India – Page 6

India tops in asking for content restrictions: Facebook

March 16, 2015 by Nasheman

New Delhi: Facebook blocked 5,832 pieces of content, including anti-religious matter and hate speeches, during July-December 2014 on orders of Indian government, the highest by any country on the social networking giant’s platform.

In its Global Government Requests Report for July to December 2014, the California-based firm said it has “restricted” 5,832 pieces of content.

“We restricted access in India to content reported primarily by law enforcement agencies and the India Computer Emergency Response Team within the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, including anti-religious content and hate speech that could cause unrest and disharmony,” the social networking platform said.

Facebook’s report includes information on government requests it received for content removal and account data and national security requests under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and through National Security Letters.

India is followed by Turkey at 3,624 number of pieces of restricted content, then Germany at 60, Russia (55) and Pakistan (54), the report stated.

Besides, India made 5,473 requests for data, mostly concerning criminal cases, to Facebook in July-December 2014.

According to Facebook, government officials sometimes make requests for data about people who use Facebook as part of official investigations. The vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases like robberies or kidnappings. In many of these cases, government requests seek basic subscriber information such as name and length of service. Other requests have asked for IP address logs or actual account content, it added.

“Each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency. We require officials to provide a detailed description of the legal and factual basis for their request, and we push back when we find legal deficiencies or overly broad or vague demands for information.

“Even where we determine that local law would compel disclosure, we frequently share only basic subscriber information,” Facebook said.

The requests covered 7,281 user accounts and Facebook provided “some data” on 44.69 per cent of the requests.

(PTI)

Cricket World Cup 2015: Ireland dealt qualification blow by India

March 10, 2015 by Nasheman

by Phil Dawkes, BBC Sport

Ireland’s hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals suffered a blow as India sealed top spot in Pool B with a fifth straight win in the tournament.

Ireland came into the match knowing that a point would see them qualify.

Despite an opening stand of 89 between William Porterfield and Paul Stirling and 75 from Niall O’Brien, their 259 total was never likely to be enough.

So it proved as Shikhar Dhawan (100) and Rohit Sharma (64) helped India to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

The margin of defeat is a reality check for Ireland, who have performed well above expectation in this tournament, claiming three wins (two against Test-playing nations) to give them six points and genuine hope of reaching the last eight.

They can still do so, but they will need to beat Pakistan in their final pool game or gain a point should the fixture be rained off.

Much like their game with South Africa, in which they conceded 411 runs before being bowled out for 210, the gulf in class between the sides in Hamilton was vast.

They started well, with Porterfield (67) and Stirling (42) using the pace of the opening bowlers well to amass an encouraging opening stand and suggest a competitive total over 300 was a possibility.

But India’s switch to spin bowling halted their progress as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravinda Jadeja and Suresh Raina frustrated the top order and claimed the important wickets of Ed Joyce (bowled by Raina) and Andy Balbirnie (caught by Mohammed Shami off Ashwin).

Niall O’Brien offered resistance and hit well but when he and brother Kevin both fell to Shami, Ireland’s hopes of a decent score disappeared, with the returning Indian pace bowlers cleaning up the tail.

It was the fourth time India had bowled out a team in this high-scoring World Cup but Ireland’s consolation is that they made the highest total against MS Dhoni’s side.

Ireland had two opportunities to gain a foothold early in the India innings as Dhawan twice presented difficult catching chances off the bowling of John Mooney but the bowler was unable to hold on to the first and the second eluded the grasp of Porterfield at square leg.

After that, India were ruthless as Dhawan and Sharma amassed 174 before the latter chopped on to his own stumps from World Cup debutant Stuart Thompson.

Thompson, whose first over went for 18 before he was hastily withdrawn, also claimed the wicket of Dhawan, who miscued one to Porterfield at deep cover, but these were the only high points of the innings for Ireland as Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) saw the reigning champions home with 79 balls to spare.

Cricket World Cup 2015: India advance with narrow win over West Indies

March 7, 2015 by Nasheman

by James Gheerbrant, BBC Sport

India sealed their progress to the Cricket World Cup quarter-finals as they recorded a nervy four-wicket win over West Indies.

The defending champions looked set for a comfortable victory in Pool B when they reduced West Indies to 85-7.

But captain Jason Holder made a brilliant 57 at number nine to stretch the total to 182, before India faltered to 107-5 in reply.

It was left to skipper MS Dhoni to see India home with a composed unbeaten 45.

Despite the modest target, India were in trouble with Jerome Taylor (2-33) and Kemar Roach (1-44) dismantling the top order.

But just as he did in the 2011 World Cup final, and in countless other one-day internationals, captain Dhoni guided India to victory under substantial pressure.

As well as guaranteeing their qualification for the knockout stages, India are now in pole position to finish top of Pool B, having won all their matches and with only fixtures against Ireland and Zimbabwe remaining.

West Indies meanwhile are far from certain to advance from the group, having won just two of their five matches.

Their fate will depend on the results of the remaining matches involving Ireland and Pakistan, and may come down to net run rate.

But despite the two sides’ contrasting fortunes, India’s victory was far from straightforward as they allowed West Indies to turn a one-sided contest into a scrap.

West Indies won the toss and chose to bat, having scored more than 300 in every previous match in this tournament in which they had batted first.

But that total was never on the cards after a shambolic performance from the top order.

With the new ball swinging prodigiously, Dwayne Smith, Chris Gayle and Denesh Ramdin perished to reckless shots – and in between Marlon Samuels was run out – as they collapsed to 35-4.

Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, but Holder batted superbly with some support from Darren Sammy (27) to reach a respectable total.

The target seemed unlikely to test India, but after they lost Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan early to the impressive Taylor, they wobbled.

Andre Russell removed Virat Kohli (33) and Ravindra Jadeja (13), and Ajinkya Rahane (14) nicked behind, but West Indies could not prise the nerveless Dhoni from the crease.

Cricket World Cup: Rampant India too strong for UAE in Pool B

February 28, 2015 by Nasheman

by Steve Canavan, BBC Sport

Defending champions India maintained their perfect start at the World Cup as they outclassed United Arab Emirates in a one-sided contest in Perth.

India were on top throughout and dismissed UAE for 102 – the lowest total at the World Cup so far, behind England’s 123 against New Zealand.

Only a spirited 35 from Shaiman Anwar spared UAE from real embarrassment.

India lost just one wicket as they raced to their target in 18.5 overs, Rohit Sharma hitting a half-century.

“The bowlers have really stepped up and that has led to improvements in other parts of the side,” said a satisfied India captain MS Dhoni.

“We are getting wickets with the new ball and as a bowling unit they are doing well and showing they can do it game after game.”

The part-timers of the UAE won the toss and opted to bat, but lost wickets on a regular basis as a confident-looking India quickly took control.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets and registering his best one-day-international figures as the underdogs were reduced to 71-9.

Only a fighting last-wicket stand of 31 between Shaiman Anwar (35) and Manjula Guruge (10 not out) – the highest partnership of the innings – took UAE past three figures.

But the total was never going to be enough to trouble an Indian side who, after a run of poor form coming into the tournament, now look a force to be reckoned with.

UAE did have one magical moment in the field – Rohan Mustafa taking a superb one-handed catch off the bowling off Mohammad Naveed to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan for 14.

But otherwise it was a routine victory for the Indians, with Sharma (57 not out) and Virat Kohli (33 not out) guiding the team home without alarm.

“We were outplayed by the Indian bowling, because what we got was not a par score on this wicket,” said UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir.

“We should have scored 200 plus but Ashwin bowled brilliantly and we couldn’t cope.”

India, who beat Pakistan and South Africa in their opening Pool B games, face West Indies next in Perth on Friday.

UAE are still waiting for a first World Cup win for 19 years, since beating Netherlands in 1996.

Cricket World Cup 2015: India crush South Africa in Melbourne

February 22, 2015 by Nasheman

Shikhar Dhawan hit a superb century as defending champions India maintained their unbeaten start to the World Cup with a 130-run win over South Africa.

by Justin Goulding, BBC Sport

India’s 307-7 was built around Dhawan’s 137, while Ajinkya Rahane made 79 off 60 balls and Virat Kohli 46.

South Africa were bowled out for 177 with 9.4 overs unused as Faf du Plessis’s departure for 55 sparked a collapse of seven wickets for 44 runs.

The defeat was South Africa’s heaviest in World Cup history.

India, who remain top of Pool B with two wins from two games, face the United Arab Emirates in Perth on Sunday, when victory will all but secure their place in the quarter-finals.

Fifth-placed South Africa play West Indies in Sydney on Friday, but the manner in which they subsided on a blameless surface cast doubts on their tag as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

Dhawan’s composed innings was typical of a measured rather than explosive batting display, and two run-outs in a crucial phase of the innings were reward for the pressure India created with an accomplished performance in the field.

“South Africa are such a good side, so I think that makes it an even more satisfying win,” said India captain MS Dhoni, whose side beat Pakistan in their opening game.

“It was a back-to-back good performance from both the bowling and batting unit. A couple of run-outs made things even more impressive.”

Dropped on 53 by Hashim Amla and fortunate not to be run out for 55, left-hander Dhawan combined fluent drives with meaty pulls in a 146-ball innings which featured 16 fours and two sixes.

Having lost Rohit Sharma cheaply after India won the toss, he added 127 with Kohli for the second wicket and 125 in 16 thrilling overs with Rahane for the third.

Dhawan eventually fell to a top-edged pull off Wayne Parnell, whose treatment late in the innings left him nursing figures of 1-85 off nine overs.

The Proteas’ options were limited by the absence of seamer Vernon Philander, who bowled only four overs because of a hamstring injury and will have a scan on Monday.

No South Africa batsman came close to playing with the composure shown by Dhawan as India’s fielders maintained the pressure created by Mohammed Shami’s early removal of Quinton de Kock.

Mohit Sharma had Hashim Amla taken at long leg and Du Plessis drilled the first ball of his second spell to mid-off, either side of Mohit’s most important contribution, running out South Africa captain AB de Villiers for 30 with a magnificent flat throw from deep point.

Smart work from Umesh Yadav and Dhoni accounted for the dangerous David Miller, and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hastened South Africa’s collapse to finish with 3-41.

South Africa’s previous heaviest World Cup defeat was by 83 runs to Australia in Basseterre in 2007.

“The run-outs cost us dearly, coming just when we got started with the bat in hand. That’s where we lost the game,” said De Villiers.

“It was not a good enough performance as a batting unit and now we have to regroup.”

India beat Pakistan by 76 runs as estimated one billion viewers tune in to World Cup clash

February 16, 2015 by Nasheman

Victorious: India made it six wins out of six in their World Cup encounters with Pakistan Photo: AFP

by Scyld Berry, Telegraph

India made it six victories out of six against Pakistan in World Cup encounters as they won the mela-cum-melee in Adelaide by 76 runs.

The result is almost irrelevant as both countries are sure to qualify for the quarter-finals. But a lot of bragging rights went to India, again, as the television audience was estimated at one billion viewers.

The fragility of Pakistan’s batting was painfully exposed as they collapsed to 103 for five in pursuit of India’s 300. Such a target was no more than par for this tournament as the first three matches had resulted in totals of more than 300 when New Zealand, Australia and South Africa had batted first.

Pakistan’s batting has long been shown in its worst light when chasing 250-plus targets, and on hard pitches in Australia, not that they had played there for the last five years. Put the two factors together and it was no surprise that their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, was left holding the babies.

One by one Pakistan’s batsmen were bounced out. First it was Younis Khan, a great Test batsman, but his highest score as an ODI opener was four before this strange promotion. He barely improved upon it before gloving a bouncer.

Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail kept Pakistan in the hunt briefly. But India have a variety in their bowling which England can only envy, and they won the game by taking key wickets in mid-innings, with Pakistan’s unwilling compliance.

Ravi Ashwin began with two maidens – gold-dust in ODIs – in his first three overs, and the wicket of Sohail, caught at slip off an offbreak which bounced.

When Umesh Yadav – pacier than anyone England have – was brought back for a second spell, he too illustrated the frailty of Pakistan’s batting in the face of bounce.

Shehzad square-cut to point without rolling his wrists. He had done exactly the same in the warm-up game against England, instead of shelving an idiosyncracy that he could get away with at home but not in Australia.

Sohaib Maqsood steered a ball that bounced, his second, to slip. It was only his 19th ODI innings and, again, his first in Australia: no sort of preparation for this World Cup.

India’s batsmen, on the other hand, have had time to adjust to Australian pitches after two to three months in the country, even if they had failed to win a competitive game. Virat Kohli, in particular, has adjusted to Adelaide: he had scored a century in both innings of the December Test, and followed with another, his 22nd in ODIs.

Not pressing too hard against the new ball, almost cautious, India reached 42 for one from ten overs without any extravagant shots. But Kohli and Shikar Dhawan got on top of a varied attack by running hard between wickets and exploiting Pakistan’s inferior fielding.

Kohli and Dhawan added 129 for India’s second wicket before Dhawan was sent back and run out by a direct hit from Misbah at midwicket. It would have been so different if Yasir Shah had caught Kohli at long-on early, a hard chance off Shahid Afridi.

Kohli was dropped a second time, when 76, off a regulation chance to the wicketkeeper. But this was Umar Akmal, a stop-gap, not their proper keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed: a second experiment which, like Younis opening, failed.

Suresh Raina supplied the improvising and accelerating with his 74 off 56 balls. Along with MS Dhoni and Kohli, he is one of three survivors of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 2011. This time they shape as semi-finalists, alongside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

This girl explains why rape has become a joke in India

January 29, 2015 by Nasheman

If a guy is with 6 girls – he’s a STUD. If a girl is with 6 guys – she’s a SLUT. We Indians have double standards. We love getting offended on any and everything. The question here is why? Sit back, relax, watch this video and think about it. Who is responsible for making rapes a joke in India? Sadly, the answer is ‘US’.

Ceasefire violations and effects on civilians in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir – a preliminary report by PIPFPD

January 22, 2015 by Nasheman

India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire in 2003, but it is often violated

by Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Asha Hans & Jatin Desai, PIPFPD

The ceasefire violations on the International Border and the LoC between Pakistan and India that have taken place in the past few months, after the ceasefire was agreed to in 2003, has been shocking. Over 550 incidents of ceasefire violations took place in 2014 and the Indian and Pakistani governments are busy giving each other a neck to neck competition with the number of jawans and civilians on both sides dying and many sustaining injuries.

People affected in India: One Border Security Force (BSF) jawan lost his life and a woman sustained injuries on January 5, 2015. During the first week of January, four jawans and a woman were killed in Pakistan shelling and firing.In the year 2014, 19 people including 5 jawans were killed and over 150 injured. More than 3,000 people in border villages in Samba and Kathua have abandoned their homes and are living in makeshift accommodations in safer places. (Source:http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=40127)

People affected in Pakistan: The latest casualties as on January 5, 2015 mounted the civilian death toll on the Pakistani side to four. Earlier, two civilians, including a woman and an 18-year-old boy died as a result of the firing. (Source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1155068)

Pakistan India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy is consistently demanding a complete stop to the ceasefire violations to both the Indian and Pakistani governments and implementation of ceasefire agreement of 2003 in letter and spirit. In November, after a series of ceasefire violations and border displacements the Forum decided to commission a fact finding team (FFT) to study the conditions of civilians in the border areas International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC)). A fact finding team consisting of Journalists, Human rights activists and Forum members visited the border areas in the Indian side from the 6-8th of November 2014.

The team visited the BSF headquarters in Jammu, BSF Border Observation Post (BOP) in Arnia, border villages like – Arnia Kasba and Trewa Village in Jammu district, Galar and Chiliyari in Samba district as part of its preliminary fact finding visit. Based on the visit of the FFT and its interaction with people living along the border areas a report was formulated that contains testimonies of people, findings and recommendations of the FFT based on the findings.

Some of the key findings of the fact finding report includes first-hand information on “The relief camps and the conditions in the relief camps, the conditions of schools, college and other education facilities, lack of rehabilitation measures and inadequate or lack of compensation, the life and livelihood loss in the border areas, the psychological and social disturbances to women & children living in border areas.”

“The drastic increase in the ceasefire violations is greatly becoming like a show of power. And, if we need a positive development and growth in South Asia we cannot ignore the issues between India and Pakistan. The border population is getting displaced at a massive rate and there are forced migrations in most parts of the IB recently after the recent escalation and this is indeed a very serious threat to peace in South Asia”says Mr. I D Khajuria from Jammu & Kashmir, A Fact Finding team member from Jammu region.

“The blame game must stop immediately and both India and Pakistan must look in to the issue of ceasefire violations more seriously” says Ms. Vijaya Chauhan, a fact finding team member fromMumbai.

Ceasefire violations and the basis of it, is what needs to be probed into. There are various ways in which the ceasefire agreement can be implemented as long as there is a will to do so from both sides. It is important for both sides to realize that positive dialogue processes are the need of the hour.

We appeal to the people and governments of both countries to give a joint call for restoring peace in the region.

A letter along with the copy of the report was sent to the President of India, Prime Minister’s office, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of BSF on the 11th of January 2015 and their response was sought. The Forum did not receive any response until the 20thof January 2015.

Please find attached a pdf copy of the report along with photographs.

Australia batsmen hammer India on day one

January 6, 2015 by Nasheman

David Warner and Chris Rogers put on 200 for the first wicket in quick time © Getty Images

Sydney: A 200-run opening wicket partnership between David Warner and Chris Rogers helped Australia post a solid 348/2 at the end of the first day’s play of the fourth and final Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here Tuesday.

It was a day to remember for the Australian batsmen as Warner (101) scored his 12th Test hundred while his partner Rogers (95) fell five short of what would have been his fifth century. Skipper Steven Smith (82 not out) and Shane Watson (61 batting) also scored half-centuries with the both of them unbeaten at stumps.

Indian bowlers were clueless on halting the run flow and taking wickets on what proved to be a classic batting track. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar hardly managed to find his rhythm and swing the ball while Umesh Yadav remained wayward and expensive for most of his spells.

Mohammed Shami had pace and Ravichandran Ashwin looked dangerous a few times in the day but the Australian batsmen were totally in their groove.

Having already lost the series 0-2, India went in to the final Test making four changes to the squad. Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar came in to replace the retired Mahendra Singh Dhoni, opener Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and pacer Ishant Sharma.

However, the changes bore no fruit as all three sessions were dominated by the home side.

Warner looked in a feisty mood from the word go and hammered the Indian bowlers for 16 boundaries all over the ground. Rogers played the anchor role to prefection and provided strong support from the other end.

Rogers caressed 13 boundaries to score his fifth consecutive half-century in Tests. However, he was in trouble as early as the eighth over, while batting on 19, when he edged a seaming Shami delivery.

However, young Lokesh Rahul at second slip dropped a sitter and Rogers went on to add 76 more runs to the Australian tally.

India finally found success in the middle of the second session when Warner edged a turning Ashwin delivery and was caught at slip. Immediately in the next over, Rogers lost concentration and played on Shami only to shatter his stumps.

However, the two quick wickets did not help India further as Smith and Watson held the innings together and guided Australia to build a platform for a strong total. Unless Indian bowlers create some magic at the start of Day 2, the home side is well on course to post a massive first innings total.

India had one last chance to take a wicket when Watson edged the penultimate delivery of the day but the ball went through Ashwin’s fingers at the slips.

There was an emotional moment towards the end of the first session when Warner reached 63 not out. He bent down and kissed the turf as a tribute to late cricketer Phillip Hughes, who on this very ground was struck by a bouncer Nov 25 which eventually led to his tragic death two days later.

Warner’s gesture was appreciated by the crowd which rose and applauded and looked towards a specific stand where Hughes’ family sat.

Hughes was also batting on 63 not out in the first class match when the bouncer hit the back of his head.

(IANS)

Five dead in New Year's Eve clashes on LoC

January 1, 2015 by Nasheman

India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire in 2003, but it is often violated

by Reuters

Srinagar: Indian border forces killed four Pakistani interior-ministry troops on New Year’s Eve, ending a year in which clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours have escalated and hopes for reconciliation faded.

Wednesday’s incident, on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, followed the killing earlier in the day of an Indian border guard, a senior officer from India’s Border Security Force said.

“We have retaliated effectively … four Pakistani rangers have been killed along the International Border in Samba sector this evening, said Rakesh Sharma, BSF inspector general for the Jammu Frontier.

“As Pakistani rangers suffered casualties, they waved white flags, asking BSF to stop the firing so that they can lift the bodies of the dead men. We stopped the firing after their request,” Sharma said.

Frontier clashes have intensified in recent months, dashing hopes that a brief thaw in relations after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in May would lead to a calming of the situation.

The worst violence has been further north in the mainly Muslim Kashmir Valley, where separatist militants killed 11 Indian soldiers and police in early December, the worst losses in six years.

Jammu and Kashmir held state elections in December in which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party made gains. While leaving the party short of a majority, the result could open the way for it to form a ruling coalition with a regional party.

(Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari; Editing by Douglas Busvine, Larry King)