Respond to Sachin:Akhtar

After kicking the hornet's nest with sensational claims in his autobiography 'Controversially Yours', former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar didn't shy away from raising a new controversy when he said that 'it is beyond his dignity to respond to Sachin's snub.'

How To Sell A Cricket Book
In an interview with NewsX, the pacer took on Pakistan Cricket Board and Wasim Akram once again. He also clarified why Tendulkar was scared of him during the Faisalabad Test.
"Tendulkar was suffering from tennis elbow during that time and was having difficulty holding his bat (pulling), so we decided to target his head and get him out. We wanted to scare him off with barrage of bouncers. And I felt - that particular day - Sachin was scared, he was uncomfortable against me," Akhtar said.
Shoaib also maintained his stand that Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were not match-winners - atleast when he was around.
The speedster lashed out at PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, calling him a mad man. The pacer said "Ijaz Butt handled the match-fixing issue very badly, he just can't think straight. He has made Pakistan cricket a joke."
Following criticism of Akhtar's remarks, Butt expressed concern that cricket ties between both boards could be strained. However, BCCI re-assured the PCB tat Akhtar's jibe will not affect the renewal of Pakistan-India cricket ties.
On Wasim Akram, the pace bowler said it was not him but others in the team who did not want to play under him. "Though I respected Akram as a bowler, he was abusive and had bad attitude," Akhtar added.
Akram earlier said that no one but the 'Rawalpindi Express' himself was responsible for the setbacks in his career. "I know, Shoaib knows and the entire world knows that he himself is responsible for destroying his career. Nobody helped him (in destroying his career)."
Union minister and Mumbai Cricket Association president Vilasrao Deshmukh said that Shoaib Akhtar should apologise to Sachin Tendulkar for his controversial claims.
A promotional event of Akhtar's book launch scheduled to be held today in Mumbai was called off because of the adverse reaction to his unflattering remarks against top Indian players in his tell-all autobiography. Bangalore has also said no to his book launch, which was supposed to take place on Tuesday.

Tendulkar's New Home

On the first day of Navratri, Sachin Tendulkar has moved into his new home in Bandra — a five-storeyed bungalow at 19-A, Perry Cross Street.

It has reportedly cost the world's richest cricketer a whopping Rs 39 crore (about $7.9 million at today's prices).
IANS reports:
A battery of media-persons clicked away furiously as Sachin, clad in a simple striped T-shirt and trousers, took his first formal step into the bungalow with a glow of happiness on his face.
"I am really thrilled and happy today, especially for my mother and my family members," gushed Sachin on the occasion.
His family members, mother, wife and children also followed suit and then everybody started admiring the cricket maestro’s ‘dream home’ in every nook and corner.
Sachin spent his early childhood in Sahitya Sahawas Colony, Bandra east, and later honed his batting skills in the famous Shivaji Park grounds when he lived in Dadar.
After scouting around all over Mumbai, he had zeroed in on and purchased the Bandra west property to construct his ‘dream home’ a few years ago at a whopping Rs.39 crore. He got it rebuilt from scratch and finally moved in there Wednesday.
According to eyewitnesses at the ‘griha-pravesh,’ the bungalow includes two levels of basement parking with a capacity of more than four dozen vehicles.
One of the floors will be dedicated only to storing and displaying the hundreds of medals, cups, honours and citations that the batsman has received during his two-decades-plus glorious cricket career.
Local cricket fans had put up a special banner welcoming the distinguished new guest to the quiet neighbourhood and many people waited for a glimpse of their favourite cricket star.
A couple of years ago, Sachin had sought easing of certain norms to enable him construct a private gymnasium in his bungalow, but it was rejected by the authorities.

A chronology

A 6.8 earthquake hit northern and eastern India Sunday. Following are some of the major quakes in the recent past:

Sep 7, 2011 -- 4.2 magnitude quake jolts Delhi and adjoining areas, with its epicenter near Sonepat, Haryana.
Oct 8, 2005 -- 7.6 magnitude quake strikes Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Pakistan, killing over 80,000 people, mostly in Pakistan.
Dec 26, 2004 -- Over two lakh people die when a 9.3 magnitude temblor hits Indonesia's Sumatra island, causing a tsunami that hit India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives.
Jan 26, 2001 -- 7.7 magnitude earthquake kills over 20,000 in Gujarat, mainly in Kutch, Ahmedabad and Bhuj.

Army fans out

A day after a powerful earthquake of 6.8 magnitude ravaged the Sikkim-Nepal border, killing at least 30 in India, the army Monday was busy carrying out rescue and relief operations.

According to sources, about 50 army columns in small teams were deployed across Sikkim, Siliguri, Binaguri and local units around Gangtok for rescue operations on a war footing.
The columns comprised medical teams with first aid, engineer detachments and relief and rescue units.
About 10 army combat engineer columns were rushed with equipment for opening major roadblocks on Siliguri-Gangtok.
Apart from the army, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has also been mobilised for restoring normal traffic on NH-31A which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country.
'Sikkim has been cut off from the rest of the country with the national highway 31-A blocked in at least eight places following heavy mudslides,' said G. Anandan, district magistrate, Sikkim East.
The high-intensity quake was followed by two aftershocks and had its epicentre on the Sikkim-Nepal border. The impact of the temblor was so powerful that several army buildings had developed cracks.
'As many as 25 concrete bridges were damaged between Siliguri and Gangtok on the 120 km long national highway 31-A. The Sikkim secretariat also developed cracks,' Anandan said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has rushed five cargo planes to the northeast with relief material and personnel. Even as army deployed in the region works for the relief and rescue, incessant rains are hampering the operations.
The tremors were also felt in Assam, parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Second Day Of Modi, fast

Renowned classical dancer and social activist Mallika Sarabhai was detained along with some Gujarat riot victims on the second day of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's fast here on Sunday.

She was detained ahead of the planned protest against Modi's fast. Social activist has also been detained.
Sarabhai had earlier in the day alleged on Sunday that her lawyers were bribed by Narendra Modi. She also alleged that many senior officials including the chief secretary of Gujarat were involved in the act.
"Many of you are aware that the police officer Sanjeev Bhatt gave a testimony in May to the Nanavati/Pant commission and in the testimony he said that 'appropo' the PIL that I had filed in the Supreme Court in April 2002 holding the Chief Minister, the bureaucracy and the police complicit in the genocide of 2002 that Sanjeev Bhatt was given instructions by Shri Narendra Modi to use secret fund money to bribe the lawyers who were involved in my case," she said.
Sarabhai further said that Modi had sanctioned Rs 10 lakh to bribe her lawyers who in turn had to reveal their strategy so that the state's lawyers would have an upper hand during the proceeding of the court.
"The day after Mr Sreekumar took over as the chief of Intelligence Bureau and a couple of days after I filed my PIL in the Supreme Court Sanjeev Bhatt and Sreekumar were called to the Chief Minister's office.
As soon as they entered, the chief minister, according to Mr. Sreekumar affidavit, asked him if he knew about Mallika's case and Sreekumar said 'no I don't'. The chief minister said the PIL she has filed is extremely dangerous for the government and I have sanctioned ten lakh rupees that can derail this," said Sarabhai.
"Sanjeev Bhatt knows about it please give him ten lakh rupees from your secret fund to which Sreekumar said that there was no money in the secret fund to which the Chief Minister told him I will see that the Chief secretary arranges this money and Sanjeev has all the information about it," she added.