Now, drunk drivers can lose licence in Delhi

Driving under the influence of alcohol can now cost you your licence. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday accepted the city transport department's new guidelines to deal with the menace of drunk driving, among which is the provision of cancelling the offender's driving licence. The stage is now set for the guidelines to be notified within four weeks.The new rules arm the Delhi Police with the right to confiscate the licence of a driver found to have consumed alcohol beyond the permissible limit. In such cases, a memo would be issued to the driver who would then have to make a representation before the transport department. The department would decide whether the offender's licence should be suspended or cancelled.

Siddharth Tiwari is new IMF Secretary

With a proven track record in managing complex work programmes, Indian economist Mr Siddharth Tiwari has been named as the IMF Secretary by its Managing Director Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Mr Tiwari, currently Director of the Office of Budget and Planning, is set to assume the position, which was held by Mr Shailendra Anjaria before his retirement from the IMF earlier this year.
“Mr Tiwari has the experience and skills’’ to promote consensus building, which is a critical goal of the IMF Board and Management, Mr Strauss-Kahn said in a statement.

Sheikh Hasina chosen for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been chosen for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development this year.The selection was made by an international jury, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said in a statement on Thursday.

The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs.25 lakh and a citation, will be presented to her at a function to be held at a later date. Ms. Hasina is to visit India next month and is likely to sign a couple of landmark agreements that would strengthen ties between New Delhi and Dhaka.

Rajeev Rathore scores five goals

Rajeev Rathore fired five goals to power Aspen Crew to an 8-6 victory over Gunners in the semifinals of the Maharaj Prithi Singh Cup six-goal polo tournament at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Saturday.
Tarun Sirohi, Rohan Saharan and Sharuk Ullaha scored the other goals for the winner. Shailendra Singh Rathore (3), Bhawani Singh Kalvi and Raghav Rao scored the goals for Gunners which started with a goal advantage on handicap.
In the other semifinal, Dhruvpal Godara scored four goals to help Navy beat Sahgal Stud 6-5. A. P. Singh and Akhil Sirohi scored a goal each for Navy. Shamsheer Ali and Gaurav Sahgal scored two goals apiece for the loser which had started with a goal advantage on handicap.

India drop to third place in ODI rankings

Having begun the series with a genuine chance of becoming the top ODI team in the world, India slipped back to third position after goingdown 2-4 to world champion Australia in the seven-match home series that concluded on Wednesday.
As recently as September 20, the Aussies were ranked third behind India and the Proteas but now there are eight ratings points separating them from Graeme Smith's team. However, with a ODI series coming up against England and with Australia concentrating on Test cricket until the third week in January, there is the opportunity for South Africa to close that gap.

Kiwis win series

New Zealand beat Pakistan by seven runs to win the third and final one-dayer here on Monday, taking the three-match series 2-1.
A last-wicket partnership of 103 runs between Saeed Ajmal and Mohd. Aamer almost took the game away from New Zealand. Earlier, a haul of four wickets by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal helped Pakistan restrict New Zealand to 211.

India lose by 6 wkts; concede series

Mike Hussey and Adam Voges saw Australia through to a six-wicket victory over India in the sixth one-dayer of the Hero Honda Cup here on Sunday. With their third win on the trot, Australia also sealed the series by taking an unassailable 4-2 lead in the 7-match series to render the final ODI in Mumbai inconsequential.Chasing a modest 171 runs for victory, the Australians overhauled the target in just 41.5 overs as the hosts were left ruing their batting collapse in morning, from which they failed to recover

Australia survives Sachin blitz

Sachin Tendulkar watched one of his most domineering ODI hundreds, a 141-ball 175, go in vain as India lost a cliff-hanger to Australia by three runs in the fifth match of the seven-match series in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Chasing Australia’s imposing 350, Tendulkar’s innings took India to within 19 runs of a win, before he tried to paddle-scoop Clint McKay, only to find Nathan Hauritz stationed at short fine leg who pouched it running back.
Earlier, when he reached seven, Tendulkar became the first cricketer to make 17,000 runs in ODIs. It was his 435th match.
Tendulkar’s knock included four huge sixes, two of which came off successive Nathan Hauritz deliveries and a swivelling hook off Shane Watson in the previous over.
“It was one of my best knocks,” said Tendulkar after receiving his man-of-the-match award. “The pressure to keep scoring runs was there and we took it very close.”
Suresh Raina gave the maestro good company with a run-a-ball 59. The two put on 137 runs for the fifth wicket in 19 overs.
Tendulkar’s innings is the joint second-highest individual score in an ODI chase, the highest being Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni’s unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2005.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said, “It was one of the amazing games and certainly one of the best innings ever from Sachin. You just have to keep hanging in there, you just have to tell your bowlers to keep bowling to the plan. Just one bad shot and we could come in but Sachin didn’t play many bad shots today.”

Agni-II may be launched tomorrow

Preparations are under way for the launch of India’s Agni-II ballistic missile from Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on Friday.
“We are aiming for a launch on November 6 [Friday]. It will be a repeat firing to establish the reliability of Agni-II’s systems,” a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official said.
The Agni-II is an intermediate range ballistic missile built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It has two stages, both powered by solid propellants.
It can reach targets 2,500 km away and carry nuclear warheads.
The missile is 20 metre long and weighs 17 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing one tonne.

Australia fights back, levels series

The evening began with a tinge of anticipation. Sachin Tendulkar’s march towards 17,000 One-Day International runs was much awaited.
Sadly as darkness descended, the fans were left frantically hoping that at least India would win at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Monday night.
However, hopes were dashed as India suffered a 24-run defeat against Australia in the fourth ODI of the Hero Honda Cup seven-match series as Ricky Ponting’s men turned it around to draw level at 2-2.
India’s batting ineptitude ruined Ashish Nehra and company’s fine bowling effort that skittled out Australia for 250 in 49.2 overs.

Supreme Serena cruises past Venus to take WTA Championships title

Serena Williams won her second career WTA Championship title on Sunday with a commanding 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over sister Venus, a triumph which earned her a cool $1.55 million.
It was Serena's second season-ending trophy to add to her 2001 success and made her just the second player after Justine Henin in 2007 to win two Grand Slam titles as well as the WTA Championship in the same year.
World number one Serena won all five matches at this event, including a group stage win over Venus and such was her dominance in the final that she gave up just seven points on serve.