No breaching Super Kings' castle

M.S. Dhoni's Class of 2011 sealed a first ever all-win record at home in the IPL, as Chennai Super Kings defeated Kochi Tuskers Kerala by 11 runs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. 

 

The result, which assured CSK of a play-off spot, sent the side to the top of the table and snuffed out any chance that KTK might have had of making it past the league stage.

With Tuskers appearing flat for large stretches of the contest, the home side was hardly required to resort to the extraordinary — none of its batsmen crossed fifty and no bowler picked up more than the solitary wicket.

Dhoni elected to bat, setting in motion a series of by now predictable events, which have resulted in six of CSK's seven wins at Chepauk.

The side stitched together a competitive total — 152 for five — which its spinners, despite some late hitting by Brad Hodge (who was dropped when he was 19 by an alarmingly nonchalant M. Vijay in the deep), defended without alarm.

R. Ashwin's (4-0-16-1) three Power Play overs went for nine runs and he also picked up a wicket.

Despite Brendon McCullum (33, 37b, 3x4) and Hodge (51 n.o., 42b, 3x4, 2x6) spending significant time at the crease, KTK could not reach the target.

In what was a reflection of CSK's all-round bowling strength, the defending champion made light of its pacemen's off-day. Albie Morkel did not bowl a single over.

And Doug Bollinger and Dwayne Bravo went for plenty. Still, Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Shadab Jakati did what was asked of them, starving the visitor's chase of momentum.

The hitherto unused Wriddhiman Saha turned out to be CSK's batting hero, playing a knock that was cast from the same die as that of the entire innings.

The reserve wicketkeeper struggled early on, making 9 off 14 balls at one stage, and was reprieved when Parthiv Patel missed a stumping chance but came up with the big hits at the death, to take the home side to a fighting score.

Michael Hussey (32, 37b, 2x4) dropped anchor, managing to get a shot off to the boundary after 28 balls of struggle and was perhaps forced into circumspection with the steady fall of wickets. Vijay, Raina and S. Badrinath all fell at the end of a productive series of balls during which they had managed to clear the fence at least once.

Parthiv did not enjoy a good return to the ground where he plied his trade for three previous seasons, missing as many as three chances and when he did pouch Hussey, Rudi Koetzen turned the legitimate appeal down. Dhoni departed not long after Hussey was dismissed holing out, but CSK's batting depth — Bravo comes in at no. 8 — allowed for such sputter and choke, as Saha and Albie Morkel added 36 runs in three overs and a bit at the death.

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Most-wanted list goof up, an oversight by Mumbai police: Chidambaram

Home Minister P Chidambaram today accepted the inclusion of terror accused Wazhul Kamar Khan in the list of most-wanted fugitives given to Pakistan was a "mistake". He said it was a "genuine error" by Mumbai Police and an "oversight" by the Intelligence Bureau.

 There was a mistake. We are not trying to blame anyone. We take responsibility for it," said Mr Chidambaram adding, that the Red-Corner alert should have been cancelled and Wazhul Khan's name deleted from the list.

The Home Minister said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was not informed of Wazhul Khan's arrest by the Mumbai police. "It was also a lapse on the part of the Intelligence Bureau (IB)," admitted Mr Chidambaram.
Khan, an accused in the 2003 Mulund blasts, has been living in Thane's Waghle Estate with his mother, wife and children, after he was let out on bail, sources said. The forty-four-year-old was also involved in the 2003 Vile Parle and Ghatkopar blasts, besides the 2002 Mumbai Central station blasts.

Speaking to NDTV, Khan said, "I have never visited Pakistan. I have been living in Thane for the past 12 years." He also said that that he wasn't aware of his name being on the most wanted list that was handed to Pakistan. 

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Political journey of Jayalalithaa

In Tamil Nadu, the clash of the titans is all but over. 63 year old J Jayalalithaa, former matinee idol and three time Chief Minister, is back from political exile. As Amma readies to step into office for the fourth time, riding a wave of 2G scam related anti-DMK feeling, a look at the life of one of the most enigmatic politicians of India

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Karnataka crisis: Yeddyurappa parades 122 MLAs, says 'majority proved'

New Delhi/Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has met President Pratibha Patil and has paraded 122 MLAs before her to prove that he has the numbers in the Assembly.

The Karnataka Governor issued a press communique soon after defending his decision to recommend President's Rule in the state.

Emerging from the meeting, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said they had also requested the President to recall Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj. Mr Gadkari said Governor Bhardwaj's "action was unconstitutional", referring to his recommendation that President's Rule be imposed in Karnataka. Mr Gadkari pointed out that Mr Yeddyurappa "has the support of 122 MLAs" in the 225-seat Assembly.

The BJP has kept up the pressure it has built over the last two days on Mr Bhardwaj, with top leaders leaving no stone unturned to ensure that its only government in the South is saved.

Mr Bhardwaj had sent a report over the weekend recommending President's Rule in the state. (Read: Governor recommends President's Rule) The Centre, sources say, is inclined to reject Mr Bhardwaj's report, which is also being seen as a hasty act that has caused some embarrassment.

Mr Bhardwaj, who celebrates his birthday today, stayed indoors at the Raj Bhavan in Bangalore.

The Supreme Court order

The Karnataka Governor's suggestion over the weekend that President's Rule be imposed in the state was based on the Supreme Court order of last Friday, which said that 16 MLAs were disqualified incorrectly by the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly ahead of a crucial vote of confidence that Mr Yeddyurappa narrowly survived last year. (Read: Major jolt for Yeddyurappa from Supreme Court)

The 16 MLAs include 11 from the BJP and five Independents who had supported the government, but in October 2010 said they would not support the Chief Minister during his trust vote. They were disqualified by the Speaker under anti-defection laws. This weekend, the BJP MLAs made it clear that they were backing their party. (Read: Karnataka: BJP wins over 11 rebel MLAs)

The Supreme Court, in its order of last week, had made some strong observations about the role of the Speaker and the Chief Minister in the process of disqualification of the MLAs.

"Extraneous considerations are writ large on the face of the order of the Speaker and the same has to be set aside. The Speaker, in our view, proceeded in the matter as if he was required to meet the deadline set by the Governor, irrespective of whether, in the process, he was ignoring the constitutional norms set out in the Tenth Schedule and the Disqualification Rules, 1986, and in contravention of the basic principles that go hand in hand with the concept of a fair hearing," the court said.

"There was no compulsion on the Speaker to decide the disqualification application filed by Mr. Yeddyurappa in such a great hurry within the time specified by the Governor to conduct a vote of confidence in the government headed by Mr. Yeddyurappa. It would appear that such a course of action was adopted by the Speaker on October 10, 2010, since the vote of confidence was slated for October 12, 2010. The element of hot haste is also evident in the action of the Speaker. The procedure adopted by the Speaker seems to indicate that he was trying to meet the time schedule set by the Governor for the trial of strength and to ensure that the appellants and other independent MLAs stood disqualified prior to the date on which the floor test was to be held," the court added.

Yeddyurappa's Delhi darshan

The visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan rounded off a busy day in Delhi for Mr Yeddyurappa. First on his agenda on Tuesday was a visit, he said, to party patriarch LK Advani's house "to take his blessings...Evening we will go and meet honorable President of India," he said. Mr Yeddyurappa arrived in Delhi late last night and met BJP president Nitin Gadkari and other senior party leaders.

While slamming the Governor for what they called his "unconstitutional action", both Mr Yeddyurappa and Mr Gadkari made a jibe apiece at the cost of Mr Bhardwaj. The BJP president said, "Instead of Governor, he should work as special invitee of the AICC. He should come here and work for the party."

Mr Yeddyurappa "complimented" Mr Bhardwaj for helping unite BJP. "Bhardwaj is helping us to unite and strengthen our party. I compliment him for that," he said.

On Monday, the BJP-led NDA also met the Prime Minister and, led by senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, demanded the immediate recall of the Governor. Mr. Advani said, "The Prime Minister assured us that nothing unconstitutional will be done in Karnataka.

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Maternal obesity 'could affect child's brain growth'

Washington: Moms-to-be, please try to shed the flab before giving birth, for a new study says that babies born to obese women are at risk for iron deficiency which may, in turn, affect infant's brain development.

In non-pregnant adults, obesity-related inflammation hinders the transport of iron through the intestine, raising the risk of iron deficiency anaemia.

But, when a woman is pregnant, iron is transferred through the intestine to the placenta, but it is not known how maternal obesity affects newborn iron status. Foetal iron status is important as 50 per cent of the iron needed for infant growth is obtained before birth.

In their study, researchers University of Wisconsin- Madison. analysed 281 newborn babies and their mothers. The women's body mass index was calculated before delivery, and a score of 30 or above was defined as obese. They determined infants' iron level by analysing umbilical cord blood.

The results showed evidence of impaired iron status in newborns of women who were obese.

"These findings are important because iron deficiency in infancy is associated with impaired brain development, and we should understand all risk factors for iron deficiency in infancy," said lead researcher Pamela J Kling.

The researchers are investigating why obesity during pregnancy is a risk factor for poorer iron status at birth.

"In non-pregnant adults, obesity has been linked to poorer dietary iron absorption and to diabetes, so both factors may contribute. Additionally, the link may be due to larger foetuses, because obesity during pregnancy results in larger foetuses, and iron needs are proportional to foetal size," she said.

PTI

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Medical interns begin hunger strike

The interns began their indefinite hunger strike near KEM hospital in Mumbai.
   
There are around 2,060 interns in medical colleges across the state.
   
Around 500 interns have undertaken relay fasting while the rest would be on hunger strike indefinitely till the demands are fulfilled, their representative Guru Raj said.
   
"We are demanding stipend not less than Rs 13,000 per month and an annual increment of Rs 1,000," he said.
    
According to doctors at the government-run KEM hospital, services would not be affected because of the strike.

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Deepika Padukone can’t stop thanking her stars to have landed ‘Rana’

Mumbai: DP got the opportunity of her career by being offered to play superstar Rajnikanth’s leading lady in upcoming flick ‘Rana’. It is the first time the dusky actress will be working in a Tamil film.
She revealed her happiness at a press conference by saying, "I will not even call this a dream come true because it seemed so impossible that I did not even dream that this would happen one day.”

She is currently busy shooting a song sequence at a studio in Mumbai. She said to a daily, "Friday was my first day of shoot. We are shooting a song sequence to a number tuned by A R Rahman, the composer of the film."

Deepika has a lot of respect for Rajnikanth and considers him to be one of the legendary actors in the country. "It can`t get bigger and better than this. I`m south Indian myself and have long wanted to debut in Kollywood with a big film. Though I`ve been listening to scripts, it was when ‘Rana’ came along that I decided that this is the one for me. I think it`s destiny." Has she seen any of the Superstar`s films? "I`ve only seen ‘Robot’ till now."

So after green-eyed actress Aishwarya Rai played the leading lady to the epic star it’s now time for Deepika to get the limelight. Well we can’t agree less it is one of those big opportunities she has got in her career. And we wish the tall beauty all the very best for her dream venture.

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