IOC sets September 1 deadline for India to hold elections Mumbai: The International Olympic Committee has set India a September 1 deadline for a new election to facilitate the country's return to the Olympic fold.

The IOC banned the country in December after refusing to recognise the results of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections due to government interference, which led to a tainted official being named its secretary general.

During crucial meetings in Lausanne this month, India assured the IOC of the Olympic movement's autonomy in the country in a first step towards mending relations and also discussed a roadmap towards getting the ban overturned.

"We believe that those meetings were fruitful and productive and, with the cooperation of all components and stakeholders of the Olympic Movement in India, will pave the way for a prompt resolution of the issues at hand," the IOC said in a letter, seen by Reuters....more    
07:34 PM, May 24, 2013

London terror attack: Emergency committee to meet today London: The British government's emergency committee is set to meet on Thursday after two attackers butchered a man in a brutal daylight attack in London that raised fears terrorism had returned to the capital. Prime Minister David Cameron says there are strong indications it was an act of terrorism, and his top advisers will be examining the potential security implications of the attack, which took place near a London military...  
03:15 PM, May 23, 2013

US: Senate panel approves sweeping immigration bill Washington: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would bring about the biggest changes in US immigration policy in a generation, setting up a spirited debate in the full Senate in June 2013. By a vote of 13-5, the panel approved the nearly 900-page bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico,...  
06:51 AM, May 22, 2013

Technical committee suggests D/N games in Vijay Hazare Trophy New Delhi: The Anil Kumble-led technical committee of the BCCI on Monday discussed the proposal of introducing Day and Night games in the National One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The only domestic one-day tournament that is played under floodlights is the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, but the technical committee that met under Kumble's stewardship, also wants Vijay Hazare Trophy matches to be played under lights. "We even...  
07:55 PM, May 20, 2013

Spot-fixing probe: Delhi Police seeks CCTV footage from hotels New Delhi: Delhi Police has asked hotels in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad to provide CCTV footage to scan meetings of the three arrested cricketers with bookies in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scandal. Police is also planning to seek permission for collecting voice samples of the players - S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - arrested last Thursday from Mumbai along with 11 bookies. Sources said that the...  
04:19 PM, May 19, 2013

Spot-fixing: BCCI orders probe, RR to file FIR against the arrested players Chennai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after its emergency meeting in Chennai on Sunday, has said it will not hesitate to take swift and strong action against any player found guilty of malpractice or illegal activities in the IPL or otherwise. While maintaining that the BCCI was "handicapped" when it comes to control over bookies, the board president N Srinivasan said the BCCI has decided to...  
01:36 PM, May 19, 2013

Spot-fixing: Tainted cricketers face life bans as BCCI meets in Chennai New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has begun its meeting over the fate of four cricketers accused of spot-fixing. The board's working committee began its proceedings at 11 am Sunday in Chennai. Three current Rajasthan Royals players - S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan - and one former Rajasthan player Amit Singh have been implicated in spot-fixing by the Delhi Police, and CNN-IBN sources understand...  
11:27 AM, May 19, 2013

BCCI may hand tainted cricketers life bans in Sunday meeting New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may hand life bans to the tainted quartet of S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and Amit Singh in a meeting in Chennai on Sunday. Sreesanth, Chandila, Chavan have played several matches for Rajasthan Royals this season, while Amit represented the Jaipur-based IPL team for the first few seasons. Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan have reportedly confessed to spot-fixing in...  
08:25 AM, May 19, 2013

Wrestling makes drastic changes to please IOC Moscow: Wrestling has introduced drastic changes designed to keep the ancient sport in the Olympic programme, the newly-elected president of the world governing body (FILA) said on Saturday. More categories for women, eliminating draws and cutting down the number of competitors are just some of the initiatives being introduced as wrestling battles to salvage its Olympic status after the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s executive board made a surprise recommendation to...  
12:07 AM, May 19, 2013

BJP seeks to keep 2G issue alive in PAC New Delhi: With the 2G spectrum issue getting caught in logjam in the JPC, the BJP on Friday sought to bring the matter to the forefront of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee saying the matter is pending and should be disposed of. The demand to settle the pending issue came at the first meeting of the newly-constituted PAC. BJP member Prakash Javadekar raised the issue of PAC's draft report on 2G...  
09:35 PM, May 17, 2013

How the spot fixing case is likely to proceed New Delhi: The BCCI committee on corruption will investigate the latest IPL spot-fixing scandal, which involves Rajasthan Royals' players Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, and then refer the matter to the IPL Disciplinary Committee headed by Arun Jaitley - sources told CNN-IBN on Friday. Sources also told that once the matter reaches the Disciplinary Committee, it will hear the case and recommend future course of action. But before that,...  
10:48 AM, May 17, 2013

IOC to lift ban on IOA, says Sports Minister New Delhi: India's Sports Minister Jitender Singh on Thursday said that the roadmap for India's return to the Olympic fold has been chalked out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and it will take 30 to 60 days to complete the entire process. The Sports Minister, who met the IOC officials in Lausanne on Wednesday, said, "The roadmap has been decided by IOC to bring India back into the Olympic...  
08:28 AM, May 16, 2013

Summoning Raja before JPC 'unconstitutional': Chacko Thrissur: JPC Chairman PC Chacko has said it will be "unconstitutional" to summon former Telecom Minister A Raja, prime accused in the 2G spectrum case, before the Joint Parliamentary Committee to take evidence, as it would be an "infringement" of Article 20 of the Constitution. "Article 20 (iii) of the Constitution clearly states no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself," Chacko said....  
01:26 AM, May 16, 2013

Status quo for IOA, until free and fair elections are held
by IANS
Lausanne: It's status quo for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday refused to lift its suspension until free and fair elections are held. The IOC Wednesday held a meeting with the Indian delegation headed by the Minister of State for Sports Jitendra Singh and representatives from the National Sports Federations (NSF), who are also members of the suspended IOA. A representative of the...  
01:03 AM, May 16, 2013

Can India return to the Olympics?

A crucial meeting between India's top sports officials and the International Olympic Committee is currently on at its headquarters in Switzerland to try and get India's suspension revoke. although IOA president VK Malhotra and IOC member Randhir Singh are not at this meeting, a nine member indian delegation is presenting its case to find ways to get India back into the fold. ...
04:38 PM, May 15, 2013

Oil Ministry proposal on gas prices rejected New Delhi: Oil Ministry's proposal for an across-the-board near doubling of natural gas prices has been rejected by the Cabinet Secretariat saying a ministerial panel headed by Defence Minister AK Antony did not have powers to do so. The Ministry had sent a draft proposal for the consideration of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to price all domestically produced natural gas - be of state-run ONGC or private sector...  
04:18 PM, May 15, 2013

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth gets one year extension New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, who was due to complete his two-year term in June, got one-year extension. Seth, a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has assumed the charge of Cabinet Secretary on June 14, 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Seth, the country's top bureaucrat, by one year beyond June 13, 2013, a press...  
09:12 AM, May 14, 2013

IOA delegates gear up for crucial IOC joint meeting New Delhi: Top IOA delegates were busy giving finishing touches to their action plan as they geared up for the crucial meeting with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne to draw a roadmap for India's return to the Olympic fold. Most of the IOA delegates will leave for Lausanne tonight for the May 15 meeting which is expected to start the process of getting the ban on India lifted. Though...  
05:16 PM, May 13, 2013

Lausanne meeting to proceed as per schedule New Delhi: The crucial Lausanne meeting between the Indian officials and the International Olympic Committee to find a way for the country's return to the Olympic fold will proceed as per schedule on May 15 despite the dramatic pull-out of IOA acting president V K Malhotra and IOC member Randhir Singh. The IOC has sent a message to the Swiss Embassy here to expedite the visa formalities of all the...  
06:14 PM, May 10, 2013

Only 13 judges for every ten lakh people in India New Delhi: India has just 13 judges for every ten lakh people as against 35-40 in other developing nations and 50 in a developed country, a Parliamentary panel has said and urged the government to "make all out efforts" to fill up the existing vacant posts of judges. The Committee on Empowerment of Women in its report on 'Victims of sexual abuse and trafficking and their rehabilitation' noted that India...  
11:21 PM, May 09, 2013