lunes, 28 de febrero de 2011

British Airways Worker Convicted for Terror Plot - Wall Street Journal

LONDON—A U.K. jury has found a former British Airways software engineer guilty of using his job to prepare terrorist acts and plotting with U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to do so.

The verdict concludes a closely watched case that provided a rare instance of a major airline being successfully infiltrated by someone with al Qaeda connections.

Prosecutors charged Rajib Karim, a Bangladeshi national who arrived in the U.K. in late 2006, with what they called a "chilling plan" to use his job at the airline to blow up a passenger plane.

On Monday afternoon, a jury found him guilty of ...

Foster ban Christians 'feel sidelined' - BBC News

Firth wears eco-friendly clothes at Oscars - Sify

London, Feb 28(IANS) Oscar winner Colin Firth and his wife Livia wore environment-friendly outfits at the Academy Awards Sunday in a bid to raise awareness of recycled clothing.

The star's partner founded Fairtrade boutique Eco Age and she donned a paneled gown recycled from old dresses for the red carpet, reports aceshowbiz.com.

'It defies what you normally see on the red carpet. It's really beautiful - it's pretty but also has a message,' said Livia.

And Livia convinced her husband to wear an equally environmentally-friendly outfit - Firth was sporting a Tom Ford suit made of ethical materials.

'Livia educated me on the importance of knowing where the clothes you wear come from,' said Firth.

Firth reigned supreme at the ceremony, taking home the best actor trophy for his role in 'The King's Speech'.

Fish pedicure spreads infection, disease - Times of India

The latest beauty craze—fish pedicures—offered in salons and spas across the world have raised serious health concerns.

British experts are worried that the trend that is sweeping the country could spread infection and disease, reports the Daily Mail.

The Health Protection Agency is investigating after the treatment was banned by 14 American states.

The treatment, which costs between 10 and 50 pounds, involves customers dunking their feet in tanks to have their dead skin nibbled away by scores of Turkish miniature toothless carp.

But it has been revealed the pedicures using the garra rufa fish could spread infection from person to person through open wounds.

Salons said they use UV-lit tanks, which are constantly filtered to keep them clear of disease.

But the therapy's opponents said that unlike usual salon rules, which compel staff to throw away or sanitise tools after each use, the epidermis-eating fish are too expensive to discard.

The agency began investigating after being contacted by environmental health officers.

"The HPA will examine the most up-to-date evidence of any possible risks associated with garra rufa fish pedicures," said an agency spokesman.

Charlie Sheen speaks out after production of 'Two and a Half Men' stopped - Boston Globe

Charlie Sheen made headlines last week when he spoke out against the executive producer of his show "Two and a Half Men" and CBS in a radio interview, and the network retaliated by saying it will pull the plug on his show.

Tomorrow evening on a special "20/20," viewers will be able to hear Sheen's side of the story, although the actor's eccentric responses may do little to improve his public image (watch clips of the interview below).

In the first clip, Sheen, who went to rehab earlier this year, denied that he was back on drugs.

"I am on a drug; it's called Charlie Sheen," Sheen said. "It's not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body . . . too much?"

During the same segment, Sheen also said the public misinterprets his passion as anger.

During the second, longer segment from the interview, Sheen smoked a cigarette and stated his intention to take the creators of "Two and a Half Men" to court to force them to resume production.


Vodafone Says UK Service Is Being Restored After Network Theft - Bloomberg

Vodafone Group Plc said most U.K. voice calling affected by an overnight theft that damaged equipment and left some customers without network access is running again.

"Several hundred thousand" customers of the world's largest mobile-phone operator by revenue may have lost voice, data, and text service this morning, which is now being progressively restored, the company said in a posting on its official Web forum.

A break-in at a network facility in Basingtoke, southern England, last night caused the outage, which Vodafone said mostly affected customers along the M4 highway corridor that runs from west London toward Cardiff, Wales.

Vodafone has about 19 million customers in the U.K., where it competes primarily with Telefonica SA's O2 unit and Everything Everywhere, a joint venture between France Telecom SA and Deutsche Telekom AG.

Newbury, England-based Vodafone's Australian unit in December apologized to customers for poor network performance after a series of "intermittent network issues." The unit has announced plans to upgrade network equipment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Campbell in Paris at mcampbell39@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net;

Apologetic Cole to face Man United - ESPN

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Ashley Cole remains part of his first-team plans after accidentally shooting a work placement student with an air rifle and has denied that indiscipline is rife within his squad.

• Chelsea to take action on Cole
• Carlo under fire as 'shooting' probed

Cole was plastered over the News of the World on Sunday, amid allegations he shot 21-year-old Tom Cowan, who had to be treated by the club's medical staff after being hit in the side by a lead pellet, at Chelsea's Cobham training ground with a .22 rifle.

The police have been made aware of the incident and will see if they are required to take things further, while the club have insisted appropriate action has been taken.

With Chelsea facing title rivals Manchester United on Tuesday, Ancelotti fielded questions about Cole's place in the side and the Italian has confirmed the left back will not be dropped, but did admit that the defender overstepped the mark.

"He will play tomorrow," Ancelotti said. "We are not happy with what happened but I have spoken with him. He was disappointed and said sorry and that he made a mistake. He said it was an accident and we are taking the proper action. But tomorrow he will play and I feel he is focused to play a good game."

A lot had been made of the lack of comment from Cole over the incident, but Ancelotti confirmed the defender had apologised and that he had overstepped the line of what is and is not acceptable.

"He has apologised," Ancelotti said. "He apologised to the guys involved, then sorry to his team-mates and then to the club.

"He has stepped over the line and we will take proper action."

Ancelotti was asked if there was a chance Cole would be sacked. "No, there is no way," he said. "He is our player. He has always shown good behaviour, and made a mistake. He knows this and now we have to move on."

It has been claimed that Chelsea's Cobham training ground is out of control, but this again has been dismissed by the Italian.

"Here there is discipline," Ancelotti said. "Cobham is not out of control. At Cobham there is discipline and the players respect this. The players know that if they step over the line we will take a decision. This is normal life.

"From outside nobody can say this club is out of control as we have internal discipline and take appropriate action. It is not true that there is no discipline."

Is Apple's Design Deity Leaving? What, No More iMacs, iPhones, and iPads? - BNET (blog)

Those Apple (AAPL) fans who have been worried about the prospect of their beloved company without CEO Steve Jobs actually have a much bigger problems on the horizon: industrial design head Jonathan Ive could leave.

Given that he was responsible for the ultimate look and feel of the iMac, iPhone, and iPad, that would be a big loss. And it raises the question of who else might have the wherewithal to keep the flow of product innovation going.

Apparently, golden handcuffs from 2008, in the form of stock grants, are about to drop and Ive will be able to realize a $25 million payday, largely made possible because the devices he spearheaded have cranked up Apple's stock.

Ive and his wife are both from England and they want to return to raise their children there. The problem is that Apple's board doesn't like the idea of him working from London, so it and Ive are at "loggerheads" over his commuting from the U.K.

From a management view, you can understand the board's quandary. Ive is a singular design genius who also has been able to manage a team to create iconic products. That sort of talent may be irreplaceable. However, to manage a group from another continent and get the close type of collaboration and attention that must be necessary for results would be a challenge at best and impossible at worst. To keep Ive might not get the effort the company needs, and the choice would rule out a search for a replacement.

On the other hand, Ive is said to be practically symbiotic with Jobs. So, what if the rumors that Jobs has terminal cancer are true? That could be another reason that Ive might want to create distance from the company, as being there could wind up a painful reminder.

The thought that Apple would immediately fall apart with the loss of Jobs is naïve. But if the company lost both men? A very different — and difficult — situation.

Related:

Image: morgueFile user cohdra, site standard license.

Google Gmail outage leaves 150000 users without e-mail - Computerworld

Computerworld - About 150,000 of Google's Gmail users woke up Sunday morning to missing e-mails, contacts and chat histories.

Google engineers noted on the Apps Status Dashboard at 10:40 p.m. EST Sunday night that e-mail services were restored to "some" users and that they expect to fix the problem for everyone in the "near future." They were not, however, specific regarding how many users had their Gmail services restored and how soon everyone else should expect to get their services back.

As of noon today, there had been no further updates.

One user looking for help on Google's Help Forum wrote, "Don't scare me I have 4 years worth of eMail on that!!!!!!!!"

While many users complained that they were missing key parts of their Gmail service, which includes e-mail, chats, contacts, folders and settings, some reported that their accounts seemed to have been reset so they appeared to be brand new.

Google first acknowledged the problem on its Apps Status Dashboard Sunday at 3:09 p.m. EST. Several hours later, Google engineers reported that the issue was affecting less than 0.08% of its Gmail users.

Then, at 8:02 p.m., engineers noted, "Google engineers are working to restore full access. Affected users may be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts."

This kind of outage could very well affect Google and its efforts to work its way into the enterprise market .

"This will slow their momentum in selling Gmail into enterprises," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research. "I don't think it will much affect the cloud, in general, except to give every competitor an opportunity to explain why it couldn't happen to them."

Gottheil added that the episode will add to executives' fears about trusting their critical e-mail to the cloud.

"While I believe most other e-mail systems have outages, this cuts to the heart of enterprises' fear about cloud solutions," Gottheil said. "A difficult on-premise problem feels more controllable than a remote one."

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at Twitter @sgaudin or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed Gaudin RSS. Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

Read more about Cloud Computing in Computerworld's Cloud Computing Topic Center.

Three brigade bosses to be charged with manslaughter over deaths of four fire ... - Daily Mail

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:43 PM on 28th February 2011


Three fire service managers have been charged with manslaughter over the deaths of four firefighters in a warehouse blaze.

Paul Simmons, Adrian Ashley and Timothy Woodward will face charges of manslaughter by gross negligence in court on April 1 over the deaths four years ago.

Firefighters Ian Reid, John Averis, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Badley died in a warehouse fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007.

Brave: Firefighters John Averis (left) , 27, and Ashley Stephens (right), 20, were killed in the warehouse fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007

Blaze: The other two men who died were Ian Reid (left), 44, and Darren Yates-Badley (right), 24. Fire chiefs will be charged with their manslaughter on April 1

All three men to be charged are managers for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Warwickshire County Council faces a charge of failing to ensure the health and safety at work of its employees, under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The defendants will appear at Leamington Spa Magistrates' Court on April 1.

Michael Gregory, reviewing lawyer in the CPS Special Crime Division, said: 'Following a thorough investigation by Warwickshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive, I have reviewed the evidence in this case very carefully and I have decided that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge Paul Simmons, Adrian Ashley and Timothy Woodward with gross negligence manslaughter.

Firemen's cortege: The families of the dead firemen attend their funeral while their colleagues line the street in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007

Firemen's cortege: The families of the dead firemen attend their funeral while their colleagues line the street in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007

'Mr Simmons and Mr Ashley were watch managers and Mr Woodward was a station manager at the time of the fire, but they all acted as incident commanders before, during and after their colleagues were sent into the burning building.

'In that role, they were responsible for making the operational decisions while their colleagues tried to put out the fire.

'I have also decided that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction against Warwickshire County Council for failing to protect the health and safety of its employees and that it is in the public interest to prosecute.

'I send my sincere condolences to the families of these four men who died in such terrible circumstances.'

Since January last year police have arrested 13 firefighters and fire service managers in connection with the deaths.

Nine firefighters, including Paul Stephens, 54, dad of tragic Ashley, will not face any charges after the CPS decided there was 'insufficient evidence' against them.

More than 80 firefighters and 16 fire engines tackled the blaze on November 2 2007, for over five hours.

Four former employees, all Polish nationals, were arrested in May 2009 in connection with the suspected arson but released without charge.

Simmons, Ashley and Woodward will appear at Leamington Spa magistrates court on April 1.


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Our feeble Libya policy - Washington Post (blog)

The perception that the Obama administration's Middle East policy is feeble, if not pathetic, grows daily. This report makes clear how little we are doing in comparison to our allies:

British and German military planes swooped into Libya's desert, rescuing hundreds of oil workers and civilians stranded at remote sites, as thousands of other foreigners are still stuck in Tripoli by bad weather and red tape.

The secret military missions into the turbulent North Africa country signal the readiness of Western nations to disregard Libya's territorial integrity when it comes to the safety of their citizens.

Three British Royal Air Force planes plucked 150 stranded civilians from multiple locations in the eastern Libyan desert before flying them to Malta on Sunday, the British Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The rescue follows a similar secret commando raid Saturday by British Special Forces that got another 150 oil workers from the remote Libyan desert.

Separately, Germany said its air force had evacuated 132 people also from the desert during a secret military mission on Saturday.

As Jamie Fly, executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative, put it to me this morning: "First the Chinese; now we are being outdone by the Germans and the British."

In a real and very visible way we have ceded leadership. Writing in Politico over the weekend, Paul Wolfowitz of the American Enterprise Institute and Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution argue for more robust action, even if the administration insists on multilateralism. They suggest four course corrections:

1) Immediate organization of humanitarian relief efforts;

2) An explicit decision that Qadhafi must go as a matter of U.S. policy -- which, it appears, has just been announced;

3) Establishment of a dialogue with anti-Qadhafi forces in the liberated cities;

4) Immediate diplomatic action to pave the way for international action of a more forceful sort should the situation take further turns for the worse in Libya.

In a separate piece in the Enterprise blog, Wolfowitz questions whether the arms embargo that was part of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1970 does more harm than good. From a summary of the resolution, Wolfowitz relates that the resolution appears to bar arms from going to either side in Libya.

He cautions:

No one who is thinking of supplying Qaddafi with arms at this point is going to care about what a UN resolution says. So this provision has no effect on Qaddafi now, though it might have sent a useful signal a week earlier.

However, the United States and other countries who might supply the rebels may not be able to legally do so until the resolution is changed. This will cause further delay and put weight on the side of those who are probably arguing that supplying arms to anyone would represent too much U.S. involvement.

If that sounds absurd, it is exactly what the United States and the "international community" did at the outset of the war in Bosnia 19 years ago. The embargo on the Bosnians remained in effect for years, depriving them of the means to defend themselves, with the argument advanced that supplying arms to either side would simply prolong the war. In fact, what prolonged the war was the weakness of the Bosnians. By depriving them of the means to defend themselves, the arms embargo caused tens of thousands of deaths and eventually required the United States to intervene militarily, deploying tens of thousands of American troops over the course of a decade. It left the government of Bosnia permanently shattered and strengthened radical influences, including foreign Islamist extremists, in Bosnian politics.

In other words, the U.S. has abdicated its role of international leadership, and what we are doing might be counterproductive. If not its intention, the Obama foreign policy team has certainly managed to minimize America's profile and influence in the Middle East at a critical juncture.

Families Face 'Living Costs Crisis' - Sky News

4:06pm UK, Monday February 28, 2011

Sophy Ridge, political correspondent

Ed Miliband has warned of a "cost of living crisis" that will hit middle earners hardest.

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The Labour leader's speech comes on the back of research that claims middle income families will be £4,000 worse off this year as a result of spending cuts and the struggling economy.

Mr Miliband said: "More and more families will face a cost of living crisis that will see them left behind, even as the economy recovers.

"The Government is hitting lower- and middle-income families hardest in the way it cuts the deficit."

In a speech at the launch of a Commission of Living Standards, Mr Miliband pointed to research showing that since the 1970s, wages for middle and low earners have grown slower than the economy.

Data from the Resolution Foundation, which is behind the new commission, shows working couples with children will be up to £4,250 worse off this year because of public service cuts, low wage rises, inflation, higher taxes and benefit cuts.

The Labour chief also attempted to appeal to the political centre ground in his speech.

He admitted his party previously ignored families on middle incomes to focus on those with low incomes.

Previously, Mr Miliband has been portrayed as being to the left of his party.

He said: "In the past, people have been used to hearing Labour leaders talk about fairness in terms of just inequalities between the richest and poorest.

"For families in the middle, fairness was important because they cared about a just society but it wasn't something which made a material difference to their standard of living.

Couple look in window of an estate agent in England

Mr Miliband said the economy was 'unfair' for many middle earners

"That was because for many decades, the proceeds of growth and rising prosperity benefited the vast bulk of those working on middle incomes.

"Over the last 20 to 30 years that once-safe assumption has broken down.

"While those at the top have done well, middle and low earners are no longer guaranteed the proceeds of growth.

"Our economy is increasingly unfair not just for those at the bottom but for many of those in the middle as well."

I do not think we can be relaxed about the filthy rich getting richer if you're seeing people on low and middle incomes getting their incomes squeezed.

Ed Miliband

Mr Miliband said the "squeezed middle" included households earning up to £44,000.

When asked to define the squeezed middle by Sky News, he added: "I think it's about people who are basic rate taxpayers and some people in the higher rate of tax.

"You might be on £44,000, but you have a number of children and pressures on you."

In a jibe at Peter Mandelson- who once said he was relaxed about people becoming "filthy rich" - the Labour leader said: "I don't think we can be relaxed about the filthy rich getting richer if you're seeing people on low and middle incomes getting their incomes squeezed."

Mr Miliband also admitted in the speech that Labour got it "wrong" over the number of Eastern European immigrants.

He said the previous government was "certainly wrong about the number of people" enteing the country, which they "significantly underestimated".

He added: "The real issue is how do we address the udnerlying drivers of low wages and low skills in a world where we do have free movement of labour.

"We need to address it."

US Offered Rosy View Before Bahrain Crackdown - New York Times

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Solar Flare Creates Stunning Light Show - ABC News

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Brutal Crackdown in Moderate Bahrain - New York Times

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Call for central Christchurch total rebuild - Financial Times

Business leaders think the centre of Christchurch may have to be completely rebuilt, with commercial high-rise buildings moved farther out, after last Tuesday's devastating earthquake in New Zealand's second-largest city.

The 6.3 magnitude quake has left most of the city's central business district in ruins, and on Sunday the number of confirmed dead had risen to 147, with police saying they expected the final toll to pass 200.

Assange is facing extradition - MyFox Tampa Bay

LONDON - A British judge decided today that WikiLinks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden to face questioning on sex crime allegations.

According to Assange, the ruling was not a surprise, "There was no consideration during this entire process as to the merits of the allegations made against me."

The allegations of rape and sexual molestation by two women are the types of offenses for which someone can be extradited, according to Judge Howard Riddle.

Oasis stars' dad in pavement bust-up - Mirror.co.uk

 THE dad of Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher was warned by police after a foul-mouthed parking bust-up.

Tommy Gallagher, 66, "went into a rage" over a car parked outside his house.

He allegedly hammered on a female ­neighbour's door and hurled abuse at her before police turned up at the cul-de-sac in Burnage, Manchester. Gallagher received a warning but no further action was taken.

A witness said: "There were children there and it wasn't very nice."

Mr Gallagher, who is estranged from Noel and Liam, refused to comment.

Blunder hands Birmingham League Cup win over Arsenal - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

Birmingham City stunned Arsenal with an 89th-minute goal from substitute Obafemi Martins after a defensive mixup to win a dramatic League Cup final 2-1 on Sunday.

Martins, who came on just six minutes earlier, pounced on a blunder when defender Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny failed to clear and swept the ball into the empty net with extra time approaching.

Birmningham took the lead with a Nikola Zigic header after 28 minutes before Arsenal equalised 11 minutes later through Robin van Persie.

All the talk before the final had been of Arsenal ending their six-year wait for a trophy, but Birmingham's triumph ended a much longer drought, the win coming 48 years after they lifted the 1963 League Cup.

domingo, 27 de febrero de 2011

Clashes Between Police, Protesters Kill 2 in Oman - Voice of America

Clashes Between Police, Protesters Kill 2 in Oman

Witnesses in the Persian Gulf Sultanate of Oman say security forces killed two demonstrators Sunday after firing rubber bullets into a crowd demanding political reforms.

The clashes Sunday between police and stone-throwing protesters occurred in the town of Sohar, about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, Muscat.  

Oman's state news agency confirmed the clashes and said the police were protecting the people and their property.

Reports from Oman said protesters, numbering in the hundreds, had set fire to a police station and at least one other government building.

Sultan Qaboos shuffled his Cabinet on Saturday, in an apparent bid to head off the type of protests for political change sweeping other countries in the Arab world.

FACTBOX-Libya evacuations by country - Reuters Africa

(Updates with new information)

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Following are details of countries evacuating nationals and employees from Libya or closing operations because of the political turmoil.

* Denotes new or updated entry:

COUNTRIES:

BRITAIN: British military aircraft flew some 150 oil workers out of camps in the Libyan desert on Saturday, rescuing citizens stranded by the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi.

-- Britain announced the closure of its embassy in Tripoli just after the last charter aircraft evacuating Britons took off from the Libyan capital, carrying about 100 people, 53 of them British.

-- Defence Secretary Liam Fox said a naval frigate, HMS Cumberland, was on its way back to Benghazi to evacuate any remaining Britons.

-- A Navy destroyer, HMS York, had arrived in Malta and would be available to help with the evacuation effort, as would "a number of other military assets", Fox said.   Continued...

West Ham move off the bottom of EPL with 3-1 home win over Liverpool - CNN International

West Ham moved off the bottom of the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Upton Park Sunday.

Liverpool had been unbeaten in eight under new manager Kenny Dalglish and harboring hopes of a late bid for a Champions League place but they were well beaten by the Hammers.

Goals from inspirational captain Scott Parker and new striker Demba Ba put the home side in command before a late Glen Johnson effort with six minutes remaining gave Liverpool late hope.

But Carlton Cole sealed victory with West Ham's third and they move level on points with Wolves but still in the relegation zone.

Manager Avram Grant would have been pleased by the midfield axis of Parker and German international Thomas Hitzlsperger, but had particular praise for his skipper, who had been a big doubt before the match with injury.

"Scott is a special guy. The spirit he showed was great," he told Sky Sports.

"Three hours before the game, we thought there was no way he would play.

"It was a bad, bad injury. He couldn't walk or move his arms."

In Sunday's other match, Manchester City were held 1-1 by Fulham, a result which dents their title and Champions League qualification hopes.

Italian striker Mario Balotelli scored a superb opener for City on 26 minutes but the visitors leveled just after halftime as Andy Johnson crossed for Damien Duff to score.

In an otherwise drab affair, Carlos Tevez nearly scored a late winner for City but Fulham held on for a deserved draw.

At the final whistle, the Fulham manager Mark Hughes, controversially sacked last season by City, appeared to exchange angry words with his successor Roberto Mancini.

UK Should Reduce VAT on Fuel to Help Families, Balls Says - Bloomberg

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne should reverse an increase in value-added tax on fuel to lessen the impact of oil-price rises on drivers, according to Ed Balls, who speaks on the economy for the country's main opposition Labour Party.

VAT, a sales tax which was increased to 20 percent from 17.5 percent on Jan. 4, could be reduced on fuel before the March 23 budget, Balls said in an interview with BBC TV today.

"He should say now to families who are having a tough time across the country 'actually the VAT rise on fuel was a mistake'," Balls said. "When we were in government we often didn't put the duty rise through if the oil price was high. That's a budget decision, but he could reverse the VAT thing now and give relief to families and hauliers."

The previous government looked into introducing a fuel- price stabilizer like one being considered by the Treasury, which would cut duty when prices were high and increase it when they were low, and found it unworkable, Balls also said.

"It is completely flawed," Balls, who was an adviser to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, told the Sunday Times. "It leads to instability and some perverse outcomes."

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

Becks tougher than gansters, says tattooist - Sify

Soccer star David Beckham, who recently revealed his latest body art on Facebook, sat through the 6-hour procedure without flinching, according to his tattooist.

Mark Mahoney, who has given inkings to Bruce Willis, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp and all the Spice Girls, revealed how the footballer braved the pain.

"He was super cool. He hung in there like a real tough guy," the Daily Star quoted Mahoney as saying exclusively from his parlour.

"He sat in that chair for six hours and made a point he wanted to get it done in that time with no breaks.

"Most gangsters go for four hours and need a break but he went for six hours and he sat without making a face, without a peep," he said.

Beckham posted a picture of himself under the needle on his Facebook page. It was taken by a friend he took with him while he had it done.

The tattoo, thought to be his 20th, shows Becks in a loincloth surrounded by angels.

Staff at Mahoney's Shamrock Tattoo Parlour on Sunset Boulevard said he had it done just before Christmas.

"He came by three or four times and was hanging out at the shop before he got the tattoo," Mahoney said.

"It was just a really good experience.

"He appreciated the fine line black and grey tattoo I like to do and we were able to work together on the design. It's a big one in the centre of his chest, almost up to his left arm. It was spiritual, you know," he said.

Mahoney hinted it was probably wife Victoria's influence that persuaded David to get the tattoo from him.

"I met his wife a long time ago. I tattooed all the Spice Girls," he said.

The dad-of-three says the angels in the latest one signify his sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. (ANI)

A bad Night at the Razzies - The Sun

M NIGHT SHYAMALAN took top dishonours at the Golden Raspberry Awards in LA last night.

The director's critically-mauled fantasy The Last Airbender swept the board at the shaming ceremony that hands out 'prizes' to the worst of the year's films.

It picked up four gongs - Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Eye-Gouging Use of 3D and Worst director for Shyamalan.

Unsurpsingly, the Sixth Sense moviemaker wasn't at the pre-Oscars event to collect his haul.

The film famously featured such unintentionally hilarious dialogue as "The Fire Nation's plan is to suppress all bending" and "Earth-benders! Why do you live like this?"

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Sex And The City 2 was also battered by the board, with the four female leads - SARAH JESSICA PARKER, CYNTHIA NIXON, KIM CATTRALL and KRISTIN DAVIS - scooping the Worst Actress and Worst Ensemble accolades.

The film won Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake or Ripoff.

Commenting on it, Razzies founder John Wilson said: "It was released in the middle of a period of American history when everyone's scrounging not to lose their homes.

"And these women are riding around in Rolls-Royces, buying expensive shoes and just throwing money around like they're drunk."

Elsewhere, ASHTON KUTCHER was named Worst Actor for his roles in Killers and Valentine's Day and JESSICA ALBA took Worst Supporting Actress for a quartet of offenses in Little Fockers, Machete, Valentine's Day and The Killer Inside Me.

Ashley Cole shoots, wounds student - Independent Online

Ashley_Cole1

Getty Images

Ashey Cole has reportedly shot and wounded a student with an air-rifle at Chelseas Cobham training ground.

London – England fullback Ashley Cole shot and wounded a work-experience student with an air-rifle, according to reports in the News of the World on Sunday.

The incident is alleged to have happened at Chelsea's Cobham training-ground last Sunday.

Cole is said to have brought the .22 rifle, including muzzle and nightscope, to Cobham, something witnessed by a dozen members of staff.

Apparently unaware the rifle was loaded, he is reported to have aimed it at Tom Cowan, a 21-year-old sports science student from Loughborough University who was on a year's work experience at the club.

"It's truly inconceivable that a Premier League footballer could bring a gun to the training ground," the newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying.

"But Ashley pulled the rifle from a box and started larking about with it in the changing room, not realising it was loaded. It ended up pointed at Tom just five feet away.

"The gun went off with a loud pop and Tom screamed as this lead pellet hit him in the side. It went through his clothing and into his flesh."

Cowan was treated by medics at the ground, but two days later the wound was still seeping.

Chelsea held a three-hour meeting with Cowan on Wednesday, and his father Ronald, a quantity surveyor, demanded further talks later in the week.

A .22 weapon is the largest that can be bought without a licence in Britain and shooting somebody with one could be deemed actual bodily harm under British law, bringing a maximum five-year prison term.

Cole is reported to have been given a severe dressing-down over the incident.

Chelsea are yet to comment. – Sapa-dpa

Netflix says 30 percent of streaming titles now subtitled, more coming this year - Digitaltrends.com

Netflix says it's moving closer to offering all of its streaming content with subtitles, but it's also created some controversy in the process.

While the majority of Netflix customers probably never noticed the abscence of subtitles, the hearing impaired certainly have. Netflix said this week that nearly a third of its streaming content — about 3,500 titles — is now available to be watched in a subtitled version. That's an OK start considering that a little over a year ago none of its titles (foreign films with "burned in" subtitles excluded) featured a subtitle option. Netflix says that it plans to have 80 percent of its movies and TV shows subtitle-ready by the end of 2011.

In addition, Netflix has also added a page on its website that lists its subtitled movie and TV show library — a page that was sorely missed prior.  At present, subtitles are offered for PCs, Macs, the Nintendo Wii, Sony's Playstation 3, the Boxee Box and Google TV. Netflix says it plans to add support for the Xbox 360 and Roku later in the year.

And while many in the deaf and hard of hearing community celebrated Netflix's announcement, at least one man was not impressed. Mike Chapman, an advocate for subtitles on Netflix, posted his own analysis in the comments section of Netflix's blog pointing out a glaring inconsistency in Netflix's subtitling approach: many TV shows counted by Netflix as "subtitled" only are partially subtitled — some with just a single episode.

Come on, Netflix. You're not doing anyone any favors by having subtitles for a mere two out of twelve episodes of the sixth season of Gangland . You can read Chapman's analysis of Netflix's subtitled offerings here. (Note that Chapman appears to count a TV show season as a singular subtitled entry, while Netflix appears to count every single subtitled episode in a series.)

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UN, world further isolate Libya's Gadhafi - Washington Post

The council voted 15-0 late Saturday to impose an arms embargo and urged U.N. member countries to freeze the assets of Gadhafi, four of his sons and a daughter. The council also backed a travel ban on the Gadhafi family and close associates, including leaders of the revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against regime opponents.

Council members additionally agreed to refer the Gadhafi regime's deadly crackdown on people protesting his rule to a permanent war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity. The ICC's Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo was instructed to report back to the council in two months on his investigation.

U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who had pushed the council to take urgent action, was due in Washington on Monday to discuss with President Barack Obama other possible measures that could be taken against the Libyan government.

"In the days ahead, we will look for similarly decisive steps from the U.N. General Assembly and the international community as a whole," Ban told the council late Saturday, commending members for taking "decisive action."

"Today's measures are tough," the U.N. chief said. "In the coming days, if needed, even bolder action may become necessary."

The 192-member U.N. General Assembly is meeting Tuesday to vote on a U.N. Human Rights Council recommendation to suspend Libya from the world organization's top human rights body.

The Security Council's unanimous vote after a long day of deliberations was welcomed by rights groups that had complained that the body charged with overseeing the world's peace and security was moving too slowly.

"With this decision, the Security Council has upheld its responsibility to protect the people of Libya from the violence unleashed against them by their own government, by taking steps to ensure that those responsible will be brought to account," said a joint statement from international human rights groups.

The Security Council "rose to the occasion and showed leaders worldwide that it will not tolerate the vicious repression of peaceful protesters," said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program. "Gaddafi's henchmen are now on notice that if they give, tolerate or obey orders to fire on peaceful protesters they may find themselves in The Hague."

In an interview Sunday from Tripoli with ABC's "This Week" host Christiane Amanpour, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, one of the Libyan leader's sons and a top adviser, said the U.N. economic sanctions were worthless because "we don't have money outside."

"We are a very modest family and everybody knows that. And we are laughing when they say you have money in Europe or Switzerland or something," he said. "C'mon, it's a joke."

Fine Gael-Labour coalition to follow Irish election win with EU talks on loan - The Guardian

One of the most dramatic elections in Irish history is expected to produce a record majority of more than 50 seats in the Dáil for a Fine Gael-Labour coalition.

Enda Kenny, the Fine Gael leader, has pledged that one of his first acts as prime minister will be to seek a lower interest rate on loans to Ireland to shore up its banking system and keep public services running. Fine Gael strategists believe that a stable coalition with Labour will signal to other EU states that the Irish people want a renegotiation of the bailout deal.

Kenny will go to a European summit next month when the terms of the bailout and a rescue package for debt-ridden nations in the EU will be hammered out.

The Fine Gael leader said his party's performance marked "a democratic revolution at the ballot box" for Ireland.

He promised an inquiry into the behaviour of the country's banks and their role in overheating the property market, which in turn tipped Ireland into a deep recession. Voters clearly believed the last government failed to regulate the banks, bailing them out instead with billions of taxpayers' euros without conditions that would have seen an increase in credit to customers.

Kenny said the inquiry would include an investigation into the events of autumn 2008, when the Fianna Fáil-led government saved several high-street Irish banks from collapse.

"In respect of the banking inquiry, whatever has to be done, make the truth known to the people. We're going to find out what went on, what decisions were made and the way they were made and to that to the Irish people," Kenny said.The Fine Gael leader's historic triumph – the largest majority since independence – was in sharp contrast to the fortunes of Fianna Fáil. The party, founded by Eamon de Valera, lost up to 60 seats and has only one in Dublin, the key electoral battleground of any Irish election. Voters blamed the party for the outgoing government's handling of the €80bn bailout by the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Sinn Féin gained 14 seats with less than 10% of the vote. The party's president, Gerry Adams, topped the poll in the Louth constituency with more than 15,000 first preference votes. Sinn Féin also won its first ever seat in Cork city in modern times. Adams said Sinn Féin received a surge in support because "the state is in a complete crisis. There needs to be a total realignment of politics."

Fianna Fáil's leader, Micheal Martin, said the party accepted the people had punished it for Ireland's economic ills. "Fianna Fáil will survive, of that I am sure," Martin said in his native Cork, where he topped the poll in his constituency.

Despite Martin's confidence that he can restore the party's fortunes, Fianna Fáil suffered more humiliation on a second day of counting across Ireland. Its deputy leader and former cabinet minister, Mary Hanafin, lost her seat in the Dun Laoghaire and Rathdown constituency to the leftwing candidate Richard Boyd-Barrett from the United Left Alliance.

The main beneficiary of Fianna Fáil's almost complete collapse in Dublin was the Labour party, which enjoyed its best ever general election. The only Fianna Fáil candidate in the capital to be returned to the Dáil was the country's last finance minister, Brian Lenihan.

Labour's leader, Eamon Gilmore, strongly indicated that his party was ready to enter into a coalition agreement with Fine Gael. Gilmore said he was confident he could find a common programme with Kenny, but said it was up to Fine Gael to take the initiative.

Asians more likely to be anti-immigration than white Britons - Daily Mail

By Tim Shipman
Last updated at 5:18 PM on 27th February 2011

More Asians are now opposed to immigration than white Britons, according to a new poll which reveals that opposition to new arrivals now transcends race.

Research commissioned by the Searchlight Educational Trust found that 39 per cent of Asians, 34 per cent of whites and 21 per cent of blacks believed immigration should be halted either permanently or at least until the UK's economy was back on track.

The findings are a stunning rebuke to the Labour government, which opened the doors to untrammelled immigration and then sought to brand voters 'bigots' who questioned the pace of change.

Influx: A new survey has found more Asians than white Britons believe immigration must be halted

Influx: A new survey has found more Asians than white Britons believe immigration must be halted

The report, titled Fear and Hope: The New Politics Of Identity, reveals that a large proportion of voters, across all races and communities, now have concerns about immigration.

Immigration was held to have been on the whole a bad thing for Britain by 63 per cent of whites, 43 per cent of Asians and 17 per cent of black Britons.

The report also reveals that the failure of mainstream parties to speak out about immigration has opened the door for the possible emergence of a far right party.

Almost half of those questioned, 48 per cent, were open to supporting a new far-right party as long as it eschewed 'fascist imagery' and did not condone violence. And 52 per cent agreed that 'Muslims create problems in the UK'.

The poll, carried out by Populus, was one of the largest studies carried out on the subject, based on 91 questions to more than 5,000 individuals.

It found that peoples' attitudes to immigration were largely shaped by their level of economic optimism. Those who fear for their jobs and longterm economic wellbeing are more likely to be opposed to further immigration.

Warning: Labour MP Jon Cruddas said the research showed a new approach to immigration was needed

Warning: Labour MP Jon Cruddas said the research showed a new approach to immigration was needed

The Searchlight Educational Trust said the report 'throws down a challenge' to mainstream political parties to better understand what is happening in the body politic, the Trust said, warning 'dangers' lie ahead if these issues are not addressed.

The report's author Nick Lowles said young people are more open to living in an ethnically diverse society. But in a clear warning to the political class, he said: 'This report gives those of us who are campaigning against extremism nowhere to hide.

'The harsh truth is we are in danger of losing touch with the public on race, immigration and multiculturalism.

'The attitude of all sections of the community to these complex issues is now running far ahead of the politicians and community leaders.'

Labour MP Jon Cruddas said the findings should 'ricochet through the body politic' as they showed the potential for the rise of the far-right unless mainstream parties acted soon.

In a forword to the report, he wrote: 'Put simply, unless political parties step up and provide a new language of material well-being, of identity and belonging, then these political forces might refract into more malign forms. As such, the political class has been warned.'

The level of net migration into the UK rose by 36 per cent last year, Office for National Statistics figures show.

An estimated 572,000 people entered the UK on a long-term basis in the year to June 2010 while 346,000 emigrated.

Ministers want to reduce net migration levels, the difference between the two figures, to tens of thousands by 2015.

To help do this, the coalition plans to cap immigration from outside the European Union.

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Every day we hear "we havent got the funds, there arent enough homes, water shortage" etc Give this country a few years to sort our selves out WHEN we have enough of all these things THEN HAVE CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION!

Asians that have been here for a while fear the same things from immigration as the british/white community....lack of jobs, benefits being paid to people who come here to claim them and not work, and the mess that immigration is making of our schools and hospitals They are also sick, like british/white people of paying taxes which are then used to support the vast number of immigrants being allowed in when there isn't any work to support them

"...warning 'dangers' lie ahead if these issues are not addressed." What a strange comment from the Trust. They obviously don't respect public opinion. I thought in a democracy that people voted for those who's policies they agreed with. These Trust people (who sound and act very much like communists from what I see) think public opinion is something to be ignored or massaged into their way of thinking rather than respect the views of the public. The mainstream parties are running scared & rightly so- they don't respect the public opinion about immigration and are acting contrary to public opinion. Hence they don't deserve their communist hands on the levers of power.

If you had to go through a rigorous immigration application and then came here and worked hard to establish a life for yourself and your family then recent times have not been kind to you. ALL immigrants are tarred with the same brush because of the feckless governments that we have had for many years now.

That is true!!!!! i know many Asians who are here because they love Britain and the way it is supposed to be(British) and Asians know the dangers of immigration.

Why do you sound so suprised? its not racism causing immigraiton to be hated its that THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, end of, it wouldnt be so bad if thoes coming here were... well... USEFUL but rarely are they, most a are just here from poor backgrounds with noting to give but alot to take, im all for skilled immigration but thoes who come to the UK with noting to give shouldnt be allowed in any more than a normal person would be allowed to be a professor at oxford university.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Cricket World Cup 2011 live: India v England as it happened - Telegraph.co.uk

17.17: Dhoni: "If every time in the tournament you have to score 350 then things will be difficult. We have to improve in the field. We have got quite a few slow fielders but the bowling we have the talent to improve."

17.15: TwitterFrom @finnysteve. "I wonder how @StuartBroad8's guts would have held up at the end there!" Ah, the English toilet humour. You can't knock it.

17.08: Cricket. Bloody hell. So, after losing, then equalising, then winning, then losing, then equalising again, England have tied this match. They remain unbeaten, and will not know whether to laugh, cry or hop around like rabbits after the most bafflingly brilliant game of cricket you could wish to watch on a rainy Sunday in February. Or any day, for that matter. The bookies will be delighted - not much money goes on the tie - but don't let that depress you. Strauss was smiling just then. That's good. Maybe he's just delirious though.

50 overs: It's a tie! Just the single, scores tied. England 338-8.

49.5 Back for two! Two to win. One to tie. Consultation time. Points shared if it's a tie. Sod that. Go for gold, Swanny... it's gone very quiet. Patel looks petrified.

49.4 Bye. Four from two needed.

49.3 SIX! SIX! SIXTY SIX. 1966!!!! FIVE OFF THREE NEEDED.

49.2. Just the single. Eng need 11 off four. Shazhad on strike. Can bat. Has NEVER batted in anything like this.

49.1 Patel to bowl final over. Hero time Swansong...Full toss , Swann gets two. And back on strike. Eng need 12 off five. Let's have a wide.

OVER 49: ENG 325/8 Six! England on the ropes but still swinging. Great slap from Swann over cow. Six more! Bresnan you beauty! Cow again , but super strike has gone 12 rows back. But he's gone! What an over. Missed a straight one, but it's still on... Eng need 14 off 6

OVER 48: ENG 310/7 Bresnan 6 Swann 2 Dhoni's short of an over now with Bhajji and Zak bowled out. Chawla will have to come back for the next one. Might not matter - another one gone.

WicketYardy c Sehwag b Patel 13. Slower ball, and he carved it straight to Sehwag. Dancing, going nuts, generally having a really good time. I repeat, Indian fans wer LEAVING 10 overs ago. That's how home England were. Swann in now. Five off the over. England need 29 off 12.

OVER 47: ENG 305/6 Yardy 11* Bresnan 4* Norrish here. Sorry, got into the office five overs ago and have completely jinxed it. My average was bad enough already, too. Filthy now. So instead of the glory leg I get to adminster the last rites. Gutted. Strauss has that "seriously boys, could you not park the thing from here?" look on his face. Indian fans were LEAVING half an hour ago. That's the 300 up though, good thwack from Bresnan. Two more from Yardy, pushed square on the off-side. Worse, somehow, than getting skittled for 140, isn't it? Munaf is back. England need 34 off 18.

OVER 46: ENG 297/6 Yardy 8* Bresnan 1*
End of another breathless over. Yardy ekes four precious runs to third man boundary before two singles to finish. Priceless.

WicketPrior c Raina b Singh 4 ENG 289/6

Prior goes the same way as Bell. A complete miscue from the Sussex man and it takes an age to reach Raina who gladly snares it. England have lost four wickets for eight runs and staring at defeat.

OVER 45: ENG 287/5 Prior 2* Yardy 1*
I would have Khan any day at the death. I used to say that about Munaf, too. Michael Yardy digs out another yorker last up and the asking rate creeps over 10. What a last 30 minutes we've had.

WicketCollingwood b Khan 1 ENG 285/5

Zaheer is bowling with 40,000 fans behind him and Collingwoods stumps are everywhere. Khan's figures are 2 for 3 and India are in ecstasy. Absolute mayhem and a situation made for the home bowlers.

OVER 44: ENG 283/4 Collingwood 1* Prior 0*
Chawla in and unconvincing batting from Collingwood, who can't pick the googly. The stage is also set for Prior - isn't this what he's in the side for now KP's opening? Three runs off the Powerplay in two overs and India find themselves back in the match.

OVER 43: ENG 281/4 Collingwood 0* Prior 0*
England surely still favourites but there are two new batsmen on nought. Zaheer has just woken up a nation.

WicketStrauss lbw Khan 158 ENG 281/4

A rare yorker, not seen since Tim Bresnan, from India. But a fine one from Zaheer. A stinging delivery hits Strauss on the backfoot and he's on his way. Incredible. And we're now in a classic England-lose-clatter-of-wickets-moment during a crucial run-chase. Zaheer on a hat-trick.

WicketBell c Kohli b Khan 69 ENG 281/3

The pressure tells and so does the powerplay. A measured innings comes to an end as Bell tries to send the ball out of Bangalore. Instead he miscues straight to mid-off.

OVER 42: ENG 280/2 Strauss 157* Bell 69*
Nevertheless, England are offering small chances. Kohli drops a difficult one at slip before a loose shot from Bell as he whacks the ball on his foot. A much-needed break in play ensues as Bell is seen to by a trio of medical staff. Dhoni musters his troops.

OVER 41: ENG 278/2 Strauss 154* Bell 68*
Harbhajan into his ninth over and England eke out six runs. That will do, England are edging closer to a quite fabulous victory. World Twenty20s, Ashes and run-chases on the sub-continent in a year...

E-mailPeter Rowntree offers this stance: "England need about 300 after 45 overs and they should win from there, so six an over for the next few overs without the need for anything rash.

"Got to say Strauss has been a wonderful opener throughout the whole tour, starting with the ashes. He has rarely failed, has always got his runs at a good rate and is a wonderfully unselfish opener who takes the pressure off the later batsmen. But today's knock, even by the skip's very high standards has been something really special.

OVER 40: ENG 272/2 Strauss 151* Bell 67*
Chawla continues, the singles more frequent than the average Bollywood film being churned out. Strauss then punishes a short one for four to bring up his 150. Not so much as a raised bat from the Middlesex man. Focus or just knackered? Whatever, amazing that the England selectors once thought Strauss as a five-day man only.

OVER 39: ENG 263/2 Strauss 144* Bell 65*
Slightly tentative there from Bell. A dodgy two from Bell as he fails to spot a slower ball from Munaf. Bell's hand comes off the bat as he sometimes tends to do but the ball lands safely at fine leg.

OVER 38: ENG 255/2 Strauss 140* Bell 61*
How India could do with some frenetic appealing and crazed celebrating from Harbhajan. It's not happening right now. He offers some decent flight but the English duo both fend off any danger. It's fair to say that Strauss has put Tendulkar in the shade here with his lavishly-constructed ton.

Twitter From Steve James on Twitter: "Sky need to replay that selection meeting they had last summer #straussnotin"

OVER 37: ENG 250/2 Strauss 138* Bell 58*
Good over from India, four from it as Patel keeps to line and length. But England reach 250...

OVER 36: ENG 246/2 Strauss 137* Bell 55*
Singh now back into the attack. And when the luck's with you... Strauss has been late-cutting with vigour today and he nearly offers his wicket, instead splitting gully and slip for yet another four. Keep it steady England,

OVER 35: ENG 237/2 Strauss 130* Bell 53*
Desperate is Dhoni. Patel back but Strauss continues his rich form with a pulled four, splitting the men in the deep. "Munaf, Munaf" plead 40,000. England's remaining batsmen won't be quaking with fear. 102 off the last 15 overs needed.

OVER 34: ENG 225/2 Strauss 124* Bell 51*
Chawla comes back, Dhoni needs a wicket. Fear not! Ian Bell carts Chawla over deep long-on for SIX to bring up a priceless half-century, off 46 balls. Strauss then ends the over with a now customary four.

OVER 33: ENG 216/2 Strauss 119* Bell 43*
SIX! Two skips down the track and Strauss shows no respite to Yuvraj's flight, lofting his second ball into the stands. That will do this over plus the three singles, taking the stand between these two to 105.

OVER 32: ENG 207/2 Strauss 112* Bell 41*
After a period of safety, Bell opens his arms and drills a cover drive for four off Zaheer. Am thoroughly enjoying this, despite the tense nature of where we stand. A downpour now and it's England's win.

OVER 31: ENG 200/2 Strauss 111* Bell 35*
Bell brings up the 200 with a lofted drive to long-on. No pressure and a reflection of the ease in which England are scoring.

OVER 30: ENG 196/2 Strauss 109* Bell 33*
The equation? 143 off 20 now as Bell finds four more with Zaheer back into the attack. It really is going swimmingly well but England are, after all, chasing and this game is still very much in the balance.

Twitter From Nick Hoult on Twitter: "What a knock by Strauss. If England hold their nerve you never know ... need 157 from 22 overs"

OVER 29: ENG 190/2 Strauss 108* Bell 28*
The Bangalore crowd is eerily quiet. Yuvraj and Pathan are doing a job but England have still mustered over 50 from their combined eight overs. The England pair are closing in on the 200 I predicted a while back.

OVER 28: ENG 182/2 Strauss 100* Bell 28*
Hundred for Strauss off 99 balls. Imperious stuff from England's skip and 13 boundaries to boot. Hasn't Strauss scored his ton quicker than India's prince of batting? Bell then finishes the over with four more, 10 off the over and England right on top. 157 off 132 balls needed.

OVER 27: ENG 172/2 Strauss 95* Bell 23*
Anyway, Yuvraj still on (4-0-25-0), England are ahead on D/L method and these two are going very nicely as Bell keeps paddling and Strauss, nearing a well-deserved ton, driving serenely.

OVER 26: ENG 167/2 Strauss 93* Bell 20*
Still mulling over exactly why Bell started walking. Never, Ian, until the finger goes up!

OVER 25: ENG 163/2 Strauss 93* Bell 17*
Bell shimmies and waits before cutting majestically for four off the backfoot. But what's this? Yuvraj raps Bell on the pads and Billy Bowden gives it not out. But this is Yuvraj and he calls for a review. Amazingly, amazingly, Bell starts walking off as the Indians shreak in delight to a ball that looks prety straight. The replay shows that but Bell does at least get his leg down the wicket and Bowden refers to his original decision. Bell comes back to the wicket and boos ring in Bangalore. This could come back to be a big talking point if England can finish this one off.

OVER 24: ENG 156/2 Strauss 90* Bell 12*
Liew comes whisking across the editorial floor and miss Pathan's over. Usual affair by all accounts as Strauss sweeps for four more!

OVER 23: ENG 149/2 Strauss 84* Bell 11*
Bell uses the pace of Singh to paddle sweep before Strauss pearces the leg-side gap for yet another four. Lovely, crisp timing from Sir Lancelot of Reinvention himself.

OVER 22: ENG 1422 Strauss 78* Bell 10*
England are scoring nicely here. Whereas against Holland they were failing to find the boundaries, they are doing so in Bangalore.

OVER 21: ENG 138/2 Strauss 76* Bell 8*
After an early spell of trying to slap the pacemen over mid-wicket, Strauss now turns his attention to a series of late cuts against the spinners and, either, nearly being bowled or offering a caught behind to Dhoni. He survives after his latest play and miss from Yuvraj's first over.

OVER 20: ENG 132/2 Strauss 71* Bell 7*
So where are we at? England are nine runs ahead on the asking rate which ain't too shabby. Harbhajan continues to serve up some flight, Strauss sweeps is rapped on the pads. Heart in mouth there, but going down leg.

OVER 19: ENG 128/2 Strauss 70* Bell 5*
India are ripping through the overs here, far more than England's lackadaisical approach in their 50 overs. Perhaps a sign of England's limited bowling attack? For India have options beyond these two spinners. Anyway Chawla is into his fifth and, last up, Strauss finds his ninth boundary from a poor, leg side ball.

OVER 18: ENG 118/2 Strauss 64* Bell 1*
Harbhajan continues and Strauss semi-dances and lofts his fourth delivery over long-on for four. Seven from the over and you feel that these two now have to stay in the middle way beyond the 200-mark.

OVER 17: ENG 111/2 Strauss 57* Bell 0*
Following Trott, Chawla sends in a whipping top-spinner first up to Bell and a loud appeal goes up from the buoyant Indians. Just missing leg, but it ends a fine over.

WicketTrott lbw Chawla 16 ENG 111/2

A quicker delivery from the impressive Chawla as Trott tries to angle one to the legside. His head is bowed and Trott doesn't even look for the finger after being hit in between the pads.

OVER 16: ENG 110/1 Strauss 57* Trott 16*
Ever steady stuff from Harbhajan with just three off his latest over. Workmanlike show continues from Strauss and Trott who are content to knock three singles before drinks.

OVER 15: ENG 107/1 Strauss 55* Trott 15*
When's the gin, gan, googly coming? It appears at Chawla's fourth ball as Strauss is beaten and nearly bowled. Cracking delivery but not before the skip musters another boundary, his seventh, thanks to a rare misfield from India's demi-God, Sachin Tendulkar.

OVER 14: ENG 101/1 Strauss 50* Trott 15*
Semi-muted response for Strauss' half-century, off the same number of balls, as England reach 100. On this track, Strauss and Trott could make some serious inroads to India's daunting total.

OVER 13: ENG 93/1 Strauss 48* Trott 8*
Patel's jammy dismissal apart, India's seamers didn't look likely to take wickets. Chawla and Singh are creating openings. In his second over, Chawla nearly has Strauss stumped as the England captain edges for four past slip. The googly did for him there.

OVER 12: ENG 86/1 Strauss 42* Trott 7*
Well, well. A sweep off Harbhajan - two spinners on now, up the typing rate Rod - and that's 4,000 runs for Strauss in ODI cricket. The fourth fastest English batsman to achieve the mark, too. Stats mean nothing, World Cup wins against big Asian nations do.

OVER 11: ENG 83/1 Strauss 40* Trott 6*
Chawla Piyush is on and bowling powerplay has been taken. Six singles off it as Trott gets some running into his legs.

OVER 10: ENG 77/1 Strauss 37* Trott 3*
Eventful over and we'll have to wait for Yuvraj/KP in the knock-out stages. Fourteen from it, starting and ending with two fours: leg byes off Strauss's thighs and then a pulled one past leg gully. Sandwiched in between that, Trott is off the mark with a serene cover drive for three.

WicketWICKET! Pietersen c&b Patel 31
Jammy so and so! Pietersen middles one back down the wicket, Patel parries it up in the air - presumably just trying to shield his face - and then nonchalantly catches it while siting cross-legged on the floor. Incredible dismissal, huge wicket for India.

OVER 9: ENG 63/0 Strauss 30* Pietersen 31*
Time for a change? Munaf's too short, KP opens the face, walks down the wicket and that's four to the fine leg boundary. Two balls later and KP finds two steps this time and clips to the long leg for another four! India could easily have a wicket but has Dhoni missed a trick early doors? Yuvraj v KP would have been great viewing. Here's the moment in Mohali from 2008.

OVER 8: ENG 51/0 Strauss 29* Pietersen 20*
Opportunity knocks. England still ekeing out the singles but I count that three run-out chances as KP just makes his ground. Yuvraj then produces sliding save on the ring, bringing up huge cheer from his adoring fans. Sound over from Patel but the 50 is up.

OVER 7: ENG 49/0 Strauss 28* Pietersen 19*
Lovely, crisp drive back past Zaheer from Pietersen brings up his second four of the innings. Of course little appreciation from the Bangalore crowd. And then a second straight-drive four. Even better! The ultimate insult to a new ball bowler that and KP finds his stride. England doing well to put India off their stride.

OVER 6: ENG 36/0 Strauss 27* Pietersen 8*
Strauss's tendency to skip down the track and find space over mid-wicket continues. He finds a boundary but his scooped flick oh so nearly picks out Harbhajan Singh at mid-on, but the Turbanator can't get to ground in time. Decent running ensues and England fathom eight from the over.

OVER 5: ENG 28/0 Strauss 20* Pietersen 7*
Pressure back on England as only nine garnered off the last three overs. Zaheer bowls a rhythmic over against KP, who miscues, mistimes and then, on Zaheer's final delivery, fails to find bat on ball.

Stat attack: In the sub-continent: India lead 22-13. In the World Cup: Tied at 3-3.

OVER 4: ENG 25/0 Strauss 18* Pietersen 6*
A steadyish over from Strauss again, but he replicates the last over against Zaheer and tries to slog Munaf over mid-wicket fourth up. No need for that Mr Strauss - simply not your style. England need one batsman to score a ton and a back-up 50+ would also help. This total is reachable. But Liew shook his head a moment ago when I broached the subject of England possibly chasing this one down.

OVER 3: ENG 23/0 Strauss 17* Pietersen 5*
Plenty of action in the first three overs - and no sign of Yuvraj Singh v KP quite yet. Strauss faces six from Zaheer and clips and middles for consecutive twos before opening himself for a lavish drive and roundly missies.

Thanks Jon. Great stuff. Now ---- off down to fine leg and don't drop anything under those lights. Fine innings though.

OVER 2: ENG 19/0 Strauss 13* Pietersen 5* Munaf to share the new ball, and India think they've got Pietersen first up! Have they? No! It nipped away from Pietersen, who nibbled at it, and there was a distinct noise, but it might have been bat onto pad. Pietersen sniffs and turns the next ball past short fine leg for four. Pietersen's batting about a yard outside his crease to Munaf, who responds well by beating him past the inside edge. Pietersen then drives straight back at Munaf, who sticks a hand out and deflects it out of the reach of mid-off. The batsmen trot through for a single, and then width for Strauss, who cuts it again in front of square for four! A single down to third man rounds out the over, which produced 11 runs. Who do these two think they are, Sehwag and David Warner? "If India have a weakness, it's the bowling," Ravi Shastri observes. "And the fielding." And the commentary.

OVER 1: ENG 8/0 Strauss 8* Pietersen 0* Strauss clips Zaheer's first ball through mid-wicket for four! That's the way, Straussy! The key, though, will be knocking the singles around and keeping the score moving. Strauss plays out three dot balls before Zaheer beats him with a stonking delivery outside off-stump. Zaheer then offers Strauss a bit of width, though, and Strauss punches a square cut through the covers for four. Ea-sy, ea-sy.

13.15 All right, I lied. It's Jonathan here again. Rod's just - well, he's probably chasing down some Olympic exclusive or some such. The England openers are out, and Strauss will take strike to Zaheer Khan.

13.00 What's that? You've bowled a long spell, Jonathan, now ---- off down to fine leg and have a blow? Well, if you don't mind, I think I will. It'll be Rod Gilmour in about 15 minutes to take you through the formative stages of England's run chase, but that's all from me.

TwitterDerek Pringle on Twitter: "Begrudging thanks to Jimmy Anderson for removing from me the burden of World Cup history - 10 overs for 91"

12.56 Munaf Patel ends up 0 off 0 balls. Thanks for coming, Munaf. But he's got some bowling to do now, as England chase down 339 to win. I mean, they knocked off 294 against Holland, and they've got Michael Yardy now, and this pitch is a beauty, and Holland were really tough, you know? Really tough... (tails off, protestations of optimism echoing in the distance).

WicketWICKET! Zaheer run out (Prior) 4 (5) IND 338 all out (49.5 overs) They come back for a second, it's never there, Prior whips off the bails, and to top it off, Marais Erasmus signals one short. And who said England couldn't take wickets on Indian pitches? Bowling India out for 338 on the first day on a flat Bangalore dosa? Not bad, eh?

WicketWICKET! Chawla run out (Anderson) 2 (4) IND 338/9 It is Anderson, and there's the single that equals the record as Chawla flogs it down through mid-wicket. Zaheer then miscues into the leg-side, and as two men converge on it, the batsmen can hare back for two. Single to Zaheer, and then a shocking beamer that passes Chawla at chest height and scuttles under Prior's gloves for five no-balls. Chawla hits the next ball straight back to Anderson and runs, hoping that Anderson will misfield. Anderson doesn't misfield, and knocks the bails off at the bowler's end. Two balls to go, but Zaheer's on strike...

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "If Anderson bowls the final over he will set new a England record for the worst ever figures in the World Cup. He is on 1/82. Record: 0/83 by @derekpringle"

OVER 49: IND 329/8 Zaheer 1* Chawla 1* Piyush Chawla, who can also smack one, knocks one into the off-side to get off the mark. A dot ball to end a wacky old over, and Bresnan finishes with the outstanding figures of 10-1-48-5. He's only the second England bowler to take a hat-trick in a World Cup match. For 50 blanks, who was the other? Answer at the end of the innings.

WicketWICKET! Harbhajan lbw b Bresnan 0 (1) IND 328/8 Zaheer steered the hat-trick ball to point and Harbhajan could have been run out without facing. As it is, he cops a Bresnan yorker first up that smacks him in the toe smack in front of leg stump. Bresnan has five!

WicketWICKET! Kohli b Bresnan 8 (5) IND 327/7 "You're not singing any more..." Kohli backs off, Bresnan pumps it in full and straight, and cleans Kohli up. Bresnan gets his fourth, and he's on a hat-trick! Zaheer Khan on strike, with Harbhajan at the other end.

WicketWICKET! Pathan c Swann b Bresnan 14 (8) IND 327/6 It's scant consolation for Bresnan, or Swann, or England, or any of us, but Pathan has been despatched from the scene before he can wreak any more havoc - a big thick edge to deep cover.

OVER 48: IND 327/5 Pathan 14* Kohli 8* Anderson has two overs left, and it looks like he's going to bowl them both. A slower ball bouncer is bunted down to long-on by Pathan. Anderson then spears a yorker into the block hole - yorkers, remember those? - and again it's only a single to Kohli. The next one's in the block hole, though, and it disappears over Anderson's head for six! Sensational! "That's the shot of a powerful man," Ian Botham observes. Yep, cheers. A misfield by Graeme Swann at short fine-leg gifts Kohli another four. The wheels are coming off the England tuk-tuk. James Anderson moves into the 80s (9-0-82-1).

OVER 47: IND 314/5 Pathan 6* Kohli 3* Pathan and Kohli both off the mark with singles, before Pathan hooks to deep square leg again. Luke Wright doesn't pick the ball up straight away, and as he tries to catch the ball, it bounces just short of him and squirms away for four! Kohli goes big this time, and it drops just short of Bell at deep mid-wicket! They haven't quite had the rub of the green today, England. Not that they've necessarily deserved it. Three overs to go, and both teams, you feel, will be fairly satisfied with a total of 340.

WicketWICKET! Dhoni c sub (Wright) b Bresnan 31 (25) IND 305/5 Two in two for England! Short again from Bresnan, Dhoni hooks, and Luke Wright, a substitute for god-knows-who, pouches the catch inside the square leg boundary. The two new men at the wicket are Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli. Into the tail, then...

WicketOVER 46: WICKET Yuvraj c Bell b Yardy 58 (50) IND 305/4 Smacked straight back at Yardy by Dhoni, and Yardy drops the return chance! In fact, it went so quickly that Yardy could barely react, but his hands were in place, even if the ball burst through them and almost cleaned up Billy Bowden on the way through. A single to Yuvraj, and then Dhoni rocks back and deposits Yardy into the crowd for six! The last hundred came in just 69 balls, and this is starting to get rather messy. Yuvraj now knows what's coming from Yardy, and he can simply whip it over square leg for four. But the next ball goes straight into the mitts of Ian Bell at deep mid-wicket. Phew.

OVER 45: IND 292/3 Yuvraj 53* Dhoni 22* Yuvraj heaves Shahzad over mid-wicket for four! Shahzad goes fuller, but it's still on leg stump, and Yuvraj turns it past the man inside the circle for four! That's his fifty, his 46th in one-day internationals. Shahzad's been really poor today. Yuvraj tries to heave the next ball into the next world, and misses. Still, eleven off the over.

OVER 44: IND 281/3 Yuvraj 44* Dhoni 21* Yardy's overs - and this is his ninth - have fallen into a distinct pattern. He fires them in at pace, without spin, on a good length on around middle and leg stump, and the batsman just stands in his crease and tries to smack it off the back foot. Sometimes they connect, sometimes they don't, but Yardy scores more victories than defeats in that over, conceding just four singles. Six overs left; a run a ball nets India 317; eight an over, 329; ten an over, 341.

OVER 43: IND 277/3 Yuvraj 42* Dhoni 19* Goodness, that's wild from Shahzad, pinging it about three feet down the leg side. Mid-off and mid-on are both in the circle, so Yuvraj doesn't need two guesses to work out where Shahzad's going to bowl to him. Yuvraj rocks back and sends the ball flying over square leg for four, and then Dhoni does the same! This isn't working, isn't it? And now four more as Dhoni crashes it through cover! After a decent Powerplay, this is going very wrong very quickly for England. Dhoni pushes the last to mid-off, and Yuvraj turns down an easy single! Dhoni's furious! That's how irrelevant England have been rendered here. The two batsmen are now fighting each other for the strike. Fifteen off the over.

OVER 42: IND 262/3 Yuvraj 37* Dhoni 10* Yardy begins with a wide. Yuvraj adds a single into the leg side, but we're not seeing any power hitting at the moment. It's not easy trying to swipe Yardy into the stands, not when he's arrowing them down at 65mph and upwards. Yuvraj takes a swift two through mid-wicket, and then late cuts past short-third man for four with the help of a misfield by Graeme Swann! Eleven off the over, and they hardly had to play a shot in anger. Eight overs to go, and already England are aware that they're going to be chasing a very big number.

OVER 41: IND 251/3 Yuvraj 29* Dhoni 8* Bresnan to bowl the last over of the Powerplay, and it's going to be more short stuff. Dhoni pulls one for a single, Yuvraj then ducks under a slower bouncer and ends up looking a bit silly. More singles, and England end the Powerplay strongly. Just 32 runs and the wicket of Tendulkar came off those five overs.

OVER 40: IND 247/3 Yuvraj 27* Dhoni 6* Yardy to continue, and Dhoni cuts it for four! It was quicker by Yardy, but dragged down short. He does it again, but Dhoni finds a fielder this time. After three dot balls, Dhoni swats a single down to long-on. Another quicker ball keeps Yuvraj at that end, and there were just five off that over.

OVER 39: IND 242/3 Yuvraj 27* Dhoni 1* And Yuvraj almost makes it two in two with another leading edge! It loops up just short of a diving Anderson in his follow through! Dhoni pulls his first ball down to deep square for one, before Yuvraj gets hold of another short one, and sends it flying through fine leg for four! Oh, that was a good shot. My word.

WicketWICKET! Tendulkar c Yardy b Anderson 120 (115) IND 236/3
Oh, Anderson's pulled it off! A leading edge to cover, and the end of a seriously good knock from Tendulkar! Every man, woman and child in the stadium is on their feet to applaud that innings. It was a masterpiece. The ball before he got out, Tendulkar played a shot of genuine, breathtaking genius, turning a half-volley outside off-stump past backward square leg for four. It's things like that. If Newton was a genius, if Shakespeare was a genius, if Rutherford was a genius, then so is Tendulkar. Dhoni the new batsman.

OVER 38: IND 232/2 Tendulkar 116* Yuvraj 22* Deploying Michael Yardy in this situation is a bit like trying to fend off an artillery bombardment with an iPad. That's pretty smart from Yardy, though, firing one down at 71mph that Yuvraj can only defend. Two off the first four deliveries. Tendulkar tries the paddle sweep off the fifth and gets the leg bye. Yuvraj then plays and misses at the last, which is another 71mph spear. Just three from that Powerplay over, and if you'd offered Strauss that at the start of it he'd have smothered you in essential oils and tried to nuzzle you.

OVER 37: IND 229/2 Tendulkar 115* Yuvraj 21* Short from Bresnan, and Yuvraj hooks it for four! This should be fairly entertaining, with two men out on the fence. Short again from Bresnan, and the crowd jeer as Marais Erasmus fails to signal wide. A slower ball hits Yuvraj in the thigh and they saunter through for a leg bye. Now, how's Tendulkar going to play this? Is it going to slog? Nope, when you've got placement like that you don't need to. He swivel-pulls Bresnan round the corner for four, and Strauss has real problems here.

TwitterMichael Vaughan on Twitter: "Quite remarkable player Sachin. And to think he puts it all down to his brief spell at Headingley..."

OVER 36: IND 219/2 Tendulkar 110* Yuvraj 17* Swann to continue, and Yuvraj biffs him over mid-wicket for four! This is where it could get nasty. A single, and then Tendulkar dances down the pitch and swipes it over mid-wicket for six! More singles, and India have effortlessly squeezed the accelerator again. Thirteen off the over. Oh, and more good news for England fans - India have decided to take the batting Powerplay.

OVER 35: IND 206/2 Tendulkar 103* Yuvraj 11* Four! Four down to fine leg! A century for Sachin! Listen to that noise! The helmet comes off, and Tendulkar raises his bat to every corner of the ground! It's a fairly muted celebration - when you've scored a double ton at this level, a single hundred merely draws a disinterested 'meh'. It's come off 103 balls, and we might see a real picnic now. It's his 98th international hundred, and his fifth in the World Cup, and Other Things That Clearly Mark Him Out As Awesome. Bresnan fancies that the short ball might be the way to go to Yuvraj, but the Slightly Podgy Master deals with it OK that over. Six off it, and India will surely struggle to get 350 now. If you want an insight into the psyche of an England fan, "India will surely struggle to get 350 now" just about sums it up.

OVER 34: IND 200/2 Tendulkar 98* Yuvraj 10* Now, can Sachin reach his hundred? You'll be able to hear the cheers in your front room if he does. He wants two behind square on the leg side, but can only get one; Yuvraj gives him the strike back with a nudge off his legs. Tendulkar can't get a run down to short third man, and he then miscues back down the pitch to Strauss, but he keeps the strike again with a flick to leg. Just three from the over, but we've got a newish ball now, and a rather soothing sense of predestination about this whole Tendulkar-hundred business. Bresnan returns to the attack.

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "Yardy to Tendulkar = definition of optimism"

OVER 33: IND 197/2 Tendulkar 96* Yuvraj 9* Yardy returns after four overs for 22, and Tendulkar nudges him very very fine for four! There's no man at short fine leg, and Tendulkar's got a sort of sixth sense for where the gaps are. He moves to 96 with a single off the last ball of the over.

OVER 32: IND 190/2 Tendulkar 90* Yuvraj 8* That brief savaging by Tendulkar aside, Swann's actually done OK. He has half a shout for LBW off Yuvraj, who can't get it away, and it's only the second maiden of the innings. You feel that if England can keep India below 300, they have a chance. A poppadom-thin chance, but a chance nonetheless. Still a ball change and a batting powerplay to come, remember.

OVER 31: IND 190/2 Tendulkar 90* Yuvraj 8* Anderson continues, and after four singles he throws in a full toss that Yuvraj simply clips in between mid-wicket and mid-on for four. About as easy a nine-run over as you'll see, and Strauss has a real problem now. Anderson's gone for 59 off his seven overs. If he doesn't bowl Anderson out, who picks up the slack? Collingwood? Trott? Pietersen? You wouldn't really stick any of those bowlers in your ODI dream team, would you?

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "Big turn for Swann to bowl Gambhir. Harbhajan and Chawla's eyes light up"

OVER 30: IND 181/2 Tendulkar 88* Yuvraj 1*
Yuvraj knocks one down to long-off for a single. But big turn there for Swann, who now has the slightly sweeter-looking figures of 6-0-43-1.

WicketWICKET! Gambhir b Swann 51 (61) IND 180/2
Great Ganesh, England needed that! Swann gets one to rip away, and the ball clips the top of Gambhir's off stump as he backs off. England make the breakthrough after a partnership of 134 in 21 overs. Yes, it only brings in Yuvraj Singh, but let's look on the bright side, shall we?

OVER 29: IND 179/1 Tendulkar 87* Gambhir 51* It is Jimmy, and Tendulkar greets him with a sumptuous cover drive for four. That's as great a shot in 2011 as it would have been in 1911, or 1811. And another! Off the back foot this time, square of the wicket, and four more! I've seen some decent knocks in the World Cup by Tendulkar, but if he makes it to three figures, this is going to have to be one of them. And now Gambhir gets an inside edge past his stumps for four! That brings up his fifty! It's all going a little Rodney Ontong out there for England. Fourteen from the over. Yes, it was my idea to bring Jimmy back into the attack. No, I don't have a better one. No, that's probably just as well. If India get their game on, we could be looking at 350, 360, 380. I wouldn't necessarily rule out 400 at this stage. But I wouldn't necessarily rule out an England fightback either. A couple of wickets is all they need.

OVER 28: IND 165/1 Tendulkar 78* Gambhir 46* Sachin's got his dancing shoes on! Shahzad bowls him two dot balls, but as soon as he offers a bit of width, Tendulkar flays him over backward point for four. Two more scampered through mid-wicket, but the other four are dot balls. Where are England going to get a wicket from? Might it be time to take a gamble on James Anderson?

OVER 27: IND 159/1 Tendulkar 72* Gambhir 46* Oh, goodness gracious me. That's just brutal from Tendulkar. Six over mid-wicket as Swann returns to the attack! That went a humongous 95 metres. A ferocious statement of intent. And now six more in the same area! Surely not. Surely Tendulkar's not going to break one of the four remaining one-day international records he doesn't already hold (most sixes in an over, fattest bowler to take a hat-trick, most profane response to a Glenn McGrath sledge, and most consecutive misfields). He doesn't. Swann switches round the wicket, and Tendulkar takes an easy single off his pads.

OVER 26: IND 144/1 Tendulkar 59* Gambhir 44* Shahzad continues, and he's done fairly well since his return to the attack. An optimistic LBW shout against Gambhir ends in a leg bye, and there are just three more singles from that over. Tendulkar looks as though he's just trying to shake himself into the mood. The temptation to take a single off every ball between now and the end of the innings and leave the hitting to the others must be overwhelming.

OVER 25: IND 140/1 Tendulkar 57* Gambhir 43* That's genius quiche by Tendulkar, stepping across his stumps to Yardy and paddling a good-length ball around the corner for two runs. The other five balls produce easy singles, and perhaps these two have decided that the six or seven on offer each over are an easier prospect than trying to clear the inner ring. We're at the halfway stage of the innings, and I have to inform you that that unshakeable chime of dread in the pit of your stomach is, once again, correct. If England don't get wickets here, we really could be looking at any kind of a score. A run a ball gets India up to 290; seven an over, 315; eight an over, 340.

OVER 24: IND 133/1 Tendulkar 53* Gambhir 40* That's enough of Collingwood's shizzle. It's time for some Shahzad shizzle. He begins with a marginal wide down the leg-side - although these days you could brush the leg-stump and still count on being sent back to bowl another. But then Gambhir gets a thin inside edge that falls short of Prior! After four dot balls, Gambhir eventually gets off strike. "Great place, Bangalore," Nasser Hussain enthuses. "Transformed by the IT revolution." Don't quote me on this, but I think that was how The Matrix started. Just two off that over.

OVER 23: IND 131/1 Tendulkar 53* Gambhir 39* Turn there for Yardy as Gambhir backs away and drives for two, and if Yardy can get the ball to spin on this surface, then I imagine Harbhajan's going to be turning it square. A middle-aged Indian man in sunglasses appears on the big screen. The crowd roar. I imagine it's one of those people who's only famous in India. You'd probably get the same reaction if Roy Walker popped up on the screen at Lords. Although I like to imagine if Roy Walker were to appear on the screen at Lords, they would reveal him square by square.

OVER 22: IND 126/1 Tendulkar 52* Gambhir 35* Sir Sachin looks like he's tagged Collingwood here. He waltzes down the pitch and lifts him down to long-on for one, but two balls later he really collars one, belting it over mid-wicket for six! Astonishing! More singles, and it's 10 off the over. Will Strauss persist with the Collingwood experiment or bring Swann back to try and buy a wicket? That six, by the way, brought up Tendulkar's fifty, off 66 balls. I can guarantee that if he gets another fifty, it'll be a lot quicker than that.

OVER 21: IND 116/1 Tendulkar 44* Gambhir 33* Yardy again, and Gambhir's looking for the big hit but hasn't quite identified the delivery yet. He flicks to deep mid-wicket for one, Tendulkar tries the same and gets a leading edge that goes straight back to Yardy ("Like that, Mickey, like that," Prior chirps), before nudging through point for two runs. No - just a single after Tendulkar and Gambhir cock up their calling. Gambhir gets two off the next, a wide off the sixth ball, and a dot off the last. Gambhir growls in frustration. Five off the over.

OVER 20: IND 111/1 Tendulkar 43* Gambhir 30* Collingwood continues, mixing up his pace well. Three dot balls, a single to Tendulkar, and then a slow, shin-high full toss that startles Gambhir can only pat down the pitch. Just two from that over.

E-mailOVER 19: IND 109/1 Tendulkar 42* Gambhir 29* Here comes Michael Yardy. I reckon these two will take a couple of overs to size him up before trying to hit him into Uttar Pradesh. They content themselves with five singles from that over. Dr Paresh Gadhavi emails on the 'Concept of neurophysiology and tantra in cricket batting'. Neurophysiology and tantra are, he contests, "approximately the same. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have exquisite batting control from tantra. It's a neurophysiology thing! Lol. I'm not one of those sports nutters. I do believe in tantra in cricket. Garfield Sobers, Viv Richards, Greg Chappell, Don Bradman et al. All had exquisite neurophysiological adeptness. That was probably inherently tantra. Let me know if you have any opinion therefore?" If I develop one, I'll let you know. I do like the idea of a PhD in biology using the word 'Lol', though. If anyone wants to join the debate, please, be my guest.

OVER 18: IND 104/1 Tendulkar 39* Gambhir 27* Here comes Paul Collingwood with his crafty little cutters. And there goes Tendulkar! Six over mid-off! It was a decent start by Collingwood, but Tendulkar just swung through the line, and it disappeared into the crowd. Yikes. Is this native son of Yorkshire finally getting a taste for the fight? It's definitely been the slow burn rather than the lightning flash for him today, but that might mark the turning point. He tries to carve the next down behind square, but almost gives a catch to short third man. This could be just about to get very interesting indeed.

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "Good stuff from Bresnan. He has been excellent since that first morning at the MCG"

OVER 17: IND 96/1 Tendulkar 32* Gambhir 26* Prior's mastered the art of appealing for a catch as he takes the ball down the leg side. But Marais Erasmus sees straight throught that one, and calls Swann for a wide. Now, here comes Sachin! Wallop! He steps down towards Swann and biffs him back over his head for four! That's one heck of a shot by the Greatest Since Gavaskar/Bradman/Vishnu/Wasim Jaffer (delete as appropriate). All right now, England, let's have a wicket.

OVER 16: IND 90/1 Tendulkar 28* Gambhir 25* The field goes back as the bowling Powerplay ends, and Tendulkar and Gambhir milk four singles off Bresnan. Oh look, there's Giles Clarke and Haroon Lorgat, both dressed in very sharp suits, Clarke in a pair of those reflective shades that were last in fashion in about 1998, and before that in about 1979. Bresnan pings down a bouncer fifth ball, Tendulkar thinks about upper-cutting it and then leaves it, possibly judging that it's going above head-height. Given that for Tendulkar, head-height is around six inches above the level of stump-height, it's a fairly safe choice, but there's nothing given for that. Tendulkar does upper-cut the last ball, down to third man for two runs, where Anderson does a good job on the rope. Six off the over.

OVER 15: IND 84/1 Tendulkar 24* Gambhir 23* There goes Gambhir! Again stepping inside the line and lifting it over extra cover for four! He's set off like a train, Gambhir. A couple more singles, and then a filthy, flat leg-side wide from Swann that, in all honesty, Prior does well to prevent from going for five. Seven off the over.

OVER 14: IND 77/1 Tendulkar 23* Gambhir 18* Good tight stuff from Bresnan, bowling four consecutive dot balls to Tendulkar, two of which are drives straight out of the middle that go straight to England fielders. A frustrated Tendulkar berates himself, but he can't get either of the last two balls away either. It's a maiden over! The first maiden over India have played out since 1983, when Dilip Vengsarkar blocked an entire over of Martin Snedden long-hops out of sheer pity.

OVER 13: IND 77/1 Tendulkar 23* Gambhir 18* Swann continues, and these two are quite happy to take singles. For three balls, that is, at which point Gambhir decides to cash his chips in, and steps down the pitch to loft Swann over mid-on for four. That's all Strauss needs to see to send mid-on back onto the fence, which, if you ask me, epitomises his major fault as captain. It's not like Gambhir can't hit him over mid-off as well. Sometimes you just need to back your initial hunch. And Gambhir does try and hit him over mid-off! And Prior misses the stumping! Gambhir got inside the ball and tried to hit it over the off-side, missed it completely, and as the ball went in between Gambhir and the stumps it also flew past a startled Prior! It might be a touch harsh on Prior, as Gambhir might just have got a faint inside nick on that. Still, those are the half-chances you need to take, game of this magnitude, at this level, etc etc.

OVER 12: IND 66/1 Tendulkar 21* Gambhir 8* File under 'Shots That Would Have Got You Banned From The Game in the 1950s'. Gambhir takes two steps down the pitch to Bresnan and carves him over the covers for a one-bounce four. Tendulkar, meanwhile - and sorry about this, Indians - I don't think is going to make 200 today. He's just looked about 10 per cent off his best, which obviously is still about 10 per cent better than anyone else. He gets a single off the last ball of the over to keep the strike.

OVER 11: IND 60/1 Tendulkar 20* Gambhir 3* And it's going to be Graeme Swann, whose contribution today may well be pivotal. Will India simply try and milk him and look to Yardy and the seamers for their big hits? Or will they correctly recognise that Swann's natural loop actually makes him the more attractive hitting prospect? A single to each batsman, but a good line from Swann, and he gets a couple of inches of turn off the last that has Prior simultaneously howling for LBW and Ian Bell at cover trying to take the looping bat-pad catch. The two actions more or less cancel each other out, but it's still a very good over by Swann.

OVER 10: IND 58/1 Tendulkar 19* Gambhir 3* Bresnan continues, and Gambhir plays and misses again! He's another batsman that England might look to target with the short ball. He can play the hook, but he tends to play it up rather than down. Eventually Gambhir gets off the mark with a glance to leg for one, and then Tendulkar fences the ball towards backward point for another. Gambhir then turns behind square again, and Shahzad misfields as he swoops on the ball, allowing the batsmen an extra run. It's still a satisfactory over, though, just four runs from it. That's the end of the mandatory Powerplay, which means it will now be another five overs of bowling Powerplay, with the batting Powerplay, fielding Powerplay, sledging Powerplay, feigning injury Powerplay, sitting-on-Allen-Stanford's-lap Powerplay and Powerplay dhansak to follow.

OVER 9: IND 54/1 Tendulkar 18* Gambhir 0* That's the perfect example of what I call the Tendulkar shot - that bottom-handed flick to leg that ends with the bat pointing upwards. He gets four for it, bisecting the men at short fine leg and deep backward square. And four more with the same shot, this one going fine! There's nothing that gets an Indian crowd going like two boundaries in a row. Except, perhaps, for that infernal bugle-hooter thing. Eight from the over.

OVER 8: IND 46/1 Tendulkar 10* Gambhir 0* Brilliant first over by Bresnan, who in these conditions cuts an extra in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum but by George, can he put the ball on a length.

WicketWICKET! Sehwag c Prior b Bresnan 35 (26) IND 46/1
SEHWAG'S GONE! Prior with a one-handed catch, diving to his right, and this Bangalore crowd is stunned into silence! Bresnan's first two balls since coming into the attack had been absolutely bang on the rupees, and as the third also hit the mark, Sehwag just got a little itchy and tried to run it down very fine past Prior. Instead, it caught his outside edge, and without a slip in place, it was all on Prior! Crucial wicket for England! They'll consider that a major victory. Gambhir the new man... and he plays and misses first ball!

TwitterThe Analyst on Twitter: "Very hot in Bangalore. Wicket will turn. Broad out with stomach bug."

OVER 7: IND 44/0 Sehwag 33* Tendulkar 10* And just as we laud England's highly improved ground fielding, Shahzad dives over one at deep square leg and lets it trickle over the boundary. Dup. The next one goes out into the same area, and one of the things Indian grounds really lack is that ironic cheer you get when a fielder doesn't screw up. That, and beer snakes. And another life for Sehwag! A slower ball bouncer by Anderson, and Sehwag miscues his pull shot just over the head of mid-on! Strauss looks like he's just sat down to breakfast to find his butler has laid a pristine, unfolded copy of the Daily Star on Sunday out in front of him. Eleven off the over.

OVER 6: IND 33/0 Sehwag 23* Tendulkar 9* That ball really is flying around. England should be able to make some runs on this surface, and their ground fielding's been pretty good so far. Tendulkar flicks to deep square leg, where Pietersen saves two runs with a fine diving stop, and then Bresnan at third man does a similarly tidy job. It's been a good start by India, but not an altogether bad one by England.

OVER 5: IND 28/0 Sehwag 22* Tendulkar 5* Anderson continues, and Sehwag upper cuts his first ball on the bounce to third man. The next one's full and straight, and only an inside edge saves Tendulkar from being plumb in front of all three! This is excellent stuff by Jimmy, and he follows it up by beating Tendulkar outside off stump! Full and straight again, and Tendulkar clips it inches short of Bresnan at mid-wicket! This is unbelievable. I scoffed when I saw Andrew Strauss's claim yesterday that all the pressure was on India. Not because it wasn't true, but because it's such a truism it's barely worth saying. If you play cricket for India, the pressure is on from about the age of 17, and doesn't come off until you take up your seat in the ESPN-Star commentary box about three decades later. People rifle through Sachin Tendulkar's bins at night in an attempt to sniff his used Wet Wipes. That's pressure. But perhaps India's batsmen are feeling pressure of a slightly different king here. Or perhaps not, as Sehwag late cuts deliciously for four. That wasn't even wide of off stump! SMH.

OVER 4: IND 21/0 Sehwag 16* Tendulkar 4* Look at this field for Sehwag! No third man, no slips, a short extra cover, a short square leg and two men out on the hook. It's like a kind of puzzle. And Sehwag chips the first ball to where an orthodox mid-wicket would have been! That's his fourth life of the innings. Generally you don't want to be giving one of the world's greatest ever one-day batsmen more than about 12-15 lives before getting him out. It's a similar field for Tendulkar, who ducks one bouncer before rising above another short delivery and turning it off his hip for two runs. Does anybody else out there feel deeply privileged still to be able to watch Tendulkar bat? The man's a genius. A short, fossilised genius. Three runs off the over.

OVER 3: IND 18/0 Sehwag 15* Tendulkar 2* Tendulkar's away! It was just a solid shove through the covers for two, but the crowd acclaim him as if he'd just discovered a new element in between carbon and nitrogen. But Anderson, who's been pretty much bang on target so far, keeps Sachin there for the rest of the over. Pretty good start this for Anderson, whose moral figures currently stand at 2-0-3-3. (Actual figures: 2-0-10-0).

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "There is nothing like being in an Indian cricket ground when Sachin walks out to bat."

OVER 2: IND 16/0 Sehwag 15* Tendulkar 0* Bosh! Shahzad begins with a wide, full delivery that Sehwag simply cracks for four through the covers. The home fans cheer and whistle the first shot this innings that's come out of the middle of the bat. More width by Shahzad, and Sehwag simply steers it through point for four more. All placement, that. Shahzad tightens up, though, and keeps his first over down to only eight runs. "Only eight." Whatever would Hutton and Washbrook think of us, eh?

OVER 1: IND 8/0 Sehwag 7* Tendulkar 0* Sehwag is dropped first ball! Anderson finds some early outswing, Sehwag slashes and edges to second slip, and a diving Graeme Swann gets his right hand to the ball, but can't cling on! It flies away for four! And third ball, Sehwag gets a leading edge as he turns to leg that loops just over cover! Jimmy follows with a wide, and then fifth ball, another leading edge loops just over Anderson's head! What an incredible, agonising start for all England fans. Jimmy could have had three wickets already, and all of them a jittery Virender Sehwag. Yes, I'm aware you can only be out once, but Sehwag is testing that well-worn maxim to its limit here.

0858: That nagging feeling of unease in the pit of your stomach is, I'm afraid, correct. England are about to take on the world's mightiest cricketing power, in their own backyard, in front of 35,000 screaming fans (all right, about nine screaming fans and 34,900 BCCI cronies). And there can scarcely be two more imposing opening batsmen to see stride to the wicket than Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Jimmy Anderson to open the bowling. Can't wait for this. Cannot wait. Even though we're going to get humped. Right, let's go!

0855: Here are the teams:

India: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Singh, Dhoni (capt, wkt), Y Pathan, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Chawla, Patel.

England: Strauss (capt), Pietersen, Trott, Bell, Collingwood, Prior (wk), Yardy, Bresnan, Swann, Shahzad, Anderson.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Marais Erasmus (South Africa).

TwitterNick Hoult on Twitter: "Tredwell rumour was untrue. Yardy for Bopara. Shahzad for Broad."

0830: News already from Bangalore and first blood to India. Dhoni flicks the coin, wins the toss and opts to bat first. Is that a good decision? England might not mind bowling first and chasing a D/L runchase.

Stuart Broad is also out of this one. He hasn't recovered from a stomach upset after missing nets yesterday and his big-match misery continues after, of course, having to watch from the sidelines as England regained the Ashes urn.

0815: Good morning, Suprabhaat and welcome to coverage of this crunch World Cup encounter in Bangalore. We've had baton-wielding police managing the rush for tickets, Virender Sehwag's rib injury and Stuart Broad's small dose of illness in the lead up to the game but all that will be dwarfed in a short while when 40,000 baying Bangalore fans will make this the most feverish atmosphere since Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side beat hosts Bangladesh in Dhaka on opening night of this tournament.