Shikhar Dhawan powers India to series win over West Indies

Kanpur: India today clinched the ODI series against West Indies 2-1 with a comfortable five-wicket victory in the third and final match here, riding on Shikhar Dhawan's sparkling century.

The Indians first restricted West Indies to 263 for five and then overhauled the target with 23 balls to spare to lift yet another ODI trophy at home.

Dhawan stole the limelight with an attacking 119 that came off 95 balls, his fifth ODI hundred, while Yuvraj Singh notched up a 74-ball 55 to seal the issue for the home side at

the Green Park Stadium which was hosting an international game after a gap of nearly four years.

It was a welcome return to form for Yuvraj, who cautiously put together 129 runs for the third wicket with Dhawan to set the platform for the easy win.

Earlier, the trio of Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo struck half-centuries to propel West Indies to a challenging total.

Powell (70) carried on his good form from the last match and registered his second fifty of the series. 

Together with Samuels (71), he shared a 117-run second-wicket partnership to lay the foundation for West Indies after the visitors were put into bat by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Towards the end, Darren Bravo (51 not out) and Darren Sammy (37 not out) played aggressively to take West Indies past the 260-run mark.

Comfortably placed at 137 for one at one stage, West Indies looked set for a big score but India staged a comeback with quick wickets to restrict West Indies to the manageable

score.

For the hosts, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with figures of two for 45 from his quota of 10 overs.

Captain MS Dhoni fends off CSA,BCCI spat with `just here to play cricket` argument

Johannesburg: Captain MS Dhoni has said that the Indian cricket team has distanced itself from the administrative issues between Cricket SA (CSA) and the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India.

According to Sport24, CSA and the BCCI clashed on the scheduling of the tour, which was reduced to three One Day Internationals and two Test matches with the traditional new year`s Test in Cape Town scrapped altogether.

Dhoni said jokingly that a match could be arranged for the administrators so that they can go at each other, adding that they are busy playing cricket and had nothing to do with it.

Whether the Indian team was disappointed about playing a shortened series in South Africa , Dhoni did not say, the report said.

Pranab Mukherjee sends Telangana Bill to Andhra Pradesh Assembly

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday sent a bill for the creation of Telangana to the Union Home Ministry. Sources say the Home Ministry will today forward the bill to the Andhra Pradesh assembly for consideration. 

 

The President had earlier sought legal opinions as he wanted the bill, which provides for creation of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, to be legally sound before sending it to the state assembly for approval.

The Bill has already seen a virtual revolt from the state Congress' own Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who had said recently during a public rally that he would not allow Andhra Pradesh to be divided. "We will see how the Bill is passed in Parliament. United Andhra Pradesh is not just a slogan, it's our policy," Mr Reddy had said.

Experts said that whatever the assembly does, Parliament can go ahead with its legislative process for creation of the new state.

The Union Cabinet had on December 5 given the go-ahead for the creation of a 10-district Telangana and outlined the blueprint for carving out the country's 29th state.

Telangana will comprise 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh consists of 13 districts and Hyderabad will remain the common capital for both the states for a period not exceeding 10 years.

The Governor of Telangana will have a special responsibility for security of life, liberty and property of all those who reside in the common capital area. The Governor may be assisted by two advisors to be appointed by the Centre.

Pune bus driver who went on rampage sentenced to death

Pune: A local court today again awarded death sentence to Santosh Mane, who had gone on a rampage while driving a State Transport bus, leaving nine people dead and 37 injured.

Mane had been awarded death sentence by Additional Sessions Judge V K Shewale in April also, but Bombay High Court had referred the case back as his lawyers had pleaded that he was not given proper hearing.

The court again awarded him death sentence. "Mane got full opportunity to defend himself (during re-hearing)," Subhash Kalbhor, additional public prosecutor, said, adding that "all the reports of medical examinations were normal."

During the re-hearing, Mane was examined by doctors from Government Mental Hospital on his request, and they said he was not suffering from insanity (which was his defence). The sentence would now again be referred to Bombay High Court for confirmation.

On the morning of January 25, 2012, Mane hijacked a parked, empty ST bus from Swargate depot in the heart of the city and went on a rampage, mowing down whoever came in the away. Police and some citizens chased him and managed to catch up with him after 45 minutes

Mobile apps for election data collecting in AP

Hyderabad: A mobile application, which allows SMS based search facility of voters’ list will help voters to get their as well as polling station details on their phones.

Irrespective of the operating system in the phone, a person can send an SMS to the mobile number, 9246280027, with his or her EPIC Card number or voter identification card in the Voter ID Card Number in the format: Vote < Voter ID Card Number > For example: Vote AP412120780445.

Another Android application for searching a person’s name in voters’ lists has been developed to help people check if their names have already been enrolled in  voters’ lists.

This new mobile application can be downloaded from www.ceoandhra.nic.in

Obama leads world tributes at Mandela memorial

Soweto: US President Barack Obama led world tributes Tuesday to Nelson Mandela, hailing him as "a giant of history" at a rain-soaked memorial attended by tens of thousands of South Africans united in proud, noisy celebration.

"It is hard to eulogise any man ... how much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation towards justice," Obama said, after being introduced to wild cheers.

"He showed us the power of action, of taking risks on behalf of our ideals," Obama said of the prisoner-turned-president whose life story earned uncommon universal respect.

In a nod to Mandela's extraordinary global reach, popularity and influence, the Indian, Brazilian, Cuban and Namibian presidents all delivered eulogies extolling his courage and moral leadership.

But it was Obama's impassioned tribute that really galvanised the crowd, which at times became impatient with the long roster of speakers and a poor sound system that dampened the spontaneity of the occasion.

The four-hour event began at midday (1000 GMT) with a stirring rendition of the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), led by a mass choir and picked up by the rest of the stadium.

"This is once in your life. This is history," said Noma Kova, 36. "I didn't want to watch this on TV."

Some 80,000 had been expected, but the venue was two-thirds full as the ceremony got under way under a curtain of rain that had been falling since the early morning.

Despite the profound sense of national sorrow triggered by Mandela's death last Thursday, the mood was upbeat, with people determined to celebrate the memory of one of the 20th century's towering political figures.

Cold War thaw? Obama, Castro shake hands.

 

A man stands under the rain as he attends the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, o …

"His long walk is over, he can finally rest," African National Congress (ANC) Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an opening address.

On several occasions, Ramaphosa felt forced to admonish boisterous sections of the crowd for chanting during the speeches.

In his tribute, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted that Mandela had managed to unite people in death, much as he had in life.

"Look around this stage we see leaders representing many points of view ... all here, all united," he said.

Before taking to the lectern, Obama shook hands with Raul Castro, leader of long-time Cold War rival Cuba.

The handshake was seen by millions watching the memorial being broadcast live around the world, and comes as Obama tries to make good on a vow to reach out even to US enemies.

Crowds had begun gathering at the Soweto stadium before daybreak and, as the gates opened, they swarmed inside the venue where Mandela made his last major public appearance at the 2010 World Cup final.

Wrapped in the South African flag or yellow and green shawls printed with the slogan "Mandela Forever", they danced and sang oblivious to the constant drizzle.

"He's God given, he's God taken. We will never stop to cherish him," said Shahim Ismail, who took a day off from the sports academy he runs in Johannesburg to attend the event.

Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, received a huge ovation as she took her seat on the main stage erected at one end of the pitch.

Bangladesh SC puts on hold Abdul Quader Mollah's execution

Dhaka: Bangladesh's Supreme Court has adjourned until Thursday a hearing to decide if an Islamist opposition leader can appeal against his death penalty, in a case that has heightened political tension less than a month before elections are due.

Abdul Quader Mollah, found guilty of war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, was due to be hanged at Dhaka Central Jail just after midnight on Wednesday, but his lawyers earned a last-minute reprieve.

Later in the morning, lawyers met at the Supreme Court's appeals division and will resume arguments on Thursday, a state prosecutor said. The stay of execution remains until the appeal against the death penalty is resolved, he added.

Mollah is assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which is barred from contesting elections but plays a key role in the opposition movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

He is one of five Islamist leaders condemned to death by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), set up in 2010 to investigate atrocities perpetrated during the 1971 conflict, in which three million people died.

Critics of the ICT say it has been used as a political tool by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is locked in a long and poisonous feud with BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia, as a way of weakening the opposition as Jan. 5 elections approach.

But many Bangladeshis support the court, believing that those convicted of war crimes should be punished, underlining how the events of 42 years ago still resonate in an impoverished nation of 160 million deeply divided over the role for Islam.

In sporadic violence late on Tuesday, when Mollah's fate was still uncertain, at least three people were killed, including a mother and her 7-year-old daughter who were burned to death when pro-Jamaat activists torched their truck north of Dhaka.

In the capital, hundreds of people angrily chanted for Mollah's execution to be carried out. The drama around Mollah's fate has worsened the rift between Hasina and Khaleda, whose enmity has overshadowed Bangladesh politics for more than 20 years.