Karachi, February 26: The ghost of match-fixing has returned again to haunt the Pakistan cricket team, and this time it is wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal who seems to be under its glare.
Insiders said that the selectors had axed Akmal from the two T20 match series against England in Dubai, over suspicions that he deliberately dropped catches during the second Test match against Australia in Sydney.
Mumbai, February 26: After endorsing a slew of consumer products, Hrithik Roshan has signed up to endorse a system of stem cell preservation. LifeCell babycord urges parents to preserve their newborn baby’s umbilical cord so they can give their child a safe and secure future.
Research has proved that stem cells taken from umbilical cords can treat over 75 diseases. So if a baby’s stem cells are preserved, it can help him or her when they grow up and develop any major disease. Hrithik has been roped in to spread this message and create awareness of this concept.
——-Agencies
Kabul, February 26: Taliban bombers equipped with suicide vests and automatic rifles attacked a hotel and a guesthouse in central Kabul Friday, killing 11 people and injuring 20, including six Indians, officials said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by phone from an undisclosed location that five Taliban bombers attacked two compounds used by foreigners. He said two of the bombers detonated their explosives while the three others continued to fight Afghan forces.
Mumbai, February 26: Ashok Jethmalani, a businessman from Ulhasnagar was robbed and murdered near Seva Niketan Hospital when he was on his way to work.
Three men fled with his bag containing Rs 25 lakh. Mandaleshwar Kale, assistant commissioner of police, zone-4 ( Ulhasnagar) said Jethmalani was in the money and property investment business.
He left home at around 11.15 am on his motorcycle. The accused followed him and tried to snatch his bag.
Mumbai, February 26: For the past 10 years, Ajay Devgan and Kajol have always been together on their wedding anniversary, which falls on February 24. But Ajay almost missed it this year when his co-passengers on a Madurai-Chennai-Mumbai flight had a heated exchange with the airline.
New Delhi, February 26: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir today called on External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and discussed bilateral relations.
Bashir, who was in New Delhi for talks with his counterpart Nirupama Rao, was with Krishna for about an hour.
They are understood to have taken stock of the bilateral relations and reviewed the discussions that were held between the two foreign secretaries yesterday.
India has emphasised that it wants to improve relations with Pakistan but for that Islamabad will have to end cross-border terrorism.
Mumbai, February 26: Bollywood Actress Preity Zinta is nervous before the 55th Idea Filmfare Award 2009, which will take place on Saturday, February 27. She tweets, “Filmfare Awards are coming near and I am already nervous ! Most actors are nervous because they are wondering if they will get awards… I am nervous because if I end up going with someone from the opposite sex that person might get linked up with me.
New Delhi, February 26: Three states presented their budgets on Thursday, proposing to make several consumer goods costlier but keeping local taxes on food items largely unchanged.
Melbourne, February 26: Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has ridiculed the safety concerns raised by it, but the Australian Cricketers Association claims to have made “some positive progress” in getting its players’ security demands met by the IPL organizers.
“Our security adviser Reg Dickason has been working with the IPL’s security adviser, Nicholls-Steyn. They’ve been working for a few days now on what we’ve identified as the issues that have come out of various player meetings,” Marsh told ‘Cricinfo’.
Kingston, February 26: Players’ bodies in Australia and New Zealand might be fretting over security in the Indian Premier League but the one in West Indies is happy with the arrangements and has backed its cricketers’ participation in the Twenty20 event.
“Apart from being in contact with a number of key IPL personnel, the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has also sought independent advice from organizations which have conducted similar security tests,” WIPA said in a statement.
Abu Dhabi, February 26: Sachin Tendulkar jumped three places to third in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings after his record-breaking double-century against South Africa while India are almost assured of USD 75,000 for ending the calendar year at the number two position in the championship table.
Karachi, February 26: Pakistan National Assembly’s standing committee on sports has once again summoned the PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt and other officials on March 6.
The scheduled hearing is the latest in a series of hearings held since last year in which the Chairman of the committee, Jamshed Dasti and other members have strongly criticized Butt’s performance and called for his resignation.
Dasti said the hearing has been called to find out what progress the board had made regarding the inquiry into the team’s poor performance in Australia.
New Delhi, February 26: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said economic growth during the current fiscal could exceed 7.2 per cent projected by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).
Unveiling the budget for 2010-11 in Lok Sabha, he said, “final figures may turn out to be higher” as the economy has done well in the second quarter ending September 2009 recording a growth rate of 7.9 per cent.
The economic growth figures, released by the CSO earlier in the day, said economy grew by 6 per cent in the third quarter ending December 2009.
Karachi, February 26: Former captain Saeed Anwar has turned down the Pakistan Cricket Board chief selector’s post offer and in turn expressed his desire to become the batting consultant of the national team.
“I was offered the post of chief selector but I told the PCB chairman that I could not take up the job as I don’t think I would be able to do justice to the position,” Anwar said.
Algiers, February 26: The head of the Algerian security service DGSN, Ali Tounsi, was shot and killed Thursday, the Algerian interior ministry said.
According to the ministry’s press statement, Tounsi was assassinated early Thursday by a high-ranking police officer during a meeting in his Algiers office.
The assailant then turned the weapon on himself and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Washington, February 26: India and Pakistan have realised that only they can resolve the differences between them and United States will encourage the two nations to do so, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
“I think both countries realise there are lots of important issues that only they can resolve between them, but the United States has encouraged the dialogue and we obviously hope that it will be productive,” Clinton told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
Hyderabad, February 26: The Andhra Pradesh government finds itself in a cleft stick on its claim before the Supreme Court about the presence of Maoists on the Osmania University campus, which has become an epicenter of the ongoing movement for a separate Telangana State.
Having come under flak for deployment of paramilitary forces on the campus, both in the High Court as well as the apex court, the government sought to justify its action citing infiltration of Maoists but is caught in a quandary with the Supreme Court seeking evidence of the same.
Port-au-Prince, February 26: The first heavy rain since the devastating earthquake doused Haiti’s capital, soaking hundreds of thousands of homeless in the city.
The storm hit last night as relief officials changed track on dealing with quake survivors, delaying plans to build big refugee camps outside the capital, asking the homeless to pack up their tents and tarps and return to destroyed neighbourhoods.
Chennai, February 26: The body of a scientist working at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), who had been missing since last week, was found in a railway hospital here Friday. S. Ananthanarayanan had died after being hit by a train on Feb 15, police said.
Ananthanarayanan, 37, was hit near the Pothery railway station here and his body sent to the railway hospital at Chrompet.
His wife Rukmani had complained about his disappearance Feb 18.
IGCAR officials said Ananthanarayanan had not gone to work since Feb 15.
Baghdad, February 26: A top Sunni lawmaker, who less than a week ago said he was pulling his party out of the election after he was banned from the race, reversed course on Thursday, saying that his party is back in the race.
Saleh Al-Mutlaq told reporters he would now allow his party to take part in the vote and called on all Iraqis to participate in the election.
Washington, February 26: The Pentagon on Thursday rejected accusations by Iran of US backing for a Sunni Muslim rebel group and denied its leader had been at a US military base prior to his arrest two days ago.
Iran’s Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi has said Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi had been in a US military base 24 hours before his arrest by Iranian security forces.
He said Rigi was also carrying an Afghan passport supplied by the United States and had earlier visited European countries, according to state-run Press TV.
Beijing, February 26: India and China have demonstrated commitment to a climate accord struck in Copenhagen last year and their refusal so far to “associate” with it should not be overblown, the U.N.’s climate chief said on Friday.
The Copenhagen Accord reached last year was not legally binding, but over 100 countries have already said they are willing to “associate” with it, which means their names are listed at the top of the document.
Jerusalem, February 26: Israel’s prime minister tried Thursday to calm tensions over the addition of two West Bank shrines to a list of national heritage sites, a decision that has sparked clashes with the Palestinians and drawn widespread international criticism.
In an interview to Israeli TV, Benjamin Netanyahu called the affair a “misunderstanding,” saying there was no intention to infringe on Muslim freedom of worship. He said the intent was to protect and maintain the sites.
Mumbai, February 26: The bigwigs in Bollywood are likely to party together under one roof if the latest news is to be believed. The news is doing the rounds that industrialist couple Anil and Tina Ambani is throwing a big party for Bollywood this Sunday evening (Feb. 28).
New Delhi, February 26: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue banking licences to more entities including the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
“RBI will given additional licences” for setting up banks in the country, he said presenting the budget for 2010—11 in the Lok Sabha.
He said banking licences will also be issued to the NBFCs which fulfil the prescribed criteria.
—-PTI