Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar today escaped bid on his life when an unidentified gunman shot at his car when he was returning after delivering a discourse, report agencies quoting an ashram official.

“I am absolutely safe,” the 54-year-old founder of the Art of Living said shortly after the incident.

One of his devotees sustained a minor injury on the thigh with the bullet brushing past, ashram spokesperson Charu said.

The incident took place around 6.15 PM when Ravishankar was returning to his ‘Kutir’ by car after addressing a gathering at the ‘Satsang’, she told PTI.

“We usually have a satsang from four PM every Sunday till around six where even people from neighbouring villages join us. Sri Sri had addressed those gathered at the Satsang and completed his discourse and was returning to his `kutir’ by car when the incident occurred,” she said.

Sri Sri Ravishankar, who has a wide following all over the country and abroad, where he has set up centres of his organisation, said he had gone ahead with his discourse even after the incident.

Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya said central range IG Kamal Panth has been sent to the ashram to inquire about the incident. “There is no problem… everything is peaceful there,” he said.

The spiritual guru told a TV channel that he had not received any threat earlier.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has popularised ‘Sudarshan Kriya’, a powerful breathing technique in India and overseas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals filed by authorities challenging the release of JuD chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai attacks, from house arrest, reports PTI.

The appeals against the Lahore High Court’s order to release Saeed were filed by the federal and Punjab governments last year but could not be taken up earlier for various technical reasons.

When the matter came up for hearing today, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk dismissed the appeals. Further details were not immediately available.

Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), was put under house arrest in December 2008 in the wake of the Mumbai attacks after the UN Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT.

The JuD chief challenged his detention in the Lahore High Court. Saeed was freed on June 2 last year by a three-judge bench of the High Court that said that Punjab and federal governments had failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep him in custody.

Following pressure from India and the international community, the federal and Punjab governments challenged the high court’s ruling in the apex court.

Differences between the federal and Punjab governments and the change of certain legal officials of Punjab province held up the matter in the apex court.

Pakistani leaders like Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have contended that India has not provided any evidence that will allow authorities to act against Saeed.

Home minister P Chidambaram has maintained that India has provided sufficient evidence against Saeed in several dossiers handed over to Pakistani authorities.

CHANDIGARH: Twenty years after former Haryana DGP S P S Rathore molested Ruchika Girhotra, who was just 14 then, the law caught up with the top cop, with the Chandigarh district court on Tuesday dismissing his appeal against his conviction and six-month sentence. The court also enhanced his sentence from six months to one-and-a-half years (18 months)., reports The Times of India.

The court directed that Rathore be taken into custody and sent to the local Burail Jail immediately following the dismissal of his appeal and enhancement of the sentence. Additional district and sessions judge Gurbir Singh also asked the superintendent of Burail Jail here to provide all medical assistance to Rathore, after the former Haryana DGP complained of chest pain.

Apart from dismissing Rathore’s plea for dismissing a Chandigarh court’s order of December 21, 2009, sentencing him to six months on charges of molestation, the judge also admitted the CBI’s plea for enhancing his sentence.

Ruchika Girhotra was molested by Rathore on August 11, 1990. She committed suicide in December 1993, following harassment by Rathore. A prolonged fight for justice followed, led by Ruchika’s father S C Girhotra and Ruchika’s close friend Aradhana Gupta.

NEW DELHI: Bowing to tens of thousands Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) petitioners  over submission of old passports and “renunciation charges”, the government of India has backtracked and withdrawn the notification, say media reports.

Penalty charges for retaining a passport despite acquiring foreign citizenship for over three years have also been waived off.

PIOs had begun an online petition to protest against a notification by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) issued on May 13 that mandated that PIOs who had acquired citizenship of other countries would have to surrender their old passports and there would be a penalty of Rs 10,000 for retaining the passport for above three years. The new order also said that Rs 7,000 would be charged if applicants for overseas citizen card or PIO card claimed that their passport was lost or misplaced.

The government has now issued a clarification that PIOs will not be asked to pay any renunciation charges. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has informed Indian embassies that the order will hold only for those Indian citizens who are in the process of acquiring foreign citizenship and will not be applied with retrospective effect. The other concern was that PIOs may have to pay Rs 10,000 for just possessing an old passport. This has also been addressed. The penalty charges will only apply if the PIO — who is already a foreign citizen — uses his or her old passport for travelling or buying property or other uses that are considered illegal under Indian law.

The decision was taken in a meeting held by overseas Indian affairs secretary Didar Singh with senior officials from MHA and MEA on May 26.

One petitioner, in his comments posted on this website had said that when he got the PIO card he was told by the Consulate officials that there was no need to surrender the passport then why they are imposing penalty for not doing so.

The New York based-Global Organisation of PIOs (GOPIO) in its online petition to PM Manmohan Singh pointed out that imposition of a rule with retrospective effect could cause “unimaginable hardship” in thousands of cases. “A large majority of new citizens did not have any use for their old Indian passports and may have lost, misplaced or never kept in their possession after naturalization,” the petition said. PIOs have expressed concern that this would cause delay in getting visas and visiting India in emergency situations.

The overseas Indian affairs ministry had also issued a new set of guidelines by which those PIOs who do not have primary evidence — that is documents to prove their Indian citizenship or proof of being born/or parents or even grandparents having been born in India — have now been allowed secondary evidence. Secondary evidence includes passports of foreign countries indicating that India is the place of birth or any other documents including a “nativity certificate” issued by the state district collector

 The earlier notice posted on the website of several Indian embassies and consulates stipulated that Persons of Indian Origin who have acquired citizenship of other countries are required to surrender their Indian passports within 90 days of their acquisition of citizenship of the countries of their adoption and obtain ‘Surrender Certificate’ from the nearest Indian Consulate. There should not be any objection in surrendering the old Indian passport. However, the new rules should not be applied retroactively. Retroactive enforcement of the new rules and requiring people of Indian origin who got citizenship of other countries years ago, to obtain “surrender Certificate” by paying hefty service fee and penalty for not surrendering within certain time is a rule that is unwarranted, burdensome and not well thought out.  In the meantime, a person of Indian origin applying for an Indian visa, OCI/PIO card or wanting other consular services is denied any such service without complying with the new rules.

 Per Section 9 of the Citizenship Act 1955, “Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires, or has at any time between the 26th January, 1950 and the commencement of this Act voluntarily acquired, the citizenship of another country shall, upon such acquisition or, as the case may be, such commencement, cease to be a citizen of India.”  Thus, Indians who have acquired citizenship of other countries are covered under Section 9 and their Indian citizenship is automatically terminated on acquiring citizenship of another country. The same Act has provisions for renouncing citizenship of India. Per Section 8, “any citizen of India of full age and capacity, who is also a citizen or national of another country, makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship, the declaration shall be registered by the prescribed authority; and, upon such registration, that person shall cease to be a citizen of India.” Renunciation of citizenship has to be applied on a prescribed form, while automatic termination of citizenship, covered under Section 9, requires no formal application to the Indian government.

 There are a few millions of people who have obtained citizenship of other countries over the last fifty five years, since the passage of Indian Citizenship Act 1955. The Indian Passport does not contain any instruction for surrender (per Passport issued in 1974 by Indian Consulate in the US) except the ones issued by the High Commission of India in Canada which stamps passports with warning that states, “If the holder acquires nationality of another country, he should surrender this passport forthwith to the nearest Indian Mission abroad.” Many of the former Indian citizens have been travelling to India on passports of countries of their adoption but with Indian visas granted by the same consulates whose websites now have postings of new rules. If the law or rules did exist in the past, Indian embassies and consulates everywhere should have asked for the surrender of Indian passports before granting Indian visas for the first time to Persons of Indian Origin who had acquired citizenship of other countries. Requiring surrender of Indian passports after the lapse of many years of acquisition of such citizenship, would cause undue hardship and delay in getting consular services.

The new rules also require that an applicant who has lost, damaged or surrendered his/her Indian passport to a foreign Government, he/she should furnish certified copies of the following documents:

Details of last held Indian passport (Passport No., Date of Issue & Place of issue). The onus of providing details rest on the applicant.

1. Official documents submitted to authorities of new country at the time of obtaining citizenship/naturalization & documents used for entry such as US Form I -130.
2. Notarized letter explaining reasons for loss.
3. Police report.

A large majority of the new citizens did not have any use for their old Indian passports and may have lost, misplaced or never kept in their possession after naturalization.  The production of items 1 and 2 above, in particular, will not be easy and could take months to obtain from the immigration authorities. In the meantime, consular services will not be available to visit the mother country, even for emergency situations.

The Government of India is urged to reconsider the retroactive enforcement of the new rules as many thousands of people who have acquired citizenship of other countries could suffer undue and unnecessary hardship for no fault of their own. Indians who have been naturalized for years should be given the same 90 days to obtain “surrender certificate” as being allowed to those Indians who become citizens of other countries now and heretofore, without fees and penalties. The minimum service fee of $175 (USD) for the surrender certificate is also very high and should be reduced to a reasonable amount of $25 (USD).

GOPIO urges Indian community groups, organizations and individuals to join in protesting against the new rules by writing to the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) at psfs@mea.gov.in and Secretary Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) at secretary@moia.nic.in  with a copy to GOPIO at GOPIO-Intl@sbcglobal.net.

For more information, please contact GOPIO International at +1-818-708-3885, Email: GOPIO-Intl@sbcglobal.net.

NEW DELHI: The horrific Air India Express crash in Mangalore on May 22 that killed 158 people could have possibly been averted had the expat commander heeded his Indian co-pilot’s advice. Records of the conversation between the pilots and ATC has shown that co-pilot H S Ahluwalia more than once urged Captain Zlatko Glusica not to land and instead go around, report agencies.

Importantly, Ahluwalia’s warning had come well before the aircraft had descended below decision height – the critical level at or before which a final decision on whether to land or go around is to be taken – said highly placed sources. Ahluwalia, who was based in Mangalore and had landed there 66 times, voiced his concern when the aircraft was about 800 feet high, they added.

“Ahluwalia warned at least twice against landing and urged his commander to go around. He had probably realized the aircraft was either too fast or too high on approach – indicating unstable approach – and would not be able to stop safely on the table-top Mangalore runway. In such situations, going around is a standard operating procedure which enables the aircraft to land safely in second attempt,” said a source at ATC. The aircraft (IX 812) was coming from Dubai.

But the warning went in vain and the aircraft did not go around. It landed, only to crash and fall off the cliff from this table-top runway. The latest revelation only confirms Ahluwalia’s excellent knowledge of the local runway condition. The co-pilot lived in the city. He was due for commandership later in May.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has guidelines for cockpit resource management (CRM) that makes it mandatory for commanders to listen to their comparatively less experienced co-pilots as they may also have something valid to say. According to industry sources, CRM training is very strong in Jet Airways, where Ahluwalia had served earlier. “This is the backbone of Jet and this training would have made Ahluwalia call out very strongly,” said sources.

Authorities are now pinning their hopes on details from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (black box) to know what exactly transpired inside the cockpit in the final moments. More importantly, they now want to know what made Ahluwalia give the warning for a go-around and why the commander did still went ahead to land. But the CVR and black box have got substantially damaged and may have to be sent to the manufacturer (Boeing) in US for decoding.

The Boeing 737-800 touched down after overshooting 2,000 feet of the 8,000-feet-long runway. The second error followed seconds later.

Sources said preliminary probe is indicating that the crew realized they may not be able to stop in the remaining airstrip and attempted to take off again. But it was too late by then. A Boeing 737-800 can stop in 4,500-5,000 feet. The Mangalore runway is 8,000 feet long and even if the pilots had overshot the touchdown point by 2,000 feet, there was enough length left to stop.

“Initial observations reveal the pilots may have attempted to take off again,” a source said.

Meanwhile, the aviation ministry has decided to extend Mangalore runway’s length by 1,000 feet.

Earlier, the airline denied lax safety claims saying Air India Express meets all regulatory requirements and has been always well equipped to handle the operations and maintenance of its fleet to established standards.

Pilots and engineers were fully trained and qualified, while regulators had audited and cleared every aspect of its work, the airline said in a statement while describing Air India Express as a “world-class international low-cost carrier”.

The state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800, which was inducted on January 15, 2008 and piloted by British national of Serbian origin Capt Zlatko Glusica, had 160 passengers and a six-member crew on board the budget carrier, flight IX-812. The passengers included four infants.

Glusica (55) had 10,000 hours of flying experience, an official said.

Police said about 90 charred bodies have been recovered and that fire has been doused from the accident site in this coastal city, nearly six hours after one of India’s worst ever air mishaps occurred at around 6.03am. A majority of the victims are Keralites.

Mangalore airport has been shut down for further operations.

Karnataka home minister V S Acharya said the condition of some of the injured was critical.

According to aviation officials, the aircraft overshot the runway, hit a fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport. First, one tyre burst, then the other tyre burst and the plane caught fire. The aircraft then broke into pieces.

Sadananda Gowda, who is the BJP MP from Mangalore, said the accident happened after a wing of the aircraft hit a hillock when the pilot attempted to take off after the plane overshot the runway while landing.

Officials said the weather was cloudy and there was slight drizzle when the aircraft was landing at the runway which was opened 10 days ago.

The plane broke and smoke billowed from the main fuselage. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft exploded after it caught fire. The plane was almost completely burnt with only its tail visible.

One of the survivors Umar Farooq said the aircraft experienced turbulence. One eyewitness said a tyre of the ill-fated plane had burst on landing.

Rescue operations were in full swing and search was on for the black box which could give clues to the cause of the crash.

Airports Authority of India chairman V P Agarwal said visibility was 6-7 kms, more than that required, when the ill-fated plane landed in Mangalore.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct full inquiry into the incident, Agarwal said.

The exact cause of the accident at the airport, which is about 30 km from the city, is yet to be ascertained. Agarwal said there was “no distress indication” from the pilot of the ill-fated plane.

The visibility at the airport was 6 kms, which is “more than that required”, when the ill-fated plane landed in Mangalore, Agarwal told reporters in New Delhi.

Replying to a volley of questions, Agarwal said, “No constructional deficiencies were noticed” and that authorities had conducted all necessary safety checks at the airport before the runway which has been operational since 2006.

Fire and police officials removed the bodies that have been charred beyond recognition from the wreckage of the smoldering aircraft. Firefighters sprayed water on the plane as rescue workers struggled to find survivors. One rescue personnel ran up a hill with an injured child in his arms.

Scores of villagers scrambled over the hilly terrain to reach the wreckage, and began aiding in the rescue operation.

The new runway was constructed as part of the expansion project of the Bajpe airport.

The airport’s location, on a plateau surrounded by hills, made it difficult for the firefighters to reach the scene officials said. Aviation experts said Bajpe airport’s “tabletop” runway, which ends in a valley, triggered fears of a bad crash if a plane overshoots it. Rescue operation proved to be an arduous task as hundreds of people gathered near the disaster site.

Officials said Sabreena, Umar Farooq, Roza Pratap D’Souza, Mohammed Kutty, Krishna and Pradeep were among the survivors.

Sabreena has suffered ankle fracture and Farooq burns on his face and hands, they said.

AI has opened helpline centre at Delhi Airport and the two numbers are 011-2565-6196 and 011-2560-3101. Mangalore helpline number is 0824-2220422.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed in Mangalore air crash and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund.

Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has rushed to the spot. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic air accident in Mangalore. In a message, she wished speedy recovery to those injured.

India’s worst aviation accident occurred in 1996 when two passenger planes collided in mid-air near New Delhi with the loss of all 349 on board both flights.
— PTI

By Ashok Kumar

Today we see several events related to Bollywood or mainly Bollywood based. Time has come now to look beyond Bollywood. In Sydney there is heaps of talent in the form of actors, directors and writers. And, we have an opportunity coming up on 6th June 2010 whereby an ordinary or hobby writer can emerge a prolific script witer or may even be writing a script for a Bollywood film.

Abhnay School of Performing Arts is conducting a Play-writing workshop for the aspiring Indian writers with world renowned Playwright, Producer, Director and Actor Alex Broun at Hurstville Entertainment Centre from 09.00 hrs to 1300 hrs.

Abhinay School of Performing Arts enables students to explore their creativity and learn essential acting skills. We will help you nurture and refine your creativity. Under the tutorship of accomplished theatre personality Aishveryaa Nidhi, you’ll learn the different nuances of acting, from analysing the script to improvisation and dialogue delivery. You’ll also get training in diction and body language.

Abhinay School of Performing Arts also invites experts (veteran actors and directors) from Australia and abroad to share their experiences and industry skills with the students, and sometimes develop ambitious theatre from scratch. As part of Abhinay Theatre, we’ve had workshops with eminent theatre director Arvind Gaur (of Asmita Theatre, New Delhi) and Dinesh Khanna (professor of acting at National School of Drama, New Delhi

Aishveryaa Nidhi is a Sydney-based actor and filmmaker. In 2009, she was nominated for the Best Actress Award in Short+Sweet Sydney (the biggest festival of 10-minute plays in the world), for her powerful performance in Mandragora, written by David Sharpe and directed by Lisa Eismen.

She is the Associate Producer of the 2006 Hollywood mystery- drama Beyond Life. More recently, she has co-directed the Aussie-Bollywood flick Flight to Bollywood.

Aish is also actively involved in popularising Indian theatre in Australia and New Zealand. As the Artistic Director of Sydney-based group, Abhinay Theatre, Aish has produced and acted in immensely popular theatre productions, such as Gandhari (solo performance), Kuntiputra Karna and Hamare Padosi.

 The Indian Sub-continent Times talked to Alex Broun about why the aspiring Indian writers should join the workshop and how the workshop could be beneficial for them.

The IST: The Ethinic Indian writers are wary of what subject to write on— since Short + Sweet audience is mainly Aussie. In other words how would the cultural gap fill in
 
AB: Australia is a very multi-cultural society and that is reflected in the audience of Short+Sweet – as anybody who comes along to Short+Sweet would discover. The Short+Sweet audience is by no means “anglo-celtic”. It is made up of Indian Australians, Chinese Australians, Japanese Australians, Lebanese Australians. Whatever ethnic origins you can think of they will be represented both on stage at Short+Sweet and in the audience. So Ethnic Indian writers shouldn’t worry about the audience. Just write a play on whatever subject you want to write it on and if it’s a good play the audience will enjoy it.
 
The IST: What subject would you suggest that would be appropriate for the Short+Sweet audience
 
AB: Write a play on any subject you like in any style you like. That’s the great thing about Short+Sweet. We present over 150 plays each year in Sydney so we’re looking for plays of all styles and subjects. The only restriction is the play must be ten minutes or less. Apart from that write whatever you like. For example if anyone wanted to approach us at Short+Sweet with a work drawing on the rich cultural heritage of India we would be delighted to have it. Someone just needs to come up with the script.
 
The IST :  How many Indians writers, actors and directors are active in Short & Sweet?
 
 AB: Some of our most talented artists in Short+Sweet are of Indian heritage. There is Uma Kali-Shakti, who is wonderfully talented Fijian-Indian actor, writer and director and we also have an Indian director – Sadashivam Rao, whose brilliant production of Rain and Ruin was one of our gala finalists in Sydney this year. There was also the very talented young writer and director Rajiv Rajendra who travelled over from Singapore to direct a play at Short+Sweet in Sydney this year, also the actress Karina Bracken and of course Aishveryaa Nidhi, one of our most talented actors, who was nominated for Best Actress for the entire festival last year. These are just a few of the wonderful artists of Indian origin who contribute to the Short+Sweet community.
 
The Artistic Director of Short+Sweet International, Mark Cleary, also travelled to India recently to explore the possibilities of launching Short+Sweet India – so look out for more news of that.
 
The IST : What makes a gripping and captivating script 
 
AB: The five criteria that we feel make up a good script at Short+Sweet are Character, Story, Dialogue, Dramatic Tension/Humour and Theatricality. But the secret to a really good ten minute play is a great middle. Something needs to happen around the four to six minute mark that both raises the stakes and accelerates the action. It’s like the car’s been cruising along at sixty and suddenly it accelerates to one hundred. The play speeds towards a thrilling but inevitable conclusion. If you get that right the audience will get so caught up in the characters and story they will forget they are even watching a play.”
 
The IST : What is expected of the workshop and where the participants will go from here
 
AB: The main aim of the workshop is to Inspire people to write a ten minute play and then Inform them with the tools to do it. At the course writers will learn about how to write a ten minute play and we hope that then they will go away and write a play that can then go on to be produced at Short+Sweet and other theatre festivals around the globe. Local Ethnic Communities can also form their own theatre companies and present work but again it all start with someone writing the play first. You can enter a play to Short+Sweet now as well. Just go to – http://www.shortandsweet.org/shortsweet-theatre/submit-script 
 
The IST: Also, would appreciate if you would like to give any message for the Indian budding writers
 
AB: The message I would give to budding Indian writers is write. Just write. You’ll never know what you can come up with unless you try. Begin now. Join a theatre group, write a play, take an acting class – get involved. Do my playwrighting course! If you want to be involved in the industry then get involved at whatever level you can. There’s very little chance you’re going to be discovered sitting in your lounge room. Get out and do something and who knows what might happen. Also read the plays available on my website – www.alexbroun.com – where you can read, download and even perform my work for free. If you are interested in reading some ten minute plays – that’s a good place to start.

For details of the workshop interested writers may contact Aishveryaa Nidhi, President of Abhinay Theatre on 0488200222 or visit www.abhinay.com.au email abhinay.schoolofperformingarts@gmail.com

Virtually striking at will, Maoists blew up a private bus near Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, killing at least 36 people. Of the dead, 24 were civilians and 12 special police officers. It is feared the number of dead will go up. Maoists had killed 76 securitymen in Dantewada on April 6.

Reacting to the attack, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that he will again try to persuade the Union cabinet for a wider mandate including air support (but not air power) to tackle the Maoists.

Monday’s attack took place near Chingawaran on Sukma Road in Dantewada, about 550 km south of Raipur. This is an area dominated by Maoists and they have demonstrated this many times in the past.

This is the first time Maoists attacked a private bus. Official sources said some of the SPOs might have alerted the Maoists by sitting on top of the bus in their trademark khaki uniforms.

The sources said the rebels might have accessed information about many SPOs having boarded the bus along the route, assumed to be heavily mined by the extremists.

“The policemen appeared to have been the main targets and the rebels also attempted to spread fear among private transporters and civilians to force them to disallow the forces from travelling in their vehicles,” a top intelligence official in the state police headquarters told HT on condition of anonymity.

Rights activist and director of Tribal Welfare Society Pravin Patel blamed the police administration for using private buses to move in the red zone.

“The tribal villagers and the bus owners are in a fix as they cannot refuse the security forces from boarding the buses. At least, the law enforcing agencies should avoid using private buses,” he said.

Immediately after the attack, the Union Home Minister said that he will ask for a wider mandate to tackle the Maoists. Speaking to NDTV, he said, “We will go back to the cabinet committee to revisit that (limited) mandate in the light of the revised strategy that the CPI(Maoist) is following.”

He said the “men on the ground” want air support in the fight against the Maoists. “The security forces, the CMs want it. The CMs of Bengal, Andhra, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa asked for air support.”

In Raipur, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the attack showes Naxals frustration who were now targeting civilians.

The last big attack in Dantewada was on April 6 when Maoists trapped and gunned down 75 Central Reserve Police Force men and a policeman. (Courtsey The Hindustan Times)

David Hussey’s determined innings of 59  leading Australia’s recovery for a total of 6-147 notwithstanding England strolled to the trophy table after reaching 3-151 in 17 overs.

South African-born duo Kevin Pietersen (47) and Craig Kieswetter (63) added 117 for England’s second wicket in a match-winning partnership.

Kieswetter was named man of the match and Pietersen, who missed a game during the tournament to attend the birth of his son in London, was player of the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00.

“Losing those three wickets early certainly didn’t help us and put a lot of pressure on our middle order,” Clarke said.

“But we did well to scrape to 140-odd. In the end we were probably 30 runs short.

“But in saying that, the way England came out and batted we were probably 50 runs short.

“That’s the way it goes. We got beaten by a better team today.”

After Shaun Tait removed Michael Lumb (2) in the second over, leg-spinner Steven Smith and left-armer Mitchell Johnson dismissed Pietersen and Kieswetter in the 14th and 15th overs.

But England settled with skipper Paul Collingwood unbeaten on 12 including the winning boundary and Eoin Morgan 15 not out.Collingwood had invited Australia to bat first and left-armer Ryan Sidebottom (2-26) claimed Shane Watson (2) and Brad Haddin (1) while David Warner (2) was run out.Clarke (27) chipped a catch to rival skipper Paul Collingwood at 4-45 in the 10th over.

Cameron White crunched 30 from 19 balls, adding 50 in a crucial fifth-wicket partnership with David Hussey who was dropped by Stuart Broad at mid-wicket on 25.David Hussey’s 54-ball knock included two fours and two sixes.

The right-hander was run out in the final over after a 47-run partnership with brother Mike who was unbeaten on 17.

Spinner Graeme Swann was economical with 1-17 from his four overs.

Australia would take little comfort in the fact this was a step forward for the team after failing to reach the final in two previous World T20 events.

It’s England’s first win in a major limited-overs trophy event, after making the decider in the Champions Trophy once and the World Cup three times.

The ICC later announced Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin had been fined 10 per cent of his match fee for a violation of the Code of Conduct.

Haddin pleaded guilty to a charge of showing dissent after an umpire’s decision.

He batsman was given out caught behind down leg-side for one off the bowling of paceman Ryan Sidebottom.

But the ball appeared to miss the bat and strike Haddin on the hip and the Australian stood at his crease and pointed to his hip after being dismissed.

The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, has slashed by half the list of 400 occupations given an easy ride into Australia in the independent skilled migration program, replacing them with 180 ”highly valued occupations”.

Still on the list are medical professionals including osteopaths, dentists, surgeons and nurses, as well as engineers, teachers, IT professionals and welders. But off the list from July will be dance instructors, piano tuners and – significantly – hairdressers and cooks. Continue Reading

MUMBAI: “You have been sentenced to death on four counts. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead. Yeh hamara tareeka hai (This is our way),” judge M L Tahaliyani told Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, bringing him to justice 17 months after he and his nine accomplices held Mumbai to a 60-hour siege and killed 166 innocent men, women and children, report agencies.

The mood in the courtroom was sombre. Kasab did not react. He kept his head down and was immediately whisked away after the pronouncement of the sentence. Throughout the afternoon, the baby-faced killer sat absolutely still in the box while the judge gave detailed reasons why it was necessary to give him the harshest possible penalty under the Indian law. “This man has lost the right to get any humanitarian relief,” Tahaliyani observed.

The court held that in view of the depravity of Kasab’s crimes, any chance of his reform or rehabilitation was “totally ruled out”. Describing the 22-year-old Lashkar-trained terrorist as “a menace to society”, Tahaliyani specifically alluded to the 1999 Kandahar case in 1999, when an Indian plane was hijacked to free dangerous terrorists who were imprisoned at the time. “Keeping him alive would be a constant danger to government and the state,” he said.

The judge made special mention of the merciless way in which people were killed at CST. “Brutality was writ large on Kasab’s face when he fired indiscriminately at people. It was visible in the photographs taken of him at CST,” he observed.

In a message to terrorist organisations which target India, the judge made it absolutely clear that “every man who wages war against India forfeits his life to the Indian state”. “Kasab voluntarily went to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and offered his services as a mujahideen,” he said.

Throughout the proceedings Kasab sat quietly, face nestled in his palm, and looking down at the ground. He spoke to a guard just once to ask for water. Before sentencing him, Judge Tahaliyani gave him one last chance to speak. He explained to him that his crimes warranted death, and he could tell the court if there was anything on his mind. Kasab, however, declined the privilege and slumped back on his bench slowly.

The judge reminded the defence lawyer that evidence showed that Kasab had several opportunities to leave the LeT training camp but was determined to stay on and attack India. “When the strike was delayed and the group was told to stay put in Karachi, Kasab was anxious about when he would get an opportunity to attack,” Tahaliyani said.

Describing the extreme terror Mumbai faced on 26/11, the judge referred to recordings of telephonic conversations between the gunmen holed up at various locations and their handlers sitting in Pakistan. “There was no remorse at the killing of so many people. The gunmen had come prepared to die,” he said.

The Supreme Court has said that while sentencing a man to death, the judge must prepare a balance sheet of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. In Kasab’s case, Tahaliyani said he could not find a single mitigating factor. “Everything is in favour of the prosecution,” he said, declaring that the death penalty was the only option.  — Courtsey The Times Of India