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NSA to convene China Study Group meeting to discuss incursion fallout

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.17 (ANI): National Security Advisor M K Narayanan will hold a meeting of the China Study Group – consisting of top officials including Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and Secretaries of Defence, Home and Foreign Ministries – here today.

The meeting is expected to take stock of the situation along the Sino-India border, official sources said.

Besides Chandrasekhar, the meeting will be attended by Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Home Secretary G K Pillai and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

Top officials of the three armed forces and the Intelligence Bureau will also attend the meeting.

The meeting assumes significance in wake of recent reports of incursions by the Chinese army in Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, involving the air dropping of expired food canes, painting of rocks red among others.

Another media report said that two Chinese Sukhoi fighters had transgressed into Indian air space last month.

The Indian Air Force, however, says no unscheduled flight inside Indian air space had taken place last month. (ANI)

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‘Austerity drive may be extended to MPs after an all party meet’

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 16 (ANI): The UPA Government’s austerity drive is expected to be extended to all Members of Parliament (MPs) following an all party meeting, according to sources.

Vice President Hamid Ansari will call an all-party meeting to decide on the issue once Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s returns from Rome, inside sources said.

Following the top party leaders’ much publicized economy class flights and train rides, the UPA had requested Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha chairpersons to convince all MPs to join the austerity drive.

The Chairman of the Rajya Sahba and the Lok Sabha Speaker are expected to hold a discussion on the austerity drive.

The move is to promote the austerity comes in the wake of the country experiencing a crippling draught.

The Congress party has already advised its ministers and lawmakers to donate 20 percent of their salary towards draught relief.

They have also been told to travel economy class and not hold press conferences in five-star hotels. (ANI)

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Mamata Banerjee lauds Rahul Gandhi’s train ride

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sept 17 (ANI): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has lauded Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s train ride as part of his party’s austerity drive.

Mamata Banerjee, who inaugurated the newly spruced up terminal of New Delhi railway station in the capital along with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday, lauded the austerity act.

Gandhi travelled in an air-conditioned chair car of the Swarn Shatabdi Express on Tuesday, a day after his mother Sonia Gandhi travelled in an economy class flight from New Delhi to Mumbai.

Rahul travelled from New Delhi to Ludhiana to inaugurate a four-day camp of young Congressmen.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked the Congress leaders to observe austerity to cut down expenditure in the wake of draught declared in parts of the country.

Earlier, the Congress Party had decided that its ministers and lawmakers would also take a 20 per cent cut in salaries.

The Congress Party has also urged the government to keep prices of essential commodities in check with special emphasis on oil seeds and pulses. (ANI)

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Swann hopes to wake England pals from their one-day slumber

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.15 (ANI): Off-spinner Graeme Swann is hoping to give a wake up call to his England team-mates when they take on Australia in the fifth of the seven match NatWest series.

The day-night clash is to be played at Trent Bridge tonight.

The spin ace told SunSport: “I’m going to try to lift the camp. I find it easy to have a laugh while playing cricket – and it’s probably more important to do that when you are losing. I don’t target anyone in particular with the piss-taking. It is whoever walks in the dressing room at the wrong time. But you can’t kid anyone, we’ve played terrible cricket in the one-day series so far.”

England’s one-day form needs a sharp hand-brake turn if they are to stand any chance in the upcoming Champions Trophy in South Africa. Their mini-World Cup campaign starts on September 25 and once again you wouldn’t back them to bag the silverware.

Swann was meeting fans on the Ashes Urn Tour. (ANI)

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Popular stomach acid reducer ups patients’ risk of developing pneumonia threefold

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 15 (ANI): Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a popular stomach-acid reducer, which is used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients who need breathing machine support, triples the likelihood of contracting pneumonia among such patients.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia-the leading cause of infection-related deaths in critically ill patients-increases hospital stays by an average of seven to nine days, cost of care, and the risk of other complications.

“As best we can tell, patients who develop hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia have about a 20 to 30 percent chance of dying from that pneumonia. It’s a significant event,” said senior study author Dr. David L. Bowton, professor and head of the Section on Critical Care in the Department of Anesthesiology.

During the study, the researchers compared treatment with two drugs that decrease stomach acid: ranitidine, marketed under the name ZantacTM, and pantoprazole, marketed under the name ProtonixTM or PrilosecTM.

Both drugs decrease stomach acid, but the newer pantoprazole is considered more powerful, and has become the drug of choice in many hospitals.

However, upon the analysis of 834 patient charts, the researchers came to the conclusion that the risk of developing pneumonia was thee times more in the hospitalised cardiothoracic surgery patients who had been treated with pantoprazole.

“We conducted this study, in part, because we thought we were seeing more pneumonias than we were used to having,” said study co-author Marc G. Reichert, pharmacy coordinator for surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The researchers say that their study suggests some other steps to keep critically ill patients from developing ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Bowton suggests that doctors consider whether an acid reducer is needed at all, and, in cases where it is needed, ranitidine is recommended because of the apparent decreased risk in developing pneumonia.

Doctors should stop using the drug as soon as the risk of bleeding passes – once the patient is off the breathing machine and eating, either on his/her own or through a feeding tube.

“Stopping the drugs earlier appears to be the best thing for patients,” Reichert said.

The study has been published in a recent issue of CHEST. (ANI)

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Sonia Gandhi sets an example, flies economy class to Mumbai

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi/Mumbai, Sep.14 (ANI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday flew by economy class to Mumbai to attend a rally of party workers and also to hold discussions with the leadership of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Gandhi’s decision to fly economy class followed a similar act by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and an announcement by External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna that he would be undertaking official trips to Belarus and Turkmenistan.

He has also decided to cut down his delegation from 20 to two members for the trip.

Krishna further said that he would not travel first class in commercial airliners during his official trips.

The decision to fly economy class comes in the wake of Mukherjee’s appeal for a need for ministers and lawmakers to observe austerity in their lifestyle and official functions as the country is facing a crisis caused by drought. (ANI)

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Tharoor says US should monitor Pak aid in wake of Musharraf’s admission

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.14 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Monday said he was not surprised by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s admission that the military aid the U.S. gave to Pakistan was used to strengthen defences against India rather than fighting the war on terror on Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters outside his South Block office, Tharoor said: “We know Pakistan has been misusing US aid for years. I am not surprised by former President Musharraf’s statement. This confirms India’s stand on the misuse of aid. The United States should monitor aid given to Pakistan more carefully.”

Tharoor’s response came after Gen.(Retd.) Musharraf admitted that he had violated the rules governing the use of the military aid, but justified his action, saying he had “acted in the best interest of Pakistan.”

He did not want to compromise on Pakistan’s interests, he said.

In an interview to a news channel, he said he “did not care” whether the U.S. would be angered by his disclosure.

Musharraf said that had he not supported the U.S. in the war on terror after the September, 2001 attacks, American forces could have entered Pakistan to capture its nuclear assets; it was also possible that the U.S. and India could have jointly attacked the country. (ANI)

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Putin hints at return to presidency for two more terms till 2024

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 12 (ANI): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is strongly considering to become President again and swap places with present incumbent Dimitri Medvedev, which will allow the former KGB spy to remain in power till 2024.

Putin insisted that swapping places with Medvedev was no more sinister than the Labour leadership agreement in which Gordon Brown took Tony Blair’s job.

Replying to a question on running for the presidency, Putin said that he would come to an accommodation with Medvedev, just as the two men had done when Putin stepped down in 2008.

“We will come to an agreement because we are people of the same blood and of the same political views,” The Times quoted Putin, as saying.

“According to the reality of the moment, we will make an analysis and take a decision. Did we compete in 2008? No. So we will not compete in 2012,” Putin told foreign correspondents and academics at the annual Valdai Discussion Club.

This is the strongest hint he has given so far that he is considering returning to the Kremlin. Putin stepped down after serving a maximum two terms as President and allowed Medvedev to run largely unopposed in presidential elections last year.

His term ends in 2012 when new constitutional provisions will allow the next president to serve two six-year terms, the paper reports.

It the things go as planned; Putin will be in power until 2024, when he would be 72.

Putin insisted that Medvedev was in control when asked who was in charge in Russia.

“We have nothing to prove to anyone. If someone lives in a dream he needs to wake up, take a shower and look at reality. If you want to co-operate with Russia you need to know that it is the President who heads Russia,” he said.

Putin deflected questions about whether he had met Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, on a secret visit to Moscow on Monday. He warned that any attacks against Iran would be counter-productive.(ANI)

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Assam’s Orang National Park to have anti-poaching camps

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati (Assam), Sep 9(ANI): The Assam Government on Wednesday said that it would set up five anti-poaching camps in the Orang National Park in order to prevent the poaching of the endangered one-horned rhinos.

The decision came in the wake of a stark increase in the number of poaching incidents that were reported from the park.

Earlier, Assam Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain had ordered a high-level probe. Several administrative officials, including Chief Conservator of Forest B S Bonal, had visited the park in order to prepare a report.

According to reports, along with the five anti-poaching camps, there will be two floating camps in the river. Meanwhile, twenty armed home guards and one assistant conservator of forest would be deployed to supervise the measures. (ANI)

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West Bengal Government scraps Rajarhat IT park project

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Sep.7 (ANI): The West Bengal government on Monday scrapped plans for an IT-related township in the Rajarhat area near Salt Lake City in the wake of a land scam involving land sharks and government officials.

The State Government had revealed last month that it had acquired land for the Infosys and Wipro complexes.

The state Cabinet went far beyond the waiving aside of the urban land ceiling to enable promoters procure the rest of the land. The government also promised to facilitate the process of land conversion (from agricultural to non-agricultural). Clause 5.51 under Section D of the MoU clearly states that Webel shall enable the joint venture company to get all clearance and “applicable permits” under the law, including “conversion of land”.

The government stayed away from procuring land on its own. Instead, it gave the JVC a long rope and agreed on getting land from this company on lease, leaving 600 acres to the private partners for commercial use. Not only that, the private promoters set the terms for Webel’s activities on the leasehold land. Clause 4.6 of the MoU states: “With a view to meet the requirement of small IT companies for built-up space, if Webel intends to develop IT parks, the Joint Venture partner Vedic Diamond will be given the first right of refusal to develop such facilities.”

Nobody attempted a cost benefit analysis important for a public purpose project.(ANI)

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Indo-Pak foreign secretary talks not on the cards

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.4 (ANI): Talks between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan-Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir-are not going to be held in the forseeable future in the wake of the latest statements emerging from Islamabad with regard to the 26/11 probe and its less than acceptable reactions to the six dossiers provided to it by the Indian Government.

According to sources, while the meeting between the Indian External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month, any hopes of a limited dialogue taking place at lesser levels is remote.

Incessant ceasefire violations at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan’s consistent non-compliance to the six dossiers provided by India and the inaction against 26/11 mastermind Hafeez Saeed are proving to be a recipe for a new face off between the two neighbours.

Dismayed by Pakistan’s double speak and its refusal to accept the evidence provided by India in the sixth dossier, sources said “It is up to Pakistan to decide what relation they want with India”.

Hafeez Saeed and his organization are banned under UN resolution 1267 and he should be brought to books, the sources added.

Interpol has already issued Red corner notices against Hafeez Saeed and Lakhvi, the key suspects who masterminded the Mumbai terror attacks.

But Pakistan is still asking for concrete evidence from India.

The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has already indicated that India may not respond to further demands from the Pakistan Government for information on the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai.

The apparent bitterness between the two neighbours is evident from the fact that the meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries is not yet finalized.

Sources have told ANI that no dates are fixed for the meetings so far.

It was decided between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-al-Sheikh last month that foreign secretaries of both countries should meet more often and it was also decided that Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao should meet her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir before the ministers of both countries meet in New York.

The Pakistan Foreign office has also reportedly invited the Indian Foreign Secretary for talks in Islamabad, but no decision has been taken regarding her visit as if now, sources have told ANI.

India is also alarmed by the recent US reports about Pakistan’s increasing nuclear capabilities. The Indian Army chief has also expressed apprehensions over the development and has said that Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile is going beyond nuclear deterrence. He has also cautioned Pakistan over the rising ceasefire violations. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)

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Western envoys expect run-off in Afghanistan election

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Paris, Sep. 3 (ANI): Western envoys to Afghanistan have said that their respective governments should “be prepared for a run-off” in the Afghanistan presidential election if too many votes are ruled “irregular.”

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off between the top two vote getters will be held. The latest results show that incumbent president Hamid Karzai has 47.3 percent of the vote with more than 60 percent of the ballots counted.

The meeting of German, French, British, UN, and US envoys to Afghanistan here was regarded as a show of unity and support in the midst of an Afghan mission seen as unpopular in Europe and dubbed by some US media as “Mr. Obama’s war.”

In European circles, the meeting was also seen as an effort to pressure Afghan President Karzai in the wake of some 1,000 complaints of ballot stuffing and fraud now under review, and to garner support for US efforts to target of irregular election behavior and corruption, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Hosted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the gathering also included British envoy Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Germany’s Bernd Mutzelburg, US envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karl Eide of the UN, and 22 other representatives.

The Afghanistan Election Commission is now going through nearly 1,000 complaints, of which 600 have been addressed, the envoys said – predicting they would finish the process by September 17. (ANI)

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Missing CM’s chopper: Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister to address media(Lead:AP CM)

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, Sep.2 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Rosaiah will address a press conference at 4 p.m. here, during which he will provide an update on the whereabouts of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhar Reddy.

Rosiah’s briefing comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh Police continuing their search for the missing chopper of the chief minister.

According to police sources, a civilian copter, air force helicopters and the army has been pushed in to the search operation.

Panic was created around Wednesday noon as Reddy was reported untraceable for nearly four hours.

Reddy was on his way to Chitoor, by chopper which initial reports said had made an emergency landing near Kurnool due to inclement weather.

The chopper took off at 8.45 a.m. for Chitoor and was scheduled to arrive here at 10.45 a.m, sources said.

The chopper was said to have landed in the middle a of thick forest, said to be affected by Maoist activities.

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed receiving a message of the emergency landing of the chopper, but nothing thereafter.

Till now, no one has confirmed the movements of Reddy.

The Union Home Ministry is monitoring the search operations, as Kurnool is a Naxal affected area.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) sources said the chopper went off the radar due to heavy rains.

The CMO maintains there is no need to worry as the area has no mobile connectivity. (ANI)

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Malaysian envoy asks countrymen to take care on Indian roads

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): Malaysian High Commissioner to India has advised his fellow countrymen to take extra precaution as the spate of fatal Indian road accidents involving them is worrying.

High Commissioner Tan Seng Sung said recent accidents, where Malaysians lost their lives showed that travellers need to be more careful when planning their travel to India.

“They must hire proper drivers and have their travel insurance ready when making trips to India,” Tan said on the sidelines of Malaysia’s 52nd National Day celebration in Delhi on Monday.

Over 200 guests, including foreign diplomats, Indian officials and Malaysians attended the event hosted by the High Commission at a hotel here.

The envoy’s comments came in the wake of a recent accident in Leh, in the Kashmir region, where three Malaysian women were killed while another is still missing after their vehicle toppled into a ravine.

Another woman, who is part of the Malaysian entourage on the trip suffered severe injuries and is still recuperating in a hospital here, The NST Online reported.

In April this year, a van ferrying a group of Malaysian pilgrims to Haridwar, a Hindu holy site, collided with another vehicle, killing the tour guide and his assistant.

Two Malaysian women, who were injured in that accident, later died in a hospital in Delhi.

A month later, two sisters, one a journalist of the New Straits Times, were badly injured when the taxi they hired rammed into an oncoming car. (ANI)

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No leadership role likely for ‘lateral entrants’ in BJP

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.31 (ANI): ‘Lateral entrants’, a term coined for non-RSS workers, are in for tough days ahead in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the wake of recent wrangling in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by the exit of senior leader Jaswant Singh and L.K. Advani’s aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, the party has decided to clip the feathers of ‘lateral’ entrants. It literally implies that the members, who are non-swayamsewaks, will no more be able to enjoy the power and clout they used to till recent past.

A senior leader, seeking anonymity, said, ” BJP has decided that the next BJP President will be a swayamsewak and will not be a ‘ lateral entry’. This will further strengthen the chances of hardcore RSS workers-Arun Jaitley, Bal Apte and Narendra Modi-being appointed as the new bosses of the organisation and put to rest speculations about Sushma Swaraj becoming the new President of the party after Rajnath Singh’s three-year term comes to its end by the end of this year.

According to a top BJP source, the cadres of the party are deeply pained by the recent statements made by Jaswant Singh and Advani’s aide Sudheendra Kulkarni who left the party citing that he has fundamental differences with BJP’s ideology.

Party believes that cadres across the country are deeply anguished by the conduct of ‘lateral’ entrants who enjoyed enormous power and were aspirants of holding top jobs if party had won. But they defected after the party lost in the elections.

According to sources, although party will downsize the clout of non-swayamsewaks in party affairs, it will not bar their entry into the party.

Source told ANI that BJP would welcome lateral entrants into the party in future on the basis of their professional ability and capacity.

It is learnt that RSS chief in his recent meetings with the BJP leadership had suggested that they should trim the role of lateral entrants in the BJP and promote swayamsewaks in the party.

Taking a dig at the so called intellectuals, who form the major chunk of ‘lateral entrants’ in the party, top source also said: “We have competent cadres who can speak good English and also write a book.”

Admitting that the generational change in the party is imminent, party sources also indicated that Advani will continue to guide the party with his experience and moral authority even after he steps down as the leader of Opposition. By Naveen Kapoor(ANI)

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Vasundhara Raje to meet Venkaiah Naidu today

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will meet Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu here today.

Earlier, the BJP central leadership had said that they have asked Raje to report to them in New Delhi on August 30.

On Thursday, Raje had asserted that she had no plans to leave Rajasthan and would continue to serve the people of the state “post or no post”.

Raje, however, declined to comment on whether she would resign from the post.

She has been asked by the BJP high command to step down as the Leader of the Opposition in the wake of the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly elections.

In the 2009 general elections, the BJP was reduced to four seats from 23 that it had in 2004 in Rajasthan. (ANI)

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Raje arrives in New Delhi to meet senior BJP leaders

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 30 (ANI): Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje arrived in New Delhi on Sunday evening to meet senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

Raje is to meet M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday.

On Thursday, Raje asserted that she had no plans to leave Rajasthan and would continue to serve the people of the state “post or no post”.

Raje, however, declined to comment on whether she would resign from the post.

She has been asked by the BJP High command to step down as the Leader of Opposition in the wake of the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha and Rajasthan State Assembly elections.

In the 2009 General Elections, the BJP reduced to four seats from 23 that it had in 2004 from Rajasthan State. (ANI)

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‘Street fighter’ Katich must replace ‘soft’ Ponting to revive Aussies: Ex-players

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug 30 (ANI): Australia needs a street fighter like Simon Katich to trigger a revival, after calls for sacking of Ricky Ponting in the wake of the Ashes loss under the Tasmanian’s captaincy for the second time in four years

Australian cricket has lost the ruthless cutting edge cultivated by Steve Waugh that made them one of the most feared teams, according to former players.

Former Test wicketkeeper Steve Rixon said Ponting is a magnificent batsman, but he will never be regarded as a great captain, and added that Australia have lost their killer instinct under him.

Ponting became the first Australian captain in 119 years to lose consecutive series on English soil, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Rixon says the take-no-prisoners psyche cultivated by Waugh has been eroded.

“I don’t relate to the brand of cricket we are playing under Ricky. We aren’t playing the sort of cricket that has made us ruthless and a team that no one really likes to play,” Rixon said.

“Teams aren’t capitulating under pressure like they used to. We seem to have a more timid nature . . . and that could certainly have a bearing on a tight series like the one in England.

“We’re struggling against sides we should be beating. England is renowned for capitulating under pressure, but we never got ruthless or flexed our muscle,” he said.

“If we’re going to look at change, I’d be looking at Simon Katich. Simon is a tenacious leader. I worked with him at NSW and I know what he can offer as a captain. He’s tough, he won’t take a backward step, he plays aggressive cricket – and that is synonymous with the Australian style,” Rixon said.

Former Test all-rounder Greg Matthews also likes the way Katich leads from the front.

“Before the Ashes series, I felt the strongest man in Australian cricket was Simon Katich. His character, his intent, he bats like his life depends on every ball. It’s just obvious for me. If I was in the trenches, he’d be the first guy I’d pick,” Matthews said. (ANI)

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Muslims perform last rites of a Kashmiri Pandit in Srinagar

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Aug 29 (ANI): In a unique demonstration of communal harmony here Muslim neighbours performed the last rites of a Hindu on Friday.

Bhola Nath Kachroo, a resident of Srinagar, did not leave Kashmir even when a lot of Hindus fled in the wake of insurgency fuelled by Islamic fundamentalists in the state.

“They only have a girl. There is nobody else so we informed every body and performed the last rites. We Hindus and Muslims live in harmony over here,” said Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, Secretary of Muslim Welfare Society.

“He (the deceased Hindu) used to live in Srinagar. He was very old. A lot of Muslims came here to participate in his funeral,” said Bal Krishan, nephew of the deceased. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, Aug, Bal Krishan, bhat, bhola, body, communal harmony, demonstration, Friday, ghulam, Girl, harmony, hindu, hindus, hindus and muslims, insurgency., Islamic, islamic fundamentalists, Kachroo, Kashmir, kashmiri, kashmiri pandit, Krishan, last rites, lot, Mohammed, Mohammed Bhat, Muslim, Nath, neighbours, nephew, nobody, Pandit, resident, secretary, society, srinagar, state, wake, welfare, welfare society

International cricket to return only in ‘safe’ and ‘secure’ Pak : ICC

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug.29 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has assured Pakistan that international cricket would return to the troubled nation as soon as it is safe to for the foreign teams to return there.

ICC President David Morgan said international cricket will return to Pakistan as soon as it is ‘safe’ and ‘secure’ for the game to be played there.

Morgan said resumption of international cricket in Pakistan is on top of ICC’s agenda, and the apex cricket authority would not let the game suffer unduly.

“Our number-one priority is that cricket in Pakistan must not be allowed to suffer unduly and I believe this agreement is the best possible outcome for the game,” The Nation quoted Morgan, as saying.

It may be recalled that the ICC had declared Pakistan an unsafe destination for foreign team in the wake of the terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore in March.

The ICC also shifted the 2011 World Cup matches from Pakistan after the attack in which seven Sri Lankan players were injured and six security personnel were killed. (ANI)

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