NEW DELHI: Disgraced Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi was Wednesday banned for life from holding any cricket post, three years after being thrown out of his own popular, but tainted, Twenty20 league.

The general body of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which met in Chennai, accepted the verdict of its disciplinary panel that found Modi guilty of “serious” acts of indiscipline and misconduct.

“The BCCI resolved that Mr Lalit Modi is guilty of committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline, and therefore he is hereby expelled from the board,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

“He shall forfeit all his rights and privileges as administrator. He shall not in future be entitled to hold any position or office, or be admitted in any committee or any member or associate member of the BCCI.”

Modi was found guilty, among other things, of rigging bids during the franchise auction in 2010, selling media and internet rights without authorisation and secretly trying to create a rebel T20 league in England without the knowledge of the Indian and England boards.

The BCCI announced its decision soon after a last-ditch effort by Modi's lawyers to get the meeting put off was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier on Wednesday.

Modi, who now lives in self-exile in London, currently holds no post in the BCCI, having already been removed as IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president after the conclusion of the third edition of the tournament in 2010.

The 49-year-old scion of a business family, who is also being investigated by the government on corruption and money-laundering charges, has in the past denied all allegations against him.

The life ban is unrelated to the spot-fixing and betting scandals currently swirling around the IPL which has led to players, book makers and others being charged over their alleged involvement.

Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of current BCCI chief N. Srinivasan and a former team principal of IPL side Chennai Super Kings, was among those charged with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy on Saturday over the betting scandal.

Two players from the Rajasthan Royals team, international fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and upcoming spinner Ankeet Chavan, have been banned for life by the BCCI, after they were among those charged over the spot-fixing scandal.

The IPL, which began in 2008, features the world's top players signed up for huge fees by rich business houses and individuals in a glitzy mix of sport and entertainment.

NAIROBI: Somalia's Shebab insurgents claimed Wednesday 137 hostages they had seized died in a Nairobi shopping mall siege, figures impossible to verify and higher than the number of people officially registered as missing.

The Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, in a message posted on Twitter, said “137 hostages who were being held by the mujaheddin” had died.

They also accused Kenyan troops of using “chemical agents” to end the four-day stand-off.

“In an act of sheer cowardice, beleaguered Kenyan forces deliberately fired projectiles containing chemical agents,” one tweet read.

“To cover their crime, the Kenyan government carried out a demolition to the building, burying evidence and all hostages under the rubble.” President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an end to the 80-hour bloodbath late Tuesday, with the “immense” loss of 61 civilians and six members of the security forces.

Police said the death toll was provisional, with the Kenyan Red Cross listing 63 people as still missing.

There was no immediate response from Kenya's government, but the Shebab have in past made repeated outlandish claims, especially on their Twitter site.

The Shebab said they carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenya's two-year battle against the extremists' bases in the country.

In one of the worst attacks in Kenya's history, the militants marched into the four-storey, part Israeli-owned mall at midday Saturday, spraying shoppers with automatic weapons fire and tossing grenades.

Kenya on Wednesday began three days of official mourning, with flags flying at half mast, while rescue workers scoured the wreckage of the mall for bodies.

Close to 200 were wounded in the four-day siege, which saw running battles between militants and security forces in the complex, Nairobi's largest shopping centre and popular with wealthy Kenyans, diplomats, UN workers and other expatriates.

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have shut down the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice newspaper in Cairo, the latest move aimed at crushing the Islamist movement, the Brotherhood said on Wednesday.

“We the journalists of the Freedom and Justice newspaper condemn the security forces for closing down the headquarters of the newspaper,” the Brotherhood said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Police stormed the building overnight and removed the contents. A source at the Cairo Security Department said the raid followed Monday's court ruling which banned the Brotherhood and ordered its funds seized.

“A court ruling was issued to do it on charges of inciting violence and terrorism in the recent past,” a security source said, referring to the operation.

The army overthrew Mursi in July, and the Brotherhood has seen hundreds of its members killed and thousands arrested since then.

The campaign had forced many of the 50 journalists who produced the daily Freedom and Justice to work in secret to avoid arrest.

The newspaper, named after the Brotherhood's political wing, had focused on efforts to reverse what it called a military coup against an elected government.

The Brotherhood emerged from the shadows to win parliamentary and presidential elections after autocrat Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011.

Many Egyptians became disillusioned with Mursi after he gave himself sweeping powers and mismanaged the economy, taking to the streets in protest and prompting the army move.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the appointment of Director General Chief Air Marshall Authority (CAA) retired Khalid Chaudhry as null and void and issued a notification to cancel his appointment, DawnNews reported.

A three-member of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was hearing the case pertaining to the delay in the construction of the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport in the country’s federal capital.

During the hearing, the court ruled that Chaudhry’s appointment did not fulfill legal requirements and subsequently issued a notification to cancel it.

The court moreover declared unsatisfactory the Civil Aviation report submitted in the court.

The bench said that action would be taken against those who had sanctioned the construction of the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport. It also directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team to complete investigation against irregularities in the construction of the airport at the earliest.

The court moreover stated that all contractors should assist the FIA team, adding that in event of non-cooperation, legal action would be taken.

The bench said that a detailed judgment on the matter would be issued later.

The Supreme Court had earlier taken up the case on a private petition that the delay in the construction of the airport had pushed the original cost of Rs35 billion to Rs73 billion, and might escalate further.

Petitioner Asaf Fasihuudin Vardag, a lawyer, wanted the Supreme Court to direct the authorities to appoint “an eligible officer as the project manager” in place of the incumbent CAA Director-General Air Marshal (retired) Khalid Chaudhry.

NEW DELHI: Indian premier Manmohan Singh confirmed Wednesday he will meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this weekend in a major step towards better relations following rising tensions.

Singh said he will hold talks with Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the first such meeting in three years, amid heightened friction over a string of deadly military attacks across their border in disputed Kashmir.

“During my visit to New York, I... look forward to bilateral meetings with the leaders of some of our neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan,” Singh said in a statement before leaving for the United States.

Singh will first head to Washington to meet President Barack Obama to try to strengthen economic ties between the two world's largest democracies including on nuclear power, before leaving for New York.

“Over the past decade, our relationship with the United States, which is one of our most important relationships, has transformed into a global strategic partnership,” his statement said.

New Delhi and Islamabad have been working behind the scenes in recent weeks to secure a meeting, which was in jeopardy after deadly skirmishes in recent weeks between their militaries. The attacks repeatedly broke a ceasefire in place since 2003 along the de facto border in Kashmir.

The picturesque Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan by the UN-monitored Line of Control (LoC), but is claimed in full by both countries. Two of their three wars have been fought over Kashmir.

The deadly flare-ups followed an ambush in August that killed five Indian soldiers along the LoC. India blamed the Pakistan army for the attack, a charge that Islamabad denied.

Since winning a general election in May, Sharif has been vocal in his desire for better relations with India.

Last month he urged both sides to work swiftly to shore up the 10-year ceasefire after India's defence minister hinted at stronger military action along the LoC.

Analyst K. G. Suresh said the incidents in Kashmir, along with attacks by Pakistani militants on Indian soil, were among issues expected to be raised at the meeting — set to be held at a New York hotel on Sunday.

But Suresh told AFP that talk of a resumption of peace talks as a direct result of the meeting was premature. The talks were halted in January, shortly after they had resumed, following a deadly flare-up at that time along the LoC.

“The meeting is definitely a huge step forward (to improved relations),”said Suresh of the Vivekanand International Foundation think-tank.

“The Indian PM has taken a calculated risk by agreeing to meet Sharif ahead of elections next year,” he added.

India's embattled ruling Congress party faces national elections next year and is under domestic pressure not to be seen as too soft on Pakistan.

The premiers of India and Pakistan last met in 2010 on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan's capital Thimphu, with both sides reaffirming the importance of moving forward with dialogue.

Peace talks were suspended for three years after the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people and which India blamed on Pakistani militants.

India has been demanding that Pakistan speed up trials for militants on its side thought to have been behind the attacks.

Earlier, the provincial government had decided that five police stations in the metropolis, one each in the five districts of Karachi division, would be under the joint control of Rangers and police to deal with four types of heinous crimes.

The suspects arrested on charges of “terrorism, targeted killing, kidnapping for ransom and bhatta (extortion)” during the ongoing targeted operation would be kept and interrogated at the five designated police stations, said Advocate General for Sindh Barrister Khalid Javed Khan.

Sources told Dawn.com that PS Aaram Bagh, PS Ferozabad, PS Nazimabad, PS Orangi Town and PS Steel Town would be under the control of Rangers’ forces.

Meanwhile, in an operation carried out by the city’s east and west zone police, 130 suspects were arrested within 24 hours. The suspects included wanted criminals, drug dealers and fugitives. Moreover, arms were also recovered during the raid.

Moreover, paramilitary forces carried out operations in the areas of Old Sabzi Mandi, Phool Pati Lane Lyari, Kharadar, Zia Colony, Jodia Bazaar among others and arrested 21 suspects.

According to a Rangers’ spokesperson, the arrested persons were involved in heinous crimes.

Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan, is riddled with targeted killings, gang wars, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism. Targeted operations are ongoing in Karachi under a directive issued by the federal government led by Rangers’ forces with the support of police against criminals already identified by federal military and civilian agencies.

Syrian officials supplied the evidence, which Mr Lavrov has not yet seen.

A UN report released on Monday concluded the nerve agent sarin was used in the attack in Damascus, in which hundreds were killed.

The US blamed government forces for the attack, but Russia and Damascus have insisted that rebels were responsible.

The UN report did not apportion blame for the attack, which sparked diplomacy that culminated in a deal for Syria to hand over its chemical arsenal by mid-2014.

The report's author, Ake Sellstrom, told the BBC he believed that the task of finding and destroying Syria's chemical stockpile would be "stressful work", but was "doable".

He said much depended on whether the Syrian government and the opposition were willing to negotiate.

The disarmament deal was brokered by the US and Russia.

The penalty for any possible breaches by Syria are now being thrashed out by the UN Security Council permanent members.

Mr Lavrov said there was plenty of evidence that pointed to rebel involvement in chemical attacks similar to the Damascus attack.

"We will have to find out who did it," he said.

Earlier Mr Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said he had been given the evidence during a trip to Syria.

He said it needed to be analysed, and gave no details of its content.

Mr Ryabkov criticised the UN report, saying it was "distorted" and "one-sided".

"The basis of information upon which it is built is not sufficient, and in any case we would need to learn and know more on what happened beyond and above that incident of 21 August," he said.

"We are disappointed, to put it mildly, about the approach taken by the UN secretariat and the UN inspectors, who prepared the report selectively and incompletely."

In response to Mr Ryabkov's comments, Mr Sellstrom told the BBC he thought Russia was not criticising the report itself but the process, which he described a political matter and therefore not his remit

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius defended the UN report, saying he was surprised by the Russian reaction.

"Nobody can question the objectivity of the people appointed by the UN," he said.

Human Rights Watch has taken the trajectory of the rockets from the UN document and plotted their likely path.

The rights group said the likely launch site for the missiles was in a government military compound.

The UN inspectors were originally mandated to go to Syria to investigate three alleged chemical weapons attacks, at Khan al-Assal, Sheikh Maqsoud and Saraqeb.

But they were later ordered to shift their focus to the Damascus incident, which was the most deadly chemical assault.

They are due to return to Syria "within weeks" to complete their inquiry into the other attacks, and a report is due in October.

On Tuesday the five permanent UN Security Council members met in New York to discuss a draft resolution put forward by the UK, France and the US.

They want a resolution containing the threat of military action against Syria if it fails to comply with the disarmament deal, but Russia opposes this.

A resolution under Chapter VII of the UN charter permits military action if other measures do not succeed. Chapter VI requires a purely negotiated solution.

The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow says Russia has delivered a promise from Syria to give up its chemical weapons, and it seems that at this stage Moscow does not feel like giving the Western allies anything more.

Russia and China have three times blocked Western-backed Security Council resolutions against Mr Assad.

More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in 2011.

Millions of Syrians have fled the country and millions more have been internally displaced.