Army doctor kills 13 at United States base, `terror not ruled out'

Investigators today began piecing together how and why they think an Army psychiatrist facing deployment to Afghanistan gunned down dozens of people yesterday at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, in one of the worst mass shootings ever on an American military base.

The gunman, identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was shot four times by a Fort Hood police officer responding to the scene. Hasan remained hospitalized on a ventilator but was in stable condition, Army officials said.

A day of mourning has been declared on the base for the 13 people killed 12 soldiers and one civilian and 28 wounded in the rampage, and US President Barack Obama said that flags at the White House and other federal buildings would fly at half-staff until Veteran’s Day, “as a modest tribute to those who lost their lives.”

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A chase to remember

He final ball of the fifth over during India's chase in Hyderabad may have had little significance to the eventual outcome of the match, but for the capacity crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, what had transpired before it and what was to follow were from two different worlds.

When Sachin Tendulkar flicked Ben Hilfenhaus through mid-wicket for three runs, he became the first batsman in the history of one-day cricket to reach 17,000 runs. It was the moment that the people of Hyderabad had waited for with fingers crossed, and when it arrived, the celebration was absolutely no-holds-barred.

After all, with India chasing an improbable 351 against a fired-up Aussie outfit, it seemed like the only real hurrah up for grabs as far as the 30,000 spectators at Uppal went.

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Twelve year old Sarfaraz breaks Harris record with 439

Twelve year old Sarfaraz Khan was batting on 235 when stumps were drawn in his Harris Shield match on Monday evening. He spent a sleepless night, wondering if he could go past the 346 runs Sachin Tendulkar had scored in Mumbai's inter-school cricket competition 21 years ago.

Sarfaraz's father, Naushad Khan, is a local coach who has trained players like Iqbal Abdulla and Rahil Shaikh both members of the Mumbai Ranji team as well as left-arm fast bowler Kamran Khan, who came into spotlight in the IPL's second season for the Rajasthan Royals. Many of them, at some point or the other, have stayed at Sarfaraz's place.

"My father was telling me I should try and better Tendulkar's score. I was already on 235, and as one of the boundaries at Cross Maidan is short, I felt it was possible," Sarfaraz says.

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Remote sensing confirms China building dam

The National Remote Sensing Agency(NRSA)confirmedtoday that construction was on at theZangmusiteontheChinesesideof theBrahmaputrariver,promptingthe government to take up the matter with China at a "political" level.

In its presentation to the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) formed to assess Chinese plans regarding possible diversion of the Brahmaputra's water, the NRSA presented evidence of "houses, construction/excavation, and movement of trucks" in and around a 3-4 km range at the site.

Accordingly, the CoS, headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, decided that the issue was too significant to be handled by the expert-level mechanism on floodwater data-sharing.

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All square as India stumble

Ricky Ponting wouldn't have minded taking a few of the Indian batsmen out for dinner last night, but the Aussie skipper spent time celebrating with his own team, relieved at having escaped defeat, and pleased at having thrown a punch or two at the Indians.

Even as the last of the 35,000-odd fans left the PCA stadium, stunned at how the Indian batting choked chasing a very gettable 251, the home dressing room presented a stark contrast to how it had been during the mid-innings break. The bowlers had done their job then, and for the second game running, their fielding had been top notch, accounting for four run-outs. But, by the time the last ball of the day had been bowled, the players couldn't figure out how they had thrown it away.

From a position of great strength, they lost the match by 24 runs, and a series that India seemed to be dominating against a ragged Australian outfit is now tied 2-2.

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`Morale-lifting' revamp of posts on China border

UP against rapidly modernizing Chinese military infrastructure along its northern border, India has decided to completely revamp its border posts at heights above 14,000-15,000 feet, using know-how from Scandinavian countries.

The aim is to improve the conditions in which soldiers live in these high altitudes. The decision was taken after a military survey revealed that poor living conditions were adversely impacting the morale and combat preparedness of soldiers manning these posts.

The survey itself was prompted by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran's report on improving infrastructure along the China border,

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Army land scam spreads, from Bengal to Uttarakhand

The Army land fraud case in Darjeeling threatens to turn into a major scandal with a probe indicating that an educational institution posing as an affiliate of the Mayo College in Ajmer was close to finalising more deals elsewhere to purchase military land.

This comes even as Defence Minister A K Antony today asked Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar to order an inquiry into the case that has brought some of the seniormost Army officers under the scanner. The Ministry inquiry will be separate from the Court of Inquiry (CoI) that has been convened by the Army, Ministry officials said.

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