For the residents of Dhankawadi slum on the city outskirts, a few minutes of bad transmission is usually forgivable. But on Wednesday evening as residents of Sai Dutta Nagar in Dhanakwadi prepared for the show of all shows, they made sure no such ''crisis-situation'' would interrupt even a few seconds of viewing. For none of them wanted to miss those precious moments when 17-year-old Rahul Mane of their basti garnered accolades from ace choreographer Farah Khan for his performance on the reality show Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. For Mane himself, the class XII student who earns an extra bit of income for his family as a newspaper vendor, the choreographer's compliments were a dream come true.
Bowled over by Mane's performance judges Anu Malik and Farah Khan regarded the act as a commendable one. Applauding the 17 year old's passion for dance the judges congratulated Mane's parents. The dance guru herself requested his parents to allow him to pursue a career in dance. Putting up a unique act — a dance performance with four legs — Mane had Farah Khan asking for an encore and won Rs 10,000 on the show. Elaborating on the act Mane's choreographer Ganesh Jadhav says, "The act gives you the impression that the person is dancing with four legs. The dancer uses two hands to make it look like two other legs and the coat has two artificial hands mad of cotton and thin rods."
Creditably enough the one-minute act was extended by 45 seconds as neither the audience nor judges could get enough of it. "The act was a little different because by attaching two artificial legs, I had to dance like a four-legged dancer. I used my hands to move the artificial legs and performed to the number Behka main behka from Ghajini. When Farah Khan, who has made even King Khan dance to her tunes, complimented me, I could not hold back tears of joy," says Mane. Khan commented that she had never seen something like this before.Calling it a unique concept she added that Mane is a born dancer.
Today, Mane, who went to a low-profile dance school to learn the art and put up with many disparaging comments, stands tall. In a parking space in Bibewadi, Mane's dance teacher Ganesh Jadhav conducted his classes. "Many of us did not even have chappals to wear. Other kids laughed at us. But the passion to learn dance kept us going," reminisces Mane.
However, Mane, who qualified for the one-minute round, could not advance to Friday's grand finale. Nevertheless, his spirits soar high. "I will definitely make a career in dance if supported," he says.
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After acting as NRI kids in the Punjabi film Pardesi, sisters Ekta Kapoor and Ritika Kapoor are all set to win several hearts with the roles they have bagged in two Hindi films — Farm House and Ishaq aisa bhi.
While Ekta studies in Class V, Ritika is a student of Class IV at R S Model Senior Secondary School in Shastri Nagar.
Although they are yet to be briefed about their role in Farm House, they have some reason to cheer as they are cast opposite actor Gracy Singh. Regarding Ishaq aisa bhi, we get it from the horse's mouth: "We will fight goons in the film. We are very enthusiastic."
Talking to Newsline, Ekta and Ritika, who have just finished shooting for an advertisement related to computer games, said: "We had been offered many assignments recently. We have also got an opportunity to work in a serial on Colors channel, Char Sikandar, and in Punjabi films — Sifat
Punjab Di, Dildariyan, Buddhu da Aava Pucca and a film based on P N Baba Vadbhag Singh.
Both these talented girls have already worked in Amar Hans' Punjabi venture Pardesi and C L Balani's telefilm Pratibha Ki Kiran.
They have also appeared in several video albums including Aashique Nemanne, Gaddi Challi Paunahari de Dwara Bhagton, Mata Ki Bhetein — the list is exhaustive.
Apart from being budding stars, both sisters shine in academics too. While Ekta wants to learn all the languages and aspires to be a solider along with being a celebrity, Ritika wants to make a career in the field of environmental science.
Like all other children of their age, the sisters spend their free time playing with dolls, kitchen sets and of course friends.
While their proud mother Poonam Kapoor is a councillor at Christian Medical College and Hospital, father Yashpal Kapoor works in a local industrial unit.
Ask them how the children manage their studies along with a jam-packed schedule of shoots, Yashpal Kapoor beams:
"They take leave from school and my wife takes care of their studies during the shooting. We are very proud of our daughters."
The Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, is all set to start cleanliness work on the approximately 1-km long nallah running between Vishvkarma Chowk and the railway crossing of Gurdwara Dukhniwaran. The cleanliness work, to begin from Thursday, will be followed with the construction of slabs to cover the nallah.
It was after a meeting with residents of the areas adjoining the nallah that MC Zonal Commissioner Vinod Sharda decided to undertake cleanliness work of the nallah.
"While the residents suggested that the nallah should be permanently covered, we have decided to construct slabs around the nallah so that periodic cleanliness drives can be undertaken. Closing down of the nallah may result in waterlogging during the ensuing monsoons," said Sharda, while adding that work orders have already been awarded to a contractor.
Interestingly, the stench emanating from the nallah had prompted residents to construct ramps at various points, following which the MC demolished these structures last year in the name of encroachment.
The MC had, thereafter, promised to get the nallah cleaned — an assurance that has not been forthcoming until now.
Superintending Engineer, Operation and Maintenance Cell, Arun Sharma maintained that the entire work will be completed within a month.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) on Wednesday approved setting up of three new colleges and declared an increase of 630 seats in the existing and the new medical colleges in the state from the current academic year.
Sources said the meeting chaired by MCI chairman Dr Ketan Desai cleared setting up of three new medical colleges in the state having 150 seats each.
One of these new colleges will be in Ahmedabad and will be run by the AMC Medical Education Trust. The second medical college will be in Kutch and will be managed by the Adani Trust. The third new medical college in the state will be set up at Bhavnagar and will be run by the K J Mehta Trust.
Moreover, the MCI has decided to allow an increase of 50 seats in the Surat Municipal Corporation-run medical college, 50 seats each in Rajkot and
Bhavnagar colleges and 30 seats in Surat Government Medical College.
Western Railway authorities have approached the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) to pay the salary of an additional gatekeeper deployed to man the crossing at Vadsar. The issue will be discussed in the Standing Committee meeting, scheduled to take place on Thursday.
VMC officials informed that the local body pays for the salary of the railway gatekeepers as part of the national policy.
In a letter addressed to VMC Commissioner M K Das, railway authorities said that the civic body had not paid the salary of the additional gatekeeper after he was deployed in 2005.
"Since 1978 the Western Railway has been deploying two gatekeepers at Vadsar railway crossing, which connects Vadsar and Makarpura GIDC Road. However, an additional gatekeeper had to be deployed, considering the heavy traffic flow at the crossing. The VMC passed a resolution to have an additional gatekeeper on February 10, 2005, but his salary was not paid till August 2008," said a VMC official.
VMC Commissioner M K Das said: "As per the letter, we will have to pay Rs 5,87,891 to the Western Railway. The final decision will be taken after a discussion at the Standing Committee meeting."
Sources, however, revealed that the issue was taken up earlier as well, but the authorities failed to arrive at a final decision. "We have written a number of letters to the Western Railway between 2005 and 2009, requesting them not to charge us for the gatekeepers, as they are serving the Western Railway," said an official requesting anonymity.
There are at least three manned crossings, including Vadsar, Lal Baugh and Kalali. "We have to shell out funds for the gate keepers, right from their salary to other miscellaneous expenses, which is not justified," the official added.
Divisional Railway Manager Suhas Kumar said: "It is true that the payment has been held up for some reasons, but we meet every month with the top VMC officials and sort out all such pending issues. Similarly this issue will also be solved in the near future. In any case, it is only a question of few months because the Vadsar crossing will be closed after the construction of the Vadsar Rail Over Bridge gets over."
In the backdrop of the unrest in the Valley over the rape and murder of two young women in South Kashmir's Shopian district, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will chair a high-level meeting of the Unified Command Council in Srinagar on Thursday.
While Chidambaram, in his two-day visit, is expected to review the overall security situation in JandK, sources say that the rape and killing of two women and the aftermath of the incident will be on top of his agenda. Thursday's meeting will be attended by CM Omar Abdullah as well as top officers from the Police, CRPF, Army and various intelligence agencies. Police officials will be briefing the Home Minister about the incident and steps taken by the administration to trace the persons involved in the brutal murders.
Sources said Chidambaram had initially planned to also go to Shopian, but this visit appears to have been cancelled. "We don't have any information about the Home Minister's visit to the town," said a senior district official.
Amid a spate of racial attacks on students that have dented its image, Australia today named an Indian-Australian as its new envoy to New Delhi in an apparent bid to assuage feelings in India. Peter Varghese, Australia's intelligence chief and a close aide of Premier Kevin Rudd, has been nominated as the new High Commissioner to India even as an incident of a beating up of an Indian student was reported while a stand-off broke out between the police and students in Sydney.
Varghese, the current head of the Office of National Assessments (ONA), will take over in August from John McCarthy, who has served in the job since 2004. The announcement comes as Kamal Jit, a 23-year-old Indian student, was beaten up for the second time in a fortnight by a group of youths here.
At least 300 members of the community today staged a sit in Harris Park in Sydney, triggering a stand-off with the police as the students sought the immediate release of a colleague arrested by the authorities. Meanwhile, a group of Indian students allegedly stabbed a 20-year-old man in a western suburb here after they were racially abused.
Varghese' appointment has been made at a sensitive time in bilateral relations with the billion dollar foreign student market under threat due to spate of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney. More than 90,000 Indians are currently studying in Australia.
Universities Australia has adopted a ten point action plan for student safety from recommendations developed by the Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellors (International) from Australian universities, as part of a meeting convened by Universities Australia in Canberra on June 4 and 5. The plan emphasises strong law enforcement plus necessary complementary actions.
University leaders met with members of the Canberra diplomatic community during the meeting, and guests included the Indian High Commissioner to Australia Mrs Sujatha Singh, as well as Commonwealth officials.
Universities Australia's Lead Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Daryl Le Grew, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania, also addressed the meeting.
"The meeting affirmed the crucial importance of international integration through education. It unreservedly condemned the deplorable attacks that have been reported involving international students studying at Australian universities or at vocational education and training institutions, both public and private," Universities Australia's Chief Executive Dr Glennithers said today.
"Universities believe that the situation requires a national response and close cooperation between all education providers and the Commonwealth government, state authorities, foreign governments and their diplomatic representatives and other partners, to find solutions which will enhance the total educational experience including ensuring the present and futureafety of all students," Dr Withers said.
The adoption of this action plan follows longer-standing advocacy for such measures by Universities Australia, more recent Universities Australia statements of condemnation of the attacks on international students, and support for new Commonwealth Government international education initiatives.
In relation to the recent violent incidents, Universities Australia welcomes the response from the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Minister for Trade, the Leader of the Opposition, and State Premiers.
"To implement this plan, the University sector is ready to be involved in working with national and state/territory authorities and other stakeholders such as other education providers, community representatives and those who employ student workers," Dr Withers said.
The 10-point action plan is as follows:
1. Support proactive, preventive approaches to assuring student safety; and collaborate with local law enforcement authorities to increase levels of security including through improved cultural awareness and via increased visibility of police and security officers in locations where international students study, work, travel and live, and with suitable complaints bodies being in place to respond to concerns over inaction.
2. Work with diplomatic missions and the Australian government to streamline and enhance existing reporting processes for missions regarding student safety. At the same time work in partnership with Australia's own diplomatic posts as required, developing fully integrated communication processes to advise and support students on living and studying in Australia upon receipt of their student visas.
3. Cooperate with governments, local authorities and housing industry representatives to ensure the availability of sufficient affordable and secure accommodation for all students including international students upon arrival. Consider innovative finance mechanisms to assist both the students and the construction arrangements e.g. a Fund akin to the Educationnvestment Fund to support this at appropriately sustainable levels.
4. Advocate that all state and territory authorities immediately make available travel concessions for all students to help enhance their safety and security when moving between campuses, accommodation and workplaces, and improve public transport safety for all, and encourage employer and union support for assuring safe travel conditions for student workers.
5. Sustain and expand the current provision of information by all education providers on student security and safety from pre-departure programs, arrival and orientation through to graduation; and encourage students themselves to act on this information by taking safety precautions whenever possible.
6. Reinforce strategies for the integration of students of all nationalities and backgrounds on our campuses and in our communities, and promote a greater understanding of international cultures and languages in Australia through collaboration between the Australian Government, overseas governments and international agencies.
7. Cooperate with authorities in student source countries to ensure that university recruitment agents accurately represent all aspects of the international student experience, including safety aspects and the cost of living, and ensure that visa issue by Australian authorities is focussed on genuine and suitable educational objectives.
8. Enhance campus-based student support programs in health, child care, counselling, and employment services and expand specific safety programs including through ongoing input from local authorities, such as police commands, road and traffic authorities, real estate institutes and employers. Passage of the Student Services and Amenities Bill by the current parliament would assist this process immeasurably.
9. Encourage campus and national student leadership to take a pro-active role in representing and supporting international students to enable them to raise important issues regarding the quality of the student experience.
10. Engage strongly in the forthcoming ESOS review and establishment of TEQSA to ensure that appropriate accreditation and quality assurance of all international education providers in Australia is guaranteed, including via strong and effective enforcement mechanisms. The action plan adopted here anticipates a further more detailed Position Paper on the Student Experience and Student Safety to be issued shortly by Universities Australia.
The police chief of Australia's Victoria state on Tuesday admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students across the country were racially motivated, as claimed by most of the Indian victims.
Victoria's chief commissioner of police Simon Overland said that some of the robbery attacks were racially motivated and others are were opportunistic.
"Whatever the motivation, the attacks are not okay. Violence is not okay, being robbed is not okay," Overland said.
Overland also highlighted that there is no place for racism in the community.
"There is a shared responsibility between police and the media to provide important messages to the public and to have an open dialogue to understand where the other is coming from, and finding suitable solutions to problems," Overland said.
Despite Australia's claims that the recent attacks on Indians are not racist in nature, figures revealed by police chief commissioner show that crimes against Indians have risen considerably in the past two years.
Earlier, Victoria police officials had released figures, which revealed that there were 1,083 reported cases of robbery and assault against Indians in 2007-08.
Four white Canadians were Tuesday charged with a racial assault on a group of Indians at Langley on the outskirts of Vancouver.
According to police, the six Indian-origin men were playing tennis at the weekend when the four suspects approached them and started shouting 'racially based expletives.''
The assailants, who included three young men and a woman, went on to pull fence boards even as they continued shouting racial 'obscenities and threats.''
Police said: 'The suspects attempted to enter the tennis court which was now barricaded by the tennis players. They were able to force their way into the tennis court and intimidated the victims until they were backed into a corner.
'One of the suspects threw a fence board at the group of tennis players hitting one of them in the head.''
Before fleeing, the assailants took away personal belongings of the victims.
They were later arrested and the stolen belongings of the Indians recovered, police said. The suspects were Tuesday formally charged with assault with a weapon, robbery, causing physical harm and uttering threats.
While 19-year-old Rodney Mercieca was remanded to police custody till his bail hearing June 12, the three others - Lesley Rothwell, 18, and two boys aged 15 and 16 who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act - were released to appear in court later.
All the six victims come from the nearby city of Abbotsford where Indians, mostly Punjabis, constitute about 25 percent of the city's population of about 100,000.
The provincial police's hate crime unit is also involved in the investigation.
In the recent past, the Indian Canadian community in the Vancouver has been subjected many deadly racial attacks.
Two elderly Sikh men were killed in two separate attacks by white youths at a park in the city of Surrey near here five years ago.
Earlier, another elderly Sikh, who worked at a temple in Surrey, was also killed in a racial attack.
Pakistan has reduced the number of troops on its border with India to levels below what was deployed in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, US Special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, has said. "I will say that the number of troops that have been moved West is clearly larger than the number that were moved East after the Mumbai bombing.
And I don't believe there would be any question on that," Holbrooke told State Department reporters at a press briefing today. In the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan that followed the terror strike on Mumbai, the border between the countries saw significant troop build up.
However, Holbrooke refused to give any further details about the recent movement of troops by Pakistan in the wake of its military action against the Taliban in the Swat valley and adjoining areas. "It is for the Pakistan government to announce their own force deployments, not for me to make a headline here," Holbrooke said in response to a question.
* Russia expects North Korea to carry out new missile test
* Vote on resolution could come on Friday - diplomat
* Draft resolution reflects compromises with Russia, China
World powers on Wednesday agreed to expand sanctions to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear test and weapons program, as Russia said it expected the North to launch another provocative missile test.
The draft U.N. sanctions resolution, written by the United States and endorsed by the four other permanent Security Council members, plus Japan and South Korea, was discussed at a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation Security Council.
"If all goes well we're expecting a vote on the resolution on Friday," a U.N. diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Delegations will now send the draft to their capitals to see if it is acceptable.
The agreement ended more than two weeks of closed-door negotiations. The United States, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea all demanded tough sanctions against Pyongyang for its May nuclear test, but Russia and China held out for a milder resolution to avoid provoking North Korea.
The draft "condemns in the strongest terms" North Korea's nuclear test last month and "demands that (it) not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology."
The end result reflected compromises to satisfy Chinese and Russian objections. Beijing and Moscow had opposed language in earlier drafts requiring all countries to inspect North Korea ships carrying suspicious cargo that might violate a partial U.N. trade and arms embargo.
In the latest version, the Security Council "calls upon" states to inspect suspicious sea, air and land cargoes but does not demand it. However, the draft resolution would require countries to deny fuel to any suspicious North Korean ships and direct them to dock at "an appropriate and convenient port."
Once docked, the draft says local authorities would conduct a "required inspection" and must seize and destroy any cargo transported in violation of U.N. sanctions.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin explained this point, saying that for the country controlling the port, "it is your responsibility and you are being called upon by the Security Council to do this inspection."
An Indian has won Nordic carrier Finnair's award for best envisaging how flying would look and feel like in the future, besting 1,000 competitors from around the world.
The prize, Finnair tickets between Europe and Asia, was won by Dattatray Kuvalekar from India, the airline said in a statement here Wednesday.
To mark the 85th anniversary of its founding, Finnair joined aircraft manufacturer Airbus and other industry experts in envisioning what flying would be like in 2093.
'Around 1,000 visionaries submitted their views on the flying of the future,' said the statement.
In the competition launched in March, people had the opportunity to vote on which aircraft of the future was the most captivating and to present their own visions of what flying of the future might be like.
'The wing-shaped Finnair A600-850, intended for short-haul routes, was voted the most enchanting design,' the statement said.
In Kuvalekar's vision, flying in the future will be fast and, of course, neutral in terms of its environmental impact.
New technology will guarantee a smooth and efficient travel experienc, he said.
The Supreme Court Wednesday rebuked a lawyer for misusing the judicial process and filing more than one lawsuit for the same purpose - which the law does not permit.
A vacation bench of Justice Sudershan Reddy and Justice Aftab Alam also threatened to impose a penalty of Rs.100,000 on lawyer Dushyant Parashar for misusing the judicial process.
'Is this what you have learnt? Please don't test our patience. If you speak one word more, we will impose a cost of Rs.100,000 on you,' the bench told Parashar.
The remarks came after the bench found that the lawyer had moved the court against a judicial order to his client to vacate a tenanted premises. The advocate had filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the constitution, which empowers a citizen to move the apex court directly in case fundamental rights are violated.
But the court detected that the lawyer had already earlier exhausted his options for moving the court as he had first filed a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the high court order for eviction of the tenant. An SLP is filed to challenge a high court order.
The bench found that after the SLP was dismissed, the lawyer had also utilised his option to challenge the high court order through a review petition before the apex court.
And when the review petition too was dismissed, the lawyer moved the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the constitution.
A ten-year-old girl, disabled in right leg due to a bullet injury sustained in 26/11 terror attack, today identified Ajmal Kasab as one of the two gunmen, even as her emotionally-charged father broke down in the court pleading that the accused be hanged for ruining her life. The father-daughter duo was among the four eye witnesses who identified Kasab in the court, saying he was one of the two who had fired indiscriminately at people in Chhatrapati Shivaji rail Terminus (52 were killed and close to 90 injured).
The other witnesses were a police officer and a native of Jalgaon who were also hit by bullets. Devika, the youngest witness in this case, was brought to the court by father Natwarlal Rotawan in his lap.
In the court, Devika, walked with crutches to the witness box and took oath in the name of God to tell the truth. Emotional scenes were witnessed in the courtroom of Special Judge M L Tahaliyani when Devika promptly answered in Hindi the questions put to her by prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
Asked if she could identify the gunman among the three accused present in the dock the little girl pointed towards Kasab, the lone surviving gunman. He, however, did not react.
Lawyer Abbas Kazmi did not cross examine looking at her tender age, but the court asked the girl if her testimony was true to which Devika replied, "It is not correct to say that I am telling lies about Kasab opening fire. I have taken oath in the name of God and will not tell lies.
Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was tortured by the Sri Lankan military before being killed, a leading human rights body said in a report released Wednesday.
The University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) quoted high-level military sources as saying that Prabhakaran was tortured in the presence of 'a Tamil government politician and a general'.
The torture, it said, took place probably at the headquarters of the army's 53 Division, which battled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before crushing it last month.
'Several army sources have said that Prabhakaran's (younger) 12-year-old son Balachandran was killed after capture. Our (sources) said that he was killed in front of his father,' said UTHR, which has always been critical of excesses both by the military and the LTTE.
'These sources added that this information is correct unless officers at the highest level are fibbing to one another.
'Our sources in addition to several others have said that all the LTTE persons remaining in the NFZ (No Fire Zone) were massacred,' it added in a 48-page report, an advance copy of which was made available to IANS.
Sri Lanka announced May 18 that Prabhakaran, founder leader of the LTTE, was killed in a lonely coastal stretch in the northeastern district of Mullaitivu where the Tigers had massed their forces before going down.
His body was put on display, placed on a stretcher, the back of the head blown off.
Sri Lankan minister Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, a former confidant of Prabhakaran, had told IANS that the LTTE chief was shot dead with 18 of his guards.
Prabhakaran's death marked the end of the LTTE's dragging conflict that claimed 90,000 lives since 1983.
UTHR said: 'Information seeping into the public domain from within the army points to capture or surrender, but the official responses dismissing this are a rehash of stories that public no longer finds credible. It is left to an impartial enquiry to answer this and related questions.'
UTHR pointed out that the government was evasive about the fate of Prabhakaran's wife Mathivathani.
It quotes a brigadier as saying: 'We had to look for Prabhakaran's body because the world was interested in seeing it. But the body of his wife is not of any importance to us.'
The UTHR report said: 'That would be the fate of the unknown hundreds of civilians and militants killed in those last days (of fighting).'
According to the report, among the LTTE leaders who surrendered to the army included Baby Subramaniam, a member of the group since 1976 and one of Prabhakaran's oldest associates.
Others reportedly now in government custody included former eastern province political leader Karikalan, former spokesman Yogaratnam Yogi, former head of the LTTE international secretariat Lawrence Thilakar, political advisor V. Balakumar, Jaffna leader Ilamparithi and Trincomalee political leader Elilan.
Union Tourism minister Kumari Selja on Wednesday postponed her next-month visit to Australia the series of attacks on Indian students in that country.
"I am not going to Australia for the tourism promotional event scheduled in July," Selja said in the capital.
Selja was to attend a series of promotional programmes in Australian cities in July, which the tourism ministry had planned to showcase India as an attractive adventure tourism destination.
"The prevailing atmosphere is not conducive for such promotional event and the ministry will work out a new schedule after the situation improves," Selja said.
The Tourism ministry has already carried out a series of roadshows in collaboration with Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) in 22 cities across the globe including Melbourne, Singapore, London, Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo and New York.
"The ministry had finalised a package offering trekking, river rafting and mountaineering to attract Australians as part of adventure tourism destinations in India," said a senior tourism ministry official.
India seamer Zaheer Khan took four for 19 to set up a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Ireland in the final group match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Both teams had already qualified for the second round of the tournament.
Left-arm swing bowler Zaheer helped restrict Ireland to just 112 for eight after the match was was reduced to 18-overs a side following a rain delay.
Man-of-the-match Zaheer was well supported by spinner Pragyan Ojha, who completed figures of two for 18 from four overs.
Rohit Sharma (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) put on 77 for the first wicket for defending champions India who reached 113 for two with 15 deliveries remaining under the Trent Bridge floodlights.