Press Trust of India Blaming the Congress for being the first party in India to formulate anti-conversion laws, the BJP Sunday said its rival was indulging in “communal politics”.
“The Congress should do a soul search for its indulgence in communal politics. A recent act of communal politics was the secret meeting between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and the Shahi Imam of (Delhi’s) Jama Masjid,” said BJP Meghalaya chief Khlur Sing Lyngdoh.
Following is the scoreboard of the World Twenty20 final between India and Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
India:
Rohit Sharma c Senanayake b Herath 29
Ajinkya Rahane b Mathews 3
Virat Kohli run out (Senanayake) 77
Yuvraj Singh c Perera b Kulasekara 11
Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 4
Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 2) 6
Total: (for four wickets in 20 overs) 130
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Rahane, 1.3 overs), 2-64 (Rohit, 10.3), 3-119 (Yuvraj, 18.1), 4-130 (Kohli, 19.6)
Bowling:
Nuwan Kulasekara 4-0-29-1
Angelo Mathews 4-0-25-1
Two towns in Odisha recorded maximum temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius Sunday as the heat wave conditions continued to sweep the state, an official said.
The Titilagarh and Bhabanipatna towns in the districts of Bolangir and Kalahandi respectively recorded a maximum of 42 degrees Celsius – the state’s highest temperature of the day, an official of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre told IANS.
The other towns which recorded high temperatures include industrial town of Talcher (41.1 degrees), Sambalpur (40.3 degrees) and Hirakud (40.5 degrees).
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene signed off their Twenty20 international careers guiding Sir Lanka to their maiden ICC World Twenty20 title beating former champions India by six wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
India couldn’t stop the two Sri Lankan legends from ending their Twenty20 international careers on a high note despite heroics from Virat Kohli, who starred again with a fine 77 off 58 balls as the 2007 champions struggled to get 130 for four in 20 overs. Kohli was also adjudged Man of the Tournament.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sunday accused opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of opposing facilities for displaced Kashmiri Pandits, saying it derived “sadistic pleasure” from people’s problems.
Addressing a public meeting here, Abdullah, the president of the National Conference, alleged the PDP is “deriving sadistic pleasure from festering wounds of people” and “is indulging in deceit and shedding crocodile tears to flourish its political enterprise”.
Three workers were killed when they fell down while working on a viaduct, which is part of a highway that connects to Istanbul’s controversial third bridge, local media reported Sunday.
The workers fell late Saturday from a height of 50 metres, the reports said adding that 11 were rescued by a crane when they were stuck in the viaduct located on the Asian side of Istanbul, Xinhua reported.
The accident happened when part of the concrete on the viaduct, a bridge composed of several small spans for crossing a valley or a gorge, collapsed during construction.
(IANS)
Acting on complaints that even routine maintenance of drinking water sources have been stopped in hot and humid West Bengal citing the poll code, Chief Election Commissioner V.S.Sampath Sunday asked officials to ensure there was no hindrance in that regard.
“One of the complaints made by political parties was that routine maintenance of drinking water sources were not carried out citing model code of conduct. It was made clear to officers nothing will come in the way to provision of drinking water to scarcity areas because of the present summer season,” Sampath told the media.
At least 13 agitators have been arrested in connection with a sectarian clash Friday in Hlegu, a small township on the outskirts of Yangon.
Though the situation in Hlegu remained calm, a dusk-to-dawn curfew order is still in place on the small town which bans gathering of more than five people, Xinhua reported Sunday.
The violence was triggered by an incident Friday afternoon, in which a Myanmar boy, who sells plastic covers in the Hlegu Central Market, was allegedly hurt by a local Muslim in the eye.
China Sunday objected to US Vice President Joe Biden’s meeting with two Hong Kong former legislators and called on the US to refrain from interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Hong Kong’s affairs are China’s internal affairs. China objects firmly to any country’s interference in China’s internal affairs in any form, Xinhua quoted a spokesperson of office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry of China in Hong Kong as saying while responding to Biden’s Friday meeting with two Hong Kong activists.
As many as 60 Syrian physicians have been expelled from the country’s Doctors Syndicate for treating rebels fighting to topple the Syrian administration, local media reported Sunday.
The doctors’ expulsion came against the backdrop of their “communication with armed groups”, reported Xinhua citing Al-Watan newspaper as saying, adding the syndicate has taken measures against any doctor, who practices his profession in a way against the “profession’s moral”.
Sri Lanka beat India by six wickets to clinch the ICC World Twenty20 title for the first time at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
After being put in to bat, India could only manage 130/4 in their 20 overs with Virat Kohli top scoring with 77. In reply, the 2009 and 2012 World T20 finalists reached the target with 2.1 overs to spare. This was the fifth edition of the tournament.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara, playing his last T20I, top scored with an unbeaten 52 while Mahela Jayawardene, also playing his last game of the format, made 24.
(IANS)
A fairly strong crowd Sunday attended a rally of Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, at the same venue where people were seen leaving during an election meeting addressed by the Congress vice president in November 2013.
Congress workers were seen at the Virat Cinema Ground in Dakshinpuri, asking people to join in.
As Gandhi got up on to the dais, people stood up in their chairs to get a glimpse of the leader.
As many as 147 of the total 673 candidates in Odisha, who will try their luck in the first phase of assembly polls April 10, have criminal background, an election watchdog said Sunday.
Polling for the state’s 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats will be held simultaneously April 10 and 17. In the first phase, election will be held for 10 parliamentary constituencies and 70 assembly constituencies.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Sunday launched a multi-pronged attack on the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, accusing the party of practising “divisive politics” and said the party was only blowing balloons into the air that will soon burst.
Addressing election rallies at Haryana’s Sirsa and Delhi, Gandhi also hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over delay in releasing its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.
A high-ranking Iranian economic delegation is all set to visit Germany and explore ways to boost bilateral ties with German businessmen during a conference, local media reported Sunday.
In the conference to be held April 8 in Berlin, Iranian Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh will lead the delegation, comprising director of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, three deputy ministers, as well as 10 managers of key Iranian industrial enterprises, Xinhua reported.
Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei proved why he is the World No.1 badminton player by thrashing No.2 Chen Long of China in straight games to clinch his third $250,000 India Open Super Series men’s singles title in four years here Sunday.
The top seed needed only 55 minutes to better Long 21-13, 21-17 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. In a repeat of last month’s All-England Open final, Lee won to take a 9-8 lead in career meetings.
Seven people were killed while one person was rescued when a landslide hit China’s Shanxi province early Sunday, Xinhua reported.
The incident occurred at 2.20 a.m. in Xiguan Village of Jixian County, situated in a valley. Some 2,000 cubic metres of earth and stone buried a two-storey building, trapping eight people, according to the information office of the county government.
Rescuers later saved one person but found seven bodies.
(IANS)
At least two people were killed and five others wounded when mortar shells hit the Damascus Opera House Sunday, the state news agency SANA reported.
The Opera House is located, near the headquarters of the state TV and the military command, in the Umayyad Square, centre of Damascus, Xinhua reported.
The attack is the latest one in a series of mortar attacks by the rebels as their clashes with the government troops have intensified in eastern Damascus and other areas over the past days.
Policies of the Left were responsible for both slowdown in growth and the decline in the popularity of the parties across India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Sunday.
“You (Kerala residents) have experienced the Left government here. Their major problem is that they are unable to change their policies with changing times. Their policies slow down growth,” Manmohan Singh said at a rally.
The prime minister said the Left was voted out of Kerala and in West Bengal because of these wrong policies.
Calling the RSS and corporates “anti-democratic”, expelled JD-U MP Shivanand Tiwari Sunday alleged that both have joined hands to make BJP leader Narendra Modi the prime minister.
Tiwari said: “This is the first time in the history of the Lok Sabha election in the country that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and corporate houses have came out openly to support a person (Narendra Modi).”
Australian women won their third successive ICC World Twenty20 cricket title after a six-wicket win over England at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
England were sent in to bat first and reached 8-105 from their 20 overs, which the Australian side chased down in the 16th over, finishing 4-106. Sarah Coyte’s figures of 3-16 earned her the player-of-the-final award.
A total of 87 candidates have filed nomination papers for the six Lok Sabha seats in Assam that will go to the polls April 24 in the sixth phase of national elections, officials said Sunday.
Assam’s chief electoral officer said scrutiny of nominations will be held Monday, while the last date for withdrawal is April 9.
For the prestigious Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency, 22 candidates have filed nominations, which includes 13 independents.
As many as 18 candidates have filed papers for Dhubri, nine for Kokrajhar, 15 for Barpeta, 13 for Mangaldai and 10 for Nowgong.
India were restricted to 130 for four in 20 overs by Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
Virat Kohli was the top scorer with 77 off 58 balls while Rohit Sharma made 29 in 26 balls.
(IANS)
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Sunday congratulated Afghanistan over the successful conduct of presidential elections.
He said making decisions through the ballot box by the Afghan people reflected their determination and keen interest in adopting a democratic culture. He emphasised that participation in the process by the Afghan people would play a significant role in bringing peace and stability to the region.
More than 30 rebels including field commanders were killed Sunday in a huge explosion in the country’s central province of Homs.
Homs-based activists said the huge explosion at the Jouret al- Shayah area in the old quarter of Homs was caused by a government troops’ Grad missile that slammed into a reserve ammunition depot, which was prepared by the rebels in a bid to unleash an offensive against the government troops to break the year-long siege on rebel-held areas inside the old city of Homs, Xinhua reported.