Microsoft To Launch Free Anti-virus Named ‘Morro’ Soon
Microsoft Corp in a quest to provide complete security to its OS users would soon be launching its own antivirus app Code named-‘Morro’. Microsoft also informed that the early version of the product is currently tested by its employees and would soon make a beta product available online before going for a launch at the end of 2009.
The Anti-Virus Software
Anti-virus app ‘Morro’ would provide full–time protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans .Although many are terming it as stripped down version of earlier shelved Live OneCare.
This news assumes significance as this antivirus would be completely free and would provide higher level of security due to close knit approach with Windows OS.Microsoft may be able to provide a great solution due to control over anonymous usage statistics of millions of PC’s.
This has sound alarms for commercial Anti-virus companies like Symantec,kaspersky and McAfee, earning majority of their revenues by protecting Windows PCs all these years. These companies also has significant presence in enterprise security market and attracts huge revenues from it.
Today many users are forced to buy paid anti-virus to fight higher level of threats unleashed by malicious programmes and viruses.The availability of anti-virus app by Microsoft itself would avoid the security dilemma faced by OS users and may also increase its legal OS sales in emerging markets.
Microsoft through this initiative is trying to ramp up confidence amongst its customers, at the same time opening up a new revenue stream in future.The move may be late timed but indeed serve great purpose for users craving about better anti-virus integration in windows OS.
How Does Google Store All of its Data?
Ever wonder how Google manages all their information? Imagine Gmail, it has to keep track of the billions of emails that get sent out each day regardless of whether or not it is spam.
A Database?
My first thought was a database. But if you think about it, if e-mails were stored in a single database table, it would have billions of rows added each day. This just isn’t possible nor is it efficient when performing a search. So Google cannot possibly store their data in a database… at least not in the traditional MySQL sense.
After a bit of digging around, I found an interesting document written by some of Google’s main architect that describes their file system in great detail. It turns out Google uses a distributed file system spread over many machines. It offers huge storage (hundreds of terabytes) over thousands of machines and thousands of disks.
The advantage of this type of system is redundancy and low cost. Their servers are not top of the line but clustering many of them together creates a highly cost-effective file system.
It’s what Yahoo Does
The owner of the largest database in the world, Yahoo!, takes on a similar approach: clusters of cheap computers that form a distributed file system. In fact, if a computer breaks down, it’s usually cheaper and faster to throw away the computer and replace it with a new one than it is to repair it.
So if you have a bunch of old computers sitting around at home, don’t throw them out just yet… you could create your own distributed file system!
Courtesy: www.jonlee.ca
Shah Rukh Khan’s shoulder surgery successful
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Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh khan
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Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh khan’s shoulder surgery ended successfully on February 16, 2009. Earlier in the day Khan was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital for the operation.
The actor injured his shoulder while shooting for the film ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’. This is Shah Rukh’s 2nd shoulder surgery. The actor decided to get himself operated in Mumbai to avoid the sort of criticism that came his way after he chose to be operated on by doctors in London for a back problem in 2003, says a friend of the actor.
“When he got his back surgery done in London there was criticism about his lack of faith in Indian doctors. Shah Rukh feels that some of the finest doctors in the world are in Mumbai and so he sees no need to go to the West for treatment,” Khan’s friend said.
Post the surgery Khan will be out of action for at least 2 months. Arriving in Mumbai from London, Shah Rukh spoke to the media about his injury. “I will be fine and get back to work in 2 to 3 months. I believe this is a little price that I have to pay for all the goodness that I have got in life”, the very optimistic actor said.
Despite his painful shoulder, Shah Rukh chose to promote his new film “Billu” vigorously during the Valentine week. “After attending the special screening of “Billu” for hairdressers in Mumbai on Feb 12, 2009, Shah Rukh flew to London with Lara Dutta and Irrfan Khan for the film’s premiere. He came back to Mumbai on Feb 15, 2009 to prepare for Monday’s (Feb 16, 2009) surgery,” the friend said.
Shah Rukh will need to rest for a month after the surgery, which has put on hold the filming of Karan Johar’s “My Name Is Khan” till March 14, 2009. But Johar, a close friend of the superstar, is not worried. “Films will keep happening. Shah Rukh needs to be well,” Johar said.
Timeline: Career of Sourav Ganguly
June, 1996: Scores century against England at Lord’s on Test debut and follows it up
with another century in the very next Test at Trent Bridge.
August, 1997: Scores his first ODI century in Colombo against Sri Lanka in his 32nd
match.
September, 1997: Leading scorer and wicket-taker in the Sahara Cup as India thrash
Pakistan 4-1. He scored 222 runs at 55.5 and 15 wickets at 10.66. Wins four
Man-of-the-Match awards in five matches and Man of the Series.
November-December, 1997:Top scorer and Man of the Series in the three-Test home
series against Sri Lanka with 392 runs at an average of 98.
May, 1999:Scores 183 in Taunton against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, then highest ODI
score by an Indian.
September, 1999: Captains India for the first time in the Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge
tournament, against West Indies after Tendulkar pulled out due to a sore back.
February, 2000: Joins Lancashire.
February, 2000: Named captain for the five-ODI home series against South Africa after
Tendulkar relinquished post.
March, 2001: Led India to 2-1 win against Australia at home in a historic Test series.
November, 2001: Ganguly and five other Indian players are warned for excessive
appealing during the Port Elizabeth Test by match-referee Mike Denness. Handed a
suspended ban for one Test match and two one-day international matches.
July, 2002: Takes off shirt at the Lord’s balcony after win in the NatWest Trophy final.
April, 2004: Becomes the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan. Also with
15 Test wins, he becomes India’s most successful captain.
October, 2004: India lose home series against Australia, first time after 35 years.
March, 2005: Draws home series against Pakistan.
April, 2005: Banned for six matches for a slow-over rate during ODI series in Pakistan.
India lose series 2-4 to Pakistan.
September, 2005: Reveals in Zimbabwe that then coach Greg Chappell had asked him
to step down from captaincy.
November, 2005:End of five-year reign as Test captain as Rahul Dravid takes over the
reins against Sri Lanka.
January 2006: Picked for the Test series in Pakistan.
December, 2006: Picked for Test series against South Africa, returns as leading
run-getter.
January, 2007: Scores 98 in his ODI comeback in Nagpur against West Indies.
July-August, 2007:Scores 249 runs at 49.80 in India’s series win in England to
cement his place in both Test and ODI squads.
November-December, 2007: Top scorer (534) and man of the series in the three-
Test series against Pakistan. Scores first Test century at his home ground at Eden
Gardens. Slams his first double-century in Bangalore.
December 2007-January 2008: A mixed Test series in Australia (235 runs at 29.37,
two half-centuries). Axed from ODI squad.
October, 2008: Announces retirement after the Test series against Australia.
Tendulkar, Dravid salute ‘Inspirational’ Dada
New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, the two most celebrated peers of Sourav Ganguly, on Wednesday paid tributes to the retiring member of the ‘Fab Four’, saying the Bengal stalwart had been a fount of inspiration for his team-mates during his glorious international career.
“He just had a way with people and inspired others with his performances,” Tendulkar told cricketnirvana.
“He’s had a brilliant career and I for one have thoroughly enjoyed playing with him. There have been some memorable moments that he has given to the game and also the immense joy he has given to the team,” said Tendulkar, who had tipped Ganguly as captain when he stepped down from the hot seat in 2000.
Dravid said Ganguly has achieved everything that any cricketer could possibly want in his career.
“What more could he have asked for? He’s seen it all. Played some fascinating knocks in one-dayers; batted well in Tests at home and away; won Tests abroad and led India to a World Cup final,” Dravid said.
“It’s been special to have been part of a middle-order alongside him. I hope I learnt something from him and added something to his cricket,” he added.
Both, however, admitted they were taken by surprise when Ganguly informed of his decision to retire after the series against Australia.
“It came as a surprise as he told us in the dressing room that he was quitting. It was towards the end of practice and I was surprised. I could not even talk to him since he had to rush to the press conference,” revealed Tendulkar.
Ganguly voted Bengali No. 1: Oh Calcutta!
The Bengali No 1 poll on CNN-IBN has come to an end. Cricketer Sourav Ganguly wins the poll with 59 per cent votes.
“It is great to win. Whether number one or 100. I am proud to be a Bengali”,says the cricketer after winning the poll.
Here is a gist of the final result of the poll –.
At the bottom of the list, at number five are Ganesh Pyne and Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri. The two who draw inspiration from Bengali culture, only managed to inspire 0.1 per cent of the vote.
Sarod Maestro Ali Akbar is at number four and it may not be music to his ears to know. He got 0.3 per cent of your votes.
It’s a crowd at number three. Economist Mohammad Yunus, Sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar, Physicist Ashoke Sen, Chess Champion Dibyendu Barua and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen come away with 0.5 per cent of the votes.
She sets the big screen on fire. But Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee doesn’t rule this chart anymore. With a 38 per cent of the votes, she’s at number two.
And at the number one spot is Cricketer Sourav Ganguly. His current cricket career notwithstanding, Dada is the winner of this poll, with a cool 59 per cent of the votes.
- Sourav Ganguly 59.154 per cent
- Rani Mukherjee 38.921 per cent
- Amartya Sen 0.612per cent
- Dibyendu Barua 0.483 per cent
- Ashoke Sen 0.183 per cent
- Ravi Shankar 0.166 per cent
- Muhammad Yunus 0.145 per cent
- Ali Akbar 0.12 per cent
- Ganesh Pyne 0.098 per cent
I was hurt so I quit: Sourav Ganguly
He stunned the media and the cricket fraternity with his sudden announcement to retire from international cricket.
Now Sourav Ganguly has finally broken his silence on the move and says he was hurt at not being included in the squad for the Irani Triophy.
“I didn’t like the way I was dropped from Irani Trophy and that is when I decided to quit. It took me around 2 weeks to come to this decision,” he said.
Ganguly also said his family has been supportive of his decision. “I didn’t want to create a big fuss over this. I know my family will be disappointed but I had to do this sooner or later,” he said.
The “Prince of Kolkata” also recalled his favourite moment. “That has to be my first Test at Lords,” he said.
Fed up?
Chairman of selectors Krisnamachari Srikkanth on Tuesday revealed Sourav Ganguly was fed up with the uncertainty over his place in the side and decided to end his international career with his head held high.
“We had a chat in the morning. He (Ganguly) also talked to the coach and the team members. I think he has taken the right decision. Probably he felt every now and then the axe was on him. He felt he wanted to play without such things on his mind,” Srikkanth was quoted by agencies as saying.
Life after Cricket for India’s ‘Seniors’
One down, four to go. The clock is ticking, and after Sourav Ganguly decided to hang up his boot, it is ticking at a rapid speed for the rest of India’s ’senior’ players. Anil Kumble has already hinted that he might go the Ganguly way and call it a day after the Australia series. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, all on the wrong side of 30, will be now facing the heat.
It is just a matter of time before the other pillars of Indian cricket decide or are told that it is time for them to go too. So, what next for the men who have lived with the bat and the ball as constant companions?
Sourav Ganguly: In an international career that has spanned over 16 years, Ganguly has paid keen interest to his off-field businesses. A chain of restaurants are only an add-on to the publishing business his family has owned for decades. ‘Dada’ also has a stake in a multi national sports management company.
Considering his demi-god status in West Bengal, if he considers politics as a career option, it can be safe to say that unlike the Indian selectors, political parties will go all out to have him in their ‘team’.
Sachin Tendulkar: Cricket has always been his life and India’s master batsman will surely have a tough time when he decides to live life after cricket. But he has a thriving business in the form of a restaurant called ‘Tendulkar’s’ in the heart of Mumbai.
Commentary might not be a great idea for Tendulkar for obvious reasons but a cricket academy in his name will surely rake in admissions nineteen to a dozen with the hopes of parents across the nation to breed the ‘next Sachin Tendulkar’.
Anil Kumble: India’s Test captain, Anil Kumble is a qualified mechanical engineer and along with his brother Dinesh, promotes a software company called ‘StumpVision’ which has spinned several softwares for cricket lovers.
With his deep baritone, the eloquent Kumble might be already on the radar of several sports channels to hire him as a TV commentator.
Rahul Dravid: ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket has had his focus just on the game so far and when he decides to quit, he will need a different thinking hat to consider his options. With his orthodox defence and copybook shotmaking ability, Dravid might do well as a batting coach.
He is also said to be one of the most good looking men to have played the game and a career in movies, can mean India finally gets its first cricketer-turned-filmstar, though he might have to work a tad on his emoting skills.
VVS Laxman: Born in a family of doctors, Laxman made the bat his instrument and with almost surgical precision cut the lethal Aussies in several pieces more than once.
He left his MBBS course midway to take up cricket as a full-time profession. Now that the time to bid adieu to the game is not far, the Hyderabad batsman might like to hit the medical books instead of cricket balls a la Main hoon na.
Infosys crosses one-lakh employee mark
10/10/2008 2:02:42 PM
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Nothwithstanding the pressure on the IT job market from fears of an economic slowdown, IT major Infosys has become the second technology firm in the country to cross the one-lakh employee mark after industry leader TCS.
Infosys and its subsidiaries added 10,117 employees in the second quarter of this fiscal that ended on September 30, taking the total head-count to 1,00,306 employees.
“We reached the milestone of crossing 1,00,000 employees,” Head HRD and Education Research and Member of Board T V Mohandas Pai said.
This puts Infosys in the league of another Indian IT giant TCS, which had over 1,16,308 employees on its payrolls at the end of the previous quarter. The net addition for Infosys stood at 5,927 during the second quarter.
During the quarter, the IT job market was under pressure due to the global financial crisis. Many IT firms had also postponed some of the new recruitments for next quarter. Analysts feel that due to a slowdown in the US economy, Indian IT companies, who mostly depend on the US market for their revenue, had postponed joining dates of new recruits, raising doubts about their future.
However, the IT giant joining the big leagues of one-lakh plus employers would send some positive signals in the job market, they added. The software major today announced a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,432 crore for the second quarter, a 30.18 per
cent growth over the corresponding period a year-ago.
However, the results failed to cheer up its shares, which dipped to an intra-day low of Rs 1,040, down over 17 per cent from its previous closing price.
Life of a Google Query
Technology Overview
the “perfect search engine,” defined by co-founder Larry Page as something that, “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.” To that end, we have persistently pursued innovation and refused to accept the limitations of existing models. As a result, we developed our serving infrastructure and breakthrough PageRank™ technology that changed the way searches are conducted.
From the beginning, our developers recognized that providing the fastest, most accurate results required a new kind of server setup. Whereas most search engines ran off a handful of large servers that often slowed under peak loads, ours employed linked PCs to quickly find each query’s answer. The innovation paid off in faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs. It’s an idea that others have since copied, while we have continued to refine our back-end technology to make it even more efficient.
The software behind our search technology conducts a series of simultaneous calculations requiring only a fraction of a second. Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page. We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. We then conduct hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we’re able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.
- PageRank Technology: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page’s importance.
- Hypertext-Matching Analysis: Google also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), our technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word. We also analyze the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user’s query.
Google innovations don’t stop at the desktop. To give people access to the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it, we continue to develop new mobile applications and services that are more accessible and customizable. And we’re partnering with industry-leading carriers and device manufacturers to deliver these innovative services globally. We’re working with many of these industry leaders through the Open Handset Alliance to develop Android, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform, which will offer people a less expensive and better mobile experience.
Life of a Google Query
The life span of a Google query normally lasts less than half a second, yet involves a number of different steps that must be completed before results can be delivered to a person seeking information.
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3. The search results are returned to the user in a fraction of a second. |
1. The web server sends the query to the index servers. The content inside the index servers is similar to the index in the back of a book – it tells which pages contain the words that match the query. | ||
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2. The query travels to the doc servers, which actually retrieve the stored documents. Snippets are generated to describe each search result. |  |
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An Article by a Pakistani Writer
The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese.
In November, Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.
In November, comes Neeta’s birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani’s wife, and Mukesh is not India’s richest but the second richest.
Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh’s new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there’s a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for Ambani family’s guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home.
In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination. Pakistan wasn’t even in the top 25 countries. In 2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than Delhi.
Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians.
For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard’s E-speak project. Four out of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.
For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire).
The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani’s father, left his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$ 63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion).
Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don’t?
Indians elect their leaders.
‘தேசிய திராவிட மக்கள் முன்னேற்றக் கழகம்’ – புதிய கட்சி
‘தேசிய திராவிட மக்கள் முன்னேற்றக் கழகம்’ என்ற பெயரில் புதிய கட்சி ஆரம்பித்து கொடியையும் அறிமுகப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறார்கள், கோவையைச் சேர்ந்த சில ரஜினி ரசிகர்கள்.
தமிழகம் முழுவதிலும் உள்ள ரஜினியின் ரசிகர்கள் அவர் அரசியலுக்கு வரவேண்டுமென்று கோரிக்கை விடுத்தும் போஸ்டர்கள் ஒட்டியும் தங்கள் விருப்பத்தை தெரிவித்து வருகின்றனர்.
குறிப்பாக, குசேலன் தோல்விக்குப் பிறகு பலரும் ரஜினியின் செல்வாக்கு சரிந்து விட்டதாகக் கூறிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் இந்த் தருணத்தில் தங்கள் தலைவர் அரசியலுக்கு வந்து தனது செல்வாக்கை நிரூபிக்க வேண்டும் என விரும்புகின்றனர்.
ஆனால் ரஜினியோ இந்த நிமிடம் வரை தனது முடிவு குறித்து தெரிவிக்கவில்லை.
சிவப்பு, வெள்ளை, கறுப்பு என 3 நிறங்களைக் கொண்டுள்ள கொடியில் நடுவில் நீல நிறத்தில் நட்சத்திரம் அதன் நடுவே சூப்பர் ஸ்டார் ரஜினி காந்தின் உருவம் பொரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
கடந்த வாரமே சிரஞ்சீவியின் பிரஜாராஜ்ஜியம் என்ற பெயரையொட்டி, ரஜினி ராஜ்ஜியம் என்ற பெயரில் ரஜினி ரசிகர்கள் கோவை முழுவதும் போஸ்டர்களை ஒட்டி பரபரப்பை ஏற்படுத்தியிருந்தனர் என்பது நினைவிருக்கலாம்.
கோவா ஷூட்டிங் முடிந்ததும் தனது ரசிகர்களைச் சந்திக்கும் ரஜினி இந்த விஷயத்தில் தனது முடிவை அறிவிப்பார் என்ற எதிர்பார்ரபோடும், தமிழகம் முழுக்க இன்னும் பரபரப்பான அரசியல் போஸ்டர்களை அடித்து வருகிறார்கள் ரஜினி ரசிகர்கள்.
நான் ‘பலிகடா’: கங்குலி ஆவேசம்
பெங்களூரு: “”தேர்வு குழுவினர் என்னை மோசமாக நடத்தினர். இனிமேலும் என்னை பலிகடா ஆக்க வேண்டாம் என்ற எண்ணத்தில் தான் ஓய்வை அறிவித்தேன்,” என்கிறார் கங்குலி. இந்திய அணியின் வெற்றி கேப்டனாக திகழ்ந்தவர் கங்குலி. இவர் ஆஸ்திரேலிய தொடருக்கு பின் சர்வதேச கிரிக் கெட்டில் இருந்து ஓய்வு பெறப்போவதாக திடீரென அறிவித்தார். இதற்கு இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் போர்டின் நிர்ப்பந்தம் தான் காரணம் என கூறப்படுகிறது.
நெருக்கடி கொடுத்தனர்: இந்நிலையில் வெங்சர்க்கார் தலைமையிலான தேர்வு குழுவினர் தன்னை பலிகடா ஆக்கிவிட்டதாக கங்குலி குற்றம் சாட்டியுள்ளார். இது குறித்து அவர் அளித்த பேட்டி: தேர்வாளர்களின் கருணையில் விளையாட வேண்டிய அவசியம் எனக்கு இல்லை. ஒரு தொடருக்கு வாய்ப்பு தருவார்கள். ஆனால், அடுத்த தொடரிலிருந்து நீக்கிவிடுவார்கள். எப்போதும் என்னை தான் “பலிகடா’ ஆக்குகிறார்கள். இது நீடிக்க வேண் டாம் என்ற எண்ணத்துடன் ஓய்வு பெற முடிவு செய் தேன். உங்கள் தலையில் துப்பாக்கியை வைத்தால், அதை எவ்வளவு நேரம் தான் பொறுத்து கொள்வீர்கள். 450 போட்டிகள் விளையாடிய பின்பும் எனக்கு நெருக்கடி கொடுக்கிறார்கள். தூக்கம் வரவில்லை: இரானி கோப்பைக்கான அணியிலிருந்து நீக்கப்படுவேன் என கொஞ்சமும் எதிர்பார்க்கவில்லை. இதனால் ஏற்பட்ட காயம் ஆறவில்லை. சொல்ல முடியாத வேதனை காரணமாக ஒரு மாதம் எனக்கு தூக்கம் வரவில்லை. புதிய தேர்வு குழுவினர் மூன்று ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னரே பொறுப்பேற்றிருந்தால், நிலைமை வேறு மாதிரி இருந்திருக்கும். சிலர் தாங்கள் சேர்த்த ரன்களை விட அதிக முறை “ஹேர் ஸ்டைலை’ மாற்றியுள்ளனர். இவர்களுக்கு அணியில் தொடர்ந்து இடம் அளிக் கப்படுகிறது. சிறப்பாக விளையாடிய போதும் என்னை நீக்கிவிட்டார்கள். எனக்குரிய மதிப்பு கிடைக்கவில்லை. இவ்வாறு கங்குலி தெரிவித்தார்.
Rivals Vijay Mallya and Naresh Goyal meet; may form tie-up
Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya, owners of Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, met on Monday leading to speculation that the country’s two top private airlines are heading for a tie-up.
Goyal and Mallya held a closed-door meeting held at the headquarters of Jet Airways in Mumbai. Sources tell the two airlines are working on a major agreement to cut down losses by forming tie-ups on domestic and international routes.
The deal could even eventually lead to a merger, the sources say. The sales and marketing teams of Jet Airways and Kingfisher will work together. Kingfisher plans for the US market stand suspended.
The Indian airline industry, battered by mounting losses, has been asking the Central Government for a bailout worth Rs 5,000 crore. Jet and Kinfisher are losing an estimated amount of up to Rs 20 crore a day.
Goyal and Mallya, both leading representatives of the Federation of Indian Airlinies, could also discuss the bailout demands.
“Yes, Dr Mallya and Mr Goyal have met today (Monday),” said a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson. “I would not like to comment on anything at this juncture,” the spokesperson told PTI.
A Correspondent says a merger between the two airlines is unlikely and they are looking at close cooperation. The cooperation would be in the form of two airlines sharing their teams for sales marketing and ground handling.
Kingfisher is not working well on the London route, so Jet could give it seats on this route. Cooperation on domestic routes as well. It may not be good news for consumers, as the partnership between the two airlines could create a monopoly of sort.
After battling draw, it’s the war of words
Zaheer’s comments were in context of Australia’s run rate — which stayed under three — in both the innings, as well as the defensive fields set by Ricky Ponting, who employed a sweeper on both sides of the wicket for most parts.
But Ponting, who addressed the media after the match, said that the Indian pacer didn’t know what he was talking about. “We were the only ones here trying to take the game forward. We played aggressive cricket. I’m not sure what he means by that (statement). He can have a little bit of a chuckle to himself on the inside, that’s what I have to say to him. I don’t think it means too much to us,” he said. Later he added that it was the Indian team that was known to play for draws.
Ponting did admit though that his side missed a quality spinner. “A quality spinner might have made things a little different today. We’ve got a couple of days to recover from this game now and we hope to play hard Cricket in Mohali as well,” he said.
Jet-Kingfisher invites Air India to join in
Rajini makes a stunning, alarming announcement
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Rajini from Goa to be able to hold a meeting where they will request him onc
e again to enter politics. Rajini returned from the Endhiran shoot this morning and made a stunning announcement
regarding this.
He issued a directive saying in no uncertain terms that no fans or fans should be involved in any political activity. Any fan or fan club doing so will be excommunicated. It will be recalled that when some members of the Coimbatore fan club showed signs of political activity, they were asked to leave the fan club.
It would seem that the Superstar is sending a clear message to fans what his pending decision is going to be!
Motorola introduces touchscreen phone
Motorola Inc, the world’s third-biggest phone maker, unveiled a touch-sensitive phone to be sold by Verizon Wireless, as both companies look to compete with Apple Inc’s iPhone.Motorola, which has been losing ground in the cell phone market as it has failed to come up with a hit phone to replace its once-lauded Razr, said the Krave ZN4 would go on sale on Tuesday for $149.99 after rebates to customers who sign a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless.
The Krave has a see-through cover that flips open to uncover a touchscreen virtual keypad, but users can also access popular features such as mobile television and navigation by pressing their fingers on the cover without opening the phone.
For several years Motorola has sold a touchscreen phone called the Ming that has been popular in China, but it has focused on phones with physical keypads in the United States, where it is the market leader.
A Letter to Every Indian – Dr. APJ. Abdul Kalam
A Letter to Every Indian – APJ
The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ’s Speech in Hyderabad .
Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don’t work, the railways are a joke. The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name – ‘YOURS’. Give him a face – ‘YOURS’. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don’t throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity… In Singapore you don’t say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn’t dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, ’see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.’YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, ‘Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so’s son. Take your two bucks and get lost.’ YOU wouldn’t chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .
Why don’t YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan.
Will the Indian citizen do that here?’ He’s right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? ‘It’s the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons’ rights to a dowry.’ So who’s going to change the system?
What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one’s conscience too…. I am echoing J. F. Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians…..
‘ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY’
Lets do what India needs from us.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalam
Parliament session starts, ‘fireworks’ expected
The economic crisis will be the big issue after Parliament reconvenes on Friday even as the session is expected to be a short one.
The session is also expected to be stormy with the United Progressive Alliance Government facing fire from the Opposition on many other issues.
With General Elections next year and five states going to polls starting November 14, there are many issues like the global financial crisis and its impact on the Indian economy, terror attacks, communal riots, price
rise and the Indo-US nuclear deal, which the Opposition will try to raise.
It could also be the last session under the leadership of Manmohan Singh.
But with elections for Assemblies of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Mizoram already announced, there are many who feel that there is no point of continuing with a month-long session.
So it might well be cut short by at least 10 days to allow leaders to campaign aggressively in a poll that is already been billed as mini General Election.
“Whenever we need to have something, we will discuss it. There is no hard and fast position on that because political exigencies can definitely come,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said.
An estimated Rs 25000 are spent per minute on Parliament’s activity.
Tendulkar breaks Lara’s record
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Sachin Tendulkar broke Brian Lara’s record for most Test runs in the final session of day one in Mohali when he hit Peter Siddle to third man for two runs. The record stood for nearly two years after Lara played his final Test and it was inevitable that Tendulkar would eventually break it. Incidentally, he is also one-day cricket’s leading run-scorer with 16,631 runs.
Tendulkar was expected to attain the feat in Sri Lanka recently but he endured a poor series with the bat, scoring just 95 runs in three Tests. It was only fitting, though, that he achieved the record against Australia, a team he has tormented several times in the past.
Coincidentally, Lara too achieved the world record against Australia, when he went past Allan Border’s tally of 11,174 runs during the Adelaide Test in 2005. They remain the only three players to cross the 11,000-run mark in Tests. Though it is uncertain how long Tendulkar will prolong his Test career – which has lasted 19 years – the two players who stand the best chance of beating his eventual tally are Rahul Dravid (10,341) and Ricky Ponting (10,239).
Sensex falls below 10K, first time in 2 years
Melting stock prices on Friday pulled down the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex below the 10,000 point mark for the first time in over two years.
The 30-share index, which opened higher by 205 points, tumbled by 582.76 points to 9,998.73 in pre-close trading, a level last seen in June 2006.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, which gained 66.65 points at the initial stage, plunged by 196.35 points, or 6 per cent at 3,072.95 points at the same time.
All the sectoral indices, led by realty sector were ruling in the red with steep falls, dragging the Sensex down.
Morning trade
Markets have turned volatile after bouncing back in early trade. Buying is seen in technology, capital goods and oil stocks, while selling in banking, few metal, pharma and FMCG stocks.
At 1022 hrs IST, the Sensex rose 5.90 points to 10,587 and the Nifty gained 16 points to 3,285. BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices rose 0.8 per cent each.
Top losers are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Sterlite Industries, Tata Communication, SBI, DLF, Reliance Communication, HDFC, Tata Power and HUL. However, gainers are Wipro, ONGC, L&T, HCL Tech, Cairn India, TCS, Reliance Industries and ITC.
Breadth is negative; about 1363 shares have advanced while 1583 shares have declined. Nearly 242 shares are unchanged.
Markets @ 0956 hrs IST: Nifty stands above 3300; Cap Goods, IT, Realty stocks up
Markets have bounce back in early trade after sharp cut seen in previous trade, as US markets rebounded sharply in Thursday’s trade. Buying is seen in capital goods, auto, technology, banking, technology and power stocks.
At 0956 hrs IST, the Sensex rose 111 points to 10,692 and the Nifty gained 35 points at 3,304. BSE Midcap and Small cap indices rose over 1 per cent.
Satyam, Tata Motors, Zee Entertainment, Reliance Infrastructure, L&T, BHEL, Siemens, Suzlon, HDFC Bank, TCS and Tata Steel have gained.
Satyam Computer is witnessing volatility after gaining nearly 5 per cent in opening trade, after its Q2 numbers. The company has reported growth of 6.05 per cent in net profit of Rs 580.85 crore as against Rs 547.70 crore, QoQ. Net sales stood at Rs 2819.29 crore versus Rs 2620.83 crore.
Asian markets are trading mixed. The Nikkei and Shanghai rose 2 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. However, Kospi, Taiwan and Jakarta tumbled 1-3 per cent. Hang Seng and Straits Times fell marginally.
US markets closed firm after a hugely volatile session. A late-day rally gave the Dow a triple-digit boost after a 700 point intra-day swing. Unwinding of hedged options on the S&P 500 ahead of October options expiry was one of the factors for the volatility in the market.
The expiration triggered several big buys at the end of the day. Dow gained 401.35 points, or 4.68 per cent, to 8,979.26. The S&P 500 index advanced 38.59 points, or 4.25 per cent, to 946.43, and the Nasdaq composite index added 89.38 points, or 5.49 per cent, to 1,717.71.
Tendulkar, Ganguly power India on day of milestones
Milestones took centre stage as India closed the first day of the second Test on 311-5 against Australia in Mohali on Friday.
Sachin Tendulkar eclipsed Brian Lara to become the leading run-getter in Test cricket, followed it up with a half-century, and added eight more runs to become the first batsman to score 12000 Test runs before falling short of his 40th Test hundred just before stumps. His partner at the other end, Sourav Ganguly secured one of his own by reaching 7000 runs in the longer version of the game.
Ganguly was batting on 54 and nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was unbeaten on two when stumps were called, after India seemed to throw away a near perfect start to their innings after stand-in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat in the absence of Anil Kumble, who ruled himself out the game.
India would have more tick marks in the honours board, but the wicket of Tendulkar towards the end of day’s play means Australia had removed half of India’s batting order, and the iffy form of Dhoni would surely keep them interested.
After a run-riot in the first session in which India raced to 104-1 in 25 overs, Australia fought back with three quick wickets to leave the hosts on 174-4 at the end of the second session with two new batsmen at the crease, having added just 70 runs in the afternoon session.
Old Pros Shine
This is why Tendulkar and Ganguly’s partnership — they added 142 for the fifth wicket — became all the more crucial. The hard Mohali surface allowed the batsmen to play their strokes, but had to be wary of further damage to their innings. But it was just the kind of wicket where it’s foolish for a batsman to throw it away after getting a start. Tendulkar could tell, having fallen for 88 to give debutant Peter Siddle his first Test wicket.
Dravid and Laxman had already fallen prey to soft dismissals — both edged to the wicketkeeper down the leg side — while Sehwag too fell to an edge. At four wickets down and virtually no momentum propelling the score, the duo had to wait for their scoring opportunities.
They came, and they came in plenty. Both Tendulkar and Ganguly were aided by a pitch they could trust, and the occasional loose delivery was promptly dispatched to the boundary, much like Gautam Gambhir did in the morning.
President congratulates Tendulkar
President Pratibha Patil on Friday congratulated Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the highest Test run-getter in the world.
“You have given joy to countless Indians with your batting,” the President said in her congratulatory message to the master batsman.
Tendulkar surpassed former West Indian captain Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 runs on the opening day of the second cricket Test against Australia in Mohali.
Amitabh discharged
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who was admitted to Lilavati Hospital last Saturday following complaints of abdominal pain, was discharged on Friday. He had been in the hospital for a week.
Bachchan was admitted on his birthday, October 11. The Big B was complaining of severe abdominal pain and was diagnosed with incisional hernia.
He went back home in his own car. Son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai were with him.
The actor has also spoken out on the illness for the first time, mentioning anxiety, pain and sleepless nights, in a post on his blog.
Bachchan, who has been a meticulously regular blogger ever since he started keeping an online journal more than 5 months ago, posted as many as five blog posts on Thursday night, but didn’t give away too many details of his health.
“These days are spent in hospital. In investigation and treatment and anxiety and sleepless nights and pain and… So much more.. But now the nurses exclaim at the time I spend in front of this screen and start pulling plugs out,” Bachchan wrote in his first blog post since he was hospitalised on his 66th birthday.
“I shall fill in these days. Perhaps later when I have the solitude of my convalescence.. My love for you remains steadfast and strong..” he had written.
Bachchan has acted in more than 170 films in a glittering career and is easily one of Indian cinemas most recognisable faces. His son Abhishek and daughter in law Aishwarya too are Bollywood actors. Currently, Bachchan has three projects on the floors, and was in talks for some more.
Sourav Ganguly completes 7,000 Test runs
Sourav Ganguly reached a personal landmark on Friday when he became the fourth Indian batsman to cross 7,000 runs during the first day’s play of the second cricket Test against Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here. Ganguly’s feat came just an hour after Tendulkar surpassed the record of West Indian Brian Lara as the highest scorer in Test cricket. The Prince of Kolkata, who will retire from international cricket after the four-Test series, crossed the milestone while on 40 after gliding a Johnson delivery to sweeper cover for a double. Tendulkar and Ganguly stitched a crucial partnership after India lost four wickets with 163 runs. The reached the duo in the post-tea session of the first day’s play here. Ganguly took 111 Tests to achieve the feat, in his 12-year illustrious career. The other three in the 7,000-run category are Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid. Ganguly is the 33rd batsman in world cricket to cross the 7,000-run mark in Tests. |
India ride high of Dada’s ton
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India were all out for 469 on the second day of the second cricket Test against Australia today (Oct 18). While Sourav Ganguly scored his 16th century (100 of 219 balls) in the longer version of the game, skipper MS Dhoni was unlucky to miss out on a much-deserved ton, when he was declared LBW to Siddle for 92. Earlier, Ganguly, playing in his farewell series, added more than 100 runs with the stand-in captain to frustrate the Australian bowlers on an unresponsive pitch. The former skipper batted for more than five hours, hitting nine fours after adding 142 runs for the fifth wicket with Tendulkar on Friday to rescue India from 163 for four.
Resuming on 311 for five, India lost night-watchman Ishant Sharma (9) in the fourth over of the day and much of the credit goes to Australian captain Ricky Ponting who plotted the dismissal with a field setting that was spot on. Peter Siddle banged one short which Ishant fended and Simon Katich took the looping dolly at leg gully, completing the cycle.
Dhoni announced his arrival by hitting the first ball, from Brett Lee, to the ropes and then whacked Siddle over fine leg ropes for the first six of the match. Siddle was again worked past point and Shane Watson thumped through covers as Dhoni decided to impose himself on the Australian attack.
All along, Ganguly was quiet, dealing only in singles and twos. Playing his last series and with a century in sight, the left-hander was content grafting it at one end. Not for once, he went for the aerial route and even Cameron White could not draw him out of the crease as Ganguly nudged along and pushed more than he drove. He pulled Brett Lee for his first four of the day early this morning before retreating into a cocoon. Little before the lunch break, he flicked Mitchell Johnson and on-drove White for two more boundaries to get into the 90s.
Earlier on Day One, India finished day one at 311 for five wickets, which involved couple of partnerships. Openers Gautam Gambhir (67) put up a 70-run partnership with Virender Sehwag (35) and later Tendulkar(88) and Ganguly (batting 54) propped up India with a 142-run stand.
Americans don’t want another debate between Obama, McCain:Poll
With 67 per cent Americans not wishing to see another debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, both the White House hopefuls have hit the stretch in the battleground and critical states hoping to put behind “Joe The Plumber” and “Joe The Six Pack”.
The polls of the last few days may have shown Senator Obama in the lead of at least eight points; but the latest CNN Gallup showed the race was really tightening and even close to about a two-point spread between the candidates in favour of the Illinois Democrat.
At the heart of the candidates’ struggle is the political mid-west like Ohio and Pennsylvania that the candidates have started hitting very intently; but some of the focus is also on states like New Hampshire that Senator Obama slipped in the primaries to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Three debates, and over 20 months, John McCain still has not explained a single thing he would do differently from George W Bush when it comes to the most important economic issues we face today. Not one. Here’s the truth, New Hampshire, John McCain voted with George Bush 90 per cent of the time. That has not change. It is more of the same,” Obama said in New Hampshire.
“He wants to keep giving tax cuts to corporations that ship our jobs overseas. I want to give tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the US. He wants to give more tax cuts to Fortune 500 CEOs. I want to give 95 per cent of working families the tax relief that they deserve. He wants to double down on health care policies that will only work for the healthy and the wealthy. I want to cut costs and expand coverage for all Americans,” Obama said in a rhetoric that is all too well known on the political trail.
China to help Pakistan build nuke reactors
The US might not be willing, but Pakistan’s old friend and strategic ally, China has agreed to help it build two more nuclear reactors.
Top officials said that was this part of China’s efforts to improve civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
An agreement to this effect was signed in Beijing during the course of the first visit of the new Pakistan President ,Asif Ali Zardari, to China that concluded on Friday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
However, Pakistan has not been able to swing a deal like the one between India and the US.
Meanwhile, China has spoken out against the discrimanatory nature of that Indo-US Nuclear Deal, saying Pakistan should not be left out.
Banks safe, but economy may slump: PM
HIS ECONOMIC ADVICE: Manmohan Singh says tackling inflation remains goverment’s priority.
Indians banks are safe and depositors need not worry for their money, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told Parliament for the first time after the worldwide financial crisis.
“Our banks, both in the public sector and in the private sector, are financially sound, well capitalised and well regulated. There should be no fear of a failure of any bank,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
“I wish to assure depositors in our banks that their deposits are entirely safe.” Singh, however, warned that the economy might slow down.
“The financial storm has shaken confidence in the system and precipitated a steep decline in stock markets. It has produced a sharp slowdown in economic activity, with the prospect of a prolonged recession in industrialised countries,” he said.
There is enough capital, but “nevertheless, we must be prepared for a temporary slowdown in the Indian economy”.
Singh said the precise impact of the global financial crisis was difficult to estimate but the economic slowdown in developed countries is likely to have an “indirect impact” on the Indian economy.
Some estimates projected GDP growth to reduce to 7.5 per cent in the current year, but “our effort will be to minimise the negative effect of the financial crisis… to return to the growth trajectory of 9 per cent.”
The Prime Minister said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Government were carefully monitoring the flow of credit and would ensure that the additional liquidity infused into the system translated into actual credit.
“We will not hesitate to do more, if needed. While the capital adequacy ratios of all our banks are well above the Basel norm and above the RBI stipulated norm, government has promised that it will help banks, which have lower ratios, to access funds to increase the capital risk-weighted asset ratio to 12 per cent,” he said.
Injury almost pushed me into depression: Sania
OFF COURT: The Indian ace has been out of action since the Beijing Olympics.
Forced to stay away from courts for almost half the season, a fit again Sania Mirza is eyeing a comeback at January’s Classic tennis tournament in Hong Kong and revealed that she almost sunk into depression while struggling to recover from a wrist injury.
The Indian ace has been out of action since the Beijing Olympics, where her wrist injury flared up again and she had to concede her first round singles match.
Sharing the trauma she faced when she ran out of options to get her wrist healed, she said it was difficult to cope with the situation at that time.
“It was scary. It was career threatening. I was almost going through depression. I think the post-injury period is more difficult to cope with and I am happy to be back. But I never doubted that I cannot make a comeback ,” Sania, who is in Capital for the treatment, said.
Sania said she was keen to make a comeback but was not in a hurry. She confirmed that she will play a team tournament in Hong Kong in January before resuming her Tour activities.
“It is a big honour to represent Asia. It is great to be a part of such a large field, where you have players like (Jelena) Jankovic and (Maria) Sharapova. But we still have two-and-a-half months to go and it is very long period in tennis,” she said after spending about an hour on the DLTA courts, practicing with Radhika Tulpule.
Talking about the next season, she said she was approaching it cautiously.
India thump World Champs Australia by 320 runs
India drubbed Australia by 320 runs at Mohali to take a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar series. This is India’s biggest ever Test win (excluding innings victories).
India dominated this match with everybody chipping in significantly. Debutant Amit Mishra had a 7-wicket match haul, while Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir slammed centuries in first and second innings respectively. Sachin Tendulkar scored 88. But the ‘Man of the Match’ was the captain himself. MS Dhoni was given the award for his knocks of 92 and 68*.
Earlier, Australia, who resumed the play on Tuesday with their overnight score of 141/5, were bundled before the lunch in reply to India’s 515 runs on the last day of the second Test.
Zaheer Khan fastened India’s winning bid as he took three quick wickets of Brad Haddin, Cameron White and Brett Lee while Amit Mishra wrapped up the proceedings by claiming Mitchell Johnson and Michael Clarke.
Zaheer struck in the very first over of the fifth day and dismissed Haddin for 37 runs after he added 84 runs with Clarke for the sixth wicket. A good length ball from Zaheer came back to beat Haddin and crash into the middle and off-stump.
In his next over, he got White come forward for the drive. The ball took an outside edge and Dhoni took a good catch behind the wicket. Lee didn’t even last a ball. Zaheer pitched a short stuff that beat Lee and uprooted the off-stump.
After Lee fell, India hoped to finish it quickly but a 50-run partnership between Johnson and Clarke frustrated the hosts. Mishra then foxed Johnson with his flight caught him off his own bowling. Clarke, who slammed a fighting 69, fell as the last wicket as he pulled a good length ball from Mishra and Sehwag at midwicket pouched it safely.
Australian coach Tim Nielsen had confessed after the close of fourth day’s play that team played for a win but the gameplan backfired. Of course, with 515 runs to chase in four sessions on a spinning track can never be easy and playing aggressively cost Australian heavily.
4th innings score in India by visiting team
| Inn4 | Score | Result | Margin | M | Season | Venue | Target |
| WI | 276-5 | W | 5 wickets | 1 | 1987-88 | Delhi (Feroz SK) | 276 |
| NZ | 272-6 | D | drawn | 1 | 2003-04 | Ahmedabad (GS) | 370 |
| WI | 270-7 | D | drawn | 3 | 1966-67 | Chepauk | 322 |
| WI | 266 | L | 96 runs | 1 | 1994-95 | Wankhede | 363 |
| NZ | 252-2 | D | drawn | 3 | 1999-00 | Ahmedabad (GS) | 424 |
| Aus | 212 | L | 171 runs | 2 | 2000-01 | Calcutta | 384 |
India’s Largest Test Victories
Chandrayaan-1 in earth’s orbit, sends signals
India’s first unmanned flight to the moon blasted off from Sriharikota, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, early morning on Wednesday and started to cruise around the earth in its designated orbit, minutes after a copybook liftoff.
Carrying over a billion hopes, India’s maiden lunar mission began its historic journey to the moon on Wednesday when an indigenously developed rocket placed the spacecraft into the Transfer Orbit “perfectly”.
A 44-metre-tall and 316-tonne rocket called the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C11) carried the 1,380-kg lunar orbiter from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, , about 80 km north of Chennai, at exactly 0622 hrs IST.
After 18.2 minutes of the lift-off, ISRO’s warhorse rocket injected Chandrayaan-I into earth orbit.
The cuboid spacecraft built by the Indian Space Research Organisation – likely to be injected into Moon’s orbit on November 8 – has launched the country into the elite club that has sent missions to the moon.
Other members of the club are the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan. The US returns to lunar exploration aboard Chandrayaan-1, which is also carrying two NASA instruments in its payload.
The first four phases of the launch were 100 per cent perfect, said the scientists, and ground stations across the world – including the master control station in Bangalore – started getting signals from Chandrayaan.
Hectic activity is on at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya, Bangalore which will be the country’s nerve-centre for controlling Chandrayaan-I for the next two years.
The Deep Space Network (DSN) at Byalalu will join ISTRAC in tracking the spacecraft for the next six hours.
’It’s a historical moment’
Speaking minutes after the successful liftoff Chairman of the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair described the moment as historic. “India has started its journey to the moon. The first leg has gone perfectly. the spacecraft has been launched into orbit,” he said.
Nair pointed out that the launch had gone off perfectly despite heavy rain in and around the spaceport for the last four days. “We’ve been fighting the odds for the last four days,” he said.
But the weather gods relented by Tuesday evening and there no rain when the launch took place in a cloudy morning sky.
Chandrayaan-1 started to orbit the earth on its geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), from which its onboard liquid apogee motor (LAM) will be fired in a series of complex manoeuvres to take it to the lunar orbit – 387,000 km from earth – on Nov 8.
It was a dream come true for about 1,000 space scientists and technologists when PSLV-C11, with the spacecraft atop, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of the state-run ISRO.
Within minutes of the 44.4-metre rocket roaring aloft, leaving behind an inferno in the underground inlets of the second launch pad, the mission control centre of the space station erupted with joy and excitement.
Top scientists, led by Nair, space centre director M C Dathan, associate director M Y S Prasad and others shook hands and hugged one another even as the high-security facility reverberated with clapping of hands and cheers.
Former ISRO chairmen U.R. Rao and K. Kasturirangan and space commission member Roddam Narasimaiah, who were present on the occasion, congratulated Nair and his team.
Obama establishes double digit lead over McCain
The poll says that a growing number of voters said that they were comfortable with the Democrat’s values, background and ability to serve as commander-in-chief.
It’s the largest lead in the Journal/NBC poll so far, and represents a steady climb for Senator Obama since early September, when the political conventions concluded with the candidates in a statistical tie.
“Voters have reached a comfort level with Barack Obama,” said Peter D Hart, a Democratic pollster who conducts the poll with Republican Neil Newhouse.Though most voters polled said that McCain is better prepared for the White House than the first-term Obama, there are increasing concerns about the readiness of McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the poll showed.
The race, the Journal said, has rested largely on the question of whether voters could get comfortable with Obama, the first African-American to run on a major party ticket, and one who has been on the national political scene for just a few years.
McCain has worked to stoke concerns about Obama’s past and his qualifications, raising questions about his rival’s character and his association with 1960s-era radical William Ayers. The new poll suggests that these attacks haven’t worked. The poll found that Obama now holds a 12-percentage-point advantage with independents, a group both sides have fiercely sought. Two weeks ago, Obama led this group by just four percentage points. In mid-September, independents favoured McCain by 13 points.
Obama leads suburban voters by 12 percentage points, up from two points two weeks ago. He leads among older voters, those over 65-years-old, by nine points, erasing a one-point McCain advantage from the last poll. And in the Midwest, home
to a swath of battleground states, he is now favoured by 25 points, up from a one-point advantage.
Some daily tracking polls, the journal said, have found a tighter race between McCain and Obama in recent days.
Real Clear Politics, a Web site that averages major polls, shows Obama up by 7.2 percentage points.
Others have found a larger spread, such as one released Tuesday by the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press, a nonpartisan research group. That poll found a 14-point advantage for Obama among registered voters.
Many polls also show McCain lagging in key battleground states, which hold the electoral votes that could decide the race.
Obama, the paper said, has also eaten into traditional Republican advantages, notably on taxes, despite McCain’s attempts to make the issue a central economic theme of the campaign’s closing days.
In the mid-September Journal poll, McCain was favoured 41 per cent to 37 per cent when voters were asked which candidate would be “better on taxes.” This week’s poll found Obama leading on the issue by 48 per cent to 34 per cent.
That, the Journal says, may be partly due to Obama’s argument that McCain would raise taxes on health-insurance benefits. While McCain’s health plan does raise some taxes, the plan overall represents a net tax cut, the paper said, citing independent estimates.
Vaiko arrested for pro-LTTE remarks
“LTTE and Sri Lankan Tamils could not be separated. Though we are against any violence, we should differentiate between violence and right”, he said.
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had assured me no military aid would be supplied to Sri Lanka, had gone back on his word,” he alleged.
Vaiko said, “if the need arises, I will be the first man to take up arms in support of Sri Lankan Tamils. I will gather youths all over the country for this purpose”.The MDMK presidium chairman, M Kannappan, had told the meeting that time would come to demand for a separate Tamil Nadu. In that meeting, a two-hour film on Sri Lankan army’s alleged atrocities against Tamils was screened.
In a statement on Wednesday, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa had demanded that all LTTE supporters be booked.
Tamil Nadu government’s decision to arrest Vaiko was to make it clear that ruling DMK’s support was only for the suffering Sri Lankan Tamils and not for LTTE.
Vaiko, now an ally of Jayalalithaa, was detained under POTA by her Government in 2004 on his arrival from the United States after he had made a pro-LTTE speech at a public meeting in Tirumangalam in Madurai.
DMK chief M Karunanidhi had condemned Vaiko’s arrest at that time.
This is the second time that Vaiko has been arrested for supporting the banned group, the earlier occasion being during the previous AIADMK government when he was held under POTA.
Vaiko was arrested under the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act, police said.
He was remanded to 14 days judicial custody.
Vaiko said soon after his arrest that his party was for India’s sovereignty. At the same time, it could not allow the Centre to provide arms and ammunition and logistics support to Sri Lankan government ‘to perpetuate war against Tamils’.
Gambhir ban takes the focus away from Test series
IN TRUE SPIRIT: Brett Lee congratulates Gautam Gambhir after the Indian scored his double century on the second day of the Test in New Delhi.
Gautam Gambhir will be able to play in the fourth Test against Australia at Nagpur after filing an appeal against the one-match ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
But the big question is: did he need to banned in the fist place?
Gambhir was charged under Level 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct for pushing out his elbow that hit Australian all-rounder Shane Watson during the first day’s play in the third Test match in New Delhi.
The incident spiralled into a controversy that took the focus away from what Gambhir should have really been making the headlines for, his run of form that has seen him make a century and a double hundred in the series
His teammates though believe a match ban was harsh.
“It is difficult to react but Gambhir admitted his guilt. One-match ban is too harsh. He should have been fined,” Virender Sehwag said.
Sources told CNN-IBN that the Australian camp wanted even sterner action against Gambhir.
The Australian media had in fact called the charge under Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct too timid. They wanted him to face a higher charge and as a result a harsher punishment.
“He used his hands. Physical contact is unquestionably not part of the game,” said Matthew Hayden.
Clearly, Gambhir hasn’t helped his case. Match referee Chris Broad said that he also consider an incident that happened almost a year ago when Gambhir went face to face with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi in during an ODI Kanpur.
“The ICC has repeatedly told the players that deliberate physical contact between players will not be tolerated. I have also taken into account the previous offences of Gambhir and therefore, I am satisfied that the penalty imposed is an appropriate outcome in the circumstances of this matter,” Broad said.
Both camps had spoken of playing in the spirit of the game when the series began but with unsporting incidents which led to a fine for Zaheer Khan in Bangalore and now the Gambhir-Watson spat; it is evident that relations between the teams are far from cordial.
Chandrayaan-1 beams pictures of earth
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The first image taken by Chadrayaan -1 shows the northern coast of Australia
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India’s moon mission seems to be on track, now Chandrayaan-1 beams back its first pictures of earth.
The pictures were taken on October 29 by the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on board the spacecraft after it was switched on.
The first image taken by the TMC at 8 am on October 29 from a height of 9,000 km shows the northern coast of Australia. The second image, taken at 12.30 pm from a height of 70,000 km, shows Australia’s southern coast.
The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was yesterday shown the first pictures sent by India’s maiden unmanned scientific mission to Moon.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair met Singh in New Delhi yesterday afternoon and briefed him on the lunar mission launched on October 22.
Nair showed Singh the first pictures taken by the TMC, one of the 11 payloads on Chandrayaan,
depicting the northern and southern coasts of Australia.
During the meeting, Singh expressed happiness on the significant milestone in space programme and congratulated Nair and his team for the successful mission.
The TMC was successfully operated on Wednesday through a series of commands issued from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bangalore.
The Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu on the outskirts of Bangalore received the first images which were processed by Indian Space Science Data Centre.
“The images confirm excellent performance of the camera,” a top ISRO official said.
Nair briefed Singh about the launch sequence and subsequent manoeuvering of the spacecraft to reach the final lunar orbit. The health of the spacecraft is good and all operations so far have been implemented as planned, he said.
Anil Kumble retires from cricket
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Anil Kumble has announced his retirement from cricket, saying the finger injury he sustained on the third day of the Test helped him make his decision. The news was made public minutes after the tea break on the final day; Kumble then bowled four overs before the match was called off as a draw.
“The body was asking questions every day,” he said. “It was not easy to keep bowling the way I have been bowling the last 18 years, to keep going. The injury I had on the third day probably helped me make the decision.”
The captaincy now passes on to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who already leads India in the shorter forms of the game.
Kumble made the formal announcement at the post-match press conference, at which he received a standing ovation from the journalists crowded into the room. He doffed his cap and sat down to speak to the media one last time as an India player and captain. He stayed composed throughout the conference, which took place minutes after the emotional farewell he had received on the field.
Kumble had decided to quit last night but took his time in letting his team-mates know, lest it took their focus off the match. “I did inform my team-mates, who I have played with all these years, one by one during the day,” Kumble said. “Then I informed the chairman of the selection committee just after lunch. I did inform the board as well.”
It took a “nasty injury” to finally push Kumble into retirement. He has had a shoulder injury before, and has been troubled by it, but at 38, the “pretty deep” cut proved too much. “You could see the flesh. There are 11 stitches,” Kumble said. “The doctor said I had to undergo the procedure under general anesthesia. I told him, ‘If you give me general anesthesia I’ll lose time, I’d like to go there and bowl.’ He said ‘Look, it’s a medical decision, not a cricketing decision.”
“The stitches will come out only on November 8, which is the third day of the Nagpur Test. I don’t think it was easy for me to bat or field. I wouldn’t have been 100% and I didn’t want to let the team down. Anyway I had more or less decided this would be my last series.”
Kumble has never given the team less than 100% and he said wanted to be remembered most for that. “I definitely put the team above self, right through my career,” Kumble said. “I believe Indian cricket has certainly gone further from the time when I started, in terms of results, not just in India but also abroad.
“And I am confident that with this young team, with a few of the experienced senior players still being a part of the team, we have an opportunity to dominate world cricket and be No. 1 in all forms of the game. In one-day cricket we’re pretty close to the top, in Twenty20 we’re No. 1, I don’t think we are that far behind in Tests as well and it will be great to see that happen.”
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An important part of that surge towards Test leadership would be a series win against Australia. Kumble said he will there in Nagpur to see whether the team can do that. “Ideally I would have liked to finish in Nagpur,” Kumble said. “At this moment, I don’t think I will be traveling with the team, but I will certainly go to Nagpur. I want to see Sourav’s last Test match, and also wish Laxman on his 100th. And win the series. That is the ultimate goal for all of us. I would like to be a part of that.”
It has been a long road for Kumble – 18 years – on which he has come across many highs and lows. “I had to go through a lot of things in the early part of my career,” Kumble said. “People questioning my ability, my fitness, my form, my bowling and the effectiveness of my bowling. I had to go through that then, now right at the end of my career, and even in the middle.
In that sense, after the shoulder surgery [in 2001], I’ve done exceptionally well to have played eight years. To have bowled so many overs and to have got so many wickets, the second phase was certainly more satisfying. We had a lot more victories, not just in India but also abroad: especially the Australia series in 2004, the Pakistan series after that, West Indies and England where we won. All of them were a challenge and to come out triumphant was special.”
The retirement decision, in the end, came easy for Kumble. “The body tells you how far you can go,” he said. “I kept challenging – as a cricketer you are always competitive, always saying, ‘I can do it’. Whether you can or not only time will tell. I kept getting responses from the body saying that you can’t. I fought that, I took various painkillers and tried all sorts of things, but ultimately one injury to the hand said ‘enough now’. I was also not bowling at my best and you want to keep performing at a level that you are satisfied with. That was not happening so I thought this was the right time to move on.”
For a moment as emotional as this, Kumble ended on a humorous note. “At this moment I would like to thank my family, my parents, who gave me all the encouragement, supported me and asked me to bowl legspin. Although I am still trying to find out how I can bowl legspin.
“Thank you all for all the support I have received right through my career. I’ve built some great friendships and met some fantastic people along the way. You’ll probably start calling me from tomorrow for quotes about somebody else. Give me a break for a couple of days and I’ll certainly take all your calls.” Like he has unfailingly answered the Indian team’s calls for the last 18 years.
OBAMA ELECTED US PRESIDENT
HISTORY MADE: Democrat Barack Obama has been elected president of the United States.
Democrat Barack Obama wrote his name indelibly into the pages of American history on Wednesday, engineering a social and political upheaval to become the country’s first black president-elect in a runaway victory over Republican John McCain.
The 72-year-old Arizona senator quickly called his opponent to concede defeat and congratulate his rival in the longest and most costly presidential campaign in American history.
The 47-year-old Illinois senator, son of a white mother from Kansas and an African father from Kenya, mined a deep vein of national discontent, promising Americans hope and change throughout a nearly flawless 21-month campaign for the White House.
Obama stepped through a door opened 145 years ago when Abraham Lincoln, a fellow Illinois politician, issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed African-Americans from enslavement in the rebellious South in the midst of a wrenching civil war.
The powerful orator lays claim to the White House on Jan. 20, only 43 years after the country enacted a law that banned the disenfranchisement of blacks in many Southern states where poll taxes and literacy tests were common at the time.
With victories in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and other battleground states, Obama built a commanding lead over McCain after surging in the polls in the midst of a national financial crisis. He and his fellow Democrats sought to link McCain to the unpopular George W. Bush.
Obama soared into the national spotlight with his electrifying speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when he was making his first run for the Senate and polishing his message of unity in a country that was mired in partisan anger.
Democrats also were expanding their majorities in both chambers of Congress.
America’s vote out: goodbye President Bush
TERM OVER: Bush at a graduation ceremony for FBI Agents in Quantico, Va.
Even before one vote was counted, this result was clear: The US presidential race was a verdict on George W Bush.
Both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain positioned themselves as agents of change—that is, change from Bush.
The US President’s approval ratings have hovered near historically low levels—it was just 26 percent in an AP-GfK poll conducted a couple of weeks before Election Day—and he was a factor in voters’ decision-making no matter how much he tried to keep out of the race.
Obama seized on Bush’s standing to make him a political liability for McCain, who in turn separated himself aggressively from the face of his own party as the campaign closed.
The President’s face has been such a fixture in anti-McCain ads that it was up to Laura Bush to add a touch of lightness to her husband’s woes.
“I’m really looking forward to Election Day,” she said at a Republican campaign event in Kentucky on Monday, “partly because it seems like George has been on the ticket this entire year.”
The quietest place in Washington on Tuesday may have been the White House itself.
The President voted absentee several days ago, so there was no video of him at his precinct, no statements to reporters, no public appearance whatsoever.
Bush planned to spend his evening in the White House residence, watching TV coverage of election results and hosting a small dinner with his wife, Laura.
There was sure to be at least some celebrating—Tuesday is the first lady’s birthday. Otherwise, it was a day when the White House purposely went dark.
“He realises this election is not about him,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said heading into voting day.
Tuesday marked the first time in 14 years—a period when Bush twice won the Texas governorship and the presidency—that he was not on the ballot.
Many pundits had no doubt about Tuesday’s outcome. Among them: Karl Rove, once of Bush’s closest aides and the architect of his two successful presidential runs. On election eve, Rove distributed his last analysis of the electoral map. It predicted Obama winning easily, with 338 electoral votes. It takes 270 to win.
The title of Rove’s e-mail: “The End.” He was referring to the election, but there was also a feeling of finality at the White House.
Outside, the post-Bush transition was starting. Construction workers churned away on Inauguration Day grandstands along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Gambhir ban upheld by ICC, will miss Nagpur Test
WALKING OFF: Gautam Gambhir walks back to the pavilion as the Australian team celebrates the fall of his wicket.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the appeal of Gautam Gambhir and upheld the one-Test match ban imposed by match referee Chis Broad.
Justice Albie Sachs, who was appointed to hear the appeal, upheld the ban, which means Gambhir will miss the fourth and final Test match against Australia starting from November 6.
Justice Sachs, Cricket South Africa’s appointment on the ICC Code of Conduct Commission, was appointed to hear the appeal in accordance with ICC Code of Conduct processes.
Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay has been named as Gambhir’s replacement for Nagpur Test.
Gambhir was charged under Level 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct for pushing out his elbow that hit Australian all-rounder Shane Watson during the first day’s play in the third Test match in New Delhi.
While handing out the one-Test ban on Gambhir, Broad said that he also considered an incident that happened almost a year ago when Gambhir went face to face with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi in during an ODI Kanpur.
“The ICC has repeatedly told the players that deliberate physical contact between players will not be tolerated. I have also taken into account the previous offences of Gambhir and therefore, I am satisfied that the penalty imposed is an appropriate outcome in the circumstances of this matter,” Broad had said.
Bush congratulates Obama on awesome night
US President George W Bush telephoned his apparent successor, Democrat Barack Obama, to congratulate him on his “awesome night,” according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
“Mr President-elect, congratulations to you. What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride,” she quoted Bush as telling Obama.
“I promise to make this a smooth transition. You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself,” Bush told Obama late on Tuesday night, she said.
The President also invited Obama and his family “to visit the White House soon, at their convenience,” Perino said.
Bush was also to reach out to Obama’s defeated rival, Republican John McCain, who conceded the fight shortly after 11:00 pm (0930 IST).
Tendulkar ton, poor fielding deny Aussies the edge
There couldn’t have been more perfect a beginning to international cricket at the VCA Jamtha Stadium here. Sourav Ganguly’s farewell and VVS Laxman’s 100th Test had already built up the stakes, before Sachin Tendulkar made it consummate with a magnificent 40th Test hundred.
India closed the opening day of the fourth and final Test against Australia on 311-5 with the retiring Sourav Ganguly batting on 27 and captain MS Dhoni four not out, after Dhoni’s decision to bat first on a batting paradise nearly backfired. But Laxman’s calm 64 and Tendulkar’s classy 109 steadied India with their 146-run fifth wicket stand before both fell in the final session of play.
A freak two-wicket burst from debutant Jason Krejza before lunch after being hammered around the park was not enough to slow down Tendulkar, whose latest milestone became his 10th century against the Australians.
The Australians have a reputation of giving it back to their opponents on the field. Michael Clarke was helped on to his century in the previous Test in Delhi by three dropped chances. Australia returned the favour to Tendulkar through Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, who grassed sitters when the batsman was on 85 and 96 respectively.
Australia seemed to have lost the initiative as getting rid of Tendulkar on the back of Laxman’s wicket would have put on added pressure. However, Johnson’s strike towards the end of day’s play still keeps the game intriguingly poised.
It could have been worse for the Australians had a belligerent Virender Sehwag not thrown away his wicket for 66. The opener tore into Lee and Johnson, who went for five runs an over in their respective opening spells, which also gave a significant boost to debutant Murali Vijay at the other end.
Sourav Ganguly misses century; Five for Jason Krejza
Ask any purist and he would tell you what a sight it is when Sourav Ganguly dances down the track to loft a spinner over his head. The frequency of those humongous sixes has diminished over time, but in his final Test match, the southpaw put the sublime on display as he moved to 80 not out in perhaps his penultimate innings in Test cricket. Not just did he dance down the pitch but threaded the offside with the timing people now associate him with his retirement.
The Indians had made their intentions clear on the opening day of the final Test itself, and Ganguly kept it going as Jason Krejza was dismissed over long-on for a six, and then repeated the act for a boundary after completing his half-century. India saw off the first session to be 404-5 at lunch on a day when Australia’s bowlers not only looked flat but pedestrian. Along with Dhoni, the sixth wicket stood on an unbeaten 101 runs.
Australia started the second day with Jason Krejza despite operating with the second new ball. Brett Lee took the ball from the other end, but it was more than a tactical error. Mitchell Johnson, the pick of Australian bowlers this series, has been off-colour in the final Test, often spraying wide of off-stump and far too full.
India’s first day total of 311-5 was more or less identical to that of Mohali, where the hosts established a 1-0 series lead with a 320-run victory. The turn of events were also similar, with a mini-collapse followed by a resolute stand before losing Sachin Tendulkar towards the end of day’s play.
Even the start to the second day was similar, with Ganguly and Dhoni putting on 56 in the first hour of play. The only difference was the role reversal between the batsmen, with Ganguly taking the attack to the bowlers while Dhoni’s knock was comparatively reserved to his whirlwind 92 in Mohali.
Krejza 6th to claim 8 wickets in debut innings
Jason Krejza on Friday became only the sixth bowler in Test cricket history to claim eight wickets in an innings on debut. He is the first to do so since Lance Klusener.
Interestingly Klusener also performed this feat against India. Australia’s Bob Massie and India’s Narendra Hirwani took eight wickets in both innings of the Test.
| Bowler | Wkts | Runs | Opponent | Venue | Season |
| AE Trott (Aus) | 8 | 43 | v England | Adelaide | 1894-95 |
| RAL Massie (Aus) | 8 | 53 | v England | Lord’s | 1972 |
| ND Hirwani (Ind) | 8 | 61 | v West Indies | Chennai | 1987-88 |
| L Klusener (SA) | 8 | 64 | v India | Kolkata | 1996-97 |
| ND Hirwani (Ind | 8 | 75 | v West Indies | Chennai | 1987-88 |
| RAL Massie (Aus) | 8 | 84 | v England | Lord’s | 1972 |
| AL Valentine (WI) | 8 | 104 | v England | Manchester | 1950 |
| JJ Krejza (Aus) | 8 | 215 | v India | Nagpur | 2008-09 |
Rajinikanth must enter politics: Chiranjeevi’s advice
STAR TO STATESMAN? Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi formed his political party in August.
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth must enter politics, and he should decide about it now. That message comes from Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, who formed his own political party this year.
“I think he (Rajinikanth) should have joined politics. I think he should have come (into politics). He has got some much charisma—people expect him,” said Chiranjeevi in an interview.
Asked whether he had discussed the issue with Rajinikanth, he said: “Yes, oh yes! Several times—we discussed it. We discussed it many times. He said when I enter 60 years it would be the right time.”
Chiranjeevi wanted the Tamil actor to decide about joining politics now. “Yes. You are right—something like that,” he said when asked if Rajinikanth should make a decision now.
Rajinikanth has refused to accept his fans’ plea to enter politics at least thrice since 1996. Last month, his fans formed a ‘political party’ but he scolded them and warned no one can “force” him to enter politics.
He also warned of legal action against people using his name for political gains.
“While no one can stop me from entering the political arena, nobody can force me to do so as well. Legal action will be initiated against those who use my name for political ends,” the actor said on October in a statement to media organisations.
Chiranjeevi, who for years had been under similar fan pressure, jumped into politics when he formed the Prajarajyam party in Tirupati on August 26.
Chiranjeevi has promised that his party will work for the poor and the landless but is yet to sketch out a clear political ideology.
BCCI felicitates ‘Fab Four’
VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, and Sachin Tendulkar during a felicitation
Former captains Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly reposed faith in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and expressed hopes that under him, India would emerge as the number one team in the world.
“I know for the fact that this team under MS and (coach) Gary (Kirsten) will soon become the number one team. We have that talent,” an optimist Kumble said after he, along with Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were felicitated by the BCCI.
Ganguly, India’s most successful captain ever, shared Kumble’s view and said, “MS and Gary are our two torch-bearers and I hope they would take Indian cricket forward.”
Ganguly, who is playing his last Test here, took the occasion to thank all and said though he didn’t endear to all, he always had the team interest in mind.
“It was a long journey with lots of ups and downs, victory and loss but it was wonderful. Sharing the dressing room with the likes of Anil, Sachin, Rahul (Dravid) and Laxman has been an honour and privilege.
“During the journey, I made both friends and enemies but it was all for the good of Indian cricket,” said the left-hander.
Kumble individually thanked almost each and every teammate even though Tendulkar came in for special praise. “When he first came into the international scene, whole India said ‘you’d break every batting record’ and he had the talents to prove all right…
“With Rahul, I have shared a special bond, he was my Karnataka teammate as well. We have had some fantastic moments and I say ‘you have been the backbone of Indian cricket. All the success we had came because of your contribution’,” Kumble said.
Kumble was equally effusive in his praise for Ganguly and said, “Under you, we’ve learnt how to win Tests abroad. Besides, we have always cherished your batting.”
On Laxman, who is playing his 100th Test here, Kumble felt the right hander didn’t get his dues despite bailing out the team from difficult situations.
For his spin partner Harbhajan Singh, Kumble said, “I will miss bowling with you from the other end. From now onwards, you’d lead the (spin) attack. You are close to a personal landmark (of 300 Test wickets) and I’m sure one day you’ll become the highest wicket-taker for India.”
On Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, Kumble said, “I have played lot with both Veeru and Zak. Veeru is a very special talent and both he and Zak would lead the Indian batting and bowling.
“To all other members of the team, I wish you a great career ahead. Before this Test series against Australia, we sat and decided in Bangalore that we have to win this series. We are very close to that and I hope you guys will win it.”
Talking about Kumble and Ganguly, Tendulkar paid a rich tribute to both and said, “Sourav had lots of ups and downs in his career but has shown great determination and delivered tremendous performance. We’ve opened in lot of ODIs and know each other’s game very well.
“Anil too showed 100 percent determination. He broke his jaw in West Indies but returned with a plastered jaw and removed Brian Lara,” Tendulkar said.
“We’ll miss Sourav and Anil, as will the entire country,” he added.
Sachin Tendulkar praises Sourav Ganguly, says he’ll be missed
TWO LEGENDS: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly smile after India defeated Australia in the second Test in Mohali.
Sourav Ganguly, one of India’s most charismatic cricketers, will be seen for the last time as an international player on Monday. Ganguly is retiring from international cricket after nearly 16 years.
Sachin Tendulkar says the entire country will miss the elegant left-hand batsman, who has often been described as the ‘God of off-side’.
“Everyone will miss Sourav. He is not only my teammate but is a very special player and has contributed a lot to the team and country. He has had a fantastic career and when a player like him retires not only the team but the entire country will miss him,” Tendulkar said.
Ironically, Ganguly’s last Test innings, just like Sir Don Bradman, ended in a duck on Sunday. He was caught and bowled by Jason Krejza in the second innings of the Nagpur Test against Australia off the first ball that he faced.
A bit disappointing for Ganguly, but his fans will look back on his international career with great pride. He started with a century on debut and made a sublime 85 in the first innings of the Nagpur Test against Australia; although he had to end with a golden duck.
So was Ganguly pleased with how his career turned out?
A few days a go in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN’s Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Ganguly had said he would have liked a few more Test runs under against his name.
Sanjeeb Mukherjea: Talking about Sourav Ganguly — the batsman, do you think you neglected your batting?
Sourav Ganguly: No, I didn’t. In terms of my One-Day performance, I think it’s been outstanding. In terms of my Test cricket, I would have loved to have a few more runs but I also batted at No. 5 and No. 6 and although it is not an excuse but I thought that although I have more that 7,000 runs in test cricket, a few more would have been happy to go with.
Sanjeeb Mukherjea: What were the reactions of Sachin, Dravid, Anil and Sehwag, when you broke the news to them?
Sourav Ganguly: I’m sure they knew that at some stage it had to come. It’s going to come for them as well. They were not surprised, they expected it. Everybody has to go in sports. It’s my turn today and it will be their turn sometime.
Sanjeeb Mukherjea: It must have been an emotional moment for you also?
Sourav Ganguly: It wasn’t that emotional buy obviously we would miss it. Initially, you will miss the competitiveness because the pleasure you got by scoring a Test hundred or an One-Day hundred, it cannot be valued by anything else. Every time you get a hundred, you feel ‘this is what I wanted to do and I am still good at it’. That satisfaction will not come from anything else. Financially, when you play for 13-14 years in modern cricket, you are far past well-off. That’s not an issue.
Ganguly made his One-Day debut against the West Indies during the 1991/92 Benson and Hedges World Series Cup at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, in Australia while his first Test match was against England at Lord’s in 1996.
India win the Border-Gavaskar trophy
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India create history in Nagpur, as they bring home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
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The nation revelled today (Nov 10), as India, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, created history by registering a 172 run victory in the fourth and final Test at Nagpur against world champions Australia, to bring home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-0 series win. India now lead the overal series wins by 4-3 in the last decade.
This historic Test also saw the end of one the most celebrated Indian cricketers career — Sourav Ganguly. The classically elegant Ganguly had announced that he will play his last Test in this Orange City before hanging up his boots.
Earlier, set the daunting task of scoring an imposing 382 to win the fourth and final Test against India, Australia were tottering at 111 for three wickets at lunch on the fifth and final day in Nagpur today.
As play resumed post lunch India continued to inch closer to victory with their spinners bringing about the dismissal of the dangerous Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden. Soon, the Australian wicketkeeper too fell prey to the spin web wound by India as he fell prey to Amit Mishra having been caught by Sachin Tendulkar at mid-on.
This catch has given the Master Blaster another berth in the record books, as he claims his 100th Test catch. The batting maestro, who holds several batting records in Tests and ODIs, reached the milestone in his 154th Test to follow compatriots Rahul Dravid (179), Sunil Gavaskar (108), VVS Laxman and Mohd Azharuddin (105) into the record book. The world record for the most number of catches in a Test career, 181 in 128 matches, stands in the name of Mark Waugh of Australia.
Soon, Shane Watson too fell prey to the the 300 wicket taker Harbhajan Singh for nine runs. In no time, leg spinner Amit Mishra got rid of ten wicket hauler on debut Jason Krejza and Brett Lee.
Mitchel Johnson and Cameroon White looked to consolidate and defend towards the end of the innings, however, failed to save the Test as Bhajji claimed the last wicket of Johnson.
Brief scores: India: 441 and 295
Australia 355 and 209 (Matthew Hayden 77; Amit Mishra 4/64, Harbhajan Singh 3/27)
Earlier, the batsmen out in the visitors’ second innings, after they had commenced at the overnight 13 for no loss, were first innings centurion Simon Katich (16), captain Ricky Ponting (8) and his deputy Michael Clarke (22), promoted up the order in quest for quick runs despite being unwell.
Ishant Sharma, India’s most successful bowler of the four-Test rubber, was easily the pick of the attack this morning and accounted for Katich and Clarke, while Ponting was run out through a brilliant piece of fielding and throwing by Amit Mishra.
The home team should have ended the session with more Australian wickets in their clutch but for a few dropped catches and a few edges that eluded the slip cordon.
Ganguly: I see a lot of myself in Dhoni
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Arguably the most successful Indian skipper ever, Sourav Ganguly says he sees a lot of himself in Dhoni
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Arguably the most successful Indian skipper ever, Sourav Ganguly says he sees a lot of himself in
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and reckons that the charismatic new captain will go on to better his record and further enhance India’s stature in international cricket.
“He has done fantastically well. Captaincy is a task, it’s not just about being a good player. He will be tested when India plays abroad and if the boys do well under him then it will be great. I am sure he will take Indian cricket forward,” said Ganguly, whose last Test saw India clinching the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning the fourth and final match.
“I did what I felt was right. I’m a captain who did not believe in the drawing board but react to what happens on the field of play. I see a lot of myself in Dhoni. He also doesn’t like meetings. In fact he sees things better than me. He has also had a bit of luck that a captain needs,” he added.
Ganguly said a captain is only as good as his team but he did have a huge role to play in enhancing India’s reputation. “Most important thing is that a captain is as good as a player. Raising India’s image in world cricket especially as a touring side is my legacy in Indian cricket. We, at present, are a formidable side both home and away,” he said.
Ganguly said he would not be missing the Indian dressing room as he was leaving with happy memories of being part of a team that beat the world’s best side 2-0 in the series. “I don’t think I would miss the dressing room. I have had a good innings and it’s time to leave. I am leaving with happy memories that it ended with a win for India. A 2-0 win over the world’s best team was the best that could have happened after all the doubts arising after the Sri Lanka series (where India lost)”, Ganguly said.
“I have played well and the team has played outstandingly well. To win the series 2-0 was very satisfying. We had dominated (the proceedings) after the first Test (at Bangalore),” said the former captain. Ganguly, who was asked to lead the team on the field for a brief while when India was close to winning the fourth and final Test against Australia before being chaired off the ground after India’s 172-run win, said he would forever cherish the moments that he lived today.
“In terms of team performance the way this Test has finished was one of the best ever. I want to cherish it for long. Everyone has chipped in throughout the series. Somehow we manage to pick up when we play against Australia,” said the veteran of 113 Tests. “I enjoyed my last few days and the last few hours. I was
asked to lead for five overs, did it for three overs and then told Dhoni that it was not my job,” he said.
The stylish left-hander side-stepped queries on past controversies like his public spat with former coach Greg Chappell. “Let’s keep the controversies aside. It’s a happy day for Indian cricket. The past is past, let’s not talk about it,” he said.
Ganguly said the first-ball duck in the second innings didn’t disappoint him as much as missing a hundred by 15 runs in the first innings. “I am not disappointed with the first-ball duck, getting out on 85 in the first innings was more disappointing as I was so close to a hundred. I don’t think the last duck has made it (my career) any more dramatic, it’s been dramatic anyway,” he put it succinctly.
Ganguly said he rated the 100 on debut at Lord’s against England in 1996 as his most cherished innings. He said the blazing century he made against Australia as captain in the 2004 series at Brisbane was also close to his heart. “The first Test hundred at Lord’s is always special to me. The 2001 series against Australia here and the 2004 series against them in Australia are my best series. We have won in Pakistan and England but to win against Australia is always special,” he said.
Ganguly batted like a champion: Kris Srikanth
Selection committee chairman Krish Srikkanth showered praise
on Sourav Ganguly on Friday. “He’s really batted like a true champion
right through in his farewell series. He’s put his heart and soul into it. I
feel so happy and proud for him. It’s nice to see him going out on a
high,” Srikkanth told.
Ganguly has set the adrenalin flowing, batting attractively and playing some
crucial knocks in this series while notching up 324 runs at an impressive
average of 64.80.
Perhaps the only tinge of sadness for Srikkanth was to see the Bengal Tiger
getting out when he looked set for a hundred. “I
told Sourav that he’s got to get a hundred in his 100th Test. He was going
great guns but it was God’s will that he ended up 15 runs short. But it was
still an invaluable knock for the team.”
Srikkanth also pointed out that Ganguly played his part in the selection of
Tamil Nadu opener M. Vijay for the final Test match.
“Sourav played with him in the India
A match and he specifically told me, ‘Chika, here is a guy whom you have to
look seriously’. So I took his words seriously because when a player of
Ganguly’s wisdom endorses someone he has to special.”
Salute Sourav Ganguly
As the curtains come down on Sourav’s illustrious 16-year international career, I salute
India’s most successful captain for all his on and off field achievements. You will forever remain a hero and an
inspiration for us, Dada. May you continue to prosper and achieve even greater heights in your life ahead.
All the best and thanks for all the memories. We will miss you a lot.
Obama finally calls Manmohan Singh, discusses Indo-US ties
TIME FOR INDIA: Obama has already spoken to 15 world leaders, including the Pakistani President.
US president-elect Barack Obama called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday morning and discussed the Indo-US relationship.
Obama reportedly told Singh that the two countries can work together in many area.
“We need to give strength to Indo-US relations. The Indo-US strategic ties are very important,” Obama told Singh.
PMO sources said Singh congratulated Obama on his historic victory and said his success would be an inspiration for the oppressed people all over the world.
The Prime Minister also said that the relationship between India and the US was “very good” but “we should not be satisfied with the status quo”.
Singh conveyed his best wishes for the success of the Obama administration in meeting challenges that face the world.
The Prime Minister also invited Obama and his wife Mitchelle to visit India, the sources said.
Obama praised Singh’s contribution to the progress of India as Finance Minister earlier and the Prime Minister now.
Obama had reportedly called Singh on Saturday too but the Prime Minister could not take the telephone call from the US president-elect as he was travelling.
“I got a call on Saturday but could not take it as I was travelling,” Manmohan Singh had said on Monday on board his special aircraft while returning home from a two-nation visit to the Gulf.
Obama has already spoken to 15 world leaders, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, after his election.
Ganguly: I won’t miss cricket
Sourav Ganguly, who returned home to Kolkata to a rousing welcome from fans Tuesday said he would not miss cricket.
The former India skipper also said like to meet the soccer legend Diego Maradona when he comes to Kolkata.
“I just want to see him,” Ganguly said referring to the Argentine footballer.
Having returned to his home town after playing his last Test at Nagpur, Ganguly said that he would, however, miss the company of his teammates.
At his Behala residence Ganguly told reporters: “We share a good camaraderie among ourselves. We make fun and crack jokes together. I don’t think I will miss cricket but will miss the companions.” Reiterating that he will not change his retirement decision, Ganguly said: “In sports, you have to retire one day. It’s about physical ability. Once you start playing, you have to call it quits some day. It’s like when you are born you have to die … All great players like Maradona, Pele, Sampras and Gavaskar retired…” Ganguly picked his Lord’s debut Test, his first captaincy and the recent series win as his Big Three moments.
About his future plans, Ganguly ruled out commentary as an option.
“There are a lot of opportunities coming in. But, at present, there is no such plan to do commentary … It needs lot of travelling.” Ganguly added that he is yet to decide on his future plans.
“You have to wait and see … I have not thought about it yet. IPL is in April there’s a long way to go … But I will definitely do something that will contribute to the game.”
On the 2-0 series win to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ganguly said, “We outplayed them in all the departments … We celebrated a lot. It was fantastic. We had lot of drinks as we never done in life. We had great fun … Anil and I were there present and celebrated our win till 1 in the night.” Praising Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he added, “He (Dhoni) has done well as captain in his last one year tenure and I am sure, he will take India cricket forward. There’s a lot of talented players it depends how they transform them into performance.” Earlier, there was chaos at the airport as large number of fans gathered to welcome him.
His car was mobbed and halted before he was escorted by the pilot vehicles from the VVIP exit of the airport.
Police had to resort to mild baton charge to calm down the situation as Ganguly’s black SUV with his wife Dona and daughter Sana on board made way to their Behala residence.
There were chants of “Dada Dada … Ami tumake bhulchhi na, bhulbo na… (Dada we are not going to forget you).” Some waved the Tricolour while others carried Ganguly’s posters.
The CAB will organise a grand function at the Eden Gardens on December 7 to felicitate Sourav in a befitting manner.
Sachin Tendulkar: I will miss Sourav Ganguly
Sachin Tendulkar said he would miss Bengali chatter with close pal Sourav Ganguly, who retired from international cricket.
Tendulkar recalled his long association with the elegant left-hander and said he owes the little Bengali he knows to his former opening partner in one-dayers.
“But the question I ask myself is who will I now speak to in Bengali? Well I have enjoyed conversing with him in that language and whatever Bengali I have picked up is thanks to him,” Tendulkar said in a newspaper column.
“Whenever we had a long partnership, I used to walk mid-pitch and speak a few Bangla words to ease the pressure of the situation,” he said.
Tendulkar went on to recount some pranks he had played on Ganguly during their days together in the Indian dressing room.
“Cricket lovers have heard about how I disturbed the watchman of the Nehru Stadium with my constant bat-hitting leather activities at night and the fact that he brought it to the attention of our coach Vasu Paranjape,” he wrote in ‘Mid-Day’.
“But not many have heard this — One day when Sourav was enjoying his rest and dozed off, I had his room flooded with water. Sourav woke up to the mini deluge surprised, shocked, staggered — in that order.
“His only solace was I made sure that his cricketing kit was not among the ruins. Imagine what a sight it would have been — his bats, pads floating in water.”
Dhoni asked for character certificate to get gun license
GUNNED DOWN: Dhoni enjoys ‘Z’ category security and has a non-prohibited gun license.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been asked by the Ranchi District Arms Magistrate to produce a character certificate for getting a license to keep a 9mm pistol.
The Magistrate recently wrote to Dhoni that he should furnish a Swachchhata Praman Patra (character certificate) if he wished to procure the weapon in view of the increasing criminal activities in Jharkhand, police said on Wednesday.
The certificate could be obtained from SP (Special Branch), SP (Vigilance) and SP (CID), said the letter, in the first official communication after the cricketer applied for the weapon in September.
Annoyed over the requirement of ‘character certificate’ from their hero, a group of Dhoni fans on Wednesday demonstrated at the Elbert Ekka Chowk.
Dhoni enjoys ‘Z’ category security and has a non-prohibited gun license.
Chandrayaan-1 enters operational lunar orbit
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Twenty-one days after launch, Chandrayaan-1, India’s maiden moon craft has it seems finally reached its home orbit. It is now in an almost 102 kilometre from the moon. The satellite’s onboard engine was fired for 58 seconds on Nov 12, 2008 at about 6.30 pm.
ISRO officials say preliminary indications are that it has reached its designated orbit. Among its first tasks in the next few days will be to release the probe that carries the Indian national flag on to the lunar surface.
After that it will begin its scientific exploration which will last two years, which includes mapping the lunar resources, preparing a three dimensional atlas of the moon and searching for water on the lunar poles.
Superstar Rajnikanth to join BJP?
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Tamil Nadu superstar Rajnikanth
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He is South India’s biggest super star and for almost two decades now his entry into politics has been speculated. And, with the general elections around the corner once again there is strong buzz of Rajnikanth taking the plunge.
BJP prime ministerial candidate LK Advani’s visit to Rajnikanth’s house in Chennai has sent tongues wagging. Sources said that Advani wants Rajni to hop onboard and campaign for the BJP in the upcoming elections.
However, when both were quizzed about the same, they were tight lipped. Advani said, ” I had an invitation from him to visit his house for a long time and I used the opportunity since I was here in Chennai.”
“Rajnikanth had been pressing me for a long time to visit his place. Today I accepted the invitation. We discussed many things, including his latest film. It was a happy meeting with him and his family,” the BJP leader said.
Advani said that it was long standing desire of Rajanikanth and himself for a meeting. “It was fulfilled today,” he said.
Advani was in Chennai yesteday in connection with the release of the Tamil version of his autobiography.
Advani welcomed Rajnikant’s statement that he would come to politics if god asked him to do so.
“I had appreciated his decision that he will come to politics when god wills,” Advani said.
Following the meet, Rajnikanth also kept mum and said, “It was just a casual visit.”
And, with superstar Chiranjeevi having launched a political party recently, several Rajni fans want to see their favourite star do the same. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the demand by Rajnikant’s fans asking him to enter politics.
However, he had been resisting such demands but recently announced that he would undertake a tour of the state to meet his fans. He had also promised that he would be frequently meeting them.
Rajnikanth is not averse to the idea expect he says that he’s wating for a sign from the Gods to make the plunge. He had said, “No one can compel me. What has to happen will surely happen. God’s sign has to come. If God’s sign comes, I can even start a party tomorrow.”
During the run up to the 2004 elections Rajnikanth had declared that he will vote for the BJP, but stopped short of asking his fans also to support the party. The saffron party is hoping that this time too Rajni will indicate his support, even if he does not make a political plunge.
Indian Flag in moon, Chandrayaan-1 probe sends first signal
CONQUERING MOON: Ex-president APJ Abdul Kalam and ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair hold a model of the moon.
The moon is 3,84,400 km away from earth and on Nov 14, 2008, India became the fourth nation to have its flag flying on the moon’s surface when Chandrayaan-1’s Moon Impact Probe (MIP), with the Tricolour painted on it, touched down.
The 35-kg payload crash-landed on the lunar surface at around 2030 hrs IST. The MIP has started sending its first signals to Chandrayaan-1.
It also contains equipment which will help scientists design a lunar land rover for the upcoming Chandrayaan-2 mission.
The MIP is slightly smaller than an average TV cabinet. Inside the MIP there is a device to constantly check it’s height as it falls. Another device checks what the air on the moon is made of. There is even a video camera to photograph the moon from close range.
The photographs taken by the MIP will help Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) decide where to land India’s first moon rover, a few years from now.
The MIP also has the Indian flag painted on it’s sides and a Sanskrit verse which means “
The MIP disconnected from Chandrayaan-1 100 km above the moon. As it fell, it kept sending information back to the satellite.
Closer to the surface, rockets were fired, to slow down it’s speed and soften the impact on landing.
After half an hour of free fall, the MIP crash-landed on the south pole of moon.
The idea to send a MIP was first mooted by former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
If it weren’t for him, Chandrayaan-1 would only have orbited the moon.
Can Yuvraj Singh make it three in a row?
Yuvraj Singh has a great chance to equal the world record of scoring
hundreds in most consecutive innings. The record is of three
consecutive hundreds shared by three batsmen as is listed below:
| Name | Runs | Vs | Venue | Year |
| Zaheer Abbas (Pak) | 118 | v India | Multan | 17 Dec 1982 |
| 105 | v India | Lahore | 31 Dec 1982 | |
| 113 | v India | Karachi | 21 Jan 1982 | |
| Saeed Anwar (Pak) | 107 | v Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 30 Oct 1993 |
| 131 | v West Indies | Sharjah | 01 Nov 1993 | |
| 111 | v Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 02 Nov 1993 | |
| H Gibbs (SA) | 116 | v Kenya | Colombo (RPS) | 20 Sep 2002 |
| 116* | v India | Colombo (RPS) | 25 Sep 2002 | |
| 153 | v Bangladesh | Potchefstroom |
Disgusted Dhoni denies rift with selectors
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Nov 22, 2008 denied rift with selectors on dropping of Rudra Pratap Singh and preferring all-rounder Irfan Pathan for the remaining part of the on-going One-Day series against England.
“I don’t know who is spreading this kind of rumors. Whoever is leaking confidential matters to the press is not doing any good for the well being of cricket. I don’t want to deny or admit what transpires during the meeting because it is supposed to be confidential. If someone has leaked confidential matters to the press it is just not done. I want to know who the source was. As far as I am concerned there was no rift with the selectors on any issue,” Dhoni told reporters on the eve of the fourth One-Day match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“It is unfortunate that such rumors are being spread when the team is doing so well and we are on the threshold of achieving yet another series victory. I should admit this kind of distractions are not good for the game in general and for the team in particular. The selection matters should always remain inside the four walls and moreover it is the selectors job to pick the best possible team,” he added.
It is understood that one of the selectors leaked about Dhoni’s threat to quit as captain of the Indian team if Irfan Pathan was preferred ahead of R P Singh during the selection meeting in Kanpur after the hosts beat England by 16 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method.
However, Dhoni, who first denied the rift vehemently but later on softened his stance and wanted to know who was leaking out confidential matters to the press wanted to know the name of the person responsible when a scribe tried to grill him on this matter.
“if you (scribe) got the news over phone from someone, why don’t you name that person. By naming that person, you will be doing a great service to the team as what transpires in a meeting is not supposed to be leaked by anyone,” he thundered.
“Thankfully, our team is very united and both R P and Irfan understand that the best 16 boys get to play for the country. Luckily I don’t have to explain to RP or Irfan about anything as they trust me fully. In fact the whole team trusts each other and I should say that it has been a very short but fruitful journey as a player and captain so far. Though this unwanted event (rumors of rift) has turned out to be an eventful journey as well,” he added.
India now aims for manned space mission
MANNED MISSION: The plan is to achieve the space mission by 2015 said ISRO chief.
India is aiming to send a manned mission into the space after the success of its first unmanned mission to the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairmain G. Madhavan Nair said on Nov 23, 2008.
“The (manned) moon mission is a tough task and to achieve that our first task is to send an Indian astronaut on a manned mission to space, who will orbit the earth and return. For this, the sanction of the government has to come.
We plan to achieve this by 2015,” Nair said at a reception accorded to him during his first visit to his home town since the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-1.
“The next moon mission by the US and China is fixed for 2020 and our target is that we also should be ready by then,” Nair added.
“To achieve that, the space mission would provide the necessary boost. Another thing that is being planned is Aditya, a mission to study the solar system from the earth’s orbit,” said Nair.
Pakistan unsafe: Dhoni, Tendulkar tell Board
DOWN: The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad after the Sept. 21 bombing. The hotel was used by international cricket teams.
Top Indian cricket players, including captain M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, are unwilling to tour Pakistan in January because they fear for their security.
Sources tell that senior players have expressed their concern to the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). The team is scheduled to play three Tests and five ODIs from January 4 to February 19 tour in Pakistan.
Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh too have expressed their unwillingness to tour Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has assured foolproof security but the Indians believe the threat during the tour would be severe.
PCB chief Ejaz Butt is scheduled to visit India soon to try and convince the BCCI but that plea is now likely to fall on deaf ears.
It is known that the Ministry of External Affairs is unlikely to permit the Indian team to tour Pakistan.
Early November, the government refused to permit the Indian junior hockey team to tour Pakistan due to security concerns.
The Associated Press reports the International Cricket Council deferred the Champions Trophy in September after five of the eight participating teams refused to compete at the biennial tournament that is considered the second most prestigious one-day event after the World Cup.
The PCB has said it would consider playing India at a neutral venue or possibly switch series as alternatives. Pakistan is due to tour India in 2010.
Mumbai Terror Attacks; 6 foreigners among 101 dead
War on Mumbai Day 3: Sequence of events so far
WARZONE MUMBAI: At 21:30 hrs IST on Nov 26, 2008 night, terrorists entered the 22-storey Taj hotel and took hostages.
More than 36 hours on, the war on Mumbai is still in full flow. The situation has been developing minute by minute. Here’s making sense of what’s happened so far.
At 21:30 hrs IST on Nov 26, 2008 night, terrorists entered the 22-storey Taj hotel and took hostages. Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorist Squad reached the area and soon a gunbattle began, punctuated with explosions.
Within minutes of the first gun being fired, there was panic across Southern Bombay. Young, heavily armed terrorists were at various locations – from the CST Station to five star hotels to the very popular Leopold Cafe in Colaba. Eyewitness accounts being collated by intelligence agencies suggest that these terrorists made their way into the heart of city in boats.
At 02:00 hrs IST on Nov 27, 2008, a fire broke out in Taj hotel’s central dome. In the continuing gunbattle, three terrorists were killed by 05:00 hrs IST on Thursday. Some guests were evacuated, but the war was far from over.
Apparently having landed by boat at the nearby Gateway of India, the terrorists split up. They first opened fire at the popular Cafe Leopold before moving to the Taj and Oberoi hotels. A group of terrorists entered the CST Station, fired and lobbed grenades into the crowded. Ten people died in the ensuing mayhem.
The terrorists then moved to the adjacent municipal headquarters and then to Cama hospital, where again they opened fire and lobbed grenades.
The terrorists managed to kill ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, who was supervising operations personally. Along with him were Additional Commissioner of Police, Ashok Kamte and senior police inspector Vijay Salaskar, a crack encounter specialist of the Mumbai Police, both of whom too died in the attack on Cama hospital.
The terrorists then hijacked a police vehicle and drove towards Metro junction, where again they fire into the crowds present there. This group of terrorists were later gunned down by a police team.
While police hunted for the terrorists, the Army, National Security Guard and Naval commandos tried to defuse the hostage situation in the Taj and Oberoi hotels – where some foreigners were being held – and Nariman House through the night.
The Armed Forces have had partial success at the Taj, but the stand off at the Oberoi hotel and Nariman House continues.
England may return, first Test shifted to Mohali
The England cricket team is likely to return to India on December 3 to play the two Test series against India.
The first Test from December 11 to 15 has been shifted to Mohali from Ahmedabad. The second Test had been shifted to Chennai earlier itself after the terror attack on Mumbai.
The three-day practice game that was scheduled to be held in Baroda from December 5 to 7 is also likely to be played in Mohali.
England called off their seven-match ODI series with two more games to play after the terror attacks in Mumbai. The visitors were playing their fifth ODI in Cuttack on December 26 when terrorists struck India’s financial capital.
The team flew to Bangalore from where they flew back home. While some England cricketers have voiced their reservations about coming back to play in India, England skipper Kevin Pietersen has refused to be cowed down by the attacks.
Barack Obama nominates Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State
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US President-elect Barack Obama on Dec 01, 2008 named former Democrat rival Senator Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State in his incoming administration and retained Robert Gates as the Defence Secretary.
The team of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden also officially announced other key members of their cabinet, nominating Eric Holder as Attorney General, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations and General Jim Jones as the new National Security Adviser.
“In this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning – a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges,” Obama said in a statement issued by his transition team.
To succeed, a new strategy should be pursued that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power — military and diplomacy, intelligence and law enforcement, economy and the power of “our moral example,” the country’s first African-American President said.
“The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that. They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world,” Obama, who will be taking office as the 44th US President on January 20, 2009, said.
Chandrayaan-1’s temperature rises, ISRO worried
FACING THE HEAT: ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair says Chandrayaan-1 is hotter by 10 degree Celsius.
India’s moon mission Chandrayaan-1 is facing the heat, literally. A month after its launch, an unexplained rise in temperature is causing concern for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair says Chandrayaan-1 is now hotter by 10 degree Celsius which is hot enough to affect its instruments.
Volcanoes have erupted on the moon in the past. And temperatures on the surface often reach 100 degree Celsius.
While it isn’t clear yet what’s triggered the rise in temperature, scientists say a thermal blanket around the satellite could be used to keep temperatures down.
Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar mission, was launched on October 22, 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota by PSLV-C11.
The Moon Impact Probe (MIP), with the Indian Tricolour pasted on its outer surface, was ejected on November 14 from Chandrayaan-1 and landed on the lunar surface.
Indian Airports on high alert after hijack warning
TENSION IN THE AIR: Airports in small cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh and Guwahati are at maximum risk.
Security has been tightened at all airports following an intelligence warning.
According to intelligence agencies, there is a possibility of an Indian airplane being hijacked small airports where security checks are less stringent.
Airports in small cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh, Nashik and Guwahati are at maximum risk.
Intelligence agencies have alerted small airports and air marshals are being sent to sensitive sectors.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is carrying out checks across the country. Earlier, there were rumours of a bag being found at Mumbai airport but those were found to be false.
According to some media reports, Deccan Mujahidden, a little-known organisation that claimed responsibility for Mumbai attacks, has sent an e-mail threatening to attack three Indian airports.
Intelligence agencies believe that the Deccan Mujahideen is a front created by LeT for it’s Mumbai strikes.
Infosys to freeze hiring, says signs aren’t good
COMPANY FORECAST: S Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD of Infosys, speaks at the Reuters India Investment Summit.
Infosys Technologies Ltd will freeze recruitment after meeting this fiscal year’s target of hiring 25,000 staff, a telling sign the global downturn is hitting India’s $52 billion outsourcing sector.
The country’s second largest software services firm however has no plans to cut jobs and is sticking with its third quarter outlook, CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan told reporters.
He said the outsourcing sector’s growth rate would halve next year as some customers delay orders. “Last year the IT industry grew more than 30 per cent, this year it is looking at somewhere in the region of 15 per cent,” Gopalakrishnan said.
India’s export-driven IT sector, used to a scorching pace of growth, has been hit by the financial crisis and recession in the United States, which contributes more than half their revenue. In the last few years, the outsourcing industry has created tens of thousands of jobs, mainly attracting young workers, as global companies look to trim labour costs.
Infosys hired 16,000-17,000 employees in the first half of the fiscal year that began in April and would honour commitments to 6,000 under training, Gopalakrishnan said. Infosys, which counts Goldman Sachs and Philips Electronics among its clients, cut its full-year dollar revenue outlook in October due to the worsening global downturn.
Gopalakrishnan said on Dec 04, 2008 the company would freeze fresh recruitment, apart from meeting specific skill needs. “We will have to look at controlling our cost, controlling our expenses making sure that we run an optimised business. We will have to look at what are things we need to do in order to prepare ourselves for the recovery.” “Growth is coming more and more from emerging markets so hese are the things we need to prepare ourselves. We should not lose momentum in this slowdown,” he said.
But Infosys still expects its strong client base and a weakening rupee to help it meet a forecast for December quarter earnings of $0.57 a share. The Indian rupee has fallen nearly six per cent so far this quarter against the dollar.
“Infosys is seeing further degradation of the demand environment, with headwinds from leadership changes at customers, a shrinking large deal pipeline …. Pricing pressure has emerged,” CLSA Asia-Pacific said in a report this week.
Bush warns Pakistan to fight terror or a face-off
GET IT CLEAR: Bush has said US will not be held to ransom by terror outfits
With India reaching out to the world community in the wake of Mumbai attacks, the US, Germany and Britain are sending their ministers and functionaries to India to discuss the developing situation.
Washington too is keeping the pressure up.
US President Bush made a statement saying even governments sponsoring terrorism will be held responsible.
“We’ve made it clear to Pakistan that we must do whatever to protect American people. Governments sponsoring terror are as guilty as the terrorists and will be held to account,” warned America’s President who will soon be making way for president-elect Barack Obama to take over.
The US reiterated that countries should deny safe haven to terrorists.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice too came down hard on the terror outfits and their nefarious designs.
Rice had said that those who want to disrupt good relations between India and Pakistan were at root, and that these non-state actors clearly used Pakistani territory. Rice continued to tell the CBS radio in the interview that there is reason for Pakistan to take up responsibility to act.
Rahul Dravid needs a big score: Sourav Ganguly
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly says Rahul Dravid needs to get a big knock under his belt to ward off critics who have been questioning his place in the team for some time now.
“The pressure is bound to start mounting on Rahul Dravid after another below par effort and he must get a big score before the murmurings about his place in the team get louder,” Ganguly wrote in his column.
Dravid, who has been struggling with the bat ever since the last English summer, could only manage three in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against England in Chennai on Dec 11, 2008.
There was also much expected from Yuvraj Singh, who earned a recall to the Test team after an excellent performance in the ODI series, but the Chandigarh lad too disappointed scoring just 14.
“Yuvraj failed to make an impression in his comeback Test, but that was down to the supreme line and length that the English bowlers maintained against him,” Ganguly wrote.
“They used the short ball well, and also kept the spinners on, which Yuvraj does not enjoy when he starts his innings,” he added.
The classy southpaw also had a word of advice for England skipper Kevin Pietersen.
“Pietersen needs to adjust ‘mentally’ while batting in the subcontinent, as he is far too good a player to be gifting his wicket to the opposition. It’s paramount that he holds the English middle order together, especially in trying batting conditions,” Ganguly reckoned.
India’s most successful captain also wondered by India “always seem to struggle in the first Test of a new series” and hoped that a strong performance from the side was just around the corner.
Microsoft launches open-source blogging platform
Microsoft launched Oxite, an open-source blogging platform.
However, the software maker was quick to underline that the product is aimed at developers and not intended to directly compete with popular blogging software such as WordPress or Movable Type.
Microsoft posted the Oxite code on its CodePlex Web site and made an official announcement. The software, described as an alpha release, is available under the Microsoft Public License, one of Microsoft’s OSI-certified open-source licenses.
Oxite is a standards-compliant, extensible content-management system designed to support either blogs or larger Web sites, Microsoft said. The platform includes support for features such as pingbacks, trackbacks, anonymous or authenticated commenting, gravatars (globally recognized avatars), and RSS feeds at any page level, the company said.
Users can create and edit a set of pages on a site, add customized HTML into pages, and support multiple blogs on a single site.
Oxite is also able to integrate with Microsoft developer software such as ASP.Net MVC, Visual Studio Team Suite, and Background Services Architecture. The project began as a way of demonstrating the capabilities of ASP.Net MVC to developers, Microsoft said.
The Web site for Mix Online was built using Oxite, and Microsoft is providing the Mix Online Web site code for developers to learn from. Mix Online is the online community centered on Microsoft’s Mix Web developer conference.
Oxite is not a direct competitor to existing, established blogging systems, nor is it intended to challenge Microsoft’s own SharePoint, which includes content-management-system capabilities, according to Oxite project coordinator Erik Porter.
The software is intended for developers but could eventually be made suitable for the general public, Porter wrote in an Oxite discussion forum.
“We have no plans to make this anything but a really good developer sample that should be able to run any site you want,” he wrote. “That said, this is a community project now and, if the community decides to take it a different direction, we won’t stop it.”
Tendulkar ton scripts India’s historical win
Sachin Tendulkar led the Indian run chase to take India to a famous
victory on the decisive day of the first Test against England. The
master batsman clobbered his 41st Test hundred as India won by six
wickets. The second hero on the tense day was Yuvraj Singh who proved
his Test credentials with an unbeaten 85 while Tendulkar remained
unconquered on 103.
Chasing a
daunting 387-run target, India lost only three wickets on the day as
they scripted the fourth highest successful run chase in history of
Test cricket. The final two sessions of play saw India dominate
proceedings with Tendulkar and Yuvraj batting with authority to swing
the match completely in India’s favour shortly after tea. India, who
started the second session on a poor note losing VVS Laxman, made 91
runs after lunch without any further damage and in the post tea
session, the willows of Yuvraj and Tendulkar flourished in grand style
to author India’s highest run chase in the sub-continent.
Tendulkar
was a picture of poise as he batted with effortless ease on a slow
turning track, plundering nine boundaries in his unbeaten innings. He
authored the chase, playing the sheet anchor to perfection and building
vital stands with of 42 Gautam Gambhir, of 41 with Laxman (41) and
finally an unbroken 162 one with Yuvraj. And in a fitting finish, a
nudge down the leg side took Tendulkar to his century and India home.
India
suffered a big blow after lunch when Graeme Swann had VVS Laxman caught
at short midwicket for 26. England at that stage had India under
pressure at 224-4 but Yuvraj ignored both the nerves and the words that
came his way from Andrew Flintoff to punch a determined knock that
included a huge six off Monty Panesar.
He batted
with caution, showing the temperament that was amiss in several of his
previous Test outings. But once he settled down, the southpaw displayed
the spectacular strokeplay he is capable of. His 84 came off only 131
balls that saw him hammer eight boundaries and one six.
India
started the day at 131-1, needing 256 to win on the final day at the MA
Chidambaram stadium with Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid in the
middle. But England got the perfect start with Andrew Flintoff removing
Dravid, who could add only a couple to his overnight score of two.
Dravid, who has been in dismal form throughout 2008, edged an outgoing
delivery and Matt Prior made no mistake behind the stumps.
Gambhir
reached his half-century soon after Dravid’s dismissal but he once
again fell to a poor shot. He poked at a wide delivery from James
Anderson and Paul Collingwood leaped to his right to take a neat catch.
The southpaw made 66 with seven boundaries to his name.
India has no plans to attack Pakistan: Defence Minister
India on Dec 16, 2008 said it is not planning any military action against Pakistan but stressed that the neighbouring country will have to take action against terrorists there for the relations to improve.
“We are not planning any military action but at the same time unless Pakistan takes actions against those terrorists who are operating from their soil against India and also against all those who are behind the Mumbai terrorist attack, things will not be normal,” Defence Minister A K Antony said.
He was talking to reporters on occasion of Vijay Diwas marking the 37th anniversary of India’s military victory on Dec 16, 2008 over Pakistan in the Bangladesh liberation war.
On the issue of troop deployment along the Indo-Pak border, Antony said the situation there was “normal” and armed forces were “always ready”.
“Everything is normal because our forces are always ready,” the Minister said.
The Minister denied that India was planning to call off the more than five-year-old ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Nothing like that,” he stated when asked if India had any plans to call off the ceasefire with Pakistan.
Refusing to divulge India’s course of action in the present scenario, Antony demanded sincere action by Pakistan against the terrorists.
“I cannot say what course of action we will take but unless Pakistan shows sincerity in whatever they are saying through their actions, one thing is very sure that there is no question of things as usual,” he said.
The chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force — Admiral Sureesh Mehta, General Deepak Kapoor and Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major — also attended the Vijay Diwas function.
US President George W Bush gets ‘Farewell Boot’ in Iraq
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US President George W Bush (In picture) faces the wrath of an Iraqi journalist who hurls his shoes at him during his final visit to Iraq
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On his ‘farewell’ visit to Iraq as US President, George W Bush had an unusual ‘encounter’ when an
Iraqi scribe threw two shoes at him, but the agile American leader downplayed the incident, saying “it’s a sign of a free society.”
The journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi, threw two shoes at Bush — one after another — during a joint news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday (December 14, 2008) and shouted “it is the farewell kiss, you dog”.
“All I can report is a size 10,” the president joked. Bush, who ducked both throws, said he has seen a lot of weird things during his eight-year-long Presidency and that he would term the latest incident as “one of the weirdest”.
“And it was amusing. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of weird things during my presidency and this may rank up there as one of the weirdest. So this happens and it’s a sign of a free society,” Bush said. “But I’m not insulted. I don’t hold it against the government. I don’t think the Iraqi press corps as a whole is terrible. And so, the guy wanted to get on TV and he did. I don’t know what his beef is. But whatever it is I’m sure somebody will hear it,” the US President told ABC channel.
After the incident, Iraqi government said that the scribe, who works with Al-Baghdadia channel which broadcasts from Cairo, has been held for questioning by the Prime Minister’s guards and is being tested for alcohol and drugs. Meanwhile, the television channel demanded the immediate release of its journalist and called the scribe as a “proud Arab and an open-minded man.”
Bush shoe attacker ‘detested America’
The Iraqi journalist who caused a furore when he hurled his shoes at visiting US President George W Bush “detested America” and had been plotting such an attack for months, colleagues said on on Monday (Dec 15, 2008).
Muntazer al-Zaidi, 28, was being hailed as a hero by some after his action against the US President who ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and anti-US demonstrations were being staged in Baghdad and the holy shiite city of Najaf.
“This was a spontaneous action by an Iraqi citizen who was showing his dismay at seeing the President of the country which is occupying our nation,” said Liwaa Sumeissim from the anti-American Sadr movement.
The Iraqi government however branded Zaidi’s actions as “shameful” and demanded an apology from his employer Al-Baghdadia television, which in turn was calling for his immediate release from custody.
One of his colleagues in the Baghdad office of Al-Baghdadia said Zaidi had been planning to throw shoes at Bush if ever he got the chance. “When he said he was going to do it, we didn’t doubt him,” he said.
“Muntazer detested America. He detested the US soldiers, he detested Bush,” said another co-worker who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Iraqi lawyer said Zaidi risked a minimum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state, but could face a 15-year term if he is charged with attempted murder.
In Cairo, Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for Al-Baghdadia television, described Zaidi as a “proud Arab and an open-minded man.” “We fear for his safety,” he told, adding that Zaidi had been arrested twice before by the Americans.
England have the bulldog spirit to hit back: Michael Vaughan
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Former England captain Michael Vaughan
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Former captain Michael Vaughan has backed England to bounce back from the bitter loss in Chennai, saying that Kevin Pietersen and his men have the “bulldog spirit” to square the Test series against India in Mohali.
“One thing with the England team is we do have a ‘bulldog spirit’, a fighting spirit. We proved that in this game,” Vaughan said ahead of the second and final Test in Mohali starting December 19, 2008.
England dominated the first three days of the Chennai Test before losing the plot on the fourth day when Indian opener Virender Sehwag went on a rampage to snatch the match away from the visitors.
“It was a great game of cricket. Both teams played to an incredible standard in terms of what they’d gone through in the previous two weeks,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by ‘The Daily Telegraph’.
“The England team can be very proud of the way they played. For three-and-three-quarter days they dominated the Test and that is something which is very difficult to do in India,” he added.
Vaughan admitted that the six-wicket loss was a bitter pill to swallow, considering the way England dominated most part of the match. ”The defining moment was that middle session (on day four) when we probably let the momentum sway back towards India when we could have nailed home the game.”
However, Vaughan, who is currently on a sabbatical from international cricket, said the task would be tough test of England’s mental strength. ”We’ve just lost a real big game, a game that all the
lads would have expected to win on that fourth evening,” he said.
“It’s going to be a real task of mental strength. The boys are pretty drained and emotionally tired from what they’ve been through in the last few weeks. But if they win the toss, and bat, and get put runs on the board they can put India under a lot of pressure,” he added.
The right-hander, training with the England’s elite performance squad, said he is working towards his international comeback. ”My mind is very refreshed and of course after such a great game of cricket I’m desperate to get out there and make decisions, play and score runs,” he said.
GEORGE W BUSH AND SHOES
Just Be Strong enough to accept the challenges of life. Don’t ask life “Why me?”, instead smile and say “YES!..try me”.
India may still strike Pakistan
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A US intelligence report claims that India is fully prepared and await go ahead for unilateral precision strikes on Pakistan (File photo)
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India may have ruled out the military option against Pakistan in the aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks but the international intelligence community continues to believe that strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and elsewhere could still happen.
Global intelligence service Stratfor, in its latest report, said, “Indian military operations against targets in Pakistan have in fact been prepared and await the signal to go forward.” It added, “These most likely would take the form of unilateral precision strikes inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir, along with special forces action on the ground in Pakistan proper.”
The private sector intelligence service said that unlike the massive movements of 2002 during Operation Parakram, India’s preparations this time were more under the radar and not visible to the world at large. Its only indication was the fact that the Border Security Force (BSF) has been put on high alert on the western sector as well as the eastern sector – this paramilitary force’s main mandate would be to prevent infiltration.
“Sources have indicated to Stratfor that New Delhi is going through the diplomatic motions in order to give Pakistan the opportunity to take care of the militant problem itself — but the Indians know that Islamabad has neither the will nor the capability to address their concerns,” Stratfor said.
Three weeks after the attacks, India has gone out of its way to reassure everyone that it is not thinking of military action on Pakistan. This was most recently conveyed by Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Satyabrata Pal to Awami National Party chief Afsandyar Wali Khan in Islamabad earlier this week. But India continues to tell all its international interlocutors that its patience will not last long, particularly if Islamabad cannot crack down on terrorism.
India’s actions thus far have been to build a kind of international consensus that the attacks were sourced in Pakistan. It has led to a huge spurt in international pressure on Pakistan to “do more” to combat terrorism. Almost every member of the international community also believes that the next attack in India would see the gloves come off. But everybody knows that Pakistan’s civilian government is unable to take any steps to curb terrorists and the military establishment is unwilling to do so.
“From a strategic perspective, the Indian government can no more afford to accept the Mumbai attacks and move forward than the US government could have afforded to ignore the 9/11 attacks. New Delhi has little choice but to respond – regardless of which political party is in power – and because the perpetrators are linked to elements within the Pakistani state, the response must be directed against Pakistan. And if Islamabad will not cooperate in controlling the militants, India will have to take unilateral action,” Stratfor said.
It explained that India knew strikes in Pakistan would not eliminate the terrorist threat, “but that would not be the aim of any such operation”. It added, “Instead, India has to communicate firmly that it will no longer tolerate attacks from Pakistan-based militants – whether they are rogue or approved by the state. Failure to do so risks emboldening the Islamists and their enablers, as well as a domestic political backlash. The Indian government could not live with either of those outcomes.”
Sachin Tendulkar role model of cricket: Andrew Flintoff
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England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff
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Sachin Tendulkar’s match-winning century knock in Chennai which he dedicated to the people of India deeply hurt by the terror attack in Mumbai has earned respect from England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff who called the master bastman a “role model” for the game.
“It is impossible not to admire him (Tendulkar) when you are out in the middle. He is a class player and a great role model for the game,” Flintoff said.
“His innings (in Chennai) was a scriptwriter’s dream. The lad from Mumbai, with everything that has happened there, scores a hundred to win and then dedicates it to everyone in the country. Thinking about it, it was probably inevitable it happened,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The Independent’. Flintoff said playing against Tendulkar brought the best out of him.
“Playing against him brings the best out of you in a lot of ways. The worrying thing for us is that he was getting better towards the end of that innings. You could see in the way he was playing he was back to his best.”
The 31-year-old Lancashire player was of the view that there is very little margin for error bowling against greats like Tendulkar and Brian Lara. “I enjoy bowling at him, as I did at the likes of Brian
Lara. I think they bring the best out of you. Your margins for error are small, you have to bowl well to restrict them, never mind get them out.”
Sania Mirza enters round 2 of Australian Open
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Indian ace Saniza Mirza moves to second round
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Making a successful return to the grand slams, India’s Sania Mirza cruised into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday (January 19, 2009) after defeating aside Poland’s Marta Domachowska.
Sania won the match 6-1, 6-4 in a convincing display of form. However, she will have to continue in the same tempo as she may have to face Nadia Petrova, a top-10 player.
Sania raced away with the first set in just 25 minutes, breaking the Polish player thrice. The Indian led 2-0 in the second set before Marta stepped on the gas, winning four games on the trot, breaking Sania in the third and fifth games.
From a comfortable 2-0, Sania found herself trailing 2-4 in no time. Under pressure, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi got her act together and went on to win the next four games to seal the issue.
Sania broke Marta in the eighth and 10th games in the process. Sania had lost to Marta in 2003 in their first meeting and now the face-to-face record stands 1-1.
Sania, playing her first singles match of the season after a long injury-lay off, was happy with her comeback match. “It was a great way to begin after such a long break. I’ve not played a match in almost six months now. I’m just happy to have come through,” she said after the match.
Sania’s best show so far in the Australian Open has been reaching the third round in 2005 and 2008.
I wasn’t comfortable with Chappell: Sehwag; Praises Sourav Ganguly
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Indian opener Virender Sehwag
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Greg Chappell betrayed the trust of players but Gary Kirsten, his successor as Indian cricket coach, is the “best I have ever seen”, India’s dashing opening batsman Virender Sehwag said on Monday (January 19, 2009). The former South African batting star, Kirsten “doesn’t force things on you”, Sehwag said.
Comparing the two coaches, Sehwag indicated that Chappell had tried to get him to change his batting style.
“He had his view on my front-foot play, my footwork. The thing with him (Chappell) was that whatever you shared with him, it was promptly disclosed to media and selectors. He talked and that hurt the trust. I wasn’t comfortable with him,” Sehwag said.
Calling current coach Gary Kirsten as the best coach he has ever seen, Sehwag said, “He is the best coach I have ever seen. He doesn’t force things on you. His basic premise is: you all are international cricketers and you know how to succeed and how important it is to succeed. So I won’t thrust myself on you. But whenever you need me, for practice, throwing balls, sharing ideas, worries, I am always there.”
“During Test matches, there are days when he doesn’t force you to follow you a similar routine in warm ups. If he senses a day when it can be an easy one for the lads, he allows you to do no warm ups. When an intense day is ahead, we all come together to bring that required intensity,” added Viru.
The Delhi-opener also praised former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who encouraged him to take on the mantle of an opener in the Test side.
“Yes, Dada made me an opener in Sri Lanka, where I hit gold in the third match with that blistering century off 69 balls (against New Zealand). A lot of youngsters, including me, came to the fore under Dada,” Viru said.
Praising Dada’s captaincy skills, Sehwag said, “Remember, when he took over world cricket was reeling under the impact of match-fixing. He always backed us. For instance when I was Man of the Match against Australia early in my career, he assured me that I would play in at least next 30 one-day matches. Even when he promoted me as an opener, he told me to bat without worry as he wouldn’t touch me for the next 30-35 games.”
“When your captains back you in this manner, your confidence is sky-high. He was also an extremely aggressive captain,” he added.
Viru, however, said that his current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is doing what Dada used to do, but just that Mahi give more space to everyone.
He said, “In many ways he is doing what Ganguly used to do. He is also aggressive. But he also knows how to be defensive if a game is to be saved. The thing with Dhoni is that he gives all of us a lot of space. He doesn’t want to control everyone.”
“The optional practice rule has really gained ground under him. Now it’s not mandatory to turn up for practice everyday. There is so much of travelling, so many matches. He knows the importance of rest and allows everyone their own recovery period,” added the opener.
Finally, commenting on his Test career revival after the Adelaide Test in Australia in 2007-08, Sehwag went on to say that the century in the Test was very special.
“Yes it is. It was a knock when I was determined to spend time at the crease. In the first two hours on the final day, I made only 27 runs in the first session. In the afternoon, Tendulkar kept telling me that we had to keep going. Or Australians could use the final 30-35 overs to chase down the target. It was very, very special,” he said.
Sanjay Dutt gets a Rs 3-crore bus for poll campaign
Sanjay Dutt, a new entrant to the field politics, is kicking off his new career in style.
The Bollywood star is all set for smashing debut at the political box office in Lucknow and it’s time now for the Samajwadi party candidate to do a bit of travelling.
Dutt is getting a Rs 3-crore luxury Volvo caravan, equipped with a shower and a toilet for his campaign trails.
The luxury cruise caravan is being built on an original Volvo chassis complete with all the comforts of home.
“The forward section has an office lounge section. The central section has a bar and complete set-up which houses all the DVDs, the play station, the X-Box, computers,” says Dilip Chhabria of DC Design Pvt Ltd.
The designer says Sanjay designed it for his outdoor movie shoots. Sources close to the actor believe otherwise and say he would also be using it for his election campaigns in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of North India.
The luxury vehicle could even be a gift from the Samajwadi Party.
“Sanjay Dutt’s specification was very, very clear. He wanted a vehicle that could spell a wow,” says Chhabria.
The caravan has been nine months in the making and would be delivered to Sanjay Dutt soon.
Millions to watch Obama become US’ first black President
Barack Obama will become the first black president of the United States of America on Tuesday.
He came, he campaigned and he conquered and now Obama’s swearing-in ceremony will watched across the world.
Inauguration Day in the US is steeped in tradition. The president-elect and family will start their day with the morning service at the St Johns Church.
Obama and vice-president elect Joe Biden and their families will then proceed to the White House, where they will be greeted by outgoing President George W Bush. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the US Capital.
First Joe Biden will take the oath of office and then Barack Obama raising his right hand and putting his other hand on the Bible will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts and attend inaugural parade.
On the eve of his inauguration, Obama paid tribute to the man who ushered in the social change which has helped US get its first black president – Martin Luther King
“Never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help reveal that character once more. And, together, we can carry forward as one nation and one people the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today,” said Obama.
Over 2 million people are expected to watch the swearing-in ceremony as well as Obama give his inaugural address.
At Penysalvania they are anticipating 3,00,000 people for viewing stands and many others will watch teh inaugural parade.
It is difficult to say what strikes the most about the next US president. Is it Barack Obama’s background, his education or is it his youth?
It is perhaps a combination of all of them, expressed in that one word – charisma.
India test-fires BrahMos cruise missile
India test-fired BrahMos cruise missile successfully on Jan 20, 2009 at the Pokhran test range of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
BrahMos, developed jointly with Russia, is a supersonic cruise missile and can be launched from submarine, ship, aircraft and land based Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL).
The missile was to be test-fired for the third time in desert conditions on January 18, 2009 but it was postponed to January 20, 2009 due to heavy fog and rain in the area.
BrahMos has been named after two rivers – the Brahmaputra of India and the Moscow of Russia.
The first test-firing of the BrahMos was conducted on June 12, 2001 at the Interim Test Range Chandipur-On-Sea in Balasore (Orissa).
Ex-skipper Mohammad Azharuddin to contest on Congress ticket
Former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin may contest the coming Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. The Congress leadership has been in touch with him for the past few months.
With the TDP-TRS alliance looking strong in Andhra Pradesh, Azharuddin’s entry will boost the confidence of the Congress.
Azharuddin will be used by Congress to counter the powerful MIM influence on Muslim voters in Hyderabad.
The batsman might stand from his hometown Hyderabad. He has a huge fan-following there despite his premature exit from the world of cricket following allegations of match fixing in the late 90s.
Azhar has kept a low profile since his exit from the Indian cricket scene and runs a successful event management firm.
Speculation was rife in February last year that he may either join or campaign for the Telangana Rastra Samiti in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls. The talk was sparked by the hour-long luncheon meeting he had with TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Veteran Actor-Comedian Nagesh dead
Veteran Tamil movie actor-comedian Cyril K Nagesh, popularly known as Nagesh, died in Chennai on Jan 31, 2009, a family source said. He was 77.
Nagesh was suffering from diabetes and a heart ailment, the family member said. He is survived by three sons, including actor Anand Babu.
Nagesh acted in about 1,000 films and is most remembered for his role in Thiruvilayaadal.
About Me
I’m Bala – The so called BALGATES 
I’m a Software Programmer working in Chennai, India.
This blog is to express my thoughts to the World: blogging, which I do when I’m bored.
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Sourav Ganguly promises Rs 60 lakh for Cyclone Aila victims
Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly today assured West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of arranging Rs 50-60 lakh for relief to the Aila-affected people.
Ganguly went to the Writers’ Buildings and called on the Chief Minister to express his sympathy with the cyclone-hit people of the state.
After emerging out of the Chief Minister’s chamber, Ganguly told reporters that he assured him of arranging Rs 50-60 lakh for the cyclone-affected people.
He said he would contribute the money after returning from England.
He informed he would fly to London on June 05, 2009 to witness ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Ganguly had been assigned by the ESPN STAR Sports to give expert comment for two semifinals and the final match.
In reply to a question, he said he had apprised of a disputed matter to the Chief Minister regarding his proposed school at Salt Lake in the city.
The residents of CA and DA blocks of Salt Lake have been opposing construction of an English medium school on a 60-cottah land.
They said already there are two institutions Salt Lake School and Haryana Vidyamandir and the proposed six-storeyed third school- Wiffren International School of Ganguly- would cause environmental hazards and create noise pollution as the area is very congested.
Ganguly hoped the dispute would be resoved amicably.
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