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.

SHANE WARNE

HACKER's POINT(ALL HACKING STUFF)

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

Michael Hussey

Michael Hussey

Personal information
Full name	Michael Edward Killeen Hussey
Born	27 May 1975 (age 38) Mount Lawley, Western Australia, Australia
Nickname	Mr. Cricket,[1] Huss
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Role	Batsman
Relations	DJ Hussey (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 393)	3 November 2005 v West Indies
Last Test	3 January 2013 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 150)	1 February 2004 v India
Last ODI	3 September 2012 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no.	48
T20I debut (cap 4)	17 February 2005 v New Zealand
Last T20I	5 October 2012 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1994 –	Western Australia
2001–2003	Northamptonshire (squad no. 3)
2004	Gloucestershire
2005	Durham
2008 – 2013	Chennai Super Kings (squad no. 48)
2011 – 2013	Perth Scorchers
2013 - present	Sydney Thunder
2014 - present	Mumbai Indians
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 79 185 268 378 Runs scored 6,235 5,442 22,448 12,088 Batting average 51.52 48.15 52.44 44.31 100s/50s 19/29 3/39 61/101 12/90 Top score 195 109* 331* 123 Balls bowled 588 240 2,052 786 Wickets 7 2 27 20 Bowling average 43.71 117.50 40.48 41.45 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 1/0 1/22 3/34 3/52 Catches/stumpings 85/– 105/– 299/– 198/–

Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting

Personal information
Full name	Ricky Thomas Ponting
Born	19 December 1974 (age 39) Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Nickname	Punter
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm medium
Role	Batsman
Relations	Greg Campbell (uncle)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 366)	8 December 1995 v Sri Lanka
Last Test	3 December 2012 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 123)	15 February 1995 v South Africa
Last ODI	19 February 2012 v India
ODI shirt no.	14
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1992–2013	Tasmania
2004	Somerset
2008	Kolkata Knight Riders
2011–2013	Hobart Hurricanes
2013	Mumbai Indians
2013	Surrey
2013	Antigua Hawksbills
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 168 375 289 456 Runs scored 13,378 13,704 24,150 16,363 Batting average 51.85 42.03 55.90 41.74 100s/50s 41/62 30/82 82/106 34/99 Top score 257 164 257 164 Balls bowled 575 150 1,506 349 Wickets 5 3 14 8 Bowling average 54.60 34.66 58.07 33.62 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 1/0 1/12 2/10 3/34 Catches/stumpings 195/– 160/– 309/– 195/–

Michael Jackson(MJ)

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman
Jackman in December 2012
Born	Hugh Michael Jackman 12 October 1968 (age 45) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actor, producer, singer, dancer
Years active	1994–present
Known for	X-Men, Van Helsing, Tony Award, 81st Academy Awards, Real Steel, Les Misérables, Prisoners
Spouse(s)	Deborra-Lee Furness (m. 1996)

Nelson Mandela

India welcomes dismissal of visa fraud charges against Devyani Khobragade

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday termed as "good as far as it goes" the dismissal of visa fraud charges by a US court against senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, whose arrest and strip-search had triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries.

"We have seen the judgment related to the indictment of January 9. It is good as far as it goes," spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs said.

He said the lawyers will meet to "examine it carefully before we are able to respond substantially and in more detail".

Khobragade, who was India's deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on December 12 outside her children's school.

She has won dismissal of the indictment against her for visa fraud, with a US judge ruling she had full diplomatic immunity.

However, prosecutors are not barred from bringing new charges in future.

Reacting to the US court verdict, her father Uttam Khobragade said, "They tried to trap Devyani with a false complaint against her. I thank the Indian government and the Indians for their cooperation and help. She will go back to America with full diplomatic immunity".

US District Judge Shira Scheindlin said in her 14-page order that "it is undisputed" that Khobragade acquired full diplomatic immunity at 5:47 pm on January 8 after the US State Department approved her accreditation as a counselor to India's mission to the United Nations.

While the indictment was returned on January 9, Khobragade had the immunity till she departed from the US for India on the evening of January 9 and so the prosecutors cannot proceed with the current indictment.

"Khobragade's motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground of diplomatic immunity is granted. Khobragade's conditions of bail are terminated, and her bond is exonerated. It is ordered that any open arrest warrants based on this indictment must be vacated," Scheindlin said in her 14-page order, capping months of unprecedented diplomatic tensions between the US and India.

"On January 9, immediately following the return of the indictment, Khobragade appeared before the court through counsel and moved to dismiss the case. Because the court lacked jurisdiction over her at that time, and at the time the indictment was returned, the motion must be granted," the judge said ordering that the motion and the case be closed.

US Attorney Preet Bharara's office had argued that Khobragade, 39, was not immune from her December 12 arrest on charges of visa fraud and making false statements about the visa application of her domestic help Sangeeta Richard.

Khobragade's arrest on visa fraud charges had triggered a row between the two countries with India retaliating by downgrading privileges of certain category of US diplomats among other steps.

T20 WORLD CUP 2014 BANGLADESH(ALL UPDATES AND PICS)

DEEPIKA PADUKONE

YO YO HONEY SINGH

NARENDRA MODI

SALMAN KHAN

KATRINA KAIF (HD WALLPAPERS)

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

 

Directed by	Bryan Singer
Produced by	Lauren Shuler Donner Bryan Singer Simon Kinberg Hutch Parker
Screenplay by	Simon Kinberg
Story by	Simon Kinberg Matthew Vaughn Jane Goldman
Based on	Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont John Byrne
Starring	Hugh Jackman James McAvoy Michael Fassbender Jennifer Lawrence Halle Berry Anna Paquin Ellen Page Shawn Ashmore Nicholas Hoult Peter Dinklage Ian McKellen Patrick Stewart
Music by	John Ottman
Cinematography	Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by	John Ottman
Studio	20th Century Fox Marvel Entertainment Bad Hat Harry Productions The Donners' Company Simon Kinberg Production
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	May 23, 2014 (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

 

Directed by	Marc Webb
Produced by	Avi Arad Matt Tolmach
Screenplay by	Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci Jeff Pinkner
Story by	James Vanderbilt
Based on	Spider-Man by Stan Lee Steve Ditko
Starring	Andrew Garfield Emma Stone Jamie Foxx Dane DeHaan Campbell Scott Embeth Davidtz Colm Feore Paul Giamatti Sally Field
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	Daniel Mindel
Editing by	Pietro Scalia Elliot Graham
Studio	Columbia Pictures Marvel Entertainment
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	April 16, 2014 (International) May 2, 2014 (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$200 million

Fast & Furious 7

Fast & Furious 7

Directed by	James Wan
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz Vin Diesel
Written by	Chris Morgan
Based on	Characters by Gary Scott Thompson
Starring	Vin Diesel Paul Walker Dwayne Johnson Michelle Rodriguez Jordana Brewster Lucas Black
Music by	Brian Tyler
Cinematography	Stephen F. Windon
Editing by	Christian Wagner
Studio	Original Film One Race Films
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	April 10, 2015 (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English

Hercules: The Thracian Wars (2014)

Hercules: The Thracian Wars (2014)

 

 

Directed by	Brett Ratner
Produced by	Peter Berg Brett Ratner Sarah Aubrey Barry Levine Beau Flynn
Screenplay by	Ryan Condal Evan Spiliotopoulos
Based on	Hercules (Radical Comics) by Steve Moore Admira Wijaya
Starring	Dwayne Johnson John Hurt Rufus Sewell Ian McShane Joseph Fiennes Rebecca Ferguson Peter Mullan Irina Shayk
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Mark Helfrich
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	July 25, 2014
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$110 million

 

GODZILLA 2014

Godzilla
North American release poster
Directed by	Gareth Edwards
Produced by	Thomas Tull Jon Jashni Mary Parent Brian Rogers
Screenplay by	Max Borenstein
Story by	David Callaham
Starring	Aaron Taylor-Johnson Ken Watanabe Elizabeth Olsen Juliette Binoche Sally Hawkins David Strathairn Bryan Cranston
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Editing by	Bob Ducsay
Studio	Legendary Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures Toho (Japan)
Release dates	May 16, 2014 (North America) July 25, 2014 (Japan)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$160 million

IPL 7 ALL UPDATES AND NEWS

Official IPL-7 schedule: April 16-30 in the UAE; May 1-12 in India or Bangladesh and May 13-June 1 in India.

GOD OF CRICKET(SACHIN TENDULKAR)

'Organise more Tests for Tests to survive' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar believes the ICC needs to organise more Tests, if it wants the format to survive. At the same time, he feels, no player can be forced to play a Test match, because it is the format that will always catch you out if you are not mentally and technically prepared.
Speaking at the seventh annual ESPNcricinfo awards night, in Mumbai, where he was named Cricketer of the Generation, Tendulkar also pointed out how the game has evolved in recent times, in large part due to the influence of limited-overs cricket. Twenty20 cricket, he said, complements Test cricket.
"The ICC should take notice of it and organise more Test matches if they want Test cricket to survive," Tendulkar said, while accepting his award. "[But] I still believe Test cricket is in good hands, players are producing unbelievable cricket. If you see around the world, most matches have results, very few are drawn, which is probably due to T20s, so the formats are complementing each other. If you want more guys to follow cricket, T20 is an ideal format to introduce people to cricket. Gradually they can progress to one-day cricket and Test cricket."
There's no point forcing Test cricket down throats, Tendulkar said, since that would only eat into the quality of the game. "When it comes to players though, you cannot force someone to like Test cricket. If you are passionate about Test cricket, it has to be from within. And if it doesn't exist in some cases, don't force him, leave him, let him play one-day and T20 cricket. Test cricket is the ultimate format and it's one format where the bowlers are always going to get you out. In Tests, you require planning, vision and execution. It doesn't happen that much in T20 cricket, where you can be a hero in three balls."
The game changed, especially in the second half of his 24-year career, Tendulkar said. He pointed out innovations in field placements, batting and bowling styles. Some of those changes, Tendulkar said, resulted in him curbing his aggression as his career progressed. "The field settings were different. Later on in my career when I walked in to bat and I looked towards point, I thought, 'Point is catching so there's a gap.' But later I realised, 'No, no there's deep point already too'. With time, your style of play too changes. Today the kinds of shots played by batsmen are incredible.
"I saw [Zimbabwe batsman] Andy Flower play the reverse sweep consistently in a Test, he was 10-12 years ahead of his time. Twelve years down the line, it has become quite a common shot: [England captain] Alastair Cook was [in the 200s] at Birmingham, and he, of all people, reverse-swept Amit Mishra. The game has changed.

'In Tests, you require planning, vision and execution ... In T20 cricket, you can be a hero in three balls' © ESPNcricinfo Ltd

"Now consistently you see 300-plus totals, which is because of the rule changes and also due to T20 cricket. Batsmen are prepared to take chances, bowlers have to develop more variations. In the 90s, I don't think anyone bowled the slower ball bouncer like [South Africa pacer] Shaun Pollock did in the latter stage of his career, now it's a regular variation. So maybe 20 years down the line, who knows how the game will be."
Tendulkar was one of three nominees for the award, presented to mark the first generation of the existence of ESPNcricinfo, which has been online since 1993. Tendulkar recalled facing up to the other two, South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis and Australian legspinner Shane Warne.
Kallis, Tendulkar said, was an ace planner. "His strength has been his focus and concentration. Kallis used to walk to the wicket and he would be looking down, and I used to jokingly tell our bowlers once he has realised which way the blades of the grass are, he is going to make us field for a long time, so get him out before that.
"Kallis pretended that he was tired, just come in there to bowl six balls and go back to the slips and field, but I knew that his effort ball would soon come. I always knew that one special ball was always round the corner and this was all part of his planning and he was about to execute that."
Tendulkar remembered the early days against Warne, when the two became "good friends". "I first played against Warne in 1992 and you could make that Shane was talented, but he wasn't consistent I felt in the first game," he said. "The next encounter against Warne was in Sri Lanka and I was beaten by his flight. But I decided to go for the big one, I picked the length and fortunately that one went for a six. But Warne being a tricky character he walked up to me and try to instigate me, he said something. My habit was to play the shot and walk over towards the square-leg umpire, that was part of my preparation - not that I wanted to not hear what Warne had to say.
"But I caught him after the game, he came to our dressing room, and I asked him 'Warnie, what were you trying to say to me? Now you can tell me.' From then onwards, we became good friends."
Before Tendulkar was presented the award, his former India team-mate and captain Rahul Dravid and the former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe aired their views on his career. "He was the kind of cricketer whose respect you wanted to earn," Dravid said. Crowe said: "[West Indies'] Viv Richards was the greatest batsman I played against and his footwork lasted 15 years. Sachin's lasted a decade longer."

 

Shahrukh Khan

SHAHRUKH KHAN

badshah of Romance

Shahrukh Khan
Khan at the audio launch of Chennai Express (2013)

Born	2 November 1965 (age 48) New Delhi, India
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor, producer, television presenter
Years active	1988–present
Spouse(s)	Gauri Khan (m. 1991)
Children	3
Signature

 EARLY LIFE AND BACKGROUND

Khan was born on 2 November 1965 in New Delhi, India, and brought up in Mangalore for the first five years of his life^. His grandfather was a Chief engineer in Mangalore port in 60s. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, an ethnic Pathan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India (present-day Pakistan). According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan. His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Shah Nawaz Khan, a Major General in the Indian National Army. Shahrukh Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the 1947 partition of India. Regarding his origin, Khan described himself on Twitter as "half Hyderabadi (mother), half Pathan (father), some Kashmiri (grandmother)" His father died of cancer when Khan was 15 years old, and his mother died in 1990 after prolonged illness. Khan was very attached to his parents as a child and describes their early deaths as a turning point in his life and as his biggest motivation for hard work. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.
Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood of Delhi, Khan attended St. Columba's School and the Hansraj College (1985–1988) earning his Bachelors degree in Economics. Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to pursue a career in Bollywood. He also attended the National School of Drama in Delhi.
After the death of his mother, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. He married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Islam, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu deities. They have a son Aryan (born 1997) and a daughter Suhana (born 2000). In 2013 they became parents of a third child named AbRam via a surrogate mother. Khan's older sister Shehnaz also lives with them. Their eldest son, Aryan, currently studies at Sevenoaks School, one of England's most prestigious educational institutions. On his decision to enrol his son there, Khan was quoted as saying "I want my son to build an identity of his own, away from the constant media attention that accompanies being the son of a superstar. Either me or Gauri go up there [London] most weekends, so he will not be away from his family." His daughter, Suhana, currently studies at the Dirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai.