F1 - Button makes three wins from four in Bahrain

Brawn's Jenson Button has taken his third victory of the season after a commanding performance in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. Button finished 7.1s seconds clear of Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel, with polesitter Jarno Trulli third for Toyota.

Lewis Hamilton took fourth for McLaren, with Rubens Barrichello fifth in the second Brawn. Kimi Raikkonen scored Ferrari's first points of the season with sixth place...

Pawar has qualities necessary to be PM: Jayalalitha

AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha said on Monday that she considers Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar suitable for the country's top job.

In an interview to CNN IBN news channel, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister also said there was "nothing wrong" if Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also aspires to be prime minister.

Asked whether Mayawati and Sharad Pawar had sought her support for becoming prime minister, she said: "No one has specifically sought my support for their candidature. As far as Mayawati is concerned, I have already said there is nothing wrong in a person aspiring to be prime minister of the country, since this is a democracy."

Regarding NCP chief Sharad Pawar she said: "Sharad Pawar is a very senior political leader, he has the maturity, wisdom and experience necessary to be prime ministerial candidate."

India launches spy, education satellites

India's all-weather defence surveillance satellite, radar imaging satellite (RISAT-2), and the micro education satellite Anusat were successfully placed into orbit by an Indian rocket that flew from the spaceport here early Monday morning.

At 6.45 a.m., the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) soared up in the sky, defying gravity with a deep throated growl, with 340 kg of luggage - 300-kg RISAT and 40-kg Anusat.

After 17 minutes into the flight guided by ISRO developed navigation systems, the 229-tonne rocket slung RISAT at 540-km above the earth and Anusat 10-km futher into its intended cicular orbit two mintues later.

Immediately after their ejections, the Spacecraft Control Centre at Bangalore with the help of ISTRAC network of stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius and in other places monitored the satellite's health.

ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair said: "This is a fantastic New Year gift for the country. We are happy. Performance of the vehicle is precise. There is no deviation to the planned flight path. Both the spacecraft being delivered into the orbit."

He also said that 2009 is going to be the year of fireworks for ISRO. "We ll be launching resourcesat, oceansat and others. Indigenously developed cryogenic engine will be inducted this year." (IANS)

Infosys sees difficult year ahead

Indian outsourcing giant Infosys has reported a 29% rise in fourth quarter profits but warns it will see its first fall in annual revenues in 2009/10.

It blamed the gloomy prognosis on the difficult global economic climate, which has halted growth for India's once booming IT services sector.

It expects revenue for the year ending March 2010 to fall as much as 6.7%, to between $4.35bn (£2.9bn) and $4.52bn.

Net profit in the January to March period 2009 rose to $325m.

"Guidance is not that impressive. It points to a cautious outlook and lack of business drivers in the bottom line," said Kevin Trindade, an analyst at KR Choksey Shares and Securities.

The software services sector in India has been hit by a large accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services, once ranked as India's fourth-largest IT firm.

Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju said in January that its profits had been overstated for years.

Shares in Infosys fell by up to 7.7% in Indian trading before recovering slightly.

Sri Lanka honours cricket driver

The Pakistani coach driver praised for his actions in last month's attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Lahore has been honoured at a ceremony in Colombo.

Meher Mohammad Khalil sped away from the attack as bullets rained down and reached the safety of the stadium.

New Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said: "We will always have a special place for you in our hearts."

Mahela Jayawardene, the captain during the Pakistan tour, said: "Khalil, you are our hero. We will always remember you with gratitude."

Mr Khalil said at the ceremony at the Sri Lanka cricket headquarters: "I did it for Pakistan. I did it for Sri Lanka, who were our guests.

"By God's help I did not feel scared at all and never thought of jumping out of the bus to save myself."

Six policemen and a driver died in the attack and seven Sri Lankan players and a British assistant coach were hurt.

Mr Khalil and his family have been given a sponsored holiday and a $21,800 reward was handed to him at the ceremony in Sri Lanka's capital on Monday.

F1 - Button seals dream Australia win

The Englishman led throughout and team-mate Rubens Barrichello completed a Brawn one-two after a dramatic finish.

The Brazilian was promoted after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW's Robert Kubica collided while disputing second place with three laps to go.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli was hit with a 25-second penalty after the race giving Lewis Hamilton an unexpected third.

Clinching an eventual podium finish from 18th on the grid was a superb achievement for the British world champion, given the woeful performance of his McLaren coming into the race.

But all eyes were on Brawn after the chequered flag, with the success of the former Honda team - whose survival was only secured by team boss Ross Brawn in early March - firmly capturing the imagination of the sport as it enters a fresh era under new rules.

Victorious Button secured the second win of his 154-race Formula 1 career after driving coolly throughout, showcasing Brawn's speed to keep Red Bull's Vettel at bay for the vast majority of the race to eventually cruise to a finish behind the safety car.
Button leads the field at the start of the race in Melbourne


"This is a fairytale ending for the first race," said Button.

Sri Lanka army 'repulses Tigers'

The Sri Lankan military says it has repulsed an attack by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north and killed at least a dozen rebels. Troops engaged rebels in small arm fire, forcing them to flee, the defence ministry said in a statement. It said the fighting took place north of Iranapalai in Mullaitivu district on Wednesday. Intense fighting has been going on between the troops and the rebels in the north-east for several weeks now. The army has driven the Tigers from most of the territory they held.
They are now restricted to a small area of jungle and coast in Mullaitivu district.

The defence ministry said that the rebels' counter-attack was repelled by armour and small arms fire.

"Over a dozen bodies of Tigers were observed lying at the battlefront," it said.
There has been no word from the rebels so far. The conflict area is out of bounds for journalists making it impossible to verify information. The pro-rebel website TamilNet has consistently accused the army of shelling civilians.