India lose to SA in Hockey, finish 12th

London, Aug 11
South Africa gave the finishing touches to India's disastrous campaign in the Olympic men's hockey competition with a 3-2 win in the classification match for 11-12 positions here Saturday. India thus ended their worst-ever Olympics in 12th position after failing to win or draw any of their six matches, five of them in the league. Though the Indians showed some purpose against the South Africans, their overall performance in the match was no improvement on their showing in the previous outings. A weak defence yet again allowed the South Africans to score through Andrew Cronje (8th), Timothy Drummond (33rd) and Lloyd Norris-Jones (64th) while Sandeep Singh converted a penalty corner in the 14th and Dharmavir Singh (66th) reduced the margin for India. For India, it was a most forgettable Olympics outing that was preceded by much hype after winning the qualifying tournament at home in Delhi for the Games while South Africa achieved their first-ever win against India in a major international tournament. The first-half proceedings, the three goals notwithstanding, were largely pedestrian with neither side able to establish supremacy or dictate the flow. The game began rather ominously for India whose defender Manpreet Singh was stretchered out after being hit on the side of the head when he ran into the swinging stick of Lloyd Norris-Jones in the very fourth minute. A key member of the midfield, Manpreet, however, returned to the field for the second-half after medication and a huge bandage around his head. South Africa dominated the early minutes and struck in the eighth when Julian Hykes latched on to a long ball into the circle and essayed a push that a diving goalkeeper Sreejesh stopped, but the ball slipped from underneath and a lurking Cronje pushed home. The lead lasted a mere six minutes as India forced their first penalty corner that Sandeep Singh converted with a low and firm drag-flick past goalkeeper Erasmus Pieterse. Thereafter, the ball swung from end to end, but with both teams being error prone, the exchanges never looked to result in any goal and so it proved to be. In the last 10 minutes before the break, the teams showed some urgency and India had a couple of scoring chances, but failed to convert. Rather, the Indians were reduced to 10 men two minutes from half-time with defender Ramachandra Raghunath receiving a yellow card suspension. The South Africans took advantage of the situation and found the net for the second time through Drummond who put home a Jonathan Robinson pass with about 90 seconds left on the clock. On resumption, the pace picked up noticeably with both teams putting together some fast attacks, but goalkeepers Sreejith and Pieterse were in their elements to bring off several good saves to keep the score-line pegged at 2-1. India, besides wasting two gilt-edged chances from open play, failed to convert two penalty corners as Sandeep Singh's attempts were parried by Pieterse. The lapses were punished as South Africa struck a third time, Norris-Jones converting a Wade-Paton pass before India hit back at the other end with Dharmavir flicking in Shivendra Singh's pass.

Shane Warne gushes about 'best' family

Washington, August 11 Shane Warne believes that he has the "best family" in the world. The former cricketer feels very "lucky" to have his three kids, Brooke, Summer and Jackson, fiancee Elizabeth Hurley and her son Damian in his life, Contactmusic reported. He tweeted: "Dragging myself away from watching my son play COD 'n' off to my daughters netball practise So lucky to have the best children on the planet ! "No, no, no !!!! I have the best children on the planet, in the universe and on earth !!!! True guys... Hahahah "My beautiful 3 + @elizabethhurley and son = the best family in the world, planet, universe True, we are all so lucky to have each other (sic)" Elizabeth recently admitted she thinks the future with Shane and their combined families will be "chaotic" because it is so tricky to coordinate everyone's schedules. "My future plans are as chaotic as ever. We are now juggling school dates from Shane's children in Australia alongside Damian's here in the UK, while working all over the globe and trying to have fun too. It's a good challenge to have," she said.

Bomb kills Yemeni officer, al Qaeda suspected

Aden A senior Yemeni military officer was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in the southeastern city of Mukalla in an attack blamed on al Qaeda, a security official said on Friday. The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on senior figures or government institutions in Yemen since a U.S.-backed offensive drove Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda from their strongholds in the southern part of the country in June. Brigadier Omar Barasheed, dean of the Command and General Staff College, died in hospital from injuries incurred in the bombing, the official told Reuters. His bodyguard was killed and a civilian was wounded. The official, who asked not be named, said all signs indicated al-Qaeda was behind the attack, which happened late on Thursday in the capital of Hadramaut province. Earlier this week, security forces foiled a plot by an al Qaeda-linked cell to carry out attacks in the capital Sanaa and seized 40 belts packed with explosives, highlighting risks posed by Islamist militancy in the impoverished Arab state. The Defence Ministry said seven militants had been detained in the southern town of Jaar, where a suicide bomber killed 45 tribal fighters and threatened further attacks. The United States has been pouring financial and military aid into Yemen to stem the threat of attacks from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and prevent any spillover of violence into neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. It has also stepped up a campaign of drone missile strikes against AQAP, which has been behind several failed attacks on the United States, including an attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009. In the latest such strike, residents said a drone on Friday struck a farm owned by a former Islamist militant in Jaar where suspected militants from Ansar al-Sharia group (Partisans of Islamic Law) have been present, but there were no reports of any casualties. Also on Friday, suspected Islamist militants attacked a Yemeni army patrol on duty between Hadramaut and the nearby Ma'arib province killing two soldiers, a local official said. The official said two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Ramdev asks PM to act on black money

New Delhi, Aug 10
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev Friday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to act on getting back black money stashed abroad and demonstrate his "political honesty and will" as he addressed thousands of supporters at the Ramlila Maidan here on day two of his fast. "Why is the prime minister not acting on the issue of black money? The government should reveal the names of those who have black money stashed abroad... Stop making excuses," Ramdev asserted, to cheering by his supporters. "The prime minister should demonstrate political honesty and will on black money," he added. Ramdev said the government should at least inform the people by when it would get the black money back. "If black money is brought back to the country, the issue of price rise will be solved and high taxes will reduce... The Naxal and Maoist problem will also be solved," he said, adding that every Indian pays around 30 different types of taxes. "We will wait till Saturday and then announce our future course of action," Ramdev said, reiterating his statement Thursday that he would give the government three days to act and then decide on the next course of action. Ramdev had earlier said that if the Olympics gave a medal for corruption, India could have won a gold. The crowds swelled as the day progressed on day two of the agitation. Ramdev went to sleep around 10 p.m. Thursday on the stage itself and woke up at 4 a.m. After freshening up in a makeshift washroom behind the dais, he meditated for an hour, a close aide said. The aide told IANS "no special arrangements" have been made for the yoga guru. Ramdev began the day Friday with a yoga camp for his supporters, before addressing them. He has demanded that the government get back black money stashed abroad, as well as sought a stringent Lokpal bill, an independent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a citizen's charter. These are also the demands of the now disbanded Team Anna. "If the CBI is made independent, politics will become clean, because CBI is being used to blackmail opposition leaders," Ramdev said, echoing Team Anna leaders. His three-day symbolic fast started Thursday.