India close to victory in Hamilton Test

HAMILTON - India moved closer to victory as they reduced New Zealand to 216 for eight in their second innings on the fourth day of the first cricket Test at Seddon Park here Saturday.

Federer flails Karlovic to advance at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS - Roger Federer avenged his lone career loss against Ivo Karlovic with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over the towering Croatian to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters.

India eves’ World Cup final hope suffers setback

SYDNEY - India’s hope of making to the final of the women’s cricket World Cup suffered a huge setback Tuesday after they lost by five wickets to New Zealand in the Super Six stage here.

Jeev finishes fourth in World Golf Championship

DORAL - India golfer Jeev Milkha Singh finished fourth at the WGC-CA Championship.

Jeev started the final round four strokes behind leaders Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney, but could not carry on his challenge. He scored two-under-par 70 to finish at 14-under 274, five shots behind winner Mickelson at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa here Sunday.

Matt Damon announces 4th Bourne Identity flick

LONDON - Hollywood actor Matt Damon is once again set to thrill the Bourne franchise’s fans with a fourth instalment.

Teenage chess prodigy hopes to turn Grandmaster this year

CHENNAI - After a good outing in three international meets in Sri Lanka, India’s teenage chess prodigy N. Srinath is aiming to become a Grandmaster (GM) by the end of the year.

Curfew continues for fourth day in parts of Ujjain

BHOPAL - An indefinite curfew remained in force for the fourth day in parts of Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh Friday, after communal violence erupted in the area Tuesday, officials said.

Joy in Australia as last stranded whale swims free

SYDNEY - The last survivor of a pod of 192 pilot whales that came ashore on Tasmania’s King Island at the weekend swam back out to sea Wednesday.

Chinese firm to build cars in Mexico

SHANGHAI - China’s Changan Auto will set up a factory in Mexico to produce 50,000 vehicles annually in partnership with Mexican firm Autopark, EFE reported.

With Russia hiking Gorshkov price, India goes for indigenous carrier

NEW DELHI - As Russia continues escalating the price for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov much to the chagrin of the defence establishment here, India is all set for the keel laying of its first indigenous carrier for which Rs.3,260 crore (Rs.32.60 billion/$654 million) has initially been allocated.

‘Apologise for suspecting Pakistani cricketers in Woolmer death’

KARACHI - Pakistan’s Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani Friday asked the Jamaican police to issue an apology to Pakistan for wrongfully treating their cricketers as suspects for the alleged murder of coach Bob Woolmer during the 2007 World Cup.

Marandi demands fresh elections in Jharkhand

RANCHI - The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Democratic (JVM-D) led by former chief minister Babulal Marandi Wednesday held protest demonstrations outside the governor’s house here, demanding fresh elections in the state.

Paes-Dlouhy in Rotterdam final

ROTTERDAM - India’s Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy knocked out fourth seeds Julian Knowle of Austria and Andy Ram of Israel 6-2, 7-6(4) to enter the final of the World Tennis Tournament.

Nadal needs three sets to kick-start cranky game

ROTTERDAM - World No.1 Rafael Nadal made life difficult as he missed early chances before finally overcoming Simone Bolelli 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round of the ABN-AMRO World Tennis tournament.

Seventh straight win for Real Madrid

MADRID - Real Madrid battled to their seventh straight Liga win Saturday, 1-0 at home to willing but harmless Racing Santander.

Spain says ‘open’ to accepting Guantanamo detainees

ROME - Spain has expressed its willingness to consider accepting detainees of the controversial US military camp in Guantanamo, Cuba, on a case-by-case basis within the context of a European Union (EU) consensus on the issue, the EFE news agency reported Friday.

Sania’s Grand Slam a proud moment for Hyderabad

HYDERABAD - It was a proud moment not just for Sania Mirza’s family but for this southern city as the tennis ace Sunday became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title.

Philips stock rises despite dismal Q4 results

AMSTERDAM - Shares of Royal Philips Electronics rose by 8.25 percent Monday, despite its publication of disappointing fourth quarter results.

Dokic earns highest television ratings

MELBOURNE - Jelena Dokic’s stunning performance in the tournament has prompted unprecedented interest around the host country.

Real Madrid alone in second place; Sevilla, Valencia beaten

MADRID - Real Madrid are now alone in second place in the Spanish Primera Liga after beating Deportivo Coruna 1-0 at home.

Areshchenko continues his winning run at Gurgaon chess

GURGAON - Top seed Alexander Areshchenko of Ukraine continued his winning ways and defeated India’s Ashwin Jayaram in the fourth round of the Gurgaon International Open Grand Master Chess Tournament here Saturday.

Nadal advances while Venus stalls in Melbourne

MELBOURNE - Rafael Nadal continued his charge through the Australian Open Thursday while seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams was stunned by a Spanish outsider in the second round.

Federer at odds with bookie pick of Murray

MELBOURNE - Roger Federer will begin his Australian Open tennis tune-up Wednesday at the AAMI Classic, ignoring bookmaker chatter that his Grand Slam title hopes are under siege from newcomer Andy Murray.

India Inc’s business confidence sinks to seven-year low

NEW DELHI - Hit by the global economic meltdown, lack of funds and falling exports, corporate India’s business confidence has sunk to a seven-year low, says the latest survey by an industry lobby.

Amitabh to attend London premiere of ‘Chandni Chowk To China’

NEW DELHI - Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will attend the London premiere of Akshay Kumar’s comic caper ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ (CC2C) Monday.

Third seed Cilic in Chennai Open semis

CHENNAI - Third seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia shrugged off a wayward second set to beat seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 en route to the semi-finals of the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament here Friday.

US stocks end low on earning concerns

NEW YORK - US stocks ended lower Monday as concerns about a decline in corporate profits overshadowed the prospect that President-elect Barack Obama’s tax cut plan will help avert the economic downturn.

Coral reefs on way to recovery after tsunami

WASHINGTON - Coral reefs are on the way to recovery in areas of Indonesia, following the tsunami that devastated coastal regions throughout the Indian Ocean on Dec 26, 2004.

Kings of Leon’s album tops music poll

LONDON - American rock band Kings of Leon’s fourth album ‘Only By The Night’ has been voted the year’s top album by readers of inthenews.co.uk.

LeT draws well-educated Pakistani youngsters: Report

WASHINGTON - The Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is blamed for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is now attracting ‘more young, educated men, some of whom even hold advanced degrees,’ a US daily reported Thursday.