Pakistan T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez is reportedly not happy with his individual performance and his team’s performance as well following their early World Twenty20 fallout. A disappointed Hafeez, on his return from Bangladesh as Pakistan failed to make it to the World T20 Cup semi-finals for the first time, said that he feels that a team should be questioned whenever it displays a poor performance.
The hunt for the crashed Flight MH370 is the most difficult in human history and there is no guarantee that it would be found, Australia said today as Malaysian Premier Najib Razak visited a military base here coordinating multinational search operations for the wreckage.
“We cannot be certain of ultimate success in the search for MH370,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at a news briefing, standing alongside Najib.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has sought an apology from BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for dragging Congress President Sonia Gandhi into the Italian marines’ case by leveling “unfounded allegations” against her.
Flaying Modi’s statement at an election rally in Assam in which he demanded that Gandhi come clean on who helped the two Italian marines get “safe passage” from the country after killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast, Chandy dared the BJP leader to either prove his allegation or tender an apology for making “unfounded charges.”
Union minister and Congress candidate Salman Khurshid today filed his nomination from Farukhabad constituency which goes to poll on April 24.
Salman, who was accompanied by wife Louis filed one set of his nomination, which was proposed by Anil Mishra, party sources said here.
Besides, him independent candidates Manju and Brahmsaran also filed their nominations.
BJP candidate from the constituency Mukesh Rajput and the Samajwadi Party candidate Rameshwar Singh Yadav have already filed their nominations.
So far, seven persons have filed nominations for the seat.
–PTI
Aam Aadmi Party today appealed to the EC to carry out an immediate verification of electoral rolls and ensure that no bogus vote is cast throughout the Gurgaon Parliamentary constituency.
AAP candidate from Gurgaon Yogendra Yadav appealed to the EC for the same following a sting operation by a private TV channel recently exposing the bogus votes being prepared by a BLO in Gurgaon and other parts of the national capital region.
Narendra Modi on Thursday accused Sonia Gandhi of resorting to “rabid communalism” by appealing to Muslim leaders to ensure their votes are not split and sought Election Commission’s action in this regard.
Against the backdrop of Ms. Gandhi’s meeting with Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari where she had made the appeal, Mr. Modi said, “Congress is sensing defeat. So now, their slogan has shifted from secularism to rabid communalism.
Union textiles minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao Thursday resigned from the union cabinet to protest bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Rao sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources close to the minister said.
He, however, has not yet taken a decision on whether to quit the Congress.
He is reportedly planning to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The MP from Eluru in West Godavari district was inducted into the union cabinet in June last year.
Actress Manisha Koirala says she is looking forward to make a comeback in films but is not interested in doing small roles.
Manisha, 43, is known for her performance in films like ‘Khamoshi’, ‘1942: A Love Story’, ‘Bombay’, and ‘Dil Se’ among others.
“I want to see myself on screen… I want to be back. I do get offers. I get roles like important one’s in the film but I am there for two scenes or so…I don’t want that. I am waiting for a good director and a good role,” Manisha told reporters here at an event.
Claiming to be at the top of his game right now, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin today said he is not bothered by competition breathing down his neck as his endeavour is to improve himself.
“To be really honest, I’ve never bothered about who’s behind my shoulder. That’s not how I play my cricket. I believe in improving every day, and I don’t say it just for the sake of it,” Ashwin replied on being asked about competition from leg-spinner Amit Mishra.
A married woman immolated herself today in frustration after a kangaroo court asked a young man who allegedly raped her to seek her forgiveness instead of punishing him in Malda district.
The woman, a mother of two children, died at the Malda Medical College and Hospital after battling for life since Tuesday when she was allegedly raped by the young man, Rabindra Mondal, when her husband was away from home at Basantatola village, police sources said.
A couple in Germany has been banned from naming their newborn ‘Wikileaks’ after local authorities cited concerns that it could endanger the welfare of the baby.
Iraqi-born journalist Hajar Hamalaw wanted to name his child after Julian Assange’s whistle-blowing website as it had “changed the world”, according to the Passauer Neue Presse.
However, 28-year-old Hamalaw failed in his attempt to register the name of the baby who was born on March 14.
Hamalaw has been living in the German city of Passau for the past eight months, ‘The Local’ reported.
Actor Imran Khan, who has lent his voice to a character in the Hindi version of animation film ‘Rio 2’, says he is not keen on acting in Hollywood as not many good roles are written for Indian actors there.
“I absolutely have no interest in working in Hollywood. I think you (Indian actors) get to be the nurse, someone who repairs computer or hero’s roommate, etc. I think they (Hollywood filmmakers) don’t write good roles for Indians,” Imran told PTI in an interview.
Ingredients in dark chocolate may help ward off obesity and type-2 diabetes, according to a new study.
A particular type of antioxidant in cocoa can prevent excess weight gain and even lower blood sugar levels, scientists at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute have found.
Researchers Andrew P Neilson and colleagues said that cocoa, the basic ingredient of chocolate, is one of the most flavanol-rich foods around.
Previous research has shown that flavanols in other foods such as grapes and tea can help fight weight gain and type-2 diabetes.
Drinking two or more cups of coffee daily can reduce the risk of death from liver cirrhosis by 66 per cent, a new study has claimed.
Researchers found that drinking coffee each day reduces the risk of death from liver cirrhosis, specifically cirrhosis caused by non-viral hepatitis.
The study found that tea, fruit juice, and soft drink consumption are not linked to cirrhosis mortality risk.
As with previous studies heavy alcohol use was found to increase risk of death from cirrhosis.
Scientists have found the Moon was formed nearly 100 million years after the start of the solar system, suggesting that the Earth’s natural satellite is about 4.5 billion years old.
This conclusion is based on measurements from the interior of the Earth combined with computer simulations of the protoplanetary disk from which the Earth and other terrestrial planets formed.
Researchers simulated the growth of the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) from a disk of thousands of planetary building blocks orbiting the Sun.
They are on a high after four victories on the trot but team combination and injury to Yuvraj Singh will be a worry for India as they go into the second semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 against a determined South Africa, here tomorrow.
While the Indian team management will be hoping that Yuvraj recovers fully from his ankle injury which he sustained during a football session, selecting the final XI could be a tricky proposition for them.
Kevin Pietersen said he was looking forward to sharing the benefits of his experience with international stars of the future now that his own England career had been terminated.
“It is good to come to the end of an international career and help others who are the start of an international career,” Pietersen told kiaoval.Com yesterday.
“I won’t be forceful in my knowledge. But I’ve got experience in training, the mental preparation that goes in to making you successful — which I’ve nailed well.
“So it’s a case of handing over that knowledge, if someone wants it.”
China has sought to distance itself from the angry views aired by family members of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysian plane, terming their opinion “irresponsible”.
“Some Chinese families, internet users and well-known people have aired some radical views,” China’s ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang said.
“These radical and irresponsible opinions do not represent the views of Chinese people and the Chinese government,” Huang was quoted as saying by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
Slamming Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid to prevent split in secular votes, Shiv Sena today said it was akin to “fox and wolf” discussing non-violence and vegetarianism.
“Imam Bukhari and Sonia Gandhi held a meeting and it is said that they discussed that secular votes should not get split in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls…It is like fox and wolf coming together to talk non-violence and vegetarianism,” Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said if his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi became prime minister, the government would be run by big corporates like that in the US.
“If Modi becomes prime minister, big corporates will be behind him. It will be a kind of corporate rule from back door, just like what happens in American democracy. It is going to be the most dangerous thing to Indian democracy,” Gogoi told reporters here.
In addition to that, Modi government would be influenced by “RSS philosophy of dictatorship”, he said.
Large number of Shiv Sena and MNS workers clashed today outside the Old Custom House in South Mumbai here when respective party candidates Arvind Sawant and Aditya Shirodkar reached there to file their nominations.
Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena filed his papers from Mumbai South and Shirodkar contesting on MNS ticket filed his nomination from Mumbai South Central.
According to police, atleast 300 workers of both parties came to blows, hit each other with flag sticks, shouted slogans and pelted stones and empty bottles.
Against the backdrop of Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, BJP Thursday accused Congress of trying to divert the attention of the voters from development issue to “communal” politics in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Congress has accepted defeat in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. The party is promoting communal politics out of frustration,” BJP spokesperson Vijay Shankar Shastri told reporters here.
Ingredients
450g tin condensed milk
2 tbsp rosewater
50g very finely chopped pistachios, plus roughly chopped pistachios to serve
284ml tub double cream
3 small, ripe mangoes
Method
Squeeze the condensed milk into a bowl and beat in the rosewater and pistachios. Lightly whip the cream until it holds its shape, then fold into the pistachio mixture.
Pour into 6 small ramekins or pyramid moulds. Freeze, then cover with cling film.
Investigators in China have accused a three-year-old girl of playing with a cigarette lighter and starting a workshop fire which killed 12 people, state media reported.
“Many others” were injured in the blaze at a clothing workshop in Junbu in the southern province of Guangdong last week, the official Xinhua news agency said late Wednesday.
The workshop owner’s toddler ignited a stack of sponges while playing with a lighter, the report said, citing local investigators.
BJP’s PM candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha polls Narendra Modi lashed out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday for trying to ‘communalise’ the elections by meeting Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari in order to seek Muslims votes for the party.
Addressing a rally here, the Gujarat Chief Minister said, “The Congress is making every effort to communalism the polls. It is worried about giving answers and that is why they are saying one thing – secularism, secularism, secularism.”