tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306739282024-03-08T00:53:25.377-08:00News | News Headlines | World News | Breaking News | News UpdatesFind current events, national and international news, sports news, business news, entertainment news and other news articles.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-44897853925386865642007-02-27T05:28:00.000-08:002007-02-27T05:32:23.606-08:00Colombia asks Spain to Deport fugitive lawmakerColombia asked Spain to deport a fugitive congressman who is wanted for possible links with illegal paramilitaries in a widening scandal involving allies of President Alvaro Uribe.<br /><br />Eight pro-Uribe lawmakers have been jailed and other army officers, governors and congressmen are under investigation for their suspected ties to paramilitaries, who are accused of atrocities during their dirty war against a rebel insurgency.<br /><br />Bogota has asked Spanish authorities to send back Rep Jorge Luis Caballero who was among a group of lawmakers ordered detained by the Supreme Court on February 15 as part of its probe into the scandal.<br /><br />''The foreign ministry has information he is in Spain and Colombia has presented a request to the government that he be deported back to our country,'' Deputy Foreign Minister Camilo Reyes told reporters yesterday.<br /><br />The scandal intensified just weeks before US President George W Bush was scheduled to visit Uribe, Washington's closest ally in Latin America and a linchpin for US counter-narcotics initiatives in the region.<br /><br />The Bush administration wants Congress to approve another 3.9 billion dollars in anti-drug aid to Colombia, but some of the Democrats who now control the Congress are concerned about how deeply paramilitary influence burrows into the Uribe administration.<br /><br />Colombia's Foreign Minister Maria Consuelo Araujo resigned last week after her brother, a senator, was jailed and prosecutors considered investigating her father. Uribe's former security chief was also arrested on charges he aided paramilitaries.<br /><br />The lawmakers are facing charges they aided, financed or organized illegal armed groups often in exchange for benefiting from paramilitary intimidation and influence at the ballot box.<br /><br />The paramilitaries were set up in the 1980s by rich landowners to protect themselves from rebels, but more than 30,000 militia fighters have given up their arms in a peace deal with Uribe in exchange for short prison terms.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-32530782686530365042007-02-15T22:39:00.000-08:002007-02-15T22:49:45.994-08:00More evidence of water on Planet Mars<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px" height="357" alt="Life in Mars" src="http://www.univelt.com/univeltdist/1-aerospace-astronautics/bismars.jpg" border="0" /> New images of a craggy, fissure-filled canyon on Mars provide evidence of long-term underground water flows that may have provided a suitable environment for microbial life, scientists said.<br /><div><br />''If there are any sort of fossils, these would be good places to look,'' the University of Arizona's Chris Okubo said in a telephone interview yesterday.</div><br /><div><br />While previous NASA probes have found evidence of past and even present-day water on Mars, scientists previously had few clues if the water existed long enough for life to evolve.</div><br /><div>The new findings show light-colored features cutting across dark bands in an area known as Candor Chasma. Okubo and his colleagues believe they are looking at places where rock has been chemically altered by water flowing across the fractures.</div><br /><div><br />''Fluids apparently resided within rock long enough to allow geochemical processes to occur,'' Okubo said. ''That's typically very slow.'' In addition, the rock was once underground, providing a safe haven for any microbes from radiation and atmospheric hazards.</div><br /><div><br />''These areas are very good for being an oasis for any sort of biologic activity,'' Okubo said.<br />Similar terrain exists on Earth, such as in the Colorado plateau.</div><br /><div><br />''It was sort of surprising to see these images from Mars because it's almost exactly like what we see in the field,'' Okubo said.</div><br /><div><br />Scientists say the fractures, which are several hundred yards (meters) long and about four yards (meters) wide, likely existed before any pools of water seeped underground.</div><br /><div><br />''The fractures then acted as nice conduits for the fluids to flow underground, like pipes,'' Okubo said. ''What we're seeing now is an exposure of bedrock that was buried at several kilometers (miles) depth at the time the fluids were present.'' Images of Candor Chasma, one of several large canyons that are part of Mars' sprawling Valles Marineris, were taken during tests last fall of NASA's new Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The pictures show fractures stretching hundreds of yards (meters) across bedrock.</div><br /><div><br />Similar features have been found by the Mars rover Opportunity, which currently is perched at the rim of a large crater known as Victoria Crater. Scientists are considering dispatching the rover into the crater for a closer look. The rover already has found evidence of a one-time salty shallow ocean at its landing site.</div><br /><div><br />The discovery was described Friday's issue of the journal Science and at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in San Francisco.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-89901172977203433762007-02-13T04:12:00.000-08:002007-02-13T04:15:46.680-08:00India ready for Cricket World Cup 2007India's <strong>cricket</strong> selectors picked <strong>Virender Sehwag</strong> for the World Cup despite the aggressive batsman being woefully out of touch in the run-up to the showpiece event. Sehwag was selected despite scoring just 273 in his last 15 one-dayers, including an unimpressive 19 off 23 balls in the five-run defeat against Sri Lanka on Sunday.<br /><br />He is the only Indian to compile a triple-century in Test cricket, was favoured for his career record of 4,775 runs from 165 one-dayers with seven centuries. He is also off-spin bowler with 71 one-day wickets, giving Dravid an option of an additional spinner.<br /><br /><strong>Rahul Dravid</strong> will captain India with senior pro <strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong>, set for his fifth World Cup, appointed the deputy ahead of former skipper <strong>Sourav Ganguly</strong>.<br /><br />The selectors also included the injured duo of seamer Irfan Pathan and batsman Yuvraj Singh in the 15-man squad, confident they will recover in time before the World Cup opens in the Caribbean on March 13.<br /><br />Coach Greg Chappell and Dravid joined the five-man selection committee, headed by former Test captain Dilip Vengsarkar, in choosing a squad that has a good blend of experience and youth.<br /><br />Six players -- <strong>Robin Uthappa</strong>, <strong>Dinesh Karthick</strong>, <strong>Mahendra Singh Dhoni</strong>, <strong>Irfan Pathan</strong>, Shanthakumaran <strong>Sreesanth</strong> and <strong>Munaf Patel</strong> -- will be playing in their first World Cup.<br /><br />But the remaining nine -- <strong>Dravid</strong>, <strong>Tendulkar</strong>, <strong>Ganguly</strong>,<strong> Sehwag</strong>, <strong>Yuvraj</strong>, <strong>Anil Kumble</strong>, <strong>Harbhajan Singh</strong>, <strong>Ajit Agarkar</strong> and <strong>Zaheer Khan</strong> -- were part of the 2003 squad in South Africa that made the final.<br /><br />Yuvraj (back injury) and Pathan (sore shoulder) were picked after team physiotherapist John Gloster said he was confident both will be fit before the team departed for the Caribbean on February 28.<br /><br />India are drawn with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and first-timers Bermuda in group B of the preliminary league. The top two will advance to the second round.<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>India's World Cup squad: </strong><br /><br />Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthick, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-21330246526056573682007-02-08T02:44:00.000-08:002007-02-06T07:18:32.852-08:00Samuels in match-fixing scandal<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 84px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 103px" height="285" alt="Sports News" src="http://india-westindies.cricket.deepthi.com/images/samuels-pic.jpg" border="0" />Indian police stunned the cricket world late Wednesday when they accused West Indian all-rounder <strong>Marlon Samuels</strong> of dealing with an illegal bookmaker during a recent One-day series in India.<br /><p>Indian cricket board vice-president Shashank Manohar said the report from the police in central Nagpur, where the alleged incident took place, had been passed on to the International Cricket Council (ICC).</p><br /><p>"The ICC and its anti-corruption unit will deal with what is obviously a very serious accusation," Manohar told reporters. "It concerns a foreign player. The Indian board can't take any action."<br />There was no immediate reaction from the Dubai-based offices of the ICC, but Samuels, 26, denied any wrongdoing.</p><br /><p>"I don't do such things man," Thursday's Times of India quoted Samuels as saying. "I have not done anything wrong. The West Indies Cricketers' Association will take up the matter if necessary."</p><br /><p>Amitesh Kumar, deputy police commissioner of Nagpur, said Samuels released important team information to the bookmaker during the first One-day international, citing tapped telephone conversations between the pair.</p><br /><p>Kumar told reporters on Wednesday that Samuels had five conversations with the bookmaker, identified in the calls as Mukesh Kochar, although there was no evidence money had changed hands.</p><br /><p>India won the match against the West Indies on January 21 by 14 runs.<br />"We have recorded information that Samuels leaked important team information to Kochar from his hotel room in five telephone calls on January 20 and 21," Kumar said.</p><br /><p>"We do not have evidence if any financial commitment was made. All I will say is the link between the player and the bookie is a violation of the ICC Code of Conduct for players."</p><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-28460717598000617322007-02-02T06:38:00.001-08:002007-02-02T06:38:56.212-08:00Blair says won't quit before funding probe endsBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair today said it would be wrong for him to leave office before a police investigation into political party funding ends. ''I don't think that's the right way to do it and I think it would be particularly wrong to do it before the inquiry has even run its course and come to any conclusions. So you'll have to put up with me for a bit longer,'' he told BBC Radio.Blair has been questioned twice as a witness in his Downing Street office by police probing allegations that titles were granted by political parties in exchange for funding in an investigation overshadowing the premier's last months in the office.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-54198148443559101672007-02-02T06:25:00.000-08:002007-02-02T06:34:42.665-08:00Tata Steel bids for Corus acquisition<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 215px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" height="164" alt="Ratan Tata" src="http://im.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/16inter.jpg" border="0" />Jan 31 2007 : <strong>Tata Steel</strong> is set to become the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker after winning a bid battle for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group by agreeing to pay 6.2 billion pounds ($12 billion).<br />Britain's Takeover Panel said in an e-mailed statement that after an auction Tata Steel had agreed to offer Corus investors 608 pence per share in cash, topping a final bid of 603 pence from Brazilian Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN).<br /><p>Both offers were right at the top end of what analysts had thought possible and will now be put to Corus investors, who have no reason not to accept the higher price.<br />Corus was not immediately available for comment.<br />The auction process, following a takeover tussle that began in earnest when Tata Steel offered 455 pence per share on Oct.</p><br /><p>20, started at the close of trading in London on Tuesday when Corus shares ended 0.5 percent higher at 563 pence. CSN and Tata Steel were keen to buy Corus to become significant players in the consolidating steel industry, where Dutch-based Mittal Steel last year bought Luxembourg's Arcelor to create the world's biggest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal.<br />The 608 pence Tata Steel is set to pay values Corus at around seven times its forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2006, well above the multiple Mittal Steel paid for Arcelor which was 4.6 times historic EBITDA.</p><br /><p>Ahead of the auction, called last week by the Takeover Panel to bring the bid battle to an end, CSN had the upper hand after it had made a bid worth 4.9 billion pounds ($9.6 billion) or 515 pence per share, accepted by Corus on Dec. 11, hours after it had accepted a 500 pence offer from Tata Steel.</p><br /><p>The battle pushed Corus's share price to seven-year highs and pitted 70-year-old Tata group chairman Ratan Tata, from one of India's best-known business families, against Benjamin Steinbruch who at 52 is one of Brazil's most famous executives as chief executive and main owner of CSN. </p><br /><p><strong>Ratan Tata</strong> has transformed the once-staid Tata group since taking over as chairman in 1991. He has cut the number of companies in the group from over 300, and acquired new businesses with growth potential.</p><br /><p>Tata Steel has spent more than $400 million in recent years to buy Singapore's NatSteel and Thailand's Millennium Steel, and other group companies have also made acquisitions outside India.</p><br /><p>On Oct 17<strong> </strong>2006<strong> Tata Steel</strong> announced that it had made a ten billion dollars acquisition offer to Corus Group Plc, the largest steel maker of the UK.</p><br /><p>In a statement, the company said it had made an ''indicative non -binding offer to acquire 100 per cent equity'' in Corus Group Plc and discussions in this regard were on with the Borad and Management of the UK company.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-40896438292421629902007-02-02T06:08:00.000-08:002007-02-02T06:11:12.707-08:00India won ODI seriesJan 31, 2007 : <strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong> hit his <strong>41st one-day century</strong> as India beat West Indies by <strong>160 runs</strong> to clinch the series 3-1. West Indies, who won the toss, were bowled out for 181 in the 42nd over, Marlon Samuels top-scoring with 55. The tourists on 65-3 in the 15th over, but a 65-run stand between Samuels and Denesh Ramdin (40) saved some face for them. Earlier man of the match and man of the series Tendulkar scored his 41st ton with a single in the last ball of the Indian innings as 107 runs flowed in the last 10 overs. Dhoni was not out on 40 in 20 balls, with 1 four and 3 sixes. Ganguly (68) and Uthappa (28) gave India a quickfire start, with a 47 run partnership in 6.3 overs. Dravid (78) was instrumental in two century partnerships, one with Ganguly and another with Sachin.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;"><a href="http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/2007/odi_series/ind-wi/310107match4.html">Get the score card</a></span></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-38690951259287330422007-01-30T00:49:00.000-08:002007-01-30T00:56:57.903-08:00Huge mudflow inevitable from volcano lake<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" height="193" alt="Volcano" src="http://www-archbac.u-psud.fr/Graphics/GalleryGrfX/NZ1/volcano.jpg" border="0" /> A crater lake on a New Zealand volcano used as a backdrop in the ''Lord of the Rings'' films is on the verge of collapsing and could send a torrent of muddy water down the mountain in coming weeks, media reported today.<br /><br />Melting snow on Mount Ruapehu has filled the lake to within 1.5 metres of its lip, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper.<br /><br />The 2,797-metre volcano is the highest mountain in the North Island and home to two commercial ski fields.<br /><br />Scientists say a lahar, or mudflow composed of volcanic material and water, is inevitable as warm summer weather causes the snow to melt and fill the lake.<br /><br />''It is still expected the earliest the dam might start collapsing to create a lahar down the Whangaehu River is February/March,'' the Herald quoted a Department of Conservation official as saying.<br /><br />On December 24, 1953, a lahar rushing down the Whangaehu River destroyed a railway bridge, causing a packed passenger train to plunge into the river, killing 151 people on board.<br /><br />Since then, a barrier of boulders and gravel has been built to divert any lahar flowing into the river. No major towns would be in its path.<br /><br />Mount Ruapehu, which last erupted in 1995 and 1996, creating the present crater dam, is in Tongariro National Park, where Peter Jackson filmed some scenes for his ''Lord of the Rings''.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-28938095532339495612007-01-29T04:38:00.000-08:002007-01-29T04:48:16.402-08:00Hillary Rodham Clinton<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 178px" height="456" alt="International News" src="http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/ww1/payot1.jpeg" border="0" />The former first lady acknowledged her plans to take the first step of forming a presidential exploratory committee.<br /><br /><div>"I'm not just starting a campaign, though. I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America," Clinton says in her web message. She announced that she will be holding live, on-line video conferences with Americans starting Monday.<br /></div><br /><div>"Let's talk about how to bring the right end to the war in Iraq, and to restore respect for America around the world," she said.</div><br /><div><br />Clinton's announcement, days after Sen. Barack Obama shook up the contest race with his bid to become the first black president, establishes the most diverse political field ever.<br /></div><br /><div>Clinton is considered the front-runner, with Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards as other top contenders. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who would be the first Hispanic president, intends to announce his plans on Sunday. Other Democrats seeking the highest office in the land include Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) is expected to formally announce his candidacy soon.<br /></div><br /><div>With millions in the bank, a vast network of supporters and top status in nearly every poll of </div><br /><div>Democratic contenders, Clinton is undertaking the most viable effort by a female candidate to capture the White House. Her creation of a presidential exploratory committee allows her to raise money for the campaign; she already has lined up campaign staff. She is the first presidential spouse to pursue the office; her husband, Bill, served two terms in the White House from 1993-2001.<br /></div><br /><div>A polarizing figure since she burst onto the national scene during her husband's first presidential campaign, Clinton engenders strong opinions among voters, who either revere or revile her but rarely are ambivalent.<br /></div><br /><div>She often is compared to her husband and found lacking in his natural charisma. Others have criticized her for being overly cautious and calculating when so many voters say they crave authenticity. Many Democrats, eager to reclaim the White House after eight years of President Bush, fret that she carries too much baggage from her husband's scandal-plagued presidency to win a general election. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-48907162388695696682007-01-29T04:16:00.000-08:002007-01-29T04:18:50.417-08:00Attack on Nithari KillersThe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday produced Moninder Singh Pandher and Surendra Koli, prime accused in the Nithari serial killings, in a special court here.<br /><br />The duo was severely beaten up by a group of lawyers and public in the premises of the court here, where they were produced by the CBI. Some lawyers caught Pandher by his hair and repeatedly punched him on his face and rained blows on him. Unable to withstand the attack, the businessman became unconscious and fell to the ground.<br /><br />The policemen surrounding them had a tough time controlling the angry crowd. The CBI has registered 19 cases against them. Uttar Pradesh Police had on December 29 recovered skulls and human remains from a drain behind Pandher's D-5, Sector 31 residence in Noida, unearthing the serial killings of children and women allegedly killed by him and his domestic help Koli.<br /><br />Asked if the lawyers claimed to have been named in the case were absconding, SP (city) Govind Agarwal said: "Well, not really. We have obtained lots of TV news footage and newspaper photos for identifying many more individuals guilty of thrashing Pandher and even roughing up policemen. Stern action will be taken." from <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/1021546.cms" target="_blank">Times Of India</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-3490856977024818782007-01-29T02:43:00.000-08:002007-01-29T02:52:18.486-08:00Reality Show Winners<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 145px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 105px" height="141" alt="Rahul Roy" src="http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/02/13/images/2006021301400101.jpg" border="0" />Actor Rahul Roy has won Big Boss, one of India's biggest reality shows. Model Carol Gracias and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishen were the last to be evicted.<br />All former contestants came together to celebrate the occasion. Rahul Roy walked away with Rs 50 lakh prize money after three months in the house.<br /><br /><br /><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 90px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 126px" height="414" alt="" src="http://www.lexpress.mu/images/79411_1.jpg" border="0" />Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty stormed to victory on Britain's ''Celebrity Big Brother'' after her treatment on the television show sparked fears of racist bullying that escalated into an international row.<br /><br />Shetty, whose victory will be seen as a triumph for racial equality in Britain and India, beat 13 other contestants, including those who were accused of tormenting her.<br /><div></div><div>But the 31-year-old was quick to play down allegations that she had been the victim of racial abuse on the show, unaware the spat had already drawn tens of thousands of complaints, dominated headlines and even prompted a sponsor to pull out.</div><div></div><div>''Things happen and people make mistakes and we are all human beings and we are all fallible,'' said Shetty after emerging victorious from the specially-designed Big Brother House, where she had been cooped up for 26 days under 24-hour surveillance.</div><div></div><div>''I know one thing for sure, Jade really didn't mean to be racist,'' she said, referring to shamed television star Jade Goody who was a central figure in the furore. </div><div></div><div>''I really don't want to leave England putting anyone in trouble,'' added Shetty in an interview on Channel 4, which broadcasts the controversial series .</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-87870499850352576202007-01-22T05:32:00.000-08:002007-01-22T05:39:13.159-08:00Monica Lewinsky hunting job in London<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 88px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 96px" height="281" alt="Monica Lewinsky" src="http://monica-lewinsky-news.newslib.com/img/logo/1253.jpg" border="0" />Monica Lewinsky, the lady who landed former US President Bill Clinton in a famous political sex scandal in 1998, is now hunting for a job in London.<br /><br />33-years-old Lewinsky graduated from the London School of Economics last month.<br /><br />In 1998, the US House of Representatives impeached Clinton on charges of lying to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice to conceal his affair with Lewinsky.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-9504335312332713852007-01-22T05:26:00.000-08:002007-01-22T05:32:29.351-08:00Bangalore violenceNight curfew was clamped in part of the City even as a 12 year-old boy was killed in police firing and more than 30 people injured in fresh violence that broke out during a 'Shobha Yatra' taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on 21st January 2007. <br /><br />The curfew, clamped as precautionary measure, would be in force till morning in Bharatinagar area and depending upon the situation decision would be taken to withdraw.<br /><br />Police said the boy was killed at Kamaraj road when the police opened fire after lobbing of tear gas shells and lathi charge was proved to be futile to disperse the mob which indulged in torching vehicles besides pelting stones on roadside shops.<br /><br />More than 40 vehicles including buses, autorickshaws and two wheelers were damaged and torched and scores of shops were damaged in stone pelting.<br /><br />More than 30 people, including six police personnel, who were injured in violence were admitted to various Hospitals.More than 300 people were taken into custody in connection with the violence.<br /><br />In other two areas Shivajinagar and Halasur police limits Prohibitory Orders under section 144 were clamped. Large scale violence broke out during 'Shobha Yatra' taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists.<br /><br />No fresh incidents of violence was reported last night in the trouble hit areas where night curfew had been clamped.<br /><br />Additional Police Commissioner Bipin Gopalakrishna said the curfew in Shivajinagar, Bharatinagar and Halsur, Tannery Road, K G Halli and Thimmaiah Road last night, was relaxed in the morning.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-46745740464317211212007-01-22T05:18:00.000-08:002007-01-22T05:26:41.595-08:00India wins first ODI by 14 runs<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 148px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 109px" height="151" alt="Sports news : Cricket, Saurav Ganguly" src="http://www.channel4.com/sport/cricket/img/news_images/03-03-20_ganguly1_371.jpg" border="0" />India were indebted to <strong>Sourav Ganguly</strong> for posting their highest total against the <strong>West Indies</strong> as the left-handed opener celebrated his comeback with a superb <strong>98</strong>.The former Indian captain, playing his first one-dayer in 16 months, hammered three sixes and 11 fours in his 110-ball knock to help the hosts surpass their previous best total of 325-5 against the West Indies.<br /><br />However, West Indies opening batsman <strong>Shivnarine Chanderpaul</strong> smashed a robust century, but failed to stop India from posting a thrilling <strong>14-run</strong> win in the first one-day international here.<br /><br />The left-hander cracked an unbeaten 149 for his fifth one-day hundred before the West Indies were restricted to<strong> 324-8</strong> in reply to India's challenging total of <strong>338-3</strong> on a batting pitch.<br /><br />The 32-year-old Chanderpaul threatened to ruin Ganguly's day with a gem of an innings, which came off 136 balls with the help of three sixes and 16 fours. He was named <strong>man of the match</strong>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1169115306709877772007-01-18T02:09:00.000-08:002007-01-18T04:46:30.438-08:00Sania Mirza crashes out of Australian Open<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 125px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 167px" height="317" alt="Sports News, Tennis" src="http://blog.chaudhris.com/archives/archives/sania5.jpg" border="0" />Sania Mirza could not rein in the string of unforced errors and her serve also let her down as the Hyderabadi ace crashed out of the Australian Open singles event following a 3-6, 2-6 second round loss to Japan's Aiko Nakamura here today.<br /><br />The Indian was erratic throughout, committing 26 double faults in all, as Nakamura outplayed her in just over an hour to set up a third round clash with Swiss Martina Hingis.<br /><br />Sania thus failed to better her 2005 show at the Melbourne Park, where she had reached the third round before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.<br /><br />Nakamura, it seemed, had learnt her lessons from the 2005 loss to Sania in the Japan Open, the only face-off between the two players before today's match, and was clearly the more disciplined, breaking the Indian thrice in the opening set.<br /><br />Sania also managed to convert the two break points that came her way but never looked to be in her elements and committed 12 unforced errors compared to Nakamura's six to surrender the first set in just 33 minutes.<br /><br />The second set followed almost the same script and Nakamura gave no chance to the world number 53, breaking her twice. The Hyderabadi star wasted two break points and served poorly, committing three double faults apart from 14 unforced errors to bow out of the first Grand Slam of the year.<br /><br />Sania later admitted that she was not in her best form and blamed poor serve and the inability to land the trademark forehands for the straight set loss.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1169044424892338932007-01-17T06:27:00.000-08:002007-01-18T04:42:24.631-08:00Indonesian Jet CrashBad weather is more likely than a mid-air explosion to have caused the disappearance of an Indonesian passenger plane that vanished more than two weeks ago with 102 people aboard, an aviation investigator said today.<br /><br />Frans Wenas, head of a government team investigating the case, said aircraft overstress or bad weather, or a combination of both, could have caused the accident.<br /><br />''The aircraft may have run into an uncontrollable weather situation which got it in an unusual position,'' said Wenas, an investigator from the National Transport Safety Commission.<br /><br />The airliner may have disintegrated on impact with the sea or due to underwater pressure, he added.<br /><br />There had been suggestions the 17-year-old aircraft, which vanished from radar screens on New Year's Day, had exploded in mid air, but a study of pieces of the airliner found so far indicated this was probably not the case, he said.<br /><br />''Looking at the pieces that we have found and where they were located, there are no indications that the plane exploded in the air,'' Wenas said by telephone, adding that the debris recovered showed no signs of burning or of an explosion.<br /><br />After finding no trace of the plane for more than a week, a fisherman found the tail stabiliser of the Boeing last Tuesday snared in his nets off Lojie Beach on the west coast of Sulawesi island.<br /><br />No bodies or survivors have been found.<br /><br />Other small pieces of wreckage have been found in the past few days floating in the sea or washed up on beaches in the area.<br /><br />Air Marshal Eddy Suyanto, the head of the search mission, said on Monday that a fuel spill in the sea spotted by a search aircraft and believed to be from the doomed jet could provide a new clue.<br /><br />But the slick rescue workers had not been able to locate the spill when they tried to go to the area to get a sample, officials said.<br /><br />Fragments of human hair and scalp that might come from passengers were found on Sunday and had been sent for DNA testing. The process could take two or three days.<br /><br />Suyanto said previously that, considering that parts of the plane found so far were mostly small, a body was unlikely to have survived the disaster in one piece.<br /><br />Indonesian navy ships assisted by a US oceanographic ship have also been trying to locate the missing plane's fuselage, which could still house the flight recorder that could provide clues to explain the disaster.<br /><br />The flight recorder is set up to give off a signal for 30 days to aid detection, but it is likely to be very hard to locate in waters as deep as 1,700 metres in the area.<br /><br />The plane was heading from Surabaya in East Java to Manado in northern Sulawesi when it vanished in bad weather. The plane made no distress call, although the pilot had reported concerns over crosswinds.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168521074335409112007-01-11T05:08:00.000-08:002007-01-18T04:44:46.679-08:00Sidhu sent to Patiala jailCricketer <strong>Navjot Singh Sidhu</strong> has sent to Patiala <strong>jail</strong>. He was the former BJP MP.Last month, Sidhu was given a three-year jail sentence by the Punjab and Haryana High court after he was convicted in a Patiala road rage case in 1988, in which a person had died.<br /><br />He has surrendered in keeping with a legal provision by which an appelant has to surrender in the original court's jurisdiction before the Supreme Court can take up his appeal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168520806503920282007-01-11T05:05:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:12:30.365-08:00Postmortem identifies 3 missing childrenThree of the four <strong>highly decomposed bodies</strong> found in an abandoned rice sheller of former <strong>Congress MP Jagmeet Singh Brar</strong> last night, were today identified as those of children of the migrant Bawaria families who had been reported missing for almost two months.<br /><br />Speaking to UNI, IG Bathinda Range Mr V K Bhawra, said three of the children were identified as Ashki (9), Ratni (13) and one boy Satbir (10) after the post mortem carried out at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital at Faridkot this morning.<br /><br />The fourth highly decomposed body could not be identified. As the bodies were half-burnt, the identification was extremely difficult, he said.<br /><br />Mr Bhawra said a BDR was entered by the police on the complaint of the parents and the missing report was flashed on the local TV Channels and newspapers.<br /><br />Some people, including a woman belonging to Bawaria tribe hailing from Rajasthan, named by the missing children's families were questioned by the police after raids carried out throughout last night and in the day, he said.<br /><br />However, nobody has been arrested so far, Mr Bhawra said.<br /><br />The bodies of children with their <strong>hands tied</strong> were found by a police patrol party from the deserted rice sheller, which had not been in operation since the last few years. The patrol party had gone to the godown to make arrangements for the stay of police personnel during the coming 'Maghi' mela here.<br /><br />The incident, coming close on the heels of Noida's Nithari serial killings, has sent shockwaves in the state poised for assembly polls next month.<br /><br />The firebrand Congress campaigner, Mr Brar, when contacted stated that the rice mill owned by his family, had been closed for the last five years. He said the matter be thoroughly investigated adding that he would fully cooperate with the police.<br /><br />Commenting on the political ramifications of the matter, Mr Brar admitted he even had rivals within the Congress party itself and stressed that he would like the truth to come out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168520589120240212007-01-11T05:02:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:13:55.880-08:00He alone to blame for mistakesPresident George W Bush told Americans today ''where mistakes have been made in Iraq, the responsibility rests with me,'' as he unveiled a new war plan that includes an infusion of more than 20,000 extra US troops.<br /><br />In a remarks prepared for a televised prime time speech, Bush also said the United States would hold the Iraqi government to certain ''benchmarks,'' including passage of oil-sharing legislation, reconstruction and job projects and political reforms. But he set no timetable for achieving these goals.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168264514314378432007-01-08T05:53:00.000-08:002007-01-18T04:48:35.592-08:009/11 hijacker friend to be sentencedA German court on Monday will sentence a Moroccan friend of the <strong>September 11 </strong>hijackers who was found guilty last year of being an accessory to mass murder, the court said today.<br /><br />Mounir El Motassadeq, a member of a group of radical Arab students in Hamburg who organised the 2001 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died, faces up to 15 years in prison.<br /><br />Germany's top appeals court in Karlsruhe had in November found Motassadeq guilty of abetting the murder of 246 passengers and crew who died on four planes that crashed on September 11, 2001.<br /><br />Lawyers for the Moroccan had demanded the suspension of the first hearing in Hamburg today, at which Motassadeq was present. His lawyer accused the court of being unconstitutional because it was set up specifically for the hearing.<br /><br />''We are dealing with an extraordinary court which has been formed exclusively for El Motassadeq,'' Ladislav Anisic told German broadcaster N24.<br /><br />''What is happening here goes against our constitution.'' Motassadeq, 32, is one of only two people convicted of involvement in the September 11 attacks.<br /><br />The other is Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a US court in May 2006.<br /><br />Last November's decision overturned a 2005 ruling which convicted him of belonging to a terrorist organisation while clearing him of abetting mass murder.<br /><br />Motassadeq's lawyers insist he knew nothing about the plot to fly hijacked planes into the New York and Washington targets.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168263270200109892007-01-08T05:30:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:14:58.651-08:00CBI probe and Forensic tests for Noida killing<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px" height="120" alt="Noida killings" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5736/3294/320/150725/cbi.gif" width="198" border="0" />Stating that Uttar Pradesh government had ultimately bowed to public pressure by agreeing on a <strong>CBI probe</strong> into the killing of innumerable children at Nithari village in Noida, the BJP today said the investigation should start immediately.<br /><br />The two accused of Nithari killings, <strong>Moninder Singh Pandher</strong> and <strong>Surinder Koli</strong> were put through various psychological tests today at the Forensic Science Laboratory here.<br /><br />Noida Deputy SP Dinesh Yadav, who accompanied the accused from Delhi, told newspersons near the FSL that they had requested the officials here to conduct three tests -- <strong>narco-analysis</strong>, <strong>lie-detector</strong> and <strong>brain mapping</strong> -- in order to probe the missing gaps.<br /><br />''The tests are part of the investigations, and are being done on court orders,'' Mr Yadav said.<br />Asked about the possibility of a link to organ trade, the DSP said, ''The case would be probed from every possible angle.'' Refusing to to give a time-frame for completion of the tests, the FSL Director said it could take at least three to four days. ''It depends on the personality and the mental status of the accused.<br /><br />They are human beings, nothing can be fixed. But it might take three to four days,'' he added.<br />He said the FSL here was recognized as number one in the country and declared as the national resource centre by the Centre.<br /><br />''The laboratory has various facilities in narco-analysis, psychological profiling, and lie-detection, among others, of international standards,'' the Director said.<br /><br />Several important cases like the <strong>Madhumita murder</strong> case, <strong>Anara CD analysis</strong>, <strong>Telgi case</strong>, and others were brought here for investigations.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168258460277877372007-01-08T04:10:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:16:36.442-08:00Violence in Nandigram, West BengalThe situation in Nandigram, West Bengal that witnessed a mob violence on Wednesday, remained under control even though tension simmered as villagers put up barricades to cut-off the area from rest of the state, official sources said today.<br /><br />Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the situation in Nandigram, in East Midnapore district, was under control but tension still prevailed in the area.<br /><br />A large contingent of police had been posted in the area after the mob fury in which 20 people, including 14 cops, were injured following a reported government move for acquisition of 22,500 acres of land for two proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by the Indonesian Salim Group.<br />The incident took place even before the political situation in Singur over the land acquisition by Tatas cooled down.<br /><br />However, the state government denied having issued any notification for land takeover in the area saying the violence was ''deliberate'' and it was made to happen on the basis of a rumour.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168252246194195002007-01-08T02:23:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:17:18.302-08:00ULFA strikes Assam<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" height="308" alt="ULFA attacks Assam" src="http://www.saharasamay.com/Images/FullStory/assam070107.jpg" border="0" />Separatist militants gunned down 10 people in two attacks in restive Assam on Sunday, bringing the death toll in a wave of rebel violence since Friday night to 67, police said.<br /><br />Hundreds of soldiers and police raided insurgent hideouts in jungles of the northeastern state after two days of coordinated rebel strikes.<br /><br />Police blamed the attacks on the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has been fighting for the independence of Assamese people in a conflict that began almost three decades ago and has killed thousands of people.<br /><br />"We are going all out against the ULFA," Tarun Gogoi, Assam's chief minister, told Reuters.<br /><br />"Massive combing operations have started and additional troops are being rushed to the affected areas."<br /><br />Rebel attacks have increased since September after the ULFA and New Delhi called off peace talks and government troops ended a truce. Since then, the rebels have bombed crowded markets and railway stations, killing dozens of civilians.<br /><br />The weekend wave of violence started late on Friday with the gunning down of 48 labourers and traders. An explosion on Saturday killed seven people, including four policemen.<br /><br />The attacks continued on Sunday with the rebels killing 12 people, including nine labourers at a brick kiln and two supporters of the ruling Congress party in the oil- and tea producing state, police said.<br /><br />Security officials said the attackers had fled to the mountains of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.<br /><br />Last week the ULFA warned non-Assamese businessmen and labourers of dire consequences if they continued to live in Assam, accusing New Delhi of flooding the state with outsiders to reduce the indigenous Assamese population to a minority.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168248318814227262007-01-08T01:23:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:18:09.089-08:00German population goes downGermany, with one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, suffered another drop in population last year as deaths outpaced births and the number of immigrants declined again, the Federal Statistics Office said today.<br /><br />The population fell by about 150,000 in 2006 to 82.31 million after declining by 144,000 in 2005 to 82.44 million, the office said. The drop in 2006 marked the third time in the last quarter century that Germany's net population shrunk.<br /><br />The office estimated the number of births in 2006 had fallen to between 670,000 and 680,000, a record low since measuring began in 1946. That was also down from 686,000 in 2005. The number of deaths was steady at between 820,000 and 830,000.<br /><br />Fewer immigrants came to Germany in 2006 and more Germans left their country. The net gain in immigration versus emigration was down to about 20,000 to 30,000 in 2006 from a net gain of 79,000 in 2005.<br /><br />Germany's population has been shrinking for more than 30 years and there are 3.3 million fewer Germans than in 1972.<br /><br />Economists have warned that unless Germany's demographic trend is reversed, Europe's largest economy will go into terminal decline, with pensions and healthcare costs soaring as the average age gets higher and higher.<br /><br />The government introduced subsidies to working mothers in January with the hope it would raise the birth rate.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30673928.post-1168241853394429482007-01-07T23:36:00.000-08:002007-01-18T05:19:10.679-08:00Woman kills self, two mentally retarded childrenThe wife of a Jamshedpur-based industrialist <strong>killed herself and her two mentally retarded children</strong> by driving her car into a ravine at Daravali in Mulshi taluka of Sutarwadi village, 30 km from here.<br /><br />The deceased, Neha Khatan (36), drove her car with her children Nipun (12) and Chahat (3) directly into the valley. The car caught fire, killing all three occupants instantly, police said adding the bodies were beyond recognition. The identity of the deceased was established through the number-plate of the car.<br /><br />The police said the incident occurred last evening. Initially, the police believed it was a case of accident. However, they recovered three suicide notes written by the deceased for her husband, who owns a factory in Bhosari industrial area in Jamshedpur and her parents in which she stated that she was committing suicide out of depression.<br /><br />In her note, she said she wanted her husband to remarry and that <strong>she had another five-year old daughter Janhavi</strong>, who was normal.<br /><br />Police have registered a case of suicide and murder, sources added.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0