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Ponting’s century flattens England

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London, July 10: England shared chapter one with Wales. But day two of Cardiff’s maiden Test match belonged entirely to Australia by the end with centuries from opener Simon Katich and captain Ricky Ponting putting the Ashes holders into a position of real promise.

“We’ve had the wind knocked out of our sails,” was the honest assessment from spinner Graeme Swann after the Aussies had reached 249 for one in reply to 435 all out. “We are still nearly 200 runs ahead so it’s not all doom and gloom by any means but we couldn’t capitalise on our early momentum and that was disappointing.”

HC recommends SC to allow more fast track courts

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 10: The Kerala High Court has recommended to the Supreme Court to allow setting up of 53 more fast track courts in the state for speedy disposal of pending cases, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan informed the Assembly today.

In a written reply, he said there were 10,12,266 cases, including 6,37,680 criminal cases, pending in various courts in the state.

He said five more evening munsiff courts would be set up and sub-courts were being computerised with help of the National Informatics Centre.

National Solar Mission on the anvil, says Farooq

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New Delhi, July 10: Amidst shortage of conventional energy sources, the government today said it will soon announce a National Solar Mission to electrify rural areas.

“Many villages are still without power. They can be electrified either through solar or wind energy. Today solar power is very expensive costing Rs 15 per unit and we are making all efforts to bring it down,” Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said in the Lok Sabha.

The computer helper: Can Chrome OS threaten Windows?

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Washington, July 10: Search giant Google’s recent announcement that it was would enter the operating system arena with its newly unveiled Chrome operating system (OS) caused quite a buzz in the tech world. That’s not surprising: when Google announces a new product, people generally listen, in large part because of Google’s programming muscle and its reputation for boldly venturing into untested waters.

1.7 lakh vacancies in railways, says Mamata

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New Delhi, July 10: Indian Railways has over 1.7 lakh vacancies which will be filled after the current recruitment process is reviewed, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha today.

Replying to questions, she said the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) is being reviewed. “We have to examine (the recruitment process) and address lacunae. We will come back once we have done the review.”

She said there were issues of regional aspirations and problems in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Guwahati over RRB exams. “We are reviewing the entire process.”

e-learning at govt schools in Pondy

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Puducherry, July 10: All government primary and middle schools in the union territory would be equipped with broadband facility under a Central government scheme to promote e-learning and computer-based education.

As many as 244 primary schools and 65 middle schools would be provided broadband facility at a cost of Rs 14 lakhs under the Centre’s Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (education for all) scheme with rural schools being the primary target, Chief Minister V Vaithilingam said in a release here today.

Correspondence courses becoming popular

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New Delhi, July 10: The charm may still be with the full time classes but correspondence courses are increasingly being accepted by both students and employers.

“We had 2.1 million candidates for correspondence courses in September, 2008 and the number has increased to 2.6 million applicants this year,” says Sarojit Mahalanobis, Media adviser to VC, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

UPTU counselling postponed to July 18

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Lucknow, July 10: The Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) postponed to July 18 counselling for admission in various courses scheduled for today pending Supreme Court’s decision on the UP State Reservation Act.

UPTU filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court after some colleges secured a stay on the Act from the High Court.

The apex court is expected to make its decision on July 17, official sources said.

“We have postponed counselling staring from today. The counselling will start from July 18 after the SC order”, a senior university official told PTI.

Wife, close friend arrested for killing businessman

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New Delhi, July 10: A 29-year-old woman and her close friend were today arrested for allegedly murdering her businessman-husband at their residence in west Delhi, a senior police official said.

Jagmohan Singh Kohli (32), who owned a rubber factory in Anand Parbat, was found dead with multiple stab injuries and a scarf around his neck by police in his Rajouri Garden residence by police after his wife Sumit Kaur informed them about the incident.

Kaur and her close friend Puneet were placed under arrest after questioning, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal told PTI.

Government not meddling in CBI’s case handling, asserts Chavan

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New Delhi, July 10: Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan Thursday said that the government does not intervene in the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after handing over a case to the agency.

‘The government does not intervene in the functioning of CBI after cases have been handed over,’ Chavan told parliament in a written reply to a question.

Two-year-old drowns in school swimming pool

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Lucknow, July 10: A two-year-old boy drowned in a play school’s swimming pool here Thursday, police said.

Rudraksh had joined the Paradise Children’s Home, a playgroup school, only three days ago, police added.

His father Piyush Chauhan, a college professor, left him at the school in the morning, and when he returned a couple of hours later, he was told his son was not well and was being attended to by doctors, police said.

Chauhan immediately rushed his son to the Pushpanjali Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Tata’s Corus to cut 366 more jobs

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Mumbai, July 10: Tata Steel subsidiary Corus, Europe’s second largest steelmaker, Thursday announced plans to cut a further 366 jobs at its site in Scunthorpe, Britain.

The move aims ‘to improve the competitiveness of its (Corus’) Scunthorpe site in Northeast England by aligning employment cost with anticipated steel demand. As a result, 366 jobs are identified as being at risk,’ Tata Steel said in statement here.

The announcement comes a month after Corus said it would retrench more than 2,000 people.

Cop guns down accused in his mother’s murder

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Chennai, June 10: A police head constable allegedly gunned down a history-sheeter and the prime accused in the murder of his mother while escorting him to a court.

Head Constable R Murugan, who also shot at and injured another accused, was later arrested by police on murder charges and had been remanded to judicial custody, police said.

Shots fired to clear streets as Iranians defy ban on protests

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Tehran, July 10: Fresh unrest broke out on the streets of Iran yesterday when opposition protesters defied a ban on public gatherings and police fired shots in the air to disperse them.

Nearly a month after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was returned to power in disputed elections, provoking the worst upheaval since the 1979 Islamic revolution, an uneasy calm has returned to the capital. But that was broken as hundreds of people gathered at Enghelab Avenue near Tehran University to commemorate the anniversary of student uprisings in 1999.

Mosques closed in China’s Urumqi as tensions run high( update)

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Urumqi (China), July 10: The normally bustling mosques of China’s Urumqi city were ordered shut on the main Muslim day of prayer today with police out in force to prevent new outbreaks of deadly ethnic unrest.

Uighur Muslims said they had been directed to pray at home, as armed forces saturated the streets of the northwest Xinjiang region’s capital five days after clashes that authorities said left 156 people dead.

Obama plans nuclear talks to lift threat of proliferation

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Washington, July 10: Barack Obama has called a global summit on reducing the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons which could eventually result in Britain’s Trident system being scaled back.

The US President told G8 leaders at their meeting in Italy yesterday that between 20 and 30 nations would be invited to the non-proliferation summit in Washington next spring. He hopes to build on his successful disarmament talks held on Monday with the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev.

Public prosecutor initiates arguments against Jaya

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Chennai, July 10: The trial court’s conclusion in a case relating to alleged irregularities in purchase and distribution of television sets that other accused committed offences under Prevention of Corruption Act would apply to former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also, the Tamil Nadu government told the Madras High Court today.

Sensex up 105 pts in opening trade on higher Infosys earnings

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Mumbai, July 10: India’s Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex Friday rose by nearly 105 points in opening trade on increased capital inflows by funds after IT major Infosys Technologies posted better-than-expected first quarter profits amid firm trend in other Asian equity markets.

The 30-share index gained 104.92 points at 13,862.38 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 28.55 points to 4,109.50 points.

Hooch tragedy 107 dead

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Ahmedabad, July 10: Twelve more people lost their lives due to consumption of spurious brew, taking the death toll in the hooch tragedy to 107 Friday even as the crackdown on illicit liquor dens continued across the western state of India

More than 150 people are still under treatment in various hospital of the city, police said, adding that more people have been admitted to the hospitals overnight

Twelve people, who were undergoing treatment, died last night

Phelps breaks through for 100m fly world record

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Indianapolis (Indiana), July 10: Michael Phelps broke the 100m butterfly world record, evidence that his post-Olympic transition is right on track.

Phelps, winner of eight gold medals at the Beijing Games last August, won in 50.22sec, slicing 18-hundredths of a second off the previous record of 50.40 set by compatriot Ian Crocker at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal.

“It was big,” Phelps said of the achievement. “This is something I really wanted to accomplish.”

12 injured as Howrah-Dehradun Express derails

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Gaya (Bihar) July 10: At least 12 passengers were injured when two coaches of Howrah-Dehradun Express derailed in Bihar’s Gaya district today.

“The SLR van and guard’s coach of the train jumped the rails near Bilwa station about 50 km from here at about 3.55 am,” PRO of East Central Railway U K Jha told PTI.

Eye witnesses said the passengers received minor injuries as the train was moving at a slow speed.

The derailed coaches were detached from the train, which resumed journey at 5.55 am, Jha said.

40 CCTVs to keep hawk-eye on Red Fort during I-Day

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New Delhi, July 10: This Independence Day, 40 CCTVs will keep a hawk-eye vigil on the historic Red Fort where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unfurl the tricolour.

While 10 CCTVs will be installed in and around the 17th century Mughal monument covering up to three km, 30 will be installed to cover a 4-km stretch from Shanti Van to the Red Fort police post.

According to a senior police official, the 10 CCTVs will cover the area where VIPs will sit, the passage and the area surrounding the monument. The CCTVs will be installed by August 10 and they will be there till August 15.

Congress demands longer budget debate in Assembly

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Chandigarh, July 09: The main Opposition party Congress today accused the Punjab government of “running away” from holding a longer discussion on the budget for 2009-10.

Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal charged the SAD-BJP government with “running away from holding a longer discussion on the budget for 2009-10 by fixing two days for the debate”.

Oil PSUs to invest Rs 57,475 crore this fiscal

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New Delhi, July 09: State-run oil firms, including Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), will invest Rs 57,475 crore during current fiscal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said today.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Prasada said ONGC will invest Rs 20,867.58 crore in 2009-10 fiscal, while IOC has planned expenditure of Rs 11,561 crore.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of the state explorer, would invest an additional Rs 9,365.06 crore this year.

Tendulkar not fit for T20: Buchanan

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New Delhi, July 09: Sachin Tendulkar is not fit for Twenty20 cricket since he is neither inventive nor fearless, according to former Australia coach John Buchanan.

Buchanan does not doubt the Mumbaikar’s greatness in Test and ODI formats but the former Kolkata Knight Riders coach insists Twenty20 is just not Tendulkar’s cup of tea.