gurmeet kanwal
As part of its efforts to appear transparent about its intentions, to dispel its image as a reclusive regime shrouded in secrecy, and to foster confidence among its neighbours, the Chinese government has been issuing White Papers on national defence every two years since 1998. The eighth in the series, entitled “The Diversified Employment of China&’s Armed Forces”, was published on 16 April, 2013.
The crux of China&’s national defence policy is to ensure a stable security environment so as to permit the unrestricted development of its economy and the modernisation of its military. Its defence policy relies on military power as a guarantor of China&’s strategic autonomy and is designed to ensure that China continues to enjoy unfettered access to critical strategic resources like oil and natural gas as well as rare minerals. China has apparently decided that its interests lie in projecting a positive, balanced and cooperative image to the international community. Its growing economic and military power is gradually giving it the leverage to turn the perceived instability in its security environment into a newfound strength through bilateral and multilateral strategic partnerships and mutually beneficial trade.
However, China is still hesitant to join cooperative regional security arrangements. In fact, over the last few years, China has behaved rather assertively to stake its claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea and in the Sea of Japan. China&’s military assertiveness has shaken the confidence of its Asian neighbours in its ability to resolve disputes peacefully.
China stresses that its national defence policy is essentially defensive in nature and that it is subordinate to the higher goal of building a prosperous China. The White Papers emphasise that China launches only counter-attacks in self-defence. This is contrary to China&’s fairly aggressive military posture and incursions into India, Russia and Vietnam over the last few decades. A significant recent development is China&’s pro-active regional posture in diplomatic, strategic, economic and cultural spheres in parallel with China&’s increasingly global posture. This is contrary to the country&’s claim that it “plays an active part in maintaining global and regional peace and stability.” Recent posturing on the Spratly Islands has been criticised all across South East Asia.
While China stresses the “purely defensive” nature of its defence policy, perceptive observers have noted the power projection capabilities that are inherent in China&’s growing strategic outreach plans. Also noteworthy is the increasing role that military power is paying in enhancing China&’s comprehensive national power. Roy Kamphausen is of the view that the PLA is currently “projecting military power throughout Asia by responding to crises, contributing to deterrence and enhancing regional stability using current capabilities. These efforts derive from and contribute to the building of comprehensive Chinese national power, which, in turn, serves to increase China&’s stature in Asia, advance China&’s foreign policy goals and even check US influence.”
China continues to proclaim that it follows a “no first use” (NFU) nuclear doctrine. However, the improvements in the quality of its nuclear-tipped missiles and the progressive increase in their quantity are conferring new options and spurring new thoughts among China&’s national security analysts about the efficacy of its nuclear doctrine. Several of them have expressed the view that “under certain circumstances – such as an all-out attack against the country by conventional forces – China should use nuclear weapons.” As more sophisticated ICBMs like DF-31A and SLBMs like JL-2 enter service in larger numbers, China may be emboldened to review its NFU policy. Any Chinese move to discard the no first use policy will be inherently destabilising.
There are still many gaps in what is known about China&’s defence policy and military power. There is much more that needs to be learnt about China&’s ideas of statecraft, its approaches to the use of force, its perceived vulnerabilities and its preferred operational methods, as well as the political and military organisations that work on military assessments and plans. Not enough is known about China&’s actual military doctrine, command and control and capabilities such as military logistics. Although its growing interest in coercion and pre-emption strategies and emerging methods of warfare ~ particularly the employment of missiles and information warfare ~ are now better understood, it is difficult to accurately assess how these developments will shape China&’s overall military capability.
China is increasingly concerned with the increasing US influence in Asia and the planned US pivot to the Indo-Pacific. According to the 2013 White Paper, “The US is adjusting its Asia-Pacific security strategy, and the regional landscape is undergoing profound changes…[The US] has strengthened its Asia-Pacific military alliances, expanded its military presence in the region, and frequently makes the situation there tenser.” Clearly, US-China rivalry is growing and countries in the Indo-Pacific region will eventually be forced to choose the side they wish to support. It is in India&’s interest to maintain its strategic autonomy while watching out for China&’s growing power and influence.

Gurmeet Kanwal is a Delhi-based
strategic analyst

press trust of india

WASHINGTON, 6 JUNE: Mars rover Curiosity will shift to a distance-driving mode and head for an area about 8 km away, at the base of Mount Sharp after wrapping up investigations in the small area where it has been working for the past six months.
In May, NASA&’s Mars Science Laboratory mission drilled a second rock target for sample material and delivered portions of that rock powder into laboratory instruments in one week, about one-fourth as much time as needed at the first drilled rock.
“We’re hitting full stride,” said Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Jim Erickson of NASA&’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
“We needed a more deliberate pace for all the first-time activities by Curiosity since landing, but we won’t have many more of those,” Erickson said.
No additional rock drilling or soil scooping is planned in the “Glenelg” area that Curiosity entered last fall as the mission&’s first destination after landing. To reach Glenelg, the rover drove east about a third of a mile from the landing site. To reach the next destination, Mount Sharp, Curiosity will drive toward the southwest for many months.
“We don’t know when we’ll get to Mount Sharp. This truly is a mission of exploration, so just because our end goal is Mount Sharp doesn’t mean we’re not going to investigate interesting features along the way,” Erickson said. Images of Mount Sharp taken from orbit and images Curiosity has taken from a distance reveal many layers where scientists anticipate finding evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed and evolved.
While completing major first-time activities since landing, the mission has also already accomplished its main science objective.
Analysis of rock powder from the first drilled rock target, “John Klein,” provided evidence that an ancient environment in Gale Crater had favourable conditions for microbial life: the essential elemental ingredients, energy and ponded water that was neither too acidic nor too briny.
The rover team chose a similar rock, “Cumberland,” as the second drilling target to provide a check for the findings at John Klein.
Scientists are analysing laboratory-instrument results from portions of the Cumberland sample.

People should celebrate CIC order
SIR, ~ The people have every reason to celebrate the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), specifically  that political parties will come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. The CIC has justified its decision on the ground that the parties are entitled to free air-time on Doordarshan and All India Radio during elections, discounted rents for party offices and substantial income-tax exemptions.
  Therefore, the functioning of political parties, especially their source of income and pattern of expenditure, need to be more transparent. But that ought not to mean that the parties will be obligated to answer hundreds of queries under the RTI Act. Many of these queries may even be frivolous. Legislation must be enacted to bring those parties, which contest elections, within the purview of this Act. Refusal on the part of the political class will only deepen suspicions about the role of black money during elections.
The reservations have been strong enough and even on the part of the Congress. Salman Khurshid, the external affairs minister, has said that the law could not be allowed to “run riot.” At another remove, the BJP has posed the question ~ “Is our accountability to the Election Commission or the CIC? This confusion isn’t good for democracy.” Other parties, including the CPI-M, have also opposed the CIC&’s order. One wonders whether selection of candidates for the elections and the distribution of tickets will also come under public scrutiny.
There should be no intrusion into such internal affairs of a party. The political class appears to have united against a move intended to enlighten the people.
yours, etc., bidyut kumar chatterjee, faridabad, 5 june.
Aruna Roy calls the bluff
SIR, ~ This is with reference to your editorial, “Beyond resignation” (2 June). The reason advanced by Aruna Roy, the RTI pioneer and social activist, to justify her decision to resign from the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) is not convincing enough.
  She wants to move on from an advisory role  and work on issues that affect the poor. Her decision reflects the growing disillusionment of civil society with the government, specifically the social welfare agenda of the  Congress. Such landmark measures as the Right to Information (RTI) Act have been undermined. There is no scope for transparency in its provisions.
On the fourth anniversary of UPA-II, the government presented what it called a “Report to the People” with considerable fanfare. It spoke of overall improvement under the UPA&’s leadership. Ms Roy&’s statement post-resignation counters this claim ~ “Both the government and Parliament have not taken social welfare measures seriously. There has been a clear lack of political will and disarray in Parliament, not only on the part of the government but also other political parties.” 
The present government&’s neo-liberal policies can benefit only the rich. In Rajasthan, the daily wage for working eight hours in the sun is Rs 147. If that guarantee under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS is denied, it marks a violation of the government&’s own commitment to its own laws. Sluggishness on the part of the government has held up the Food Security Bill.
The NAC has devoted considerable time and effort to advance its formulations. It has never interfered with the functioning of the cabinet.
Ms Roy is spot on when she claims that “the government is focusing on economic reforms and growth at the cost of the poor”. In effect she has exposed the style of functioning of the UPA government, indeed its shambolic model of neo-liberalism.
yours, etc., sayanti paul, chakdaha (nadia), 4 june.
100 years after
SIR, ~ The item, “Adi Ganga”, published in “100 years ago” on 20 May, is informative and relevant even today. It is in fact a letter written by an Englishman. Major Tolly, we are informed, had ‘permission to dig a canal along the old silted-up bed of the Ganges’. Tollygunge was named after him. And  “Tolly&’s Nullah” is still called “Adi Ganga” in 2013. The major difference must be that it is today a thoroughly polluted canal.
  Once upon a time, it was navigable; both men and material were ferried to Chetla and other areas. Plans by successive governments to dredge the nullah have never been executed.
  No reason has ever been advanced. If properly dredged and maintained, “Adi Ganga” has a tremendous potential in terms of navigability, pisciculture and other economic and commercial ventures.
  Because of inaction, it has been reduced to a part of the city&’s ugly landscape. This is the fact of the matter 100 years after the letter was published in your paper.
yours, etc., pranabananda sen, kolkata, 21 may.
Garbage vans
SIR, ~ Kolkata Municipal Corporation is using motorised vans to transport garbage. This is very shocking. These vans are not roadworthy and are a threat to pedestrians and motorists.
  Those who operate the garbage vans have no licence. Recklessness on their part can turn out to be fatal. I wonder why this has been allowed by the KMC, a government entity. These vehicles should immediately be withdrawn.
yours, etc., k p jhunjhunwala, kolkata, 31 may.
BJP in Howrah
SIR, ~ The Howrah Lok Sabha by-election has certain interesting features. The BJP withdrew its candidate despite being vocal against the Trinamul government. But was there a tacit understanding between the two parties? The BJP&’s state president advised its supporters  to vote for  a non-political candidate. He obviously meant the Trinamul candidate, who is basically a footballer. And this tilted the scale in Trinamul&’s favour. The organisational weakness of the Left also helped the ruling party.
Another reason for the Left&’s defeat is that a sizable segment of its loyalists decided not to vote in a parliamentary by-poll less than a year before the scheduled Lok Sabha elections. Above all, the CPI-M failed to exploit the urban disenchantment with the Trinamul Congress. And Howrah isn’t a rural constituency.
yours, etc., anil kumar choudhury, kalyani, 6 june.
 

stephen brenkley
In the nick of time, England may have found the real deal. Jos Buttler’s brief but brilliant innings at Trent Bridge was being hailed yesterday as the first minor masterpiece of a conquering hero.
Such is modern sport but then such was Buttler’s intervention in England’s third one-day international against New Zealand on Wednesday night. His 47 no from 16 balls salvaged a pedestrian scorecard and made it unforgettable.
Buttler drove, ramped, carved, sliced and paddled, conjuring shots that were not in the lexicon until a couple of years ago. He put some of them in it. The Champions Trophy and Buttler’s part in it now cannot come soon enough.
England begin their quest to win their first major 50-over competition at Edgbaston tomorrow, the first of their 26 international matches against Australia in the next nine months — or 27 if both sides reach the ICC Champions Trophy final. Without Buttler the sense of anticipation might be a degree or two less.
Until this moment came, Buttler had struggled slightly to adjust to the demands of one-day international cricket. But then it should have been recalled that he did similarly in the Twenty20 version of the game, perhaps unsure if he could transfer intact his scintillating style for his county, Somerset.
After six low-key T20 innings, he transformed a match against South Africa at Edgbaston last September, smashing 32 from 10 balls. The Trent Bridge pyrotechnics amounted to a similar arrival at the party. In his six previous innings he had made a total of 54 runs.
Ashley Giles, the England limited overs coach, said: `I think he can do it over a longer period. I think what Jos needed was to do it once in 50-over cricket. It doesn’t mean he’s going to do it all the time but in T20 cricket once he crossed that hurdle once he looked a different player. I’m hoping that will happen again.’
His invention, his fearlessness, that touch of genius, made it necessary yesterday to resist suggestions that Buttler should immediately be elevated to the Test side on his way to receiving a knighthood. There is no doubt that at 22 he has the equipment to play in all forms.
Some of his Championship innings for Somerset this season have been made of staunch stuff. His unbeaten century against Warwickshire took 174 balls, his 85 against Middlesex 175. This shows he can adapt.
But it is still as a one-day batsman that this former pupil of King’s College, Taunton has struck fear into opposition attacks almost from his entry four years ago. Nobody who has made 1,000 runs in List A matches comes close to his strike rate of 130.47 and only Michael Bevan has a better average than Buttler’s 65.30.
His limited overs strike rates have gone up with every visit to the crease this summer — for Somerset 89 from 51 balls, 23no from 12, 54 from 25 and then performance for England, a rate of 204.8. He is in short a child of the T20 generation.
Giles said: `I think the batting order, playing an extra batter in Ravi Bopara might have given him a bit more confidence, it takes a little bit of pressure off him and gives him a bit more freedom.
`It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way we’re going to go. But Jos has shown in T20 cricket he is built coming in for five overs. Myself and Alastair Cook sat on the balcony and said 30 off ten balls would be nice, I’m not sure how he ended up but he exceeded all our expectations so I’m really chuffed for him.’
It has unquestionably put a spring in England’s step and in particular that of Stuart Broad and Steve Finn, the injured fast bowlers who appear to have come through their returns intact. But Giles knows that one innings neither makes Buttler’s career nor makes England a complete team.
`I’m certainly buoyed by it because it was a much better performance, it was still not anywhere near a perfect performance but maybe we’re not looking for that right now either. There are some big positives but we’ve certainly not played our A game yet but maybe we’re saving that.’ Tomorrow would be the perfect time for perfection.

JCO killed
JAMMU/ISLAMABAD, 7 JUNE: A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was killed when Pakistan opened heavy fire with automatic weapons and rockets on Indian posts along the LoC in the Poonch sector today, in the third ceasefire violation in a fortnight. One of the rockets hit the Lonawali post on the Line of Control (LoC) in which one splinter hit JCO Naib Subedar Bachan Singh of the Garhwal Regiment. pti
Corridor nod
NEW DELHI, 7 JUNE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave the green light to the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata industrial corridor and constituted an inter-ministerial panel to prepare the feasibility report for setting it up. This is the second such corridor after the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, which is currently under development. sns
Bolt upset
ROME, 7 JUNE: Sprint icon Usain Bolt suffered a shocking 100 metres defeat to resurgent American Justin Gatlin at the Rome Diamond League here. In his first race of the season on the European circuit Thursday, the 26-year-old Bolt finished second in 9.95 seconds to Gatlin who was 100th of a second faster to the line, reports CMC. Bolt, 26, was fastest out of the blocks at the Diamond League meeting but American Gatlin, 31, powered past him. ians
details on page 10

RR on Kundra
NEW DELHI, 7 JUNE: The Rajasthan Royals management today sought to distance itself from co-owner Raj Kundra, who has been accused of betting during IPL matches, saying that he had no involvement in running of the franchise and would be suspended if found guilty. Reacting to reports over Kundra’s involvement in betting, RR said he would also forfeit his shares in the franchise. pti

agence france-presse
SEOUL, 6 JUNE: North Korea today proposed talks with South Korea on a wide range of issues, from reopening a shuttered joint industrial complex to resuming cross-border family reunions.
The surprise offer, carried in a statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), followed months of military tensions triggered by the North’s nuclear test in February.
The CPRK, the state body responsible for relations with the South, did not specify at what level the talks should take place, but said the venue and date “can be set to the convenience of the South side”.
Initial subjects for discussion would be the future of the Kaesong joint industrial zone, which was closed at the height of the recent tensions, and the possible resumption of cross-border tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, the CPRK said.
“Such humanitarian issues as the reunion of separated families and their relatives can be discussed at the talks, if necessary,” said the statement carried on the official Korean Central News Agency.
If the South responds positively to the proposal, the CPRK said the North would consider rolling back measures it took when relations went into a tailspin, including restoring a cross-border official hotline.
“If the South Korean authorities truly stand for building confidence and improving the north-south relations, they should not miss this opportunity,” it added.
There was no immediate response from South Korea which has already offered working-level talks to discuss the retrieval of raw materials and finished goods left behind by South Korean factory managers when they left Kaesong. Seoul is likely to be wary of agreeing to a wide-ranging agenda.
While President Park Geun-Hye has spoken of the need for dialogue on issues like Kaesong, she has made it clear that substantive bilateral talks would be dependent on the North showing a commitment to abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.
Pyongyang, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear deterrent is not up for negotiation. The North’s dialogue proposal followed Chinese state media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had suggested ~ in a letter last month to Chinese President Xi Jinping ~ that he would be prepared to resume six-party denuclearisation talks. “I think this is an attempt by the North to seize the initiative, but it’s premature to say whether the offer is likely to lead to a sincere dialogue with the South,” said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. “Resuming tours to the Kumgang resort, for example, is not an easy issue,” Mr Yang said. The resort, developed by the South’s Hyundai Asan company, opened in 1998 as a symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

PORT OF SPAIN, 7 JUNE: Cricket authorities in India have rejected a request from the organisers of the Caribbean Premier League for Indian players to participate in the inaugural tournament set to begin next month in Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago’s Guardian newspaper has reported that the CPL organisers were turned down after making a trip to India to meet officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. CPL officials showcased their plan and sought permission from the world&’s wealthiest cricket board but they came up with nothing, the Guardian reported. Reports suggest that the BCCI may be concerned about safeguarding the Indian Premier League.
The absence of Indian players is seen as a blow since they are counted among the biggest crowd-pullers in world cricket. However, the CPL has been able to attract players from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The CPL starts on 30 July in Barbados and concludes on 24 August in Trinidad. ians

There&’s a wide spectrum of opportunities waiting for you if everything about cars revs your engine, says christopher gonsalves
The automobile industry is one of the most highly touted sectors in engineering today. The best part is the industry is unique because it doesn’t just stick to engineering alone but extends to other aspects like sales, self-employment, marketing and research and development.  
   Automobile engineering is one sector where engineers can realise their dreams by putting their talent to the test because designing new automobiles with lots of facilities and improving older models of vehicles can be a challenge.
A number of companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Maruti offer promising job packages to good automobile engineers. Thanks to them, the market sees new designs every year and the automobile industry is still a booming one in India. Aspirants should have qualifications in design and should hold degrees in subjects like Computer Auto Motion and Computer Added Design. They should be efficient at using computers to draw out three-dimensional shapes of cars and understand which parts of a car go where.
The manufacture of traditional models of automobiles is monitored by engineers. They check quality and make sure that the interior and exterior of each automobile unit is identical. The engineering team of any automobile factory is made up of individuals who each specialise in fields like meeting international standards, fuel utilisation and security. There are other departments that an engineer can specialise in, like field development and testing.
Once a vehicle is produced and tested, the next step is to make it available to buyers. This becomes the responsibility of the respective sales department. Persons in this department inform customers about an automobile&’s features and details and if the buyer likes it then the car is sold. Showrooms are run by energetic sales executives who get incentives in addition to their salaries for every car they manage to sell. You can work your way up in this department and become a sales manager or even a zone manager. Having higher professional degrees like a BBA or MBA degree can work to your advantage.  
Every part of an automobile has a certain life span after which it requires maintenance and might even need to be repaired. If you like working on your own terms then the automobile industry has options to be self-employed. If you have any technical degree then you could consider opening up your own maintenance shop. Working as an engineer in a factory will help you gain experience and once you’ve accumulated enough information on how the cogs turn you can start a thriving automobile maintenance business of your own.
If you have an MTech degree in automobile engineering, you can consider joining a technical institution as a teacher. Aspirants can start by getting jobs in technical institutions as assistant professors. If you’ve done your PhD then you can consider working as a scientist or researcher. The automobile industry is a wide spectrum of good job opportunities if you have an undying passion for cars.

There&’s a wide spectrum of opportunities waiting for you if everything about cars revs your engine, says christopher gonsalves
The automobile industry is one of the most highly touted sectors in engineering today. The best part is the industry is unique because it doesn’t just stick to engineering alone but extends to other aspects like sales, self-employment, marketing and research and development.  
   Automobile engineering is one sector where engineers can realise their dreams by putting their talent to the test because designing new automobiles with lots of facilities and improving older models of vehicles can be a challenge.
A number of companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Maruti offer promising job packages to good automobile engineers. Thanks to them, the market sees new designs every year and the automobile industry is still a booming one in India. Aspirants should have qualifications in design and should hold degrees in subjects like Computer Auto Motion and Computer Added Design. They should be efficient at using computers to draw out three-dimensional shapes of cars and understand which parts of a car go where.
The manufacture of traditional models of automobiles is monitored by engineers. They check quality and make sure that the interior and exterior of each automobile unit is identical. The engineering team of any automobile factory is made up of individuals who each specialise in fields like meeting international standards, fuel utilisation and security. There are other departments that an engineer can specialise in, like field development and testing.
Once a vehicle is produced and tested, the next step is to make it available to buyers. This becomes the responsibility of the respective sales department. Persons in this department inform customers about an automobile&’s features and details and if the buyer likes it then the car is sold. Showrooms are run by energetic sales executives who get incentives in addition to their salaries for every car they manage to sell. You can work your way up in this department and become a sales manager or even a zone manager. Having higher professional degrees like a BBA or MBA degree can work to your advantage.  
Every part of an automobile has a certain life span after which it requires maintenance and might even need to be repaired. If you like working on your own terms then the automobile industry has options to be self-employed. If you have any technical degree then you could consider opening up your own maintenance shop. Working as an engineer in a factory will help you gain experience and once you’ve accumulated enough information on how the cogs turn you can start a thriving automobile maintenance business of your own.
If you have an MTech degree in automobile engineering, you can consider joining a technical institution as a teacher. Aspirants can start by getting jobs in technical institutions as assistant professors. If you’ve done your PhD then you can consider working as a scientist or researcher. The automobile industry is a wide spectrum of good job opportunities if you have an undying passion for cars.

agence france-presse
LONDON, 8 JUNE: A 15-year-old bowler is poised to make history after being named in English county Yorkshire’s squad for their domestic 40-over match with Leicestershire on Sunday.
At the age of 15 years and 212 days, Matthew Fisher will become the youngest post-war cricketer to play in one of England’s county competitions if he features in the game in the northeastern town of Scarborough.
"I could never imagine at the start of the season that I would be named in the first-team squad," he told the website of a British newspaper on Friday.
"It’s unbelievable. When I found out, I was very proud and emotional. I was smiling from ear to ear. My target at the start of the year was to get one or two second-team games — I’ve already surpassed that."
Fisher, a right-arm seamer, already bowls at around 80 miles per hour (129 kilometres per hour) and took 6-25 against Leicestershire in a second-team game last week.
"Matthew deserves his call-up into the squad," Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie told the club website.
"We monitor the progress of all our players and the feedback I have received from (second-team coach) Paul Farbrace on the way Matthew has been playing has been excellent.
"He is very young, but he has the ability to be successful if he is selected on Sunday."
The record for the youngest player to appear in an English first-class game is held by Yorkshire wicketkeeper Barney Gibson, who was 15 years and 27 days old when he donned the gloves against Durham University in April 2011.
Gibson broke a record set by Hampshire’s Charles Young in 1867, but he is still waiting for his second appearance in the senior side.
Haddin shines
Australia A captain Brad Haddin hit a century as the tourists recovered from a slow start to reach 335 for 6 at the end of the first day of their four-day tour match against Scotland in Edinburgh.
The Australian reserves were struggling at 23 for 2 after Jordan Silk had been caught by Preston Mommsen off the bowling of Gordon Goudie for just four, while Alex Doolan had made only 14 when he was bowled by Iain Wardlaw.
Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith put on 42 for the third wicket before Smith was dismissed by Calum MacLeod and Khawaja went on to make 51 before becoming Wardlaw’s second victim with the score on 138.
The dismissal of Moises Henriques for 20 left Australia on 171 for 5, but Haddin and Peter Siddle combined for a partnership of 118 before Haddin was caught behind off the bowling of Moneeb Iqbal.
Haddin’s 113 came from 157 balls with 12 fours and two sixes. Siddle was 85 not out from 128 balls at the close with James Pattinson unbeaten on nine.

press trust of india
PHAGWARA, 8 JUNE: With the raging Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal denting the credibility of cricket, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today said that every effort should be made to clean up the game.
“I am a small person. Bigwigs are busy with this. I think everything that needs to be done should be done to clean up the game in wake of the IPL crisis,” Singh said, though he refused to comment when asked whether betting on cricket should be legalised or an anti-fixing law, promulgated.
Singh was addressing a Press conference after inaugurating a cricket academy.
Asked about Shah Rukh Khan’s reported comment that he wants to beat up the IPL’s spot-fixers, he said, in jest: “Who can stop him?" Stressing that cricket should be taken to smaller cities and villages, Singh said that, to promote cricket and to tap young talent, he planned setting up cricket academies in Mumbai, Jammu, Ludhiana and some other cities by the end of this year.
He lamented the absence of assistance from state governments.

LONDON, 6 JUNE: It seems impossible for one-day cricket to be left alone simply to get on with its business. No sooner has one regulation been introduced than another follows.
Players, let alone spectators, can hardly know what’s going on. The rules governing the Champions Trophy, which starts on Thursday, seem likely to be changed again before the next World Cup, early in 2015. Word from the International Cricket Council’s cricket committee recently was that more amendments would be made to the recent amendments.
In particular, there seems to be concern about the use of two new balls, one from each end. This replaced the old regulation under which the ball was replaced after 34 overs (for a combination of discoloration and going soft). As the cricket committee noted, the changes had produced a more attacking game, with more boundaries and more wickets. But they were concerned about the detrimental impact on spin bowling. The committee decided to leave any recommended alterations to later in the year.
the independent

NEW YORK, 6 JUNE: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with earnings of USD 31.5 million, has been ranked at 16th place on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes, which has been topped by golfer Tiger Woods.
The magazine said 31-year-old Dhoni moved up 15 positions this year. In 2012, he was placed at 31st position.
The influential business magazine estimated that Dhoni made USD 31.5 million over the last year from prize money and endorsements.
37-year-old Woods made USD 78.1 million followed by Tennis star Roger Federer at USD 71.5 million. Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player, is third at USD 61.9 million.
Federer had topped the 2012 list.
This year’s 100-strong list features just three women led by Tennis ace Maria Sharapova, who ranks No 22 with earnings of USD 29 million.
Sharapova is joined by No 68 Serena Williams, who raked in USD 20.5 million, including USD 8.5 million in prize money.
While China’s Li Na ranks 85th overall with earnings of USD 18.2 million. pti

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 8 JUNE: Chairman of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), apex body of PSEs in India, Mr CS Verma, who is also chairman, Steel Authority of India Ltd, today held a meeting with the chief executives/directors and senior executives of SCOPE member PSEs based in the eastern region to identify issues of concern in the eastern region PSEs.
Mr Verma said the industrial environment in the country was very dynamic and more functional and operational autonomy should be given to the PSEs to face global competition.
Chief executives and other senior executives of PSEs present at the meeting were of the opinion that SCOPE should emerge as a more effective voice of PSEs to take up issues of enhanced functional autonomy of PSEs.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Verma said SCOPE is mulling setting up of an independent training institute for the PSEs.
“There was a good suggestion for setting up an institute for entry level and middle level management employees of public sector enterprises and we will look into it,” Mr Verma said.
Out of the total 220 operational PSEs in India 35 are in the eastern region. Besides, the total turnover of the PSEs of this region was Rs 1,22,117 crore. Of the 35, 12 are in the red with a total loss of Rs 1429 crore. The total employment is 2,80,484 people.
Mr Verma, after taking over recently as chairman of SCOPE, has taken the initiative of activating the regional chapters of SCOPE to evolve a consensus and agenda of common issues affecting their performance and competitiveness.
SCOPE would undertake an international study on the functioning of effective PSEs in different countries and will develop the best model for PSEs in the country to keep pace with the changes taking place across the world, he added.
Some of the other issues which emerged during deliberations included professional functioning of the boards, including the independent directors, succession planning and skill development in PSEs.
A large number of chief executives/directors and senior executives of eastern region PSEs attended the meeting and deliberated on the issues being faced by these enterprises in this region of the country.

SAIL-Kobe JV in Durgapur on
KOLKATA, 8 JUNE: Steel major SAIL today said it was going ahead with its joint venture with Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel to set up an iron ore nugget plant in Durgapur at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore for which environment assessment study is on.
“The SAIL-Kobe Steel JV in Durgapur is on. This will be the second such project in the world after the USA. The JV agreement has been finalised”, SAIL chairman Mr CS Verma told reporters here. He said it would take five to six months to complete the environment assessment. Mr Verma said the proposed plant would produce 0.5 million tons of iron ore nugget per annum.
On the modernisation of Burnpur-based IISCO steel plant, Mr Verma said post-modernisation the plant would have a capacity of 2.5 million tons. The sinter plant at IISCO has gone into production, while the coke oven plant has become operational. The wire rod mill in the plant has gone on stream for which slabs were being sourced from SAIL’s Durgapur Steel Plant.
The blast furnace and converter would now be commissioned and the modernisation would be completed by December this year, he said.
Asked about SAIL’s proposed joint venture with RITES to reopen Kulti works, he said: “We have yet to register the land. No firm investment decision has been taken.” pti

NOTTINGHAM, 6 JUNE: Alastair Cook forecast Jos Buttler’s decisive innings against New Zealand at Trent Bridge would be the first of many occasions the talented shotmaker swung a match England’s way.
The 22-year-old Somerset wicket-keeper/batsman was outscored by England team-mates Ian Bell (82) and Eoin Morgan (49) in Wednesday’s day/night clash. But it was Buttler’s 47 not out off just 16 balls that was pivotal in setting up a 34-run win in the third one-day international, albeit New Zealand took the series 2-1. Brief scores: England 287/6 v New Zealand 253 all out.

MUMBAI, 8 JUNE: The foreign exchange reserves of the country plummeted by $4.18 billion to $287.90 billion for the week ended 31 May in the wake of a sharp fall in currency assets and gold reserves, the Reserve Bank of India said in its Weekly Statistical Supplement.
Total forex reserves had risen by $110 million to $292.07 billion in the previous reporting week.
Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, dipped by $3.056 billion to $258.51 billion for the week ended 31 May, the Reserve Bank said in data released yesterday.
Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said.
The gold reserves went down by $1.138 billion to $22.836 billion, the apex bank said.
For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by $10.4 million to $4.327 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the IMF was also up by $5.3 million to $2.225 billion, the apex bank data showed. pti

WELLINGTON, 6 JUNE: Bangladesh cricket coach Jamie Siddons says ex-captain Mohammad Ashraful should not be judged too harshly for his involvement in match-fixing because he was likely ensnared by the “powerful beast of underworld gambling” at an early age. Siddons, who now coaches New Zealand’s Wellington province, told the Dominion-Post newspaper he had alerted the Bangladesh Cricket Board and International Cricket Council to the threat of spot-fixing during his four-year term as Bangladesh coach from 2007 to 2011.
Ashraful admitted to match- and spot-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League after being suspended by the BCB on Tuesday. He is being investigated by the ICC.
The Australian-born Siddons said he was not surprised to hear of Ashraful’s involvement, saying “it’s disappointing but I don’t think it’s surprising. It’s a powerful beast, the underworld gambling.”
Siddons said he had “made my thoughts known a while ago to the (Bangladesh) cricket board and the ICC,” warning of the threat of spot-fixing.
He said young players were often vulnerable to financial temptation and Ashraful was probably sought out by the match-fixers while still in his teens. “People like Ashraful, he’s got 15 people living in his house, he feeds probably five families and on a cricketer’s wage,” Siddons said. “Over there, it’s near- impossible so you can almost understand. It’s a different world than we live in.
It’s a tough world for him.” Siddons said he felt disappointed for his former charge.
“He’s a great young kid … He probably got roped in as a 15-year-old, when he first started, by some other people. I feel a bit sorry for him but I don’t condone it at all.”
In another development, the the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations today unveiled a new leadership structure after the resignation of its long-serving chief executive officer Tim May by making Paul Marsh the executive chairman of the body.
FICA president Jimmy Adams said Marsh had been elected executive chairman by the chief executives of the player associations, with Ian Smith coming in as chief operating officer. ap