Latest News of India

India not to wind-up Kabul mission

NEW DELHI: India is looking at various options including scaling down operations of its missions in Afghanistan in the wake of terror attacks on Indians there.

Government is also planning to put all the Indians working in projects like power and road together to ensure their safety, reliable government sources said today.

This follows an assessment made by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon's visit to Kabul last week in the wake of terror attack on Feb 26 on guest houses frequented by Indians in which seven Indians were killed.

Apart from the embassy in Kabul, Indian has consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad.

The sources said that an advisory may also be issued asking all Indians in Afghanistan to return home.

They recalled that the operations of the Indian medical mission has already been put on hold after the Feb 26 attack in which the hand of Pakistan based LeT operatives is suspected.

Taliban terrorists, with backing from Pakistan's ISI, had targeted the Indian embassy twice in the past. On July 7, 2008, 60 people, including four Indians--one IFS official and a brigadier-ranked official were killed in the attack, while on Oct 8 last year, four ITBP jawans were among those injured.

Regret and return, govt to suspended MPs

NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday indicated that the government could bring a motion to revoke suspension of seven Rajya Sabha members if they expressed regret over their behaviour to Chairman Hamid Ansari.

"It (the suspension) was a well-considered action as they (the members) had insulted dignity of the house. The minimum thing is to go the chairman," Bansal told reporters here.

He said the members should at least realize their mistake.

The minister said the house had not taken action against the members with any sense of elation and it was "a bitter medicine".

He indicated that the government would be willing to consider the demand of opposition for revoking the suspension of the members if they apologized to the chairman.

"All of us have to work in a spirit of cooperation," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left on Wednesday supported demand of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for withdrawing suspension of the seven members.

The MPs suspended for unruly behaviour were Kamal Akhtar, Veerpal Singh Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Nand Kishore Yadav (all SP), Ejaz Ali (Janata Dal-United), Sabir Ali (Lok Janshakti Party) and Subhash Prasad Yadav (RJD).

The MPs had to be forcibly removed from the house Tuesday before the debate on the women's reservation bill.

On Monday, these MPs created pandemonium near chairman's podium after he instructed the law minister to move the bill for consideration.

Two ministers, US Congressman recommended Chatwal for Padma

NEW DELHI: Two Union Ministers and a prominent US Congressman recommended the name of controversial NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal for the prestigious Padma awards, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The four recommendations came from Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, member of US Congress Joseph Crowley and Dalis Adler, Staff Associate, Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia under the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran told the House in reply to a query that as per guidelines regulating Padma award, nominations for it are open to all.

Besides inviting nominations from institutional sources like state and UT governments, central ministries, departments, institutes of excellence and Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, a large number of recommendations are also received from various other sources like Governors, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, private institutions, bodies and individuals, he said.

All nominations and recommendations received are placed before the Padma Awards committee for its consideration. The committee scrutinises them and makes its recommendations to the competent authority for approval, Ramachandran said.

The selection of Chatwal for the Padma award had sparked a controversy following allegations that he was involved in financial irregularities, a charge denied by him.

Mulayam, Lalu not for no-trust motion 'as of now'

New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad, the two strong opponents of the Women's Reservation Bill, on Wednesday said they were "as of now" not considering the issue of bringing a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, saying they did not have the numbers for it.

"Nothing as of now, we need to decide it among ourselves first and then only we can bring it (a no-confidence motion). We don't have enough MPs of our own," Mulayam, whose Samajwadi Party has 21 members in Lok Sabha, said.

On whether he was planning to carry out his threat to withdraw outside support to the UPA, the SP supremo said, "There is no question of meeting the President now." He did not elaborate.

On the issue of no-trust motion, Lalu Prasad, whose RJD has four members in the Lower House, said, "There is no such decision. It is wrong information."

"We have only four MPs and, therefore, where is the question of no-confidence motion," he said.

He, however, said that his party has sought a meeting with President Pratibha Patil but has not been allotted a time as yet.

Business News

Outsourcing deal pipeline improving: Infosys

Mumbai: Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software services exporter, is seeing a rise in outsourcing deal flows due to a recovery in the global economy, a top official said on Wednesday.

Pricing for its services was likely to remain stable, Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.

Infosys and its rivals such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro had seen a sharp drop in demand for outsourcing services and pressure on prices a year ago, as recession crimped investments on IT services by their clients.

India sees PE exits worth $757 mn

Private equity (PE) players in India have offloaded stakes worth USD 757 million in the first two months of this year driven by a significant recovery in the stock markets and hopes of continuation of this trend, believe experts.

According to VCCEdge, the financial research platform of VCCircle, January 2010 saw 13 exits worth USD 282 million, while February witnessed as many as 10 worth USD 475 million.

"PE funds are under pressure to make some exits before they set out to raise new funds. They will continue to use every opportunity available to exit as long as they see a good return," VCCEdge Research Director Rohit Madan said.

On a similar note, Reliance Venture Asset Management CEO Harshal J Shah said, "I think this year will see the opening of the floodgates for exits, though only for the highly qualified ones, and those which have been waiting patiently in the wings for a long time now."

Shah further said the companies which were waiting in the pipeline might hit the markets this year.

"As the foundation for a strong global recovery builds up, perhaps led by India and China, the performance of the markets this year for such IPOs will also portend or forecast how successful that trend will be into the next year and beyond," Shah added.

According to SMC Capitals Equity Head Jagannadham Thunuguntla, "The strange part of 2009 recovery was that it was very strong in the secondary markets. However, the same enthusiasm couldn't be seen in the primary markets, that is IPOs. Hence, exits can definitely happen. Unless the enthusiasm returns in the primary markets, the PE/VC funds may find it difficult even to exit."

Not the right time for FPOs: Govt

New Delhi: The government is not considering selling equity in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan said on Wednesday.

"There is no serious consideration (on follow-on public offerings in IOC and ONGC) at this juncture," he said.

Both IOC and ONGC are not in favour of raising money through equity route as valuations are being impacted due to uncertain fuel pricing policy.

Also, market conditions were not right for FPOs. "(These are) not the correct market time for FPOs," he said.

Sports News

Younis, Yousuf banned for life

Karachi:Pakistan cricket was thrown into turmoil on Wednesday with the country's Board putting an end to the international careers of former captains Mohd Yousuf and Younus Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team's disastrous tour of Australia.

Pakistan were whitewashed in all three formats of the game in Australia and the PCB had set up an inquiry committee headed by Wasim Bari to probe the reasons for the debacle.

As recommended by the committee, former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans.

The inquiry committee had recommended that Yousuf and

Younis should no longer be part of the national team in any format because of their bad influence on the team and that Malik and Rana be banned for 12 months and fined 2 million rupees each.

The Akmal brothers - Kamran and Umar - and Afridi have been put on probation for six months besides being fined between Rs 2-3 million for indiscipine on the tour, the PCB statement said.

The punishments are set to impact the composition of Pakistan's World Twenty20 Championship. The team is the defending champion in this format and the 15-man squad for the event is due to be out by the end of this month. According to sources, the report was discussed by the PCB chairman Ejaz Butt with the national selection committee on Monday as part of the selection process for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

"Apparently at the meeting, there were mixed reactions to the strong recommendations keeping in mind that upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies where Pakistan defends its title," the source stated.

The inquiry committee apparently had serious reservations over the attitude and commitment shown by Malik and Rana in Australia where they are accused of not cooperating with the management. He said the captain, coach and manager on the Australian tour had reported Malik and Rana for misbehaviour and not cooperating with the management a fact confirmed by some other players who appeared before the probe committee.

This is the first time in Pakistan cricket history that the Board has taken such strong disciplinary action against so many players at one time.

'Time to end Pak cricket's power culture'

Pakistan cricket fraternity on Wednesday reacted with surprise, anger and content to severe punishment handed out by the Board to half-a-dozen current players on disciplinary counts.

While former players like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif felt the Board's move would further hit the image of Pakistan cricket, the older generation players like Zaheer Abbas and Abdul Kadir were all support for the punishment.

The Board banned seniors Mohammed Yousuf and Younus Khan for life and handed one-year bans to Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the wake of their flop show Down Under. Brothers Kamran and Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi were put under observation and imposed heavy fines.

"How can you treat senior players Yousuf and Younus like this? How can you ban them for life? If they were doing something wrong the board should have spoken and warned them first. You don't take such harsh decision at once," a fuming Inzamam asked.

Inzamam was baffled why the team management kept silence during the tour and came out with sever punishments now., "Why were Kamran and Umar not sent back from Australia? Why was Afridi not penalised in Australia by the team management? Why come out with such harsh decisions in one go which could badly damage the image of Pakistan cricket?."

Inzamam was also critical of the composition of the inquiry committee saying it was not an independent and unbiased body.

He also suggested players to knock the judicial doors, challenging the punishment, and was confident that aggrieved players would come out victorious.

"Younus I think has been treated unfairly for long now, what was his fault and yet he is banned for life. This is not the way to improve things in Pakistan cricket.

"If things were so wrong in Australia then what was the team management doing. I am getting a feeling that the board has taken these decisions to save themselves after the recent poor performances and controversies," he said.

However, former captain Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Qadir and Sarfaraz Nawaz, had a different view on the whole issue. "Obviously it is very disappointing and sad that senior players like Yousuf and Younus have been banned for life but the fact is this action of the board will help in improving the Pakistan cricket team's culture and performances," Abbas said.

"The players must realise whatever they are today are because of their country and the team. For too long these players' power culture have been allowed to fester and it is right time to remove them," he added.

"How can you have Yawar Saeed or Zakir Khan on the committee. Yawar was recently manager of the team?," he asked. Rashid Latif questioned the timing of the action and felt the Board may have done it to save its own skin.

India top revenue contributor, WC hugely successful: FIH

New Delhi: India contributed a major chunk of revenue earned by the International Hockey Federation and the ongoing World Cup here is commercially a huge success, the FIH said on Wednesday.

At the FIH media summit here, Marketing Manager of the world body Steven Morris revealed that India has been the top revenue contributor, mainly from television, while top hockey countries like Germany, Australia and Pakistan fared very poorly in this aspect.

"Most of FIH revenue comes from very few countries. India's contribution in revenue is more than 50 per cent than second-placed the Netherlands. Malaysia, Argentina and USA also contribute," Morris said.

"In countries like Pakistan, Spain, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore and Middle East, it is difficult to sale hockey on television," he said. He said looking at the commercial success of the tournament; India would be an integral part of FIH's effort to lift the profile of hockey in the world.

"It is a challenge to administrators how to market hockey in India. Commercially, India is a huge market for hockey and the World Cup a huge success. India will have to be an integral part of any future FIH plans to lift the profile of the game," he said.

Indian Latest News

China deliberately subdued in reacting to Dalai Lama visit

BEIJING: China on Tuesday tried to be deliberately subdued in its reaction to the visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese foreign ministry restricted itself to expressing strong dissatisfaction with India on the issue.

Indian foreign ministry officials were expecting a stronger reaction from the Chinese government after the state-run media accused New Delhi of orchestrating the Dalai Lama visit. The local media quoted an expert with a government-run think-tank saying the visit was organized by the Indian government to further strengthen its case on the border dispute.

"The Indian side allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the disputed eastern section of the China-India border regardless of China's grave concerns, and China is strongly dissatisfied with this," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at the briefing.

Qin said China firmly opposed the Dalai Lama's visit to the region. The visit "fully exposes the Dalai Lama's separatist nature." Qin said. "His attempt will not succeed," he said.

The recent meeting between Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is believed to have had a positive impact on Beijing’s approach towards India, sources said.

The subdued statement is also the Chinese way of expressing appreciation for New Delhi’s decision to disallow foreign journalists from covering the visit. By doing this, India has shown it was not interested in defaming China on the global scene and Beijing took the hint, sources said.

The Chinese foreign ministry waited for the routine briefing on Tuesday instead of reacting to the visit on Sunday. This is a significant show of patience after weeks of angry statements from Chinese officials denouncing the Tibetan leader’s plans for visiting Arunachal Pradesh.

China also wants to give the impression it is able to manage its relationship with India at a time when US president Barrack Obama is due to visit Beijing later this month, sources said.

Control over naxal-infested areas in 2-3 years: PC

New Delhi: Making it clear that the Maoists would not be allowed to have a free run, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said control over the naxal-infested areas would be regained in the next two to three years.

"I am confident that in a period of two to three years we will be able to gain total control over these (naxal-infested) areas," he said in an interactive session at the India Economic Summit here.

Chidambaram said since he took over as Home Minister, the states have got involved in tackling the naxal menace and "there is now co-ordinated action against the CPI(Maoists)".

The CPI(Maoists) believe in armed liberation struggle and want to expand their area of influence, he said adding that a democratic republican government cannot allow this. "We have to assert our authority," the Home Minister said.

Chidambaram said it was wrong to think that India was more vulnerable in the "crosshairs of many groups" and asserted "we have the capacity to thwart any attack should there be any attack".

He said the government has the capacity to contain naxal menace in a "swift and decisive manner".

Noting that states are now taking counter-insurgency measures against naxals, he said, "we have had significant successes and we have suffered some casualties too".

Chidambaram said the government had also offered to hold talks with the naxals provided they abjured violence.

He sought to assure the business community about the security situation in the country saying "We are no more vulnerable than any other country in the world.

Indian-origin student among 4 South Asians stabbed in London

LONDON: Four people suffered stab wounds after a mob of white and black youths set upon Muslim Asian students - including at least six of Indian origin - near the prestigious City University in north London, police and student groups said on Tuesday.

Three students and a passerby who tried to intervene had to be hospitalised with facial and head injuries when a 30-strong mob armed with knives, metal poles, bricks and sticks attacked South Asian students Thursday, police said.

A spokeswoman for the university, which is ranked among the world's top 500 and has a large number of international students - including many from India - said the university did not have the "record of nationalities from the police incident report".

Asked to check the nationalities against their names in the university records, she said: "I do not think that would be appropriate."

However, a spokesman for a nationwide body of Muslim students told IANS those targeted by the mobs included at least six students of Indian origin.

"We are trying to find out if any of them are Indian nationals," said Qasim Rafiq of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS).

Apart from the stabbing victims, two other men were also beaten in the violence, police said, adding three teenagers had been arrested so far.

Although the attackers were said to include blacks as well as whites, the incident comes amid a surge in violence instigated by white extremist groups in urban areas with large non-white populations, including London, its suburbs and Manchester.

Police said that earlier in the week, racists shouted abuse at a student going to a prayer room at the university, and later attacked him and other students escorting him to the underground train station.

One student suffered a fractured skull in the incident.

Detective Inspector Trevor Borley of the local Islington force said police patrolling in the area had been increased and "we are taking this matter very seriously".

Rafiq said: "We believe these attacks involved the same group but there have been sporadic attacks at other universities over the last year," adding the gang repeatedly shouted out "Get those Muslims" and "Paki".

City University Acting Vice Chancellor Julius Weinberg said: "We're shocked and saddened that some of our students have been the victims of an attack near the University," but added that London is "on the whole a safe, friendly and welcoming city".

Jessica Lall murder: Manu Sharma's parole party ends, returns to Tihar

NEW DELHI: Manu Sharma, convicted in the Jessica Lall murder case, returned to Tihar jail before expiry of his parole following mounting criticism that he violated parole norms. This had prompted Delhi government to ask police to investigate the allegations.

Sharma, 32, whose two-month parole was to expire on November 22, reported at the jail around 11.45 am, a top jail official said.

Sharma, who was released from jail on September 22 on ground of his mother's illness, was reportedly spotted in a nightclub in a hotel here on Saturday night. His mother was seen addressing a press conference in Chandigarh last week.

Actor Arjun Rampal, who co-owns a bar in a city hotel, confirmed that Manu was spotted there.

The reports triggered a major controversy with legal experts and opposition BJP alleging that he was granted parole under "political pressure" by the Delhi government, a charge strongly denied by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who said it was done within the ambit of the law.

Following criticism, the Delhi government asked the city police to investigate whether Sharma violated the parole norms by moving out of Chandigarh and paying a visit here.

Sharma should not have been present in Delhi as he was given parole under the condition that he will visit Chandigarh to meet his "ailing" mother, a top Delhi government official said.

"We have sought a detailed report from Delhi Police about whether Sharma visited the city," he said.

BSP wins 5 of 11 assembly seats, big blow to SP

Lucknow: Handing defeat to Samajwadi Party, the BSP on Tuesday succeeded in making deep inroads into the SP bastion. The blow was severe for the Samajwadi Party, as it not only lost from its stronghold of Etawah and Bharthana, but was also handed over defeat by the Congress from Firozabad parliamentary constituency.

Congress candidate Raj Babbar triumphed over Dimple Yadav, daughter-in-law of SP supremo by over 85,000 votes in Firozabad, where polls were necessitated after the seat was vacated by her husband Akhilesh Yadav.

The party's dismal show in Bharthana, the seat vacated by Mulayam Singh Yadav has put a big question mark on his hold in his home town. SP also faced major reverses in Haiser Bazar, Powayan and Isauli assembly segments, with the party candidate losing his deposit in Isauli and securing a third spot in Haiser Bazar.

The party had put everything at stake in Firozabad Lok Sabha seat by pitching Dimple Yadav and going all out to seek votes for the "bahu of the constituency."

Firozabad, the city of bangles had been one of the party's bastion primarily because of its sizeable Yadav population and also being adjacent to Etawah, the home district of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Samajwadi Party had camped in the constituency and had also pumped in "star power" summoning all the film stars associated with it to challenge the glamour quotient of not only Babbar, but also his Bollywood friends.

Party's national general secretary Amar Singh asking the electorate to teach a lesson to "traitor" Raj Babbar had a little impact, as the electorate showed a clear shift from SP to Congress in just six months time with Babbar winning hands down by a margin of over 85,000 votes.

Indian Business News

AI pays a month initiatives to pilots, may scrap PLI tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Faced with a strike threat by its pilots, Air India paid a month's incentives and allowances to its 30,000 employees as it prepares for a crucial meeting of its Board tomorrow to decide on major cost-cutting initiatives.

The Board, which would meet in Chennai, is likely to take a decision on a proposal to scrap the productivity-linked incentives (PLI) paid to its top managerial cadre, and adopt the financial accounts for 2008-09.

"The main agenda is adoption of accounts for the previous financial year," sources close to the development said. The Board is also likely to discuss route and capacity rationalisation as part of the cost-cutting proposals.

However, the pilots, who have warned of a strike from November 24 if their demands are not met by November 20, seem to be in no mood to relent.

"We have received our PLI/flying allowance, but it is only for August. The payment for September and October is still pending. We had given the management November 10 deadline to meet all our demands, but it has not," Capt V K Bhalla, who had led the five-day executive pilots agitation in September, said.

While the original strike notice given by the non- executive pilots is effective from today, the management was asked by agitating pilots, at a meeting with Central Labour Commissioner here yesterday, to decide on their demands by November 20 to avoid the strike.

Sensex snaps four-day rally to end lower 58 points

MUMBAI: Snapping a four-day rally, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday declined over 58 points on profit-selling even as the government said stimulus measures would continue till robust global economic recovery

The Sensex, which had gained 1,094.78 points in past four trading sessions, fell down to end with a loss of 58.16 points at 16,440.56 profit-selling at existing higher levels. Brokers said a steep rise in share prices in the past four days attracted profit-booking by traders.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 16.70 points at 4,881.70.

Marketmen said sentiment for profit-selling was so strong that even finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's positive remarks on stimulus measures did not boost the sentiment,

"There is need of generating strong domestic demand till robust recovery takes place all over the world, particularly the developed economies", Mukherjee said.

A higher trend in Asian and European stock markets also failed in support the market, they added.

In the 30-BSE Sensex-linked stocks, 8 shares, including Reliance Industries, closed higher while 22 ended in negative zone led by Infosys Technologies.

Sensex heaviest RIL gained 1.39% to Rs 2,052.60 while the second heaviest Infosys Technologies lost 0.71% to Rs 2,218.20.

Realty, teck, IT, capital goods, power consumer durable, auto and FMCG sector stocks declined.

RNRL accuses govt of changing stands

New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani firm RIL told the Supreme Court that the family MoU of 2005 was irrelevant for arriving at a suitable arrangement for the supply of gas to brother Anil Ambani's RNRL.

On its part, RNRL filed a fresh affidavit before a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, accusing the government of changing its stand on the gas row.

Continuing his arguments in the high-voltage case, RIL's counsel Harish Salve contended that for arriving at a suitable arrangement, the family MoU was irrelevant and the price of the gas has to be approved by the government.

However, RNRL in its affidavit objected to the involvement of Government in the gas dispute and alleged that the stand of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was "dishonest and collusive."

RNRL opposed the stand of RIL that the supply of gas from K G Basin at US dollars 2.34 per mmBtu was not feasible. It also questioned the increase in the capital expenditure (Capex) approval by the government to RIL from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 36,000 crore for enhancing gas production from 40 to 80 mmscmd.

RNRL said the approval by the managing committee, including Director General of Hydrocarbons V K Sibal, for the increased Capex was under CBI investigation.

"It is thus evident that even RIL's inflated Capex will result in a per mmBtu cost of 1.28 dollars. RIL is, thus, making tremendous profit even at US dollars 2.34," the affidavit stated, adding the fertiliser and power industries which are reeling under recession can ill afford to pay a higher price to fill RIL's pockets.

Indian Sports News|Sports News

Sreesanth surprise pick, Zaheer returns for Lanka Test series

MUMBAI: Temperamental paceman S Sreesanth, whose on-field antics have often landed him in trouble, was on Tuesday surprisingly included in India's 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka starting on November 16 in Ahmedabad.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan expectedly returned to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ensuing Champions Trophy in September.

The team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni also includes Tamil Nadu players opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman S Badrinath, while pacers Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel were ignored.

Nehra did reasonably well in the ongoing One-day series against Australia, but failed to find a place in the squad announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection panel here.

The selection of Sreesanth raised eyebrows as the Kerala pacer has not really done anything significant in the domestic circuit since recovering from a back injury.

The selection seems all the more baffling given the fact that the bowler, who has a history of disciplinary indiscretions, was only last month given a final warning by the BCCI to mend his ways.

The 26-year-old Sreesanth will return to the Test fold after more than a year having played his last Test in April 2008 against South Africa in Kanpur.

India last played a Test match in April this year against New Zealand and the players to miss out from that squad are pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Praveen Kumar, who are playing in the ongoing series against Australia, were not considered for selection for the three-match Test series.

As expected, the veteran batting duo of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retained their places.

Barring Sreesanth's comeback, there were no major surprises in the squad, which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicket-keeper in Dhoni.

Zaheer's return will bolster the pace department which also has an off-colour Ishant Sharma, who has been retained despite his indifferent performance in last few months.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the spin attack with leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young left-armer Pragyan Ojha supporting him.

While Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will open the innings, Murali Vijay has been picked as reserve.

The middle-order has a stable look with Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh forming a formidable line-up.

The Indian play the first Test in Ahmedabad followed by two more Tests in Kanpur (November 24 to 28) and Mumbai (December 2 to 6).

After the Test series, the Sri Lankans will play two Twenty20 matches and five One-dayers.

Team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth and S Badrinath.

Pankaj Advani finally accepts Eklavya award

Bangalore: Two years after he had turned down the honour, reigning World Professional Billiards Champion Pankaj Advani on Tuesday accepted the Eklavya award, the highest recognition for a sportsperson in Karnataka.

He was presented a cheque for Rs 10 lakh at a function by State Home Minister V S Acharya.

Twenty four-year-old Advani, a Padmashree awardee, is the reigning IBSF World Billiards Champion (Time and Points Format).

The Bangalore sportsman, who had been conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (2006), Arjuna Award (2004) and Rajiv Gandhi Award (2004), had earlier declined to accept the Eklavaya award in 2007, alleging the state government had adopted a discriminatory attitude to the sport.

"I had declined the award then because I felt that the government had not treated the sports on par with others. But I guess I do not like to hold grudges. This government has been proactive and recognised my achievements and I thought I should respond and accept the award", he said.

"I thank the state government for appreciating my efforts", he said.

"It has not been my own individual effort but a combination of small efforts by my family, coach, KSBA.

They have supported me throughout my career".

Latest News india in Detail

Forces missed Prabhakaran by whisker: Lanka army

PUDUKUDIYYIRIPPU: Tamil Tigers supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides were recently missed by a whisker by the security forces, a top Sri Lankan commander said, claiming that the rebel leader had limited options either to give up or commit suicide.

"We got to know that Prabhakaran had moved through the Pudukudiryirippu-Iranmalai road on a day between March 29-31, just about two days before the army fully laid seige to that area," GoC 58 Division Brig Shavendra Silva said.

"Yes I regret we missed him by a whisker or else things could have been over faster," he said, adding Prabhakaran cannot escape through the road.

Silva said things have come to such a head that women had to hide their son in a hole dug in and covered by the kitched fire place to escape the prying LTTE men on the look out for new Tiger fighters near the 'no-fire zone'.

The senior LTTE leader Daya Master also told the army during interrogation that "only sea tiger leader Soosai, the coordinating LTTE army head Pottu Amman and Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony are going to stay with him".

"The rest of the senior aides will try to escape as I did," Shavendra Silva quoted Daya Master, the former LTTE media coordinator, to say.

"Yes Prabhakaran lived around here not far ago and people suffered here under him," Silva told reporters who visited the war one.

According to another senior military officer, Prabhakaran is facing "reverses after reverses" in his struggle for a separate Eelam state.

Many Tiger cadres have been forced to give their lives "under duress", since Prabhakaran introduced suicide bombers, mostly young women, and targeted major government installations, including military headquarters and international airport in Sri Colombo, he said.

The media were also allowed a brief chat with the famished looking IDPS passing through the Pudukudiyirippu area.

"The LTTE does not have to tell us anything. We dare not to try to escape as they have sophisticated weapons and we had to wait for our time to come to escape," Arumugam, an IDP, said.

No evidence to suggest India backing Pak rebels: Holbrooke

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan should focus on militancy within its borders instead of worrying about India's presence in Afghanistan as there is no evidence to suggest that New Delhi is backing the extremists, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke has said.

"Pakistan does not have to worry about India in Afghanistan. They need to worry about the miscreants in western Pakistan," Holbrooke said in an interview with Geo News channel at the US state department in Washington.

"Now if the Indians were supporting those miscreants that would be extraordinarily bad (and) really dangerous. But they're not. There is no evidence at all that the Indians are supporting the miscreants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or North West Frontier Province or Waziristan. None," he said.

Holbrooke was responding to a question on Pakistan's concerns about India's presence in Afghanistan. He noted that India has been playing a key role in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

"India has given Afghanistan about USD 1 billion in assistance. They're rebuilding the parliament building, they've built a very useful road in the southwestern part of the country leading down towards Iran. They're training agricultural experts, they're giving scholarships. The Indians have published a pamphlet on what they're doing. I don't think that should be cause of concern for Pakistan."

Taliban stop Pak troops from entering Swat

Islamabad, April 25: Taliban fighters Saturday prevented a convoy of security forces from entering their stronghold in the northwestern Swat valley, a day after the Pakistan Army chief pledged to eliminate militants who challenge the writ of the state.

A convoy of seven army trucks was stopped by armed Taliban militants at Qambar, a small town near Mingora, the main city in Swat valley, witnesses and Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said.

Witnesses said the convoy withdrew from Qambar after the Taliban forced the troops to go back, averting any clash.

There was no official reaction to the Taliban preventing the convoy from entering Swat. Sources said local authorities were consulting Taliban leaders to convince them to allow the convoy to move into the area.

The Taliban action could lead to a worsening in the situation as army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani announced yesterday that his force is "determined to root out the menace of terrorism" and "would not allow the militants to dictate terms to the government or impose their way of life on the civil society".

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told reporters that the deployment of additional troops in Swat is against a peace deal signed in February to introduce Islamic laws in Malakand division, which includes Swat.

121 infiltrators entered India, says Pak terrorist

The Pakistani terrorists, who was arrested during the Gurez (Jammu and Kashmir) encounter in March, revealed in a press conference held by the Army in Srinagar that 121 Pakistani infiltrators have entered India crossing the LoC.

The Army however said that only 31 of them were terrorists, the rest, the army claims were porters and guides who have gone back to Pakistan.

The terrorist, Syed Moinullah, said that he is from Deer district in the North West Frontier Province and had crossed over with a group of terrorists drawn from four organisations, including the LeT and the Jaish.

He also revealed that nine of the terrorists were killed but the rest are roaming free. This confirms the NDTV report earlier this week that more than a hundred terrorists had infiltrated into India in the Gurez sector.


Infiltration by Pakistani terrorists along the LoC and international border has been on the rise in the last couple of months.

In perhaps one of the biggest arms hauls in Jammu and Kashmir in recent times, the Army has recovered a huge quantity of explosives, arms and ammunition from the Shamshabari Range of Gurez Sector.

The haul includes 32 kg of RDX, many AK-47s rifles and grenade launchers among others.

The arrested militant spoke about the operation at the press conference.

"We were sent so commanders here could use us for operations. I was caught when I was trying to return to Pakistan," he said.

He also said that militants who operate in India have nothing to do with Taliban.

Indian Business News


Anil Ambani's firm says rivals tried to kill him

Mumbai: A day after Anil Ambani's helicopter was found to have been tampered with, Reliance Communications on Friday claimed business rivals were planning to kill the billionaire industrialist.

Mud and pebbles were found inside the seven-seater VT-RCL Bell 412 helicopter's gear box on Thursday evening.

The company in its complaint claimed that Anil, who is the Chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, and other senior officials were also under threat.

A complaint was filed by senior pilot of Reliance Transport and Travels Private Limited Captain RN Joshi with the Mumbai Police CoMmissioner's office, Maharashtra Chief Minister's office, Maharasthra Home Minister's office, Chief Secretary's office, Joint Commissioner of Police's office and also at the Santa Cruz Police Station.

The complainant claimed that the planned manner in which the pebbles and gravel were put in the filler cap at a height of 10 feet in the gear box clearly showed that some one possibly business rivals were attempting to take the life of Anil Ambani.

The helicopter was standing outside a hangar at the Mumbai Airport, when mud and pebbles were found in the gear box of the helicopter.

Reliance Transports and Travels Private Limited is the owner and operator of helicopter. Airworks India Engineering Private Limited which maintains the Bell 412 helicopter says it has filed a case against one of its own employees for allegedly putting mud and pebbles into the chopper's gear box.

Anil had bought the helicopter for his private use in 2007.

Wipro applies thought, cuts costs but saves jobs


Bangalore: Companies have cut salaries, said no to promotions and are not giving increments to survive in a shrinking economy. All that is too drastic for Wipro Technologies--India’s third largest software exporter is innovating.

Wipro, as part of its efforts to manage rising HR costs, is giving employees the option of either working fewer days or going on a sabbatical. The offers are part of Wipro's skill augmentation and flex employment or SAFE program launched six months ago. The programme has two components called Project Enrich and Project Rejuvenate.

Enrich focuses on employees who have been on the bench for anywhere between three to six months. These employees can choose to work just 10 days in a month, and take a salary cut of 50 percent on their cost to company.

Wipro says employees opting for Enrich will be absorbed into projects as opportunities arise, after a two-week notice. “We do not see any immediate visibility of them being employed. They are good resources and we don't want to lose them but neither do we want to do anything drastic,” says Pratik Kumar, head of human resources at Wipro.

‘Rejuvenate’ is for senior employees and allows them to take a sabbatical and either join an NGO, or pursue a hobby, and draw just 25 percent of their CTC. Wipro says the response has been good.

“We have been able to get a thousand people interested in this programme. I think this speaks very well (of the programme),” says Kumar.

Wipro had offered employees on the bench at its Kolkata centre the option of joining the company’s BPO arm but this was not well received. Cutting HR costs is important for the company, as it is set to take on 7,000 employees who were offered jobs last year, and 8,000 more in FY10.

Indian Sports News

Tennis Australia is 'arrogant, irresponsible': India

New Delhi:All India Tennis Association lashed out at Australia for pulling out of next month's Davis Cup tie against India, saying they have acted in an "arrogant" and "irresponsible" manner "by creating a situation solely out of their mind and not based on facts".

AITA also said it would convey its sentiments to the International Tennis Federation in a letter following Australia withdrawing from the May 8-10 Asia-Oceania Group I tie barely a day after the game's governing body rejected its plea to shift the match from Chennai.

"Despite the ITF security team had given an excellent report that India is safe for the Aussie players, they have pulled out of the tie. This indicates a certain order of arrogance and a highly irresponsible action on the part of Tennis Australia," Khanna told reporters.

In a letter sent to AITA, Tennis Australia President Geoff Pollard had cited "high security risk during Indian election" as the reason for pulling out of the tie.

"We asked for the tie to be moved because we have major security concerns for players, particularly during (Indian) election. The ITF decision has left us with no other option but not to send the team. It would be irresponsible of us to send our players into an area of such high risk," Pollard had said in the letter.

But, Khanna was not amused and said TA's decision might have been influenced by the players who do not want to come to India.

"We have got the letter and are extremely disappointed with their decision. The reasons cited for pulling out of the tie reflect their ignorance. They are creating a situation solely out of their mind and not based on facts. We will intimate our sentiments to ITF in writing," he said.

Knight Riders looking to bounce back

CAPE TOWN: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be eager to bounce back from their disappointing Super Over loss against Rajasthan Royals, when they
face runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.

Knight Riders came close to winning on Thursday but it was the brilliance of Kamran Khan and Yusuf Pathan, who turned the match in the favour of defending champions Rajasthan Royals.

Knight Riders have just one victory in three matches and are lying in the seventh spot in the eight-team league.

Last year's runner-up Super Kings have also one win in three matches and will be desperately looking for two full points against Knight Riders at the Newlands.

Though their batting has looked good, Super Kings' problem has been their bowling, specially at the death. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to do some work to sort out his team's bowling.

"I thought we bowled badly at the death. This is one area we need to improve and I hope the bowlers will pay attention to this. We conceded at least 20 to 30 runs extra," said Dhoni.

The onus once again will be on batsmen Matthew Hayden and Dhoni to put the runs on the board for Super Kings. The absence of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be a blow for the Chennai team. Flintoff has been ruled out of the IPL and will fly back home for surgery of a knee injury.

For Knight Riders, skipper Brendon McCullum is yet to shine with the bat and the focus will be on him to give a good start along with Chris Gayle, who has been in terrific touch.

Sourav Ganguly, who came close to winning the match against Royals with a defiant knock, will be eager to prove himself again. Ganguly also played a crucial role with the ball against Kings XI Punjab.

Photo Gallery Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers

Latest News In Detail

Election News

CD could get Chandrababu Naidu in EC trouble

Tuesday April 14, 2009, Hyderabad:Two days before the first phase of elections in Andhra Pradesh, TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu could be in some serious trouble with the Election Commission.

An audio CD made available to NDTV and now with the Election Commission claims to contain recorded conversations of Naidu with his party candidates. The voice on the tape apparently tells them to go all-out and spend money in order to win in the elections"

"I am telling you again and again, this time all have to spend money. I have never said this before in any election. First time, I am insisting. Because we need to win. To win, you must get together all your resources and spend money, mobilise money. Then systematically organise the spending. Money should reach upto the booth committee. In the next 16 days, in 2-3 instalments or 3-4 instalments, money should reach every booth.''

The audio CD was handed over Andhra's Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao on Tuesday. It is claimed to be a recording of a teleconference the TDP president held with his party functionaries on the first of April.

Says Rao: "Chandrababu Naidu is said to have spoken about spending and distributing money. We have got two complaints. We will examine them and send our report to the EC for further action.''

Naidu has neither denied nor confirmed that it is indeed his voice on the tape but says it is a doctored audio CD.

That political parties spend large amounts of money on elections is an open secret. The ceiling for spending for a parliamentary constituency is 25 lakh rupees and for an assembly it is 15 lakh rupees. There are no amounts mentioned in Naidu's so called teleconference. So how much he is referring to and whether it will invite EC action is anyone's guess?

Last day of campaigning for Phase I of Lok Sabha polls

Tuesday, April 14, 2009:It's the last day of campaigning today for the first phase of polling on the April 16 and making a last ditch effort to reach out to undecided voters are Sonia Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab where he will be holding his first rally.


Priyanka Gandhi in Amethi, Mayawati in Jaipur and Narendra Modi in north and central Gujarat.

Rahul's rally will be at Talwandi Sabo where Raninder Singh, son of Captain Amarinder Singh is facing a tough fight from the Badal family.

In the first phase, polling will be held in 17 states. One-twenty four of the 543 seats in Parliament will be decided in this phase.

The states going to the polls in the first phase include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and some seats in Orissa in the east, Jammu and Kashmir, 16 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Bihar, 6 in Jharkhand in north India, 13 seats in Maharashtra and Chattisgarh in the west and Andhra Pradesh, Kerala Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep in the south.

Manmohan, Advani face-off in Parliament House

New Delhi:

The effect of the war of words between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition L K Advani was evident as they came face-to-face in Parliament on Tuesday at a function to commemorate the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

The two leaders shook hands briefly but the warmth was clearly missing as Singh went about his business greeting others and later paying floral tributes to the portrait of Ambedkar.

Singh was seen chatting with Vice President Hamid Ansari with a bemused looking Advani sitting between the two leaders.

Advani has been attacking the Prime Minister calling him a "weak leader" in his campaign speeches for the Lok Sabha elections.

Singh took a swing at Advani saying that the BJP "iron man" was was quick to melt when held to the fire during the Kandahar hijacking incident.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani said Congress did not do justice to Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar and ignored the late leader while nominating the members for the Constituent Assembly.

"I believe, Congress did not do justice to Dr Ambedkar," Advani said in a function to celebrate birth anniversary of the Dalit leader in New Delhi.

"Today, we know that he was the maker of the Constitution. But this did not happen naturally. When Congress nominated around 290 members for the Constituent Assembly, his name was not there," Advani said.

Taking on the Congress for the episode, Advani said that when a leader from Bengal saw that his (Ambedkar's) name was not there in the list, he offered his seat.

Congress-BJP fight gets bad, bitter, boorish

Tue, Apr 14, 2009New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani have become the focus of a nasty argument between their parties. Each party claims its leader is stronger, and the argument is getting discourteous.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged that Singh had pampered terrorists. "What was the Congress doing during the Indo-China war of 1962? I want to ask the Prime Minister who is saying that Advani was wringing his hands. What was the Congress doing with their hands then? Today also thousands of acres of Indian land is with China," said Modi at a public rally in Balasinor town of Kheada district on Tuesday.

"Even today half of Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan, what kind of strength does it show? I want to ask if the Prime Minister is kneeling down due to helplessness of Congress or is it part of your habit?" asked Modi.

Modi alleged that Singh had fed terrorists who had sieged the Charar-e-Sharif shrine in Srinagar in 1995.

"I today allege that under the Narasimha Rao government, when Manmohan Singh was finance minister, the Congress had given safe passage to five terrorists in Charar-e-Sharif of Kashmir after providing them a feast of chicken biryani for seven days".

The Chief Minister also did not spare Home Minister P Chidambaram.

"Instead of attacking Pakistan what they did was made a CD of TV footage of Mumbai attack, made a file of newspaper cutting, put them in a box and the home minister took it to the US. There they cried that our neighbour has beaten us, please help us," Modi said. "This is perfect example of helplessness of the government,” Modi said.

Business News

Tech Mahindra joins top tier with Satyam

Mumbai:

Tech Mahindra won a bidding auction for a majority stake in fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd, edging out Larsen & Toubro, seen by some analysts as the favourite bidder.

Tech Mahindra's shares surged by a quarter, before trimming gains.

Before Satyam's scandal was disclosed in January, Satyam was ranked India's fourth-largest outsourcing firm and Tech Mahindra was sixth-largest so the combined firm, even allowing for overstatement of accounts by Satyam, is expected to be the top-tier outsourcer.

The Satyam buy will help Tech Mahindra, in which Britain's BT Group holds about 31 per cent stake, diversify its services by reducing its reliance on the telecoms industry.

The sale should help restore confidence in the local industry at a time the economic downturn has already slowed growth. So, the sale is supportive for leading Indian outsourcing rivals Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro.

Leading IT companies have always maintained Satyam was a one-off, not a reflection of the broader industry.

Tech Mahindra gets more than half its revenue from Europe, and the Satyam purchase would help it significantly expand its presence in the United States.

Tech Mahindra played the bid well, being most publicly reluctant to commit and continually expressed worries over Satyam's liabilities.

It has been three months and one week since India's biggest corporate scandal

broke, and the government has been keen to limit the impact of the scandal. The decision comes just days before month-long voting in national elections starts.

Tech Mahindra to pay $351 million for 31 per cent preferential allotment of new shares, then to make open offer for further 20 per cent at 58 rupees a shares, valuing the company at about $1.1 billion on paper.


Microsoft’s free training for jobless

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp announced that it would be giving away more than 30,000 vouchers over the next 90 days to help unemployed people in Wash

ington state get new computer skills.

The vouchers will entitle them to take computer classes for free -- either in person or online -- and take Microsoft certification exams at no or low cost.

At a news conference in Seattle, Gov. Chris Gregoire commended Microsoft for stepping up to the challenge of helping the nation come out of the recession stronger.

"When this downturn ends, we will need more skilled workers ready to enter the job market. Microsoft's generosity will provide thousands of men and women the skills they need to work with the software that runs our businesses," Gregoire said.

Washington's WorkSource job centers across Washington started giving out the vouchers on Monday. Washington state had the 17th highest unemployment rate in the country last month with a jobless rate of 8.4 per cent.

The vouchers are part of a new national programme Microsoft announced at the National Governors Conference in February. Elevate America hopes to offer job training to as many as 2 million Americans over the next three years.

Sue T Carter of Bellevue picked up one of the first vouchers. She said she has been working part time for more than two years and really needs to find a job that will help her pay her rent, because she is less than a month away from eviction.

Carter earned several college degrees years ago and has picked up most of her computer skills on her own, but she knows companies seek employees with professional training.

"Knowledge is power and I'm willing to do anything to make myself a more viable candidate in the workplace," Carter said. "It always makes you more viable if you've got more skills to offer."

She expressed enthusiasm that the training programme is not costing taxpayers anything. Brad Smith, Microsoft senior vice president and general counsel, said the company also is excited about the public-private partnership because it will help both people and businesses.

"This programme is all about equipping people with the new skills they'll need to get a job in the changing economy," Smith said.

The free training will be for Microsoft software, from basic technology literacy to intermediate-level courses on programmes such as Excel and PowerPoint.


IPL Cricket News

Confident Dhoni the best skipper: Laxman

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 (Hyderabad):He has played under Sourav Ganguly and four other captains but stylish batsman VVS Laxman rates current Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the best, saying he is calm and exudes a lot of confidence.

"Dhoni is one of the best captains I played under," said Laxman, who debuted under Sachin Tendulkar and then played under Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.

"He is so calm and composed. He exudes a lot of confidence. It's a great feeling to play under him," he said in an interview on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old right-hander also lauded opener Gautam Gambhir, who was adjudged man-of-the-series in India's Test series win over New Zealand.

"Gautam really played well. Especially, in the second innings of Napier Test. Batting for more than 10 hours requires a tremendous effort. It was great. He carved and then paced his innings well and played his natural game. It was a very important knock during that match.

"I always call him 'run machine'. He has the appetite for runs. He was consistently doing well in domestic circuit and it was really pleasing to see him start performing at international level."

Laxman felt in the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gambhir, India were "lucky to have a great openers who demoralise the opposition bowlers."

The elegant Hyderabadi batsman also gave credit to coach Gary Kirsten and his support staff for creating a good atmosphere in the Team India dressing room.

"Also the way Gary (Kirsten) is coaching, credit should be given to him and the support staff (Paddy) Upton, (Venkatesh) Prasad, Robin (Singh), all of them have been a great help to all the players," he said.

Laxman, one of the architects of India's historic win in New Zealand, said the epic Kolkata Test of 2001 was the inspiration for the side when it was forced to follow on in the second Test against the Kiwis in Napier.

Laxman said when India was following on after being bowled out for 305 in reply to the Kiwi's 619 in Napier, they recalled the Kolkata Test against Australia and Gambhir went on to score 137 in a marathon 10-hours 43-minute innings.

Laxman himself remained unbeaten on 124 to help India salvage a draw in the match. India's series triumph in New Zealand was the team's first in 41 years.

"There's obviously a lot of similarities. We always remember the Kolkata Test in such circumstances. It (Eden Test) was a historic one that continues to inspire and give confidence whenever you're in trouble," Laxman, who had scored a career best 281 to turn the table on Australia in the Eden Test, said.

The wristy batsman said India -- now on the third spot with 118 rating points in the ICC rankings -- were close to becoming the number one side in the world.

"It was very satisfying for all of us to be a part of history. More importantly, the win gives more confidence now. We are very close to becoming number one in Tests which is our main aim. We are consistently winning Tests abroad," Laxman said.

Laxman said India actually picked up confidence to defeat big teams after their epic 2-1 Test series triumph over Australia, who had won a record 16 Tests on the trot.

"It started changing in (March) 2001 after our historic win in the Eden Test. In fact, that series in totality was a turning point for the Indian cricket. Since then whenever we travel abroad, we have been doing very well.

"After that my first overseas tour was Zimbabwe and we won there. We won another Test in the West Indies... then in England in 2002. Slowly we started winning abroad. Thereafter, we were all very keen do well abroad."

Laxman, who rose to 15th spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, said: "I am very pleased to see my performance. I contributed especially in both the innings (in Napier). I relish performing under pressure. It was one more good knock. Really glad that I could able to contribute for the team's success it makes one happy."

Another reason for success in New Zealand, Laxman said, was the pre-conditioning camp ahead of the Test series.

"It was good that we landed there almost 15 days before the start (of Test series). It was a huge help for most of us. How much you practice in Indian conditions, it's difficult to adapt overseas. We got an opportunity to play first class matches there and it really helped us."

With India's next Test series -- against Sri Lanka --more than four months away, the Deccan Chargers batsman in the Indian Premier League said he was looking forward to the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament in South Africa.

After IPL II, Laxman will play for English county Lancashire.

"My county stint for the next four months will keep me actively involved playing cricket till our next series against Sri Lanka," he signed off.

SRK apologises to Gavaskar, stands by Buchanan's theory

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 (Mumbai):Bollywood superstar and co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL team Shah Rukh Khan, who had criticised Sunil Gavaskar on the issue of multiple-captaincy, has now apologised to the legendary batsman.

"I have not said anything against Gavaskar. I just wanted to have a breathing space to try something new. I have sent him an apology letter if he felt so because he was in America that time," Shah Rukh said before his departure to South Africa, last night.

He said, "due to the wonderful methodology that television applies, that comment was for people who don't understand cricket and are still telling me how to run the team."

"If Gavaskar asks me to walk on my head and run the team, I would. Any thing that Gavaskar says that has to do with cricket, if he mentions, should be followed," the actor said.

The apology comes in wake of Shah Rukh's criticism of Gavaskar, who had lashed out at KKR coach John Buchanan for his proposal to have multiple captains in the team.

Shahrukh said the controversy had hurt him.

"People are making comments without understanding what the concept of multiple captaincy is," he said.

IPL perfect platform to prepare for T20 WC: Gambhir

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 (New Delhi)The Indian Premier League T20 tournament in South Africa will provide India the perfect platform to prepare for their title defence in the World Twenty20 Championships in England in June, feels charismatic opener Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir said getting the opportunity to play some quality Twenty20 cricket during the IPL would definitely act in favour of the defending champions ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

"It's a blessing in disguise for us to play IPL in South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup. We hardly get to play Twenty20 matches. But to get the chance to play 14 to 15 games in IPL against world class players will definitely help us in our preparations for defending the crown," he said.

Gambhir, who has been in dream form in the recent past and was adjudged player of the tournament during India?s historic New Zealand tour, feels any player's success in the international arena depends on his security in the team.

Meanwhile, Gambhir's Delhi Daredevils teammate and opening partner Virender Sehwag feels the bouncy South African pitches will not only assist fast bowlers but batsmen too can derive benefits from them.

"Pacers will undoubtedly have an edge in South Africa because of pace and bounce but that's good for batters too as they can play their shots on such conditions," Sehwag told reporters last night during a send-off event of the Delhi Daredevils team.

The swashbuckling opener, however, rued the opportunity of missing home crowd during the second edition of the IPL in South Africa, which was shifted out of the country this year as it clashes with the general elections.

"We will miss Delhi crowd in South Africa but hopefully, there will be sufficient support for us in South Africa."

Asked about the Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan's controversial? multiple captaincy? theory, Sehwag, who is also the vice-captain of the Indian team, said "No comments."

Interestingly, his team-mate and leg-spinner Amit Mishra ridiculed the concept and said a team should have one skipper for a series.

"There should be one captain for a whole series and I'm happy that we have captain in Viru (Sehwag)," he said.

Latest News in Detail

Tech Mahindra bags Satyam for Rs 1,756 cr

Mumbai:Tech Mahindra on Monday, emerged the highest bidder to acquire Satyam Computer and will pay Rs 1,756 crore to buy a 31 per cent stake in the company.

The telecom software major has paid Rs 58 for a 10-rupee share for subscribing to 30.27 crore shares of the fraud-hit IT company, representing a 31 per cent stake of the total share capital.

"Pursuant to the Share Subscription Agreement, Tech Mahindra has agreed to subscribe to and acquire 30.27 crore shares at Rs 58 per share thereby agreeing to infuse Rs 1,756 crore (USD 351 million)," a Satyam statement said.

Mumbai-based Tech Mahindra, where Mahindra and Mahindra is a promoter with a majority stake and BT has 30 per cent, is a key player in telecom software.

Commenting on the development, Tech Mahindra said its subsidiary Venturebay Consultants has emerged as the highest bidder to acquire a controlling stake in Satyam subject to the approval of the Company Law Board.

Tech Mahindra's share was quoting 12.61 per cent up on the bourses at Rs 360.40.

After getting CLB approval, Satyam Computer will ask Tech Mahindra to make an open offer for another 20 per cent in the company, which if fully subscribed in the first round, will take its stake to 51 per cent. If not subscribed fully by the existing shareholders, there could be a second round of open offer.

Tech Mahindra is required to deposit the Initial Subscription Amount and the requisite escrow amounts for the Public Offer on or before April 21, 2009.

5,000 employees quit Satyam since Sept

Monday , Apr 13, 2009 at 1557 hrs IST,Mumbai:Fraud-hit Satyam Computer, which will soon have a new owner in Tech Mahindra, has lost about 5,000 employees during September-March period of the past fiscal.

"At the end of Q4, the company employee strength was 48,000. Out of these, 43,500 were employees of Satyam Computer stand-alone, and the rest is subsidiaries, contractors and sub-contractors," Chairman of the government-appointed board of Satyam Kiran Karnik said after announcing the highest bidder

for acquiring 31 per cent in the IT company.

However he added that at the end of second quarter, Satyam had 53,000 employees.

"In Q3, about 2,000 associates left Satyam making it 51,000. When the government nominated board took stock of things, it was 51,000 comprising of 45,000 Satyam's stand-alone employees and the remaining from subsidiaries, contractors and sub-contractors," he added.

Satyam Computer, which went through difficult phase after its former promoter B Ramalinga Raju admitted to account frauds.

Political News for this Election

Now, BJP calls PM a night watchman:KOCHI: After repeatedly taunting Manmohan Singh as being "weak", BJP on Monday used cricket language describing the Prime Minister as a "night
watchman."

BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told reporters that Singh was like a 'night watchman' in cricket waiting for a regular batsman to take over.

"He will have to vacate once the Yuvraj Rahul Gandhi gets prepared himself for the post of PM," Prasad said.

Responding to the prime minister
rejecting a suggestion by BJP leader L K Advani for a TV debate, Prasad claimed he was shying away as he had no concrete achievement to offer.

The Indian economy had suffered the most under Singh with price rise and unemployment problem, he said.

Describing Congress as a 'sinking ship', Prasad said the UPA-led by it had collapsed.

Prasad also said it would be the Left bloc which would come to the rescue of Congress in the post-poll scene. "It is just a shadow boxing going on between the two" ,he said.

On the Third Front, he wondered who its Prime Ministerial candidate was. "Mayawati is contesting against CPI(M) in West Bengal. Mayawati's party is contesting against JD(S) in Karnataka," he said.

On RJD-LJP-SP alliance, he said while Lalu Prasad said he would support Singh, Mulayam Singh had taken a different position, saying a decision will be taken after May 16.

‘Iron Man’ Advani melted during Kandahar episode: PM

Mumbai, April 13: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday upped the ante against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani, saying the ‘Iron Man’ had melted during the Kandahar hijack episode.

Interacting with the press after a rally in Mumbai, the Prime Minister said his government did not negotiate with the terrorists during 26/11 attacks unlike the BJP which did so during the IC-814 Indian airlines plane hijack episode in 1999.

“This is the difference between us and the BJP,” Dr Singh told reporters. “Advani had agreed to release the terrorists and subjected Cabinet colleague Jaswant Singh to the humiliation of having personally escorted the terrorists during Kandahar episode to their safe haven,” he added.

Commenting on BJP president Rajnath Singh’s statement that the BJP had consulted him while freeing terrorists to secure the release of hostages, Dr Singh said the statement was false. The PM added that in an interview, Advani had himself said that he was unaware of terrorists being released and sent on a plane to Kandahar.

Unlike the BJP, the UPA government rescued hostages during 26/11 attacks, he stated further.

“Unlike Advani, I will not be found weeping in a corner while hoodlums tear down a centuries-old mosque,” the PM said, in an obvious reference to the razing of Babri Masjid.

“I will not say things in Pakistan that offend every Indian and then abandon my stand when it becomes politically inconvenient within my party,” the PM said further, in a reference to Advani's pro-Jinnah comments.

Commenting on Advani’s invitation for a TV debate, the PM said, “I don’t see why I should confer the status of PM on Advani. I have my five-year record… people should judge me by my performance.”

Hitting back at Advani for his "weak PM" refrain, Dr Singh said speaking loudly did not make a person strong and felt that strength was reflected in the capacity to "act in time and with determination during difficult circumstances".

"Leaders of the country must not mislead the country," he said, adding that Advani must not get away by making "false accusations".

Asked why there was delay in hanging Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru, he said action was being taken as per the law.

On 1984 riots, Gujarat carnage

The Prime Minister meanwhile said that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as also the Gujarat carnage were blots on the secular image of the country.

"I feel both are blots on the secular image of the country. Such things should not happen," he said.

Dr Singh said as an opposition party, Congress had forced the NDA government to take strong action against the Gujarat government in the aftermath of the riots.

Attacking Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the PM further said that no one can claim that Gujarat could be called a developed state since around 1,200 were "butchered" in the riots there.

"I don't think it (Gujarat) has the right to call itself a developed state where 1,200 were butchered (during the riots)," the Prime Minister told reporters. His reaction came to a question on Modi's remarks that other states can emulate Gujarat's development policies.


Advani demands apology from Sonia for attacking BJP

Monday, April 13, 2009 (Thiruvanthapuram) :BJP leader L K Advani on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi for her statement that India was in greater danger from people inside than foreign terrorists, which he said was an implied attack on his party.

Referring to a reported speech of Gandhi in Jharkhand, Advani said he was shocked about her remarks that "we are in greater danger from people inside than from foreign terrorists entering India".

He said though Gandhi did not name his party, it "substantially accuses us and the comments were clear". He said in India, there has been a tradition from the past, even in the 1962 and 1965 wars when late Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri had praised the role of Jan Sangh and RSS.

A rare exception was made in 1963 when Nehru asked the RSS to send a contingent for the Republic Day parade.

"Obviously, she does not know the history of her own party. She makes a statement of this kind. This is slander. She should apologise for this statement or join a debate on fundamentalist issues like Al-Qaida," he said addressing a press conference here.

Advani said Gandhi's statement flew in the face of fact in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks when there was consensus on terrorism and the government had to even come out with a law for strengthening anti-terror measures as always demanded by BJP.

With one month to go for the last phase of election, the BJP leader said it was becoming clear that the fight was between BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led UPA, which he said was disintegrating.

"The so-called Third and Fourth Fronts were irrelevant as they were opportunists, who had no platform on their own or a common platform. The CPI(M) was trying to cobble a Third Front only to fight its own growing irrelevance," he added.


Sports News:

India win Sultan Azlan Shah Cup title

Sunday, April 12, 2009 (Ipoh, Malaysia):India regained the Azlan Shah hockey title after a 13-year gap, defeating hosts Malaysia 3-1 in the finals of the five-nation tournament here on Sunday.

Arjun Halappa (8th minute), Prabhjot Singh (20th) and Shivender Singh (41st) sounded the board for India through neatly worked out field goals, while Misron (11th) reduced the margin for the hosts.

Halappa was adjudged 'Man of the Final', while captain Sandeep Singh was named 'Player of the Tournament'. Sandeep was the top scorer with 7 goals. New Zealand won the award of 'Fair Play'.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand pipped Pakistan 2-1 in a play-off match to secure the third spot at the Azlan Shah Stadium.

High on confidence
after their 3-0 win against Malaysia during the round-robin stage, India, who last won the tournament in 1995, started making forays into the rival half from the word go.

The Indian forwards' efforts bore fruit as early as in the eighth minute of the match when Arjun scored a field goal to give India the lead.

The lead was, however, shortlived as Misron drew parity, much to the delight of the home crowd, in 11th minute through a field goal.

Undeterred, the Indian forwards stepped up the attack and started making repeated inroads into their opponent's citadel and eventually managed to regain the lead when Prabhjot scored through another field goal nine minutes later to go into the breather 2-1.

The Indians, who last year lost in the finals 1-2 at the hands of Argentina, continued to maintain the pressure on the Pakistani defence in the second session as well.

Center-forward Shivender joined the party when it mattered and made it 3-1 just six minutes after the start of the second half.

Trailing 1-3, the hosts tried hard to force their way into the match but the veteran Dilip Tirkey-led Indian defence stood firm and seemed in no mood to give Malaysia any opportunity of a comeback.

With this victory, India enjoy a 3-0 win-loss record over Malaysia in the event. The Indians last time won against the hosts way back in 1985.

Sania-Chuang clinch MPS Group doubles title


Monday, April 13, 2009 (Florida):Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza lifted her first WTA title of the year, teaming up with Chinese Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang to clinch the women's doubles trophy at the $220,000 MPS Group Championships here.

The unseeded duo stunned the top seeded Czech-American combine of Kveta Peschke and Lisa Raymond 6-3 4-6 10-7 in a gruelling one and a half hour battle to nocth up their first title together.

"This was our second tournament together, so we have had a lot more match practice together. Kveta and Lisa have been playing for a long time and they're really experienced, and we're really happy to have beaten them," an elated Sania said after the win that made her and Chuang richer by USD 11,000.

For Sania, it was also her eighth career doubles title and her first in more than a year. The Indian last won a doubles title in August 2007 with Italian Mara Santangelo at the New Haven hard-court event in USA.

"We just played the big points better at the end, I think that was the difference," said Sania.

In an intriguing battle, Sania and Chuang tested their fancied rivals from the very start, earning as many as seven break points in the opening set.

The unseeded duo converted three of the seven breaks it got and saved four of the six breaks it faced to go one-up in the marathon match.

The second set was equally hard-fought but Peschke and Raymond converted a crucial break point to equalise.

However, in the nerve-wracking super tie-breaker, it was Sania and Chuang who kept their cool to seal the issue.

The win continues a successful return from injury for Sania. The Hyderabadi, who had been laid low by a wrist injury for most part of the year gone by, earlier won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi in January.

Latest News in Detail

Special Indian Political News

Modi now terms Congress party a 'gudiya'

12 Apr 2009, 1531 hrs IST, IANS:SHRAWASTI (Uttar Pradesh): After taunting the Congress party with his "budhiya" (aged woman) comments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Sunday termed the 125-year-old national party a "gudiya" (doll).

Addressing a poll rally in this Uttar Pradesh district, Modi said: "Ab mein Congress ko budhiya nahin, gudiya kahoonga (Now I will refer to the Congress not as an aged woman, but a doll).

Modi's "budhiya" comments had evoked sharp criticism from the Congress party, which said he should apologize to women and the elderly. Modi had likened the Congress to an aged woman and said it was a burden on the country.

Taking up cudgels on behalf of the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi, the 37-year-old daughter of party president Sonia Gandhi, had also asked Modi Saturday whether she looked old.

Shrawasti is 300 km from Lucknow.


Priyanka campaigns for Rahul, backs him for PM


Sunday, April 12, 2009 (Amethi):Rahul Gandhi is widely tipped to be the Prime Minister-in-waiting and on Sunday Priyanka Gandhi also gave her brother a big thumbs up.

While campaigning in Amethi, which goes to poll on April 23, she said though Manmohan Singh is the Congress candidate for the top job, this time it is only a matter of time before Rahul takes over the mantle.

When asked about contesting elections herself, she replied by saying 'never say never' in politics.

Priyanka also didn't waste the opportunity to launch an attack on the Samajwadi Party labelling them narrow-minded and their manifesto weird.

"I have never seen such a weird document and I want to know who has written the Samajwadi Party manifesto," she said.

Pravin Mahajan pens 'revealing' book on brother Pramod

12 Apr 2009, 1304 hrs IST, IANS:MUMBAI: Barely three weeks before the third death anniversary of the late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, his brother Pravin
-- undergoing a life-term for killing him -- has come out with a tell-all book.

The book entitled My Album -- around 175 pages -- will be published in Marathi and English soon.

In the book, which Pravin said was inspired within the confines of the prison walls where he is currently lodged, he has dwelt upon several aspects of his elder brother's personal, professional and political life, his principles, his political associates, etc, many of them not exactly laudatory.

In a statement, Pravin's wife Sarangi said: "This book should be treated as an ordinary book. It doesn't include any of the court statements which were in-camera."

However, Sarangi made it clear on Sunday morning that this book is not an autobiography of her husband, merely an authentic account of certain incidents in his life which he experienced.

"It is not directed against any individual, party or group and should not be construed as such," she declared.

Recalling his association with his elder brother, Pravin said that Pramod did everything his way by either "buying" everybody or "scaring" them into submission to his will.

"He symbolized everything in politics, he was a fixer, dealer, double-dealer, conspirator, etc, just like Amar Singh," he has written.

Once, Sharad Pawar had saved Pramod from a major problem. In 1998, Pramod had committed a blunder while filling up his nomination form for Rajya Sabha elections. He had shown his profession as "Advisor to Prime Minister", which was an 'office of profit'.

This was brought to Pramod's notice by Pawar. Pramod immediately rectified it by giving a back-dated resignation letter from his advisory post. The reason, Pravin explained, was that there were seven seats and eight contestants. If Pramod's papers had been rejected, then Pawar's arch-rival Suresh Kalmadi would have been elected unopposed.

Pravin said that in 1984 during the Lok Sabha elections, Pramod declared that politics was his "mission" not "profession". "Then, when did he slip?" the younger brother asks.

He said that between 1998 and 2004, Pramod handled several Lok Sabha and assembly elections around the country. Election times were when a lot of money flowed into the party coffers which he used for "personal pleasure pursuits". He never revealed the sources of his funds to the party and even told Pravin never to do so, the book extract says.

Discussing the family front, Pravin said that his entire family as well as sister-in-law (Pramod's wife) Rekha and her children have suffered a lot.

He cited several disturbing instances in this regard:

"Will my mother deny that Pramod once raised his hand to beat her and isn't Gopinath Munde (sister's husband) aware of this?

"Did Rahul Mahajan (Pramod's son) once not complain to me about his (prospective) wife Shweta's loose character?"

"Did Poonam Mahajan (Pramod's daughter) once not tell me how her father went with some friend to Europe/US in 1992, bringing tears to my eyes? What do Prakash Mahajan (another brother) and Pratima Mahajan (his wife) have to say about this?"

He said that Pramod had become arrogant with his position in the party and the knowledge that he was in the midst of all leaders, ranging from Pawar to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, Pravin said.

On April 22, 2006, Pravin had gone to Pramod's house in Worli and pumped several bullets into his abdomen. After an unsuccessful battle for survival, Pramod passed away on May 3 that year, leaving a void in the BJP.

After a trial by the court, Pravin was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently in jail.

He has said in the introduction to the book that he could picture his entire life like a "documentary film" compelling him to put it down on paper.

SP logs off, says it's not against computers

Sun, Apr 12, 2009:Gorakhpur: Samajwadi Party has clarified that the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha did not at all say anything about stopping use of computers or to ban English education in schools.

Samajwadi Party's youth wing chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav told UNI in Gorakhpur on Sunday that the media report about the SP manifesto on computers and English education was blown out of proportion.

“The party was never anti-computer or teaching of English in schools. But SP always supported that the poor and rural people should not be affected by modern technology or English in the schools”, he said.

“Samajwadi Party always demand for promoting mother tongue as the base of teaching in schools just as it was done in other parts of the world”, he said.

Mr Yadav said the party's manifesto only says that if human labour would be given importance and the work which can be done by human would not be made slave of computer or machines. Commenting on the English schools, the SP youth leader said how can any poor pay so much for their children in such schools.

PTI reported that the BJP on Sunday ridiculed Samajwadi Party for "opposing" the use of computer and English education in its election manifesto, saying the party was "still living in 19th century" while the country was beckoning to lead the world in the 21st century.

“It seems to be a manifesto of a party living in 19th century while the youthful nation is aspiring and beckoning to lead the world in the 21st century,” party spokesperson Siddarth Nath said.

“BJP stands for providing the right talent to the right platform to the youthful nation while we have parties like SP which is opposing computer and English education,” Nath told PTI.

Describing computer education as a means to procure jobs, he said the BJP has promised to create 1.5 crore jobs by extending Indian villages with IT facilities.


Business News:


How IBM is hurting TCS, Infy, Wipro

NEW YORK: International Business Machines Corp is expanding in India and grabbing enough customers to take the top spot in the country’s domesti
c information technology market from local rivals.

While Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies have won over US companies with cheaper labor and low capital costs, IBM snapped up contracts with some of India’s largest companies, such as wireless carrier Bharti Airtel.
The strategy will yield dividends for IBM over time as India’s economy thrives, Kaufman Bros.’s Karl Keirstead said.

“They’ve beaten their competition relatively handily,” said the New York-based analyst, who pointed to IBM’s brand name and experience as draws for potential clients. “There’s a cachet in using IBM.”

IBM has hired more than 70,000 employees in India, taking advantage of the “hyper-growth” there by helping domestic companies develop infrastructure, said Sandip Patel, managing partner for services in the country. IBM also may attract new customers from India’s Satyam Computer Services, embroiled in the nation’s largest accounting scandal.

India is slowly transforming from a back office -- a place where companies send work to cut costs -- to a coveted domestic market with fast-growing companies, Patel said. The services market is worth almost $5 billion, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

India’s economy will grow 5.3 percent in the year starting April 1, the International Monetary Fund said in March. The US economy will shrink 2.6 percent this year, IMF projects. IBM’s sales from India increased more than from any other country in the past three years.

Building infrastructure IBM snapped up contracts from Bharti, India’s largest mobile-phone operator, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, the former partner of Goldman Sachs Groups in India. IBM is helping emerging markets develop, as opposed to just focusing on cost cuts, said Edward Jones & Co. analyst Andy Miedler.

“They’re focusing on how they can help emerging governments become the big governments of tomorrow,” he said. “One of the key ways you can do that is build the computing infrastructure.”

Now, Lakshmi Mittal tops soccer rich list

New York, April 12: Football may be a poor cousin of cricket in the Indian sports arena, but the game has earned India-born business tycoon Lakshmi Mittal a place in yet another rich list — the world's richest soccer club owner.

In a ranking of the world's 10 richest owners of professional soccer
clubs, Mittal has been named at the top by American business publication Forbes and is the only person in the list with India connection.

"Lakshmi Mittal, operator of the world's largest steel company, is the richest — despite his team not being worth all that much. Mittal is a stakeholder in Queen's Park Rangers, a team that doesn't even play in England's top league," Forbes said in a report.

In its annual ranking of the world's richest people released last month, Forbes had named Mittal at the eighth place with a net worth of USD 19.3 billion. He has moved down from his fourth position a year ago, as his net worth plunged by a massive 60 percent.

Like Mittal, most of other billionaire owners of soccer clubs have also witnessed a sharp jolt of plunging fortunes, but it cannot be attributed to their soccer team ownership.

Sports News

Ipoh (Malaysia):

Skipper Sandeep Singh continued his goal-scoring spree as India pipped Pakistan 2-1 to reach the final of the five-nation Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh on Saturday.

The in-form Sandeep, leading goal scorer for his side in the tournament, struck twice in the 28th and 60th minutes to seal the win in the do-or-die tie at the Azlan Shah Stadium. For Pakistan, Mohamed Saqlain reduced the margin in the 50th minute.

With this win, India sealed their place in tomorrow's final with eight points in their kitty. Sandeep led from the front in the crucial encounter against the traditional rivals, scoring on either side of the break and then ensuring that India does not succumb to their perennial habit of conceding late goals.

After 28 minutes of mid-field scramble by both the sides, India finally took the lead though Sandeep to go into the breather with a 1-0 lead.

Trailing by a goal, Pakistan came out all guns blazing in the second half and made repeated unsuccessful forays into the Indian penalty area before Saqlain drew parity in the 50th minute.

Stung by the reverse, India, who needed a victory to ensure their place in the final, attacked with purpose and regained lead 10 minutes later with Sandeep again founding the cage.

Although Pakistan tried hard for the equaliser in the dying stages of the match, the Indian defence stood firm and ensured that there were no last moment hiccups.


Sania-Chuang in final of MPS Group Championships

12 Apr 2009, 1104 hrs IST, PTI :FLORIDA: Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang extended their brilliant run by sailing into the final of the MPS Group of Championships
after a convinc
ing straight set victory over Liga Dekmeijere and Angela Haynes.

The unseeded Indo-Taipei pair carved out a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Latvian-American pair in the semi-final match in just one hour and eight minutes.

In the summit clash, Sania and Chuang will fight it out against top seeded pair Kveta Peschke of Czech Republic and Lisa Raymond of United States, who scored a 4-6, 7-5, 15-13 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycov and Caroline Wozniacki
in their semi-final match.

Sania and Chuang converted both the breakpoints that came their way to race away with the first set apart from saving two on their own serve.

The second set saw a fierce fight as both the teams traded seven breaks but it was Sania-Chuang who managed to get the maximum out of those chances.

They dropped their serve thrice but broke their rivals four times to emerge winners.

Slap-gate distant past, Bhajji focussed on good show

Last year's slapping row with S Sreesanth and the subsequent ban firmly behind him, feisty Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh says he is focussed on making an impact in the Indian Premier League's second edition.

"I missed the whole IPL last year because of reasons well known. But I'm looking forward to come back and it should be nice against Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and all these big guys," said Harbhajan, who was banned from inaugural IPL season after playing only three matches for Mumbai Indians for slapping Sreesanth.

Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali for which he was banned for 11 matches which cost him around Rs three crore.

The Punjab off-spinner, who was in prime form during India's just-concluded tour of New Zealand scalping 16 wickets, said the main reason Team India has been doing well is that the players are no more insecure about their place in the side.

"Why we are winning is because we are playing good cricket. Everyone is performing, everyone is willing to be a champion. A lot of credit must go to the support staff and team management for giving the surety to all the players that they would be getting at least 10-15 games. That gives a player a lot of confidence," Harbhajan told a cricket website.

"This team has a lot of talent of course like Viru (Sehwag), Gautam (Gambhir), Yuvraj (Singh), (MS) Dhoni, (Suresh) Raina ... who have been doing big things which helps us believe we can win anywhere in any sort of conditions," Harbhajan said.

"Probably that was lacking earlier, but now everyone is confident. They are not worried about their places, people go out to play for the team rather than playing for themselves."

Harbhajan's six-wicket haul in the second innings in Hamilton inspired India to a 10-wicket win, their first in 33 years in New Zealand before taking seven wickets in the drawn final Test in Wellington.

"It is always challenging bowling abroad - you don't get much spin, bounce. You do get bounce but you don't get sideways spin. It is always drifting kind of spin you get.

Also with Anil bhai not being there it was challenging and there was a lot of responsibility on me as the senior spinner to do well. This was my third tour there and I'm glad that my wickets came at the right time - we won the game in Hamilton and we almost won it in Wellington, too."

Harbhajan has now set his sights on a Test century and for this he said he would take tips from Sachin Tendulkar, his Mumbai Indians captain.

"One day I will get my hundred. I would like to spend time with Sachin, who has got so many centuries, and probably he can advise me to slow down or what I need to do to get from 60 to 100."

He admitted Twenty20 was a batsman's game but the bowlers will have to be brave and patient to earn success in this format.

"It is tough on bowlers. You need to be little more brave and smart and go with the flow. In this format you need to be smart rather than bowling magic balls."