Obama claims Democratic victory

Barack Obama has declared himself "the Democratic nominee for president of the United States".

He was speaking to a cheering crowd on the last day of the primary season, as projections showed he had earned enough delegates to clinch the nomination.
Of the states that voted, Montana was won by Mr Obama and South Dakota by his rival Hillary Clinton, US media say.
If confirmed as nominee, Mr Obama would be the first black man to represent a major party in a presidential election.
In her own speech to supporters, Mrs Clinton refused to concede and said she would make a final decision later.
BBC North America editor Justin Webb says a fabulously well-planned and executed campaign helped give him the edge over his rival.
Role for Clinton?
Mr Obama's speech was delivered in St Paul, Minnesota, where Republicans are set to hold their presidential nominating convention. more......

Breaking News - 4 June

Sports News:

China plans green Olympics

Beijing is set to host the Olympics this August but with concerns over climate change and reducing energy needs being such an important issue, China is trying to make sure this Olympics is as green as possible.
Despite concerted efforts to green the bigger cities and introduce fuel-efficient vehicles, the air quality a matter of concern for Chinese authorities ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
And they have devised a gameplan to reduce pollution and make the Olympics in August carbon neutral. New hybrid electric buses are being progressively introduced to ease traffic congestion and control emissions.
Fresh saplings have sprung up at various spots across the city, especially around the main Olympic venues.
Over 500 new energy vehicles will be used, in the Central Olympic Areas making them 0 (zero) emission for the first time in the history of the Games.
The idea is to use solar, wind and geothermal energy to power most of the venues and use recycled water and rainwater harvesting to augment water needs.
While the carbon footprint of this mega event, with athletes and spectators flying in from all over the world is expected to be 1 to 1.18 million tons, China aims to reduce emissions by between 1 million and 1.29 million tons.

Asif not charge-sheeted: Pakistan Cricket Board

DUBAI: Authorities here have detained Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif on suspicion of possessing an illegal substance.
Mr. Asif was detained at the airport at around 8 a.m. local time on Sunday while on his way to Lahore from Mumbai. He was returning home after the IPL Twenty20 league.
At a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, Shafqat Naghmi, the Chief Operating Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said: “Asif has not been charge-sheeted as yet for possessing any drugs or banned substances. The substance found on him has been sent for laboratory tests after which the situation will become clearer.”
The suspected contraband was reportedly recovered from Mr. Asif’s wallet.
The PCB official expressed optimism about the possibility of Mr. Asif’s early return home.
“We are hopeful he will return home and if that happens, that itself would be an indication that he is innocent. So there would be no question of taking any disciplinary action against him,” he said.
Analysts say that the episode is no longer a legal issue and has now acquired a political dimension. The Pakistani embassy has been been holding talks with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both countries have close bilateral ties. A leading law firm has been engaged to defend him.
Pakistani cricket officials are also dismissing as speculation, a report by a local television channel that Mr. Asif was detained following a brawl at the airport. “I really don’t know because neither Asif nor the local authorities have mentioned this to me,” Geo television quoted Nadeem Akram, PCB’s Human Resource Director, who has arrived here, as saying.
Customs officials say that after his detention, he was handed over to the drugs unit of the Dubai police. Samples of his blood and urine have been taken for analysis.
Mr. Asif was banned for one year after he tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in October 2006.
He is part of a 16-member squad picked on Monday for a one-day tri-series tournament in Bangladesh.

Nadal to meet Djokovic in French Open semis

RAFAEL Nadal could have played with the birthday cake organisers gave him perched on his head and made the semis of the French Open. Often it is wretched women's quarter-finals at grand-slam tournaments that cause one to raise the thorny issue of equal prize-money and whether it is a travesty, but when Nicolas Almagro collected his cheque for €125,000 ($203,000)

The A Team: Bachchans, RGV speak on life, films

The first family of Bollywood who are believed to be well over Rs 4,000 crores — Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan — along with filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, in conversation with CNN-IBN's Bhupendra Chaubey about their forthcoming film Sarkar Raj.
Bhupendra Chaubey: Starting with Amit ji is Sarkar Raj in any way different from Sarkar?
Amitabh Bachchan: The story is about the same family in Sarkar, the story looks into the circumstances of the family. And explores another day in the lives of the Nagre family.
Bhupendra Chaubey: So in that sense, Abhishek, would it be correct to say that Sarkar Raj is a sequel exploring just another day in the lives of the Nagre family?
Abhishek Bachchan: Sarkar Raj is a sequel because it's an extension of a story based on a particular family. The sequel of Sarkar Raj does not pick up immediately where Sarkar left. The story starts from three to four years later from where Sarkar ended.
Bhupendra Chaubey: So would you say there is no correlation between the two movies as such? more.....

Other News

Obama chosen Democratic presidential candidate

Washington: Barack Obama sealed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, a historic step toward his once-improbable goal of becoming the first black US president. A defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton maneuvered for the vice presidential spot on his ticket.
Obama's victory sets up a five-month campaign against Republican John McCain, a race between a 46-year-old opponent of the Iraq War and a 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current US military mission.
They will vie to succeed President George W Bush, whose popularity has plummeted as the economy weakens, gasoline and food prices soar and the war continues in its sixth year.
Obama, a first-term Illinois senator who was virtually unknown across America four years ago, defeated Clinton, the former first lady and one-time campaign front-runner, in a 17-month marathon for the Democratic nomination.
''Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States,'' he said, in remarks prepared for delivery at a rally in St Paul, Minnesota.
His victory had been widely assumed for weeks. But Clinton's declaration of interest in becoming his running mate was unexpected.

Mumbai: Trainee pilots held on molestation charge

Mumbai: The Mumbai police arrested a group of trainee pilots for molesting three girls on Tuesday night at the Poptate restaurant in suburban Saki Naka.

According to eyewitnesses, the youth insisted the girls - who were seated a few tables away - joined them. When the girls refused, the men allegedly started abusing them.
"They were all aged between 20 and 22. And, seated on different tables, they suddenly started abusing each other. I tried to calm them down and then called the police," says senior manager, Poptate, Santosh Shetty.
According to police, all this was allegedly done at the behest of their instructor, Vilas Naik, a 61-year-old ex-captain with a reputed airline.
Police have arrested Naik and the youth - Kedar Maniar, Jay Mehta and Snehal Bhat - on charges of molestation, physical abuse and threat to life, a non- bailable charge.
The accused have been taken for medical tests to ascertain if they were under the influence of alcohol when the incident occurred.
They will be produced at the Andheri Metropolitan Court later on Wednesday.

Todays top world news3-june

Man held over schoolgirl stabbing

Police are continuing to question a man over the stabbing of a 15-year-old girl whose body was found in a lift at a block of flats in south-east London.

The girl is believed to have been returning home from school when she was attacked at Matheson Lang House, in Lambeth, at 1545 BST on Monday.
A mother and her eight-year-old daughter found the girl, who had suffered multiple stab wounds.
A man in his 30s was arrested nearby and is being questioned by detectives.
Paramedics arrived at the scene in Baylis Road within four minutes but were unable to revive the teenager, a London Ambulance Service spokesman said.
The girl, who died at the scene, is the 16th teenager to have died violently in London since January.
Police are keeping an open mind about the motive for the killing, but they do not believe it to be gang-related.
A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out.

'I'm scared'
Sharon Moore, who lives in the block of flats, said residents had been given security fobs on Friday as part of measures to tighten security.
"I feel very insecure and afraid for my children and for the other children in the block," she said.
Hermance Deh, who lives opposite the block of flats, said she refused to let her children out after school because of fears over their safety.
"I'm scared for my children," she said. "I'm shocked because it's a young girl.
"My children don't go out after school, they don't hang around here."

Gujjar women block rail routes -

Protesting Gujjar women have blocked the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra rail routes, leaving almost 40,000 passengers stranded.

More than 20 trains on that route have been cancelled and this stand-off could continue for the next 24 hours.

The Rajasthan government is refraining from taking any action against the protesters, as there are signs of the stand-off with Gujjars winding down.

Railway tracks at Bandikuian near Dausa are occupied and all trains from Ahmedabad to Delhi been cancelled. This rail route via Jaipur is the main link between North India, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

''We have a huge force squatting on the tracks and they have put their women in front, nobody wants to use force against them as this may complicate and aggravate the situation. Twenty trains are not running, even major trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi and losses of Rs 1 crore in Jaipur itself,'' said Jayant Singh, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jaipur. more...

6 Asian workers feared killed in UAE mishap

Six Asian construction workers are feared killed in an accident at a hotel building site in the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early Monday.

It has not been officially confirmed whether any of the workers was Indian.
According to local reports, an excess amount of concrete was poured on the ground floor of the under-construction Laguna Beach Hotel around 3 a.m. Monday, resulting in the collapse of the floor on to the basement.

All six workers got trapped in the rubble.
The reports said rescue personnel from Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman Civil Defence were continuing their efforts to extricate the bodies even as the spilled concrete was rapidly hardening.
The Khaleej Times reported that all officials of Sidco Construction Company, which employed the workers, have been detained for interrogation.
Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, member of the UAE Supreme Council and ruler of Ajman, expressed his grief over the incident.
He gave instructions to officials to speed up the rescue operation, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) said.
A large number of the 1.5 million Indians in the UAE work as contract labour in the booming construction industry.

Summit targets global food crisis

A key UN-sponsored summit is set to open in Rome aimed at addressing the problem of soaring global food prices.

Food costs are the highest in 30 years, causing riots in dozens of countries.

UN officials said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would call for the immediate suspension or elimination of price controls or other trade restrictions.

But many observers have so far focused on Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, whose presence at the summit has been called "obscene" by the UK and Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Zimbabwean president was "the person who has presided over the starvation of his people". more...

breaking news - Blast near Danish Embassy in Pak kills 8

A huge blast took place in the parking lot of Danish Embassy in Islamabad killing at least eight people and injuring 18, including policemen.

As per latest reports, one person has been arrested with regard to the blast.

Police have cordoned off the area around the site of the blast. Over two dozen cars in the embassy parking lot were badly damaged in the explosion.

The blast has also caused damage to the Danish Embassy. An NGO building close to the embassy also faced damage in the blast.

As per reports, the explosives were put in a car parked in the embassy parking. The reports also suggest that the blast could be a reaction to Prophet Mohammad's cartoons by a Dutch artist.

Some damage has also been caused to the Indian High Commissioner's residence in Islamabad, however, no injury has been reported.

2 june - Latest News

Clinton Wins Puerto Rico but Obama Gains Delegates

Hillary Rodham Clinton won a lopsided, but largely symbolic victory Sunday in Puerto Rico's presidential primary, the final act in a weekend of tumult that pushed Barack Obama tantalizingly close to the Democratic presidential nomination.

The former first lady was winning roughly two-thirds of the votes as she continued a strong run through the late primaries.

Before cheering supporters, she predicted she would have more combined votes than her rival when the primaries end Tuesday night, claimed victories in key swing states and said that no contender will command enough delegates to claim the nomination.

"In the final assessment I ask you to consider these questions. Which candidate best represents the will of the people who voted in this historic election?" she said in an appeal to some 200 uncommitted superdelegates who hold the balance of power in the fight for the nomination.

and more..
Clinton popular across board in Puerto Rico win
CNN analysts: What's next for Clinton?
Dems' delegate dilemma over; debate continues
Ticker: Clinton shows signs of pressing on
Lander reaches out, touches Mars

Virgin Radio Sold To Times of India Publisher For $106 Million

Indian media company Bennett, Coleman & Co, owner of Times of India newspaper, has made its biggest international buy: it has bought out UK's Virgin Radia about $106 million. SMG, the Scottish broadcaster, owner of Virgin Radio (it bought the company in 2000), sold the national AM licence and FM London licence to TIML Golden Square, a subsidiary of Bennett Coleman, and Absolute Radio, an Irisg radio investor and consultancy, reports FT. is B&C's first international acquisition and its first step towards an ambitious vision of creating a new music entertainment brand for the UK, the story says. This deal may also be one of the largest ever done by an Indian media company outside of India.

But, the brand name will not be part of the sale, as Richard Branson-owned Virgin Group objected to it. Bennett Coleman competes with the Hindustan Times group, with which Virgin Group has a joint venture in India. So, TIML and Absolute will invest about $30 million in rebranding the station, and will use as the multi-format and multiplatform service, with an online music subscription service, online video and mobile apps. History of Virgin Radio is here.

The buyers can use the Virgin brand name for 90 days, but will have to give it up after that. It will cost them an extra $16 million if they decide to licence that brand name within the next two years. Bennett Coleman's media assets include The Times of India, the world's largest-circulation English language daily newspaper, and channels Times Now and Zoom. It also runs a radio business under the Radio Mirchi brand.

Robert adds: Virgin Radio is commonly held to be the first radio station in Europe to broadcast on the internet, a feat it pulled off in 1996, and operates a strong multiplatform approach. It was prowess shaped under digital media director James Cridland. But, as SMG's fortunes spiralled, Cridland left for the BBC last year

Cricket News

Rajasthan Royals win inaugural IPL title
Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) title, defeating Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in a last-ball finish in the final at the D.Y. Patil Sports Academy here Sunday night.
Riding on a brilliant 56 off 39 balls by Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals achieved the target of 164 off the last ball.

Rajasthan Royals IPL winners in IPL Cricket Final - defeats Chennai Super Kings in a nail biting finish.
So finally the climax is over - Rajasthan proved that they are the team of DLF IPL T20. They played well throughout the series and did maintain their form till the last ball of the tournament. With the semifinals being one sided matches, the final was a terrific finish with match evenly poised till the last ball.

It was Yousuf Pathan (IPL Finals Man of the Match) who did it for Rajasthan Royals in the final - both with the bat and with the ball. His partnership with to be man of the series Shane Watson was the most critical part of the Rajasthan Royals innings. Shane Warne did played his bit in scoring a crucial boundary and taking good singles in the last over.

This is first time that luck didn't go in Dhoni's way - generally he has the reputation of winning close matches. But the way IPL Cricket made its impact in its first season - the close final was the best way to wrap up things.

MacGill announces Test retirement

Australia leg-spinner Stuart MacGill is to retire from Test cricket at the end of the current match against West Indies in Antigua.

The 37-year-old's decision was announced during a rain hold-up at the start of the third day's play.

It leaves uncapped Beau Casson as the only specialist spinner in the squad for the third Test in Barbados.

And it could lead to calls for Shane Warne to make himself available for the 2009 Ashes series in England.

Warne is the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 708 victims, but he quit the international scene in January last year.

He recently hinted that he could be willing to come out of retirement to face England again by saying: "If they really needed me and there was no-one else around, you'd weigh up the options."

But only hours before MacGill's retirement was made public, Warne insisted he was "very happy with retirement". Read more..

IPL is not dumbing down of cricket, insists Tendulkar

New Delhi: Purists may dismiss the Indian Premier League (IPL) as dumbing down of cricket but Sachin Tendulkar feels instead of being criticised, the glamorous twenty20 series should be lauded for globalising the game.

"I don't personally feel that, you know, (IPL is) dumbing down the game. It's just another version of cricket," Tendulkar said.

"Test cricket is there and then they started one-day cricket many years ago and one-day cricket has been a tremendous success and if the game is gonna get globalised in the form of IPL, then why not? It's better for cricket," he added in defence of the league that has been criticised for being too glamorous and money-centric.

The veteran right-hander said despite playing the game for the past 19 years, he still gets child-like excited every time he steps out to bat in an international game, especially at his home ground -- The Wankhede.

"It's a special place. That is what I've dreamt of as a kid and then I'm living that dream and that's just fabulous. Every time I walk out, you hear the crowd going crazy, I mean it's just a special feeling.

IPL: final showdown between Rajasthan and Chennai

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League will reach its climax today (Sunday), when the Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, take on the Chennai Super Kings, skippered by Mahindra Singh Dhoni, in what promises to be an action-packed final in Mumbai.
The final showdown was set up after Chennai defeated Punjab in a one-sided semi-final on Saturday. On Friday, the Royals had defeated the Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final to reach the finals.
The final promises to be the highpoint of a grueling and glamorous tournament, which many analysts believe, has changed the face of cricket forever.

Skydivers survive Spanish crash

Nine skydivers leapt to safety from a stricken aircraft above central Spain before it plummeted to earth with the loss of two lives, Spanish media say.
The pilot and another skydiver were killed when the plane, which had taken off from Lillo in the province of Toledo, came down after losing a wing.
Four of the parachutists were injured, two of them seriously.
It was not immediately known why the wing came off. The skydivers were said to include several non-Spaniards.
The plane crashed shortly before 1600 (1400 GMT) on Friday, about 3km ( two miles) outside Lillo airfield, the Spanish news agency Efe reports.
The injured skydivers, all four of them Spanish, were taken to La Mancha Centro hospital in Alcazar de San Juan, it says.
One man, 23, suffered a back injury and another, 52, is being treated for a neck injury.
and more....

US Democrats start key poll talks

The US Democratic Party is meeting to decide the fate of two states left out of the dramatic race to find its candidate for president.

Both Florida and Michigan were stripped of representation for holding their candidate contests in January, in violation of party rules.

Hillary Clinton hopes the party will reverse its decision in the two states, where she has enjoyed strong support.

She is lagging behind Barack Obama in the closing days of the race.

The 30 members of the Democratic party's rules and bylaws committee are meeting in the ballroom of a Washington hotel.

Outside, about 200 protesters holding placards gathered chanting "Count our vote".

The Democratic party chairman, Howard Dean, opened the meeting, saying the compromises under discussion would probably not satisfy everyone.

"I want this to be a healing process that unifies us, that brings us together, that allows us to reason together, that results in collegial bargaining, not confrontation; so that when we leave this room, we're all wearing the same blue jerseys, so that we can go after the Republicans in their red jerseys in November," he said.

Whatever the outcome of the committee's meeting, Barack Obama is still almost certain to cross the finishing-line in first place, says the BBC's James Coomarasamy.
more information...