NEW DELHI: Match-fixing has returned to haunt the game of cricket and this time it is the Pakistani cricketers who are facing the heat after a Pakistan disastrous tour of Sri Lanka.
Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir made startling allegations, saying Pakistani players are linked to Indian bookies.
It came to light during the tour of Sri Lanka with stories of Pakistani players being approached by suspicious Indians, as reported by manager Saeed Yawar.
Pakistan Cricket Board has taken strict action in its bid to come clean from the match-fixing allegations. Sources within PCB told Times Now that people who are key suspects had approached the Pakistan players during the series in Sri Lanka. These people have been following the team for the last three tours. It is also indicated that strict action would be taken against Pakistan team manager in Sri Lanka, Yawar Saeed.
As contradicting reports emerged during the tour, the report came to light with ICC sources confirming to Times Now that they will look into the incident after the PCB had informed the parent governing body regarding suspicious incidents during the tour.
The report gained further prominence with former Pakistani chief selector Abdul Qadir accusing the team of having fixed matches in Sri Lanka. Qadir also lashed out at the team for its pathetic display during the tour.
The emerging Indian angle to the incident is the most disturbing. As more and more Indian bookies' names have been revealed in the match-fixing cases in the recent times.
Talking to Times Now, Abdul Qadir maintained his statement and confirmed the reports. Qadir speaking exclusively to Times Now on the match-fixing said, "This is a sensitive issue. One has to be careful. Whatever I said if it is correct of incorrect, I do it professionally."
Salman Ahmed, who is an agent who represents a few Pakistani players also confirmed the Indian angle to reports. Ahmed told Times Now, he had seen Indian bookies during various tours and also during the multi-million Indian Premier League.
Pakistan players' agent, Salman Ahmad, speaking exclusively to Times Now on the entire controversy said, "I can identify the people who were around when there was Indian Premier League. They were the same people when South Africa was playing in Pakistan. These are the same people who were in Sri Lanka when Pakistan was playing its matches. These people were there when teams like Mumbai, Punjab or any other team was playing. These were the same people during the time of Asia Cup also. From their faces, one could identify that they were from India. I am on a flight to Colombo and unless I see them tomorrow in Colombo I cannot comment further. When I identify, the relevant authorities will get to know."
Cricket journalist of Sri Lanka, Rex Clementine, speaking to Times Now said that this is nothing much to worry about. He said, "A few Indians were spotted at the place where Pakistan players were put up. From that day, these reports were coming out. Once it becomes official, the situation will be alarming. Right now, it is all unconfirmed. The security around the players is very tight. One cannot approach the players easily because they have been guarded by special forces."
At least 4 killed in a shooting incident in Pittsburgh
New York: At least four people were killed and another 10 injured when a gunman went on a shooting spree at a fitness gym in Pennsylvania being used by as many as 70 people at the time.
The incident occurred outside Pittsburgh, the city which would host the G-20 Summit next month.
The shooter, unidentified so far, was among the dead, CNN reported quoting local officials. A man carrying a duffel bag walked into an exercise room at the LA Fitness Center in Collier, stood in a corner for about a minute, before he turned on the lights.
Shortly after 8 pm, the shooting started inside the gym which at that point of time was being used by as many as 70 people, local newspapers reported.
The police recovered two guns on the scene, said Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt. "The scene was so chaotic that we felt it was more important to secure the scene rather than send officers to the hospital," Moffatt was quoted as saying by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"We're still attempting to identify some of the deceased. As you can imagine, in a fitness club they don't have their IDs on them so we're having trouble," he said.
"He kept firing and firing," Dennis Curry, 28, who was working out on an elliptical machine upstairs when he heard the gunfire, told the newspaper.
'Pittsburgh Gazett' said 10 injured, all of them women, were taken to the nearest hospital. A spokeswoman for Mercy Hospital confirmed five female shooting victims arrived at the facility with multiple gunshot wounds, CNN reported.
'Independent Kashmir' will ensure peace in South Asia: Pak
Islamabad: Nearly three weeks after the Indo-Pak joint statement in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Pakistan insisted on Wednesday that there was no change in its foreign policy and raked up its demand for an "independent Kashmir" for "long-lasting" peace in South Asia.
Asked if Pakistan's foreign policy had witnessed a U-turn in recent times, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said there was no major change in the country's stance on issues concerning external affairs.
"There has been no change in our foreign policy. We want an independent Kashmir. We want the Kashmir issue to be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the people," Basit told newsmen in Islamabad.
There was no mention of Kashmir in the Indo-Pak joint statement that was issued on July 16 after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el-Sheikh on the sidelines of the summit of Non-Aligned Movement.
In the joint statement India and Pakistan said "dialogue is the only way forward" and New Delhi agreed to "discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues".
"On a basic level until the issue of Kashmir is resolved we cannot imagine long-lasting peace in the region," Basit said.
He said with a democratically-elected government at the helm in Pakistan, the diplomatic tools available with it had increased. "We can use these tools better to achieve our foreign policy objectives," Basit said.
He maintained that dialogue was necessary to address all issues between the two countries. "As far as India is concerned, we have issues, which should be resolved through dialogue. We have always tried to do so. Presently terrorism is a major problem before us which needs to be addressed," he said.
Manipur unrest: CM orders judicial probe, suspends 6 cops
Imphal: Facing intensified protests against the killing of a youth by police commandos in an all alleged fake encounter here, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh ordered a judicial probe into the incident on Wednesday and suspended six policemen in connection with it.
Addressing a press conference, Singh said further action would depend on the report of the judicial inquiry.
He said the state government would request the Guwahati High Court to spare a sitting judge to conduct the inquiry but did not say when the judicial commission would submit its report.
Chungkham Sanjit (27) was killed in the allegedly fake encounter on July 23 at Imphal Market complex by police commandos.
The Chief Minister said that Sanjit was a former activist of militant group People's Liberation Army (PLA). He said his earlier remarks about Sanjit being an active PLA member was based on reports given to him by the Director General of Police and other senior police officials.
Leading social outfit Apunba Lup, which is spearheading an agitation in protest against the killing of Sanjit, claimed he was innocent.
Goa to invoke Epidemic Act to tackle swine flu
PANAJI: Goa will invoke the Epidemic control Act (ECA), 1897, to curb the spread of influenza A (H1N1) once the state's busy tourism season gets underway in October, health minister Vishwajeet Rane said on Wednesday.
Rane's announcement comes barely a day after the Maharashtra government invoked the act in Pune and Satara districtS after a 14-year-old Pune schoolgirl died of swine flu.
"Maharashtra has invoked the act because there are thousands of international guests arriving at its (Mumbai) airport. We don't feel it is required for Goa at this moment. But once the tourist season starts we will put this act into effect," Rane told reporters here.
The epidemic act gives health authorities the power to forcibly admit and treat any swine flu patient at a government-run hospital.
"If this (swine flu) is not controlled worldwide, Goa will have to enforce the act once the tourist season starts," Rane said, adding that Goa receives tourists from all over the world, including from countries particularly affected by swine flu.
After the terror strikes in Mumbai last year eclipsed Goa's tourist season, the swine flu pandemic could possibly deplete the arrivals in 2009-10. Goa receives nearly two million tourists in an average year, out of which about 400,000 are foreigners.
There are presently seven swine flu patients under quarantine in Goa.
Recently, the state nodal officer for swine flu Rajendra Tamba was transferred to a rural dispensary after he questioned the efficiency and the will of the state health department when it came to handling the swine flu outbreak.
Indian Business News
Infosys pursuing deals worth $1 bn
Kolkata: Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 outsourcer, is pursuing deals worth $1 billion in this quarter and has 12-15 deals in the pipeline, its chief executive and managing director said on Wednesday.
"Typically in a quarter we have 12-15 deals in the pipeline and it continues to remain the same in the current quarter," S. Gopalakrishnan said on the sidelines of an industry conference.
The company is also looking at making acquisitions in places such as Japan, Australia, Latin America and Europe.
"We are looking at companies which are 10 per cent of our revenues... you can say we are looking at companies with revenues in the range $450-500 million," he said.
L&T seeks nod to sell Satyam stake
Bangalore: Larsen & Toubro Ltd has sought permission from market regulators to sell its stake in outsourcer Mahindra Satyam Ltd, a spokesman for the engineering and construction major said.
L&T, which operates in industries as diverse as engineering, shipbuilding and software, has sought the permission as an "enabling arrangement" and has not set a timeframe for selling its holding, the spokesman said on Wednesday.
Mumbai-based L&T had built up a 12 per cent stake in Mahindra Satyam, earlier known as Satyam Computer Services Ltd, before the sale of the company, which was rattled by India's biggest corporate fraud.
In April, L&T lost out in the race for a controlling stake in the fraud-hit outsourcer, which was eventually bought by smaller rival Tech Mahindra Ltd -- a unit of India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Based on the expanded share capital after Satyam's takeover, L&T's stake in the company is at 6.9 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters data. At the current Satyam share price, the holding is worth nearly 9 billion rupees ($190 million).
Under the conditions of the Satyam sale, bidders for the company are barred from selling their stakes, acquired prior to the bid, for six months as they were given access to Satyam's financial information that was not public at that time.
Satyam, which was once India's No. 4 outsourcing firm, had not reported audited results beyond the September quarter after founder Ramalinga Raju shocked investors in January by saying the company's profits had been overstated for years.
In June, Satyam released financial figures for the first time since the revelation of the fraud, ahead of the launch of an open offer by Tech Mahindra.
Microsoft to hire 400 Yahoo! employees
New York:Software giant Microsoft will hire 400 employees of internet major Yahoo! as part of their planned partnership in internet search and advertising space.
"Microsoft will hire not less than 400 Yahoo! employees (the 'transferred employees') and will offer the Transferred Employees market competitive compensation packages," Yahoo! said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
The internet major noted that both companies would mutually agree on a retention plan which would be taken care of by Microsoft, for the transferred employees.
Further, upon mutual agreement, Microsoft would use another 150 employees of Yahoo! to assist with providing the transition services, the filing said.
Microsoft and Yahoo! last month announced a partnership which will bring the companies together in the search arena and sales activities related to search advertising.
Indian sports news |Sports News
Liverpool agree to sell Xabi Alonso to Real
Madrid: Liverpool have agreed to sell Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, the two clubs announced on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old, who had been with Liverpool for five seasons, will move for an undisclosed fee, subject to a medical, Liverpool said on their website (www.liverpoolfc.tv).
"Liverpool Football Club this evening confirmed they had reached agreement for the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, subject only to a medical," the statement said. "The terms of the deal will remain confidential and undisclosed."
Real confirmed the agreement in a statement on their website (www.realmadrid.com).
Spanish media reported the deal was worth around 30 million euros ($43.17 million), which would take Real Madrid's close-season spending up to around 250 million euros.
Alonso came up through the youth ranks with Real Sociedad and was one of Rafael Benitez's first signings when he took charge of Liverpool in 2004, moving for 10.5 million pounds.
He quickly became a Kop favourite helping them win the European Cup in 2005 and the FA Cup the following year.
Alonso has also been a regular feature in the Spain squad since 2003 and was a part of Luis Aragones's victorious side at Euro 2008.
Benitez fought hard to keep a player central to his plans but media reported it was Alonso who requested a transfer.
The nine-times European champions have been keen to land an experienced defensive midfielder, who is also a good passer of the ball, to give balance to a side packed with offensive talent.
In response to a trophyless season made worse by arch-rivals Barcelona scooping a treble, new president Florentino Perez has set in motion a huge squad rebuilding programme at the Bernabeu.
Flintoff taking injections to remain fit
Leeds:England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has become a "virtual pin cushion" in a desperate bid to remain fit for the last two Ashes Tests even as coach Andy Flower conceded that the injury-ravaged talisman's chances of playing were bleak.
Flintoff has taken six injections in the last 18 days to prevent his recurring knee injury from spoiling his dream run at the Ashes, at the end of which the 31-year-old would bid adieu to Test cricket. According to a report in the 'Daily Mirror', "Flintoff is still bullish about his chances of playing in Friday's fourth Test at Headingley, despite running repairs to his right knee which have turned him into a virtual pin cushion." Flintoff's fitness has become a major concern for England, which has a 1-0 edge in the series thanks largely to the all-rounder's heroic performances.
Flintoff had to take five injections during his man of the match winning show in the Lord's Test and he took the sixth jab last night. Flower, meanwhile, admitted that Flintoff did not look completely fit during the drawn Edgbaston match and is a doubtful starter for the fourth match. "Fred personally is quite bullish about playing, but he was moving gingerly in the field at Edgbaston," Flower said. "We will have to leave our decision to the last minute again and trust him to give us good information about his own body, along with the advice of our medical staff. We all realise the situation and we know he is struggling, but we have our contingency plans ready and the people involved in those plans know where they stand.
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