Hard graft proves rewarding for Sania Mirza

SAN DIEGO: Having been troubled by career-threatening wrist problems for four years, Indian number one Sania Mirza has no interest in wasting another second.

The 24-year-old has rarely missed a tournament this year as she claws her way back up the rankings after finally overcoming the right wrist problem that first surfaced in 2007. 

Child-like enthusiasm secret of Sachin's longevity: Dravid

London: 

Child-like enthusiasm for the game is the reason why Sachin Tendulkar has completed over two decades in international cricket despite the pounding that his body has taken, feels his long-time teammate Rahul Dravid.

"Sachin's longevity comes down to the joy that he still gets from playing. After 20 years of international cricket he still has a child-like enthusiasm. That's not an easy thing to do when you have been travelling and playing so much and your body has taken a pounding," Dravid told a cricket magazine. (Also see: Sachin Tendulkar: Two decades on)

Child-like enthusiasm is Sachin's secret: Dravid

AFPONE OF A KIND: Sachin Tendulkar has stayed true to his game, according to many former England captains. Here he gets a standing ovation from the crowd when he takes the field on the last day of the first Test against England at Lord's.

A child-like enthusiasm for the game is the reason why Sachin Tendulkar has completed over two decades in international cricket despite the pounding that his body has taken, feels his long-time teammate Rahul Dravid.

“Sachin's longevity comes down to the joy that he still gets from playing. After 20 years of international cricket he still has a child-like enthusiasm. That's not an easy thing to do when you have been travelling and playing so much and your body has taken a pounding,” Dravid said in the latest edition of Wisden Cricketer magazine.

Cook confident of return to form at Edgbaston

Struggling England opener Alastair Cook is confident of re-discovering his form and contributing to his team's performance in the last two Tests of the four-match series against India.

Cook, who was the man-of-the-series after amassing 766 runs in the Ashes victory in the winter, has struggled for runs of late, but the left-hander remains hopeful of a turnaround anytime soon.

Swann fit for 3rd Test, foresees 4-0 series win for England

APFile photo: England's Graeme Swann has declared himself fit for the third cricket Test against India.

Declaring himself fit for the third cricket Test against India, England off-spinner Graeme Swann said given the momentum his team has, it is well on course to completing a 4-0 series whitewash against the world number one visiting side.

Swann had been in doubt for the Test starting August 10 after being hit on his left hand while batting but scans have ruled out any major damage.

Indian cricket: heaps of money

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Keep the battles on the field

The England-India series has been quite an ill-tempered one. Not so on the field, of course, where things have been almost too good-natured, but off it. Among supporters, bloggers, Tweeters, and especially media pundits, the atmosphere has been positively fractious. Be it Michael Vaughan's Vaseline nonsense, Ravi Shastri's tantrum over "jealous" Englishmen or the endless to-ing and fro-ing on the volcanic social media landscape, if there is a special spirit of cricket, you won't find it here.

Andy Flower defends England conduct over Ian Bell run out

Ian Bell, left, and Eoin Morgan leave the field for tea. The Warwickshire batsman was initially given out but was later reinstated. Photograph: Philip Brown/Reuters

Andy Flower has defended England's conduct in having the run-out appeal against Ian Bell withdrawn, stating that if they had attempted to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar in similar fashion in Mumbai it would have caused an "international incident".

India have been widely praised for allowing Bell to resume his innings after tea on the third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, especially since it emerged that Flower and the England captain, Andrew Strauss, had taken the unusual step of visiting the tourists' dressing room during the interval.

Out then in: England's Ian Bell rubs his head as he leaves the field after being dismissed for 159 against India at Trent Bridge Photo: REUTERS

By Nick Hoult, Trent Bridge

9:44PM BST 31 Jul 2011

Ian Bell could only be honest. “I was naive and I have learned my lesson,” he said about his moment of madness that almost soured relations between England and India.

Bell was only reprieved after a meeting, almost a high tea, on Sunday afternoon that saw England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss plead to Indian consciences and ask for another chance.

MS Dhoni led a team meeting during the interval and his players unanimously agreed to reprieve Bell, who had got wind of what was happening and was one of three batsmen padded up waiting to go out for the final session.

India's Virender Sehwag struggles in warm-up for Edgbaston Test

India's Virender Sehwag, batting for the first time in three months, never looked comfortable at Northampton. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

India had another grim day on a tour that has lurched from one catastrophe to another. They were at last able to field their first-choice Test opening batsmen but neither Virender Sehwag nor Gautam Gambhir was in long enough to ready himself for the third Test at Edgbaston which starts next Wednesday.

Both were dismissed cheaply by Northamptonshire second-string bowlers and in a match that is scheduled for only two days, their prospects of another innings before the Test are slim indeed. Both went to the nets later in the day.

In pictures: Clashes in Old City

Violent clashes broke out  between demonstrators and government forces in Old City this afternoon against the curbs on the Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by the state authorities. Reports said soon after the Friday congregation got over at the historic Jamia Masjid, supporters of the Mirwaiz led by Imam Hai tried to march towards thye Nowhatta chowk, but, the forces' deploiyment stopped them trigerring off clashes that lasted for many hours.

Kashmir Dispatch lense-man Yawar Kabli shows you some of the pictures from the protests.

AP govt employees in Telangana on relay hunger strike

The Andhra Pradesh government employees in Telangana region on Thursday undertook a relay hunger strike here in support of the statehood demand.

The fast held at the Indira Park here was attended by members of Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers Association, Telangana Gazetted Officers Association and other employees unions.

External affairs minister SM Krishna slaps defamation suit on PTI

External affairs minister S.M. Krishna has filed a civil defamation suit against the Press Trust of India (PTI) over its report saying he "appeared absentminded and had to be prodded to make a statement" on the Sri Lankan situation in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

AIADMK MPs boo Lankan team in LS

A Sri Lankan delegation led by its Speaker Mr Chamal Rajapakse who were seated in the special box of the Lok Sabha was heckled by the AIADMK members in the lower house even as speaker Meira Kumar welcomed them.

Later Ms Kumar conveyed her ‘sincere apologies’ to the delegation over the incident.

Pakistan's top envoy gets points for style, but holding her own?

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan— 

Just eight days into the job, Pakistan's first female foreign minister faced a daunting task: Try to thaw icy relations between her country and India on her first trip to the nuclear-armed archrival to the east.

Though Hina Rabbani Khar's foray over the border got high marks from many in Pakistan, diplomatic acumen wasn't what grabbed the attention of the Indian media. Instead, they obsessed over the 33-year-old's pearls, her blue pants ensemble, her sunglasses (Roberto Cavalli), even her handbag (Hermes).

Ship sinks off Mumbai coast

MV Rak, the Panama-flagged vessel transporting 60,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia to India, sinks off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday. (Inset) A helicopter of the Coast Guard rescues a crew member from the ship. Photos: AFP/Defence Ministry

All 30 crew members rescued by Navy and Coast Guard

A Panama-flagged cargo ship named RAK Carrier sank nearly 20 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast on Thursday afternoon, possibly due to water ingress.

All the 30 crew members were rescued by the Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation. The bulk carrier ship was on its way from Lubuk Tutung in Indonesia to Dahej in Gujarat to deliver more than 60,000 tonnes of coal.

CISF man shoots colleague, self at Metro station

A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable posted with the Delhi Metro shot dead a female colleague at a Metro station in East Delhi on Friday morning, before killing himself.

Police said M Pillai and N V S Teja were “close friends”. Their families have been informed and a case of murder and suicide registered.

According to police, Pillai shot Teja around 7 am at the Yamuna Bank Metro station and then killed himself.

Details of SIT probe on Guj riots leaked: Bhatt

IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, who has accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of misusing state machinery during 2002 post-Godhra riots, has alleged that SIT probe details on riot cases were leaked to a top law officer of the state government.

     
Bhatt, in his 19-page supplementary affidavit filed before the Supreme Court last week, alleged that someone from within the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was leaking sensitive and confidential details related to investigations conducted by it to Additional Advocate General Tushar Mehta.
 

Rajnath follows Rahul's footsteps

GURGAON: BJP senior leader Rajnath Singh did aRahul Gandhi on the Congress-led government in Haryana on Friday after he went on a "padyatra" in three villages of Gurgaon.

Singh visited Ullahwas, Berhampur and Ghata on Friday morning to add political flavour to the recent upheaval by farmers who are protesting against forceful land acquisition by the government. Singh met villagers and listened to their grievances and finally concluded that the state was "unfair in exempting the five acres of land leased out to theRajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust". The Opposition leader said he will support the cause of farmers and demanded that the state must make provisions to give jobs to at least one member of a family whose lands have been acquired. However, surprisingly Rajnath refrained from attacking the Haryana chief minister directly all during the three-hour-long "padyatra". 

Uttar Pradesh: Six Samajwadi Party MLAs dump Mulayam to joing Mayawati's BSP

As the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh draws closer, disgruntled elements in all parties are switching loyalties. Six MLAs of theSamajwadi Party (SP) on Friday joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

They were Sarvesh Singh from Sagdi in Azamgarh, Ashok Singh Chandel from Hamirpur, Sandeep Agrawal from Moradabad, Surendra Singh Lodh from Hadha in Unnao, Suraj Singh Shakya from Kanshiram Nagar in Etah and Sultan Beg from Kawar in Bareilly.

Haryana govt to review land acquisition in Gurgaon

Haryana government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it has approved constitution of a high-powered committee to consider cases of petitioners in connection with acquisition of land for development of Sectors 58-63 in Gurgaon, which includes the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust at Ullahawas village.

ULFA presents charter of demands, seeks change in Constitution

The HinduULFA's 'Foreign Secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury (left), and the 'Vice Chairman', Pradip Gogoi addressing the media in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

The banned ULFA on Friday sought amendment in the Constitution for finding “meaningful” ways to protect the rights and identity of indigenous people of Assam.

To find an honourable solution to Assam’s three-decade-old insurgency problem, top ULFA leaders on Friday met Home Minister P. Chidambaram and presented the group’s ‘charter of demands’, setting the ball rolling for peace talks with the government.

National Gurdwara may go under hammer

AMRITSAR: The National Gurdwara, Washington DC, situated close to the White House, may go under the hammer if its management fails to pay a loan of around US$ 2 million. To bail out the gurdwara from financial mess, the management in 2009 had offered Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to take control of the gurdwara on payment of the loan. But till now the committee has not been able to dole out the required funds. 

Export with conditions but no production: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said it did not have any objection to conditional export of “ready, available” stock of banned pesticide endosulfan but refused to permit further production.

“We have no objection to exports unless some conditions are met, but it should only be to the extent of stocks available and there shall be no further manufacturing,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia said.

Can Endosulfan stock be exported, SC asks expert panel

The Supreme Court today asked an expert panel appointed by it to explore the possibility of exporting the unused stock of Endosulfan manufactured here to other countries.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said the panel would also consider how much of the Endosulfan stock can be exported against the orders for supply of the pesticide from other countries.

India's "daughter in law" Sonia Gandhi undergoes surgery

(Reuters) - As the Italian-born homemaker, mother-of-two and wife of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, few would have thought Sonia Gandhi would ever rise to become the most powerful figure in the world's largest democracy.

"I don't like being in the limelight. It is not something extraordinary. It is just my habit," Gandhi told an Indian magazine in 1985 in a rare interview, professing that "my upbringing is such that I feel my husband is superior to me and his mother is even more superior."

Sonia Gandhi recovering, out of ICU

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has been shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she was kept under observation for 24 hours post surgery.

"Sonia Gandhi remained in the ICU for 24 hours and has thereafter been moved out. Her family has expressed gratitude on her behalf for all the messages and good wishes that have been sent to her," Congress media department head Janardhan Dwivedi said in a statement on Saturday.

Sonia Gandhi is recuperating after a successful surgery performed two days back. She was accompanied by her family - son Rahul, daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra.

Chidambaram for consultation process on Telangana

With government being in a fix over Telangana, Home Minister P Chidambaram today appealed to all sections to allow consultation process on the statehood issue to reach its logical conclusion.

"The Government would like to make an earnest appeal to all sections of the people in Andhra Pradesh that they should allow the consultation process to reach its logical conclusion," he said in a statement on a Calling Attention motion in the Lok Sabha on creation of a separate Telangana state.

'Chidambaram can't target TDP on Telangana'

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam leaders from the Telangana and Andhra regions urged Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday not to target the TDP or its president N Chandrababu Naidu on Telangana statehood demand, saying that it was the responsibility of the central government to take a decision as the party had already made its stand clear on the issue.

Chidambaram had told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that of the eight major parties in the state, four - Congress, TDP, YSR Congress and MIM had not stated their position on Telangana. Of the other four, three - TRS, BJP and CPI spoke in favour of state’s bifurcation while the CPM opposed it.

Speaking to reporters here, Telangana Telugu Desam Forum (TTDF) convener E Dayakar Rao demanded introduction of a bill on Telangana in Parliament.

SC: Second probe as bad as first one

There was no respite to the Delhi Police from the Supreme Court on its “shoddy” investigation into the “cash-for-vote” scam as the top court slammed its second probe report, saying that it was not even shades better than the previous report filed before the interrogation of some persons.

It's meaningless and inhibited probe, court tells Delhi Police

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Delhi Police for its “half-hearted, meaningless and hopeless” investigation into the cash-for-vote scam and directed it to trace the source of the money and book the culprits.

A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha, after perusing the status report of the police, told Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) Harin Raval: “Your second report is as meaningless or hopeless as the first report.”

'Present format of Lokpal Bill could not weed out corruption'

Allahabad: A 15-member team of district unit of India Against Corruption under the leadership of Shimlashri met the lawyers of Allahabad high courton Friday and urged their support in Anna Hazare's agitation against corruption. They also distributed copies of the letter addressed to the people of country by Hazare.

India: Activist Anna Hazare rejects anti-graft law

Indian activist Anna Hazare has rejected a proposed new anti-corruption law which has been approved by the government.

Mr Hazare said the Jan Lokpal (Citizen's Ombudsman) Bill was a "cruel joke". He said he would go on hunger strike from 16 August in protest.