More Battered Cricketers

Sri Lankan cricketer Tharanga Paranavitana is carried on a stretcher as he is being taken inside a local hospital in Lahore after a dozen gunmen attacked their bus near the Gadaffi stadium on Tuesday.

Paranavitana, who opened the batting for Sri Lanka in the second Test, had a shrapnel wound to his chest and was out of danger.

Battered Cricketers!

The most seriously injured player was Thilan Samaraweera, who was shot in the leg. Doctors will decide on Wednesday whether to try to remove the bullet.

Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis, who was injured during the attack by gunmen in Lahore on Tuesday, arrives at the Colombo airport early on Wednesday morning.

Cricket tour called off!

The Lahore second Test between Sri Lanka and hosts Pakistan has been called off after a gun attack on the touring team bus injuring players, a Sri Lankan cricket board official said.

"We are trying to bring the team back as quickly as possible. The Test match has been cancelled," the official said on Tuesday.

Six members of Sri Lanka's cricket team were wounded in a shooting attack in Pakistan on Tuesday, and two including an assistant coach were still being treated in hospital, Sri Lanka's sports minister said.

"Six members were injured including assistant coach Paul Farbrace. Four have been treated at hospital, and Thilan Samaraweera and the assistant coach are still being treated," Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said.

Their injuries are not serious and the other players are safe at their hotel, he added.

Cricket Team attacked

Gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus on Tuesday as it drove to the Gadaffi stadium in Lahore. Four players received minor injuries in the attack -- Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis , Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana.

Pakistan television channels said four people were killed. Two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden. The two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

Pakistan had invited the Sri Lanka team to tour after India's team pulled out with security concerns following the militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November.

The incident took place when the Sri Lankan team was attacked by around 10 armed gunmen near the Liberty Chowk which is close to the stadium.

One explosion was also heard at the stadium.

The attackers later escaped in separate groups.

The liaison officer of the Pakistan team said players of the host nation have been sent back to the hotel.

"The Sri Lankan players are presently safe at the Gaddafi stadium and they are getting treatment," one PCB official told PTI.

Sources also claimed that the police had received a threat on Monday that the Sri Lankan team would be attacked so a different route was used to transport the team to the stadium.

"The firing took place from at least four sides and continued for some minutes," one police official said.

"There were 12 masked gunmen," Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman told reporters, adding that police battled against the assailants for about 25 minutes.

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws. They were armed with rockets, hand grenades, Kalashnikovs," he said.

Television channels aired footage of at least two of the gunmen, one of them wearing shalwar kameez and other jeans and a jacket. Both were armed with assault rifles and carrying backpacks.

Police cordoned off the area immediately after the attack and launched a search for the gunmen. The driver of the cricket team's bus drove away from the spot immediately after the firing started.

"We are assessing the situation," Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ejaz Butt said.

"Five policemen who were providing protection to the team sacrificed their lives," he added.

Beautiful scenes

Look Alikes or Twins.

According to the Indian folk lore there are seven people in the world who look exactly like you. I have always been wondering whether this can be true. Many authors have written stories about these look alike, remarkable amongst them being 'Comedy of Errors'.

Is this theory really true? Have any of you really met the person who is your exact look alike but not your twin?

All this is very intriguing & I would really like to hear the stories about these people. Can any body help me solve this mystery because I, have not met a single person in real life who has the remotest resemblance to me.

Osama Hiding in Pakistan???

Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist in the world, is likely to be hiding in a walled compound in a Pakistani border town, according to a satellite-aided geographic analysis released Tuesday.

A research team led by geographer Thomas Gillespie of the University of California-Los Angeles used geographic analytical tools that have been successful in locating urban criminals and endangered species.

Basing their conclusion on nighttime satellite images and other techniques, the scientists suggest Osama may well be in one of three compounds in Parachinar, a town 15 km from the Afghan border, the USA Today reported.

Parachinar is the capital of Khurram Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, of Pakistan. It is about 290 km west of Islamabad and is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory south of Peshawar close to Afghanistan. Parachinar is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul and borders on the Tora Bora region in Afghanistan.

The research incorporates public reports of Osama's habits and whereabouts since his flight from the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in 2001.

Osama's, the main accused behind 9/11 attacks in US, whereabouts are considered "one of the most important political questions of our time", the study, reported in the MIT International Review, notes.

The study's real value, Gillespie says, is in combining satellite records of geographic locations, patterns of nighttime electricity use and population-detection methods to produce a technique for locating fugitives.

The study also makes assumptions that Osama might need:

- Medical treatment, requiring electricity in an urban setting

- Security combining a few bodyguards and isolation that requires a walled compound

- Tree cover to shield outdoor activities from aircraft.

Mental Block

Hey guys!

Every blog writer , or for that matter any writer(however good he may be), suffers from a mental block sometime or the other.I am sure all of you have suffered from the same.

Today morning I was thinking of writing something & suddenly went blank. Blank as in BLANK. I just could not think of anything to write & then I thought of an idea. It is said that internet has answers to every problems. I just googled mental block & came across a site named skribit.

This site claims that they can give suggestions about ideas to post on your blog. Great is'nt it? I went ahead n registered with them & placed their widget on my blog. Let me see how much help I get.

Al QAEDA WARNS INDIA.

A top Al Qaeda commander, who was reported to have been killed in a US drone strike last year, has appeared in a video warning India of more Mumbai-style terror attacks if it tried to attack Pakistan.

'India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan,' Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, believed to be Al Qaeda's military commander in Afghanistan and ranked behind No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, said in a 20-minute video in Arabic received by the BBC.

Yazid, who the Pakistani military said may have been killed in fighting last August in the Bajaur tribal region, said: 'The Mujahideen will sunder your armies into the ground, like they did to the Russians in Afghanistan. They will target your economic centres and raze them to the ground.'

Yazid denounced the ban on terrorist groups in Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks and asked the people of Pakistan to rise up and overthrow the government and President Asif Ali Zardari , the BBC reported.

The Al Qaeda leader is said to have been involved in a number of terror attacks, including last year's Danish Embassy bombings, in Pakistan and had claimed the responsibility of assassinating former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Grammy For Zakir Hussain.

While Slumdog Millionaire picked up seven BAFTA awards in a ceremony in London , the Indian presence was also felt at the Grammy awards with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain winning in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album Global Drum Project.

Hussain worked with Mickey Hart of the rock band Grateful Dead, Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju and Puerto Rican jazz percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo for the album.

"Global Drum Project is the second collaboration between Hart and Hussain after their compilation Planet Drum, which was released in 1991 and went on to win the first ever Grammy Award in the World Music category.

But the other Indian Grammy hopefuls, slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya and classical vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, who were nominated in the Best Traditional World Music category, were disappointed as they lost out to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African acappella singing group.

The ceremony this year was high on drama as a tearful Jennifer Hudson remembered her slain family while accepting her first Grammy. It has been a major comeback for the singer whose mother, brother and nephew were murdered last October.

Blame game

The people of India are really disgusted with every passing day after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Its like both the Indian Government & Pakistan government are working hand in hand to just pass the time till people start forgetting about the tragedy & the public demand for action slows down. With every passing day either of the governments find some point or the other & pass on the blame to each other.
Till when will this game continue?

Do they really want to find a solution out of this?

From the look of it the people dont think so. What the general public thinks is that the Indian Government should act tough & give an ultimatum to the Pak Government. Say 24 hours. They have to act before 24 hours or face the consequences. What do you say? Something like this is necessary.

Everyday the foreign ministers of both countries keep giving statements about what is going on & what should be done to curb terrorism. Will this really help? Will any solution be achieved from this?

If the Indians think the root of terrorism is Pakistan, they should go the American way & attack Pakistan & if they dont have enough proof regarding that they should just shut their mouths & wait patiently for the next attack which has been happening continuously for the last many years.

Similarly if the Pakistan has proof that their land is not used for terrorist activities they should hand it over to India & finish the debate once & for all. All this blame game is not going to help.

Smiling is infectious

Assault aginst Hamas

http://www.caledonian-comment.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/gaza.jpg
Israeli forces closed in on Gaza City (pictured above) yesterday, pressing home the ground assault against Hamas in the face of desperate diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire.
As the death toll rose towards 550, Hamas leaders remained defiant, promising to “fight on in the name of God”. Hamas “must lay the foundation for a tomorrow without Zionists”.

Messy Aftermath in Mumbai

Messy Aftermath in Mumbai
The Taj Hotel caught fire Early Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008, after the terror attack in Mumbai, India. Dozens of people were killed and more than 200 wounded in coordinated attacks on hotels, a train station and other locations frequented by tourists.

The dancing, spider-like futuristic cruiser!

Call it the wave of the future -- a dancing spider-like cruiser that can take up to 12 people on a 5,000-mile journey.

Sounds like something out of a James Bond flick? Yes, you heard it right. Scientists have built the Proteus, a cruiser known as Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel or WAM-V, which blasts along on two giant inflatable tubes that let it 'dance' with waves.

According to them, the spider-like craft, powered by twin diesel engines, can be crewed by just two people as it tackles voyages of up to 5,000 miles.

Introduce Yourself & Your Blogs Here.

Hey Guys!

I want you to introduce yourself & Your Blog here so that like minded people can read your blog, get to know you & react with you. So what are you waiting for? Get set and go.

ULTIMATOM FOR PAKISTAN!!!

The people of India are really disgusted with every passing day after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Its like both the Indian Government & Pakistan government are working hand in hand to just pass the time till people start forgetting about the tragedy & the public demand for action slows down. With every passing day either of the governments find some point or the other & pass on the blame to each other.
Till when will this game continue?
Do they really want to find a solution out of this?
From the look of it the people dont think so. What the general public thinks is that the Indian Government should act tough & give an ultimatom to the Pak Government. Say 24 hours. They have to act before 24 hours or face the consequences. What do you say? Something like this is necessary.

TERRORISTS OR GUNMEN??????????

The British Broadcasting Corporation, a state-sponsored but independently run, media organization has attracted sharp criticism for having "double-standards" in its coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks. Most times the BBC reporters referred to the terrorists who attacked Mumbai as "gunmen" or "militants".
When Britain finds a group of men plotting in a home laboratory your government has no hesitation in creating an international storm, and the BBC has no hesitation in calling them terrorists. When nearly two hundred Indian lives are lost, you cannot find a word in your dictionary more persuasive than 'gunmen'.
In India most critics have pointed out that how BBC termed the July 7, 2005 attackers in London as "terrorists" without hesitation. While in case of Mumbai they used "gunmen" and at odd places "suspected terrorist."
It is a shame that the BBC cannot see the difference between a criminal and a terrorist, and chooses in fact to protect the terrorist by giving him the camouflage of a criminal. This is not a matter of semantics. Terrorists are always happy to fudge the definition.

Mumbai Terror Probe

Less than a month after the unprecedented terror strikes in Mumbai , the Federal Bureau of Investigation has completed its probe in India and found evidence of a Pakistan security establishment being involved in the carnage.

An FBI team is likely to go there to prepare a chargesheet against the guilty.

As the FBI winds up the probe that commenced on December one, top US Intelligence official John Michael McConnell, who heads the Director of National Intelligence, air dashed to New Delhi and held series of meetings with the FBI team probing the case.

The FBI is understood to have found evidence about the role of a Pakistani security establishment other than the ISI being involved in the November 26 terror strikes in Mumbai that left over 180 people dead including six American nationals, official sources said.

McConnell has passed on the findings of FBI team to the officials in the government and the US probe agency would now be giving final touches to chargesheet in which it would be naming the accused persons.

BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile

A BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a strike-range of 290 km was on Thursday successfully test-fired in a vertical launch configuration for the first time by the Indian Navy.

With this launch, BrahMos has become the world's first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both vertical and inclined positions from naval platforms.

"BrahMos missile was successfully test fired in vertical-launch configuration from an Indian Navy ship in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday," Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi .

The test, the sources said, was carried out at noon from a moving Rajdoot class warship. The vertical launcher used in the test has been designed and developed by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Corporation.

"The test has proved and demonstrated the new universal vertical launcher designed and developed by the Corporation," they said, adding, "The mission objectives of the test were fully achieved."

The launch, carried out in presence of senior Navy officers and DRDO scientists, will give a boost to the future deployment of BrahMos in the naval platforms, they said.

"This will give a boost to ongoing programme of future ship installation for the missile. It will be installed in vertical launch configuration in all the future ships of the Indian Navy. This will include the both ships under construction and the ones who come back to shipyards for refurbishment," the sources added.

Indian Navy's second line of Talwar Class ships, under construction in Russia's Kaliningrad Shipyard, will also be equipped with new universal vertically launcher modules.

"Indian Navy's second line of Talwar Class ships, known as the 1135.6 Class in Russia, will also have these vertical launchers," the sources said.

BrahMos has already been inducted in INS Rajput ship in inclined configuration and its land launched version is also in service with the Indian Army .

The IAF is carrying out structural modifications on the Su-30MKI aircraft to develop an air launched version of the missile.

Attempts of integrating the missile in submarines are also on at Russian shipyards.

During the recent visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India, both sides agreed on developing a hypersonic version of the missile to be known as BrahMos-2.