LONDON: The extradition trial of Vijay Mallya, wanted in India on charges of Rs 9,000 crores fraud and money laundering, began on Monday at a UK court here, with the prosecution asserting that the embattled liquor baron had a "case of fraud" to answer. The trial, however, was briefly halted as the courtroom had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm. The 61-year-old tycoon and others waited outside the Westminster magistrates court during the fire drill. The trial began with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, presenting its opening arguments in the case which focused on loans totalling around Rs 2,000 crores sought by the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of Indian banks. The CPS admitted that there may have been "irregularities" in the internal processes of the banks sanctioning some of those loans but that would be a question to be dealt with at a later stage in India. "The focus of our case will be on his (Mallya's) conduct and how he misled the bank and misused the proceeds," said CPS barrister Mark Summers. He then went on to lay out a detailed chronology of events, with specific focus on a loan sought by Kingfisher Airlines from IDBI bank in November 2009. The loan sought amounted initially to Rs 950 crores but was later reduced to Rs 750 crores, after it had received Rs 200 crores from UCO bank. Meanwhile, Mallya was also sanctioned a loan of Rs 150 crores from IDBI in advance of the larger loan sought from the state-owned bank to meet "critical obligations to overseas vendors". The CPS noted that in all the loans sought, "loss-making" Kingfisher Airlines had relied on nearly the same set of security pledges, which included the UB Group's reputation, Kingfisher's own "brand value", a promised infusion of equity funds and a projected return to profit by the airline by February 2011. "The airline had claimed that it had put proactive measures in place to improve performance," the CPS noted. However, it was also a time when according to an industry analysis, the state of the airline industry was described as "grim" and as being in "intensive care". "It was not a scenario in which a state bank would have entertained such loan requests," the CPS added. The first day of the trial is expected to be taken up entirely by the CPS setting out the Indian government's prima facie case against Mallya, a fact that was not welcomed by his defence team. Mallya's barrister, Clare Montgomery, told the judge that she had hoped to set out the defence's opening arguments on the first day as well. But the CPS said it will "not be rushed" as it lays out the complete chronology of events. Meanwhile, Mallya watched the proceedings from behind a glass-windowed dock. His defence team tried to get the judge to allow him to sit outside the dock near his defence team to access some of the complicated paperwork being relied upon, but the judge denied that request saying all defendants are expected to sit in the dock. However, the judge has directed that a table be provided to Mallya for easier access to his paperwork. Earlier, Mallya looked relaxed when he entered the court to stand trial on charges of fraud and money laundering related to his erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines owing several Indian banks around Rs 9,000 crores. "These (allegations against me) are false, fabricated and baseless," Mallya told reporters outside the court ahead of the hearing. A four-member CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team from India had also arrived at the court ahead of the trial, one of whom nodded when asked he they were "confident" about their case. Mallya, who has been out on bail since Scotland Yard executed an extradition warrant in April this year, will be in the dock for the duration of the trial - scheduled to end on December 14. A judgement in the case, being presided over by Judge Emma Louise Arbuthnot, is unlikely until early next year. The CPS will need to demonstrate a prima facie case by producing evidence to show that the criminal charges against Mallya are justified and that he should be extradited to face the Indian courts. Prison conditions in India are expected to be at the forefront during the hearing, with the Indian government providing assurances of protection of Mallya's human rights. The tycoon has been on self-imposed exile in the UK since he left India on March 2, 2016. While on strict bail conditions, which include providing a bail bond worth 650,000 pounds, surrender of his passport and a ban on possessing any travel documents, the former Rajya Sabha member has been based at his Hertfordshire estate Ladywalk in the village of Tewin, nearly 50-km from London. The CPS had presented "supplemental" charges of money laundering to previous charges of fraud against the businessman at an earlier hearing in October.

Shashi Kapoor, the embodiment of romance and charm who wooed the top leading ladies of the '70s and '80s on the silver screen and captivated millions of fans, died today. He was 79. The actor-producer took his last breath at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. "Yes, he has passed away. He had a kidney problem and was on dialysis for several years," his nephew Randhir Kapoor, the son of the late Raj Kapoor.

PARIS: France's Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah will oversee his team's defence of the title they won last weekend with success over Belgium in the final. "@NoahYannick has confirmed his wish to defend the Silver Salad Bowl (trophy) and will be captain of #TeamFranceTennis @Davis Cup in 2018. RDV in Albertville on February 2 against the Netherlands," the French Tennis Federation announced on Twitter on Thursday. Noah, 57, guided France to a tenth title but first since 2001 with a 3-2 triumph over Belgium in Lille.

MANCHESTER: Raheem Sterling's latest late goal kept Manchester City well in front at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to Southampton on Wednesday. It had looked as if what became City's 12th successive league victory would end in a draw after Southampton's Oriol Romeu cancelled out a goal scored by Kevin De Bruyne early in the second half. But for the third match in a row Sterling grabbed a late goal - but this was later and arguably better than the others. In the 96th minute, De Bruyne's short pass found Sterling, who curled a brilliant shot into the top right-hand corner of the goal from the edge of the area -- following similar late winners against Feyenoord and Huddersfield in the past week. The goal sparked incredible scenes of celebration on the Etihad Stadium pitch, with City manager Pep Guardiola sprinting into the middle of the field and, after the final whistle seconds later, engaging in an angry exchange of words with Southampton's Nathan Redmond. Victory left City eight points in front of second-placed Manchester United after 14 matches of the season. City had responded impressively after a lacklustre first half, one which presumably would have displeased the demanding Guardiola. Within 80 seconds of the restart, City were ahead from a De Bruyne free-kick, wide on the left, which was so brilliantly struck it appeared to evade all other attempts to get a touch. City, however, were stunned 15 minutes from time when Fabian Delph failed to deal with Ryan Bertrand's centre and substitute Sofiane Boufal pulled the ball back for Romeu to convert clinically from 10 yards. For all their dominance in practically every game so far this season, City could easily have found themselves a goal down to Mauricio Pellegrino's side in what was, by their standards, a poor first half.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met with Ivanka Trump, daughter and informal adviser to US President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad. Dressed in a vibrant green and gold ensemble, Ivanka held talks with Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj ahead of her meeting with PM Modi. Raveesh Kumar, official spokersperson of the foreign ministry, tweeted that both Ivanka and Swaraj had "a productive discussion on women entrepreneurship and empowerment."

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to India on a four-day visit in January to meet the country's top leadership, six months after his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi made a maiden visit to the Jewish state, informed sources said. Netanyahu would be received by Modi in Ahmedabad on his arrival on January 14, the sources said. He would be the second Israeli premier to visit India since diplomatic ties were established between the two sides in 1992. His visit would be happening almost 15 years after the first visit by then prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2003. Modi has in the past welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japan'a Prime Minister Shinzo Abe inhis home state. Netanyahu would then be holding most of his official meetings in New Delhi on January 15 and 16. "The detailed programme is being still worked out but it will include meetings with top leadership inIndia," informed sources here said. The Israeli leader would travel to Mumbai on January 17 where he would be visiting the Jewish Chabad House, a site of 2008 terrorist attack. He would head back to Israel on January 18. There could also be a possible stopover in Agra during the visit. "In the past year, I have visited all continents besides Antarctica," Netanyahu said at the opening of the Knesset's (Israeli parliament) winter session last month. "And in January, I will make a reciprocal visit to my dear good friend, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, whose population is a significant part of humanity," he added. Modi's standalone visit to Israel in July this year celebrated 25 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Indian prime minister skipped Palestine during his trip leading many analysts to say that New Delhi was changing its rules of engagement in the region. His visit, the first by an Indian prime minister to Israel, was termed by many as de-hyphenation of New Delhi's ties with the Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was invited to New Delhi a few weeks before Modi's visit toIsrael, in what was his fifth visit to India in 12 years and the third state visit. Netanyahu had called Modi's "historic visit" a "very significant step" in strengthening bilateral relations that are on a "constant upswing". The Israeli leader has also grabbed every opportunity to emphasise on his "personal chemistry" with his Indian counterpart, including at the United Nations General Assembly in September where he shared the memories of Modi's three-day visit to Israel from July 4-6. "...We imagined the endless possibilities for Israel, India, for all humanity," he had said during his UNGA address.

LONDON: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal said they welcome innovation in tennis but warned the game's administrators on Friday not to tamper too much with the current format. A series of rule changes and innovations are being trialled at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, featuring the world's top 21-and-under singles players. They are aimed at creating a high-tempo, TV-friendly product geared towards attracting new and younger fans. Rule changes include a shorter format with first-to-four-games sets (tie-break at 3-3), a shorter warm-up, a 25-second shot clock used between points, no line judges, player coaching and no doubles lines on the court. Federer, in London for the ATP Finals, starting on Sunday, said he had enjoyed watching the matches on TV but urged caution. "We need to think, take seriously all these rule changes if ever you're going to do it because once you do it you don't want to bounce back and forth with changing something and then you don't like it later on," said the Swiss world number two.

WELLINGTON: Peru failed to break down a resolute New Zealand defence in a 0-0 draw in Wellington Saturday to leave their dream of ending a 36-year absence from the World Cup finals hanging by a thread. "Los Incas" failed to score a coveted away goal despite outplaying New Zealand in the opening match of their two-legged World Cup qualifier, with the winner claiming a spot at next year's finals in Russia. Peru, ranked 10th in the world to New Zealand's 122, were the better team but lacked a cutting edge in the absence of goal-scoring captain Paolo Guerrero, who is currently suspended over an "abnormal result" from a drugs test. New Zealand worked tirelessly in defence and they rode their luck at times, but grew in confidence as the game progressed and will be delighted to head into the second leg in Lima on Wednesday on even terms. New Zealand were dealt a blow before kick-off when striker Chris Wood was ruled out of the starting line-up with a hamstring injury.