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Iraq law-makers sworn in, political deadlock continues

     Baghdad: Iraq's new interim parliament has ended its first session without taking a vote on a new government after the parties failed to agree on its make-up. Talks between the Shia and Kurd parties which won the 30 January poll, the first free election in 50 years, are bogged down over Kurdish issues. The session ended after the 275 deputies were sworn in. According to the BBC, a series of mortar attacks near the venue in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone failed to disrupt proceedings. Negotiators say the parties in the Transitional National Assembly hope to reach an agreement by the end of the month. Earlier, a car bomb blast killed three Iraqi soldiers and wounded seven other people at an army checkpoint in the town of Baquba, 60km (35 miles) north-east of Baghdad.

Musharraf coming for New Delhi one-dayer (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf will watch the last one-day international of the ongoing Indo-Pak cricket series here on April 17 and will also have meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "President Musharraf will be coming to Delhi to watch the match on April 17. He will be spending either April 16th night or April 17th night here," the Prime Minister's Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru said today. According to sources, this was not going to be a summit meeting and there was no formal agenda for the talks. The two leaders would informally discuss the current peace dialogue between the two sides. Musharraf in an interview to a television channel had said that he had a blank cheque regarding the selection of match venue and was looking forward to holding "a little more concrete" talks with Indian leadership during his visit. "I have been invited to India and I have a blank cheque to watch any of the matches. More important than the match, I would like to meet Indian leaders and I know there is desire on the other side, and I look forward to making this meeting a little more concrete, to move the process forward," he was quoted as saying. Earlier, Musharraf's mother Zarin, his son Bilal and brother Javed arrived in India to watch the second Test match in Kolkata.

India win toss, elected to bat (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and was elected to bat in the second cricket Test against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens today. Zaheer Khan has been replaced by Harbhajan Singh in the team, with no other changes being made in the squad that played in Mohali. Pakistan has dropped opener Salman Butt and pacer Naved-ul- Hasan, and included all-rounder Shahid Afridi and fast bowler Mohammad Khalil.

      The teams for the match are as follows: India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Dinesh Kaarthick (wicketkeeper), Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji. Pakistan: Inzamamul Haq (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Asif Kamal, Kamran Akamal, Shahid Afridi Mohammad Sami, Mohammed Khalil, Danish Kaneria and Abdul Razzaq. Umpires: Darrell Hair (Aus) and Steve Bucknor (WI). Match Referee: Chris Broad (Eng).

Kolkata has no Pakistani fans (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: Pakistan fans were conspicuous by their absence on the first day of the second cricket Test between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens here, unlike the bonhomie ont view during the first Test at Mohali just five days ago. Kolkata apparently will not see any friendship between the Indians and the Pakistanis as no tickets were sold for the second Test in Pakistan. Nearly 3000 Pakistani fans were given an emotional welcome and friendly treatment in Chandigarh and in other parts of Punjab during the Mohali Test, but in Kolkata, Indian fans were left very disappointed when they were told that cricket enthusiasts from across the border were not coming for the second Test. Since no tickets were sold for the match in Pakistan, no visas were issued either as all cricket visas were linked with the sale of tickets. Though the India-Pakistan series was projected as a major confidence building measure by both governments right from the beginning, tickets and visas has turned out to be a be major issue. Now, even as fans on both sides look forward to excitement on the ground, the sports-crazy city of Kolkata is disenchanted and disillusioned by the absence of the much-awaited visitors.

     Last year, when the Indian team toured Pakistan, fans from both countries were visible in huge numbers at all match venues, waving national flags and buntings to signify a new level of friendship. Mohali may have been an eyeopener in that the Pakistani fans used the opportunity not only to watch the match, but to take in the sites and food on offer. A large number of them were seen visiting roadside eateries, shops and malls, besides making visits to erstwhile ancestral homes and tourist spots in north India. In Kolkata on the other hand, except for the players of the two teams, no Pakistani fans were visible. Players used the time in the run-up to the Test, tucking into the special food organised for them, getting beauty treatments and visiting local temples and other places of human interest. The players also donated some of their cricket gear for the sake of collecting funds for tsunami relief.

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