26/11 case: Will India become party to lawsuit in US against ISI?

NEW DELHI: Intending to nail Pakistan's lie over the role of ISI in the Mumbai terror attack, India is mulling the option of becoming 'party' to the lawsuit filed in a US court last year by relatives of two Americans -- who died in the 26/11 carnage – against top officials of the Pakistani intelligence agency and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists. 

A top government official said: "India may become party to the lawsuit and provide evidence to theNew York court. The matter can be taken up at the government-to-government level as well in support of the lawsuit under existing Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between India and US." 

The lawsuit, filed in November last year by relatives of Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka who were killed by Lashkar terrorists at Chabad House in Mumbai in November 2008, has accused the ISI of aiding and abetting LeT in killing 166 people, including six American citizens.

It said: "The ISI has long nurtured and used international terrorist groups, including the LeT, to accomplish its goals and has provided material support to the LeT and other international terrorist groups." The lawsuit referred to the disclosure made by American-Pakistani Lashkar terrorist David Coleman Headley and blamed top ISI officials for providing "critical planning, material support, control and coordination of the attacks (2611)". 

The New York court had subsequently issued summons to senior ISI officials including its chief, Major General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, and LeT leaders Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. Though the lawsuit is now stuck in procedures after the Pakistan government decided to defend its spy agency and got 'waiver' for Pasha's visit to the US, India appears to be keen on following the matter in whatever way it can to expose the ISI. 

Officials here do not rule out the possibility of some back-channel efforts to help the petitioners which may also become a starting point for people of other countries whose citizens were killed by the Lashkar terrorists. 

Besides Indians, 28 foreign nationals including citizens of France, UK, Germany, USA, Singapore,Israel, Canada, Australia and Japan were gunned down by the terrorists during the three-day carnage in Mumbai. 

An official said: "The latest disclosure made by Headley's accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana that he acted at the behest of the Pakistan government and ISI has strengthened India's position." Although Rana may not get relief from the US court for himself on this ground, his account, officials here believe, will certainly open a debate when the trial against him begins in the Chicagocourt on May 16.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26/11-case-Will-India-become-party-to-lawsuit-in-US-against-ISI/articleshow/7985712.cms

Ponting predicts India will beat Pakistan in the semifinals

AHMEDABAD: Australian captain Ricky Pontingon Thursday predicted that India would beatPakistan in the World Cup semifinal and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are the strong favourites to win the coveted title after a gap of 28 years. 

"India played well as a team today and deserved victory. Today we were not good enough (to win). Going forward they will be pretty hard to beat. They will beat Pakistan in the semifinal and go on to win the World Cup now," Ponting said at the post-match press conference after Australia were knocked out of the World Cup by India. 

"India have a very good batting line-up. We played very competitive cricket tonight but I'm disappointed with the two successive losses (against Pakistan in their last league game and today against India)," he said after his side's five-wicket loss in a high-octane World Cup quarterfinal. 

He said he would not be playing in the next World Cup but ruled out quitting one-day cricket. 

"I am not quitting one-day cricket but this is probably my last World Cup game. I will be happy to look back after retirement that I made a century in my last innings in the World Cup," Ponting said

He also said that the talk of the end of an era in Australian cricket was misplaced. 

"It's a bit premature to say it was the end of an era for Australian cricket, it was a pretty good game tonight. I do not think we were far away from winning the game against a very good Indian team on their home soil. I think it's a bit too early to say it's the end of an era," said Ponting. 

Ponting said his side had the chances to win the game and they were devastated by the loss. 

"We had great expectations from the game. We were a well organized group. We are devastated. We found it difficult to get momentum. Not performing at critical moments cost us the game. We did not grab our opportunities," he said. 

"We were 15 to 20 runs short with the bat. 250-260 was a good total but we lost wickets at bad time and never got the momentum going. We did not execute the plans properly," said the 36-year-old Tasmanian who scored a superb 104 after having struggled in the earlier part of the tournament. 

The Australian captain felt the schedule of the tournament could have been spread out better but said that that cannot be an excuse for his side's crashing out in the quarterfinals. 

"The schedule did not help us. But that cannot be put as an excuse for the loss. Over the last ten days my team has played four games. It would have been nice to have them (games) evenly spread out," he said. 

He sympathised with his key fast bowler Brett Lee who had made a great effort to get back into the team after a 14-month injury lay-off. 

"Brett has given a lot for Australian cricket during his entire career and at times coming back after big injuries. He will be shattered as he has worked very hard to get here," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Ponting-predicts-India-will-beat-Pakistan-in-the-semifinals/articleshow/7784011.cms

Aus vs NZ: Convincing 7-wicket win for Aussies against Kiwis

Australia beat their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by seven wickets in a one-sided World Cup Group B match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur on Friday. 

Chasing a partly 207, the Australians got off to a fine start with openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin milking away the Kiwi bowlers. The duo batted on at ease even as the Kiwis tried hard to figure out a way to stop their charge.

Their bowling lacked the kill and the Aussies continued to pound away boundaries. Finally Kiwi pacer Hamish Bennett managed to break their partnership when the Aussie score was 133 runs. It was a slower ball that did the trick albeit a bit late. Haddin went for an aerial shot and ended up giving a catch to James Franklin at deep midwicket. Haddin scored 55.

With the partnership broken, the other opener Shane Watson too lost his rhythm and got out in the 20th over when the Aussie score was 136/2. He was cleaned bowled by Bennett on 62.

A few minutes later Aussie skipper Ricky Pointing too fell trying to play Tim Southee down the leg side. The ball was wide off the leg side and Ponting still touched it trying to play it towards the fine-leg boundary. But keeper Brendon McCullum had other plans, he collected the ball and even before Ponting could realise his error his bails were off. He scored 12 as the Australia score read 167/3.

Finally, Michael Clarke and Cameron White batted on to carry the Aussies to victory in the 34th over.

New Zealand innings

New Zealand posted a meagre 206 against Australia in their World Cup Group A match. The total could have been all the more dismal hadn't Nathan McCullum and skipper Daniel Vettori staged a late revival at death.

In the morning, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bowl under overcast conditions - a move aimed helping his pacemen excel. And that's what they did with Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson ripping the Kiwi batting apart.

Shaun Tait started the job rather early removing opener Brendon McCullum in the fourth over of the day.

However, it was more of McCullum's fault in the way he got out. He went for a big hit right away and Jason Krejza took a fine catch in the deep. He fell for 16 as New Zealand slumped to 20/1 in 3.4 overs.

Shortly after McCullum's dismissal, the other opener Martin Guptill too walked back with Shane Watson castling him on 40/2 in the 9th over. He scored 10.

But, that was just the beginning of the Aussie charge as Mitchell Johnson claimed two wickets in the space of two balls to push the Kiwis to the wall. Ryder fell for 25 while James Franklin hadn't even opened his account, when Johnson removed them. The New Zealand score at the stage was 66/4 in 13.5 overs.

Clearly the Aussies pacemen were at a party and Shaun Tait struck back to make sure he had more reason to cheer. After removing McCullum in early, he claimed seasoned batsman Scott Styris in the 15th over when the Kiwi total was 67/5. Poor Styris hadn't even opened his account.

Tait was far from satisfied and in his next over he struck again to get rid of Ross Taylor (7) with a fine yorker. Kiwis were reeling on 73/6.

Six wickets down and the pitch dry by then, the Kiwis finally managed to forge a small 48-run partnership with Nathan McCullum and Jamie How sticking together for 40 minutes.

The two used 12 overs and scored the rate of four runs an over helping their team cross the 100-run mark. But in the 29th over, leg-spinner Steve Smith decided to break their stand. He tossed the ball in the middle and removed How with an LBW decision. The Kiwis went for a decision review, but it proved to be unsuccessful as New Zealand slumped to 121/7.

Finally, Nathan McCullum decided to stage a comeback, but it was too late for the Kiwis as he along with skipper Daniel Vettori were the last recognised batsmen in their camp. Nathan carried on and even scored the team's highest individual total with 52 on board.

However, after staying at the crease for more than an hour a change in bowling foxed Nathan as he became Mitchell Johnson's third victim on 175/8 in the 42nd over. Once again the Kiwis decided to use the review and once again it proved unsuccessful.

Skipper Daniel Vettori too departed with Brett Lee claiming his wicket. He scored a resolute 44 helping the Kiwis cross 200-run mark.

Eventually New Zealand were all out for a partly 206 on the first ball of the 46th over with Shaun Tait (3-35) and Mitchell Johnson (4-33) claiming seven wicket between them.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130835/sports/aus-vs-nz-match-report.html

Revenge is foremost on India's mind

It's revenge time for India. The unexpected defeat at the hands of Bangladesh during the 2007 World Cup is still fresh in the minds of most Indian players and avenging that loss will be on top of their must-do agenda as they clash with the co-hosts in the opening match of the World Cup in Dhaka on Saturday.

That defeat was instrumental in sending India out of the tournament in the first round itself and the hurt can still be felt in the Indian camp. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just doesn't want to talk about it. "Never even thought about it because we don't want to repeat what happened in 2007," he said on the eve of the big game that millions of people are looking forward to. In several ways, the result of the day-night encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium could set the tone for the 14-nation, 45-day tournament. If it turns out to be a closely fought encounter, it will be a good advertisement for the 50-over format - which some people feel is under threat from Twenty20 - and will make investors/advertisers and some others smile.

Already, an anonymous punter has put a bet of £82,000 bet - the biggest ever laid on a one-day game - with a London bookmaker on India winning the World Cup. But Dhoni would again not like to think about it, otherwise it would add to the pressure on him. Bangladesh have managed to eke out only two wins in 22 matches against India in more than 22 years of bilateral ODI history, but the one they managed on March 17, 2007, was the most telling. And when Dhoni, who failed to score in that game but took three catches, goes out for the toss, his mind would surely go back to that defeat.

He may have given a new name to pressure, "added responsibility", but he can't just shrug it away from his mind. One consolation for India is that pacer Mashrafe Mortaza, who bagged four wickets and was man of the match in that game, is not in the team. Seven of the 11 players who lost that game are still in the Indian team and would be itching to avenge that embarrassment.

Interestingly, India and Bangladesh could be in different mindsets as they returned contrasting results just before the World Cup. While India lost the five-match ODI series 2-3 in South Africa last month, Bangladesh blanked New Zealand 4-0 at home and then thrashed Zimbabwe 3-1 in December and would be high on confidence.

For India, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is suspected to be a doubtful starter due to an injury. But Dhoni was confident he would play. "Zaheer is fit as of now. I have not spoken to the physio. If there is something, I will let you know," he said. Left-armer Zaheer bowled at the nets on Friday evening, but did not go full throttle. Maybe, Dhoni wants to preserve him for the more important matches coming ahead. Maybe, the bowler is still not 100 per cent match fit. The answers will be known on Saturday afternoon when Dhoni exchanges the team sheets with his Bangladesh counterpart Shakib Al Hasan at the toss.

Dhoni said spinners could play a big role in the tournament as pitches in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka largely support slow bowlers. Bangladesh too would depend largely on spinners, who happen to be their strength, especially on home turf.

The India skipper too acknowledged this. "All three Bangladesh spinners are good. They have got two good part-timers who can bowl off-spin and leg-spin. It's a good side. In the sub-continent, they rely a lot on their spinners because here they get more assistance than anywhere else," he said.

Shakib was gung ho about Bangladesh's prospects. "Our bowlers are in good form, the batsmen have been doing their job and our fielding has improved a lot," he said, looking confident.

"This tournament is not only about playing India. We have six league matches to play and we have to perform in all of them. If we get our basics right, we will do well."

Bangladesh will no doubt receive wholehearted support from vociferous home fans. But the experienced Indian players are not new to playing and winning in adverse conditions. And they are expected to do the same on Saturday.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130298/top-stories/world-cup-team-india-seeks-revenge-for-2007-defeat.html

Buma sets aside $300 million to finance mining expansion

o take benefits from the surging global demand for coal, PT Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama (Buma), the second-largest coal mining contractor in Indonesia, has set aside about US$300 million (Rp 2.68 trillion) to finance mining expansion this year. 

The firm’s president director, Budikwanto Kuesar, said Thursday that the company would expand production by between 10 and 15 percent this year to be able to benefit from the surging demand.

He added that the growth in the demand would be mainly driven by the soaring demand for coal from emerging Asian economies such as China and India.

“China is the largest buyer of Indonesia’s coal followed by India. Their economies have grown very fast leading to a climbing demand for coal to fire their power plants. That condition opens up ample opportunities for us, because we’ll acquire more mining contracts,” he told reporters after a press conference in Jakarta.

According to an International Energy Statistics report, China would import around 180 million tons of coal this year to fulfill its domestic consumption. In 2010, a Bloomberg report said, Indonesia exported around 55 million tons of coal to China.

India will also import a huge amount of coal in 2011. A report from Reuters says that the amount can reach 142 million tons of coal. 

To catch up with the soaring global demand, the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) said earlier that the country’s miners had been committed to boosting production to 340 million tons of coal in 2011, a 23 percent increase from 270 million tons last year.

Seeing that positive trend, Budikwanto expected that his company could at least acquire two new mining contracts this year, but declined to mention the names of the companies with whom the firm would sign the contracts.

“Currently, we operate 12 coal mining projects in South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. We hope to have two more projects in 2011,” he said.

However, he said that the company had no plan to acquire coal mining sites although the current spike in coal prices had offered the company a chance to make more profit. “We want to focus on our core business as a mining contractor,” said Budikwanto. 

According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Indonesian coal reference price for February stands at $127.05 per ton, up 13 percent from $112.4 in January. 

Analysts predict that the price stays above $120 due to flooding in Australia and growing demands in China and India.

In 2010, Buma produced 35.1 million tons of coal, jumping 7.3 percent from a year earlier. Bloomberg Businessweek noted that in the first nine months of 2010, the firm booked Rp 3.8 trillion in net revenue, a slight increase from Rp 3.79 trillion in the same period a year earlier. However, the firm’s net profits slumped to Rp 419 billion last year from Rp 628 billion in 2009. 

Budikwanto hoped that his company’s net profits would rebound this year.

Buma is a subsidiary of publicly listed PT Delta Dunia Makmur. The company was established in 1998 and currently employs around 11,500 workers across the country. It operates 3,200 units of heavy equipment such as excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks. 

The company carried out mining activities at mining sites owned by several coal companies including PT Adaro Indonesia, PT Berau Coal, PT Kideco Jaya Agung and PT Arutmin Indonesia.

Source: Buma sets aside $300 million to finance mining expansion | The Jakarta Post

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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Cricket is considered as a religion in India and people are crazy about Cricket, especially in this part of the world. With ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 coming in the year 2011, the game would rise to new levels. If you are a Cricket fan searching for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams, then you need not to go elsewhere as you will get information on Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and every other info about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the 10th World Cup. Prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, 9 Cricket World Cups have been organized by ICC. Australia have emerged winner on the most occasions – 4. Closely following is West Indies, who won the inaugural and the very next World Cup. All the Indian Subcontinent teams – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won 1 World Cup each. Australia won in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007. West Indies won on 1975 (the first World Cup) and 1979. India won the World Cup in 1983, Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992 and Sri Lanka won in 1996.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures are given below.

Match	Date	Teams	Venue
1	19 Feb	India vs Bangladesh	Dhaka
2	20 Feb	New Zealand vs Kenya	Chennai
3	20 Feb	Sri Lanka vs Canada	Hambantota
4	21 Feb	Australia vs Zimbabwe	Ahmedabad
5	22 Feb	England vs Netherlands	Nagpur
6	23 Feb	Pakistan vs Kenya	Hambantota
7	24 Feb	South Africa vs West Indies	New Delhi
8	25 Feb	Australia vs New Zealand	Nagpur
9	25 Feb	Bangladesh vs Ireland	Dhaka
10	26 Feb	Sri Lanka vs Pakistan	Colombo
11	27 Feb	India vs England	Kolkata*
12	28 Feb	West Indies vs Netherlands	New Delhi
13	28 Feb	Zimbabwe vs Canada	Nagpur
14	1 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Kenya	Colombo
15	2 Mar	England vs Ireland	Bangalore
16	3 Mar	South Africa vs Netherlands	Mohali
17	3 Mar	Pakistan vs Canada	Colombo
18	4 Mar	New Zealand vs Zimbabwe	Ahmedabad
19	4 Mar	Bangladesh vs West Indies	Dhaka
20	5 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Australia	Colombo
21	6 Mar	India vs Ireland	Bangalore
22	6 Mar	England vs South Africa	Chennai
23	7 Mar	Kenya vs Canada	New Delhi
24	8 Mar	Pakistan vs New Zealand	Pallekelle
25	9 Mar	India vs Netherlands	New Delhi
26	10 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe	Pallekelle
27	11 Mar	West Indies vs Ireland	Mohali
28	11 Mar	Bangladesh vs England	Chittagong
29	12 Mar	India vs South Africa	Nagpur
30	13 Mar	New Zealand vs Canada	Mumbai
31	13 Mar	Australia vs Kenya	Bangalore
32	14 Mar	Pakistan vs Zimbabwe	Pallekelle
33	14 Mar	Bangladesh vs Netherlands	Chittagong
34	15 Mar	South Africa vs Ireland	Kolkata
35	16 Mar	Australia vs Canada	Bangalore
36	17 Mar	England vs West Indies	Chennai
37	18 Mar	Sri Lanka vs New Zealand	Mumbai
38	18 Mar	Ireland vs Netherlands	Kolkata
39	19 Mar	Australia vs Pakistan	Colombo
40	19 Mar	Bangladesh vs South Africa	Dhaka
41	20 Mar	Zimbabwe vs Kenya	Kolkata
42	20 Mar	India vs West Indies	Chennai
43	23 Mar	First Quarterfinal	Dhaka
44	24 Mar	Second Quarterfinal	Colombo
45	25 Mar	Third Quarterfinal	Dhaka
46	26 Mar	Fourth Quarterfinal	Ahmedabad
47	29 Mar	First Semifinal	Colombo
48	30 Mar	Second Semifinal	Mohali
49	02 Apr	FINAL	Mumbai
*To be confirmed. Most probably it would be played in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (Bangalore).

Cricket World Cup 2011 venue: With India as the main host of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue includes stadiums of cities like Dhaka, Mumbai, Kolkata, Mohali, Colombo, Chennai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, chittagong and Bangalore. Cricket World Cup 2011 venue also includes new venues like Pallekelle and Hambantota – both being in Sri Lanka.

Cricket World Cup 2011 teams: Cricket World Cup 2011 teams include 4 times winner Australia, 2 times winners West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, England and Kenya. Groups in which Cricket World Cup 2011 teams are divided:

Group A – Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.

Group B – India, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, West Indies, Netherlands and Ireland.

Source:- http://www.cricketworldcup2011.co.in/