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Friday, April 24, 2009

Team Standings - IPL2009


  
P
W
L
T
NR
P
NRR
Deccan Chargers
2
2
0
0
0
4
+2.158
Delhi Daredevils
2
2
0
0
0
4
+0.985
Mumbai Indians
2
1
0
0
1
3
+0.950
Rajasthan Royals
3
1
1
0
1
3
-1.875
Chennai Super Kings
3
1
2
0
0
2
+1.067
Bangalore Royal Challengers
3
1
2
0
0
2
-0.683
Kolkata Knight Riders
3
1
2
0
0
2
-0.887
Kings XI Punjab
2
0
2
0
0
0
-1.779

Rajasthan win thriller via Super Over

The Rajasthan Royals claimed victory in the IPL's first ever Super Over after a dramatic end to their game against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Newlands.Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders in a thrilling Super Over finish in an Indian Premier League match here Thursday. The match was decided through the Super Over after both teams were tied at 150 at the end of regulation play. 

U.S. Army Tests Flying Robot Sniper

It could be the best Xbox 360 game ever, and a real kick in the ARSS.The U.S. Army is testing the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS) — a remote-controlled unmanned Vigilante robot helicopter equipped with a high-velocity sniper rifle.Its RND Edge semi-automatic gun is mounted on a self-stabilizing turret with built-in zoom camera, and fires 7 to 10 precisely aimed .338-caliber rounds per second.Back on the ground, a human directs it using a modified Xbox 360 controller, which plugs into a laptop so that the operator can see what the drone sees."Having the ability to accurately engage single point man sized targets with an airborne UAV will give the ground based soldier the ability to have a high-point survivable sniper at their disposal when needed," stated the Army solicitation notice when the project was announced in 2005.The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University developed the Precision Weapons Platform guided turret and rifle system.

All clear for Google Street View

Google's Street View technology carries a small risk of privacy invasion but should not be stopped, the UK's Information Commissioner has ruled.The technology, which adds photos of locations to maps, sparked complaints it breaches the Data Protection Act.A spokesman for the privacy watchdog said removing the entire service would be "disproportionate to the relatively small risk of privacy detriment".One village in the UK prevented Google from taking photos of the streets.Residents of Broughton, near Milton Keynes, blocked the driver of a Google Street View car, which captures the photos, when it tried to enter the village.Police were called after residents staged the protest, accusing Google of invading their privacy and "facilitating crime".The villagers said the car was intrusive and that residents should have been consulted.Google has always said its service observed UK law and that photos were only taken from public areas. The technology was first launched, amidst some complaints, in the US in May 2007.Privacy International had complained to the Information Commissioner along with 74 others, requesting the service be suspended, because some individual's faces were identifiable on Street View.

Delhi beat Chennai by 9 runs in exciting finish

Delhi Daredevils emerged victorious in an exciting high-scoring contest when they defeated Chennai Super Kings by nine runs here at Kingsmead on Thursday.Chasing a tough target of 190 runs, Chennai began with a positive note by scoring 57 runs from just 5.2 overs and gave a tough fight to Delhi but gave up the match in the end with just ten runs away after losing nine wickets for 180 runs.Their main scorers were Matthew Hayden, who hit 57 off just 27 balls with five fours and three sixes and Suresh Raina, who made 41 off 27 balls with fours and one six.No other batsman could make any significant contribution before the accurate bowling and tight fielding from Delhi as Pradeep Sangwan claimed three wickets for 28 runs and Daniel Vettori got two for 29 while Ashish Nehra took one wicket.

Man united back on top as Chelsea challenge fades

Everton's Joao Alves defends against Chelsea's Michael
 Ballack during their Premiership football match 
at Stamford Bridge in London

LONDON Manchester United tightened the screw in the Premier League title race with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth as Chelsea were held to a 0-0 home draw by Everton on Wednesday.Wayne Rooney's early strike and a late goal from Michael Carrick sent below-par United back to the top spot ahead of Liverpool, three points clear with a game in hand.United have 74 points with six matches left and Liverpool, who drew 4-4 at home to Arsenal on Tuesday, have 71 with five games remaining. Chelsea are on 68 having played a game more than Alex Ferguson's side.After sitting out United's penalty shootout defeat by Everton in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo returned for United as they set about seizing control of the league and they were given the perfect start.Anderson released Ryan Giggs down the left after nine minutes and the veteran winger, as he has done throughout his career, picked the perfect pass to allow Rooney the simplest of finishes.John O'Shea and Giggs both missed chances to stretch the lead before halftime against an unadventurous Portsmouth side who created little threat.

German economy 'to shrink by 6%'

Germany's economy will shrink by 6% this year and continue to contract in 2010 according to a forecast from the country's leading economic think tanks.The estimates, compiled by eight institutes for the German Economy Ministry, also predicts that the rate of unemployment will hit 10% next year.The gloomy forecast chimes with that of the IMF, which shows the German economy contracting by 5.6% this year.This is faster than any other major economy apart from Japan, says the IMF."The joint forecast of the institutes paints a very dark picture of German economic prospects in the foreseeable future," said Timo Klein at IHS Global Insight.

UN submits plan for disputed Kirkuk

The United Nations has given Iraq's government a report which focuses on ways to bring an end to decades of dispute over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.Steffan de Mistura, head of the UN mission in Iraq, presented the document to Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.The report, which has not been made public, examines four possible methods of overcoming differences over the control of Kirkuk, which is thought to sit on about four per cent of the world's oil reserves.Arabs and minority Turkmen and Kurds living in Kirkuk have been distrustful of each other over years of violence, political manoeuvring and economic hardship.

Japan Launches New Bid To Tackle Pirates

Japan is hoping to get an anti-piracy bill passed into law to allow the country's two destroyers off Somalia wider scope to use force.The Japanese government last month joined the US, Chinaand other countries in the maritime operation against pirates who have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route leading to the Suez Canal.Because of limits on Japan's military - imposed under the post-World War II pacifist constitution - the destroyers cannot use force, except in self-defence or to protect the country's interests.

UN urges Tamil Tigers to surrender

The UN Security Council has demanded that Tamil separatists holding out against the Sri Lankan military surrender and allow civilians trapped in the war zone to leave.Wednesday's call by Claude Heller, the council's rotating president, came as rights groups pressed the UN to do more, warning that tens of thousands of civilians remain stuck in "catastrophic" conditions.Heller said: "We demand that the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] immediately lay down arms, renounce terrorism, allow a UN-assisted evacuation of the remaining civilians in the conflict area, and join the political process."Diplomats said after the closed session that the Security Council "strongly condemned" the Tigers and accused them of using civilians trapped in a small strip of land as human shields.

India holds second election day

Millions of voters in India have cast ballots in the second round of the country's month-long general election.Polls were held in 140 constituencies in 12 states, in a vote which pits the Congress-led coalition and opposition BJP-led bloc against smaller parties.Counting is due on 16 May and the result is too close to call.The first phase of voting a week ago was marred by Maoist attacks in rural areas in eastern and central India which left at least 17 people dead.Voters in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand went to the polls on Thursday. Polling for one seat in tiny Manipur in the north-east took place on Wednesday.

Taliban takes control of district 100 kms from Islamabad

Taliban militants have assumed control of a district in Pakistan some 100 kilometres from the capital. Hundreds of armed fighters set up checkpoints, occupied mosques and began patrolling streets in the Buner district northwest of Islamabad.Taliban militants on Thursday assumed control of a district in Pakistan about 100 kilometres from the capital, patrolling streets and markets, officials and witnesses said. Hundreds of armed fighters have set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in Buner district northwest of Islamabad, sparking global concern and posing what Washington has called an "existential threat" to the nuclear-armed nation.The militants entered Buner, 110 kilometres (70 miles) from the capital, from the Swat valley, where Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has signed a deal allowing Islamic sharia courts in a bid to end deadly extremist violence."Taliban are patrolling the streets in Buner," local police official Rasheed Khan told AFP.He said local government officials were in talks with the Taliban to put an end to the militant occupation."We hope that they will stop patrolling soon," he said.A Taliban commander said they would set up strict Islamic sharia courts in Buner as they have already done in Swat but would not interfere with police work."They (Taliban) have unleashed a reign of terror in Buner and set up their checkpoints," a local politician and former provincial lawmaker, Karim Babak, told AFP."This situation has triggered a great deal of panic among the local population."Pakistan's central government lost control in Swat, a former ski resort and jewel in the crown of Pakistani tourism, after a violent two-year militant campaign to enforce strict sharia law.It agreed to allow sharia courts in Malakand, a district of some three million people in North West Frontier Province that includes the Swat valley, in order to halt the violence.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Taliban advances posed "an existential threat" to Pakistan and urged Pakistanis worldwide to oppose the deal.

China Shows Off Expanding Navy Amid Growing U.S. Fears

The dark hulls of two of China's fleet of attack submarines emerged from the mist off the waters off the northern port of Qingdao.The ships were on show to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy.China's President Hu Jintao watched the international naval review from the bridge of a Chinese destroyer as 21 ships and naval aircraft from China and 14 foreign navies took part in the East China Sea.The Chinese President has played down any implied threat posed by an expanding Chinese Navy.His country would never threaten other nations or seek regional dominanace and its military "will always be a force for the preservation of world peace", Mr Hu said.But this was an event that once again highlighted Beijing's ambitions to develop its deepwater fleet in this volatile region.This most secretive military power rarely reveals its steel fist but the imposing sight of its new navy at sea will prove disquieting to its regional neighbors.The Chinese Navy with its 250,000 sailors submariners and airmen already operates more submarines that any other Asian nation,with 10 nuclear-powered vessels and as many as 60 diesel electric subs.The Northern Pacific region has traditionally been part of the U.S.'s security umbrella and the growing strength of the Chinese Navy poses a potential challenge in these waters.There is also concern about possible plans for the construction of China's first aircraft carrier that would vastly increase the reach of China's fleet.U.S. Navy Chief, Admiral Gary Roughead - present at Thursday's celebrations — has warned that China's neighbours are worried."If it is not clear what the intent of the use of the aircraft carrier is, I would say that it may cause concern with some of the regional navies and nations," he said.

Somali Islamist leader ends exile

Somalia's Islamist opposition leader has returned to the Horn of Africa nation after spending two years in neighbouring Eritrea, an Islamist group has said.Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is on the US list of terrorism suspects for his alleged links to al-Qaeda, arrived in Somalia on Thursday, according to Hizbul Islam, an umbrella group of four organisations, including the one that Aweys heads.Aweys, the head of the Islamic Courts Union, which took control of large parts of the country in its battle against the interim government, still wields significant influence over some fighters.Omar Abubukar, leader of Hizbul Islam, said: "[Aweys] will be staying with us, and we shall be having discussions on the current political situation in Somalia."Aweys landed at an airstrip 50km from the capital, Mogadishu, witnesses said.Abubukar did not say how long Aweys would stay in Somalia. Aweys denies any link to terrorism.

Pakistan sends troops to area grabbed by Taliban

Pakistani authorities on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops to a district, only 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the capital, where Taliban militants appeared to be consolidating control after this week's land-grab.Militants locked up courthouses and seized court documents in the district of Buner, said police Superintendent Arsala Khan.However, a highly placed Buner official said the judges left voluntarily after meeting with Taliban leaders.A van carrying Frontier Corps paramilitary troops through the district came under fire Thursday. One police official was killed and another wounded, authorities said.The troops were sent to protect civilians and properties, said Maj. Gen Athar Abbas, spokesman for Pakistan's military.He said the government was monitoring the situation closely, and talks were under way among community elders, the civilian administration and the Taliban."Taliban is only in control of 25 percent of Buner district," Abbas said. "The Taliban will either move out or they'll be thrown out, one way or another."The militant group's leaders met with community elders and the civilian administration Thursday and agreed that its members will not move about openly with guns nor will they disturb police, courts, schools, hospitals or non-governmental organizations.The takeover of Buner brings the Taliban closer to the capital, Islamabad, than it has been since the insurgency started.The Taliban commander in Buner, Mowlana Mohammed Khalil, gave a statement before Pakistani television cameras Wednesday, appearing with his face hidden behind a cloth mask."We came here only to preach Islam," Khalil said. He added that his fighters were carrying weapons only because they were an important symbol for Muslims.The militants said they took control of the Buner district to ensure that Islamic law, or sharia, was properly imposed. The Pakistani government called the advance into the district a breach of a recently signed peace agreement.Residents of Buner said the militants had set up checkpoints and were patrolling streets throughout the district.

At least 73 killed in two separate suicide blasts

At least 70 people were killed in two separate suicide bomb attacks in Iraq as a security spokesman told Agence France-Presse that the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi, had been arrested in Baghdad. Iraqi security officials said they captured one of the most wanted leaders of the Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgency Thursday, an arrest that could deliver a significant blow to an intensified campaign of attacks. Two separate homicide bombings killed at least 54 people.The officials identified the arrested man as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi who leads the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni militant factions that is believed dominated by Al Qaeda in Iraq. However in the past, Iraqi officials have reported al-Baghdadi's arrest or killing, only to later say they were wrong. The U.S. military has even said al-Baghdadi could be a fictitious character used to give an Iraqi face to an organization dominated by foreign Al Qaeda fighters.U.S. officials could not immediately confirm the arrest.Al-Baghdadi has been a key target for U.S. and Iraqi forces for years. But little is known about his origins or real influence over insurgent groups. The insurgents have staged a series of high-profile attacks in recent weeks, apparently including the two homicide blasts Thursday in Baghdad and north of the capital in Diyala province.In July 2007 a US military spokesman said Baghdadi was a fictional character and that the voice on audiotapes released in his name was that of an actor.The US military has always said that the real leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq is Abu Hamza al-Muhajir -- better known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri -- a veteran Egyptian militant named Al-Qaeda chief in June 2006 following the death of his better-known Jordanian predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a US air raid.The Iraqi military's announcement came amid a surge in bloodshed in two attacks on Thursday that killed more than 70 people less than three months before US troops are set to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and major towns.In the deadliest strike, at least 45 people -- including many Iranian pilgrims -- were killed when a suicide bomber struck a restaurant in the town of Muqdadiyah northeast of Baghdad, a military official said.The official said another 55 people were wounded in the restaurant, which was packed with Iranian pilgrims on their way to the Shiite holy city of Karbala south of Baghdad.

ANC nears S Africa election win

South Africa's ruling African National Congress has claimed a "strong mandate" in general elections set to hand the party's leader, Jacob Zuma, the presidency.Partial results have given the ANC a 65 per cent lead, but the party is not yet guaranteed a two-thirds majority in parliament that would let it make changes to the constitution.The party announced it would block off downtown Johannesburg streets around its offices on Thursday for Zuma to address his supporters in the evening to celebrate victory."The ANC invites fellow South Africans to attend this celebration to share the joy of having achieved a strong mandate to consolidate the gains made during the past 15 years," it said in a statement."The ANC thanks millions of South Africans for casting their vote, giving the ANC a renewed mandate to deliver on key priorities outlined in the election manifesto."Gwede Mantashe, the ANC secretary-general, said: "We have been talking about a decisive victory, which we think is in sight."