London, October 20: England will have to be at their ruthless best to secure a series win against the South Africans, feels ex-all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.
“It`s not a place you can go and stay in the comfort zone. You must be up for a fight and able to go head-to-head. But I am positive Straussy won`t let things slip after what happened in the Ashes,” Flintoff was quoted as saying.
New Delhi, October 20: Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly feels that MS Dhoni has a crucial role to play if India aim to beat Australian in the 7-match ODI series.
Australia, who seem to have overcome the rebuilding phase after the retirements of some talented cricketers, have recently won the Champions Trophy after humbling the Ashes winning English side 6-1 in their own den.
Talking to a news channel, Ganguly said that Dhoni should bat up the order as he is being wasted at number five or six.
New Delhi, October 20: New South Wales` batting might tilts the balance in their favour when Simon Katich and his men cross sword with Victoria Bushrangers in an all-Australian semifinal of the Champions League Twenty20 here on Wednesday.
Katich`s men emerged from the group stage with an impeccable all-win record before tasting their lone defeat against Trinidad & Tobago, an outfit that remains alien to defeat in the tournament so far.
Islamabad, October 20: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has said he wanted to walk out of the failed 2001 Agra summit but was dissuaded from doing so by a senior official.
His frustration, he told reporters in New York, stemmed from the fact that then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had twice refused to include a reference to Kashmir in the joint declaration issued after the summit.
Muzaffarnagar, October 20: Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband and several Muslim outfits have criticised the Centre’s decision to hike the air fare for Haj pilgrims, terming the decision as “inhuman”.
“To hike the air fare at the eleventh hour is very inhuman. The decision has affected the pilgrims and upset their budget,” Vice Chancellor of the seminary Maulana Margoob Rehman today said here.
The deputy vice chancellor also echoed similar views.
Kohima, October 20: The police have unearthed an illegal gun manufacturing factory at Dimapur and arrested a person in this connection.
Additional Superintendent of Police of Dimapur, V Z Angami, said the unit at Eros Lane of the commercial town was busted yesterday and a youth from Hojai in Assam arrested while his accomplices managed to flee.
Five country made 9 mm pistols, magazines, one modified .303 rifle, four AK series ammunition, two US carbine ammunition and various tools used for gun making were seized from the factory.
Varanasi, October 20: A member of an international gang involved in cyber crime causing immense loss to mobile phone companies has been arrested in Jaunpur, 60 kilometers from here, police said today.
Acting on a tip-off, Madhya Pradesh police contacted their Jaunpur counterparts about some local people involved in an international cyber crime racket.
A team of Special Operation Group (SOG) and local police raided the gang’s hideout near Jafrabad railway station and arrested Meraj Ahmed yesterday, Jaunpur SP Ram Bharose said.
New Delhi, October 20: The ‘Indian Panorama’ section of the International Film Festival of India, 2009 will include mainstream Bollywood fare like Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dev D’ and Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Kaminey’.
The festival to be held in Panjim, Goa, from November 23, will showcase six movies from Bengal, three from Karnataka, three from Maharashtra and two each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in the Panaroma section.
Yavatmal, October 20: A 30-year-old man was arrested today when he was trying to flee after allegedly killing his father who refused to give him money to buy liquor, police said.
The accused Gajanan Thakre was nabbed from Yavali when he was fleeing the village after killing his father Ramdas Bhanudas Thakre (60). The crime took place in the wee hours today at Yavali of Babhulgaon tehsil, 25 kms from here, they said.
According to PSO of Babhulgaon Mallikarjun Ingle, the accused axed his father Ramdas to death after he refused to give him money.
Bijnor, October 20: Women and children of Railway Colony at Seohara near here laid down on the tracks at Seohara Railway Station and held up trains in protest against the authorities’ alleged failure to provide water for the past six months.
The residents laid down on the railway tracks in front of the Link Express which had just arrived and held it up for one hour yesterday to protest inadequate water supply by Railways.
Lucknow, October 20: Around 200 people, including some bank employees, involved in gambling have been arrested by the police in a drive during Diwali.
A number of teams headed by concerned Additional Superintendent of Police conducted special drives and arrested around 200 persons during the Diwali festival, police said, adding maximum number of arrests were made from Vikas Nagar area of the city.
–Agencies
Muzaffarnagar, October 20: At least eight persons including women were injured in a clash that broke out during a panchayat meeting here, police said today.
A panchayat meeting was held last evening at Jasoee village in the district over an eve-teasing issue. An argument ensued which later turned into stone-pelting in which eight persons sustained serious injuries, they said.
The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, police said, adding that security has been tightened in the area.
–Agencies
New Delhi, October 20: Former Indian all-rounder turned commentator Ravi Shastri has said that he would have done great job if he was offered the full-time captaincy.
Shastri, who led India to a victory against West Indies in the solitary Test in 1988, was considered as one of the shrewdest cricket brains around at that time.
But despite that one-off win, he was never considered for captaincy again. Shastri believed that he would have made a great captain if he had got the full-time captaincy.
Cairo, October 20: The government’s exploitation of an anti-terror program to spy on innocent Muslims has stirred furor across Britain, prompting MPs to launch an investigation while civil liberty groups are considering legal action.
“We will be inquiring into these allegations,” Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the parliament’s home affairs committee, told the Guardian on Monday, October 19.
“We have the power to offer private sessions to those who wish to bring to parliament’s attention issues concerning Prevent and its alleged gathering of sensitive information on the innocent.”
New Delhi, October 20: Is the success of some of the more ‘modest’ teams in the Champions League (CL) a body blow for the high-finance, high-stakes and hyped-up Indian Premier League (IPL) model?
After having invested millions towards star-packed teams, owners of the three IPL outfits which eventually qualified for the CL will be feeling hard done by after watching their ‘galacticos’ eliminated early.
New Delhi, October 20: Australian captain Ricky Ponting has urged his players to disregard India’s unimpressive Champions Trophy form, warning the No.2 ranked One-day outfit will be a vastly different team on home soil.
The Australians left Sydney on Monday ahead of their seven match ODI series against India beginning on October 25.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn and the war of words has already begun. But when Australian skipper Ricky Ponting embarked on his mission India, the aggressive batsman took a cautious approach.
Mumbai, October 20Sanjay Dutt was spotted in the city recently, and he surprised us with his new lean look.
He told us, “I have lost almost 25 kilos and it’s great to lose weight, I’m looking forward to losing even more. I want to make 12-pack abs, aur agar ho sakta hai toh 17-pack abs bhi kar lunga!”
London, October 20: A father was hacked and beaten to death in front of his heavily pregnant wife — who gave birth the next day — and seven-year-old daughter, a jury has heard.
Belfast Crown Court also heard allegations that Julia Mongan pleaded with masked men to stop attacking her husband John Mongan “but they ignored her and continued with the beating”.
Denying the murder are Londonderry men 34-year-old Christopher Stokes, Edward Gabriel Stokes, 38, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be identified because of his age.
Mumbai, October 20: Salman Khan clearly believes in practicing what he preaches. True to his ‘Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, phir main apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta’ dialogue in his recent release Wanted, Salman is going out of his way to live up to his commitment in real life by visiting Kolkata on October 23 for a live performance.
Mumbai, October 20: If you think that the latest release Blue was made on a lavish budget, think again. A sequel to the film is already in the offing and is being planned on a much bigger scale.
Blue actor Sanjay Dutt informs that they will be starting with the sequel immediately. “It was a thrilling experience shooting for Blue in the Bahamas. Tony (director) is ready with the idea for Blue 2 and he has promised that there will be more sharks and action in the sequel,” says Sanjay.
Mumbai, October 20: Unlike the film Blue, in which Akshay Kumar gets the treasure, in real life Zayed Khan got lucky on Diwali night when he won about Rs 6- 8 lakh while playing cards at Sunny and Anu Dewan’s residence, where the Blue team had a small get-together.
A source says, “Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt were accompanied by their respective wives, Twinkle and Manyata. Lara Dutta was missing while Zayed Khan came sans wife Mallika. Anthony D’Souza came with actress Sonal Chauhan who is his close friend and will star in his next film starring John Abraham and Akshay.”
Mumbai, October 20: The two hours Neil Nitin Mukesh spent in Tihar jail on Monday afternoon was an unforgettable experience.
The visit was part of the campaign for Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail, which is about the life of prisoners. Recounting his experience, Neil said, “What I saw in Tihar wasn’t just people who are there because they are being punished but human beings who are in the 400 acre city to be reformed so that they are suitable for mainstream existence, once they are released.” Madhur, actor Manoj Bajpai and music composer Shamir Tandon had accompanied Neil to Tihar.
Karachi, October 20: Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to reject Younus Khan’s resignation and appoint him captain until the 2011 World Cup has miffed a section of players in the team who were threatening to revolt if the senior batsman was persisted with as skipper.
“For the time being things appear to have calmed down and become normal in Pakistan cricket but given all that has happened after the Champions Trophy, it will take sometime before any healing process between Younus and the players who complained about him to the PCB is effective,” a source told PTI today.
New Delhi, October 20: The ‘Indian Panorama’ section of the International Film Festival of India, 2009 will include mainstream Bollywood fare like Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dev D’ and Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Kaminey’.
The festival to be held in Panjim, Goa, from November 23, will showcase six movies from Bengal, three from Karnataka, three from Maharashtra and two each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in the Panaroma section.
Mumbai, October 20: State-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation today said its shareholders have approved a bonus issue of one share for every share held.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange IOC said the shareholders, by way of postal ballot, has approved the issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.
The board of the company, last month, approved the bonus issue of equity share of Rs 10 each, for every share of Rs 10 each held.
Post bonus issue the paid-up equity capital of the company would stand revised to Rs 2,427.95 crore, from the present level of Rs 1,213.98 crore.