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Kumble calls it a day

Captain Anil Kumble, one of the greatest spinners to have played the game, on Sunday announced his retirement from international cricket. Kumble announced the decision after the drawn third Test against Australia and said it was fitting to have called it a day at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground where he took 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan in 1999. “Delhi has been special for me and I thought it fitting to finish my career here,” he said amid loud applause. The 38-year-old leg spinner is the third in the list of highest wicket-takers after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. The surprise announcement means that Kumble will not be playing the fourth and final Test in Nagpur where India will have a new Test captain with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current vice-captain, being handed the reins. “It was a very tough decision particularly after playing competitive cricket for the last 18 years. But the body gave the decision. This injury probably helped me take the decision,” he said, referring to the injury in his little finger during the course of the third Test.

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War by air and sea

Sri Lanka’s air force on Sunday bombed a LTTE training base in the northern jungles, a day after a fierce sea battle killed 18 insurgents, the military said. The air raid struck the camp near Iranamadu, site of recent battles that are part of the military’s intensified offensive to retake rebel-held territory in northern Sri Lanka. The military had restricted information on casualty numbers over the last two weeks. Two male university students stopped by soldiers in the military-controlled Jaffna peninsula died when troops shot one after he fired a pistol, and the other took a cyanide capsule — the trademark of the rebels, the military said.

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Bangladesh goes to the polls

General elections will be held in Bangladesh December 18, election authorities have said. November 13 is the deadline for nominations. Authorities have also said local government elections would be held on December 28. The Bangladesh Election Commission has said it has recorded the identities, fingerprints and photographs of more than 80 million voters to ensure that the elections will be free and fair. The new register is claimed to be the most accurate in Bangladesh’s history. The government came to power a year and a half ago. President Iajuddin Ahmed cancelled general elections and declared a state of emergency following months of street violence.

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Banda is Zambia’s President

Rupiah Banda, 71, has been sworn in as President of Zambia. The governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) said it recognised this was a moment of high emotion and tension, and urged all Zambians to calm down and work for unity and peace. Security has been stepped up in the capital, Lusaka, amid fears of unrest. Banda took over from President Levy Mwanawasa, who died in August, having suffered a stroke a few months earlier. Banda has promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor.

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Sadhvi under custody

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, arrested in connection with Malegaon blasts, allegedly had a long telephonic conversation with the absconding main accused in the case. She had asked Ramji whether police had seized her motorcycle used in Malegaon blasts and why less people were killed in the blasts, the prosecution said.Ramji had allegedly told Pragya that “I did not find proper parking place for the bike” and that he had done his job.The court has sent the sadhvi, Shivnarayan Singh Kalsangram and Shyam Bhawarlal Sahu to magisterial custody till November 17 in connection with the blast that left six persons dead.

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Bid on ministers

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had a close shave when suspected Maoists triggered a mine blast near a road in West Midnapore district on Sunday, minutes after their convoy had passed by. The two were on their way to Salboni to inaugurate the Jindal steel plant, the largest in the country.Six police personnel in a pilot car at the rear of the convoy were injured. Splinters flew in all directions, injuring a pedestrian. Police are probing whether it was an assassination attempt or a warning to the State administration. The incident has come as an embarrassment to the police, since the Maoists planted an explosive on such a heavily guarded zone.

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First visit to Pakistan

U.S. General David Petraeus is due to meet Pakistan’s army chief on his first visit to the country since becoming head of U.S. Central command. The trip comes amid tensions between Islamabad and Washington over U.S. missile strikes on suspected Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan. Gen. Petraeus took control of U.S. military operations throughout the Middle East and much of Asia. His responsibilities include Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. The general is being accompanied by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher. The General will meet Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and other senior political leaders.

Compiled by Subajayanthi

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