Srinivasan confirmed as ICC chairman

Srinivasan confirmed as ICC chairman:

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president-in-exile, has been confirmed as the new Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Currently suspended by the Supreme Court of India pending corruption investigations into the match-fixing and betting charges around the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Srinivasan was widely tipped to become the new chairman of the ICC after receiving support from major boards such as England, Australia and New Zealand.
 Srinivasan was named as the new ICC chairman after the 52-member council approved amendments to the ICC's Memorandum and Articles of Association during the ongoing annual conference in Melbourne on Thursday. Srinivasan was nominated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and will assume charge following the of the ICC conference on June 28th.

The approval of the constitutional changes, which followed from an ICC resolution in Singapore on February 8th and ratified on April 10th, also means that a new executive committee will be formed, and that committee will be reporting to the ICC board. The initial chair of the Executive Committee will be Cricket Australia's Chairman, Wally Edwards, while the Chair of the ICC's Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) will continued to be headed by Giles Clarke, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Srinivasan said it was a honour to become the ICC Chairman and promised to look after the interests of the game. He also said the ICC will be playing a leading role in the promotion and globalization of the game. "It is an honour to be confirmed as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council," said Mr Srinivasan, adding: "I will leave no stone unturned in trying to strengthen the pillars and foundations of our sport, both on and off the field. I want to ensure that cricket retains and grows its popularity, and that the ICC plays a leading role in this global growth.

"I want to see more strong teams in international cricket. For this to be achieved, we all need to work hard to develop local talent in our countries. Naturally, there will be more support to those who first show they can help themselves. The ICC is a Members organisation and the pathway is now there for any Member to play Test cricket or in the major ICC events if it performs well enough over a sustained period of time."

Thousands of Indian Muslims sign up to defend Iraq's shrines

Thousands of Muslims in India have signed up to defend Iraq's holy shrines and, if need be, fight Sunni Islamist militants in the country where the civilian death toll from the Sunni insurgents' advance is estimated at least 1,300.

Denouncing the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) as terrorists, these Indian Muslims have filled out forms, complete with passport-size photographs and photocopied identification documents, to travel to Iraq.

Leaders of Anjuman E Haideri, the religious organisation spearheading the effort, said they might march to the Iraqi embassy in New Delhi on Friday to deliver the forms.A Shia cleric is leading the effort and the volunteers want to protect shrines venerated by the sect in Iraq, but the group's leaders say their cause is not sectarian.

Already at the group's headquarters located off Karbala Road in a leafy New Delhi neighbourhood, picket signs of "It's not Shias vs Sunnis (it's) Iraqis vs Terrorists" have been prepared.





"They aren't Muslims. Jihad means to defend. Jihad doesn't mean to kill," said Syed Bilal Hussain Abidi, a senior member of the group as he showed graphic footage on his cellphone of beheadings and bombs exploding in Iraq.

"We could travel to Iraq to form a human chain to save people from being tortured. We could fetch water and donate blood and do anything to save our shrines," he said, surrounded by brightly coloured files stacked with volunteers' forms.

Even though Muslims are a minority accounting for only 15 percent of Indians, they still number about 175 million, making them the third-largest Muslim population in the world.

Whether the volunteers will be granted visas and allowed to travel to Iraq is not clear. Officials at the Iraqi embassy were not immediately available to comment.

India's foreign ministry has said it will not allow Indians to go to Iraq because of the security situation in a country where 40 Indian hostages are being held in an undisclosed location and 46 Indian nurses are stranded in Tikrit hospitals.

But Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi, the group's general secretary, said that since the Indian government does not plan to send forces to Iraq, the supporters have little choice but to head over there themselves.

So far, the volunteers, who range from engineers to students and police officers, have signed a form that says: "I firmly believe that terrorism of all kinds including the one which is being inflicted by known terror groups in Iraq is not only a serious threat to innocent Iraqis (irrespective of their religious beliefs) but is also a threat to the entire humanity."

The group said it has 100,000 signatories from across India and has held several demonstrations "against terrorism" in Delhi and other cities.

The group wants to defend shrines spread across Iraq in the cities of Karbala, Najaf, Samarra and Kirkuk, but also stem the rise of crude oil prices that have shot up as a result of the crisis and could hit importer India hard.

"If they need help, we're ready from Hindustan," said Dilawar Abbas, a group member, using another name for India. If the ISIL is in Iraq right now, "tomorrow they can be in India."  

No luxury of 'honeymoon period' for my govt, Narendra Modi says

   On completion of 30 days in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he had no luxury of 'honeymoon' period as a "series of allegations" started in less than 100 hours but he feels there are "areas where surely we need to improve".

Looking back, he said "every decision we took has been guided solely by national interest" but here have been some "instances" in the last one month with which the government had nothing to do, "yet these controversies have persisted". He, however, did not specify the controversies. Refusing to blame anybody, he expressed the commitment to take India to "greater heights in the years to come" as he asserted that "my confidence and determination has increased tremendously".




In a blog, he wrote "67 years of previous governments is nothing compared to 1 month but I do want to say that in the last month, our entire team has devoted every single moment for the welfare of the people."

Our Government completes a month in office. A big thanks to the people for their support & affection that keeps inspiring us to work harder.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 26,

2014

He said "every new government has something that friends in the media like to call a 'honeymoon period.' Previous governments had the luxury of extending this 'honeymoon period' upto a 100 days and even beyond.

"Not unexpectedly, I don't have any such luxury. Forget 100 days, the series of allegations began in less than a hundred hours", he wrote.




Referring to the series of meetings he had with ministerial colleagues, chief ministers and officials, Modi said "I feel there are areas where surely we need to improve."


While talking about the controversies and allegations, Modi said "when one is working with the sole aim of serving the nation determinately, these things do not matter. That is why I keep working and that is most satisfying."

The Prime Minister said when he took over a month ago, "I kept thinking that I am new to this place and some people believed that I would take at least a year or even two to learn the intricacies of the working of the central government. Fortunately, a month later that thought does not exist any longer in my mind."

He said the "support and affection" of the people has been overwhelming and "this inspires us to work even harder".

Recalling that on this date 39 years ago the Emergency had been imposed in the country, he said it "stands out as one of the darkest periods in our history and is a grim reminder of the dangers associated with subverting freedom of speech, press, expression and silencing opposition.

"Our democracy will not sustain if we can't guarantee freedom of speech and expression.

"Today is also a day to reaffirm our pledge to safeguard these values and at the same time create strong institutions through good governance so that that we never ever see those dark days again."

Happy over the "fruitful" meetings with CMs and detailed presentations with ministers and officials, he said "together we will take India to greater heights. Due to people's affection, collective experience of ministerial colleagues and support from officials, my confidence level rose tremendously." 

 

England slips to fifth in test ranking

ENGLAND SLIPS TO FIFTH POSITION IN TEST RANKING:

Following their 0-1 Test series loss to Sri Lanka at home, England have slipped to fifth in the latest ICC rankings for Test teams. The Alastair Cook-led side slipped two places with 100 ratings points while both India and Pakistan have moved up one place. India are currently ranked fourth with 102 ratings points, while Pakistan occupy the third spot with 103 ratings points. Australia continue to top the rankings, followed by South Africa in the second place.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who led from the front brilliantly in the Test series against England, achieved his career-best ranking to date. England's Moeen Ali and Sam Robson, meanwhile, made it to the top 100 in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released after the Test series in England.

Sri Lanka's Player of the Series, Mathews climbed two places on the rankings table to occupy the 11th position following his sturdy knock of 160 in the second innings, which helped the visitors set England a target of 350, which the host fell short of by 100 runs. This performance also made him the third Sri Lanka player within the top 20, along with Kumar (2nd) and Mahela Jayawardene (14th).

Meanwhile, there was some good news for England as Moeen, whose resilient unbeaten 108 in the second innings nearly saved the Test for his team, moved up 36 places to break into the top 100 for the first time, in the 92nd position. Close on his heels is team-mate Sam Robson, whose 127 in the first innings, helped him jump 66 places to fetch him the 93rd spot on the rankings table.

 The ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers also saw huge gains for the Sri Lanka players. Dhammika Prasad's match figures of 6/125 saw him re-enter the rankings table in the 55th position, while Angelo Mathews' four for 60 in the match saw him jump up eight places to 81st.

 Rangana Herath remains the only Sri Lanka bowler within the top ten, at number eight, while Shaminda Eranga (four for 93 and one for 38) has moved up four places to occupy 23rd place.

 England will be happy with the performance of Liam Plunkett, who has returned to the side after a seven-year absence. His figures of five for 64 and four for 112 helped him jump 54 places to occupy the 50th spot. James Anderson has also moved up three spots to number 10, only eight ratings points behind Herath.

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Arrest warrant issued against Dhoni

Arrest warrant issued against Mahendra Singh Dhoni

A local court in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, has issued an arrest warrant against Mahendra Singh Dhoni after a complaint was lodged against the Indian skipper for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The arrest warrant was issued after Dhoni failed to appear before the court despite three summons. The court directed the police to present Dhoni before it on July 16th. The case refers to a picture on the cover of 'Business Today' in its April 2013 edition.

Hindu God 'Vishnu' with a sub-title named 'God of Big Deals' and holding products of several companies including a shoe in his hand.

A local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member, Y Shyam Sundar, had filed the petition at a court in Ananthpur in February this year saying Dhoni had hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Hindus by denigrating a god revered by them. The court took up the matter on Tuesday, and ordered the arrest warrant against the Indian captain as he had failed to reply to the summons. Similar petitions have been filed against Dhoni in Delhi, Pune and other cities.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he's called Obama to express frustration over government's internet behavior

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg  said Thursday that he has called President Obama in frustration over what he says is ‘the damage the government is creating for all of our future.’

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said Thursday that he has called President Obama to express his frustration over reports on the U.S. government’s Internet behavior, saying that it is damaging the Internet.
In his own Facebook post Thursday, the CEO said the call is not going to lead to any reforms in the short term, and called upon the website’s users toward building a more secure Internet.
RELATED: ANGRY BIRDS, OTHER ‘LEAKY’ CELLPHONE APPS ALLOW NSA TO COLLECT DATA: REPORT

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his own social network Thursday, stating that his engineers have been working to improve security.

“They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst,” Zuckerberg said.

While Zuckerberg does not mention any specific reports by name, it comes a day after The Intercept reports that the National Security Agency has the ability to fake a Facebook server in order to infect and examine a target’s computer, according to files provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The exploit is part of a system codenamed TURBINE, designed to automate tasks previously done manually by the agency’s hackers. Among other eavesdropping tactics referenced include sending out spam emails with malware that can be tailored to record audio from a computer’s microphone and take snapshots with its webcam.