary during the IPL Twenty20 against Chennai Super Kings at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 27, 2009. Chennai Super Kings set a target of 166 runs at close of their innings

Osama bin Laden could be dead: Pak Prez Zardari

2009-04-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Islamabad: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the whereabouts of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained a mystery and there was a suspicion that he could be dead.
Speaking to international media, Zardari said US officials had told him that they had no trace of the al-Qaeda chief, although they habitually say he is most likely in Pakistan.
Pakistan's own intelligence agencies were no wiser, either, Zardari said.
"There is no news," the president said.
"They obviously feel that he does not exist anymore but that's not confirmed, we can't confirm that."
Al Jazeera aired excerpts of an audio recording in March in which the speaker's voice sounded like earlier messages from bin Laden, who has eluded all efforts to catch him since al-Qaeda carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Bin Laden, if he is still alive, turned 52 on March 10, but he is known to suffer from ill-health.
There have been reports that he had died of natural causes in the past, but they have never been corroborated, and security analysts believe intelligence agencies monitoring jihadi websites on the Internet would have picked up some chatter.

Pakistani Taliban suspend peace talks in Swat valley

2009-04-27T18:49:00.001-07:00

Islamabad: A pro-Taliban cleric suspended talks with Pakistani authorities Monday, a day after paramilitary troops began an offensive against the militants in the restive north-western region.
The new push began early Sunday in Lower Dir district, part of the Malakand Division where the regional government introduced Islamic sharia law this month under a truce with Taliban. "No peace negotiations will take place with the government until a halt in the Dir operation," said Amir Izzat Khan, a spokesman for hardline cleric Sufi Mohammad, who brokered the peace pact. The Pakistani military said the assault was launched at the request of the regional government and residents of Dir, which is also the home district of Sufi Mohammad. Fighting is concentrated around Islampura and Lal Qila areas, where the army said it found at least 10 bodies of militants. However, it said "a number of miscreants" were killed in fierce battles.
The casualties could not be confirmed independently, but private television channels put the death toll as high as 30. An ambush in the area also left one soldier dead and four others wounded. The fighting forced hundreds of families to leave Dir for safer places in the neighbouring districts.
The security situation in the region deteriorated last week when militants from Swat district, also located in Malakand, took control of adjoining Buner district, just 100 km from capital Islamabad.
Though the insurgents later announced a withdrawal, authorities and locals in Buner say scores of militants, including some Al Qaeda fighters, were still present in the district. Western pressure has mounted on Islamabad to act against the Taliban, who have refused to disarm as agreed under the peace pact.

Karunanidhi ends fast after SL says operations have concluded

2009-04-27T18:46:00.002-07:00

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president Karunanidhi went on a sudden fast early this morning demanding ceasefire in Sri Lanka and called it off after six hours once the island government announced that combat operations have concluded.
"The fast has come to an end in view of the fact that the Sri Lankan government has announced an end to the war," said Karunanidhi reading from a statement from a bed at the fast site at the Anna memorial on the shores of Marina.
The 85-year-old leader called off the fast at 1230 hrs, six hours after he began it demanding an immediate end to the ongoing war in Sri Lanka where he said innocent Tamils were being killed.
Home minister P Chidambaram said the Sri Lankan government's statement meant that it is end and cessation of hostilities which Indian interlocutors had been urging.
Karunanidhi's announcement was hailed by the huge crowd of DMK activists gathered near the memorial to late CN Annadurai. The DMK workers had been shouting slogans urging him to withdraw his fast.
The fast also undertaken by leaders and workers of the state was also called off.
Earlier in the day, the DMK chief came unannounced at the Anna memorial and began his fast.
"Let me be one of his (Sri Lankan pMahinda Rajapakse's) victims", he said. Accusing the Sri Lankan army of killing the Tamils in the island nation in the ongoing offensive against the LTTE, Karunanidhi said "this (fast) is my sacrifice for the cause of Tamils".
The Tamil Nadu chief minister was unhappy over the recent mission of NSA M K Narayanan and Foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to Colombo not yielding any result and the Sri Lankan government rejecting LTTE's unilateral ceasefire offer.
He was joined in the fast by his son MK Azhagiri and a number of senior ministers and leaders besides many party workers.
Concerned over his health, prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke to Karunanidhi and appealed to him to give up his protest fast.
Karunanidhi's party MPs made separate appeals to the Centre and Lankan government, to bring about a permanent ceasefire stating that their leader undertook the fast against medical advice "risking his precious life."
Around 300 DMK workers and leaders including Union Shipping minister TR Baalu, Rajya Sabha MP and Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and his grand nephew and former Union IT minister Dayanidhi Maran were with the DMK president.
DK leader K Veeramani and Congress leader GK Vasan also visited the protest site and appealed to him to give up his fast.
Karunanidhi attributed the "good news of cessation of hostilities," by the Sri Lankan government as the reason for ending his fast.
It was due to the UPA government's efforts that the Sri Lankan government had announced a ceasefire, he said while expressing hope that the army would now be employed for relief and rehabilitation process.

Lanka says no ceasefire, rescue operations to continue

2009-04-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka on Monday said it has not declared a ceasefire with the LTTE, but has only announced that heavy caliber weapons will not be used while rescuing thousands of civilians trapped in the northern war zone.The Government said as the security forces are now close to victory it will in no form leave a breather for the LTTE or its leaders by offering a truce."There is no ceasefire. The Government will go ahead with their operation to get the civilians out of the 'No Fire Zone' who are being held hostage by the LTTE," Lakshman Hullagulle, Director-General of the Media Center for National Security, told PTI.He said the Government on Monday instructed security forces not to use of heavy caliber guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons which could cause civilian casualties.Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said the Government's announcement is in line with its policy of 'Zero Civilian Casualty Policy' (ZCC).A senior official also refuted media reports that the Government has announced a ceasefire.The official described the logic behind the Government's decision "as an exhibit of its grave concern to avoid any form of collateral-damage while surging into the remaining 5 sq km swathe of coast, south of Valayarmadam and Vellamullivaikkal."

SC orders probe into Modi's role in Guj riots

2009-04-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered a probe into the alleged role of Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The apex court has asked the Raghavan Committee to probe Modi's role and submit its report in the next three months time.
SC has also asked the committee to probe the roles of a cabinet minister in the Modi government, three MLAs, three VHP activists and several IAS and IPS officers as well.
The decision came on a plea filed by the wife of slain ex-MP, Ehsan Jaffri and social activist Teesta Setalvad.
"It's a huge victory because this is an indication of what we have been saying for almost six years now. We have been asking for an investigation and not presuming people are guilty like the opposite side does. The police had used Modi's political clout to delay the probe, now the Supreme Court has renewed faith in the justice system by saying at least investigate it," Teesta Setalvad told CNN-IBN.
"Ten days ago, the Gujarat government was all gung ho when they were trying to malign me and my organisation. People who fight for Human Rights don't look at the elections in that sense that is for the political parties and their opponents to do. We have been struggling non stop since 2002 to get justice and we haven't stopped. In fact neither of the secular parties have supported us either, so we are not there for the politics of it, we are there for Human Rights and justice," she added.

BSNL to unveil prepaid broadband services

2009-04-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

After the prepaid mobile telephony seized a majority of telecom subscribers, prepaid broadband could be the next to change the game for the rising broadband market. The country's largest broadband service provider, BSNL, is ready to roll out a new 'prepaid' segment on the lines of prepaid mobile coupons, where one can buy a recharge coupon, instead of paying a monthly rental.
A BSNL broadband user now has to pay a minimum monthly rental of Rs 250, which he may easily forgo by opting for the prepaid broadband connection. "Under the prepaid segment a user would need to have a BSNL modem and he can then purchase a recharge coupon from the market. Like in the case of mobile phones he would then have to recharge his account using the coupon number," a senior company official told FE . The user can use his login to access his account on BSNL broadband connection across the country.
"The move is bound to catch up with other broadband service providers soon. The prepaid mobile telephony has a 90% market share and that looks very encouraging for the prepaid broadband segment. BSNL is the market leader in broadband and its entry into this segment is going to have a big impact on the market", an analyst said.
The state-run telco has a 58% of the broadband market, and a subscriber base of over 36 lakh. The company draws revenue of Rs 1,800 crore from broadband and is hoping to increase the figure to Rs 4,500 crore this year.
Sources say that going a step further, the BSNL landline and broadband services would be bundled so that a user needn't pay a minimum monthly rental of Rs 180 on the BSNL landline that users have to currently pay. Also in case a user has a BSNL landline and a BSNL prepaid broadband connection he wouldn't even have to shell out the Rs 250 minimum rental on the broadband and the Rs 180 rental on the handset, which add up to a saving of Rs 430 monthly rental.

Tendulkar-Jayasuriya blitz fires Mumbai

2009-04-27T18:22:00.002-07:00

A 127-run opening partnership between Sachin Tendulkar [Images] (68) and Sanath Jayasuriya [Images] (52), followed by splendid bowling by Lasith Malinga [Images] (three for 11) and Abhishek Nayar [Images] (three for 13), helped Mumbai Indians [Images] trounce Kolkata Knight Riders [Images] by 92 runs in the Indian Premier League [Images] match in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
Chasing an improbable 188 to win, Knight Riders crashed to 95 for nine and suffered their worst defeat in the second edition of the league.
Mumbai, with just one win (over Chennai) from three matches, came into the match with a point to prove and succeeded in their endeavour to a large extent, securing their second win in the bargain.
Knight Riders, lacklustre in every department, have a solitary win from five matches.
Mumbai innings:
Tendulkar called correctly and had no hesitation in opting to bat first. The Mumbai Indians captain had a lot of problems to start with though. Their batting, though strong on paper, was yet to translate promise into performance. And their famed opening pair had had contrasting records, albeit with a tinge of negativity.
While Jayasuriya had so far been a disappointment, and that is putting it mildly, the captain himself had succeeded in getting starts but failed to convert them into something big.
When Ishant Sharma [Images] was as parsimonious as possible within the T20 ambit, it seemed Mumbai would again flatter to deceive. However, Tendulkar had other plans in mind, not wanting to let yet another opportunity slip. He cut Ashok Dinda's [Images] first ball over the backward point for the maximum and followed it up by guiding the ball to square leg fence three balls later.
Tendulkar had made his intentions clear.
A boundary each off Ishant and Dinda, both towards point, was followed by dispatching a ball by the former over the midwicket fence for the maximum.
Jayasuriya had so far been a mute spectator to Tendulkar's blitzkrieg. But with the introduction of Sourav Ganguly [Images] into the attack, the Sri Lankan started talking, with his bat.
Successive deliveries from Ganguly were pulled over deep backward square leg and midwicket, the result being the maximum in both cases.
And even as the field restrictions eased, there was hardly any respite for Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum [Images].
Mumbai had reached 61 without loss in six overs, their best so far in the tournament at that stage.
Ajantha Mendis [Images] was brought into the attack and Tendulkar conveniently dispatched his fifth ball over the midwicket fence.
The introduction of Chris Gayle [Images] from the other end brought no succour either, Jayasuriya pulling him over fine leg for the maximum and Tendulkar directing his final ball to the third man boundary.
McCullum had made three bowling changes in three successive overs and his bowlers cost him 41 runs.
Mendis's second over added to his woes.
If the Sri Lankan mystery spinner had conceded 11, in his second he went for 17, Jayasuriya smashing him over long-off for the maximum and Tendulkar getting as much runs over midwicket two balls later.
The latter shot helped the Mumbai captain complete his half-century, his first in this tournament.
Mumbai Indians went into the strategic time out firmly in the driver's seat at 111 without loss, with Tendulkar on unbeaten on 60 and Jayasuriya giving him company on 43.
It was Mumbai's best start in the tournament and the Kolkata think- tank had been forced to rethink their options.
Soon after the restart, Jayasuriya brought about his first half century of the tournament with a couple of Brad Hodge.
But the introduction of Hodge and Laxmi Ratan Shukla had somewhat restricted the free flow of runs -- four overs yielding just 20 runs to be precise.
And whenever the runs dry up, a wicket falls.
In this case it was Tendulkar, getting caught on the wrong foot off Shukla.
127 for one, after 12.2 overs.
The Master Blaster made 68 off just 45 balls (6x4, 4x6) but, more importantly, ensured Mumbai would retain their advantage going into the Kolkata innings.
The Mumbai Indians think tank promoted Harbhajan Singh [Images] (18/8) up the order and he rewarded them by smashing successive sixes of Hodge, the first over long-off and the second over midwicket.
But Hodge had the last word, having Harbbhajan caught at deep midwicket by Mendis in the same over.
Jayasuriya left in the next over, spooning a catch to debutant Arindam Ghosh at point, Shukla adding another wicket to his kitty.
And when Abhishek Nayar (3/3) was run-out three balls later, Mumbai Indians, for the first time in the match, were on the back foot at 155 for four after 16 overs.
Shukla also accounted for Dwayne Bravo [Images] (3/5), caught by Gayle at square leg, to finish with figures of three for 25.
Ishant made Shikar Dhawan (12/10) edge one to McCullum, as Mumbai, in their bid to accelerate seemed to lose the plot somewhere.
Their final total of 187 was a disappointment. But Kolkata, to their credit, had pulled back commendably after the break.
Nonetheless, the early blitzkrieg had ensured Mumbai posted the highest ever total in a T20 game at ST George's Park.
Kolkata innings:
Knight Riders' reply began in disastrous fashion, both their openers back in the pavilion after just three overs.
Captain McCullum (1/6), who has struggled so far with the bat, was the first to go, in the second over, hitting a Lasith Malinga delivery straight to JP Duminy [Images] at point.
Gayle (12/11) followed him in the next over. The West Indies [Images] captain smashed countryman Bravo's first ball over the midwicket fence for the maximum before pushing the last to Tendulkar at slips.
Gayle had a role in Bravo's dismissal and the latter came back to return the compliment.
Knight Riders were in trouble at 17 for two and they pinned their hopes on former skipper Ganguly.
The 36-year-old left-hander didn't disappoint. He smashed Bravo to the off-side fence and lofted the next ball over the midwicket fence for the maximum to start the counterattack.
Bravo's second over yielded 15 and Knight Riders were back on track.
The impact was immediate. Tendulkar was forced to bring on Harbhajan inside the Powerplay.
However, the move backfired as Ganguly hit the off-spinner for successive boundaries, both through the covers.
Ganguly and Hodge ensured Knight Riders went into the strategic time-out without any further loss (@ 70 for two).
But Nayar, introduced just before the break, struck in his second over, cleaning up Hodge (24/22), the Australian paying the price for being extravagant.
The wicket marked the onset of the Knight Riders' decline.
Nayar made a double breakthrough in his next over, having the dangerous Ganguly (34/30) caught by Bravo at covers off the first ball, and two balls later, making debutant Arindam Ghosh (0) flick one to Tendulkar at short midwicket.
Bravo had Yashpal Singh (8/8) caught behind in the next over and when Shukla (6/10) was caught by Jayasuriya at long-on, off Zaheer, the end was obvious.
Knight Riders were tottering at 95 for seven after 15 overs, staring at defeat.
Malinga cleaned up Mendis (0) and Dinda (0) in the next two balls and it was all over.
Anureet Singh did not bat.

Gibbs, Gilchrist lead Deccan's charge

2009-04-27T18:22:00.001-07:00

Non-regular spinners from both teams thrived, but, in the end, it was the batting of Herschelle Gibbs [Images] and Adam Gilchrist [Images] that ensured Deccan Chargers their fourth consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League's [Images] second season.
The South African opener struck an unbeaten 69 while the former Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman scored 44 off 19 deliveries, including five fours and three sixes, as Chargers beat Chennai Super Kings [Images] by six wickets, with three deliveries to spare.
Gibbs hit six boundaries and two sixes in his 56-ball knock and along with Gilchrist gave his team a solid start.
Chennai Super Kings frittered away a good start from Matthew Hayden [Images], who hit 49 from 35 deliveries (eight boundaries), as the middle order failed yet again. It was only a late flurry from Jacb Oram (41 from 29 deliveries) that enabled them post 165 for six in their 20 overs.
Chennai innings:
Deccan, who elected to field, made a couple of changes, bringing in Azhar Bilakhia and Shoaib Ahmed for D Ravi Teja [Images] and Harmeet Singh respectively. In the Chennai side, Jacob Oram [Images] replaced Andrew Flintoff [Images], who has returned home after picking an injury.
Fidel Edwards [Images] continued fine run with the ball, striking with the second delivery of the match. Parthiv Patel [Images] tried to glance a short delivery aimed at his ribs through the leg side but could only glove it behind the wickets. (0-1, 0.2)
But Chennai could not be kept quiet for long. Immediately, in the second over, they launched a swift counter-attack. Matthew Hayden walked down the wicket and dismissed a short delivery from RP Singh through the midwicket region and followed it up with another powerful boundary through point region.
Suresh Raina [Images] ended the over in grand style; the left-hander went down on one leg and slammed the bowler over the off-side for a six.
Hayden repeated the dose in Edwards's next over when he smashed another couple of boundaries.
And it was a case of fortune favouring the brave when Hayden got a lifeline on 17. Gilchrist floored an easy catch, diving to his left when the ball appeared heading straight to the first slip fielder (Laxman) as Hayden tried to guide Edwards through the third man region.
Part-timer Dwayne Smith was welcomed to the bowling crease by Raina with a huge six through midwicket, followed by another couple of boundaries from Hayden.
The two left-handers were going at 11 runs per over as Chennai put up 55 for one after five overs.
Surprisingly, the Deccan captain brought on another part-timer, Venugopal Rao, into the attack for the sixth over, when the fielding restrictions were still in effect. Raina promptly despatched the first delivery, which was short in length, through the covers for a boundary as Chennai reached 62 for one after six overs.
The parade of part-timers continued, with Rohit Sharma [Images] called into the attack in the seventh over to bowl his off-spinners.
The move paid instant dividends as he struck, claiming the vital wicket of Raina, who was caught and bowled for 25. The Indian youngster, who smashed a boundary and two sixes in his 19-ball knock, hit a powerful shot straight back and Sharma somehow managed to hold on to the catch.
The two left-handers added 64 runs for the second wicket in just 6.3 overs to help Chennai bounce back after the early loss of Patel. (64-2, 6.5)
It turned out to be a masterstroke by Gilchrist, as Sharma not only took a wicket but also went for just three runs in his opening over, which was followed by Venugopal Rao conceding just four in his next over.
In fact, the two spinners sent down a tight four-over spell, giving away just 22 runs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] seemed to have had enough of the spinners running through with their overs. He danced down the wicket and lofted Venugopal high into the stands through midwicket for his first six as Chennai reached 88 for two in 10 overs.
Surprisingly, with the spinners doing so well, Gilchrist was yet to introduce his main spinner, Pragyan Ojha [Images]. The left-arm spinner was brought on immediately after the halfway mark in an attempt to stop Hayden, who was looking in pretty good knick on 45 from 30 deliveries, inclusive of eight boundaries.
From the other end, Gilchrist brought on his seventh bowler in debutant Shoaib Ahmed in the 12th over. The 21-year-old medium pacer bowled a good first over, conceding just four runs, and might have even got an edge off Dhoni, but he did not appeal.
But Ojha brought Deccan right back into the match with the wickets of Dhoni and Hayden in his second over.
Dhoni tried to lift the tempo when he stepped out to loft Ojha but could only hit straight to Shoaib on the cover boundary.
The Chennai captain made 22 off as many deliveries, inclusive of a four and a six, adding 38 runs in 5.4 overs for the third wicket with Hayden. His batting has been a huge let down in his tournament; he has a tally of 79 runs in four matches at 19.75. (102-3, 12.3)
Three deliveries later, Hayden followed him back when he hit Ojha straight to the midwicket fielder.
The left-hander fell one run short of his half-century, having hit eight boundaries in his 35-ball knock, but fell at just about the wrong time. (Chennai 103-4, 13)
Hayden's dismissal saw Chennai getting bogged down further, with only 17 runs coming from the next overs as Gilchrist constantly shuffled his bowlers around.
Albie Morkel mistimed a slog sweep for six over long-on but fell to the next delivery when he hit straight to the midwicket fielder for 13 off 7 deliveries. (129-5, 16.5)
But, somehow, Gilchrist seemed to have messed up things a bit at this crucial juncture. Ojha (2-11) had two overs remaining and was expected to bowl the 18th over and 20th over, but, shockingly, newcomer Ahmed was given the ball.
And Oram made them pay, starting the over with a boundary and two straight sixes as 20 runs came off Ahmed's over as Chennai put up 153 for five after 18.
While Oram was going great guns with boundaries in consecutive overs off Edwards and RP Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath [Images] failed to get going. The Chennai batsman scored eight from as many deliveries before he got a top-edge off an attempted pull shot and was caught by the bowler Singh. (165-6, 19.5)
Oram finished unbeaten on 41 from 29 deliveries, inclusive of four boundaries and two sixes, as Chennai posted 165 for six in their 20 overs, including 52 runs in the last five overs.
Chennai used as many as seven bowlers, Ojha producing best figures of two for 11.
Edwards once again impressed, taking one for 21 in four overs, while Rohit (1-18 in three overs) and Venugopal (1-35 in four) made vital contributions with the ball.
Chennai must be ruing wasting another good start from Hayden as the last 10 overs produced just 77 runs for the loss of four wickets.
Deccan will be delighted to keep Chennai under the 180-run mark, especially after the blazing start Raina and Hayden had given them.
Hyderabad innings:
Gilchrist got the innings off to a flier with consecutive boundaries off Laxmipathy Balaji, the first over fetching 11 runs.
Gibbs also seemed in great touch and Manpreet Gony was the one to suffer as he smashed him for three boundaries and a six in his first over as Deccan raced to 31 in two overs.
In the next over, Balaji failed to hold on to a difficult chance from Gilchrist when the batsman hit straight back to him while attempting a pull shot. Balaji was made to pay heavily for that. The Aussie pulled one for a six through square leg, and followed it up with a boundary through midwicket. The last ball of the over was despatched over the long-on boundary for another six as Deccan raced to 48 for no loss in three overs.
Morkel came into the attack in the fourth over but he also suffered the same fate. Gilchrist thumped the third delivery through the cover region for a boundary to bring up his team's 50, the fastest in this season's IPL. The next delivery was carted over the fine leg boundary for a huge six that landed out of the stadium as Deccan were comfortably placed at 60 after four overs.
Muttiah Muralitharan [Images] brought some sanity to the proceedings, giving away just six runs in his first over. And taking a cue from Gilchrist, Dhoni introduced a part-time spinner into the attack in Suresh Raina.
It was Raina's loppy off-breaks that helped Chennai claw back into the contest as he claimed two wickets in his first two overs.
Gilchrist was the first, when he tried to play a forceful cut shot but hit it straight to Muralitharan at backward point. The Deccan captain smashed 44 from 18 deliveries, inclusive of five boundaries and a six, adding 67 runs in 5.3 overs for the opening wicket with Gibbs, to give his team a very big early advantage. (67-1, 5.3)
VVS Laxman fell to an identical shot in Raina's next over, caught at backward point attempting a cut shot but was undone by a delivery that bounced a bit more.
The former Deccan captain has so far struggled to make any impact in this year's tournament, with just 19 runs from four matches. (75-2, 7.3)
Five overs passed without any boundary with Raina and Muralitharan keeping the batsmen on a tight leash. Just 19 runs came in the last five overs with Deccan reaching 85 for two in 10 overs, needing another 81 in the last 10.
Deccan managed to break the shackles somewhat with 14 runs in the 11th over bowled by Joginder Sharma, Gibbs bagging a boundary and Sharma smashing a six.
Raina conceded his first boundary in his final over but ended up with magnificent figures of two for 18 in four.
Balaji, who gave 28 in his first two overs, bounced back in style with the key wicket of Sharma. The Deccan youngster was caught behind off an edge as he tried to cut Balaji through point and was dismissed for 18 off 19 deliveries. (114-3, 13.4)
Dwayne Smith took charge from the moment he walked out. He smashed the second delivery that he faced from Oram for a boundary and followed it up with a six as Deccan reached 129 for three in 15 overs.
With 37 runs needed off the last five overs, Deccan looked on course for an easy victory. However, Muralitharan made sure things got a bit difficult for them as he struck with the wicket of Dwayne Smith, leg before for 12. (130-4, 15.2)
It was Gibbs, who was holding the key and he cruised to his half-century in the 17th over with a single to long-on off Morkel. The South African opener completed his fifty in just 46 deliveries, with five boundaries and a six. After the dismissal of Gilchrist, he took it upon himself and ensured that he stayed on till the end to guide his team to victory.
His first 20 runs took just 12 balls after which he adopted a more conservative and responsible approach, taking 34 for his next 30 runs, but the blazing start meant he never had to force the issue in the middle overs.
With 16 needed from the last two overs, Azhar Bilakhia gave Gibbs good support as the duo looked to play it sensibly rather attempt rash shots. It came to eight off the last over and Gibbs made sure there was no last-over drama with a six off the first delivery from Balaji. Two deliveries later Bilakhia smashed one over the point region for a boundary to take Deccan Chargers to 169 for four and victory by six wickets with three deliveries to spare.
Gibbs finished unbeaten on a magnificent knock of 69 from 56 deliveries, including five boundaries and two sixes, and proved to be the difference in the final analysis.
Bilakhia kept his cool in the closing stages and finished unbeaten on 12 from 13 deliveries.
Chennai must be ruing not having enough spinners in their line-up, as the slow bowlers were the most difficult to hit. Gilchrist deserves due credit for reading the pitch quite early and using all the spinners in his squad to restrict Chennai, which proved quite crucial.
The two spinners, Muralitharan (1-17) and Raina (2-18), gave away 35 runs in their eight overs but the rest of the bowlers failed to deliver.
In the end, it turned out to be a day of part-timers, the non-regular bowlers claiming six of the 10 ten wickets to fall in the match.
Chennai must be wondering how to get out of this losing run, having lost three out of five matches. On the other hand, Deccan, who finished bottom last season, are sitting pretty on top with four wins out of four matches in the second season.

Hindraf ready for talks with PM over condition of Malay Indians

2009-04-27T18:20:00.003-07:00

H indu Right Action Force leader P. Waythamoorthy wants to have a dialogue over the condition of Indians living in Malaysia with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
Waythamoorthy, who is in self-exile in London, said he is prepared to meet Najib to outline the grouses that had pushed Hindraf to mobilise members of the Indian community to a protest rally on November 25, 2007.
"It is timely for the Prime Minister and the government of the day to engage Hindraf and the Makkal Sakthi movement in a dialogue to discuss ways and means to tackle the various problems afflicting the Indian community in Malaysia," said Waythamoorthy.
The Star quoted him, as saying that Hindraf and the Makkal Sakthi movement had always been open to initiating an open and honest discussion with the relevant authorities to help solve the socio-economic ills plaguing the Indian community.
"Given that Najib is propagating his OneMalaysia philosophy, solving the Malaysian Indian problem must be made a top priority," said Waythamoorthy, who is recovering from heart surgery.
He added that he was keen to put forward to Najib the movement's 18-point demand including the need for all Tamil schools in the country to be made fully aided entities.
Currently, Tamil schools are only partially aided and this has resulted in students having to make do with ramshackled structures for classrooms.
"We are willing to work with the current government to ensure that the interests of the Indian community are taken care off," said Waythamoorthy.
Waythamoorthy, who spearheaded the movement with his elder brother Uthayakumar, who is now detained under the Internal Security Act, recently reshaped Hindraf into a non-governmental organisation to tackle the various socio-economic problems faced by Indians.
He has also insisted in maintaining Hindraf as a non-political entity

Zardari to brief US on Pakistan's views on terrorism

2009-04-27T18:20:00.001-07:00

President Asif Ali Zardari is to brief the US leadership next month on Pakistan's views on militancy and extremism, and on what Islamabad needs for this.
The president was speaking at a meeting of parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, APP reported.
According to Zardari, the government possessed the will to fight militancy, but there were some areas where capabilities needed to be strengthened, an area in which the international community could play a major role.
Zardari will be visiting the US for a trilateral conference also involving Afghanistan for taking forward President Barack Obama's new Af-Pak strategy for the region.
Referring to the Swat peace deal, the president attempted to distance himself from it, saying it had been signed by the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and a Taliban linked radical cleric.
Thus, it needed to be placed in the correct perspective before the international community, Zardari maintained.
The NWFP government and cleric Sufi Mohammad had inked the peace accord Feb 16 for imposing Sharia laws in Swat and six other districts of the province that are collectively known as the Malakand division in return for the Taliban laying down their arms.
Facing with the growing international clamour against the accord, which was seen as bowing to the Taliban, said he would ratify it only after parliament approved it.
That happened April 13, Zardari acceded to it the same night and the accord came into force two days later.
The Taliban, however, did not live up to their end of the bargain and last week moved south from their Swat headquarters and took control of the Buner district that is just 100 km from Islamabad.
Sufi Mohammad persuaded the Taliban to retreat and they did so but the Pakistani security forces Sunday went into action against the militants in the Lower Dir district to the west of Swat.
This prompted the Taliban to suspend the Swat accord and warn of action in the entire Malakand division if the security operation was not called off.
Buner and Lower Dir are also part of the Malakand division.

Priyanka Gandhi slams Varun Gandhi over surname use

2009-04-27T18:19:00.002-07:00

Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, on Monday hit back at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi, saying people vote for her family members not due to Gandhi surname but due to the work done by them.
"Many people ask me why do our family members keep on winning from these seats. Some argue we are Gandhis that's why we win, but this is not true. Whether the name Gandhi is with us or not you would not have promoted us had we not worked," Priyanka said at an election rally here.
Priyanka remarks come a day after her cousin Varun Gandhi said that he wanted to be known for his work, not by his Gandhi surname

Game almost over for Prabhakaran, says Rajapaksa

2009-04-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday said the game was almost over for Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and all efforts were being made to catch him alive. He also said if caught, the Tamil Tigers boss would face trial in his country.
Speaking to the CNN IBN television channel, the Sri Lankan president also said his government has not announced any ceasefire in the military operation against the LTTE. 'We haven't announced any ceasefire,' he said.
'We are not worried about Prabhakaran or any other person. I think it is almost over,' Rajapaksa said to a question on what stage the military operations were poised.
Asked whether Colombo would hand over Prabhakaran to India if caught alive, the Sri Lanka president made it clear that first he would have to face a trial in his country. 'He has to go through our trial first' before being extradited to India, he said.
The Sri Lankan government earlier in the day clarified that there was no ceasefire and blamed 'media illusionists' for twisting the government announcement on halting heavy weapon fire to mean that military operations had been called off.

Supreme Court asks for Narendra Modi probe

2009-04-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Special Investigation Team to probe the role of 64 people,including that of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the post Godhra riots cases.The apex court order was passed in response to a petition filed by late Congress parliamentarian Ehsaan Jaffery's wife.
The court asked the SIT to submit the report within three months.

Ajmal Kasab can read books, but not newspapers: Court

2009-04-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

Mumbai: A special court has rejected the plea of Mohammad Ajmal Amir, the lone gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, to have access to newspapers in jail but allowed his lawyer to lend him some books for reading.
Ajmal's lawyer Anjali Waghmare withdraws from the case Navy chief warns India that ship containers may be used by terrorists "I informed the court that Ajmal wanted to read newspapers in jail but the plea was not considered. Instead the court suggested that I could lend some story books to him," Ajmal's lawyer Abbas Kazmi said.
As Ajmal is well versed in Urdu, Kazmi said, he was planning to give him books in that language."The books will be given to the jailor who in turn will pass them to Ajmal," the 54-year-old Mumbai lawyer said.To a question, Kazmi said the 26/11 attacks accused likes to read stories which have "entertainment value."On the daily schedule of Ajmal, Kazmi said he was in solitary confinement and was on his own.
The lawyer said he had been given a short time to prepare for arguments on charges proposed by prosecution against Ajmal.On May 2, he has to give his submissions after going through the 11,000-page chargesheet.
"I am not ready yet," Kazmi said.Ajmal's lawyer further said that he was devoting most of his time to this case after court hours and that he is not taking up any other matter.To a question about visit of Ajmal's mother, Kazmi said he had no knowledge of any such development and also Ajmal had not talked to him about his family or personal matters.
Kazmi said Ajmal was cooperating with him and his reponse to the legal queries has been good. But he had no idea how long will the trial continue. "Much would depend on the prosecution and the witnesses they would examine".
Asked whether the government had decided the amount of fees to be paid to him, Kazmi said the court had appointed him and also recommended fees."Let the government decide and then I shall decide about acceptance or non-acceptance of fees. It would be premature to say anything at this stage".
Kazmi said he was given 'Z' security and added that this was the first time he had been provided with security.Earlier, too he had defended accused allegedly involved in terror cases but defence advocates had never been given security.
To a question how he felt defending Ajmal and whether this had made any difference to him, the lawyer said "this case is very sensitive and there is a lot of media exposure. The entire world was watching this case. There is a lot of work pressure."

Jaya's separate Eelam call welcomed by PMK, Nedumaran

2009-04-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

Chennai: AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa's sudden support for a separate Tamil homeland as the only solution to the problems of the ethnic minority in Sri Lanka was welcomed by pro-LTTE groups as well as the PMK Sunday.
Tamil nationalist leader P. Nedumaran, a longstanding supporter of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, welcomed the AIADMK chief's statement. "Politicians have been supporting the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka and backing the demand for a separate homeland Eelam for our nationality for long.
Jayalalithaa's announcement is a welcome addition," Nedumaran told IANS, speaking on phone from Salem, 250 km southwest of here. "Our Tamil brethren's sufferings since 1949 by successive Sinhalese chauvinist governments are well documented. Politicians' in India have backed the cause from time to time.
Regardless of what is said here, the fight for a separate homeland is bound to see victory because of the never-say-die spirit of the Tamil fighters," Nedumaran added. PMK founder leader Dr S. Ramadoss welcoming the announcement, said: "At last there is a realistic assessment of the needs of the Tamils in Eelam and their sufferings.
" Jayalalithaa told AIADMK supporters in Erode, 370 km south of here, Saturday night that she was moved by the plight of Lankan Tamils forced to exist in concentration camps like slaves and that a separate Tamil Eelam was the solution to the ethnic tangle. Other parties espousing the same cause too welcomed the clear shift in Jayalalitha's stand.
"Jayalalitha's statement has galvanised us because it has been made at the most opportune moment, on the eve of the elections. One only hopes that politicians do not flatter to deceive the cause later as in the past," an MDMK leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.
"The late chief minister M.G. Ramachandran publicly funded the LTTE in 1985 by giving away almost Rs 40 crore from a nationalised bank within the secretariat here. The Indian government espoused and then betrayed the Tamils' cause on the basis of political expediencies," the leader recalled.
The Left parties which have been supporting the need for meaningful devolution of powers within the framework of a united Sri Lanka were guarded in their reaction. "Every party has a right to speak its mind.
A common minimum programme can be prepared only after the election results on the basis of deliberations. Our well-known stand of non-interference into sovereign rights of a nation but proactive methods to fight for human rights and dignity remain unaltered," a Communist Party of India-Marxist MP told IANS.
Former Director General of Police A.X. Alexander, who has dealt with the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for a long time as an intelligence officer, felt the shift in Jayalalitha's stand had to be viewed carefully. Political columnist Cho S. Ramaswamy said it was a road to nowhere.
"A separate Tamil Eelam isn't possible as the Tamils in Sri Lanka are of four different kinds - those belonging to the north and north-eastern parts, plantation workers of Indian origin, the business community in Colombo and the Tamil speaking Muslims. Only sections of the first kind have been clamouring for Eelam while the others have not," Cho told IANS.
"Further, there are no programmes for making the demand viable and no possibilities to make the nation possible as neither India (which suffered badly once) nor the international community will back the call," Cho added.
Lankan diplomatic sources here declined to comment. Ethnic minority Tamils have been fighting a civil war with Sri Lanka since 1983 for a separate Tamil homeland "Eelam" that has left some 80,000 persons dead so far.
The island is separated from India by a small stretch of sea called Palk Strait.

Lankan army 6 sq km away from last LTTE hideout

2009-04-26T04:29:00.002-07:00

Colombo: Making a final push to overrun the last patch of LTTE-held territory, Sri Lankan forces on Sunday captured strategic Vlayarmadam area and encircled remaining 6 sq km strip of land which is the possible hideout of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides.
"Sri Lankan soldiers have liberated Valayarmadam area and so far rescued 500 civilians held hostage by LTTE from there," the defence ministry said on Sunday. According to the defence sources, army commandos and special forces soldiers backed by infantrymen of 10 Sri Lanka Light Infantry and 12 Gemunu Watch last evening entered into Valayarmadam area, located just 6 km from Vellamullivaikkal, the last remaining LTTE hideout.
"Troops declared the area fully secured this morning (Sunday). So far, soldiers have been able to rescue over 500 hostages," it said. Valayarmadam is just six km short of Vellamullivaikkal, the last remaining LTTE hideout where thousands of civilians still remained trapped. Meanwhile, LTTE's political head B Nadesan has denied the charges that his group was forcibly recruiting children as fighters to confront the government forces.
"LTTE political head B Nadesan has categorically denied recruitment and arming children as young as 12 to fight alongside the Tigers as alleged by news reports citing the UN," the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said.
UN official reaches ColomboThe UN Colombo office accusation coincides with the visit of the Emergency Relief Coordinator of the UN and Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes. Nearly 110,000 people have fled the war-zone and come to the government-controlled areas since last Monday, taking the total number of Internally Displaced People (IDP) to over 180,000.
Amid mounting international appeal for the safety of thousands of civilians affected by fighting, the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief John Holmes arrived here late Saturday aiming "to see at first hand the situation of civilians affected by fighting in the island's north".
During his two-day stay in Colombo, Holmes is expected "to visit camps for the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the fighting and to raise continuing high levels of concern about those still trapped", the UN said. "The top priority remains the preservation of the lives of the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped inside the combat zone," said Holmes.
"But I also want to see the people in the camps, to visit UN staff being held there, and to review how the sudden outflow of so many people from the combat zone is being managed," Holmes said before leaving for Colombo.
Although the government officials say that they were coping with the situation in providing the basic facilities to the IDPs, the UN said that the sudden outflow of such a large mass of people "threatens to overwhelm existing systems".
The LTTE has been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and eastern parts of the country for the past quarter century.

Flintoff flies home for knee surgery

2009-04-26T04:29:00.001-07:00

Durban,Andrew Flintoff's stint with Chennai Super Kings has been cut short as the England all-rounder has flown back home to undergo a knee surgery.
After Flintoff complained of discomfort in his right knee, the team's medical staff immediately contacted England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief medical officer Nick Peirce.

"Scans of his right knee revealed a slight medial meniscal tear in the knee and it was decided that Flintoff should return to London," ECB said in a statement.

He will undergo an operation early next week and surgeons are confident that he should recover from the keyhole surgery within three to five weeks.

Super Kings face Kolkata Knight Riders in Saturday's double-header here.

Super Kings had shelled out a record sum of $1.55 million to rope in Flintoff, who had committed to play in Indian Premier League till the end of this month before England's home series against the West Indies.

"He is certain to miss the Test series against the West Indies now. But having the surgery now means that Flintoff should be available for the T20 World Cup and Ashes," said Hugh Morris, England Cricket managing director.

Peirce added: "Clearly this is a huge disappointment for both the player and the IPL team. This sort of degenerative injury though is one that could have happened at any time anywhere."

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians: Images

2009-04-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

The Deccan Chargers score a win over the Mumbai Indians and further strengthen their position in the IPL points table.

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccans Chargers shouts after playing a shot during the IPL Twenty20 against Mumbai Indians at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 21 runs for no loss in three overs after winning the toss and decided to bat first against Mumbai Indians.

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccans Chargers hits a ball for six during the IPL Twenty20 against Mumbai Indians at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 21 runs for no loss in three overs after winning the toss and decided to bat first against Mumbai Indians.

Cheerleaders entertain during a match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 29 runs for no loss in four overs after winning the toss and decided to bat first against Mumbai Indians.

Cheerleaders entertain during a match between Deccans Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL Twenty20 at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 61 runs for no loss in six overs after winning toss and electing to bat.

South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs of Deccan Chargers tries to play a stroke during an IPL Twenty20 match against Mumbai Indians at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 61 runs for no loss in six overs after winning toss and electing to bat.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (C) of Mumbai Indians sets the field for Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist (R) of the Deccan Chargers during an IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 67 runs for the loss of one wicket in seven overs after winning toss and electing to bat.

South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs (R) and Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist (R) of Deccan Chargers speak during an IPL Twenty20 match against Mumbai Indians at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 82 runs for the loss of one wicket in nine overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan of Mumbai Indians delivers a ball during an IPL Twent 20 match against Deccan Chargers at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 82 runs for the loss of one wicket in nine overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

West Indies cricketer Dwayne Smith of Deccan Chargers misses a ball and is clean bowled by Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of the Mumbai Indians during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccan Chargers are 157 runs for the loss of six wickets in seventeen overs after winning toss and electing to bat.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar of the Mumbai Indians tries to hook a ball against the Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Mumbai Indians are 74 runs for the loss of one wicket in eight overs as they chase the Deccan Chargers' score of 168 runs.

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers shouts in joy after taking a successful catch of Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Deccans Chargers, who won the toss and decided to bat, scored 168 runs against Mumbai Indians.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar of the Mumbai Indians plays a stroke for the boundary against the Deccan Chargers during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 25, 2009. Mumbai Indians are 84 runs for the loss of one wicket in ten overs as they chase the Deccan Chargers' score of 168 runs.

Rain washes out Kolkata-Chennai IPL match

2009-04-26T04:15:00.000-07:00

Cape Town: Bad weather continued to play spoilsport at the Newlands cricket ground here as continuous rain washed out today's Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.
Brendon McCullum led Kolkata and Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai got one point each after the abandonment of the tie.

It was raining since morning here and the match was called off without a ball being bowled.

Both the teams badly needed a win as each of them has lost two matches out of three. Before coming to this match, by virtue of their one win each, they had two points.

Chennai Super Kings now stand at third position in the points table while Kolkata Knight Riders are languishing at seventh spot.

Ojha's spell made the difference: Tendulkar

2009-04-26T04:12:00.000-07:00

Durban: Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar today hailed Deccan Chargers' spinner
Pragyan Ojha, who he believes took away the match from them with his brilliant 3/21 spell.
Ojha weaved his magic with the ball and earned the Man of the Match award by scalping three crucial wickets to restrict the Mumbai Indians 12 runs short off the 169 target, set by the Chargers.

"Yeah, I thought till the 10 overs in the first half we were doing quite well but thereafter we lost a bit of momentum and lost wickets and didn't score enough runs.

"Most of the time we were in control but we lost it in between when Pragyan Ojha came to bowl," said Tendulkar who made useful 36 at the top.

Asked whether the strategy break had anything to do with their momentum loss, Tendulkar, a stern critic of the concept, said, " This has (time out) gone against us, hopefully next time it favours us." He, however, ruled out any possibility of changing the composition of the team for the next match before having a look at the pitch.

"I have to go and look at the wicket before taking any decision but I am quite happy with the way we have approached the game so far."

Asked whether the wash out against Rajasthan Royals had any affect on today's result, he said, "To certain extent because we are all set to play the last match against Rajasthan. I though those five six days in between we didn't get match practice as such. But no excuses, I think in the next match we will be able to put up a good show." Victorious skipper Adam Gilchrist was delighted with the form of his side that finished at the last place in the inaugural edition of the event last year.

The Deccan Chargers this year started their IPL campaign with a bang and are atop the points table with three consecutive wins from as many matches.

"It's a nice start. We picked up a little milestone, we got lot more points than last last year and that's quite pleasing," the former Australian wicket-keeper said.

"It's nice to see the enthusiasm in the group, both among the playing and the non-playing members. The outfit is quite unified and these are encouraging signs," he added.

Player of the Match, Ojha, meanwhile, admitted that he was little nervous while bowling to Tendulkar.

"I was very nervous. I was bowling to the best batsman in the world. I am happy that my team backed me and supported me. They told me that if I put in effort, I can do it and I did it for my team," he said.

Rajasthan Royals vs Knight Riders: Images

2009-04-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Indian Bollywood Actress and co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals cricket team Shilpa Shetty looks on as rain delayed the start of the IPL Twenty20 match between Kolkata Knight riders and Rajasthan Royals at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town.

Yusuf Pathan of the Rajasthan Royals plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 42 runs at a strike rate of 200.

Graeme Smith plays a shot during the IPL T20 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. He scored 15 runs.

Brendan McCullum of the Kolkata Knight Riders appeals as teammate Chris Gayle takes a catch off Graeme Smith.

Ajantha Mendis of Kolkata Knight Riders appeals succesfully against Graeme Smith of Rajasthan Royals during the IPL Twenty20 match at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town.

Graeme Smith of Rajasthan Royals walks back dejected after getting out during the IPL Twenty20 match.

Ishant Sharma of the Kolkata Knight Riders is congratulated by teammate Brendan McCullum after taking the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja of the Rajasthan Royals during their IPL Twenty20 match at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town

Cheerleaders light up IPL-2 Images

2009-04-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Cheerleaders for the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) perform during a preview at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on April 13, 2009. The RCB cheerleaders are known as the "Mischief Girls".

Cheerleaders for the Deccan Chargers perform during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 19, 2009.

Kings XI Punjab's cheerleaders seen during the game between Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab, at the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match in Cape Town on April 19, 2009.

Cheerleaders for the Bangalore Royal Challengers perform during a game between the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Rajasthan Royals at the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match in Cape Town on April 18, 2009.

A cheerleader for the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) perform during a preview at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on April 13, 2009. The RCB cheerleaders are known as the "Mischief Girls".

Cheerleaders perform duirng the during their IPL Twenty20 league match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Superkings at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 18, 2009.

Cheerleaders for the Kolkata Knight Riders perform during the IPL Twenty20 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 19, 2009.

Cheerleaders for the Deccan Chargers perform during the IPL Twenty20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 19, 2009.

Cheerleaders for Royal Challengers Bangalore perform during the IPL Twenty20 match against Chennai Super Kings at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth on April 20, 2009.

Cheerleaders for the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) perform during a preview at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on April 13, 2009. The IPL matches are scheduled to take place in South Africa from April 18 to May 24.

Cheerleaders perform during the IPL Twenty20 match between King's XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won by 11 runs (D/L method).

Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta in Durban

2009-04-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta talks with team coach Tom Moody prior to a match during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009.

Bollywood film actor and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan watches his team's encounter with Kings XI Punjab during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won by 11 runs (D/L method).

Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood film actress Preity Zinta talks on her mobile phone prior to a match during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009.

Bollywood film actor and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan (C) waves during the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings X1 Punjab during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

Bollywood film actor and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders cricket team Shah Rukh Khan gestures to fans as he arrives at Durban's International Airport on April 20, 2009.

Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta smiles while walking alongside Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh prior to a match against Kolkata Knight Riders of the IPL Twenty20 at the kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Yuvraj Singh is the captain of Kings XI Punjab.

Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta (right) gives instructions prior to a match against Kolkata Knight Riders of the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009.

Action from RCB vs Chargers: Image gallery

2009-04-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma powered Deccan Chargers to 184 for six, the highest total in the Indian Premier League's second edition so far. Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers plays a shot during their IPL T20 match against Bangalore Royal Challengers at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 22, 2009.

Praveen Kumar of Bangalore Royal Challengers gestures after taking the wicket of Herschelle Gibbs of Deccan Chargers during their IPL T20 match at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town.

Kevin Pietersen gestures as teammate Jacques Kallis looks on during the IPL T20 match against Deccan Chargers at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town.

Jesse Ryder of Bangalore Royal Challengers reacts after taking the wicket of VVS Laxman of Deccan Chargers during the IPL T20 match at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 22, 2009.

Jesse Ryder celebrates with Kevin Pietersen after taking the wicket of VVS Laxman of Deccan Chargers during their IPL T20 match at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 22, 2009.

Rohit Sharma of Deccan Chargers avoids a bouncer during the IPL T20 match at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 22, 2009

Captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers Kevin Pietersen celebrates with teammate Virat Kohli after taking the wicket of Deccan Chargers Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist during the IPL T20 match at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 22, 2009.

Images: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Kings XI Punjab courtesy D/L

2009-04-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and offered Yuvraj Singh and Co first strike.The Preity Zinta owned team managed 158 with Yuvraj Singh top-scoring with 38. Kolkata in response were 79/1 before rain stopped play and for the second time in a row Kings XI Punjab were beaten by the elements and M/S Duckworth and Lewis.Kolkata Knight Riders winning with a rainy smile by 11 runs.

King's XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta talks to team coach Tom Moody prior to a match during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kings XI Punjab take on Kolkata Knight Riders on the fourth day of the Indian Premier League

Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan of King's XI Punjab plays a ball for a boundary against Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 match at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Murali Kartik of Kolkata Knight Riders takes a successful catch to dismiss Indian batsman Irfan Pathan of King's XI Punjab during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kings XI are 104 runs for the loss of three wickets in 14 overs as play continues.

Bollywood film actor and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan waves during the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings X1 Punjab during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh of King's XI Punjab drives the ball as New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum of the Kolkata Knight Riders looks on during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. He scored 38.

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara of King's XI Punjab drives the ball as New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum of the Kolkata Knight Riders looks on during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban on April 21, 2009. Punjab scored 158 runs for the loss of six wickets in their alotted 20 overs.

Royal Challengers vs Super Kings: Images

2009-04-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Matthew Hayden hit a blistering 65 off 35 balls to give Chennai Super Kings a flying start against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Kevin Pietersen (L) of Bangalore Royal Challengers gestures while talking to teammate Vinay Kumar during the match against Chennai Superkings at St. George's Park.

Mathew Hayden plays a shot during the IPL Twenty20 match as Bangalore Royal Challengers as Robin Uthappa looks on.

Parthiv Patel walks back to the pavillion as Royal Challengers's captain Kevin Pietersen and team-mates celebrates the dismissal.

Robin Uthappa of Royal Challengers Bangalore looks on as Australia's Matthew Hayden falls short of a couple of yards to get out off Dravid's direct hit.

Kevin Pietersen hugs teammate Rahul Dravid as they celebrate the dismissal of Matthew Hayden during the IPL Twenty20 match at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth.

ICL players heading to US Twenty20 event

2009-04-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

Players from the rebel Indian Cricket League and some big names from the sport's past are to take part in an as yet unauthorised Twenty20 [Images] tournament in New York in October, the event organiser told Reuters on Thursday.
Jay Mir, president and CEO of American Sports And Entertainment Group, said the tournament, to be called the American Premier League, has signed up players from the major cricket nations with the majority coming from the ICL.
But the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council [Images], which has not recognised the ICL, has warned its members against taking part in an event which has not, as yet, received endorsement from the USA Cricket Association.
"Most of those involved are ex-players and ICL players. Some would be affected (if the tournament was not recognised) but that is the choice of the players," Mir said.
"Sixty to seventy percent of the tournament's players are ICL players
Mir said former England [Images] spin bowler John Emburey, a coach in the ICL, had agreed to be coach of a 'Premium World' team in the competition with ex-West Indies captain Richie Richardson coaching a Caribbean XI.
The 'Premium World' team is made up of players from England, South Africa , Australia , New Zealand and Sri Lanka said Mir, who declined to name any of those contracted.
He added, however, that former New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee has signed up as an 'executive board member' of the event and former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has agreed to play.
ICC MEMO
Many countries ban ICL players from official cricket under pressure from the influential Indian board which runs the big-money Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament.
The ICC issued a memo to members last week, a copy of which has been received by Reuters, which warns against involvement in the American venture.
"Members are... precluded from releasing their players to play in this event until such time as ICC confirms that the event has been approved," read the memo.
A spokesman for the USA Cricket Association (USACA) said Mir had last contacted the body on the phone a month ago but had yet to make a formal application for authorisation.
Mir said he was confident of getting that authorisation but that the tournament, which was no longer recruiting players, would go ahead with or without the blessing of the sport's official bodies.
"APL will go down all avenues to work in conjunction with USACA, but in case that does not happen, it will not affect APL from hosting this historic event," he added
The tournament will feature six sides. Teams of Indians, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, American and West Indians, along with the World team, will play each other once with the top four going through to a knockout stage.
"I want to bring this great game of cricket to America," said Mir, "We have had a phenomenal response and what we have achieved in one month no one has achieved in 20 years.
"The business model is very unique. The name is unique and is helping the success. I believe cricket and USA are at a historic crossroad and it is the right time for this great sport to flourish in America," he said.
The tournament will be held at a baseball park on Staten Island, home to the minor league Staten Island Yankees and run from October 6-26.

Concerned India to send Narayanan, Menon to Sri Lanka

2009-04-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, India Thursday called for "an immediate cessation of all hostilities" in the island and announced that it will send two special emissaries to Colombo.
External affairs ministry official sources told IANS that the two Indian officials visiting the crisis-hit nation are National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.
"We are very unhappy at the continued killings in Sri Lanka. All killings must stop. There must be an immediate cessation of all hostilities," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement here.
The strongly-worded message from the Indian government came on a day the DMK-sponsored shutdown called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi over the sufferings of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka crippled normal life in the state.
The exodus of Tamil civilians from the war zone has escalated into a grave humanitarian crisis even as the Sri Lankan government claimed that the Tamil Tiger rebels were about to be crushed.
Mukherjee said the "government of India has been monitoring with deep concern and anxiety the evolving situation in Sri Lanka, in particular the conditions of the Tamil civilians in the conflict zones."
"We understand that over 100,000 civilians have emerged from the no-fire zone into areas under government control in the past three days but the lives of several thousands of innocent civilians remain threatened," Mukherjee said.
"In order to convey these concerns to the government of Sri Lanka, the government of India has decided to send two special emissaries to Sri Lanka," he said.
India Wednesday sent 40,000 family packs of food, clothes and toiletries for civilians who have emerged from the war zone. The relief materials are expected to reach Sri Lanka Saturday.

Lanka govt 'more at fault' than LTTE: Chidambaram

2009-04-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Sivaganga: Union home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said both LTTE and Sri Lanka were not paying heed to India's request to end hostilities but felt Colombo was "more at fault" as it thought military solution could end the strife.
Stating that the Sri Lankan Tamils issue was a humanitarian one and there was need to protect the lives of the people, he said India had asked the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to stop the hostilities.
"We have been making the demand continuously for many days. But both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government are not paying heed to our request," he said.
However, Sri Lankan government was more at fault regarding the ongoing battle because they were thinking that military solution could end the strife, he told reporters after filing his nomination papers from Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency.
"The issue cannot be resolved by the army. It has to be resolved through negotiations. The Tamils should be given equal respect, status and right. Tamil dominated one or two provinces should be made states with equal rights within the Sri Lankan federal set up," he said.
Asked about Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi's demand for snapping diplomatic ties with the Lankan government if it did not stop the war, he said "it is a serious issue and it cannot be discussed in a press meet."
Queried if LTTE chief Prabhakaran would be given asylum, he said "I can't comment. It is a legal issue." Chidambaram described today's general strike on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue called by DMK, an ally of Congress, as an expression of "anguish" against killing of Tamils in the island nation. "It is not against the Union government or Congress.
It is for stopping the hostilities there in that country." He said it was wrong to say that the Union Government did not take any steps to stop the hostilities in the island. Right from 1983 successive central governments had been following the same policy vis-a-vis the Sri Lankan strife.
All parties including PMK, AIADMK, MDMK, had been allies in those Governments, he said. "Now some political parties are trying to mislead the people and are claiming it is a poll plank," he said, apparently taking a dig at AIADMK and its allies who have refused to take part in the strike with Jayalalithaa dismissing it as 'farce and a drama.' Asked about Jayalalithaa describing as a drama sending of telegrams and letters to Prime Minister by Karunanidhi on Lankan Tamils issue, he retorted: "I am not in the film industry. I do not know whether it is a drama or farce."

Pakistan moves troops as Taliban invade another district

2009-04-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Islamabad: Taliban militants clashed with Pakistani security forces ON Thursday as they moved into the northwestern district of Buner, said an official, as Western leaders worried over the mounting threat to the Pakistani government.
The movement of eight platoons of Frontier Constabulary seems to have failed in blocking the Taliban who reportedly have invaded another neighbouring district of Shangla.
The insurgents fired at the two platoons of paramilitary troops from their positions in the mountains in the Chinglai area of Buner district as they headed to guard the government buildings in the area.
"One policeman in a police squad escorting the paramilitary troops died and another was injured," said local police official Rasool Khan.
"The troops retreated following the attack while the insurgents are still holding their positions on the hilltops." Hundreds of Taliban infiltrated Buner district from the militancy-plagued Swat valley days after President Asif Ali Zardari signed a peace deal with the Taliban to end a 16-month long conflict in the Swat valley.
As the clashes were taking place in Buner, more than 30 Taliban fighters entered another district of Shangla, that borders both Swat and Buner, Geo television reported citing eye-witnesses. However, the local officials in Shangla denied the report.
The Taliban expansion is perceived as a direct threat to Islamabad, located only 100 km southwest of Buner. "I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday.
"We cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances, now within hours, of Islamabad," she said. According to her, the militants were "seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state."

Freida Pinto tenth, Cheryl Cole tops World's Sexiest Woman poll

2009-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has landed the tenth position in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women Of 2009 list.

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has landed the tenth position in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women Of 2009 list.
The crown for the sexiest woman in the world went to Cheryl Cole.
According to FHM, nearly ten million voters across the globe chose the Girls Aloud singer, who became the first Brit to bag the title in three years.
The 25-year-old overtook last year's titleholder actress Megan Fox, who was now placed at the second position, reports the Sun.
Jessica Alba grabbed the third spot followed by pop princess Britney Spears.
Rounding up the top five was an English Page 3 Girl and glamour model Keeley Hazell.
Pinto appeared in the chart for the first time, debuting in at 10th position.
Meanwhile, other celebrities who landed a spot in the prestigious list were - French president Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni, who was voted 40th sexiest woman in the world.
The singer-former model was voted sexier than both Eva Longoria (41st) and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger (60th).
Top Ten Sexiest Women in the World are:
1) Cheryl Cole
2) Megan Fox
3) Jessica Alba
4) Britney Spears
5) Keeley Hazell
6) Adriana Lima
7) Elisha Cuthbert
8) Kristin Kreuk
9) Anna Friel
10) Freida Pinto.

LTTE chief ‘Puli’ Prabhakaran: Yet to be sighted?

2009-04-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

The news emanating from war zone in Sri Lanka is hazy.And the rumour mills are working over time over the fate of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Vellupillai 'Puli' Prabhakaran.

The speculation is so rife that some international observers say the embattled Puli might have escaped along with the tens of thousands of civilians living in the war zone which is situated in dense forest area.Lankan troops have trashed reports which claimed about Prabhakaran’s escape.

Another one doing round is that Prabhakaran is yet to be sighted either by the troopers or by the escaping civilians in Puthukudiyirippu, Puthumathalan areas of Mullaitivu district.

Sri Lankan government has banned the entry of both international and local media and the world is forced to rely solely on Sri Lankan state media.

Tamils across the world are closely watching the developments in Lanka with renewed interest and held huge protest rallies in London, Paris, New York, Chennai and several other European cities.

Prabhakaran’s fate was almost sealed or so it seemed, after Sri Lankan government revealed on Wednesday that two top LTTE leaders - Velayutham Dayanithi, whose nom de guerre is Daya Master, and an interpreter known only as George, surrendered.

Daya Master is LTTE spokesman and is the most senior LTTE official to be nabbed, so far.The question foremost in the minds of those following the developments in Sri Lanka are has Prabhakaran escaped or are the Tigers fighting with back to the wall.

LTTE watchers say in all probability Prabhakaran might have left the battle field.Since the deadline given to the LTTE rebels to surrender ended on Monday, civilians have been asked to leave so that Lankan army could go for a final assault.

As expected LTTE ignored the ultimatum and at least 100,000 civilians have left the area fearing for life and property.But many would like to feel that Prabhakarn might have escaped.

LTTE watchers say civilians would not have been allowed to escape if Prabhakaran was still in the area.

Top Sri Lankan officials have emphatically said that it is near to impossible for Prabhakaran to escape the Lankan Army which has surrounded the area for several weeks now.

In any case, Lankan army officials themselves admit that Prabhakaran would kill himself rather than surrender or let himself caught like former Iraq president Saddam Hussein.

Remember, Prabhakaran himself has ordered each LTTE fighter to bite a cyanide capsule rather than be taken prisoner.Colombo is rushing President Mahinda Rajapashe's brother, Basil Rajapaksa, as a special envoy to New Delhi to brief Indian leaders.

President Rajapakse is in a rush to hold the election in the LTTE held area as early as possible and bring normalcy.Rajapaksa also ruled out a pardon for Prabhakaran if captured alive.

In a non-biding statement that demanded an end to the rebels' use of civilians as human shields, the United Nations Security Council late Wednesday also urged the rebels to lay down their arms, renounce terrorism and join political talks to end the war.

Meanwhile, Lankan army's crackdown on LTTE and the problems faced by Tamil civilians has become a hot topic in Tamil Nadu and has provided ammunition for the political parties to question each other's credentials and concern in fighting for the Tamils' cause.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi even urged Delhi to snap all diplomatic ties with Lanka. He stunned the nation by declaring that Prabhakaran, declared as absconder for his involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, as a "good friend".

Like all rebel leaders Prabhakaran’s private life is not well-known.He is married with three kids and one son Anthony is said to be heading LTTE air force wing.

The whereabouts of his wife Mathivathani Erambu whom he married in 1984 in Madras and one daughter and another son are not known too.It has been reported that Prabhakaran is also suffering from high Blood Pressure, diabetes among other health issues.

It should also be recollected here that the LTTE has been fighting for a separate state exclusively for Tamils for the past 25 years.Initially, Prabhakaran claims to have undertaken armed struggle after peaceful ways to find a respectful identity for the ethnic Tamils minority who were treated as second class citizens met with opposition from successive Sri Lankan governments and majority Sinhalese.

AB de Villiers scores first century of IPL 2009

2009-04-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

South African batsman AB de Villiers, who is playing for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, became the first batsman to score a century in the second edition of the tournament in Durban on Thursday. He is also the seventh batsman in the history of IPL to score a century in the Twenty20 tournament.

De Villiers remained unbeaten on 105 off 54 balls in his team's total of 189 for 5 against Chennai Super Kings. He hit five boundaries and six sixes, and shared two crucial partnerships with Tillakaratne Dilshan (50) for the third wicket and Manoj Tiwary (9) for the fifth wicket after the Daredevils were reduced to 8 for 2 after two overs.

While De Villiers and Dilshan added 68 runs in just over seven overs for the third wicket, the South African put on 74 runs in 35 balls for the sixth wicket with Tiwary.

De Villiers, in fact should thank his South African team-mate Albie Morkel, for dropping him when he was on 50 in the 16th over of the innings bowled by Manpreet Gony. In fact, De Villiers' innings was the perfect example of pacing an innings in Twenty20 cricket, as he initially took his time to play himself in and let Dilshan do the bulk of the scoring, and started hitting the big shots in the latter part of his innings. He scored his first 50 runs in 35 balls, but his last 55 runs came off only 19 balls!

De Villiers is on record as saying that he wants to be the best batsman in the world, and based on the form he has shown over the last 18 months as well as his splendid unbeaten century against Chennai Super Kings, he certainly appears to be on the right track to achieve his goal in the near future.

The list of hundreds scored in the IPL so far is as under:
Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders) -- 158* (73 balls) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore on April 18, 2008.
Michael Hussey (Chennai Super Kings) -- 116* (54 balls) vs Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on April 19, 2008.
Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers) -- 117* (53 balls) vs Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad on April 24, 2008.
Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers) -- 109* (47 balls) vs Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on April 27, 2008.
Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai Indians) -- 114* (48 balls) vs Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on May 14, 2008.
Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab) -- 115 (69 balls) vs Rajasthan Royals in Mohali on May 28, 2008.
AB de Villiers (Delhi Daredeveils) -- 105* (54 balls) vs Chennai Super Kings in Durban on April 23, 2009.

Daredevils beat Chennai Super Kings by 9 runs

2009-04-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Durban: Delhi Daredevils defeated Chennai Super Kings by nine runs in their Indian Premier
League Twenty20 cricket match here today.
Chennai began their chase well with Matthew Hayden (57) and Parthiv Patel (16) taking them to a brisk start.Suresh Raina who came after the dismissal of the Gujarat keeper-batsman chipped in with a quickfire 41. Chennai were 90/2 in 7.5 overs.The stage was set for the Chennai team to take the fight back to the Daredevils.Unfortunately for them Matthew Hayden fell in the very next ball. Chennai lost track soon as none of the major batsmen stayed till the end.The pressure resulted in some half-hearted attempts at clearing the boundary which proved to be their undoing.Chennai falling short by 9 runs to give the Daredevils two points.

Earlier South African AB De Villiers (105) hammered a unbeaten century to propel Delhi Daredevils to a commanding total of 189 for five -- highest total of the tournament so far -- against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League match here today.Tillakaratna Dilshan scored a 24-ball 50 to set the tone, while De Villiers hit a 54-ball century to propel Delhi after they were pushed to the backfoot by Chennai, removing the explosive openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir within two overs.

De Villiers' innings was bejewelled with six massive sixes and five hits to the fence.

Electing to bat first, Delhi Daredevils were left tottering at 8 for two with Gambhir losing his wicket in the very first ball of the innings.

Gambhir (0) paid the price for being overconfident as he danced down the pitch in the very first delivery off Laxmipathy Balaji only to be caught behind by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sehwag (6) soon joined him in the hut after he tried to pull a rising delivery of Manpreet Gony in the next over only to be caught by Albie Morkel at mid on.

Rajasthan Royals pip Knight Riders via 'Super Over' drama

2009-04-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Newlands Stadium witnessed intense drama as Rajasthan Royals pipped Kolkata Knight Riders via 'Super Over' in an edge-of-the-seat thriller in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
Put into bat, Rajasthan Royals had earlier managed 150 for six, a total they owed largely to Yusuf Pathan (42) even though it was Abhishek Raut (21 not out) who provided the late charge for them.
Chasing a victory target of 151, Chris Gayle (41) sizzled at the top while Sourav Ganguly (46) too shone as the Knight Riders managed exactly 150 for eight in their allotted 20 overs.
In the 'Super Over', Knight Riders managed 15 runs off Kamran Khan's over with Chris Gayle scoring 13 off it before being dismissed in the final ball.
In reply, Rajasthan Royals scored 18 off Ajantha Mendis' first four balls with Yusuf Pathan hitting 6,2,6 and 4 to seal the win.
Earlier defending the modest total, Royals captain Shane Warne sprung a surprise by opening the attack with Yusuf Pathan but it was his former Hampshire mate Dimitry Mascarenhas who drew first blood by removing a struggling Brendon McCullum (3).
At the other end, Gayle had warmed up by hitting Mascarenhas for back-to-back sixes and was not content yet. In his next over, Mascarenhas was hit for another six, preceded by a four, as Gayle looked in murderous mood. Stepping in to stop the run flow, Warne too copped one but the wily Aussie eventually had the last laugh in his duel with Gayle as he lured the West Indian to go after him and Ravindra Jadeja took a well judged catch in the deep.
Warne's then came up with two masterstrokes that pegged back the Kolkata outfit. Kamran Khan removed Laxmi Ratan Shukla (13), who lived dangerously all along, in his first over while Munaf got rid of Brad Hodge (5) with his fifth delivery.
His team in dire straits, Ganguly tip-toed his way before back-to-back sixes off Munaf, the second from a free-hit, eased the pressure on him.
Yashpal Singh (20) gave him good company before departing in the penultiamate over and Ganguly too fell in the final over.
Needing two off the last ball, Ishant Sharma managed to complete the first run before running himself out, leading to the stalemate.
Earlier, Yousuf Pathan's 21-ball 42 and Abhishek Raut's unbeaten 13-ball cameo of 21 helped the Royals reach the 150-mark.
Put into bat after a rain-delayed start, the Rajasthan outfit ran into rough weather, losing opener Paul Valthaty (5) and Rob Quiney (6) inside 14 balls. Pathan, however, looked his nonchalant self, hitting Ishant for a six and following it with a boundary before sending Anureet Singh out of the park.
In contrast, Ajantha Mendis, having made his much-awaited IPL II debut, needed just seven balls to taste success, getting rid of a subdued Graeme Smith (15).
The Sri Lankan mystery spinner then dealt a body blow in his next over when the rampaging Pathan miscued a skier that had Yashpal Singh under it.
With Ganguly and Gayle also maintaining a stifling line and length, the Royals went through eight long overs without hitting a six or four as the run rate nosedived.
Ravindra Jadeja (22) perished trying to step up as did Dimitry Mascarenhas (27) before Raut came to their rescue.

Prez lands in Spain; terror, trade on agenda

2009-04-23T18:28:00.002-07:00

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, who is on a two-nation tour, landed in Spain on Monday evening. Over the next few days, India and Spain will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation to fight terrorism, but money matters - business and economy - will dominate the agenda.
The President, who will spend four days in Madrid and then go to Poland, said: "We will begin a new phase in strengthening our partnership with these two important European countries along with whom we face common challenges and the common determination to strengthen the forces of peace, security and development". Talking about commerce, Patil told reporters that there were "concrete opportunities" for much more trade and investment.
"I see considerable potential in our working together with Spain in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, tourism, automobiles, IT, infrastructure and science and technology," she said. The presidential delegation includes business leaders and representatives of industrial forums, senior officials at the foreign ministry and Rashtrapati Bhavan and three MPs.

Advani can't take decisions on his own: Sonia Gandhi

2009-04-23T18:28:00.001-07:00

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani, saying he depends on a particular organisation to take decisions.
"The top most office bearers in BJP cannot take even a small decision on their own and need permission from an organisation to chalk out the course of action," Sonia Gandhi said at an election rally here.
Gandhi further said that Congress runs on its wishes and does not seek permission from any organisation.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson said that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had staked his government for the Nuclear deal with USA at a crucial time.
"The BJP had opposed the nuclear deal and not allowed Parliament to function, but now it was supporting it," she added

Reliance Q4 net down, but better than forecast

2009-04-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

India's biggest energy group, Reliance Industries Ltd, reported quarterly net profit fell 1 percent as global economic crisis hurt demand, but still fared better than market expectations.
Reliance, valued at $54 billion, should show significant growth in coming quarters from sales of gas it started pumping this month from its deep-sea field off India's east coast.
"This was a transformational year for Reliance," Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said in a statement on Thursday, pointing to the commissioning of the Reliance Petroleum refinery and the completion of gas development projects.
The company said oil production from KG-D6 block was expected to resume in the last week of April. The production was shut down for repairs from December.
Reliance posted a net profit excluding exceptional items of 38.74 billion rupees ($773 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March, compared with 39.12 billion a year ago.
It said it has provided 3.7 billion rupees as provision towards estimated claims from subsidiaries.
A Reuters poll had forecast a net profit of 36.1 billion rupees.
Reliance's most-watched refining margins fell to $9.9 per barrel in the quarter from $15.5 a year earlier.
Analysts expected Reliance's refining margins to fall to $8-$12 a barrel in the March quarter, tracking the decline in Asian benchmark Dubai crack margin .
The Asian benchmark Dubai crack margin averaged $5.6 per barrel in the quarter from $7 a year ago, data from Thomson Reuters showed.
"Better-than-expected petchem margin and other income has helped Reliance's numbers," Prayesh Jain, a research analyst with India Infoline said.
The company said its petrochemicals EBIT margin for the quarter rose to 17.7 percent from 10.4 percent a year before.
Other income rose to 9.93 billion rupees from 2.89 billion a year ago.
"In 2009/10, we estimate 126 rupees of consolidated EPS (earnings per share) for the company, mainly driven by KG-D6 gas production, and marginally gaining from RIL-RPL (Reliance Industries-Reliance Petroleum) merger," Jain added.
Turnover fell to 290.73 billion rupees from 386.97 billion a year ago.
State-owned rival Oil & Natural Gas Corp is expected to report net profit rose by almost one-third in the same quarter as lower crude prices meant it did not have to share the subsidy burden of state-run oil marketing companies, analysts said.
Ahead of the results, shares in Reliance, closed up 2.7 percent at 1,762.35 rupees in a Mumbai market that rose 2.9 percent.
The stock jumped 24 percent in the March quarter, outperforming a flat benchmark index and the energy sector's 16.6 percent rise.

High security for Rahul's election rallies in Bengal

2009-04-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Amidst high security, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will be on a whirlwind tour to the Maoist belt and northern part of West Bengal Friday to canvass support for party candidates in the Lok Sabha polls.
Gandhi will arrive in the city Friday morning and immediately set out for Purulia to hold his first meeting. His next stop-over will be Bankura, from where state Congress executive president Subrata Mukherjee is in fray.
Gandhi will then hop over in a chopper to Malda South and Jalpaiguri in north Bengal, before returning to Kolkata the same day.
The two western districts of Bankura and Purulia are considered hotbeds of Maoist activities in the state, prompting the police to throw an enhanced security cover for the young leader.
With the Maoists intensifying their attacks in various states ahead of and during the poll process, the police are not willing to take any chances.
'We have taken all measures to grant him full security. The steps will be as per the threat perception to Gandhi,' state Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS here.
Bankura superintendent of police Vishal Garg said: 'We are fully prepared to prevent any breach of peace. Adequate number of policemen have been deployed for the meeting.'
Purulia police superintendent Rajesh Yadav said apart from the presence of the Sepcial Protection Group, which provides security to him round the year, there will be a large force of state police personnel at the venue and along Gandhi's route from the helipad to the nearby venue.
Gandhi's visit has generated great enthusiasm among his party workers.
'We will welcome him with tribal dances and tribal music in Bankura,' Subrata Mukherjee told IANS.
Asked how such VIP meetings help in elections, Mukherjee said: 'Basically it acts as a tonic for the workers and boost their confidence levels.'
On Saturday, the state will play host to three election meetings of Rahul's mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
She is slated to begin with a joint rally alongside alliance partner Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at Murshidabad district's Jangipur, from where External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is in the race.
Her other two rallies are at Siliguri and Malda North in North Bengal the same day.

India demands Sri Lanka end war on Tamil Tigers

2009-04-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

India asked Sri Lanka on Thursday to stop its military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, while the issue forced a regional party to shut down a key electoral swing state in the middle of India's election.
India said it would send two special emissaries to Sri Lanka, to convey the government's concern about more trapped civilians in the war zone and demand an end to the war.
"We are very unhappy at the continued killing in Sri Lanka. All killing must stop. There must be an immediate cessation of all hostilities," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Indian politicians face pressure to protect Sri Lankan Tamils, who are closely linked to about 60 million Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu across a narrow strait from Sri Lanka.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which rules Tamil Nadu state and is an ally of India's ruling coalition, called a 12-hour strike in the state, but experts said it was an attempt to garner votes with a show of sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils.
DMK has upped the rhetoric against the Sri Lankan military ahead of voting in Tamil Nadu next month. India is now voting to form a government in a staggered month-long general election.
On Thursday, shops and business remained closed in Tamil Nadu and traffic stayed off the road, a shutdown experts said had more to do with the polls than concern for Tamil refugees.
"The strike call is a feeble attempt by (DMK chief) Karunanidhi to show the people that he is concerned about the happenings in Sri Lanka," Cho S. Ramaswamy, a political commentator, said in Chennai.
The Sri Lankan war has caught India's ruling Congress party in a bind. It needs to please ally DMK and win voters, without being seen as going soft on the Tamil Tigers who are blamed for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
With 39 parliamentary seats, Tamil Nadu is a big prize in the general election, and the DMK swept the state in 2004, a performance the Congress hopes Karunanidhi's party will repeat.
Sri Lanka's military said troops now control all but 13 sq km of the island, where the LTTE and founder-leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran are fighting a last stand in their war to create a separate state for the Tamil minority.
More than 100,000 refugees have emerged from the war zone this week, overloading the relief efforts.

Navin Chawla takes over as CEC

2009-04-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

Navin Chawla on Tuesday took over as the new Chief Election Commissioner succeeding N Gopalaswami, who not long ago had recommended his removal from Nirvachan Sadan sparking a huge political controversy.
Power Secretary V S Sampath also took over as the third Election Commissioner following the elevation of Chawla.
64-year-old Chawla, who was the senior-most Election Commissioner after Gopalaswami in the three-member panel, will remain in office till June 29 next year when he turns 65.
The Chief Election Commissioner, a Constitutional post, enjoys a term of six years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
He is the first CEC, who took over in the midst of a five-phased Lok Sabha elections and will oversee four phases of the polls.
The elevation of Chawla, who was appointed as Election Commissioner on May 13, 2005, comes after a controversy triggered by Gopalaswami's recommendation to the President for his removal from office for alleged partisan functioning.
The government had not only turned down Gopalswami's recommendation but had even announced on March four that Chawla would succeed him as CEC.
While demitting office yesterday after an eventful stint, Goplaswami wished Chawla "a very bright tenure".
Chawla had earlier served in various capacities in the government during his chequered career, the last being Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
He has also served as Secretary to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Chawla was secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi at the time of Emergency.
He has authored a number of books, including an authorised biography of Mother Teresa which became popular internationally.
Chawla is also a recipient of the Italian government's Mazzini Award, instituted in honour of writer Giuseppe Mazzini, for his contribution to promoting ties between India and Italy.

Karuna writes to PM, Sonia as civilians exodus continues

2009-04-21T08:04:00.001-07:00

Chennai/Colombo: As the Sri Lankan government's 24-hour deadline to LTTE chief Prabhakaran to surrender comes to an end on Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi asked the Centre to issue an ultimatum to Colombo to declare an "immediate and permanent ceasefire."
In telegrams sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, he said the "war situation in Sri Lanka is alarming and the predicament of the Tamils very critical."
"All nations including the UN pressurises the Sri Lankan government to announce ceasefire immediately. I insist the Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson and External Affairs Minister give an ultimatum to the Sri Lankan government for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka and save lakhs of Tamils in Sri Lanka," he said in the telegram.
Karunanidhi's strong statement came as the Lankan government deadline for Prabhakaran and LTTE militants holed up in a small stretch of territory in the island's north is scheduled to end on Tuesday after which the island's army was expected to launch a final assault.
Meanwhile, Thousands of trapped Tamil civilians continue to flee Sri Lanka's war zone as the deadline for LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran and remnants of his group came close to running out.
Almost 40,000 civilians had come over to government controlled areas till late Monday, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
The Sri Lankan authorities are reading in the mass exodus signs that Tigers may be on the verge of total collapse after waging a rebellion for 25 years.

Now, slipper chucked at Bollywood actor Jeetendra

2009-04-21T08:02:00.002-07:00

Mumbai: The footwear-chucking infection seems to be spreading. Bollywood actor Jeetendra was the latest target of a slipper thrown at him during a Congress party road show in a Maharashtra town Tuesday.
Jeetendra was addressing a road show organised by the Congress candidate Manikrao Gavit in the town of Nandurbar, around 375 km from here, when someone from the crowd chucked a slipper at him.
"There were over 3,000 people in the road show at Jalata Bazaar. Somebody from the crowd threw a slipper in the actor's direction," said police Inspector B.M. Pawar, adding that the incident took place at 1.45 in the afternoon.
Party activists immediately pounced on the offender - identified as Dilip Ingle - and took him away. The motive behind his slipper chucking was not clear.
An official from Nandurbar police station said no complaint has been registered with them. Police said they have deployed adequate security in the area, which goes to the polls Thursday. The road show passed off peacefully, Pawar said.
Jeetendra, the father of television czarina Ekta Kapoor and actor Tusshar Kapoor, is the latest of Bollywood stars entering the election campaign trail in the state.
The Maharashtra campaign scene has been considerably glamourised by the presence of Salman Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Ayesha Takia, Raveena Tandon and others from the Marathi film industry.
On April 16, a wooden 'khadaun' or toe-knob sandal was flung at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader L.K. Advani during a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district. Earlier this month, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress MP Naveen Jindal were targeted by people who expressed their anger by throwing footwear at them.

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 11 runs

2009-04-21T08:02:00.001-07:00

Durban: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 11 runs via -Duckworth-Lewis method in
an Indian Premier League match here today. Kings XI Punjab have now lost their second match n a row with rain playing spoilsport.
Kolkata were 79/1 off 9.2 overs when rain brought the covers on the pitch.Chris Gayle had plundered 44 runs off 26 balls which won him the Man-of-the-Match award.This is their first victory of the tournament.

Put into bat, the Mohali team got off to a sluggish start before Irfan Pathan (32 off 17 balls) came up with a brisk knock to revive the run rate.

Subsequently, captain Yuvraj Singh's breezy 38 and Mahela Jayawardene's (31) unbeaten 19-ball cameo helped Kings XI cross the 150-mark.

Asked to take first strike on the pitch, Kings XI Punjab initially found the going tough as Ishant Sharma conceded just one run in his first over and drew first blood in his second when Chris Gayle rose to pouch Karan Goel's (0) slash in the slips.

Promoted to number three, Irfan did justice to the pinch-hitter's role and runs soon started pouring in.

The first ball he faced scorched the point region grass before crossing the rope and Ishant copped more punishment in his next over when Pathan heaved him over deep midwicket for a six and, two balls later, pulled another past midwicket for a four.

Moises Henriques was also greeted with two fours in his first over before Ganguly intervened. Stripped off KKR captaincy, Ganguly was in the thick of action with his military medium pace as he removed Pathan and Ravi Bopara (15) in a space of three balls.

Murali Kartik caught Pathan inches from the rope while Bopara nicked one behind.

Things could have been worse for the Mohali side which almost lost their captain to a spectacular catch in the deep before replays revealed a diving Yashpal Singh had actually grounded it.

Yuvraj went on to add 58 runs with Kumar Sangakkara (26) but just before Yashpal caught a skier off Henriques to remove the Kings XI captain.

Brief Scores:Kings XI Punjab 158/6 ( Yuvraj Singh-38, Irfan Pathan-32, S Ganguly 2/24) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 79/1 ( Chris Gayle 44* VS Malik 1-23).

IPL season 2: KKR vs KXI Images

2009-04-21T07:55:00.002-07:00

Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan of King's XI Punjab plays a ball for a boundary against Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL Twenty20 match at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh (L) of King's XI Punjab drives the ball as New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum of the Kolkata Knight Riders looks on during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

Indian cricketer Yashpal Singh of The Kolkata Knight Riders dives in an unsuccessful attempt to catch Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh of King's XI Punjab during their IPL Twenty20 match at The Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

King's XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta talks with team coach Tom Moody prior to a match during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood film actress Preity Zinta talks on her mobile phone during the IPL Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

There's a long way to go: Tendulkar

2009-04-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar is not reading much into their comprehensive victory over Chennai Super Kings in their opening Indian Premier League match at Newlands here Saturday.
Mumbai Indians, who had a disastrous start last year losing their first four matches, won the inaugural game of IPL-2 by 19 runs.
Tendulkar, who missed a large part of last year's IPL due to injury, was the fulcrum of Mumbai Indians total of 165. Lasith Malinga (3-15) and Sanath Jayasuriya (2-34) restricted Super Kings to 146 for seven.
Tendulkar was guarded in his assessment of the team's performance.
'I am glad that we have started well, but I don't want to take anything for granted. It's too early in the tournament and it's same for the other teams also.'
Man of the Match Tendulkar praised Abhishek Nayar for his quickfire 35 off 14 balls that included three sixes in one Andrew Flintoff over.
'There was a bit of dampness in the initial overs and the first 7-8 overs were difficult. But Abhishek Nayar played a brilliant innings. My job was to stay till the end and allow other guys to hit the ball. We were looking around a total of 150-160. I don't want to take anything for granted but I'm glad we've started well.'
Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said they will get their act together in the next match.
'We made some mistakes. We have to work on those areas. Even last year we struggled in the bowling department in the early stages but bounced back. Harbhajan did really well when Matthew Hayden and Andrew Flintoff were batting. I think 170-180 will be a par score on these kind of wickets.'

INTERVIEW - Tata CEO says to focus on cost-cutting

2009-04-21T07:54:00.002-07:00

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT outsourcing firm, said on Tuesday that price competition will force it to focus on cost reductions in coming years.
Even though competition is intensifying as customers seek cost reductions, Tata's earnings in fiscal 2010 should be higher than the year earlier, Chief Executive S. Ramadorai told Reuters in a telephone interview after Tata announced profits that fell short of expectations.
"I would like to see a 10 percent year-on-year improvement" in cost reduction, he said.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd posted a 4.6 percent rise in quarterly profit, but it expects prices to fall by lower single digits in the coming year.
"Profits will continue to rise, but at a slow pace," he said. "That is what we hope.
"The challenges are definitely cost rationalisation and offshore leveraging," Ramadorai added.
Despite the pressure on prices, he said the company would try to avoid being drawn into a price war with competitors.
"Growth has come down dramatically from what we were used to
... So automatically, the focus of the organisation has been on looking at our internal efficiencies," Ramadorai said.
Prices of IT outsourcing services will shrink 5 percent to 20 percent through 2010 due to the uncertain economic climate, IT budget constraints and competition between vendors, research company Gartner predicted last month.
TCS's headcount has more than doubled over the past three years to about 144,500, but in fiscal 2010 -- which began on April 1 -- the company expects to add only about 16,000-17,000 new net hires, about half the number in the previous year.
The pressure on Tata is heavy because 43 percent of its business comes from the global financial industry, which has taken the brunt of the economic crisis.
India's $60 billion sector, which provides services from software coding to managing computer networks and call centres, faces weak demand, cut-rate prices and rising competition from global rivals such as IBM.

Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's 300 billion dollar project

2009-04-21T07:54:00.001-07:00

Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's 300 billion dollar Joint Strike Fighter project - the Defense Department's costliest weapons program ever - according to current and former government officials familiar with the attacks.
According to Fox News, the latest intrusions provide new evidence that a battle is heating up between the U.S. and potential adversaries over the data networks that tie the world together.
The revelations follow a recent Wall Street Journal report that computers used to control the U.S. electrical-distribution system, as well as other infrastructure, have also been infiltrated by spies abroad.
Attacks like these - or U.S. awareness of them - appear to have escalated in the past six months, said one former official briefed on the matter.
Former U.S. officials say the attacks appear to have originated in China. However it can be extremely difficult to determine the true origin because it is easy to mask identities online.

RBI cuts rates, prods banks to help growth

2009-04-21T07:53:00.002-07:00

The Reserve Bank of India cut its key lending rate for the sixth time in seven months on Tuesday and pushed commercial banks to follow suit to bolster growth which has taken a bigger-than expected hit from the global downturn.
Analysts said the size of the 25 basis point cut -- the smallest since the Reserve Bank of India began slashing rates last October -- signalled it may be near the end of its cutting cycle, though there was still some way to go before rates bottomed out.
"We don't see it as the end to easing cycle, but the RBI will switch to more gradual cuts and a wait-and-watch policy," said economist Deepali Bhargava at ING Vysya Bank in Mumbai.
"Sectoral credit numbers released yesterday have revealed some pick-up in earlier credit-starved sectors, which is a positive sign."
In its annual policy statement, the central bank said it expected growth to falter sharply for the second year running after expanding at a blistering pace of 9 percent or more in the previous three fiscal years.
Growth was seen slowing to 6 percent in 2009/10, the weakest in seven years, from a downwardly revised estimate of 6.5-6.7 percent for the 2008/09 fiscal year that ended on March 31.
"Any upturn in the growth momentum is unlikely in view of the projected contraction in global demand in 2009/10, particularly the decline in trade," the central bank said.
The RBI also said the government's planned heavy borrowing in 2009/10 was working against its efforts to maintain a low interest rate environment.
Nonetheless, it again called on commercial banks, which have grown risk averse in the face of the slowdown, to follow its lead in cutting rates to boost the economy.
The central bank has now cut its main lending rate by 425 basis points since October, when it and the government stepped up efforts to counter fallout from the global financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
But prime lending rates of five major commercial banks in India have fallen by less than 200 basis points in the same period, limiting the impact of the RBI's moves.
Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla said the rate cuts would encourage commercial banks to lower their lending rates.
"This is another reiteration of the signal from the RBI to banks and the credit market. There is scope for softening of interest rates," Chawla said.
Analysts said the rate cut will force banks to reduce their lending rates by 50-100 basis points in coming weeks, but it is unlikely to happen immediately as banks have raised funds via high-cost deposits earlier. A government-mandated small savings tax-free rate of 8 percent also acts as a huge deterrent.
Central banks around the world have been slashing interest rates for months in a bid to revive economic growth, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan cutting rates to near zero. On Tuesday the Swedish central bank cut its key policy rate to a record low.
HISTORICAL LOW
The RBI cut its lending rate to 4.75 percent from 5.0 percent and its reverse repo rate , at which it absorbs surplus cash from the system, to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent, taking both rates to the lowest since they were introduced in 2000.
A Reuters poll last week showed analysts were evenly split over whether the central bank would cut its key lending rate.
The cash reserve ratio , the amount of funds banks have to keep on deposit with it, was unchanged at 5.0 percent.
The 10-year bond yield fell to 6.19 percent after the policy announcement from the previous close of 6.39 percent, edging up to 6.22 percent in afternoon trade.
The rupee recovered morning losses and by mid-afternoon was around 50.30 per dollar, a touch stronger than the previous close of 50.33/34.
Although the RBI said it would maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, it said a major challenge was to manage large government borrowings without disruptions to financial markets.
The government plans record gross issuance of 3.62 trillion rupees of debt in 2009/10, and the RBI said it would use a mix of monetary and debt management tools to ensure its smooth implementation.
The government's borrowing swelled to more than double its initial estimate in 2008/09, partly reflecting spending plans in the latter part of the year to stimulate the economy, leading to a flood of bond supplies since February.
(For full coverage on RBI Annual Policy Review click http://in.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/policyreview)

'We will never surrender," says LTTE

2009-04-21T07:53:00.001-07:00

Though there are no comments on the pro-rebel Web site that the movement uses to issue its statements, official communiquis and news reports, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Tuesday said that it would not surrender to the Sri Lanka armed forces, and added that their leader V. Prabhakaran was still alive and directing the counter-offensive in Puthumattalam despite an army noon deadline for surrender.
"We will never surrender and will fight till we can. The international community must intervene in the issue," a statement reportedly issued by the rebel outfit said.
The rebel statement came as Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotbaya Rajapakse categorically said today the Prabhakaran will now have to surrender or perish.
"If he surrenders it is good, otherwise, he can commit suicide. If he tries to fight, he will perish. If he surrenders we will take him in custody. We will have a genuine trail, he said.
Rajapakse also said that New Delhi is being kept informed about the military offensive on the Tamil Tigers.
"We have kept Indian government in brief. In a daily basis we have very good relations between the National Security Advisor (M.K. Narayanan) and Foreign secretary (Shiv Shankar Menon) and I constantly speak to them," he said.
"I appeal to other countries especially Western and international community that we can solve our own problems. Don't put hands in our internal problem and they have no rights to do that. Let them mind their own business," Rajapakse said.
The spokesman for the military, Brigadier Udayan Nanayakkara, said: "The onus is on Prabhakaran to avert mass murder. There is no question of mercy for Prabhakaran. We are being very careful. Our main concern is to free civilians."
The Tamil Tiger Chief now has fewer options before him. He can seek an amnesty deal with the Sri Lankan Government or use Sri Lankan hostages as a bargaining chip with government. In an extreme step, he may flee to India or to other foreign countries, or may surrender before the International Court of Justice.
Prabhakaran and his forces have been locked in a major offensive with the Sri Lankan Army for more than six months and lives of civilians being used as human shields by the Tamil Tigers have also been lost in the crossfire.
Monday saw a mass exodus of about 35,000 Tamil civilians fleeing the no-fire zones, a move looked upon by the country's govt as a sign of rebellion and thus signalling the LTTE's end. he Indian government is in constant touch with their Sri Lankan counterparts to resolve the crisis.
The Sri Lankan envoy to India Jaisinghe is keeping New Delhi in the loop about the ground situation in Sri Lanka and India's envoy to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad is in touch with New Delhi briefing the Foreign Ministry on the ground situation. Minister of State for External Affairs, Anand Sharma, said Tuesday that the Indian Government is carefully monitoring the emerging situation in Sri Lanka, and was well aware and concerned about the plight of civilian Tamils in the island nation.
He, however, said that Prabhakaran is a proclaimed offender and the LTTE is a terrorist outfit and it should be treated on par with such other organisations,"
Hiss comment to a television channel came as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi sent a telegram to the Centre warning both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to help halt the war in Lanka.
In a telegram to Gandhi, Singh and External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, Karunanidhi said the Indian government should issue an ultimatum to Colombo to halt the war in Lanka immediately.
The DMK chief also urged the UN and the international community to intervene immediately to halt violence in Sri Lanka.
Congress spokesperson Veerappa Moily said that India is keeping a close watch on the developments in Lanka and that no measure will be taken in haste.
Moily said that they have always asked that the Tamilians in Lanka should be protected. He fruther said that Tamilians in Sri Lanka must not be hurt in the offensive.
Sri Lankan forces on Tuesday launched new offensives and captured more territory from the Tamil Tigers as thousands of trapped civilians continued to flee the northern war zone.
Minutes after the expiry of the ultimatum to LTTE Supremo V Prabhakaran to lay down arms, Sri Lankan forces seized Puthumathalan hospital and breached the eastern coast of the no-fire zone, a government spokesman said.
The Lankan forces attack virtually sliced the small 17 sq kilometers strip of land held by the Tigers into two and came as the number of people fleeing the war zone crossed a record figure of 52,000.

Indra Nooyi ranked fourth on Fortune 500 Women CEOs list

2009-04-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Fortune 500 may be dominated by male CEOs, but Indra Nooyi, Indian American CEO of Pepsico is listed fourth among '15 women (who) show what it takes to lead' some of the America's biggest companies.
Fortune 500 Women CEOs listing of the US business magazine notes that since becoming CEO in 2006, Nooyi, 53, has grown the company's top line-revenue from 10 percent in 2008 to $43.3 billion - and raised its profile in some goodwill-engendering arenas
Nooyi, who gets $13.4 million in compensation, has pushed PepsiCo to target health-conscious and female consumers, resulting in such new products as Smartfood's low-fat popcorn clusters, low-calorie Trop 50, and Starbucks Frappuccino Lite.
'While Pepsi was forced to cut 3,500 jobs and close six plants last year, Nooyi has announced big expansions abroad: $500 million in India, $1 billion in China, and $3 billion in Mexico,' Fortune said.
PepsiCo will also spend $1.2 billion over the next three years to boost the sales of carbonated soft drinks-including brands such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew-in North America.
The list of women leaders of firms from health care, to food, to retail, to technology is topped by Patricia Woertz, 56, chairman, president and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland who spent three decades working in the oil industry before joining ADM. She gets a compensation of $17.5 million

Cheerleaders add glamour quotient to IPL

2009-04-20T18:47:00.001-07:00

Cheerleaders for the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) perform during a preview at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on April 13, 2009. The IPL matches are scheduled to take place in South Africa from April 18.

Cheerleaders for Mumbai Indians perform duirng the during their IPL Twenty20 league match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Superkings at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 18, 2009. The Mumbai Indians scored 166 runs for the loss of seven wickets during their innings

Cheerleaders for the Kolkata Knight Riders perform during the IPL Twenty20 match at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 19, 2009. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat.

Cheerleaders for Chennai Super Kings dance during the IPL T20 match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at Newlands Cricket Ground on April 18, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Cheerleaders during the IPL T20 match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab on April 19, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Cheerleaders for the Kolkata Knight Riders perform during the IPL Twenty20 match between Kolkata Knightriders and Deccan Chargers at The Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on April 19, 2009.

Global slump prompts IT firms to scout for domestic revenue

2009-04-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

The economic slowdown has seen a revamp in the offshore-oriented business model of Indian IT companies. Cut back in technology spending by the North American and European firms have forced even blue chip IT companies in India to look at the hitherto neglected domestic market to keep their cash registers ringing.
The early mover among the domestic firms is Infosys Technologies (INFOSYS.BO : 1392.25 0), which has struck a couple of deals already with a slew of state-run firms. Infosys' India business unit has reportedly given consultancy services to the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and three Rajasthan-based distribution companies for power reforms programmes. Its another client is the income tax department where it has set up a central processing centre (CPC) to collect, digitise, and process IT returns, which will be operational in four states soon. Thermax, a global solutions provider in energy and environment engineering, consulted Infosys to implement an end-to-end IT-enabled business programme. Similarly, TCS has gone on record saying the country's largest outsourcer is aiming at a 100% growth in its domestic business. It has developed and implemented software solutions for RBI, BSE besides implementing some e-governance projects.
Wipro Infotech has signed up with Union Bank of India and Canara Bank to provide technology solutions. The country's third largest outsourcer has also won an approximately $ 230-million contract from Employees' State Insurance Corporation. HCL Technologies recently inked a Rs 393-crore deal with the National Insurance Corporation of India.
According to market sources, Wipro, TCS, Satyam and a few others are in the race for bagging technology outsourcing orders from various central and state government agencies and a slew of PSUs such as Coal India, Nuclear Power Corporation of India, BSNL, Railways and a few other Navarathnas and smaller PSUs.
The desi IT firms shunned domestic deals citing small size, low margins and inordinate delay in payments as reasons for focussing on offshore business. However, global giants like IBM, Capgemini, and EDS have struck lucrative deals in their backyards, especially in the telecom vertical, where big money has been spent by carriers and operators to upgrade technology.
Currently, revenues from the domestic market, on an average, account for less than 10% of the topline of frontline IT companies. According to an earlier research done by IDC, the domestic IT market is expected to cross $65 billion by this year, posting an annual growth rate of over 20%, leaving enough room for many players to have a piece of action.
Analysts, however, feel that it may take some more time for the local IT firms to get a bite of the domestic IT market. "It may not be easy for Indian companies to make a dent in the burgeoning domestic IT market initially. For instance, in telecom, where big money has been spent on technology, few Indian companies had the domain knowledge. But companies like IBM came to India with their expertise in bundling hardware and software in other countries. Therefore, it is wise to assume that a long journey is awaiting Indian companies before making inroads into the market segment where real money will be spent," said an analyst with a foreign brokerage.
However, according to Alex K Mathew, head (research), Geojit Financial Services Ltd, it could be a win-win deal for all. "So far, Indian firms were avoiding domestic deals as they were considered as low-margin deals. Also, there was an apprehension about delay in payments by government and semi-government entities. However, now, with the slowdown in the West putting pressure on their margins, these firms are forced to look for opportunities in the domestic market.

Taliban vows to enforce Shariah across Pakistan

2009-04-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

A resurgent Taliban in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley on Monday vowed to enforce Islamic laws across the country while ruling out the possibility of laying down arms, following the implementation of Sharia in the region.
The Sharia or Islamic law regime approved recently by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be confined to Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the Taliban wants the system to be enforced in other parts of Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said on Monday.
"(Sharia) is not only for Malakand division, it is for all humanity, for all Muslims. So we will go more for implementation of Quran, Shariah-e-Muhammadi, not only in Malakand division, but other parts of Pakistan also," Khan told Dawn News channel in an interview.
He was responding to a question on whether the Taliban believed they had achieved their goal following the federal government's approval for enforcing Sharia in Swat.
Islamic laws were enforced in Swat, located just 160 km from Islamabad , after religious hardliner Sufi Muhammad initiated peace talks with Taliban on behalf of government.
Asked about Sufi Muhammad's assurance that the Taliban in Swat would surrender their weapons once Sharia is enforced in the region, Khan replied, "We don't know about that because we are Pashtuns and any Pashtun has a gun".
He indicated that the Taliban would lay down arms only if the Islamic courts in Swat asked them to do so. "If the Sharia regulation will call (on) us that Taliban you keep your arms, we will keep (them). If the order from Qazi courts is no, we will say no," Khan said.
The Taliban spokesman questioned why no one was asking for the disarming of 'United States' forces' who were allegedly killing Muslims in Pakistan.
"We are Muslims. If somebody is coming to kill my brother, we will stay... in Afghanistan and the Pashtun areas. You are asking me to lay down my arms and nobody (is) asking the Americans. Why?" he asked.
Khan said the implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, which envisages the enforcement of Sharia in Swat and Malakand, is the responsibility of Sufi Muhammad, the chief of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi.
The Taliban will keep an eye on the progress made in this regard, he indicated.
The militant spokesman also dismissed criticism of the Sharia regime in Swat by Western powers, including the US. "We don't care about the reaction of the government in Pakistan, other foreigners and the international community. We don't care (about) that," he asserted.
Khan also said the Pakistani Taliban wanted all Muslims to work for the creation of a 'caliphate'" comprising all Islamic nations.
Asked if he had a message for Muslims, he replied, "For Muslims it is necessary to come and make a caliphate, one army, one Shariah-e-Muhammadi, one currency and make unity.
"Like the 52 states of America, we should be 56 states of Muslims and we have to make one unity," Khan added.
Taliban fighters led by Maulana Fazlullah, the son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad, now control most parts of Swat, which till two years ago was a popular tourist destination.
The militants openly patrol roads in the area and have barred women from venturing out of their homes unless they are accompanied by male relatives. The militants have directed men to wear skull caps and stop shaving their beards. They have also torched or blown up nearly 200 girls' schools.
Fazlullah regularly issues edicts on his illegal radio station and Sufi Muhammad on Sunday told a gathering of thousands in Swat that democracy is an 'un-Islamic' system.

I will never join politics: Priyanka

2009-04-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Forty-eight hours before Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency in the heart of Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls, sister Priyanka Gandhi was barnstorming the place in her Land Cruiser jeep, stopping at village squares and corner roads, between mud-packed houses and grain sheaves, milch cows and children who had taken off from school to come see, hear and touch this girl-who-was-indeed-for-real.
Speaking in impeccable Hindi, Priyanka warmed to each corner-side crowd within seconds, moving microphones out of the way in some places and wading into the crowd, dimpling at them, totally unafraid. This was vintage Gandhi nobility returning to its political roots, but it never once seemed as if Amethi's villagers were in awe of her.
Jyoti Malhotra caught up with her at the end of each campaign stop, as the searing sun blazed overhead and the hot wind whipped through fields still being harvested, and pieced this interview together over the best part of the day.
Why have you restricted yourself to Amethi and Rae Bareli? Why not campaign in the rest of Uttar Pradesh and the country?
I am campaigning here for my brother and for my mother. I am not campaigning elsewhere because I am not in politics. It would be dishonest of me to go to any other part of the country (since I am not in politics).
So this is personal, for the family?
Yes, it is. I had always said that I would only come to these constituencies. I wanted to come and help strengthen the organisation. (The organisation) is there, it has been there for many years, but I thought I would come and help Rahul and my mother.
Right here, under the Amethi sun, I want to ask you about your vision of India. What is your idea of India?
That is a complicated question. India symbolises a lot of things for me. It is about the diversity of religions and ideologies -- everybody can follow whatever they want. But there is a certain unity as well.
In your campaign meetings, you have talked a lot about whether you will join politics or not. A little while ago you said you would never join politics, then you changed that to saying, there is no such thing as "never" in politics.
I am saying this again, and I have said it before. I will never join politics. What I said about "there being no such thing as never" was twisted out of context.
What made you say "never say never..."?
I believe the universe works in a complicated way...
You are clearly a natural, why wouldn't you join politics? Congressmen all over the country feel you are their ultimate weapon...
The problem with that is that most weapons can be used only once ! I am repeating myself, I am not joining politics.
You have been talking a lot about Rahul getting married in your campaign speeches!
I was kidding!
How have things changed in Amethi and Rae Bareli over the years?
They have drastically changed. We have been coming here since my father's time, there is a lot of improvement now. Apart from roads and other infrastructure, I have helped start self-help groups for women. (Called the Mahila Yojana for Amethi and Rae Bareli (MYRA), these groups offer micro-credit for women to set up small cottage industries in dairy farming and sericulture.)
You have often been compared to your grandmother Indira Gandhi ? How do you feel about that?
I have very strong memories of her. She was not overbearing at all, but very warm and caring. She was absolutely my idol at the time.
What do you think about Rahul?
I think he has a great future. He has enormous dedication and capacity for hard work. He has done a lot of revolutionary things which have gone unnoticed.
Do you see him as a future prime minister?
Main usko us nazariye se nahin dekhti. Main usko ek behen ke nazariye se dekhti hoon (I don't see him in that way. I see him as a sister sees her brother).
It is said that you follow the Middle Path in Buddhism?
Yes, I live by it. I see it as being true to myself.
What do you thing about women's reservation?
The government tried to do something about this issue in Parliament, unfortunately they could not get a consensus. But I think it is not only important, but necessary.
What are your views about Dr Manmohan Singh ?
I think that he is a very imaandaar (honest) man. If after being in politics for so many years, he can still be such an honourable man, then that is not only very creditable, it is his biggest strength.
RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that the Congress was responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
That seems politically motivated.
What are your views about Mayawati ? She has clearly evoked a lot of support and admiration, especially from the lower castes. Do you understand what she does?
Yes, I understand what she does. It's true that certain castes have been oppressed for centuries, and she has tried to empower them. But the way forward is to take everybody along, not to divide people on the basis of caste and religion.

Do you think the Congress and the BSP could work together? After all both parties are similar in some ways...
That you will have to ask the party (smiles).
Do you think the Nehru-Gandhi family is synonymous with India?
Well, they have always worked for India, so in that sense I suppose the family is very close to the people.
But there has been a lot of criticism about dynastic politics...
I don't agree. After all, even in dynastic politics, you have to come back and ask the people to vote for you every five years. If you haven't worked for them, they won't vote for you.

BJP's black money issue a poll gimmick : Congress

2009-04-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Bhubaneswar: Terming as 'poll gimmick' BJP stalwart L K Advani's claim that black money worth Rs 75 lakh crore from India was stashed in Swiss banks, Congress leader Anand Sharma on Monday asked him to share information with the government for its retrieval ''Where did Advani get the information from ? He should share it with the union home minister and union finance minister for the recovery of the money,'' Sharma, also Union Minister of State for External Affairs told reporters here.
He wondered what action Advani took to recover the money from foreign coutries when he was the deputy prime minister and home minister during the erstwhile NDA rule.
''Why was the NDA government sleeping over the matter when it was in power from 1998 to 2004,'' he asked.
Stating that the opposition had no issue to raise during the elections, Sharma said Advani was creating sensation by quoting huge amounts like Rs 75 lakh crore black money being deposited in overseas banks.
''Congress is only trying to show the mirror to the BJP leaders on their past activities,'' he said.
Terming Advani's remark on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as 'unwarranted and undignified', the congress leader claimed that the prime minister had 'the guts to put his government at risk' in signing the civil nuclear deal with the USA.

Lanka sets 24-hour deadline for LTTE, asks it to surrender by Tuesday

2009-04-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

Colombo: Closing in on the last Tamil Tiger base, Sri Lanka Monday ordered rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and his fighters to surrender by Tuesday noon or face death.
"We have issued the last and final 24-hour ultimatum to Prabhakaran and his group to surrender," defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters Monday.
"The ultimatum began this noon (Monday and) will expire tomorrow noon. Otherwise they will have to face the military course of action," he said.
The ultimatum to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came after about 30,000 civilians fled Sri Lanka's northern war zone as troops moved deep into the last Tamil Tiger stronghold in Mullaitivu district.

Military aid to Pakistan has been used against India: PM

2009-04-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday expressed unease about Pakistan's deal with the Taliban and also said India was not opposed to economic aid for Islamabad but has reservations about military aid which had been used against New Delhi in the past.
"This is a cause of worry. This is a problem we can't resolve on our own. We will have to work with the international community," Manmohan Singh said when asked about his reaction to the deal with the Taliban in Swat Valley in Pakistan.
The prime minister was speaking to senior journalists at his residence on the sidelines of the launch of IT icon N.R. Narayana Murthy's book "A Better India, A Better World."
Asked whether he was satisfied with Pakistan's response to the Mumbai attack, he said: "I am not satisfied. It's not adequate. The international community is agreed on who these people (terrorists behind 26/11) were. But they (Pakistan authorities) haven't done anything."
In statements earlier, Manmohan Singh has made it clear that India will not resume talks with Pakistan unless it takes tangible action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror spree and dismantles the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.
The prime minister also emphasised India's anxieties about the massive aid given to Pakistan apparently to combat terrorism and extremism. "We have worries about it," Manmohan Singh said in reply to a question about his response to the billions of dollars pledged by western countries to Pakistan.
"We do not have problems with economic aid for building schools, roads and hospitals in Pakistan. But our experience has shown that military aid has been used against us in the past," he said.
In his new policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan (AfPak), US President Barack Obama has pledged $1.5 billion in non-military aid to Pakistan over the next five years. A conference of the Friends of Pakistan in Tokyo last week agreed to give Pakistan over $5 billion aid to prop up Pakistan's tottering economy in return for assurances to fight terrorism.
India has anxieties about the end use of these funds as they have often been diverted for anti-India terror operations. Obama had said last year that aid given to Pakistan has been misused for anti-India activities.

Tendulkar says not playing cricket to prove anything

2009-04-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar today said he is not playing cricket to prove anything to anybody but because of the sheer love of the game and he is still enjoying the game.
"I have not started playing cricket to prove anything to anybody and I don't think even Rahul (Dravid) or any other does that. We started playing because of the love of the game and while doing that at times we perform and at times we don't," Tendulkar said.
"People say you should do this and that but the important thing is the enjoyment and your contribution to the team. It need not be about big runs or wickets, even making a small contribution to the team it matters. It's all about contribution and satisfaction," he added.
Tendulkar, who holds the record of scoring most runs in both Tests (12,773) and ODIs (16,684), said for him it's not about statistic but enjoyment and satisfaction.
"Statistics could be a form of reflection of what a player has contributed but for me it is about enjoyment and not statistic. If you have statistics but there is no fun factor or hunger to play and then there is no use of playing," Tendulkar told 'Times Now'.
"I am still enjoying playing the game which rules my heart. There is still competitiveness (in me) I want to win and don't want to lose," he said

Al Qaeda deputy rejects Obama's overtures to Muslims

2009-04-20T18:31:00.002-07:00

Deputy Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri rejected US President Barack Obama's overtures to the Muslim world in remarks circulated Monday.
'America came to us with a new face, attempting to fool us with it,' al-Zawahiri said of Obama in remarks posted on militant websites and circulated by the Washington-based SITE Institute Monday.
Obama's face was 'a face that calls for change, but to change us, so that we give up our faith and our rights, not to change their crimes', al-Zawahiri said.
The 57-year-old, Egyptian-born doctor, Al Qaeda's chief ideologue and Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, further criticised Obama's plans to increase the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan, saying they would 'add fuel to the fire'.
Al-Zawahiri urged tribal leaders in the Pashtun tribal regions straddling the Pakistani-Afghan border not to make deals with the Pakistani government, saying the government 'was cheating' them at the US' behest.