

India

is a country on the go; at any given moment in time, there is much happening in the fields of politics and governance, of finance, of development; there is constant churning in society, considerable activity in sports and in the arts... It's almost too much to keep track of. And hence, this effort: a real-time, constantly updated look at the events that matter.



9.30 pm:



CBI has asked sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi to appear before it on Monday to clarify some new issues which surfaced during the visit of the agency's officials to London in connection with Queen's Baton Relay scam. More



9.00 pm:

The Obama administration unveiled a new warning system to alert Americans about specific terrorism threats, formally pushing the much-ridiculed color-coded warnings into the trash bin. More on this story



8.45 pm:



The Bombay High Court adjourned the hearing on an appeal filed by alleged money launderer and tax evader Hasan Ali Khan till April 29. More



8.15 pm:

Congress president Sonia Gandhi reiterated her support to Gandhian Anna Hazare's demand for a strong Lokpal Bill and said she doesn't 'support nor encourage the politics of smear campaign' against civil rights activists. More



7.40 pm: A new special CBI court heard afresh the closing arguments by prosecution and defence lawyers in a sensational Nithari killing case. More

7.30 pm: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court issued a notice to the Centre on a writ petition filed by advocate Asok Pande and social activist Nutan Thakur challenging the resolution issued by the government to constitute a Joint Committee on the Lokpal Bill. More

7:15 pm: For the third consecutive time in less than a week, former head of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi failed to appear before the CBI for questioning over alleged irregularities. Read more



7:00 pm: The Supreme Court held that diktats by 'khap panchayats' (caste councils) -- aimed at coercing or committing atrocities on young boys and girls who wish to marry inter-caste/religion -- were wholly illegal and should be ruthlessly stamped out. More

6:55 pm: After Anna Hazare's satyagraha, now its Baba Ramdev's turn to take on corruption in India. "The satyagraha will start from June four," he said. More on this story



6:45 pm:

More cricket: Here is the team picked by Sri Lanka for the upcoming tour of England (remember, the tour for which it has summoned its players back, despite the BCCI's 'request'?): Dilshan, Paranavitana, Thirimanne, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Thisara Perera, Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.



Quick -- what is the most glaring omission in that list? The first ten people to say 'Lasith Malinga' get autographed photos of the Lankan Slinga (The photographs will be Malinga's, the autographs will be ours). No, but seriously -- Mumbai Indians, currently ambling on against neighbors Pune, will likely pop the champagne after the game. Malinga has made the difference to the side's bowling strength, repeatedly striking to put the opposition under pressure. Losing him would have been a big blow; getting to retain him, since he is not wanted by Sri Lanka just now, is equally cause for champagne-cork-popping.



6:30 pm:

Earlier in the day -- at 3.40 pm, to be exact -- we had posted about Chris Gayle being available for Vijay Mallya's RCB, after the West Indies board gave the no-objection certificate. Turns out now that the WICB had no choice in the matter. Cricinfo reports



"Chris Gayle's choice of the IPL over country has angered the West Indies Cricket Board, which said it granted Gayle a no-objection certificate only after he had made himself unavailable for national selection and flown to India. The IPL clashes directly with Pakistan's Test and ODI tour of the West Indies. Gayle will take no part in either series, having joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Dirk Nannes.



The WICB also revealed that Gayle was in the midst of a rehabilitation program after a side strain that precluded his selection from the first two matches against Pakistan. Gayle's flight to India has cut across the middle of his rehab."



6:20 pm:



Pink balls or orange ones? That's the choice confronting the International Cricket Council just now. Here's why



6:10 pm:



The Y! newsroom is chuckling over this one: A Congress MLA was arrested. Protests ensued. So now 75 more people have been arrested. Duh!



5:50 pm:

Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) has crossed the million followers mark on Twitter -- in less than a year since he first went online. That's a heck of a strike rate -- but then again, the name is a 'follower' magnet, no? Hell, even a bloke who got in first and snuck out the handle @sachintendulkar has 2 lakh-plus followers.



5:40 pm:

The mud-slinging on the Lokpal Bill issue continues with Amar Singh hitting out at Lokpal bill drafting committee co-chairman Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan for declaring that they had no contacts with him. More on this story



5:37 pm: The Congress party in Punjab wants to know how much Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his family have been spending on foreign trips, personal security cover, et cetera. It filed an RTI request. The request was rejected. Now the party wants a white paper providing the details. What next? Oh, we know -- request denied. And so the day goes on...



5:30 pm:



Color us cynical, but our first reaction on reading this news -- that the government plans to post 10 of its officials in tax haven nations to gather information about illicit deposits and such -- is to wonder: How much is a posting to, say, Switzerland worth? Anyway. Here's the story



5:16 pm: There has been a lot of buzz about the royal wedding: From celebs like David and Victoria Beckham to politicians like David Cameron, here's a brief look at guests attending the April 29 royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey. Yahoo! India Lifestyle has the story



5:05 pm: Now for some entertainment news: Shatrughan Sinha and his daughter, Sonakshi Sinha have been chosen for this year's Dada Saheb Academy award for their contribution to cinema.



Shatrughan Sinha will be bestowed with Dada Saheb Phalke Academy legendary artiste award, Sonakshi will get Dada Saheb Academy best debut award at a glittering at Mumbai on May 3," filmmaker Pahlaj Nihlani said. Read on





