On paper, Mumbai Indians may appear stronger but Rajasthan will be high on confidence after their four-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday. Tomorrow’s match will determine the Chennai Super Kings’ opponents in the Sunday summit clash at the same venue. In a shocking last week, the Royals were shaken to the core by the spot-fixing scandal. Just when they needed something special, a 29-ball 54 by Brad Hodge not only boosted their morale of the team but revived the Royals campaign by taking them into the second qualifier.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are coming here after a 48-run thrashing by Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier. They had been defeated in their last league match as well, suffering a 50-run loss to Kings XI Punjab.

Add to this, a left wrist tendon injury to their senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar which has led to uncertainty over his participation in the knockout match even though the team is hopeful of his recovery. Unlike Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians are a big-spending side boasting of a star-studded and balanced side. But it is not just about talent as proper application has turned out to be their real problem.

Mumbai Indians had their best run in 2010, finishing runners-up to Chennai Super Kings besides winning the Champions League Twenty20 the next year. In the ongoing edition, they are still struggling to find a regular pair of openers. Mumbai Indians are yet to get their combination right even after 17 games.

Chasing 193 against CSK in their previous match, Mumbai’s batting crumbled under pressure while their so-called disciplined bowlers leaked too many runs. But Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina stood out with an unbroken 140-run partnership with a strike rate of about 200. Mumbai would also take confidence from Dwayne Smith’s ominous form as they found an explosive opener in the West Indian who struck a 28-ball 68. On the flipside, Dinesh Karthik and skipper Rohit Sharma could not capitalise and choked under pressure.

Smith would be their trump card so would be his compatriot Kieron Pollard against a team which has little spin ammunition with the duo of Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila behind the bars in the spot-fixing scandal. That they have a superior spin attack in Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha would prove to be a crucial edge for the Mumbai Indians on the sluggish Eden wicket.

Likewise, Royals have the batting firepower in the Aussie duo of Shane Watson and Brad Hodge with the latter coming to form just at the right time.

The 38-year-old Victorian, who made his T20 debut in 2003, is arguably the most-experienced player in the shortest format with 5548 runs from 195 matches. When Mumbai travelled to Jaipur in the first-leg they endured an 87-run loss, being bowled out for a paltry 92, but they bounced back in the return leg with a 14-run win. When it comes to Eden, Mumbai have an edge having won more than the Royals who suffered an eight-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders here.

The last time Royals came here, Rahul Dravid was too defensive with his strategy. But time has come for the Rajasthan Royals to play some aggressive cricket. The Teams (from)

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kieron Pollard, Ambatti Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Ricky Ponting, Aiden Blizzard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Franklin, Philip Hughes, Glenn Maxwell, Jacob Oram, Sachin Tendulkar, Abu Nechim, Amitoze Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishi Dhawan, Javed Khan, Sushant Marathe, Akshar Patel, Jalaj Saxena, Pawan Suyal and Suryakumar Yadav.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Dishant Yagnik, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Vikramjeet Malik, Siddharth Trivedi, Samuel Badree, Fidel Edwards, Brad Hogg, Kusal Perera, Owais Shah, Shaun Tait, Kumar Boresa, Shreevats Goswami, Harmeet Singh, Ashok Maneria, Sachin Baby, Rahul Shukla and Pravin Tambe.

Srinivasan, 46, currently principal deputy solicitor general of the US last week won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee for his nomination as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the American capital.

“Sri Srinivasan would be an outstanding judge for the Court of Appeals,” wrote the lawmakers, including Ami Bera, the lone Indian-American House member, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

If confirmed by the full Senate, which appears all but certain given unanimous support for him in the judicial panel, Srinivasan, who last August succeeded another Indian American, Neal Kumar Katyal, in his current job would the first South Asian judge on the powerful appeals court, often called the nation’s second-highest court.

“He has worked in the US Solicitor General’s office three times – for both Republican and Democratic administrations – and argued 24 cases before the Supreme Court,” the lawmakers wrote.

“As members of Congress, we value the importance of having diversity on the court. Representation of Indian Americans within our judicial system is overdue,” they added.

Srinivasan was born in Chandigarh and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. He received his BA with honours and distinction in 1989 from Stanford University and his JD with distinction in 1995 from Stanford Law School, where he was elected to Order of the Coif and served as an editor of the Stanford Law Review.

He also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which he received along with his JD in 1995.

He received the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering US National Security in 2003 and the Office of the Secretary of Defence Award for Excellence in 2005.

New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid says dealing with the turmoil caused by the spot-fixing scandal, which has left his team’s reputation in tatters, has turned out to be as tough as handling “bereavement in some ways”.

“I would not lie it was a very tough phase for us. It was a blow to the team. It’s something I have never experienced anything like it. It’s like bereavement in some ways,” Dravid told reporters after his team beat Sunrisers Hyderabad to enter the second qualifier of the IPL, here last night. Rajasthan Royals secured a four-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling low scoring ‘Eliminator’ to book their place in the second Qualifier where they will be meeting the mighty Mumbai Indians in Kolkata.

Dravid, for the first time, seemed like opening up to the fixing chapter as he talked about the subject and allowed his emotions to flow. RR were a team gone haywire after three of its players, including India pacer S Sreesanth, were arrested by the Delhi Police for indulging in spot-fixing.

“You feel real sadness, disappointment and anger. There are so many emotions. We had a day (after the Mumbai Indians match) and the next day, we were playing Sunrisers in Hyderabad and everyone was in a daze. It was a difficult week for all of us,” he said.

Dravid informed that two days they spent in Jaipur after their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad helped them unwind and engage in “honest” discussion with each other. “I think the two days we had in Jaipur after that game was fantastic. We spent two-three days in Jaipur and there were some really open, honest conversations among the players, among the coaching staff.

“A lot of emotions were shared. In some ways, it was amazing for me to see the way they came out and expressed their feelings. There was range of emotions that we had experienced over the last few days,” he said. The former India skipper thanked Royals coach Paddy Upton and the support staff for reuniting the group just ahead of the crucial play-off stage.

The 40-year-old also lavished praise on T20 specialist Brad Hodge for the way he anchored Rajasthan’s victory over Sunrisers with his brilliant unbeaten 29-ball 54. “We needed something special, I think we were dead and buried. We needed something absolutely special and Brad Hodge provided that. I think it was one of the finest T20 innings in a low-scoring game chasing the target I have ever seen. We needed something special and Hodge’s innings was special,” he said.

On fielding an all-pace attack for the match despite knowing the slow nature of the surface here, Dravid said, “I would make a joke if I tell you the truth. We were short of spinners for various reasons. We had Praveen Tambe injured as well; in fact we did not have anybody to choose from.”

“It was not an ideal combination for this track but the game shows our resilience. We knew an ideal scenario should have been playing a spinner but with injury to Praveen, we did not have that option also. I think the bowlers did a really good job to restrict them to 133. They were a dangerous team and our team did a good job,” he said.

Asked about their next match against the formidable Mumbai Indians, Dravid said, “Mumbai are never easy, they are a very good side. There are all stars. There’s nothing to lose, go out there, have some fun and see what happens.”

Dravid said if they win the tournament, it would be a fairytale for Rajasthan Royals. Dravid, who was popularly hailed as the “The Wall of Indian Cricket” said he will decide on his future as a

cricketer after the IPL gets over. Rajasthan along with CSK and Mumbai Indians have qualified for the Champions League with today’s win.

“I don’t know, there are couple of games. I have not given it a thought that this would be my last IPL and there would be no more cricket after this. There is couple of months’ time before the Champions League,” Dravid said.

“I don’t know, let me finish this T20 tournament, then I will sit down with the franchise and see what they want to do. But I am also mindful of the fact that we also need to start looking ahead as a franchise as well. Let’s see,” he added. Dravid also described the sixth season of the IPL as a fruitful one for the franchise as they were able to find some new talents like Sanju Samson among others.

“It’s been a really good season from that point of view, whenever we found ourselves on the back-foot, whenever we found ourselves in trouble; somebody has stood up, put his hands up. I think that largely also due to the environment created around the team, it’s been a really good team environment.

“I would like to believe that youngsters feel pretty comfortable out there, there’s not much of a pressure, we don’t have big stars, there are not many people breathing down their necks, we have given them a lot of freedom, we have given them a clarity of roles what each one has to play. That makes easier for them to perform,” he signed off.

The new variety, its grower Kaleemullah Khan said, was his way of honouring the bravery and spirit of the young physiotherapist, whose rape and death galvanised the entire nation.

Khan, who has been awarded with a Padma Shri, said he had planted the tree three years ago and was surprised that it bore fruit in such a short span. This year, he added, the mangoes were ‘slightly small’ but the next harvest would be hopefully be normal.

Khan, 57, is a venerated mango grower and has his name registered in the Limca Book of World Records for growing 300 varieties of mangoes on a single tree. In 1999, he grew 54 varieties of mangoes on a single tree and gifted the tree to the president. This tree still finds place in the Mughal Gardens at the sprawling Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

In the past, Khan has named new mango varieties after celebrities like actresses Aishwarya Rai and Nargis, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The actor was taken from the high-security Arthur Road Central Jail in south Mumbai in a van around midnight and delivered to the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune early Wednesday.

The shifting took place exactly a week after Dutt surrendered before the Special TADA Court on May 16 after his conviction under the arms act.

The incarcerated actor is expected to serve the remainder of his 42-month jail term at the Pune jail, the state’s biggest in terms of capacity and among the largest in Asia.

Police conducted searches at the house of the alleged kingpin Prashanth and recovered some mobile phones and laptop besides some documents and cash. Police did not elaborate on the seizure but said they would seek his custody for further interrogation.

Searches were also conducted at the houses of two other ‘absconding’ bookies, they said. So far there were no links between the bookies and cricketers but investigation was on from various angles, an official said.

On May 17, a day after three Rajasthan Royals cricketers including pacer S Sreesanth were arrested for alleged ‘spot-fixing’, the Crime Branch claimed to have busted a betting racket here with the arrest of six bookies besides recovering Rs 14 lakh cash, mobile phones and laptops. Prashanth, who was believed to have been absconding, was detained here yesterday.

All the bookies have been arrested for criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and Tamil Nadu Gambling Act.

The tornado, over a mile wide, ripped through the area yesterday with winds of up to 320 km/h. Worst hit was Moore, south of the city, where neighbourhoods were flattened and two elementary schools destroyed. The Oklahoma City Medical Examiner said at least 91 people died, including children, in the tornado and that they expect the death toll to climb.

Two hospitals confirmed they were treating a total of 145 injured, including about 70 children. The Moore City Police Department said it was impossible to put a final number on fatalities because there was still so much area to search, but officials expected the worst. “Our hearts are broken for parents who are wondering about the state of their children,” said Governor Mary Fallin said.

US President Barack Obama has declared a State of Emergency in Oklahoma and had dispatched federal aid. He spoke with Oklahoma Governor to express his concern for those who have been affected by the severe weather. The twister, one of several created by a storm system that swept through nation’s midsection the past 36 hours, reduced homes and building to rubble.

Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers. The tornado stayed on the ground for 40 minutes and travelled 32 kilometres.

Several children were pulled alive from the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary, but there were no immediate reports of rescues or casualties at another school. Rescuers are “going house to house and block to block to try and find any survivors that are out there and trapped,” said state emergency management spokesman Jerry Lojka. “We can only imagine that there are still many others there that are unaccounted for,” he said.

“The Board’s decision was made as a result of an investigation by outside legal counsel, engaged by the Board, of the facts and circumstances surrounding a relationship Murthy had with a subordinate employee and a claim of sexual harassment,” iGATE said in a statement.

The investigation, which is ongoing, has reached the finding that Murthy’s failure to report this relationship violated iGATE’s policy, as well as Murthy’s employment contract, it said. Meanwhile, the board has appointed Gerhard Watzinger as President and CEO on an interim basis. All changes are effective immediately.

It is to be noted that Murthy was earlier sacked from Infosys on sexual harassment charge. He faced a sexual harassment charge from his personal secretary which was settled by Infosys in May 2003. The statement further said, a Search Committee within the Board of Directors has been created, which will oversee the process for the identification and selection of a new President and CEO.

The Committee will select an experienced industry veteran to take over as the permanent President and CEO and drive long-term growth for iGATE, while upholding the highest ethical standards, personally and professionally, it said. Watzinger has taken himself out of consideration for the role of permanent President and CEO, but he will serve as Interim President and CEO until the selection process is complete, it said, adding, the company does not expect to make any additional structural or executive leadership changes in the near future.

Yadav, who was picked up from Delhi yesterday and questioned for his links with arrested player Ajit Chandila, has been placed under arrest, police sources said. It was Yadav who allegedly introduced Chandila to bookie Sunil Bhatia, who is already arrested, they said. With his arrest, a total of 18 people — three IPL players, four former players and 11 bookies and their

assistants — have been arrested since last Thursday in connection with the scandal that rocked the cricketing world.

Police sources also said they will seek custody of three arrested players — Sreesanth, Chandila and Ankit Chavan — and 8 bookies when they will be produced in court as their remand ends today. Rajasthan Royals had yesterday lodged a complaint with Delhi Police against its three players — Chandila, Sreesanth and Ankit Chavan — accusing them of cheating and other

charges.

Two persons, who watched the Rajasthan Royals matches in Chandigarh and Mumbai, had also approached police with complaints of cheating. BCCI’s anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani, who has been asked to head the probe in spot-fixing by the cricketing body, yesterday held a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and other top officials and offered all help.

Investigators yesterday took Chandila to his aunt’s house in Palwal in Haryana from where they allegedly recovered Rs 20 lakh from a cricket kit which also contained his personal belongings, the official said.

Emergency personnel were scouring the rubble at flattened Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, hours after the tornado struck Monday afternoon, a video from CNN affiliate KFOR showed.

As nightfall approached, determined searchers in hard hats dug in the debris for students possibly trapped, but officials cited by the news channel described the work as a recovery, not rescue, effort.

Footage from local television stations also showed a number of other levelled buildings and a funnel cloud stretching from the sky to the ground, kicking up debris.

The tornado was estimated to be at least 2 miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, KFOR reported.

Storm damage has been reported in Cleveland County, which includes Moore; McClain County, which includes Newcastle; and Oklahoma County, CNN reported citing Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management representative Terri Watkins.

“After the ear-shattering howl of the killer storm subsided, survivors emerged from shelters to see an apocalyptic vision — the remnants of cars twisted and piled on each other to make what had been a parking lot look like a junk yard,” according to a CNN report.

“Bright orange flames roaring from a structure that was blazing even as rain continued to fall,” it said.

The preliminary rating of damage created by the tornado is at least EF4 (winds 166 to 200 mph) — the second most severe classification on a scale of zero to five — the National Weather Service said.

Even as authorities and rescue workers struggled to get handle on the damage, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Centre warned the worst may be yet to come.

“These storms are going to continue producing additional tornadoes. They’ll also produce some very, very large hail, perhaps larger than the size of baseballs,” NOAA’s Bill Bunting told CNN.

The severe weather came after tornadoes and powerful storms ripped through Oklahoma and the Midwest earlier Monday and on Sunday damaging or destroying an estimated 300 homes.

The Working Committee will discuss, among other things, the fallout of the spot-fixing controversy in the ongoing Indian Premier League, in which three players including S Sreesanth were arrested by the Delhi Police on Thursday.

Player suspended

Amit Singh, a registered player with the Gujarat Cricket Association and former Rajasthan Royals player, who was also arrested by the Delhi Police with claims that he was a bookie, has been suspended by the BCCI, pending inquiry.

“I am shocked, disappointed, and distressed by the events that have resulted in the arrests last night and this morning. Rajasthan Royals is a special team, where we have always operated like a family – so this is particularly devastating. Spot fixing and corruption have hung over the game of cricket, and I know that the BCCI and RR take the same zero tolerance view of the situation. The RR owners and management have made their zero tolerance views clear on every possible occasion, and I am sure that they will support any action taken. For me, as a captain and leader, I have to focus on ensuring that the team fulfill their enormous potential and continue to play in the ‘Rajasthan Royals’ way. Our players are devastated that our performances may have been affected, as they have a desire to win that has been evident throughout the tournament. I hope that our fans get behind us even more, and that we become stronger as a unit – which often happens in times of adversity.”

Paddy Upton – Coach, Rajasthan Royals

‘As Rahul says, the Rajasthan Royals environment is a special one, where we focus on teamship, focus on the cricket, identify new players and promote young players to the front line. We challenge inexperience to compete with the most experienced – and that approach has risks. Today has seen an unfurling of events that have left us all shocked and disappointed, and we will support the franchise, the BCCI and the authorities in taking necessary actions to root out an evil that plagues our game. However, we will not let the team lose its focus on completing what has been a magnificent tournament. We cannot let ‘bad eggs’ ruin the game that we all love, affect the values that RR holds dear, and destroy an environment that we have worked hard to take to a new level.”

Team Management, Rajasthan Royals

“We fully support the statements issued by the BCCI President earlier this afternoon. We must all have zero-tolerance to match fixing and corruption. Should these allegations be proven, we will support the strongest of actions. We are supporting the BCCI and the authorities fully , and we will continue to do so.”

It had also stated that the BCCI would show no tolerance towards corruption and were willing to offer their cooperation to the Delhi Police and the other investigating authorities.

A similar yet smaller statement was released by the Rajasthan Royals’ management, stating that they were unaware about the details of the spot fixing but was willing to extend full cooperation to the investigating authorities.

BCCI’s Statement

The BCCI is shocked and saddened at the recent developments. The BCCI has zero tolerance to corruption. We will offer all cooperation to the Delhi police and all other authorities in their investigations in this matter. The IPL Governing Council has met and decided that the cricketers found involved will be dealt with severely.

As of now, the 3 players viz; Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S. Sreesanth stand suspended pending enquiry. All information required to bring the persons involved to book will be collected and strictest action will be taken, if found guilty.

The BCCI engages the services of the anti corruption wing of the ICC to educate and monitor players and support staff in prevention of corruption of any form in the game. In fact, it is wholly unfortunate that despite such education, best playing conditions and terms of engagement offered, some players seem to be indulging in such activity.

Sanjay Jagdale

Hony. Secretary

BCCI

Rajasthan Royals management’s Statement

We have been informed that 3 of our players have been called in for investigation on spot fixing in matches. We are completely taken by surprise. We do not have the full facts at this point and are unable to confirm anything. We are in touch with the BCCI on this matter. We will fully cooperate with the authorities to ensure a thorough investigation. The management at Rajasthan Royals has a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game.”

The security has been beefed in the wake of alleged threat to Dutt’s life and protest by little known organisation “Hindu Rashtra Sena” outside his residence yesterday demanding that the actor should not be granted any VIP treatment. The Supreme Court in its March 21 verdict awarded five year imprisonment to the 53-year-old actor for illegal possession of arms.

Dutt is slated to surrender before a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court today as the apex court on May 14 refused to grant him more time to surrender for undergoing remainder of the three-and-a- half-year jail term.

On May 10, the Supreme Court had dismissed Dutt’s plea seeking review of its judgement on his conviction and the five-year jail term. Dutt’s staff has put up a green cloth on the compound

wall of his residence at Pali Hill to avoid media glare as media personnel have been camping at Imperial Heights since last night.

Meanwhile, security has also been beefed up at Arthur Road Central Jail where Dutt is likely to be lodged after he gives himself up before the court. Jail authorities received an anonymous letter some days back alleging threat to Dutt’s life. The letter said Dutt would be harmed if he was lodged in Arthur Road Jail.

Dutt had earlier filed an application in TADA court, saying he faced threat to his life from “fundamentalist groups” and hence he may be allowed to give himself up before Yerwada jail authorities in Pune instead of surrendering before the TADA court. However, Dutt withdrew his plea abruptly yesterday without assigning any reason to the court.

He is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad and other leaders to discuss issues facing the party and the government, party sources said.

A section of ministers, including state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana, held a series of meetings during last few days and reportedly complained to the leadership about the unilateral decisions being taken by the chief minister.

Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy is learnt to have openly criticised the chief minister for announcing welfare schemes without discussing them in the cabinet.

Kiran Reddy was to leave for Delhi last week but the visit was postponed as the Congress leadership was busy with election results and selection of the new chief minister in Karnataka.

His visit to the national capital assumes significance in view of Revenue Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy’s meeting with central leaders in Delhi on Monday. He had said after the meetings that the leadership would soon set right affairs in the state.

The pressure is also on the chief minister to drop Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, named as accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the chargesheets filed in the case related to YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s illegal assets.

Senior leaders like V. Hanumantha Rao have already demanded that Kiran Reddy drop the ministers.

The demand picked up momentum after two central ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwini Kumar resigned last week following allegations against them.

Congress MP R. Sambasiva Rao Wednesday said the central leadership would take a decision on tainted ministers.

“I swear to God we will eat your hearts out, you soldiers of Bashar. You dogs. God is greater!” the rebel fighter was quoted as saying.

“Heroes of Baba Amr … we will take out their hearts to eat them.”

A group loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad posted the video online. The group described the mutilation as a “crime that crosses all lines”.

The sentiment was shared by the main opposition alliance, which described the act as “horrific and inhumane”. Rebels who are seeking to oust the government of President Assad are backed financially and militarily by the West.

“The Syrian Coalition strongly condemns this act, if it is revealed to be true,” the dissident group said in a statement.

“The coalition stresses that such an act contradicts the morals of the Syrian people, as well as the values and principles of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army,” it said.

Though CNN could not verify the authenticity of the video, it interviewed a rebel spokesman who confirmed the incident and said he spoke to the man in the footage.

Tariq al Sayed, spokesman from the Homs city neighbourhood of Baba Amr, said he is a friend of the rebel shown in the video.

He said the incident took place more than two weeks ago, after several rebels and government troops were killed in a battle in Homs.

Al Sayed said when he saw the video, he told his friend to take it off the internet because the act was so perverse.

“This was an isolated incident. (His) actions do not represent the FSA. His actions only represent himself,” al Sayed told CNN.

“This is not just a normal person who sits home. He has had two brothers killed. His mom and dad were detained, and the rest of his family displaced,” he said.

Human Rights Watch said the atrocious act in the video was inexcusable.

“It is not enough for Syria’s opposition to condemn such behaviour or blame it on violence by the government,” said Nadim Houry, Middle East deputy director at HRW.

“The opposition forces need to act firmly to stop such abuses.”

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief, who is poised to become Pakistan’s prime minister for the third time, Monday said he would invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his oath-taking ceremony and reaffirmed he would forge friendly ties with India.

According to Rajiv Dogra, former Indian consul general in Karachi, Sharif is aware of the facts that have hurt India in the past – right from the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings, the 1999 Kargil War to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

“He knows what the faults are and he knows whose faults they are…that have hurt India. It is to be hoped he also knows how to fix the faults and order the same within his own establishment,” Dogra told IANS.

Questioning Sharif’s “sympathy” with the Taliban, which did not target PML-N cadres during the campaigning but staged murderous attacks on other parties like the PPP, the Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Dogra said it was a cause of worry for India.

“The question we have to ask ourselves is how much sympathy does he has for them? Getting sympathy from the Taliban is bad enough and having sympathy for the Taliban is even worse. It should be a point of worry for India, for then all his good words will not mean much,” said the former envoy.

“How can he actually deliver on his words if he has friends like the Taliban to consort with? Promises are one thing; whether he has the intent and practical ability to deliver on those assurances would have to be seen,” Dogra added.

Former diplomat Rajiv Bhatia said the elections in Pakistan, the first democratic transition of power in the country’s 66-year history, is a “highly positive development for Pakistan and shows the strength and resilience of its democracy. It is a positive development for the region too.”

Bhatia, who now heads the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), said Sharif has had a good history of relationships with India. But, there was need for “some caution before we start drawing conclusions as the Pakistan and South Asia of 1999 and of now are quite different”.

He said Sharif should first be allowed to settle down, form his government, announce his policies and get support from parliament “and then we will see how he plans to approach India. To imagine he will immediately start working on the India dossier would be a little unrealistic,” Bhatia told IANS, adding that given Sharif’s approach and the past record “we should remain optimistic of the relationship”.

A.N. Ram, former secretary in external affairs ministry, said the atmospherics for bilateral relations were good after Sharif’s re-ascendancy, but it was early to comment on the overall shape of bilateral ties.

He said Pakistan’s civilian leaders in the past have not been able to fully translate into reality their intentions of improving relations with India.

“He (Sharif) is a sober gentleman, has a wonderful track record (of fostering bilateral relations). (But we should) test him a little more…We should take a more measured position. The proof of the pudding lies in the eating,” Ram told IANS.

He said the parameters of the India relationship were sometimes not drawn by the civilian government but by the Pakistan military.

“If there is a change of heart in the military, there is no limit we cannot reach in bilateral relations,” Ram said.

Senior journalist S. Nihal Singh,. who has covered South Asia extensively, said Sharif had business instincts and will push for improved trade ties with India. He however said Sharif’s immediate priorities will be domestic.

“It is to be seen how he defines his relationship with the Pakistani Taliban. He also has to redefine the relationship with the army, which is a major factor in Pakistan,” Nihal Singh told IANS.

He said Sharif is likely to set the ball rolling in relations with India by boosting trade ties.

“There could be visits of trade delegations (in the coming months),” he said.

He said though there was ambiguity about Sharif’s role during the 1999 Kargil misadventure, he had taken steps to boost bilateral ties.

Data gathered by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) observers at polling stations have shown voter turnout greater than 100 percent, reported News International.

Pakistan went to the hustings Saturday and unofficial election results show that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is way ahead of its rivals. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf stood second while the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party is a poor third.

FAFEN called on the Election Commission of Pakistan to put up all polling station data on its website before certifying any final election results in any constituency.

The voter turnout was over 100 percent in at least 49 polling stations out of 8,119 polling stations sampled by FAFEN across Pakistan.

Of these, 32 polling stations with greater than 100 percent turnout were in Punjab, 10 in Sindh, six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Balochistan.

Prison officials said the aged inmate was rushed to Meerut Medical College for treatment after she complained of breathlessness. She passed away there, of complications related to advanced age.

Originally a resident of Khanpur village of the Mansoori area in Ghaziabad, neighbouring New Delhi, Ram Kali had moved to a relative’s house in Bulandshahr after her husband passed away 2002. The relative was later accused of killing his wife for dowry, and Ram Kali was also made an accused in the case. She briefly went to prison and was let out on bail.

She was however sent to jail again December 2012, after a court found her guilty in the dowry case.

She was serving her sentence at Bulandshahr jail.

The prison superintendent had recommended, some time back, that she be pardoned and freed, on account on her age. Officials at the prison headquarters said the petition was under consideration.

There are hundreds of aged prisoners languishing in prisons across Uttar Pradesh. Prisons Minister Rajendra Chowdhary recently said that the state government would initiate a process to allow those who were old or ailing freedom, once they serve out a major part of their sentence.

Shinde said the Ministry of External Affairs is coordinating with the Pakistani authorities to complete the formalities to send back his body home. “Once the formalities are done, we will hand over the body,” he said. Sources said a detailed post-mortem of Sanaullah, 52, would be done in Chandigarh and the travel arrangements would be made as per the request made by Pakistan.

Government has been informed that Pakistan is arranging an aircraft to fly his body back home, the sources said, adding “If they arrange a non-military registered plane, the clearance would be prompt”.

Sanaullah, a convicted terrorist serving life sentence, was injured in a scuffle with another inmate in the high-security Kot Balwal jail in Jammu and rushed to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh on Friday last.

“Sanaullah was declared dead around 7 a.m. due to multiple organ failure. The team of doctors headed by Y.K. Batra tried their best to revive him,” a spokesperson of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) said here. Ranjay, who was critical for the last few days, had suffered renal failure Wednesday.

The Pakistani was in deep coma ever since he was flown in here from Jammu last Friday. He was serving life imprisonment at Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal Jail. He was attacked May 3 by an Indian prisoner.

Pakistan High Commission spokesman Manzoor Memon said in New Delhi that Pakistan was “in grief and shocked” at the death of Ranjay.

“We will request the Indian government to facilitate return of his body to Pakistan,” Memon told IANS.

The information regarding his death has been given to the central government, PGIMER officials said.

Ranjay had developed jaundice and other internal infections Tuesday, doctors said. The post-mortem examination would be conducted later Thursday.

Two members of Ranjay’s family had arrived here Tuesday from Pakistan. They had appealed to the Indian government to repatriate him to Pakistan.

The attack on Ranjay took place a day after Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner in Pakistan, succumbed to grievous injuries following a murderous assault in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Ranjay was arrested in 1996 and charged with involvement in a bomb blast at Katra near the Hindu shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in 1994 which left 10 people dead. He was serving life term in the Jammu jail.

Pakistan High Commissioner Salman Bashir had visited PGIMER Monday to see the Pakistani prisoner.

Trends available for over 130 seats after an hour of counting that began at 8 a.m. showed the Congress leading in 55 seats.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in 32 seats, the Janata Dal-Secular in 27 and the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) of former BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in 10.

Independents and smaller parties were leading in the other places.

The scam has been hogging headlines in local newspapers for over a month.

Shops, other businesses, public transport and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city because of the shutdown, while private transport and skeletal public transport operated in some areas Monday.

Taxis and other vehicles carrying passengers to various destinations of tourist interest like Sonamarg, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and other places plied normally throughout the Valley, as also the traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

The state government has already asked the crime branch to probe the scam, which came to be an issue of great concern when it was found that antibiotic tablets purchased by a government-appointed purchase committee failed to meet prescribed standards when subjected to chemical analysis.

The state vigilance commission has also been asked to probe the assets of the members of the government-appointed purchase committee involved in the alleged scam.

The squad is as follows

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Captain

2. Shikhar Dhawan

3. Virat Kohli

4. Suresh Raina

5. Dinesh Karthik

6. Murali Vijay

7. Rohit Sharma

8. Ravindra Jadeja

9. Ravichandran Ashwin

10. Irfan Pathan

11. Umesh Yadav

12. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

13. Ishant Sharma

14. Amit Mishra

15. Vinay Kumar

The Committee also picked 21 probables for the tri-series in the West Indies, which will follow the ICC Champions Trophy. The fifteen members of the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy apart, the following six players were named:

Manoj Tiwary

Praveen Kumar

Mohammed Shami

Ambati Rayudu

Rahul Sharma

Gautam Gambhir

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been pressing for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over the issue.

When the Lok Sabha reconvenes, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj will make a brief observation in the house, said sources.

The house will then take up financial business, including the railway appropriation bill, the demands for grants of the various ministries and the Finance Bill 2013, as agreed upon by the BJP Monday at an all-party meeting, called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to break the ongoing logjam.

The financial business needs to be passed on a priority basis as it will facilitate the funds required to ensure the smooth running of the government, sources said.

The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, made the disclosure Wednesday after a closed-door briefing with three senior national security officials on Capitol Hill, Politico, an influential news site focused on politics, reported.

Ruppersberger said based on information from the surviving suspect, Dzhokhar,19 , it appears the brothers learned how to build the bomb from Inspire magazine, a publication founded by Anwar al-Awlaki, the now-deceased Al Qaeda leader.

“That has always been a concern of ours,” Ruppersberger was quoted as saying. “That magazine was put out to recruit people for jihad.” Meanwhile, CNN citied one of the suspects’ uncle as saying a friend of Tamerlan’s “brainwashed” him.

The suspects’ former brother-in-law said Tamerlan seemed to be influenced in Islam by a friend named Misha, but that he did not see Misha try to radicalise him, the channel said.

Investigators had no immediate comment on reports of someone named “Misha.”

Investigators are looking into the possibility Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have helped finance the bomb plot through drug sales, according to a source familiar with the investigation, the channel said.

The New York Times citing American officials said despite being told in 2011 that an FBI review had found that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had no ties to extremists, the Russian government asked the Central Intelligence Agency six months later for whatever information it had on him.

After its review, the CIA also told the Russian intelligence service that it had no derogatory information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, it said. But it was not clear what prompted the Russians to make the request of the CIA.

The picture emerging Wednesday was of an American counterterrorism bureaucracy that had at least four different contacts with Russian spy services about Tsarnaev in the year before he took a six-month trip to Russia in 2012, the Times said.

But it never found reason to investigate him further after he returned from the trip.

After the CIA cleared Tsarnaev of any ties to violent extremism in Oct 2011, it asked the National Counterterrorism Centre, the nation’s main counterterrorism agency, to add his name to a watch list as a precautionary measure, the Times said citing an American intelligence official.

Other agencies, including the State Department, the Homeland Security Department and the FBI, were alerted, the newspaper said.

That database, the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, which contains about 700,000 names, is the main repository of information from which other government watch lists are drawn, including the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database and the Transportation Security Administration’s “no fly” list.

CBI Additional SP AGL Kaul, who led the second probe team in the sensational double murder, was asked by the defence counsel to explain why Aarushi’s mother Nupur was not arrested if there was enough evidence against her. Kaul said his senior, DIG Neelabh Kishore, did not support the view and stopped him from arresting her. When asked if he had filed a complaint against Kishore, Kaul said he (Kishore) was my senior and if he did not permit, arrest could not have been made.

He also said Nupur Talwar’s role was given in the closure report filed before the Magistrate. With today’s proceedings, Kaul’s deposition before the special court here has been completed. He was the last prosecution witness to be produced before the court, CBI counsel R K Saini told PTI here.

Earlier during his deposition, Kaul had said he had enough circumstantial evidence against Rajesh’s brother Dinesh Talwar and family friend Sunil Choudhary to file charge sheet against them but seniors Kishore and Joint Director Javeed Ahmed felt there is not enough material to file the charge sheet and hence he (Kaul) filed final report (closure). Kaul had yesterday told the special court that according to investigations, Rajesh Talwar had found his daughter and domestic servant in “objectionable position” and killed them using his golf stick and a sharp-edged weapon.

14-year-old Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit in her bedroom on May 16, 2008. The initial suspicion went on Hemraj whose body was later found in the their terrace at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. The allegations of involvement in the murder have been refuted by the Talwars who have claimed innocence in the matter.

“The CIA had evidence suggesting close Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation, to the point of facilitating a nuclear weapons capability, although the intelligence community saw this as possibly a special case based on an alliance that had existed since 1963,” according to recently declassified CIA data, obtained by the National Security Archive (NSA) under the Freedom of Information Act.

According to the document, this allegation has come up before, for example in a State Department document and in major news stories but this is the first time the CIA has released some of its own information.

“The estimate highlights some of the main developments, including ‘verbal consent (in 1974) to help Pakistan develop a nuclear blast capability’, ‘hedged and conditional commitment’ in 1976 to provide nuclear weapons technology, and unspecified excised information that raised the possibility that China has provided a fairly comprehensive package of proven nuclear weapon design information,” it said.

“Even without Chinese help, the Pakistanis could develop a nuclear weapon, but access to Chinese weapons design and test data might be crucial in establishing Islamabad’s confidence in an untested weapons capability,” said a 1983 national intelligence estimate of the CIA, which is heavily excised.

The exchanges may not have been one-way and the reference to Chinese “involvement” in Pakistan’s uranium enrichment programme probably refers to gas centrifuge technology, which Pakistan shared with China, it noted. Significant portions of the document covering technology sharing are excised, but more may be learned if additional details are released under appeal, the NSA added.

Kolkata: Sachin Tendulkar was a picture of humility as he celebrated his 40th birthday with a brief cake-cutting ceremony here, thanking his legions of fans for their “unconditional love” in a cricket career spanning over two decades.

The Mumbaikar, who would be seen in action during an IPL match for his team Mumbai Indians against the Kolkata Knight Riders later tonight, made a brief statement to the media before cutting a cake here. “Let me take this opportunity to thank all the people in India and well wishers all over the world who have supported me and showered me with unconditional love,” said the veteran, whose wife Anjali was by his side during the ceremony.

“It has been really special and it is because of their good wishes that I am standing here,” he added. Tendulkar said he wanted to thank each one of his fan personally for supporting him for over 24 years.

“Since I can’t do that, it is a good opportunity to thank the every little thing that they have done for me, like fasting for me during injuries. I just wanted to say thank you,” he said.

Tendulkar got the first bite of his birthday cake from Anjali’s hands who giggled after being called from the backstage by the batsman on the insistence of the present journalists and photographers. “Now, don’t ask her to put it on my face next,” joked the veteran cricketer.

The meeting in which the Prime Minister as also Congress President Sonia Gandhi were present was held shortly after an hour-long adjournment of both Houses of Parliament on the issue.

Keeping up the heat on the government, BJP today demanded resignation of the Prime Minister on the coalgate issue. In Lok Sabha, soon after Speaker Meira Kumar made a reference to Panchayati Raj Day, opposition members rushed to the Well, raising slogans and waving placards on various issues. BJP members demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister over the issue of coal block allocations.

Shouting slogans, they also demanded dismissal of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar who is alleged to have vetted the CBI report for the Supreme Court on coalgate probe. In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Hamid Ansari asked members not to display banners and called for the first listed question of the day.

But slogan-shouting BJP members trooped into the Well forcing Ansari to adjourn the House till noon.