Tag: Indias

Raina may be the answer to India’s batting woes

AHMEDABAD - India would be fairly justified in believing that in Suresh Raina, they have finally found the missing piece of the middle order puzzle that vexed them in the group stage of the World Cup.
Raina's activity was confined to the nets and carrying drinks before he was finally drafted in for India's last Group B match against West Indies, thanks to the policy of giving each player at least one game before the knockout stage.
Raina did not help his cause with just four

Gates, Buffett to tap India’s wealthy for charity

NEW DELHI - Two of the world's richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, took their charity roadshow to New Delhi on Thursday where they hope to coax their Indian peers to part with some of their wealth. Buffett, 80, and Gates, 55, who are close personal friends, were to meet with leading Indian businessmen at a luxury hotel in India's capital to deliver their pitch and exchange ideas on philanthropy. The philanthropists announced last year that they would seek to persuade fellow

Yuvraj scripts India’s big win

CHENNAI - Yuvraj Singh's all-round performance set up India's 80-run victory over West Indies in the final World Cup Group B match on Sunday. Chasing 269 for victory, opener Devon Smith's cultured 81 kept West Indies in the hunt but the two-time champions lost their last eight wickets for 34 runs to collapse for 188 in 43 overs.
The result meant India will face Australia in the quarter-finals while West Indies take on Group A winners Pakistan. Earlier, Yuvraj Singh (113) featured

Zaheer remains India’s pace enforcer

NEW DELHI - With 12 wickets so far, Zaheer Khan is the leading fast bowler at the World Cup and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's go-to man when the going gets tough for the hosts. At the World Cup, where there have been constant question marks over the staying power of India's attack, Dhoni has turned to the burly left-armer whose mastery of the ball is matched by the ferocity of his character.
The 32-year-old, however, prefers to keep a low profile. "I'm enjoying the space I

India’s Hyderabad shut down as thousands demand new state

HYDERABAD - Police fired tear gas on Thursday at protesters demanding a separate state in southern India, a campaign that could potentially hurt the stability of the governing coalition already struggling with graft scandals. Businesses were shut in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state and where global firms including Microsoft and Google have their main India offices, as thousands of protesters, including lawmakers, students and local govt officials, took to the streets.

11 death sentences in India’s Gujarat riots case

AHMEDABAD - An Indian court on Tuesday handed 11 death sentences and 20 life terms to Muslims convicted of burning Hindus alive in a train fire which triggered revenge attacks that killed 2,000 people. Last week, 31 Muslims were found guilty on murder and conspiracy charges for causing the 2002 train fire in the western state of Gujarat, but 63 others were acquitted in a setback to the prosecution and police.
Fifty-nine Hindu pilgrims perished in the blaze at Godhra station,

India’s vegoil imports shrink on bigger domestic supply

NEW DELHI - India will process 12 percent more domestic oilseed crops into cooking oil this year, trimming imports of edible oil by up to five percent in the first such slowing in five years, easing global prices and blunting food-driven inflation.
India, the world's top buyer of vegetable oils, appears to be following China in using cheaper oilseeds and cutting imports of Southeast Asian palm oil and Latin American soyoil to feed its population of more than a billion.

India’s top court frees gang-rapists with pay-off deal

NEW DELHI - India's Supreme Court took the unusual step on Wednesday of freeing three gang-rapists who had served just a third of their sentences after they worked out a financial settlement with their victim. A lower court had sentenced the rapists to ten years in prison -- the minimum for gang rape under India law -- for the crime, committed in 1997.
But the men said that they had since agreed to pay the victim 50,000 rupees, the Press Trust of India reported. Lawyers for the

India’s government looks for fresh start

NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looked to put his government's recent corruption troubles behind him and make up for lost time as a new parliamentary session opened on Monday. Opposition parties wrecked the last session of 2010 by holding protests every day demanding a probe into the fraud-tainted sale of telecom licences in 2008 that could have cost the country up to $40 billion.
In a bid to end the deadlock, the government has reportedly agreed to hold a

India’s AR Rahman congratulates Shiraz Uppal

Indian music legend and Oscar winner AR Rahman has congratulated singer Shiraz Uppal for winning Indian Mirchi Music Award for the Best Upcoming Music Director for his song 'Rabba' that he composed and sang for the film 'Aashayein'.
AR Rahman has already offered Shiraz Uppal to feature in his live concerts worldwide this year. The Mirchi Music Awards originate from Mirchi 98.3 FM radio. These awards are known as the Grammys of India. Shiraz continues to impress India's film

US reaffirms backing India’s UNSC bid

WASHINGTON - The US on Friday said it would work diligently and forcefully to push for reform of the UN Security Council as White House reaffirmed its support for India's quest for a permanent seat in the top world body.
"The UN no longer reflects some of the realities of today. And therefore, we'll continue to work on that," Mike Hammer, spokesman of the National Security Council, told Washington-based foreign reporters. Reforming the UNSC, he said, was one of the top foreign

Pakistan warns against supporting India’s N-ambitions

GENEVA - Pakistan has warned that growing international support for India's nuclear programme will force Islamabad to bolster its deterrence, which will destabilise the region, AFP reported.
In the opening session of the 2011 Conference on Disarmament, Pakistan's Ambassador Zamir Akram sharply criticised reported moves to bring India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and other bodies that allow trade in nuclear materials, including for weapons.
"These measures will

Samjhauta bombing probe – Pakistan refrains from reacting to India’s...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Tuesday refrained from a formal reaction to the reported refusal by India to share the details of 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing probe, saying it will do so when New Delhi makes its stance known officially and not through the media.
India's Home Affairs Ministry has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to tell Pakistan that "India cannot share details of the Samjhauta blast probe right now, as investigations are at a preliminary stage and it will be

Hindu ‘terror’ vs corruption splits India’s politics

NEW DELHI - A growing scandal over Hindu militants linked to bombings in India has highlighted how the ruling Congress party and the main opposition are increasingly exchanging bitter barbs ahead of key state elections this year.
Congress, stung by graft allegations and food inflation that have hit its approval ratings, hopes to gain the initiative over the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) after a report linking alleged Hindu militant bombers with its ideological parent organisation.

India’s struggling Congress party vows anti-corruption drive

NEW DELHI - India's ruling Congress party on Sunday vowed to fight corruption by fast-tracking court cases, as the government tried to overcome stinging criticism after a string of financial scandals. Party president Sonia Gandhi, the key powerbroker of Indian politics, told the annual Congress leadership conference in New Delhi that the 125-year-old party must show zero tolerance of corruption to survive.
The pledge followed a telecom scandal that deadlocked an entire session of

India’s ruling Congress party meets amid controversies

NEW DELHI - India's ruling Congress party began three days of soul-searching on Saturday as it goes through its roughest political patch in the six years since it was returned to power.
The party's plenary session comes as authorities probe what could be India's biggest corruption case -- a mobile phone licensing scandal which cost the nation 40 billion dollars in lost revenue. Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, India's most powerful politician, is due on Sunday to address the

Zardari may woo Chinese leaders to block India’s UNSC bid

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, who leaves for China tomorrow (Thursday), might ask the Chinese leadership to block India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the wake of US decision to support New Delhi in this regard.
Zardari will embark on a three-day visit to China to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the 16th Asian Games. He will also meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
"The important issue