06:30
Karthick Dharman
Posted in: Tollywood SongsSaturday, 7 May 2011
Aussie Defeat Is Behind Me, Says Murray
Rotterdam: British tennis star Andy Murray insisted on Tuesday that he was always going to compete here at this week's ATP Rotterdam Open despite it coming so soon after his second Australian Open final loss.
"I was always going to play here after Australia," said the low-key Scot, who is seeded second here and begins his campaign on Wednesday against another former Aussie Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
"It's tough to adjust to the first indoor match in a few months."
Murray, ranked number five in the world, said that he dealt with his straight-sets Melbourne defeat by good friend Novak Djokovic "pretty well," adding that it did not affect his desire to front up so soon after his Grand Slam loss.
"I had always planned on playing here, Australia was a good start to the year," said the losing finalist at the last two Melbourne finals.
"I would have liked to have gone one win further but I'm looking forward to the year ahead.
Murray, who is competing here for the third time and won the title in 2009, said that he purposefully avoids reading about his losses.
"I like to stay low-key and away from the spotlight."
"I was always going to play here after Australia," said the low-key Scot, who is seeded second here and begins his campaign on Wednesday against another former Aussie Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
"It's tough to adjust to the first indoor match in a few months."
Murray, ranked number five in the world, said that he dealt with his straight-sets Melbourne defeat by good friend Novak Djokovic "pretty well," adding that it did not affect his desire to front up so soon after his Grand Slam loss.
"I had always planned on playing here, Australia was a good start to the year," said the losing finalist at the last two Melbourne finals.
"I would have liked to have gone one win further but I'm looking forward to the year ahead.
Murray, who is competing here for the third time and won the title in 2009, said that he purposefully avoids reading about his losses.
"I like to stay low-key and away from the spotlight."
Posted in: Breaking News
Clijsters Wants World No. 1 Spot Back
Paris: Kim Clijsters hopes to regain the head of the WTA tennis rankings this week and the Belgian needs to make the semi-finals of the Paris-Coubertin tournament to overtake Denmark's incumbent Caroline Wozniacki.
"I won't say this does not interest me, it would be great to manage it again during this my second career," said Clijsters, who was top for 12 weeks in 2003 and seven in 2006 before her retirement and subsequent return to the game two years later.
"When I first took top spot, I was in the same position as Caroline Wozniacki because I had not yet won a Grand Slam," said Clijsters who now has four - the US Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and the 2011 Australian Open.
Wozniacki is yet to win a Grand Slam and Clijsters added fuel to the fire Tuesday adding that taking the World No1 spot "does not have the same impact as winning a big tournament, it doesn't change your life, so if it doesn't happen this week I won't be too upset."
The 27-year-old won the tournament during her only other appearance here in 2004 and starts her current campaign against Germany's Kristina Barrois
"I won't say this does not interest me, it would be great to manage it again during this my second career," said Clijsters, who was top for 12 weeks in 2003 and seven in 2006 before her retirement and subsequent return to the game two years later.
"When I first took top spot, I was in the same position as Caroline Wozniacki because I had not yet won a Grand Slam," said Clijsters who now has four - the US Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and the 2011 Australian Open.
Wozniacki is yet to win a Grand Slam and Clijsters added fuel to the fire Tuesday adding that taking the World No1 spot "does not have the same impact as winning a big tournament, it doesn't change your life, so if it doesn't happen this week I won't be too upset."
The 27-year-old won the tournament during her only other appearance here in 2004 and starts her current campaign against Germany's Kristina Barrois
Posted in: Breaking News
Federer Sets Up Madrid Semifinal With Nadal
Madrid: Rafael Nadal set up a Madrid Open showdown with Roger Federer for the third straight year, beating Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals Friday. Federer beat Robin Soderling 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Novak Djokovic stretched his perfect 2011 start to 30 matches, beating David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to move within 12 of John McEnroe's record 42-0 start in 1984.
Djokovic will face Thomaz Bellucci, a 7-6 (2), 6-3 winner over Tomas Berdych.
Nadal had little difficulty in defeating his French opponent after reaching the last eight when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from their third-round match Thursday.
Having broken Llodra for the first of four times in the opening game, Nadal didn't have to defend a single break point on serve as he won 25 of 30 first service points.
"I didn't think I would win like that," said Nadal, who also beat Llodra in their only prior meeting on the challenger circuit in 2003. "He's got a powerful serve and dangerous volley so it's hard to pass him but in the first set he committed some errors. Winning that first set gave me a lot of confidence."
Nadal stretched his clay-court winning streak to 36 matches as he goes for his second straight Madrid title in three seasons after splitting the last two finals against 2009 champion Federer.
Federer, meanwhile, was pushed by his Swedish opponent. Soderling saved three first set points before finally succumbing to the third-ranked Federer in a tiebreaker.
Soderling lost some of his momentum after that and netted on match point to confirm the attractive semifinal matchup.
"Conditions were tough today, I didn't know we could get such wind in a closed stadium. But I thought I played a great match from start to finish," said Federer, 8-15 overall against Nadal but 2-10 on clay.
"I'm excited, I'm playing Rafa here in the next round. I've beaten him here in the past, but it will obviously depend a lot on the day — but he's the favorite on the clay."
Sixth-seeded Ferrer put Djokovic under pressure in an entertaining match of acrobatic shots, with the Serb curling a shot down the line to break Ferrer for 3-2 in the final frame after the Spaniard had double-faulted on his advantage. Djokovic cruised to his 32nd straight win — dating to December — after converting his most important of five break points.
"It's David Ferrer. He never gives up," Djokovic said.
In women's play, Julia Goerges beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2 for her 10th straight win to reach the semifinals. The German player, who defeated top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, will face Victoria Azarenka, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Lucie Safarova.
In the other quarterfinal, Li Na beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and Petra Kvitova topped Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-3, 5-7.
Novak Djokovic stretched his perfect 2011 start to 30 matches, beating David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to move within 12 of John McEnroe's record 42-0 start in 1984.
Djokovic will face Thomaz Bellucci, a 7-6 (2), 6-3 winner over Tomas Berdych.
Nadal had little difficulty in defeating his French opponent after reaching the last eight when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from their third-round match Thursday.
Having broken Llodra for the first of four times in the opening game, Nadal didn't have to defend a single break point on serve as he won 25 of 30 first service points.
"I didn't think I would win like that," said Nadal, who also beat Llodra in their only prior meeting on the challenger circuit in 2003. "He's got a powerful serve and dangerous volley so it's hard to pass him but in the first set he committed some errors. Winning that first set gave me a lot of confidence."
Nadal stretched his clay-court winning streak to 36 matches as he goes for his second straight Madrid title in three seasons after splitting the last two finals against 2009 champion Federer.
Federer, meanwhile, was pushed by his Swedish opponent. Soderling saved three first set points before finally succumbing to the third-ranked Federer in a tiebreaker.
Soderling lost some of his momentum after that and netted on match point to confirm the attractive semifinal matchup.
"Conditions were tough today, I didn't know we could get such wind in a closed stadium. But I thought I played a great match from start to finish," said Federer, 8-15 overall against Nadal but 2-10 on clay.
"I'm excited, I'm playing Rafa here in the next round. I've beaten him here in the past, but it will obviously depend a lot on the day — but he's the favorite on the clay."
Sixth-seeded Ferrer put Djokovic under pressure in an entertaining match of acrobatic shots, with the Serb curling a shot down the line to break Ferrer for 3-2 in the final frame after the Spaniard had double-faulted on his advantage. Djokovic cruised to his 32nd straight win — dating to December — after converting his most important of five break points.
"It's David Ferrer. He never gives up," Djokovic said.
In women's play, Julia Goerges beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2 for her 10th straight win to reach the semifinals. The German player, who defeated top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, will face Victoria Azarenka, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Lucie Safarova.
In the other quarterfinal, Li Na beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and Petra Kvitova topped Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-3, 5-7.
Posted in: Breaking News
Man U Be Scared, Very Scared, Of Barca
Barcelona: If Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was on Twitter, what thoughts would he have shared from watching Barcelona peel apart Real Madrid?
"Help! I'm next ..." perhaps? Or "Anyone want to take my place in goal in the Champions League final?"
Van der Sar is no chicken, of course. The truth is that he'll be relishing the chance to end his trophy-studded career at Wembley on May 28. (Related: Barca beat Madrid | Ronaldo vents fury at Barca favouritism)
Nor is United manager Alex Ferguson in the habit of telling his players to be scared ... very, very scared. But that doesn't mean that we cannot be scared for them.
Assuming United finishes off German side Schalke in their semifinal second leg on Wednesday, which should not be too hard given its two-goal cushion from the first match, Ferguson will have three weeks to formulate a cunning masterplan to beat the world's best team.
That will need to be a true diamond of a plan. Three weeks may not be long enough.
It's been said before, it will be said again, but it can't be said enough: This lot from Barcelona are seriously good.
Like his coach Pep Guardiola, we all long ago exhausted our stock of compliments for Lionel Messi, the Argentine who may be small but will be an Everest for Ferguson to overcome at Wembley. Diego Maradona's heir was the difference in the two-game semifinal, with his two goals in the first leg making a Madrid rebound practically impossible in Tuesday's return game.
"Our flagship," Guardiola calls him.
If Ferguson somehow finds the anti-Messi Kryptonite that eluded Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and beats Barcelona with his team that is far from the best he has managed in his quarter-century at United, it could rank as arguably the greatest of the Scotsman's many achievements.
Ferguson will be crossing all of his fingers and toes that Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic aren't injured in United's last three Premier League fixtures. Without their partnership, the tough task of defending against Messi's heartstopping runs and prescient passes could be impossible. And since Messi pops up everywhere, Ferguson could really do with a young Paul Scholes or a Roy Keane to police the midfield with iron-booted authority, which he doesn't really have.
Ferguson also will be hoping that Chelsea's late charge for the English Premiership title falters this weekend at Old Trafford. If United loses that match and the title race remains poised on a knife's edge up to the last round of games on May 22, United could be short of time to rest key players for the Champions League final six days later.
Barcelona, on other hand, could clinch its third consecutive Liga title this weekend if it beats Espanyol at the Camp Nou and Madrid fails to win at Sevilla. Guardiola could have not only the better team at Wembley but the fresher one, too. He's already planning to give his players at least one week off, maybe more, ahead of May 28.
Ferguson has the miracle of 1999 — when two injury-time goals against Bayern Munich secured his first Champions League title — to remind himself and his team that no outcome is written in advance.
"Football, bloody hell!" were his immortal words after that unlikely win. That memorable final was played at the Camp Nou, where Madrid on Tuesday never looked likely to pull off a similar feat and stop Barca from advancing. The 1-1 draw gave Barcelona a 3-1 win over the two games.
Those who sympathize with Mourinho's conspiracy theories that Barcelona gets help from and is protected by referees and the other powers in football will argue that Madrid should have had a goal in the first minute of the second half.
They would be right.
Gonzalo Higuain's strike off a neat pass from Cristiano Ronaldo should have counted. Instead, Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere inexplicably faulted Ronaldo for falling into the path of Barcelona's Javier Mascherano, tripping him, after a shoulder-barge from Gerard Pique. Bizarre.
Still, even if the goal had stood, Madrid never looked like it would become only the third team in Champions League history to advance from a knockout stage after losing the first leg at home. Ronaldo, in particular, rarely seemed to have much belief that the unlikely was possible — this when, more than ever, Madrid needed a special night from its star player. Ronaldo, again this season, is not proving to be Messi's equal. In 90 minutes Tuesday, Madrid had just one shot on target — from Marcelo for the second-half goal that canceled out Pedro Rodriguez's score-opening strike for Barcelona.
If not for great goalkeeping from Iker Casillas, Madrid could have been several goals down in the first half. A five-minute spell when Casillas saved two shots from Messi and acrobatically got a finger to a strike from David Villa should have provoked beads of sweat on Van der Sar's brow.
The absence of Mourinho, banned from the touchline and Madrid's dressing room for disrespecting the referees in the first leg, was clearly felt. Madrid looked leaderless without its master motivator.
Like Guardiola, we can breathe a sigh of relief that this series of four Madrid-Barcelona games in 18 days is over. The two sides brought the worst out of each other. Tuesday's game wasn't as ugly as the "Hell Classico" in Madrid last week. But it wasn't memorable either.
A United-Barcelona final should be better. Ferguson isn't going to employ the stifling and negative defensive tactics that Mourinho stooped to. He has more faith in Wayne Rooney and whoever will partner him in United's attack than Mourinho showed in his own forwards against Barcelona.
"A great team with a lot of quality up front and a great manager," Barcelona's Xavi says of United. "Should be a great final, no doubt."
Hard to see United winning, though.
"Help! I'm next ..." perhaps? Or "Anyone want to take my place in goal in the Champions League final?"
Van der Sar is no chicken, of course. The truth is that he'll be relishing the chance to end his trophy-studded career at Wembley on May 28. (Related: Barca beat Madrid | Ronaldo vents fury at Barca favouritism)
Nor is United manager Alex Ferguson in the habit of telling his players to be scared ... very, very scared. But that doesn't mean that we cannot be scared for them.
Assuming United finishes off German side Schalke in their semifinal second leg on Wednesday, which should not be too hard given its two-goal cushion from the first match, Ferguson will have three weeks to formulate a cunning masterplan to beat the world's best team.
That will need to be a true diamond of a plan. Three weeks may not be long enough.
It's been said before, it will be said again, but it can't be said enough: This lot from Barcelona are seriously good.
Like his coach Pep Guardiola, we all long ago exhausted our stock of compliments for Lionel Messi, the Argentine who may be small but will be an Everest for Ferguson to overcome at Wembley. Diego Maradona's heir was the difference in the two-game semifinal, with his two goals in the first leg making a Madrid rebound practically impossible in Tuesday's return game.
"Our flagship," Guardiola calls him.
If Ferguson somehow finds the anti-Messi Kryptonite that eluded Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and beats Barcelona with his team that is far from the best he has managed in his quarter-century at United, it could rank as arguably the greatest of the Scotsman's many achievements.
Ferguson will be crossing all of his fingers and toes that Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic aren't injured in United's last three Premier League fixtures. Without their partnership, the tough task of defending against Messi's heartstopping runs and prescient passes could be impossible. And since Messi pops up everywhere, Ferguson could really do with a young Paul Scholes or a Roy Keane to police the midfield with iron-booted authority, which he doesn't really have.
Ferguson also will be hoping that Chelsea's late charge for the English Premiership title falters this weekend at Old Trafford. If United loses that match and the title race remains poised on a knife's edge up to the last round of games on May 22, United could be short of time to rest key players for the Champions League final six days later.
Barcelona, on other hand, could clinch its third consecutive Liga title this weekend if it beats Espanyol at the Camp Nou and Madrid fails to win at Sevilla. Guardiola could have not only the better team at Wembley but the fresher one, too. He's already planning to give his players at least one week off, maybe more, ahead of May 28.
Ferguson has the miracle of 1999 — when two injury-time goals against Bayern Munich secured his first Champions League title — to remind himself and his team that no outcome is written in advance.
"Football, bloody hell!" were his immortal words after that unlikely win. That memorable final was played at the Camp Nou, where Madrid on Tuesday never looked likely to pull off a similar feat and stop Barca from advancing. The 1-1 draw gave Barcelona a 3-1 win over the two games.
Those who sympathize with Mourinho's conspiracy theories that Barcelona gets help from and is protected by referees and the other powers in football will argue that Madrid should have had a goal in the first minute of the second half.
They would be right.
Gonzalo Higuain's strike off a neat pass from Cristiano Ronaldo should have counted. Instead, Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere inexplicably faulted Ronaldo for falling into the path of Barcelona's Javier Mascherano, tripping him, after a shoulder-barge from Gerard Pique. Bizarre.
Still, even if the goal had stood, Madrid never looked like it would become only the third team in Champions League history to advance from a knockout stage after losing the first leg at home. Ronaldo, in particular, rarely seemed to have much belief that the unlikely was possible — this when, more than ever, Madrid needed a special night from its star player. Ronaldo, again this season, is not proving to be Messi's equal. In 90 minutes Tuesday, Madrid had just one shot on target — from Marcelo for the second-half goal that canceled out Pedro Rodriguez's score-opening strike for Barcelona.
If not for great goalkeeping from Iker Casillas, Madrid could have been several goals down in the first half. A five-minute spell when Casillas saved two shots from Messi and acrobatically got a finger to a strike from David Villa should have provoked beads of sweat on Van der Sar's brow.
The absence of Mourinho, banned from the touchline and Madrid's dressing room for disrespecting the referees in the first leg, was clearly felt. Madrid looked leaderless without its master motivator.
Like Guardiola, we can breathe a sigh of relief that this series of four Madrid-Barcelona games in 18 days is over. The two sides brought the worst out of each other. Tuesday's game wasn't as ugly as the "Hell Classico" in Madrid last week. But it wasn't memorable either.
A United-Barcelona final should be better. Ferguson isn't going to employ the stifling and negative defensive tactics that Mourinho stooped to. He has more faith in Wayne Rooney and whoever will partner him in United's attack than Mourinho showed in his own forwards against Barcelona.
"A great team with a lot of quality up front and a great manager," Barcelona's Xavi says of United. "Should be a great final, no doubt."
Hard to see United winning, though.
Posted in: Breaking News
Football Fixing Plots Exposed By Finland Link
Geneva: Investigations into football match-fixing are revealing that betting fraud worth millions of dollars is more widespread than previously feared.
Information has emerged in Finland where the delayed league season starts Friday without three-time champion Tampere, which was suspended last month for links to suspected fixers from Singapore.
Hours before kick off, a Finnish court has heard two AC Oulu players admit they took €50,000 ($72,500) in bribes to help fix a match last season. Zambian brothers Donewell and Dominic Yobe confessed to playing "below their normal level."
The widening Finnish probe appears to confirm that fixers also organize international friendly matches purely for betting scams, and that FIFA's Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups have been targeted.
"The threat from match-fixing to the integrity of the global game is significant," FIFA head of security Chris Eaton told the British Daily Telegraph newspaper. "That is enough to make me concerned that we need to put preventive measures in place."
FIFA has stepped up its response in recent weeks after being criticized for lagging behind European authority UEFA in acknowledging the problem.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble will meet on Monday in Zurich before announcing measures to stop corrupt matches and betting.
At its Congress on June 1, FIFA will assume new powers to regulate international matches involving national and club teams, and veto appointments of unsuitable referees.
A turning point in football's fight against fixers was a notorious double-header of friendlies played Feb. 9 in neutral Antalya, Turkey.
Latvia beat Bolivia 2-1 and Estonia and Bulgaria played out a 2-2 draw with all seven goals scored from penalties. Fixers cashed in bets on more than three goals per game being scored, plus in-game wagers on live online betting sites.
FIFA is preparing disciplinary cases for six low-ranked match officials from Hungary and Bosnia it charged with involvement in the Turkey scam. They face life bans.
A Singaporean businessman, Anthony Santia Raj, has not been traced after organizing the games which had meager television rights or ticket sales.
Last September, FIFA said it couldn't formally investigate a friendly between Bahrain and a fake Togo national team because neither federation complained.
That match was allegedly organized by another Singaporean, Wilson Raj Perumal, now in custody in Finland.
Perumal was arrested in February on suspicion of having false identification papers, and is now being questioned about match-fixing in Finland and abroad.
"Interviews with those involved have told us that fixers can spend upwards of $300,000 to stage a friendly international and they do that with the expectation of a significant profit margin," FIFA's Eaton told the Telegraph. "Our information is that we are talking about tens of millions of dollars in profit from each successful fix."
FIFA is also examining possible attempts to fix a Jordan vs. Kuwait match played in March in the United Arab Emirates, where Iraq and North Korea were also invited to a four-team tournament.
As football's world governing body, FIFA is responsible for international football though its existing rules for friendlies have been exposed as too loose.
FIFA's biggest asset, the World Cup, was also identified as a target for match-fixing in an ongoing criminal trial in Bochum, Germany.
The reputed head of a fixing syndicate, Croatian Ante Sapina, said he helped bribe the referee of a September 2009 qualifying match between Liechenstein and Finland.
Sapina was convicted in a 2005 scandal involving German referee Robert Hoyzer, and returned to fix matches in at least a dozen European countries.
In Finland, the top division eventually began this week under a cloud, with nine Rovaniemen Palloseura players being investigated for match-fixing last year.
Tampere was kicked out after officials admitted accepting €300,000 from a Singaporean company but were unable to explain why they took the money. They said they tried to return the money but could not trace the company.
Information has emerged in Finland where the delayed league season starts Friday without three-time champion Tampere, which was suspended last month for links to suspected fixers from Singapore.
Hours before kick off, a Finnish court has heard two AC Oulu players admit they took €50,000 ($72,500) in bribes to help fix a match last season. Zambian brothers Donewell and Dominic Yobe confessed to playing "below their normal level."
The widening Finnish probe appears to confirm that fixers also organize international friendly matches purely for betting scams, and that FIFA's Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups have been targeted.
"The threat from match-fixing to the integrity of the global game is significant," FIFA head of security Chris Eaton told the British Daily Telegraph newspaper. "That is enough to make me concerned that we need to put preventive measures in place."
FIFA has stepped up its response in recent weeks after being criticized for lagging behind European authority UEFA in acknowledging the problem.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble will meet on Monday in Zurich before announcing measures to stop corrupt matches and betting.
At its Congress on June 1, FIFA will assume new powers to regulate international matches involving national and club teams, and veto appointments of unsuitable referees.
A turning point in football's fight against fixers was a notorious double-header of friendlies played Feb. 9 in neutral Antalya, Turkey.
Latvia beat Bolivia 2-1 and Estonia and Bulgaria played out a 2-2 draw with all seven goals scored from penalties. Fixers cashed in bets on more than three goals per game being scored, plus in-game wagers on live online betting sites.
FIFA is preparing disciplinary cases for six low-ranked match officials from Hungary and Bosnia it charged with involvement in the Turkey scam. They face life bans.
A Singaporean businessman, Anthony Santia Raj, has not been traced after organizing the games which had meager television rights or ticket sales.
Last September, FIFA said it couldn't formally investigate a friendly between Bahrain and a fake Togo national team because neither federation complained.
That match was allegedly organized by another Singaporean, Wilson Raj Perumal, now in custody in Finland.
Perumal was arrested in February on suspicion of having false identification papers, and is now being questioned about match-fixing in Finland and abroad.
"Interviews with those involved have told us that fixers can spend upwards of $300,000 to stage a friendly international and they do that with the expectation of a significant profit margin," FIFA's Eaton told the Telegraph. "Our information is that we are talking about tens of millions of dollars in profit from each successful fix."
FIFA is also examining possible attempts to fix a Jordan vs. Kuwait match played in March in the United Arab Emirates, where Iraq and North Korea were also invited to a four-team tournament.
As football's world governing body, FIFA is responsible for international football though its existing rules for friendlies have been exposed as too loose.
FIFA's biggest asset, the World Cup, was also identified as a target for match-fixing in an ongoing criminal trial in Bochum, Germany.
The reputed head of a fixing syndicate, Croatian Ante Sapina, said he helped bribe the referee of a September 2009 qualifying match between Liechenstein and Finland.
Sapina was convicted in a 2005 scandal involving German referee Robert Hoyzer, and returned to fix matches in at least a dozen European countries.
In Finland, the top division eventually began this week under a cloud, with nine Rovaniemen Palloseura players being investigated for match-fixing last year.
Tampere was kicked out after officials admitted accepting €300,000 from a Singaporean company but were unable to explain why they took the money. They said they tried to return the money but could not trace the company.
Posted in: Breaking News
Saha In, Chennai Bat After Rain Delay
Kolkata: A persistent drizzle delayed the toss by an hour and 15 minutes at Eden Gardens but the skies have since cleared. There is been no reduction in the number of overs to be played.
MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat, saying that he doesn't expect any more rain today. Chennai have made one change to the starting XI and have brought in the local boy Wriddhiman Saha for S Anirudha.
Both teams are in second place on the points table and victory will go some way to helping them break clear of the chasing pack. Chennai have won their last four matches while Kolkata have lost their last game, but were victors in the previous three.
Kolkata: 1 Jacques Kallis, 2 Eoin Morgan, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Mark Boucher, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Jaidev Unadkat, 9 Brett lee, 10 L Balaji, 11 Iqbal Abdulla
Chennai: 1 Michael Hussey, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Wriddhiman Saha, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Shadab Jakati, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 R Aswhin, 11 Doug Bollinger
MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat, saying that he doesn't expect any more rain today. Chennai have made one change to the starting XI and have brought in the local boy Wriddhiman Saha for S Anirudha.
Both teams are in second place on the points table and victory will go some way to helping them break clear of the chasing pack. Chennai have won their last four matches while Kolkata have lost their last game, but were victors in the previous three.
Kolkata: 1 Jacques Kallis, 2 Eoin Morgan, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Mark Boucher, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Jaidev Unadkat, 9 Brett lee, 10 L Balaji, 11 Iqbal Abdulla
Chennai: 1 Michael Hussey, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Wriddhiman Saha, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Shadab Jakati, 9 Suraj Randiv, 10 R Aswhin, 11 Doug Bollinger
Posted in: Breaking News
Miraculous Escape For Chennai Express As Ied Blast On Tracks In Kokrajhar
GUWAHATI: The Chennai Express had a miraculous escape on Friday night when an IED exploded on the track between Srirampur and Gossaigaon stations in Assam's Kokrajhar district barely five minutes after the Guwahati-Chennai train crossed the site.
District police said that the blast has blown away almost seven feet of the track in the down line. "It was an IED blast. The blast has made a crater about two feet deep and we have found some wires and a LPG cylinder at the blast site. The cylinder was used to magnify the impact of the blast," a senior police official said.
Police suspect the involvement of the anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland in the blast. Police said there were inputs that the anti-talk NDFB group would try to blast the railway tracks. However, an Adivasi militant outfit on Saturday morning called up some media houses claiming responsibility of the blast. Police said that this outfit Adivasi National Army could be a newly floated outfit.
Northeast Frontier Railway authorities said that soon after the blast train movement, particularly the outbound trains, were affected as the tracks were completely damaged. "We undertook the track repair work immediately and normal trains services have resumed. Train movement were affected for about four hours yesterday night", a railway official said.
District police said that the blast has blown away almost seven feet of the track in the down line. "It was an IED blast. The blast has made a crater about two feet deep and we have found some wires and a LPG cylinder at the blast site. The cylinder was used to magnify the impact of the blast," a senior police official said.
Police suspect the involvement of the anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland in the blast. Police said there were inputs that the anti-talk NDFB group would try to blast the railway tracks. However, an Adivasi militant outfit on Saturday morning called up some media houses claiming responsibility of the blast. Police said that this outfit Adivasi National Army could be a newly floated outfit.
Northeast Frontier Railway authorities said that soon after the blast train movement, particularly the outbound trains, were affected as the tracks were completely damaged. "We undertook the track repair work immediately and normal trains services have resumed. Train movement were affected for about four hours yesterday night", a railway official said.
Posted in: Breaking News
Us Demands Names Of Top Isi Operatives After Bin Laden's Death
WASHINGTON: Pakistani officials say the Obama administration has demanded the identities of some of their top intelligence operatives as the United States tries to determine whether any of them had contact with Osama bin Laden or his agents in the years before the raid that led to his death early Monday morning in Pakistan.
The officials provided new details of a tense discussion between Pakistani officials and an American envoy who traveled to Pakistan on Monday, as well as the growing suspicion among United States intelligence and diplomatic officials that someone in Pakistan's secret intelligence agency knew of bin Laden's location, and helped shield him.
Obama administration officials have stopped short of accusing the Pakistani government — either privately or publicly — of complicity in the hiding of bin Laden in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One senior administration official privately acknowledged that the administration sees its relationship with Pakistan as too crucial to risk a wholesale break, even if it turned out that past or present Pakistani intelligence officials did know about bin Laden's whereabouts.
Still, this official and others expressed deep frustration with Pakistani military and intelligence officials for their refusal over the years to identify members of the agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence ISI) Directorate, who were believed to have close ties to bin Laden. In particular, American officials have demanded information on what is known as the ISI's S directorate, which has worked closely with militants since the days of the fight against the Soviet army in Afghanistan.
"It's hard to believe that Kayani and Pasha actually knew that bin Laden was there," a senior administration official said, referring to Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the ISI director-general, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha. But, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, "there are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn't surprise me if we find out that someone close to Pasha knew."
Already, Pakistani news outlets have been speculating that General Pasha, one of the most powerful figures in Pakistan, may step down as a consequence of the Bin Laden operation.
The increasing tensions between the United States and Pakistan — whose proximity to Afghanistan makes it almost a necessary ally in the American and allied war there — came as Al-Qaida itself acknowledged on Friday the death of its leader. The group did so while vowing revenge on the United States and its allies.
Pakistani investigators involved in piecing together Bin Laden's life during the past nine years said this week that he had been living in Pakistan's urban centers longer than previously believed.
Two Pakistani officials with knowledge of the continuing Pakistani investigation say that bin Laden's Yemeni wife, one of three wives now in Pakistani custody since the raid on Monday, told investigators that before moving in 2005 to the mansion in Abbottabad where he was eventually killed, bin Laden had lived with his family for nearly two and a half years in a small village, Chak Shah Mohammad, a little more than a mile southeast of the town of Haripur, on the main Abbottabad highway.
n retrospect, one of the officials said, this means that bin Laden left Pakistan's rugged tribal region sometime in 2003 and had been living in northern urban regions since then. American and Pakistani officials had thought for years that ever since bin Laden disappeared from Tora Bora in Afghanistan, he had been hiding in the tribal regions straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
A former Pakistani official noted that Abbottabad, the site of the Pakistani equivalent of the West Point military academy, is crawling with security guards and military officials who established a secure cordon around the town, raising questions of how the officials could not know there was a suspicious compound in their midst.
"If he was there since 2005, that is too long a time for local police and intelligence not to know," said Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistani official now teaching at Columbia University.
Mr. Abbas said there was a tight net of security surrounding Abbottabad because Pakistani officials were concerned about terrorist attacks on sensitive military installations in the area.
Art Keller, a former officer of the Central Intelligence Agency who worked on the hunt for Bin Laden from a compound in the Waziristan region of Pakistan in 2006, said the Qaida founder's choice of the garrison town of Abbottabad as a refuge in 2005 raised serious questions. Bin Laden certainly knew of the concentration of military institutions, officers and retirees in the town — including some from the ISI's S directorate, Keller said. And because the military has also been a target of militant attacks in recent years, the town has a higher level of security awareness, checkpoints and street surveillance than others.
If bin Laden wanted to relocate in a populated area of Pakistan to avoid missiles fired from American drones, Mr. Keller said, he had many choices. So Keller questioned why bin Laden would live in Abbottabad, unless he had some assurance of protection or patronage from military or intelligence officers. "At best, it was willful blindness on the part of the ISI," Keller said. "Willful blindness is a survival mechanism in Pakistan."
The trove of information taken by the commandos from the compound occupied by Bin Laden may answer some of these questions, and perhaps even solve the puzzle of where he has been in recent years.
A senior law enforcement official said Friday that the FBI and CIA. had rapidly assembled small armies of analysts, technical experts and translators to pore over about 100 thumb drives, DVDs and computer disks, along with 10 computer hard drives, 5 computers and assorted cellphones. Analysts are also sifting through piles of paper documents in the house, many of which are in Arabic and other languages that need to be translated.
In Washington and New York alone, several hundred analysts, technical experts and other specialists are working round the clock to review the trove of information. "It's all hands on deck," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.
Technical specialists are recovering phone numbers from several cellphones recovered at the compound. The experts need to distinguish foreign telephone contacts from any numbers in the United States, which undergo a separate legal review, the official said.
"We're also looking through notes, letters, e-mails and other communications," the official said. "We're looking at who owns the e-mails and what linkages there are to those people." The official said that the initial analysis would involve searching for information about specific threats or plots, or potential terrorists sent to the United States or Europe, and that the FBI. was pursuing a small number of leads from the information reviewed so far.
The officials provided new details of a tense discussion between Pakistani officials and an American envoy who traveled to Pakistan on Monday, as well as the growing suspicion among United States intelligence and diplomatic officials that someone in Pakistan's secret intelligence agency knew of bin Laden's location, and helped shield him.
Obama administration officials have stopped short of accusing the Pakistani government — either privately or publicly — of complicity in the hiding of bin Laden in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One senior administration official privately acknowledged that the administration sees its relationship with Pakistan as too crucial to risk a wholesale break, even if it turned out that past or present Pakistani intelligence officials did know about bin Laden's whereabouts.
Still, this official and others expressed deep frustration with Pakistani military and intelligence officials for their refusal over the years to identify members of the agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence ISI) Directorate, who were believed to have close ties to bin Laden. In particular, American officials have demanded information on what is known as the ISI's S directorate, which has worked closely with militants since the days of the fight against the Soviet army in Afghanistan.
"It's hard to believe that Kayani and Pasha actually knew that bin Laden was there," a senior administration official said, referring to Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the ISI director-general, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha. But, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, "there are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn't surprise me if we find out that someone close to Pasha knew."
Already, Pakistani news outlets have been speculating that General Pasha, one of the most powerful figures in Pakistan, may step down as a consequence of the Bin Laden operation.
The increasing tensions between the United States and Pakistan — whose proximity to Afghanistan makes it almost a necessary ally in the American and allied war there — came as Al-Qaida itself acknowledged on Friday the death of its leader. The group did so while vowing revenge on the United States and its allies.
Pakistani investigators involved in piecing together Bin Laden's life during the past nine years said this week that he had been living in Pakistan's urban centers longer than previously believed.
Two Pakistani officials with knowledge of the continuing Pakistani investigation say that bin Laden's Yemeni wife, one of three wives now in Pakistani custody since the raid on Monday, told investigators that before moving in 2005 to the mansion in Abbottabad where he was eventually killed, bin Laden had lived with his family for nearly two and a half years in a small village, Chak Shah Mohammad, a little more than a mile southeast of the town of Haripur, on the main Abbottabad highway.
n retrospect, one of the officials said, this means that bin Laden left Pakistan's rugged tribal region sometime in 2003 and had been living in northern urban regions since then. American and Pakistani officials had thought for years that ever since bin Laden disappeared from Tora Bora in Afghanistan, he had been hiding in the tribal regions straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
A former Pakistani official noted that Abbottabad, the site of the Pakistani equivalent of the West Point military academy, is crawling with security guards and military officials who established a secure cordon around the town, raising questions of how the officials could not know there was a suspicious compound in their midst.
"If he was there since 2005, that is too long a time for local police and intelligence not to know," said Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistani official now teaching at Columbia University.
Mr. Abbas said there was a tight net of security surrounding Abbottabad because Pakistani officials were concerned about terrorist attacks on sensitive military installations in the area.
Art Keller, a former officer of the Central Intelligence Agency who worked on the hunt for Bin Laden from a compound in the Waziristan region of Pakistan in 2006, said the Qaida founder's choice of the garrison town of Abbottabad as a refuge in 2005 raised serious questions. Bin Laden certainly knew of the concentration of military institutions, officers and retirees in the town — including some from the ISI's S directorate, Keller said. And because the military has also been a target of militant attacks in recent years, the town has a higher level of security awareness, checkpoints and street surveillance than others.
If bin Laden wanted to relocate in a populated area of Pakistan to avoid missiles fired from American drones, Mr. Keller said, he had many choices. So Keller questioned why bin Laden would live in Abbottabad, unless he had some assurance of protection or patronage from military or intelligence officers. "At best, it was willful blindness on the part of the ISI," Keller said. "Willful blindness is a survival mechanism in Pakistan."
The trove of information taken by the commandos from the compound occupied by Bin Laden may answer some of these questions, and perhaps even solve the puzzle of where he has been in recent years.
A senior law enforcement official said Friday that the FBI and CIA. had rapidly assembled small armies of analysts, technical experts and translators to pore over about 100 thumb drives, DVDs and computer disks, along with 10 computer hard drives, 5 computers and assorted cellphones. Analysts are also sifting through piles of paper documents in the house, many of which are in Arabic and other languages that need to be translated.
In Washington and New York alone, several hundred analysts, technical experts and other specialists are working round the clock to review the trove of information. "It's all hands on deck," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.
Technical specialists are recovering phone numbers from several cellphones recovered at the compound. The experts need to distinguish foreign telephone contacts from any numbers in the United States, which undergo a separate legal review, the official said.
"We're also looking through notes, letters, e-mails and other communications," the official said. "We're looking at who owns the e-mails and what linkages there are to those people." The official said that the initial analysis would involve searching for information about specific threats or plots, or potential terrorists sent to the United States or Europe, and that the FBI. was pursuing a small number of leads from the information reviewed so far.
Posted in: Breaking News
Mother's Day: How Much Is Mom Worth?
What's mom worth? On the one hand, you could say that she's "priceless." On the other? "$61,436 a year."
That's according to Amy Danise, senior managing editor of Insure.com, a website that supplies insurance information. Danise and her colleagues divided up mom's function into 14 different jobs (cook, driver, nurse, etc.), then used Bureau of Labor Statistics on hourly wages to see how much you'd have to pay if mom were outsourced.
If you didn't have her, for example, you might have to spend $6,285 a year on transportation (taxi driver or chauffeur, priced at $13.43 an hour). For cleaning, you'd have to pay a maid or housekeeper $9.40 an hour, or $7,104 a year.
You'd pay $300 a year for haircuts.
And therein lies one problem with this argument: Do you really want mom to cut your hair?
How many people, if they had a choice of using mom or a professional hairstylist or cosmetologist would use, well, mom? I mean, she's nice and all. She made your lunch for all those years. But do you really want her giving you a permanent?
Might not other things done by mom be done better by professionals? "Nursing wounds" is listed by Insure as one mom-function. If mom nurses you, you get, "Let me kiss it and make it better." If you hire a professional nurse, though, it might actually heal. Either way, the tab is $17.90 an hour, using BLS data. Would you rather mom decorate the house--or an interior decorator, at a cost of $24.99 an hour?
Does Danise agree there might be some advantages to outsourcing some of mom's job? "Absolutely," she says. But she also notes there are situations where mom will do a job no one else would want. As for haircuts, she asks, what barber will take you when you've somehow gotten gum wadded in your hair? It would damage their shears. Mom, though, will take you right away--no waiting.
"There are lots of ways one could calculate mom's value," says Danise. In pricing some of mom's functions, such as camp counselor, "we had to select from among several hourly figures." She also had to make some estimates of the number of hours a week a mom might spend on a certain job. "All moms are different," says Danise, "and all will spend a different amount of time on a given job, depending on her family's needs."
In the 14 jobs attributed to mom, there seems to be a glaring omission: Things she does for dad. Can you put a price on that? People, of course, do but we won't get into that.
Danise acknowledges this deficiency: "That's the function we can't put a dollar value on: love and support."
After all, there's no job category for somebody loving and kind who looks under your bed to assure you there aren't monsters, or who consoles you when you drop what would have been the winning fly ball; nobody who suffers through your piano recital or rides the carousel when she'd really rather not. And no mortician is going to help you bury your pet rabbit.
So, thank you, mom. For all that and for so much more, there really is no value. It's worth all the gold that probably isn't in Ft. Knox.
That's according to Amy Danise, senior managing editor of Insure.com, a website that supplies insurance information. Danise and her colleagues divided up mom's function into 14 different jobs (cook, driver, nurse, etc.), then used Bureau of Labor Statistics on hourly wages to see how much you'd have to pay if mom were outsourced.
If you didn't have her, for example, you might have to spend $6,285 a year on transportation (taxi driver or chauffeur, priced at $13.43 an hour). For cleaning, you'd have to pay a maid or housekeeper $9.40 an hour, or $7,104 a year.
You'd pay $300 a year for haircuts.
And therein lies one problem with this argument: Do you really want mom to cut your hair?
How many people, if they had a choice of using mom or a professional hairstylist or cosmetologist would use, well, mom? I mean, she's nice and all. She made your lunch for all those years. But do you really want her giving you a permanent?
Might not other things done by mom be done better by professionals? "Nursing wounds" is listed by Insure as one mom-function. If mom nurses you, you get, "Let me kiss it and make it better." If you hire a professional nurse, though, it might actually heal. Either way, the tab is $17.90 an hour, using BLS data. Would you rather mom decorate the house--or an interior decorator, at a cost of $24.99 an hour?
Does Danise agree there might be some advantages to outsourcing some of mom's job? "Absolutely," she says. But she also notes there are situations where mom will do a job no one else would want. As for haircuts, she asks, what barber will take you when you've somehow gotten gum wadded in your hair? It would damage their shears. Mom, though, will take you right away--no waiting.
"There are lots of ways one could calculate mom's value," says Danise. In pricing some of mom's functions, such as camp counselor, "we had to select from among several hourly figures." She also had to make some estimates of the number of hours a week a mom might spend on a certain job. "All moms are different," says Danise, "and all will spend a different amount of time on a given job, depending on her family's needs."
In the 14 jobs attributed to mom, there seems to be a glaring omission: Things she does for dad. Can you put a price on that? People, of course, do but we won't get into that.
Danise acknowledges this deficiency: "That's the function we can't put a dollar value on: love and support."
After all, there's no job category for somebody loving and kind who looks under your bed to assure you there aren't monsters, or who consoles you when you drop what would have been the winning fly ball; nobody who suffers through your piano recital or rides the carousel when she'd really rather not. And no mortician is going to help you bury your pet rabbit.
So, thank you, mom. For all that and for so much more, there really is no value. It's worth all the gold that probably isn't in Ft. Knox.
Posted in: Breaking News
Love Your Weekends Again
Come Friday, you're ready to relax and recharge--but too many of us sabotage our weekends by cramming in a month of chores or going zombie in front of the TV. Either way, the weekend is a bust. If you want to feel truly refreshed by Monday morning, take to heart the findings of a study showing that in addition to eating, relaxing, and sex, women enjoy themselves most when they're socializing, engaging in spiritual activities, and exercising. To make the most of your weekend, be sure to pencil in one activity from each category, and let the Rule of Three work for you.
Rule #1: Use Your Social Network
Even if you cherish "just for me" time, organize at least one weekend endeavor where you can bring along a friend.
"Feeling connected and loved are among the biggest predictors of happiness," says Cassie Mogilner, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School who specializes in happiness research. Another bonus to socializing? It encourages us to spend our time and money on experiences, which research shows make us happier than material objects. "When something is sitting on your shelf, you get used to it very fast," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, the author of The How of Happiness. So plan a Saturday-night outing to a play you've read about, or sign up for a cooking class with a pal. You'll enjoy the advantages for weeks or months to come.
Rule #2: Try Soul Food
The more frequently that people attend religious services, the more content they are, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of Economic Psychology. Faith and prayer, regardless of religion, satisfy a basic need to feel part of something bigger than ourselves--and it turns out that volunteering can have a similar effect. "People derive a lot of pleasure from helping others," continues Dr. Lyubomirsky. If prayer and volunteering aren't for you, try meditation or a restorative yoga class instead. New research shows that spiritual practices, such as regular mindfulness exercises, can actually change brain structure in a way that promotes a sense of well-being. So as a part of your Rule of Three this weekend, set aside some time for prayer or meditation, or volunteer to spend an hour or two at your local animal shelter. It'll lift your spirit--literally.
Rule #3: Break A Sweat
"Exercise sparks the release of feel-good endorphins, but it also satisfies something more profound: the human need to perform and excel. Exercise helps you feel like the captain of your own ship," explains Dr. Lyubomirsky. Although any fitness activity you enjoy is good, you'll enhance its benefits even more by taking it outdoors. A recent review of 11 studies that was published in Environmental Science & Technology found that people who exercised outside felt more energetic and were more inclined to keep at it. This is good news, because the rewards of physical activity are cumulative: The more you exercise, the clearer your mind. So as you arrange your weekend, schedule a trail walk, a bicycle ride, or a Sunday-night dance class with your partner. You'll close your weekend energized and ready to tackle the week.
Rule #1: Use Your Social Network
Even if you cherish "just for me" time, organize at least one weekend endeavor where you can bring along a friend.
"Feeling connected and loved are among the biggest predictors of happiness," says Cassie Mogilner, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School who specializes in happiness research. Another bonus to socializing? It encourages us to spend our time and money on experiences, which research shows make us happier than material objects. "When something is sitting on your shelf, you get used to it very fast," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, the author of The How of Happiness. So plan a Saturday-night outing to a play you've read about, or sign up for a cooking class with a pal. You'll enjoy the advantages for weeks or months to come.
Rule #2: Try Soul Food
The more frequently that people attend religious services, the more content they are, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of Economic Psychology. Faith and prayer, regardless of religion, satisfy a basic need to feel part of something bigger than ourselves--and it turns out that volunteering can have a similar effect. "People derive a lot of pleasure from helping others," continues Dr. Lyubomirsky. If prayer and volunteering aren't for you, try meditation or a restorative yoga class instead. New research shows that spiritual practices, such as regular mindfulness exercises, can actually change brain structure in a way that promotes a sense of well-being. So as a part of your Rule of Three this weekend, set aside some time for prayer or meditation, or volunteer to spend an hour or two at your local animal shelter. It'll lift your spirit--literally.
Rule #3: Break A Sweat
"Exercise sparks the release of feel-good endorphins, but it also satisfies something more profound: the human need to perform and excel. Exercise helps you feel like the captain of your own ship," explains Dr. Lyubomirsky. Although any fitness activity you enjoy is good, you'll enhance its benefits even more by taking it outdoors. A recent review of 11 studies that was published in Environmental Science & Technology found that people who exercised outside felt more energetic and were more inclined to keep at it. This is good news, because the rewards of physical activity are cumulative: The more you exercise, the clearer your mind. So as you arrange your weekend, schedule a trail walk, a bicycle ride, or a Sunday-night dance class with your partner. You'll close your weekend energized and ready to tackle the week.
Posted in: Breaking News
Phoenix Police Officer Caught on Tape Body-Slamming Drunk Teen Girl
Phoenix Police are investigating the arrest of a 15-year-old girl who was seen on tape being slammed to the ground by the arresting officer.
Officer Patrick Larrison has been placed on administrative leave while police carry out both an internal and criminal investigation into the arrest.
A YouTube video captured the Jan. 25 arrest on camera, but police didn't become aware of the video until this Tuesday. Someone in the police department saw the video and reported it.
"That type of video is very concerning to us," said Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump at a press conference Thursday. "What you see in the video is of great concern to the Phoenix Police Department about how a member of this community was treated."
Caught on Tape: Cop Punches Teen Girl Watch Video
Caught on Tape: Cops Kicking Teen Watch Video
Cop's Baton Beating Caught on Tape Watch Video
The 15-year-old and her family have not been identified. The three-minute-long video starts with the girl having a fight in public with a woman who police identified as her mother. The mother has her daughter pinned to the ground in the parking lot of Charter East, part of the Ombudsman Charter Schools in Phoenix. The girl was reportedly intoxicated and sharing alcohol at the school, ABC Affiliate KNXV reported.
Officer Patrick Larrison has been placed on administrative leave while police carry out both an internal and criminal investigation into the arrest.
A YouTube video captured the Jan. 25 arrest on camera, but police didn't become aware of the video until this Tuesday. Someone in the police department saw the video and reported it.
"That type of video is very concerning to us," said Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump at a press conference Thursday. "What you see in the video is of great concern to the Phoenix Police Department about how a member of this community was treated."
Caught on Tape: Cop Punches Teen Girl Watch Video
Caught on Tape: Cops Kicking Teen Watch Video
Cop's Baton Beating Caught on Tape Watch Video
The 15-year-old and her family have not been identified. The three-minute-long video starts with the girl having a fight in public with a woman who police identified as her mother. The mother has her daughter pinned to the ground in the parking lot of Charter East, part of the Ombudsman Charter Schools in Phoenix. The girl was reportedly intoxicated and sharing alcohol at the school, ABC Affiliate KNXV reported.
Posted in: Breaking News
Ipl 4: Gayle's Brutal Innings Helps Rcb Crush Kxip
Bangalore: West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle played one of the most destructive Twenty20 innings with a 49-ball 107 as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Kings XI Punjab by 85 runs in a lopsided Indian Premier League match
on Friday.
Gayle single-handedly took RCB to 205 for six, IPL 4`s second highest total after the home side were put into bat, with a sensational exhibition of big hitting as he butchered KXIP bowlers with nine sixes and 10 fours on a spongy M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch.
Chasing a stiff target of 206, KXIP could score 120 for nine with none of their batsmen contributing a substantial score. All-rounder Ryan McLaren top-scored with 28 on a forgettable day for KXIP whose top five batsmen were back at the pavillion by the eighth over for just 50 runs.
Gayle also took three wickets for 21 from his quota of four overs. Sreenath Aravind was though the most successful RCB bowler with 4/14 from his four overs while captain Daniel Vettori chipped in with one wicket.
The night truly belonged to Gayle whose batting pyrotechnics left the home crowd spellbound as he went past a flurry of records.
Gayle became the first player to score two centuries in IPL history after his 55-ball 102 against Kolkata Knight Riders in his first match this year.
He recorded the fastest hundred in IPL 4, bettering Virender Sehwag`s 48-ball ton against Deccan Chargers by two balls while his nine sixes today was the most in IPL 4. He has now struck 21 sixes in IPL, the most in the tournament`s history, three more than Delhi captain Virender Sehwag`s 18.
Out of his 107 today, Gayle score 94 runs from fours and sixes, also the most in IPL history.
RCB could not have imagined for a worse start in their chase with opener and captain Adam Gilchrist run out in the first ball of the innings bowled by Zaheer Khan as the Australian failed to beat an Asad Pathan direct hit to the wicket.
Abhishek Nayar (1) joined Gilchrist at the dressing room in the second over and danger man Paul Valthaty (21) was out in fifth over and KXIP were tottering at 28 for three by then.
on Friday.
Gayle single-handedly took RCB to 205 for six, IPL 4`s second highest total after the home side were put into bat, with a sensational exhibition of big hitting as he butchered KXIP bowlers with nine sixes and 10 fours on a spongy M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch.
Chasing a stiff target of 206, KXIP could score 120 for nine with none of their batsmen contributing a substantial score. All-rounder Ryan McLaren top-scored with 28 on a forgettable day for KXIP whose top five batsmen were back at the pavillion by the eighth over for just 50 runs.
Gayle also took three wickets for 21 from his quota of four overs. Sreenath Aravind was though the most successful RCB bowler with 4/14 from his four overs while captain Daniel Vettori chipped in with one wicket.
The night truly belonged to Gayle whose batting pyrotechnics left the home crowd spellbound as he went past a flurry of records.
Gayle became the first player to score two centuries in IPL history after his 55-ball 102 against Kolkata Knight Riders in his first match this year.
He recorded the fastest hundred in IPL 4, bettering Virender Sehwag`s 48-ball ton against Deccan Chargers by two balls while his nine sixes today was the most in IPL 4. He has now struck 21 sixes in IPL, the most in the tournament`s history, three more than Delhi captain Virender Sehwag`s 18.
Out of his 107 today, Gayle score 94 runs from fours and sixes, also the most in IPL history.
RCB could not have imagined for a worse start in their chase with opener and captain Adam Gilchrist run out in the first ball of the innings bowled by Zaheer Khan as the Australian failed to beat an Asad Pathan direct hit to the wicket.
Abhishek Nayar (1) joined Gilchrist at the dressing room in the second over and danger man Paul Valthaty (21) was out in fifth over and KXIP were tottering at 28 for three by then.
Posted in: Breaking News
Friday, 6 May 2011
Kasab Curious To Know About Laden
Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, who is currently lodged in high security Arthur Road jail here, appeared very curious and asked a volley of questions on hearing the killing of al-Qaeda mastermind Osama Bin Laden, a jail official said today.
Posted in: Breaking News
Priyanka Getting Over-friendly With Saif?
Seems like Priyanka is hung on all things related to Kareena. After things didn't work out with Kareena's ex-boyfriend Shahid, now, Priyanka seems to be eyeing her current flame, Saif. While visiting stars on their movie sets has become a trend, Priyanka has taken this opportunity to bond with her e
nemy's boyfriend Saif. Apparently the actress dropped in to chat with Saif on the sets of his next flick, Agent Vinod.
"Saif has been shooting for his home production Agent Vinod all this week during the day at Filmistan Studios in Goregaon while Priyanka has been shooting nights for Karan Johar's Agneepath in Versova," a source told Mid Day.
"And yet, PC, who was shooting for an ad film in the afternoon at Filmistan asked Dinesh to show her the Agent Vinod set, after her shoot was done. She went around, met everyone from Saif to the director Shriram Raghavan, chatted with them for half an hour and then left for her Agneepath shoot in Versova," says the source.
nemy's boyfriend Saif. Apparently the actress dropped in to chat with Saif on the sets of his next flick, Agent Vinod.
"Saif has been shooting for his home production Agent Vinod all this week during the day at Filmistan Studios in Goregaon while Priyanka has been shooting nights for Karan Johar's Agneepath in Versova," a source told Mid Day.
"And yet, PC, who was shooting for an ad film in the afternoon at Filmistan asked Dinesh to show her the Agent Vinod set, after her shoot was done. She went around, met everyone from Saif to the director Shriram Raghavan, chatted with them for half an hour and then left for her Agneepath shoot in Versova," says the source.
Posted in: Breaking News
Licence To Thrill: Sehwag Shows Who Is Boss
You would think the Deccan Chargers would have learnt a thing or two after paying the price for dropping Yusuf Pathan in their previous match. Fastest IPL tons
Posted in: Breaking News
Sehwag's Dropped Catches Cost Us Match: Sangakkara
Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara feels that the two missed chances of Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag cost his side the match.
Posted in: Breaking News
Al-Qaida Confirms Osama Bin Laden's Death, Vows Revenge
In the first statement since Osama's death, the terror group warned of retaliation saying Americans' "happiness will turn into sadness"
Posted in: Breaking News
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Motorola Smartphone To Recognise Your Fingerprint
It's a phone, a laptop, a PC and recognises its owner by his fingerprint. Motorola's ATRIX is being marketed as the world's most powerful smartphone.
Posted in: Breaking News
Individual Taxpayers Need Not Declare High-Value Transactions
CBDT has given a breather to individual tax payers from declaring high-value transactions with banks, MFs, credit cards, etc via the I-T return forms.
Posted in: Breaking News
Us Stocks Sink On Bad Jobs Numbers
The broader S&P 500 was off 9.29 (0.69%) at 1,338.03, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.12 (0.43%) to 2,816.11.
Posted in: Breaking News
Bharti Walmart To Open 12 Stores By Dec, May Invest Rs 380 Cr
Intensifying its expansion, Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd today said it will open up to 12 new wholesale stores across India by end of 2011.
Posted in: Breaking News
Pakistan Warns Us, India Against Covert Operations
Agencies Admitting that US assault that killed Osama did achieve "important results", Salman Bashir told the media: "This cannot be taken as a rule."
Posted in: Breaking News
General Motors Profit More Than Triples To $3.2 Bn, Sees 2011 Improvement
DETROIT: General Motors Co's quarterly profit more than tripled, beating expectations, driven by a recovery in the US market and strong sales in Asia.
The US automaker also said on Thursday it expects its full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to show "solid improvement" from 2010 helped by better pricing and lower fixed costs in North America.
Net income in the first quarter rose to $3.2 billion, or $1.77 a share, compared with $900 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter.
Excluding such one-time items as its sales of stakes in parts maker Delphi and Ally Financial, it earned 95 cents a share. That was 4 cents better than what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected.
Revenue rose to $36.2 billion from $31.5 billion last year. Analysts had expected $35.59 billion.
The US automaker also said on Thursday it expects its full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to show "solid improvement" from 2010 helped by better pricing and lower fixed costs in North America.
Net income in the first quarter rose to $3.2 billion, or $1.77 a share, compared with $900 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter.
Excluding such one-time items as its sales of stakes in parts maker Delphi and Ally Financial, it earned 95 cents a share. That was 4 cents better than what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected.
Revenue rose to $36.2 billion from $31.5 billion last year. Analysts had expected $35.59 billion.
Posted in: Breaking News
India, China To Grow The Most In Asia-Pacific: Report
India and China will remain the fastest growing economies in Asia-Pacific by expanding at respective rates of 8.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent in 2011.
Posted in: Breaking News
Today's Energy Giant, Tomorrow's Walmart For Digital Services: Ril Chairman, Mukesh Ambani
The best way to understand Mukesh Ambani's mind is to think of Reliance as a company with two businesses: energy and consumer. In a conversation with Bodhisatva Ganguli & Himangshu Watts, Ambani says RIL will find more hydrocarbons and build a new-age digital and consumer business from scratch. Excerpts.
The tie-up with BP is a paradigm shift for RIL. Historically, you have controlled 100% of your core assets. So, what is the thinking behind this? And is this also the way forward in future?
Well, if you have followed Reliance, you should have noticed that Reliance now has over 50 JVs. The general principle of business is that once you achieve critical mass and size in any market, then to expand the domain or the market you need partnerships. The whole idea behind doing the BP piece is that we are determined to grow faster than before. It's general industry practice. If you look at the E&P industry globally, nobody holds 100% of a basin forever, including a Chevron or an Exxon .
The tie-up with BP is a paradigm shift for RIL. Historically, you have controlled 100% of your core assets. So, what is the thinking behind this? And is this also the way forward in future?
Well, if you have followed Reliance, you should have noticed that Reliance now has over 50 JVs. The general principle of business is that once you achieve critical mass and size in any market, then to expand the domain or the market you need partnerships. The whole idea behind doing the BP piece is that we are determined to grow faster than before. It's general industry practice. If you look at the E&P industry globally, nobody holds 100% of a basin forever, including a Chevron or an Exxon .
Posted in: Breaking News
