WELLINGTON: Sachin Tendulkar may not boast of a Bradmanesque average but his ability to adjust to all formats of the game makes him the greatest
batsman ever, legendary New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee said on Friday. ( Watch )
Hadlee, who was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame on Friday, was in absolute awe of the Indian run-machine and said he had no doubt that he was the greatest batsman ever to grace the game.
"I played against Sachin on his tour here in 1990 when he got that 80 or 90-odd at the McLean Park in Napier. You could see then as a youngster he was a player of immense ability and talent.
"We didn't see at that time and you cannot visualise 20 years down the track what the player is likely to do in the context of the history of the game. He clearly he has been phenomenal," said the 57-year-old, arguably one of the finest all-rounders of all time.
Justifying his high regard for the Indian, Hadlee said, "When you score as many runs as he has in Test and one-day cricket and score as many centuries and half centuries as he has done, it makes him arguably the greatest player ever in the history of the game. Statistics speak volumes of his contribution to Indian and world cricket. He is a phenomenal player."
Asked if it meant Tendulkar was greater than even Don Bradman, Hadlee said, "Well, Sir Donald Bradman has been regarded as the greatest player ever. He played just Test cricket. He hasn't played any other forms of the game. Clearly that is understandable.
"But to see Sachin and other players actually adjust to different forms of the game and different conditions all around the world, even though the average is fractionally more than half of the Don's is in itself incredible. You got to respect it and write those performances," he explained.
Hadlee also felt comparisons should drive a player. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter who are compared with. It is what you actually do yourself. I don't think anyone can dispute the contributions that Sachin and (Rahul) Dravid have made. The contributions of these players have made to Indian cricket are outstanding."
WELLINGTON: Sachin Tendulkar may not boast of a Bradmanesque average but his ability to adjust to all formats of the game makes him the greatest
batsman ever, legendary New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee said on Friday. ( Watch )
Hadlee, who was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame on Friday, was in absolute awe of the Indian run-machine and said he had no doubt that he was the greatest batsman ever to grace the game.
"I played against Sachin on his tour here in 1990 when he got that 80 or 90-odd at the McLean Park in Napier. You could see then as a youngster he was a player of immense ability and talent.
"We didn't see at that time and you cannot visualise 20 years down the track what the player is likely to do in the context of the history of the game. He clearly he has been phenomenal," said the 57-year-old, arguably one of the finest all-rounders of all time.
Justifying his high regard for the Indian, Hadlee said, "When you score as many runs as he has in Test and one-day cricket and score as many centuries and half centuries as he has done, it makes him arguably the greatest player ever in the history of the game. Statistics speak volumes of his contribution to Indian and world cricket. He is a phenomenal player."
Asked if it meant Tendulkar was greater than even Don Bradman, Hadlee said, "Well, Sir Donald Bradman has been regarded as the greatest player ever. He played just Test cricket. He hasn't played any other forms of the game. Clearly that is understandable.
"But to see Sachin and other players actually adjust to different forms of the game and different conditions all around the world, even though the average is fractionally more than half of the Don's is in itself incredible. You got to respect it and write those performances," he explained.
Hadlee also felt comparisons should drive a player. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter who are compared with. It is what you actually do yourself. I don't think anyone can dispute the contributions that Sachin and (Rahul) Dravid have made. The contributions of these players have made to Indian cricket are outstanding."
MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan took a dig at former India captain Sunil Gavaskar for ridiculing John Buchanan's multiple-captain
theory saying he bought the team and would run it the way he wants. ( Watch )
Former Australia World Cup winning coach Buchanan, who is now manager of Kolkata Knight Riders, had suggested the four captain theory for the second season of the Indian Premier League that has ruffled a few feathers, including that of former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
"I have great respect for Mr Gavaskar. I have grown up enjoying his performance as well as KR Vishwanath and Kapil's. We all respect him too much but having said that I would like to say that please give it (the multiple-captain theory) a breathing space to try now. If we fail we can always go back to the traditional way," Shah Rukh said at a media conference in Mumbai on Sunday to announce new initiatives with Team sponsors Nokia.
The Bollywood star said he has spent a lot of money in buying the team and would like to run it as he deems fit.
"I have spent lot of money on my team. If you have a problem then you buy your own team and run it the way you want," he said, in an obvious response to Gavaskar's comments.
India's batting legend Gavaskar, in a newspaper column, had criticised Buchanan's theory saying too much importance is being accorded to the Australian, who is a failed first-class cricketer and is only trying to get lucrative jobs for "his Queensland pals".
"To comment on his multiple skipper theory is to give it the importance it doesn't deserve but what does require comment is how he has got his Queensland pals lucrative jobs with KKR.
"They have a very big support staff which includes his son and most of them are from Queensland. The owners - poor souls - have little idea that they are being milked," Gavaskar had written.
Shah Rukh, meanwhile, said he would rather try the multiple captain idea and fail than not giving it a chance at all.
"Twenty20 cricket is a new format and last time we did not do well after going by the traditional way (one captain). This time Buchanan will try multiple captaincy in the practice game before the IPL starts in South Africa and see whether he succeeds or not," the Bollywood star said.
Buchanan's concept has generated lot of controversy ahead of the April 18 to May 24 IPL to be held in eight cities of South Africa.
Sourav Ganguly, who led the team last year, had expressed resentment to the multiple captain idea.
The former India captain and Buchanan have had lengthy discussions with Shah Rukh at his residence to thrash out the issues.
Shah Rukh on Sunday pointed out that the concept had been tried out last year itself by Kings XI Punjab.
"It was tried out last year itself by the Mohali team which had a fielding captain (Kumar Sangakkara), a batting captain, a bowling captain and an overall captain Yuvraj Singh," he said.
The Bollywood star gave the example of cricket's cousin baseball which has coaches giving instructions from outside the field to the pitchers, batters and others.
Shah Rukh also expressed hope that his team would perform much better than last year.
"All our players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Sourav Ganguly, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, Ishant Sharma, Mashrafe Mortaza are available," he said.
"Almost 97 to 98 per cent of the players are available and it's a strong line-up. I hope the team performs better than last year," Shah Rukh said.
QnA: Multiple Captain Theory: Stupid or sensible?
MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan took a dig at former India captain Sunil Gavaskar for ridiculing John Buchanan's multiple-captain
theory saying he bought the team and would run it the way he wants. ( Watch )
Former Australia World Cup winning coach Buchanan, who is now manager of Kolkata Knight Riders, had suggested the four captain theory for the second season of the Indian Premier League that has ruffled a few feathers, including that of former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
"I have great respect for Mr Gavaskar. I have grown up enjoying his performance as well as KR Vishwanath and Kapil's. We all respect him too much but having said that I would like to say that please give it (the multiple-captain theory) a breathing space to try now. If we fail we can always go back to the traditional way," Shah Rukh said at a media conference in Mumbai on Sunday to announce new initiatives with Team sponsors Nokia.
The Bollywood star said he has spent a lot of money in buying the team and would like to run it as he deems fit.
"I have spent lot of money on my team. If you have a problem then you buy your own team and run it the way you want," he said, in an obvious response to Gavaskar's comments.
India's batting legend Gavaskar, in a newspaper column, had criticised Buchanan's theory saying too much importance is being accorded to the Australian, who is a failed first-class cricketer and is only trying to get lucrative jobs for "his Queensland pals".
"To comment on his multiple skipper theory is to give it the importance it doesn't deserve but what does require comment is how he has got his Queensland pals lucrative jobs with KKR.
"They have a very big support staff which includes his son and most of them are from Queensland. The owners - poor souls - have little idea that they are being milked," Gavaskar had written.
Shah Rukh, meanwhile, said he would rather try the multiple captain idea and fail than not giving it a chance at all.
"Twenty20 cricket is a new format and last time we did not do well after going by the traditional way (one captain). This time Buchanan will try multiple captaincy in the practice game before the IPL starts in South Africa and see whether he succeeds or not," the Bollywood star said.
Buchanan's concept has generated lot of controversy ahead of the April 18 to May 24 IPL to be held in eight cities of South Africa.
Sourav Ganguly, who led the team last year, had expressed resentment to the multiple captain idea.
The former India captain and Buchanan have had lengthy discussions with Shah Rukh at his residence to thrash out the issues.
Shah Rukh on Sunday pointed out that the concept had been tried out last year itself by Kings XI Punjab.
"It was tried out last year itself by the Mohali team which had a fielding captain (Kumar Sangakkara), a batting captain, a bowling captain and an overall captain Yuvraj Singh," he said.
The Bollywood star gave the example of cricket's cousin baseball which has coaches giving instructions from outside the field to the pitchers, batters and others.
Shah Rukh also expressed hope that his team would perform much better than last year.
"All our players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Sourav Ganguly, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, Ishant Sharma, Mashrafe Mortaza are available," he said.
"Almost 97 to 98 per cent of the players are available and it's a strong line-up. I hope the team performs better than last year," Shah Rukh said.
QnA: Multiple Captain Theory: Stupid or sensible?
WELLINGTON: With New Zealand Cricket ready to welcome back players breaking away from the rebel Indian Cricket League, pacer Shane Bond says he may
consider reviving his Test career.
Bond said he is working hard on his fitness to return to first class cricket for Canterbury next season.
The pacer said it is up to the ICL to honour its contract with him as he wouldn't walk away first.
"I'm a firm believer in keeping the contracts (ICL) intact. If they can't fulfill their contract it's an opportunity to move, but if they can then I will stay with them," Bond was quoted as saying in the Dominion post.
"There are a few issues (with the ICL) but I'm not going to go into them. Right now I'm contracted to them (ICL) and whether they want to release me or not is up to them.
"As far as the politics goes, it's out of my hands. Things can change pretty quick to be fair, so all I can do is keep myself in the best shape to make a decision one way or the other," Bond, who had vowed not to play for New Zealand again after being abandoned by NZC due to his joining the ICL, added.
Even if Bond decides to play for the Black Caps again, he knows it won't be easy to regain his berth in the squad, which will play in the Twenty20 World Championship in June before touring Sri Lanka in August.
"If I decided to play again (for New Zealand) I'd have to earn my spot, I wouldn't expect an open door policy to get me back in; you have to get there on merit."
Bond said he is working hard to be back in peak fitness for the domestic season.
"I've told the Canterbury coach I want to play four-day cricket next season. I'm going to try to get as fit as I can over the winter and try to play for as long as I can."
"I miss that cricket; even though it's the hardest cricket, it's the most rewarding, and that's why I'd like to play again next summer here.
"Physically things went well this summer but I wasn't at the height of my fitness. So that's why I'm having this winter off, to get back to the same level of fitness I used to have, because I still think I can bowl quick and keep going for another couple of years."
The issue of officially recognising the ICL will be discussed when the ICC meets in Dubai later this month.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
ISLAMABAD: The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred
in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. ( Watch )
Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened.
The incident was condemned in Pakistan and around the world and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered an inquiry into it after TV channels last week aired the video of the girl being flogged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry too took suo moto notice of it and directed the interior secretary and other officials to appear before him to give an explanation.
North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News daily that Chand Bibi had made a statement to the two officials who visited her village of Kala Killay in Kabal sub-division yesterday.
Quoting the divisional commissioner, Hussain said the girl made it clear she was married to a man named Adalat Khan. She refuted reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for having "illicit relations" and then forcibly married.
Hussain also said Chand Bibi had expressed her inability to appear in the Supreme Court as she and her family felt it was not appropriate for a purdah-observing Pashtun girl to do so in the presence of TV cameras and onlookers.
"She requested the judge and the commissioner to spare her from appearing in the court in Islamabad," he said, adding the two officials visited the village to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP chief secretary.
The incident caused outrage in Pakistan where civil society and rights activists organised protests across the country. The incident was also condemned by most political parties and religious scholars.
Chand Bibi's husband said he was ready to appear in the Supreme Court. The Qazi court judge also recorded his statement and he too denied reports that he or his wife had been lashed by the Taliban.
Hussain claimed a fake video had been used to tarnish the reputation of the people of Swat and to disrupt the peace process in the area. "We condemn the acts of repression against women...But the incident depicted in the videotape never took place in Swat," he said.
He claimed the videotape was released as "part of a conspiracy to foil the peace agreement in Swat and put pressure on President (Asif Ali) Zardari not to sign" a regulation for implementing Islamic law in the region.
Meanwhile, the man who filmed the Taliban flogging Chand Bibi has said that the incident occurred about two weeks ago. Shaukat told Dawn News that the treatment meted out to the girl was actually a "punishment" for her refusing a marriage proposal from a militant.
The man who proposed to marry Chand Bibi joined the Taliban after the rejection and this was how he took revenge on the girl, Shaukat said.
Asked about the reaction of the people who had witnessed the incident, Shaukat said the people in Swat are so scared that no one has the courage to stand up and speak out against the Taliban and their verdicts.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
PUNE: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray on Monday attributed the country's partition to what he called "love affair" between Pandit Nehru and Lady
Edwina Mountbatten.
"Lord Mountbatten took advantage of this madness and the country was ditched," Thackeray said in an interview carried by the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
Responding to the question on whether Pakistan posed a danger to India, Thackeray said, "I had a film with me which portrayed this (Nehru-Edwina affair and creation of Pakistan). This film was banned in England as that country feared loss of face. This is patriotism."
The cassette was given to him by the late Bollywood film maker Manmohan Desai, Thackeray added.
NEW DELHI: When Tatas finally launched the Nano late last month, something else went piggyback riding on the wave of global attention the car was
Posted by jaatWASHINGTON: Thousands of rare dolphins have been sighted in the fresh waters off the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal, according to Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS).
WCS researchers estimated that nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins, related to orcas or killer whales, were found living in freshwater regions of Bangladeshi Sundarbans and adjacent waters of the Bay of Bengal- an area where little marine mammal research has taken place up to this point.
Prior to this study, the largest known populations of Irrawaddy dolphins numbered in the low hundreds or less. Each discovery of Irrawaddy dolphins is important because scientists do not know how many remain on the planet.
In 2008, they were listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List based on population declines in known populations.
"With all the news about freshwater environments and state of the oceans, WCS's discovery that a thriving population of Irrawaddy dolphins exists in Bangladesh gives us hope for protecting this and other endangered species and their important habitats," said WCS President and CEO Steven E. Sanderson.
"This discovery gives us great hope that there is a future for Irrawaddy dolphins," said Brian D. Smith, the study's lead author.
However, study authors warn that the dolphins are becoming increasingly threatened by accidental entanglement in fishing nets. During the study, researchers encountered two dolphins that had become entangled and subsequently drowned in fishing nets - a common occurrence, according to local fishermen.
The results of the study were announced Friday at the First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas in Maui, Hawaii and published in the Winter issue of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, said a WCS release.
Authors of the study include Brian D. Smith, Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli, and Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society, along with Benazir Ahmed of Chittagong University in Bangladesh.
NEW DELHI: When Tatas finally launched the Nano late last month, something else went piggyback riding on the wave of global attention the car was
Posted by jaatWASHINGTON: Thousands of rare dolphins have been sighted in the fresh waters off the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal, according to Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS).
WCS researchers estimated that nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins, related to orcas or killer whales, were found living in freshwater regions of Bangladeshi Sundarbans and adjacent waters of the Bay of Bengal- an area where little marine mammal research has taken place up to this point.
Prior to this study, the largest known populations of Irrawaddy dolphins numbered in the low hundreds or less. Each discovery of Irrawaddy dolphins is important because scientists do not know how many remain on the planet.
In 2008, they were listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List based on population declines in known populations.
"With all the news about freshwater environments and state of the oceans, WCS's discovery that a thriving population of Irrawaddy dolphins exists in Bangladesh gives us hope for protecting this and other endangered species and their important habitats," said WCS President and CEO Steven E. Sanderson.
"This discovery gives us great hope that there is a future for Irrawaddy dolphins," said Brian D. Smith, the study's lead author.
However, study authors warn that the dolphins are becoming increasingly threatened by accidental entanglement in fishing nets. During the study, researchers encountered two dolphins that had become entangled and subsequently drowned in fishing nets - a common occurrence, according to local fishermen.
The results of the study were announced Friday at the First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas in Maui, Hawaii and published in the Winter issue of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, said a WCS release.
Authors of the study include Brian D. Smith, Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli, and Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society, along with Benazir Ahmed of Chittagong University in Bangladesh.
NEW DELHI: When Tatas finally launched the Nano late last month, something else went piggyback riding on the wave of global attention the car was
getting. On March 23, the day of the launch, full-page ads appeared in two international papers with a prominent picture of the 'cheap' car. The ad had nothing to do with Nano - it was a high profile attempt by NGO Greenpeace to get international attention to bear on Olive Ridley turtles.
The motive of Greenpeace was obvious: to pressure Tata Group chairman, Ratan Tata, into stopping work at the Dhamra Port coming up in Orissa, about 25km from Gahirmatha, one of the two mass nesting sites of the Olive Ridleys on the state's coastline.
It was one of the costliest campaigns yet mounted to 'save' the turtles, claiming the port was threatening to take the Olive Ridleys closer to extinction. It raised the alarm - ever since dredging activity began two years ago to clear the approach to the port, the turtles hadn't come for mass nesting at Gahirmatha.
In a dramatic twist, even as the ad appeared in Financial Times and International Herald Tribune, tens of thousands of female turtles made their way to Gahirmatha beach for nesting. According to Siddhanta Das, conservator of forests, Bhubaneswar circle, the mass nesting at Gahirmatha started on March 21 and continued till March 24. In these four days, around 1.7 lakh turtles had nested at the site, Das said.
"The advertisement was in bad taste inasmuch as it carried wrong information," said Santosh K Mohapatra, CEO of Dhamra Port Company Limited, a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. Greenpeace changed its tack - it claimed the nesting did not mean that the turtles were any less threatened.
Not surprisingly, Greenpeace's campaign has again triggered the debate on whether extreme positions such as these should be invoked when there's little evidence to support it. In the case of the Olive Ridleys, such positioning by a section of conservationists goes back over 30 years.
As turtle expert Kartik Shanker, assistant professor at IISc, Bangalore, puts it: "In 1978, T A Davis and Rajesh Bedi wrote about the imminent extinction of Olive Ridleys in Orissa. Jack Frazier (pioneering American turtle specialist) wrote then of the dangers of crying wolf. He was right; the Ridleys did not go extinct. Of course, some drastic conservation actions were required in the early 1980s. More recently, another scientist, Nicholas Mrosovsky, wrote of the dangers of hype."
Shanker argues that invoking the threat of extinction takes the focus away from long-term conservation strategies which would be more helpful in preserving the species.
Most conservationists fear that the upcoming port could adversely affect the Olive Ridley turtles and their nesting areas. At the other end of the divide, pro-development proponents argue that the port will bring much-needed development to a backward region.
On their part, Tata and DPCL say they are sensitive to the ecological importance of the area. "We have not only done our due diligence, we have engaged reputed institutions to constantly monitor the impact of construction and dredging in addition to taking scientific advice from the International Union for Conservation of Nature during the construction. IUCN is also preparing a comprehensive environment management plan for the operation phase," Mohapatra said.
Some green groups allege that IUCN, a respected international organization, is being used by DPCL to "greenwash" the port project. Ashish Fernandes of Greenpeace, who is heading the NGO's Dhamra campaign, said, "IUCN's role is limited to mitigation. We demand that work at the port stop and an independent group of scientists study the issue."
When talks between DPCL and green groups broke down in February, both sides had agreed on the independent study. DPCL said it was ready to stop work for certain periods if the scientists required it. The environmentalists insisted on complete stoppage of work. "There's no point in getting an independent study commissioned on our own, as this too will be contested," says Mohapatra.
With the current level of trust deficit between the two sides, what's fast disappearing is a middle ground which could possibly have accommodated the interests of all, including the turtles.
JERUSALEM: A Palestinian doctor whose three daughters were killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza war has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize, an
Israeli minister said on Monday.
"I have been informed that the Nobel committee has recognised doctor (Ezzedine) Abu al-Aish as a nominee for the peace prize, and I want to warmly congratulate him," Avishay Braverman, minister in charge of minorities, said.
Aish has vowed to devote himself to the search for peace between Israel and the Palestinians even though his three daughters were killed in January by Israeli troops who later said they mistook the girls for spotters directing Hamas fire.
"We must live in peace. I hope they will be the last children to die," he said after the death of his daughters.
He told Israel's Ynet News that if he received the Nobel prize he would dedicate it to Israel and the Palestinians.
Braverman said he has been friends with Aish for years when they both lived in the southern Israeli desert city of Beersheva. "He is a man who always worked for peace."
"Despite the tragedy that hit him so hard, he says he wants to continue to work for peace. This man is a exemplary symbol of justice and goodwill for the whole world," Braverman said.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in Israel's 22-day offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
It may sound strange, but true that Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] neither owns a car nor a home in India.
According to the affidavit filed before the district magistrate Rae Bareli on Monday, the only dwelling unit she owns is an ancestral home in Italy [Images] which is valued at a paltry Rs. 18.2 lakh.
Interestingly, her submitted wealth was just about Rs 1.38 crore, nearly Rs 1 crore less than her son Rahul Gandhi's [Images] as per a similar declaration made by him with his nomination from the neighbouring Amethi Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday.
As per the affidavit, the cash held by her was just Rs 75,000 together with bank deposit of Rs. 28.61 lakh. In addition, she had mutual funds worth about Rs 20 lakh and Rs 12 lakh in the Reserve Bank of India [Get Quote] bonds.
A sum of Rs. 1.99 lakh was deposited with the National Savings in post-offices and Rs. 24.88 lakh with PPF.
Sonia Gandhi's jewellery, weighing about 2518 gm, was valued at Rs 11 lakh while 88 kg of silver possessed by her was stated to be worth about Rs 18 lakh.
She owns two plots of agricultural land totalling up to about 15 bighas in different villages whose district or state is not mentioned in the affidavit.
However, the two plots have been together valued at just Rs, 2.19 lakh.
Sonia Gandhi paid Income Tax of the order of Rs. 5.58 lakh for the assessment year 2008-09, besides Rs. 32,512 as wealth tax.
Two courses are mentioned in her column for educational qualifications, These include a three-year course in foreign languages (English and French) from Istituto Santa Teresa, Turin , Italy in 1964 followed by a Certificate in English Language from Lennox Cook School Cambridge in 1965.
Sameer (name changed) is a businessman who has always been prudent with his money. Whenever he used his credit card, he ensured that he would pay his dues back immediately.
He also made sure that he never used his credit card for expensive purchases, using cash instead. Imagine his unpleasant surprise, when he got a credit card bill showing that he had used up his entire credit limit.
On checking his statement, he saw purchases that he had never made. He went through hell trying to making payments over those purchases. Apparently, Sameer was the victim of credit card fraud.
Credit card frauds are on the rise these days. The credit card number, the Card Verification Value (CVV) or the Card Security Code (CSC), date of birth, credit card limit, residential address (stored on your card's magnetic tape) is all that is needed for someone to misuse your credit card.
Being vigilant while using your credit card is the only way of preventing fraud. Here are some tips.
Card Verification Value (CVV) or the Card Security Code (CSC)
The CSC or CVV number is a security feature for credit or debit card transactions, giving increased protection against credit card fraud. It is not embossed like the card number, and is always a group of numbers printed on the back signature panel of the card.
This provides a level of protection to the bank/card holder, in that a corrupt merchant cannot simply capture the magnetic stripe details of a card and use them later for 'card not present' purchases over the phone, mail order or Internet.
Whenever you use your card, always ensure that the transaction is completed in front of you and that no details are written down by the merchant. Do not provide photocopies of both sides of the credit card to anyone.
The card verification value (CVV) which is required for online transactions is printed on the reverse of the card. Anyone can use the card for online purchases if the information is available with them.
Using cards online
When using your credit cards for making purchases online:
Ensure that Web site is a secure site. This can be done by checking whether the site is secured by a reputable net authentication agency like VeriSign.
Do not click on links in e-mail seeking details of your account; they could be phishing e-mails from fraudsters. Most reputed companies will ask you to visit their Web site directly.
Do not give out your credit card details on unknown or suspicious Web sites.
Stolen card and suspicious transactions
The first and foremost thing to do, after you have confirmed that you have lost your wallet or card or have seen suspicious transactions on your credit card statement, is to call up the bank's 24-hour call centre and deactivate the card or inform the customer service representative about the suspicious transactions.
The representative will help you file a complaint
"Go to bed, Obing" his mother would say whenever she saw him keeping late hours. "Go to bed. Keep rest of homework for tomorrow.” But it was always when the rooster crow when Obing would finally retires to bed.
And his mother, who thought him to be keeping late hours to do his homework, felt sorry for him. She blamed the teacher for overburdening a student with so much homework. At the same time, she was proud of him and she would spare no time to announce before her friends and the women of the neighbourhood that her son, Obing, was very punctual and she need not tell him to study.
Three days before the annual examination, Obing finished his writing. He collected some colour sketch pens and wrote on the covering page ‘My Twelfth Birthday’.
Now all his worries had gone. Since ten months from now, he has been a worried boy. He was worried because it occurred to him that he might die any time: the earthquakes may rock, the volcanoes may erupt, or bullets from some wicked man may stain him. He knew what would happen if he die now: he would lay in front of his parents, friends and dear ones with his eyes, ears and mouth still with him yet unable to see so tragic a scene; unable to hear his mothers lamenting cry and unable to say a word to console her “Mama cry no more I can't bear seeing you crying.” Then, later on, he would be buried under the earth as if a useless waste. His dreams, his plans which he wanted to carry out and put before the world would be buried along with him. And in few days, he would be forgotten. So he felt urgently that he should do something so that his name lives long after he is dead.
“Write autobiography" his inner voice had told him. “Write autobiography as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru did.”
He read some passages from his autobiography and smiled. He felt like going all through it. But he had no time; he had lot to study in a very short time- only three days were left for the examination. He hid his so called autobiography in the cupboard. Then he pulled out a book from his school bag and sat down to the study table to prepare for his exam.
After a month.
Obing went to school to collect his progress report card. When he was about to enter the class, he heard someone uttering his name. He turned around and saw his class teacher, Madam Das and two women, talking. One of them was Aunt Kanya, who was a good friend of his mother. They did not notice him. Aunt Kanya was saying, "what about Obing's result? I think he stood first this year also."
"No,” said the teacher. "I'm also wondering what has happened to him. Earlier he was very good - good at studies, every thing. But this year he neither attended his class well nor did his homework. Well he is passed with very poor marks.”
"But his mother told me,” said Aunt Kanya. "She told me he was working very hard - he had even stopped watching TV - he would just sit quietly reading and writing." Madam Das shrugged her shoulder and said nothing.
"Some parents are like that," said the another women. "They just love to praise their child for nothing. As for Mrs. Fatho, I know her. She always talks about her son endlessly that he does this and that and so on."
Obing went red to hear such comments on his mother whose only fault was that she loved him so dearly. He did not enter the class but turned back and made his way straight to home. He took out his autobiography, tore it into pieces and threw into the dustbin. Now he decided to study hard, become something important, and let some biographers to write his biography.
Victoria Azarenka, the 19-year-old from Belarus, thrashed injury-hampered world number one Serena Williams [Images] 6-3, 6-1 to win the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday.
Williams, heavily strapped on her left thigh, never looked fully mobile and was comfortably beaten in 71 minutes by one of the rising talents in the women's game.
The victory, the first top-tier triumph for Azarenka, stopped the American claiming a record sixth title at Key Biscayne.
It was clear from the outset Williams was not 100 percent fit and she said she had considered pulling out of the final.
"I thought about it. I don't like to not play but I definitely thought about it. I thought the warmer I got the better I thought it felt," said Williams, who added she also had an ankle problem that further restricted her movement.
"It was a little difficult moving to the left and a little bit to the right. A little forward was also difficult," she added with a laugh.
Azarenka, who will move up to eighth in the new world rankings, was nervous as she served for the match, producing a double-fault and allowing Williams break point.
THIRD VICTORY
However, having secured her third title of the year following victories in Brisbane and Tennessee, she credited increased confidence for her rapid rise into the top 10.
"I've improved almost everything since last year but most of all I am believing in myself a little more, believing I can win tournaments," said the Arizona-based Azarenka.
The Belarussian teenager broke serve to go 2-1 up in the first set but was broken straight back, a sign Williams was up for a scrap.
Eleventh seed Azarenka played intelligently, pushing her opponent wide and looking particularly strong on her forehand as she broke twice at the end of the set.
That appeared to knock the fight out of Williams and there was never any real doubt about the outcome of the second set, a disappointment for the crowd who had hoped for a much closer contest
Eight security personnel were killed and five injured when a suicide bomber targeted a camp of paramilitary troops assigned to guard VIPs in the heart of the Pakistani capital near the United Nations office tonight.
The attacker sneaked into a camp of the Frontier Corps located a short distance from the busy Jinnah Super market and blew himself up shortly after 7.30 p m when the paramilitary troops were having dinner, police officials said.
Interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said eight security personnel were killed and five injured, one of them seriously.
He said the suicide bomber took advantage of an apparent security lapse at the camp to carry out the attack. The 24 Frontier Corps personnel present in the camp belonged to the VIP and Diplomatic Protection Department.
Soon after the blast, the paramilitary troops opened fire. Police officials said that there was no exchange of fire between the security forces and the attacker.
Malik said the attack was carried out by a lone bomber and dismissed reports that other attackers were at large in the area. Police officials said one suspect had been arrested in the area but did not give details.
Minutes after the blast, panic-stricken shoppers fled from the Jinnah Super market, causing traffic snarls in the area. Most of the shops closed and the usually busy market wore a deserted look.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Bin Yamin told media persons that dismembered limbs of the bomber, including his legs, had been found. Security forces cordoned off the area and conducted a thorough search.
Malik said there were intelligence reports in the past few weeks that terrorists had entered cities to carry out attacks but there was no information on their targets. He said there was no equipment to detect suicide bombers though security forces were training special sharp shooters who could react quickly and gun down such attackers.
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375 - India's total - The highest they have scored on the opening day of a Test match. The previous highest was 372 for seven against South Africa [Images] at Bloemfontein in 2001-02.
335 - Tendulkar's aggregate in the series - The most number of runs scored by any Indian batsman in a series on New Zealand [Images] soil. Tendulkar surpassed Ajit Wadekar's tally of 328 runs (in 1967-68).
185 - Runs scored by Indian batsmen in the third session - in 35 overs at a rate of 5.28 runs per over.
50 - The wicket of Zaheer Khan [Images] gave Iain O'Brien his 50th wicket in his 17th Test. He became the 31st New Zealand bowler to do so.
14 - Number of maiden overs bowled by New Zealand bowlers. Dravid played seven of them.
4 - Tendulkar has now scored at least a fifty in four consecutive Tests against New Zealand.
How long will Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] remain in his present position? Does he harbour ambitions to move to New Delhi [Images], perhaps even make a bid for the prime minsitership some day?
These were some of the questions rediff.com editors posed to Modi during an hour-long interview at his home in Gandhinagar on Thursday.
"I have to deliver the goods, it is my commitment to the people of Gujarat, and if anything new is there I will have to learn, I will learn it," he said in response to a question about his continuance in the politically critical state.
Welcoming the Congress party's decision to name Dr Manmohan Singh [Images] as its prime ministerial candidate if the United Progressive Alliance were to be voted back to power, Modi said, "It is a good thing, the people can now decide in whose hands they will entrust the nation."
"You may compare the two leaders' experience and see for yourself. Manmohan Singhji has himself said he is not a leader; we all know that India needs a leader who knows its people, and its various regions intimately," the Gujarat chief minister added. "Advani [Images]ji has spent at least a night in each of the 400 zillas in the country, he knows the nation. Manmohan Singh has not even visited some states in these five years."
About his own chances of becoming prime minister, Modi said, "But no one has said I should become PM! You please go through the various statements carefully, no one has said this outright, so you don't expect me to react to non-statements."
Asked about the opinion expressed on the Rediff message boards that he should be made prime minister, Modi laughed and asked rhetorically, "But has anyone put a timeline on it?" and answered it himself: "Time is in the hands of the people, but as for myself I have no such ambitions. Whenever I say Advaniji is our prime ministerial candidate, there is so much applause, people are so happy about it."
Asked what role he will play if the National Democratic Alliance were to be voted to power, Modi said, "I am the chief minister of Gujarat, and I believe I will not be removed as CM."
About how long he sees himself in Gujarat, Modi ducked the question, saying, "I don't even worry about what is going to happen in the evening, so how can I be expected to know what will happen in the future."
Declaring that coalition governments were here to stay in India, Modi felt the path was shown by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and that was the way for national parties to accommodate regional parties and govern through consensus.
Source: Rediff.com
Govt okays further revision in salary for PSU officers
About 4 lakh officers of public sector Undertakings/PSUs will benefit from a government decision that gives them a further increase in salary and allowances. This increases is over & above the salary hikes announced last year.
The decision regarding revision in salary/pay structure was taken at the Cabinet meeting which was presided over by PM Manmohan Singh.
The new improved pay packages will also include increase in HRA and retirement benefits.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Mr P Chidambaram said that the revision in the pay structure of the PSU officers would vary from company to company
About 4 lakh officers of public sector Undertakings/PSUs will benefit from a government decision that gives them a further increase in salary and allowances. This increases is over & above the salary hikes announced last year.
The decision regarding revision in salary/pay structure was taken at the Cabinet meeting which was presided over by PM Manmohan Singh.
The new improved pay packages will also include increase in HRA and retirement benefits.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Mr P Chidambaram said that the revision in the pay structure of the PSU officers would vary from company to company
Admit cards for All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) 2009 will be despatched till 5th April, 2009. If the anyone does not receive the AIEEE 2009 Admit Card by 6th April, 2009, they should write or contact the CBSE between 7th April, 2009 to 17th April, 2009.
While requesting reissue of AIEEE 2009 Admit Card , one has to provide information regarding Post Office, date of dispatch, original receipt of postal dispatch, Photostat copy of the Application Form, two photographs (as pasted on the Application Form duly attested). If candidates have submitted their AIEEE 2009 forms online then they will have to show proof regarding payment of fee. For more information on AIEEE 2009 Admit Card, you can log on to: http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2009/exam09/welcome.htm
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