Innings win for South Africa

S.Africa beat India by an Innings and 90 runs.Declaring at the overnight score India started their second essay,but lost sewag early.Only resistance came from Sourav Ganguly (87) Dhoni (52 and Irfan Pathan (43) remained unbeaten for the second time in this test.For the Visitors all their Bowlers chipped in with wickets.Double century maker A.b de villiers was awarded Man of the Match.

Hogenakkal project on hold-Congres Bailed out

Tamil Nadu on Saturday put on hold the Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project, ending a week- long standoff between neighboring state Karnataka over the issue which had sparked violence in both the states.
Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said his government would wait till a popular government was installed in Karnataka after the May assembly polls and hoped that the new ministry would abide by the 1998 agreement to implement the water project.
"Let bygones be bygones. Let the future be bright. We will wait till President's rule in Karnakata comes to an end and an elected government assumes charge after the polls. Let us wait for a few days only. I hope that a popular government will understand our demand and abide by the 1998 agreement to implement the scheme," Karunanidhi said.
He has also warned the Newly elected Government fails to comply with 1998 agreement the tamilians would lay their lives to get the projected implemented.It is also understood that congress high command has exerted pressure on KK to hold the project till election.KK has succumbed to the pressures of Congress and has bailed them out from further embarrassment.

inflation touches 7% -Sensex shrinks

Fast growing inflation touched an all time high of 7 per cent — in the week ending March 22 — in the last three years, sending prices of food, vegetables, minerals and manufactured items soaring high.
The Wholesale prices Index released by Commerce Ministry showed that inflation rose to 7 per cent, faster than previous week on March 15 at 6.68 percent.
Leading the leap in inflation were minerals whose index rose by whopping 38 per cent. Other commodities that contributed significantly were vegetables (4.9), pulses (1.4) edible oils (1.6), food articles (0.1) and primary articles (1.8).
The index for fuel and power registered a 0.1 rise while manufactured products moved up by 0.2 per cent. However, cement remained unchanged. Inflation is at its highest since November 2004, when it rose to 7.07 per cent.
Significantly, inflation has been creeping up since January this year when it was at 3.83 per cent and rose to 4.33 per cent for the week ending February 23. Three weeks later, inflation touched 6.68 for the week ending March 15.

It was mostly quiet for the market, until inflation came out at a 3-year high of 7% at noon. The market started sliding after that. But positive opening for the European markets curbed the fall to an extent. Sensex closed at 15,343, down 489 points from the previous close. Nifty shut shop at 4647, down 124 points. The hit wasn't as bad for the midcaps and smallcaps; CNX Midcap index lost 2% and BSE Smallcap index, 1.6%. selling was witnessed across all sectors, but capital goods, power and banking stocks were dumped the most.

US employers cuts 80,000 jobs;US RECESSION TAKES TOLL

US employers buffeted by talk of recession slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses.
At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5..1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the U.S. economy might already be shrinking.
The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department on Friday, underscored the damage that a three-way crises - in the housing, credit and financial sectors - has inflicted companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.
"The labor market has indeed turned south," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?"
The unemployment rate was the highest from September 2005, when significant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

S.AFRICA Continues to frustuate India

Second day's play in the second cricket Test between India and South Africa was on Friday called off early due to rain with 12.4 overs still remaining to be bowled at the Motera ground.
The play will start half an hour earlier than the scheduled time of 9.30 am on Saturday to make up for the lost time.
Rain stopped the play in the third session when South Africa were 494 for seven in their first innings, in reply to India's 76. The visitors lead by 418 runs.
Brief scores: India 1st innings: 76 South Africa 1st innings: 494 for seven in 141.2 overs (A B de Villiers 217 batting, J Kallis 132; Harbhajan Singh 4-135).

Rajinikanth Attacks Kannada Activist & Politicians

Representatives of Tamil film industry Led by Rajinikanth,Kamalhassan,Saratkumar on Friday held a eight-hour-long fast at Chepauk in Chennai, condemning the attacks on cinemas screening Tamil films by pro-Kannada groups protesting Tamil Nadu's decision to go ahead with the Hogenakkal water project.Rajinikanth took a strong exception on Kannada Activists vehementaly.Rajnikant attacked former Chief Minister S M Krishna, who he said had jumped into the fray because he wants to head his party in the coming elections, for his statement that Chief Minister Karunanidhi had made a harsh statement on the issue.

"Speak the truth," he told him and also attacked BJP leader Yediyurappa of creating the problem by going to Hogenakkal, located in Tamil Nadu, and staging a demonstration recently.
"A leader of a big national party engaging in such an act is cheap," he said, appealing to other leaders like former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy not to politicise the issue because of the approaching elections.

Many were seen wearing badges to show their resentment to the stalling of project and pride in Tamil culture, scores of personalities including actors Vijay Kumar and Radha Ravi and leading technicians participated in the fast, called by Tamil Film Chamber of Commerce.
Speakers at the fast condemned the attack on cinemas screening Tamil films in Bangalore and said the film industry was the first victim during such issues.Satyaraj drifted totally from the topic and his speech was not far from Vulgarity.

Countering this Kannada actor were seen protesting against Karunanidhi for his comments on the Hogenakkal issue in Bangalore.

Federer bows out of Sony Ericsson Open

Andy Roddick upset world number one Roger Federer 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open quarter-final on Thursday.It was only Roddick's second win in 17 career meetings against the Swiss, his last success coming in Montreal five years ago."He hasn't missed a ball against me for about six years," Roddick told reporters. "I figured the law of statistics had to work for me eventually.""I think I did well to hang in there," said Federer.

"Maybe this is one of the matches I should have won against him because he's had some other ones where I think he was supposed to win. This time around it went his way."
Despite not forcing a break point until the eighth game of the third set, it was enough for Roddick, who broke to love when Federer dumped a forehand into the net.
The big-hitting American wrapped up victory on his third match point with a sizzling service winner.Roddick admitted: "I was saying to myself 'Please hit a big serve and let this be done. I have an opportunity for this to be done in two-and-a-half-seconds".Having been dictated to for a set and a half, Federer found some form, breaking in the ninth game of the second set to level the match."The second set and the third he was starting to play pretty well," said Roddick. "I just tried to stay there, stayed in there mentally...didn't want to get discouraged."
Twelve-times Grand Slam winner Federer has yet to reach a final this year.
Roddick will play world number four Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals after the Russian's emphatic 6-2, 6-1 win over Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

CPI-M Leader Laments on Ambani's and Amitabh Riches

Addressing a massive rally in Coimbatore on the concluding day of the 19th Communist Party of India-Marxist Congress on Thursday, CPI-M leader R Umanath launched into the actor.Umanath said there were some very rich people who hoard wealth when there are people who have a couple of chilli pieces for a meal.
Umanath, who mentioned people like Mukesh Ambani and Kalanidhi Maran too, got stuck when he came to Amitabh.
"Amitabh Bachchan has amassed more than Rs 190 crore," he said, adding sarcastically, "Yes, the same Amitabh you see in that advertisement for chocolate."
"He has 11 cars. His wife Jaya Bachchan has 2 cars. Like in those days people had stables for their horses, these people have a stable for their expensive cars," said Umanath.
He said it is unfortunate that people like Amitabh are the role models for youngsters.
"Unfortunately, these days youngsters find only this kind of fame and glamour attractive," he said.

Drunk HM forces girls to strip, dance in class

Samuel Gnanadurai (49), the headmaster of TDTA Primary School, Kattalai near Palayamcottai,Tirunelveli has been alleged to have come to school drunk and forced some girl students of his class to dance before him after school hours and that too in their panties.
The matter came to light on March 28 when the girl students, returning home late, were questioned by their parents. The girls after continued questioning by the parents spilled the beans.
The news of the incident spread like wild fire and raised the hackles of the villagers. Some youths of the village even beat up the headmaster and informed the local police.
They also marched to the district department of education and complained to the officials.

Karnataka actor's farm house ransacked in TN

Members of youth wings of DMK and AIADMK along with those a local literary outfit ransacked the farm house of a popular Kannada actor Vishnuvardan here on Thursday to protest Karnataka's opposition to Hogenakkal Drinking water project.
Local youth wing secretaries of DMK and AIADMK, along with members of 'Tamizh Ilakiya Peravai', damaged some vehicles, fittings and equipment in the farm but spared the employees, police said.No one was arrested in connection with the attack.
DMK members also held demonstrations at several points in the district to protest the attack on the office of Tamil Sangam in Bangalore.

India and China are New Growth Space-World Bank

As the United States faces the grim prospect of a nearterm recession, World Bank president Robert Zoellick reckons that the rising economies of China, India and some others will act as alternative growth poles for the global economy.
“Today, China and India are engines, still facing complex and difficult problems, but driving motors of growth,” Zoellick said in a key speech ahead of next week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
This “welcome diversification of the sources of growth” is what is most strikingly different about the current downswing phase, he noted and promised assistance to these growth drivers if they are confronted by the credit storm and liquidity crunch.
Zoellick’s comments came on a day when US Federal Reserve chairman Ben S Bernanke acknowledged for the first time that the US economy may be in a recession, facing the prospect of contraction in the first half of the year.

India Skittles out for 76 before Lunch

Led by Dale Steyn's five for 23, South Africa bowled out India for 76 on day one of the second Test at the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Electing to bat, India got off to an inauspicious start when they lost the first wicket that of Wasim Jaffer (9) in the fourth over.
After that it was a steady procession of batsmen to the dressing room as the famed Indian batting line-up was shot out in less than a session or in 109 minutes to be precise.
Steyn took full advantage of the Indian batsmen's weakness against the short delivery to register his second successive five-wicket haul. Makhaya Ntini started the damage with this three-wicket haul at the start that saw India crash to 30 for four in the eighth over.
Irfan Pathan was the top scorer for India as he finished unbeaten on 21 from 17 deliveries with three boundaries. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (14) was the only other batsmen to reach double figures, with extras making a telling contribution of 19.

Arsenal Draws with Liverpool As Chelsea loses out

Arsenal and Liverpool fought out a thrilling 1-1 draw while Fenerbahce came from behind for a 2-1 home win over Chelsea in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg matches.
Liverpool soaked up intense second-half pressure from Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to earn the away-goal edge for Tuesday's return leg at Anfield in their all-English clash.
After a cautious approach, Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor headed Arsenal into a 23rd-minute lead but Dutchman Dirk Kuyt replied only three minutes later with an opportunist goal.

China exposes Monks of Tibet

Chinese state television shows an arsenal of weapons and explosives reportedly seized from monks in Tibet.
Beijing, which accuses the Dalai Lama of of instigating a campaign of violence in Tibet, says large quantities of arms and ammunition have been seized from temples.

3 injured as CPM-RSS activists clash in Pune

At least three cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) were injured in a clash with alleged Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members near the Left Party's Pune office on Wednesday.

Three of our party workers were injured in the attack. They attacked our workers with sticks and other weapons when they met them on the stairs of the office, said Ajit Abhayankar, CPI-M district secretary. The injured have been admitted to the hospital. At around 12:30 pm, a representative of the RSS came to our office saying that he wants the party literature. We sensed something fishy and informed the police, he added.

Sensex slides on Lack Lustre trade

The market had a gap-up 610 opening today, but went downhill as the day advanced. Sensex closed at 15,750, up 123 points from the previous close. It lost nearly 500 points from the day's high. Nifty shut shop, nearly 170 points lower from the day's high, at 4745, up just 5 points. CNX Midcap index gained 0.14% over the day.It was alacklustre trading in Dalal Street with thin Volummes.

China accusses Dalai Lama

China has Poo-poohed Dalai Lama's accusation that Beijing itself could be behind the recent violence in Tibet, saying it showed his "guilty conscience" and charged the Tibetan spiritual leader with "trying to pass the buck using rumours and cheating".

"The Dalai Lama's citing of hearsay rumours cannot change the truth of the incident. It only shows the sense of guilty conscience in his deep heart so that he is trying to pass the buck using rumours and cheating," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said.
Countering China's persistent attacks accusing him of having "masterminded" the violence in Tibet, the Dalai Lama had remarked in New Delhi on Saturday, "We have heard a few hundred Chinese received monks' dress."
"They (soldiers) dressed like monks. So, for a lay person, they look like monks. But the swords they had were not Tibetan, they were Chinese swords," the Nobel laureate living in exile in India had said, seeking to turn the tables on Beijing.
Jiang, quoted by official Xinhua news agency, said: "the truth of the violent crimes in Lhasa is there for all to see and proved by ironclad evidences that cannot be denied."

Woman alleges rape in Goa

A 52-year-old NRI woman has alleged that she was raped in a renowned five star hotel in Goa.
Panaji Police have registered a case after they received the communication from Delhi Police, with whom the woman has filed the complaint.
Police stated that the incident occurred on March 7 in a five star hotel where she was dragged into a room from a stairway and raped by an unknown person.
The incident was reported to Delhi Police on March 17. The New York-based woman, who did not file a case in Goa, went to Delhi and filed a complaint there. Officials confirmed that the Delhi Police have conducted medical examination on the woman, who was in Goa on a vacation.
Panaji Police confirming the receipt of complaint said that they will call the victim to Goa as she is required for a medical examination.

Shoahib Akhtar Banned for 5 Years

Pakistan Ace Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was on Tuesday banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board for gross misconduct and repeated violations of the players code of conduct, virtually ending his international career which has been plagued by injuries and controversies.
The 32-year-old Akhtar, who appeared before a disciplinary committee earlier in the day on charges of publicly criticising the Board, has been banned from all forms of cricket but would continue to be a part of the Indian Premier League.
PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf told a press conference that the board had "lost confidence on Shoaib", who was already on probation for two years for hitting fellow pacer Mohammad Asif with the bat before the world Twenty20 championships in South Africa last year.
"Shoaib can't play for Pakistan or anywhere in Pakistan. But he is free to play in the Indian Premier League which is not in our jurisdiction," Ashraf said.

RI for Ketan Parekh in Security scam case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sentenced stock brokers Ketan Parekh and Hiten Dalal along with five others to one year rigorous imprisonment each, while two other accused were sentenced to six months imprisonment in the 1992 security scam case.
However, their bails will continue till July 31, Justice V M Kanade of Special Court (for trial of offences relating to transactions in Securities Act) held.
Parekh along with others including Canfina officials were convicted on March 14 as the court held that they entered into a criminal conspiracy to "siphon off Rs 47 crore". Bangalore-based Canbank Financial services (subsidiary of Canara Bank) was the victim of this scam.

Indian Markets down

BSE 15664.47 -706.82 -4.32%
NSE 4,753.55 -188.45 -3.96%
European markets have opened lower too. The market back home is off the day's lows, but key indices are still trading below important levels. Sensex is currently at 15664, down 700 points from the previous close. Nifty is at 4753, down 188 points. Market breadth is weak, with 511 advances against 714 declines on the NSE.

April 15 deadline for govt. to bring down prices

The CPI(M) on Sunday set April 15 as the deadline for the UPA government to initiate steps to bring down prices of essential commodities and threatened to launch nationwide agitation along with like-minded parties, if the Centre fails to do so.

"After April 15, we will launch a nationwide agitation on price rise in consultation with other parties which would want to join us on the issue," Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, told reporters here, adding the 19th Party Congress had unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect.

He said the government should immediately take steps like banning futures trading in 25 agricultural items, universalising public distribution system, restoring the cuts in foodgrain allocations to states under the PDS, including 15 essential items and taking stringent action against hoarders.

Sachin out Kaif in for Ahmedabad Test

Sachin Tendulkar has aggravated his groin injury he picked up in Australia and will not play in the second Test against South Africa in Ahmedabad.
Mohammad Kaif, who last played in a Test during the 2006 tour to the Caribbean, has been named as his replacement.
Tendulkar did not take the field for most part of the final day of the first Test in Chennai on Sunday, coming in and walking out on two or three occasions.
"During the match, Tendulkar aggravated the groin injury he picked up in Australia. Besides this, he also has bit of a stomach upset," Kumble informed, hastening to add that there was no cause of doubt on the veteran batsman's availability for the second Test starting on April 3.

Curlin wins US$6 million Dubai racing World Cup

Curlin from U.S. ridden by Robby Albarado won the $ 6 million Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai, Saturday, March 29.
Curlin's win comes five months after the sensational colt wrapped up a championship 3-year-old campaign with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the richest race in North America. After a prep race in Dubai last month, Curlin looked better than ever in dispatching 11 rivals without exerting himself.
Curlin was sired by Canadian-bred Smart Strike and is a half-brother of 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly.
The winning margin topped the six-length win by Dubai Millennium in the 2000 World Cup.
The World Cup was the showcase event on the world's richest day of racing, with seven races worth $21.2 million.
In other major races before the World Cup, American trainer Rick Dutrow went 2-for-2 with Diamond Stripes taking the $1 million Godolphin Mile and Benny the Bull winning the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen. Also, it was a big day for South African trainer Michael De Kock, who won the $2 million UAE Derby with Honour Devil and the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic with Sun Classique.
South Africa-bred Jay Peg pulled off the upset of the day, winning the $5 million Dubai Duty Free at odds of 50-1.

Stealing case against Maneka Gandhi

A complaint was on Saturday registered against former Union minister and local BJP MP Maneka Gandhi with the police accusing her of stealing buffaloes.
One Shabbir Ahmed from Bareilly filed the case against Maneka Gandhi and three unidentified persons, SP Sugriv Giri said.
Maneka Gandhi was on a visit to her constituency on Friday when she intercepted a matador carrying buffaloes and handed them over to the villagers.
Shabbir Ahmed had bought the buffaloes from Lakhimpur and was taking them to Sethal in Bareilly.

Inflation because of Congress-CPI(M) Package deal: Mamata

Trinamool Congress on Saturday alleged the hike in prices of essential goods was the result of a 'package deal' between Congress and CPI(M).

Congress and CPI(M) Have made a package deal to raise prices. While Congress hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and gas, CPI(M) Raised the price of electricity, edible oil, vegetables and foodgrains, TC Chief Mamata Banerjee said at the annual open session of kolkata municipal corporation employees' and workers' Union.

Referring to Wednesday’s Rajya Sabha elections in the state in which the Trinamol’s candidate for a seat was defeated by the candidate put up jointly by Congress and left front, she said Congress and CPI(M) Have voted against us. Theirs is a joint venture. They are against us because we are for the people.