Mother Teresa's birth centenary

A series of events and special mass in parts of India as well as across the world marked Mother Teresa's birth centenary.

Mother Teresa, born on August 26, 1910 in Agnes Gonxha in Macedonia has been an iconic figure in humanitarian activities and has set an example for India and countries around the world. She dedicated over four decades of her life to serve the poor, sick and the orphaned.

Initially a school teacher in Calcutta, Mother Teresa is believed to be increasingly interested in social work even before she had come to Calcutta.

She won several awards including the Nobel Peace Prize and the Bharat Ratna but for her the greatest reward was the satisfaction that came from her efforts towards the people who needed them the most.

Home

Srinivasan denies IPL auction fixing charges

A  fresh controversy that has hit the Indian Premier League shows that BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and former IPL chief Lalit Modi worked in cohoots to rig the auction in the second season.

According to letters in possession of NDTV, Chennai Super Kings' owner and BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi could have been involved in ensuring specific players for the Chennai franchise.

The two, who are now sworn enemies it seems colluded to rig the bidding process for the 2nd IPL auction. Lalit Modi, on a request from Srinivasan, got the Rajasthan Royals to opt out of bidding for Andrew Flintoff even though captain Shane Warne was very keen on having him.

BCCI secretary and Chennai Super Kings franchise owner N Srinivasan on Thursday rubbished reports that he tried to 'fix' the IPL 2009 player auction and insisted that he won the bid "fair and square".

"I have not manipulated the auction purse. We bought out Kapugedera hence had money left to buy Flintoff. Regarding Pollard, we followed the rules. Nothing was done outside the IPL rule book", he said.

Srinivasan further said he didn't do anything wrong and his franchise outbid Rajasthan Royals as only they had the full purse of USD 2 million.

"I didn't need anybody's favour. Rajasthan Royals bid for USD 1.5m for Flintoff, I beat them at USD 1.55m. So where is the deal? How can I have any deal? How can Modi have control of Shane Warne unless he is the owner of the Rajasthan Royals," he said.

"Hundred per cent I'm telling you, we did nothing wrong. We won fair and square. We were the only one who could have bought only player because I had the full purse. I didn't need anybody's favour," he added.

"The Chennai Super Kings is the only team which had the 2 million in the purse. Everybody else had less, so we didn't need anybody's favour to buy Flintoff," he added.

A TV report on Wednesday quoted an email purportedly written by Modi to Srinivasan, which read "what a nightmare to convince them not to terminate (Sohail) Tanvir and also not to take Flintoff. Warne went off the handle. But have managed it by using stick and carrot strategy. Thus they have USD 1.875mn. Much love Lalit".

This is not the first time that Srinivasan has found himself in a controversy. A few days back, the BCCI secretary was accused of 'fixing' umpires for Chennai Super Kings matches during the IPL.

HomeRead More...

With IPL, India have lost World Cup home advantage

South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl feels India will not have much of a home advantage at next year's World Cup as foreign players have adapted themselves to the conditions there, courtesy the Indian Premier League.

van Zyl thinks that the experience the world's top players have gained in terms of getting used to the playing conditions and dealing with the intensity of crowds, means that India's home advantage has been negated.

"India has traditionally been a difficult place to tour but more recently teams have learnt to win in Indian and sub-continent conditions," he said.

"India in particular, where most of our preliminary matches will be played, is a wonderful place to play cricket as the people love the game and the support is phenomenal. Teams have learnt to embrace the atmosphere rather than be wary of it and we are looking forward to playing in these packed stadiums," he said.

"This is also the first major ICC event in the subcontinent since the IPL was launched. Players from around the world have now played a lot of limited overs cricket in India. This may reduce India's home ground advantage. Delhi, for example, is like a second home to AB de Villiers."

South Africa will prepare for the tournament with ODI series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India and van Zyl wants his side to carry the winning form from these matches into the event.

"We will prepare and use the upcoming series that we have to play on the ICC calendar as preparation but at the same time not lose the focus on taking each series as a campaign on its own," he said.

South Africa will begin their World Cup campaign against the West Indies and speaking six months ahead of the match on February 24, van Zyl said it was vital that his team get off to a winning start.

"Playing the West Indies in Delhi means that we have to do our home work regarding the ground and its history and how this will affect our play against the West Indies. We obviously need to see how Delhi suits them and how we need to use our strengths to have the advantage in these conditions," he said.

The 50-overs cricket World Cup will be co-hosted by India, Sri lanka and Bangladesh in February- March next year.

Home

8 hostages killed on hijacked Philippine bus, gunman shot

Manila, Philippines:  An angry ex-policeman hijacked a bus full of Hong Kong tourists in the Philippine capital, holding them for 12 hours, before a police raid that ended with eight hostages and the gunman dead.

Local hospitals reported eight bodies of hostages were brought in, and police said the gunman himself had been shot dead by a marksman taking part in the police operation.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters Monday that two of the hostages were wounded in serious condition. He expressed shock and anger at the police response.

At least six captives survived, four of whom were seen crawling out of the back door of the bus after Philippine police stormed it on Monday evening when the hostage-taker started shooting at the 15 Chinese tourists inside, said police Senior Superintendent Nelson Yabut.

He said the hostage-taker was killed with a sniper shot to the head after he wounded a police sharpshooter.

Police and ambulances were lined up next to the vehicle in the pouring rain after the standoff ended. Local hospitals reported seven bodies of hostages were brought in. One other hostage was hospitalized in critical condition, and five others were unharmed.

Officials have yet to disclose the fate of the two other hostages.

The crisis began when the dismissed policeman, Rolando Mendoza, 55, armed with a M16 rifle seized the busload of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force.

According to newspaper reports from 2008, he was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money.

The gunman released nine hostages during the afternoon -- leaving 15 inside -- and demanded his job back to free the rest. Despite hopes that negotiations might bring the stand-off to a peaceful conclusion, tensions escalated as night closed in.

Police said they stormed the bus after they saw Mendoza open fire on hostages.

Moments before the commandos moved in, the Filipino driver fled. Police officer Roderick Mariano cited him as saying Mendoza had opened fire at the tourists.