Sri Lankan cricket team bus driver too RESIGNS - Who's Next !

Says time for a fresh start and a new direction

The Sri Lankan cricket team's premier bus driver has resigned from his post following the team's defeat to India in the World Cup final. The news comes in the wake of several high-profile resignations and retirements in Sri Lankan cricket, including captain Kumar Sangakkara, vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene, coach Trevor Bayliss, the selection panel headed by Aravinda de Silva, and all-round nice guy Muttiah Muralitharan.

Bus driver Keerthi Peiris said it was a logical time for him to step down as he did not see himself doing the job for much longer, and it made sense for Sri Lanka Cricket to find a long-term replacement looking forward to the 2015 World Cup.

"I'm almost 65 and my position at the front of the bus can't be guaranteed in four years' time, particularly with the amount of gunfire you have to avoid with this bunch, so it's time to pass the reins to someone younger," Mr Peiris said.

Over 400 Dolphins landed dead on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico Since Feb 2011 - Scientists still do not know why..

Dead baby bottlenose dolphins are continuing to wash up in record numbers on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and scientists do not know why.


(above video is  taken in FEB 2011 as this was the only video available so far)
Since February 2010 to April 2011, 406 dolphins were found either stranded or reported dead offshore.


The occurrence has prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to designate these deaths as an "unusual mortality event" or UME. The agency defines a UME as a stranding incident that is unexpected or involves a significant loss of any marine mammal population.


"This is quite a complex event and requires a lot of analysis," said Blair Mase, the agency's marine mammal investigations coordinator.

NATO ducks apology over rebel deaths - Second time with in 2 weeks

NATO concedes alliance air attacks "may have caused" the death of rebel fighters in tank strike outside Brega.

The deputy commander of NATO's operations in Libya has said he is "not apologising" for two air strikes which "may have led to the deaths" of a "a number of" opposition fighters outside the town of Brega.




Rear Admiral Russell Harding said in a press briefing on Tuesday that the situation on the ground had been "very fluid" when the strikes were launched a day earlier.He said tanks had been moving in different directions and that it was difficult to distinguish who was operating them.

"Until this time, we had not seen the TNC [Transitional National Council] operate tanks," he said.
General Abdelfatah Yunis, the rebel commander, said in Benghazi that four people - two fighters and two medics - were killed in the attack, 14 wounded and another six people were missing.

He said it was friendly fire, "carried out in error by NATO," adding that the freedon figters had now informed NATO that they were moving T55 and T72 heavy tanks from Benghazi to Brega.

He said that they still have 400 tanks and will get more in future.

Groups of fighters and civilians fled from the eastern town of Ajdabiya on Thursday after the air strikes.

Libyan state television claimed that forces loyal to longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi had entered Ajdabiya, but residents said they could see no sign of them.

NATO took command of the air operation last week after American, British and French air strikes halted Gaddafi's troops from advancing on Benghazi.


Freedom Figters say they need to buy more high-powered weaponry from abroad and would welcome foreign trainers to help them teach fighters how to use them, but so far no countries have acknowledged that they will sell weapons to the Freedom Figters.

On Thursday, however, General Younes said publicly for the first time that Qatar had provided the Freedom Figters with anti-tank weapons. Qatar was the second country to recognise the opposition Transitional National Council as Libya's legitimate government and has said it will market oil provided by freedom figters.

World Cup 2011 Final To be observed again by ICC - To check whether it was politically set up

The ICC is faced with a reasonable doubt on whether the World Cup final was politically set up.

The ICC Executive Committee is to meet next week to decide on appointing a special team to re-observe the World Cup final match, it is learnt.

It is learnt that the ICC doubts have been based on two confidential reports handed to the Council by and English and Australian commentator about several instances in the match that did not seem proper.

Lieutenant Wickramaratne is being tortured for the disappearance of four sailors !

Sources at the Defence Ministry say that special unit is torturing the Officer in Charge of the Chundikulam Naval Unit Lieutenant P.N.O Wickramaratne at a secret location for the disappearance of four sailors off Mulativu on 29 March.

The OIC is now being detained for more than eight days on charges of not reporting about the incident for 24 hours.

IPL SEASON 4 Begins - First Match Dhoni's CSK vs Gambir's KKR

For what it's worth, this IPL starts off with a lovely battle within a battle. MS Dhoni who who led India to the World cup win vs Gautam Gambhir who played a big hand in that final. It's not as big as the Dhoni v Tendulkar contest, but it's a mouth-watering prospect nevertheless. 

With Head to Head, Chennai Super Kings clearly have the psychological advantage when it comes to previous meetings between these two teams; Dhoni and Co. have emerged victors in four of their six contests against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Both of Chennai Super Kings’ previous home matches against the Kolkata Knight Riders ended in nine-wicket victories for the hosts. However, with a revamp in most teams, Gambhir and Co. will not really worry about past results. 
Chennai Super Kings squad - MS Dhoni (Captain), S Anirudha, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, GJ Bailey, DE Bollinger, DJ Bravo, F du Plessis, BW Hilfenhaus, MEK Hussey, SB Jakati, Joginder Sharma, S Randiv, KMDN Kulasekara, VY Mahesh, JA Morkel, A Mukund, SK Raina, WP Saha†(Wk), TG Southee, SB Styris, S Tyagi, K Vasudevadas, G Vignesh, M Vijay


Kolkata Knight Riders squad - G Gambhir (Captain), S Ladda, L Balaji, R Bhatia, MS Bisla, SP Goswami, BJ Haddin†(Wk), Iqbal Abdulla, JH Kallis, B Lee, EJG Morgan, YK Pathan, JL Pattinson, PJ Sangwan, Shami Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, LR Shukla, RN ten Doeschate, MK Tiwary, JD Unadkat


Players to keep an eye on ;


CSK - Indians          : MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, M Vijay. 
CSK - Overseas Players : Hussey, A Morkel, Tim Southee, Bravo, Plessis, Styris and Kulasekara                                            


KKR - Indians          : Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan
KKR - Overseas Players : Jack Kallis, E Morgan, Brad Haddin, Shakib Al Hasan 
                        

- Number of International Players per match per team -  Each team may not name more than 4 Overseas players (as defined in the IPL Player Regulations) in its starting 11 for any match. (1.2.5 / http://www.iplt20.com/match-playing.php)

Attack on Ivorian leader's bunker repelled

Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president of Cote d'ivoire, is still holding out in a bunker as fierce battles continue in Abidjan.


The Associated Press news agency reported on Thursday that fighters had laid siege to Gbagbo while negotiators continued to try coax him out.








Earlier on Wednesday, negotiations led by the UN and France aimed at securing the departure of Gbagbo had failed according to Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister.

Libyan Freedom Figter's manage to regain ground near Brega - Libya Uprise Latest

Freedom Figter's claim regaining new ground in port town as Gaddafi's forces cripple oil production in eastern Libya

Pro-democracy fighters have regained ground in a new advance on the oil port of Brega in eastern Libya.

Rebels said the loss of ground early this week to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi is a normal occurrence in fluid desert wars, and will not prevent them from ousting the Libyan leader.

Meanwhile, NATO stepped up the pace of its air campaign over Libya on Wednesday, a day after facing fierce criticism of not doing enough to protect civilians in Misurata.

The alliance dismissed opposition criticisms saying the safety of civilians is its top priority and pledged to do everything it can to ensure that.

t accused Gaddafi's troops of hiding tanks, troops and heavy weapons among civilians to stop NATO aircrafts from air strikes.

On Tuesday Gaddafi's forces pushed back rebels from Brega in the pro-democracy movement's first significant loss of territory in almost a week.

"This kind of desert fight is very fluid; advancing 20 kilometres and then retreating 20 kilometres is normal in a desert war," Mustafa Gheriani, a rebel spokesman, said.

"Look at the desert war during the Second World War, around [the eastern Libyan town of] Tobruk: they were moving by 50 kilometres every day."

Gheriani said "our forces are at the eastern border of the city, the [Gaddafi] militias are inside the city and the fight is going on".

He said Gaddafi's army "has a lot of weapons left" and can threaten Ajdabiya, about 80 kilometres further east, "but we hope our resolve and most of all the resolve of NATO will prevent them to do that".

Pro Premadasa Members Axed from UNP New Committee - Rosy Buddhika not in it !

Colombo District MP Rosy Senanayake, Matara District MP Buddhika Pathirana, Ratnapura District MP Dunesh Gankanda and former MP & Minister Imtiaz Bakeer Markar and Matale’s Ranjith Aluvihare were axed.

Kandy’s Lakshman Kiriella and Joseph Michael Perera have been appointed Senior Deputy Chairmen

Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena was appointed as the Deputy General SecretaryAmara Piyaseeli Ratnayake and Kabeer Hashim have been appointed as Vice Chairmen while Renuka Herath and K. Velayuthan were appointed as Additional Secretaries.
Dayasiri Jayasekera has been appointed deputy to the Chief Opposition Whip.

Dictator Gadhafi asks Obama to end NATO bombing

As freedom fighters and pro-government forces in Libya maneuvered on the battlefield Wednesday, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi urged U.S. President Barack Obama to end the NATO bombing of his war-torn country.


Gadhafi made the appeal in a letter to the American president, a senior administration official said.

SLC selection committee quits before end of term !

The Sri Lankan selection committee, headed by chief selector Aravinda De Silva, has handed in its resignation to the sports minister. On what was a second successive day of churn in the country's cricket establishment, Mahela Jayawardene also quit as the team's vice-captain. Kumar Sangakkara had on Tuesday announced his decision to step down as the the limited-overs' captain of the side.

Watch the highlights of the IPL 2010 final between MI and CSK !

Watch the highlights of the IPL 2010 final between MI and CSK !

IPL Funny Moments from past - Dog Rules The Cricket Field 02

Catch the dog which interrupted the 1st match of IPL 2009 between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq axed for West Indies ODIs and T20s

Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal have been axed from Pakistan's combined ODI and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies. Shahid Afridi will lead the team that features a new wicketkeeper, Mohammad Salman. The Test squad will be named at a later date.


Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Taufiq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk)


Reserves: Rameez Raja (jnr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar

Funny IPL Moments from Past - 01

Funny IPL Moments from Past t oenjoy at IPL Season 4 / 2011

Dhammika to remove three directors at Hayleys after taking 30% of the shares !

Transport Ministry Secretary Dhammika Perera after taking over 30% of the shares of Hayleys together with his business associate, Managing Director of Lanka Ceramics Company, Nimal Perera is looking at removing three independent directors in the company's board with immediate effect.

In such a background, the three independent directors have decided not to contest for the posts at the next annual general meeting.


Dhammika Perera's side has said the current board of directors has not provided any service to the company and that they have planned to introduce a new programme to promote and develop the company in future.

Current Chairman of Hayleys, Mohan Panditharatne has remained silent over the whole internal clash.

The Hayleys Company was managed all these years by the Jayasundera Trust and the Chairman and directors were given the complete freedom to act as they wished.

Dhammikla Perera brought over 30% of the shares at Hayleys last January. In order to take over the remaining shares, Dhammika Perera has made a mandatory offer of Rs. 380 per share to take over the 9% shares with the Jayasundera Trust and 9% of the shares vested with other share holders.

International pressure mounts on Yemen leader Ali Abdullah to Step Down !

US calls for a negotiated transition of power "as quickly as possible" after more bloodshed in anti-government protests.


International pressure is mounting on Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, after the deaths of at least 19 people in anti-government protests in the last two days.


Strong statements from the United States, United Nations and European Union countries came as Saleh backers clashed with protesters in the capital, Sanaa, and security forces opened fire during protests in the southern city of Taiz on Tuesday.


The official SANA news agency said four people were killed in Sanaa and dozens injured.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, told Saleh in a telephone call that he sent a small team to determine how the world body could best help quell tensions.


The UN chief's office said Ban "expressed strong concerns for the dead and the injured, and urged utmost restraint from both government and opposition's forces". Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the US was calling for a negotiated transition in Yemen "as quickly as possible".


"Obviously the situation right now is a difficult one. The longer it festers, the more difficult it becomes," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon Press Secretary said. More than 120 people have been killed and 5,000 injured since Yemen's protests started on February 11, inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Sanga steps down as ODI & T20 captain - TM Dilshan and Angelo Mathews to be named as Captain and Vice Captain ?

Kumar Sangakkara has stepped down as captain of Sri Lanka's ODI and T20 teams but has offered to continue as the Test captain on an interim basis for the forthcoming series against England and Australia "if this is considered helpful for the new captain". He will continue as a player in all formats of the game.


His decision, revealed on Tuesday, comes days after he led Sri Lanka to the World Cup final. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews are among those tipped to take charge of the limited-overs' sides, while Thilan Samaraweera is being discussed as an option to lead the Test team.


Sangakkara was the third highest scorer in the 2011 World Cup and scored 48 in their defeat to India in the final.


"I would like to announce that after careful consideration I have concluded that it is in the best long-term interests of the team that I step down now as national captain so that a new leader can be properly groomed for the 2015 World Cup in Australia", a statement from Sangakkara said.


"This was a decision I made prior to the 2011 World Cup. I will be 37 by the next World Cup and I cannot therefore be sure of my place in the team. It is better that Sri Lanka is led now by a player who will be at the peak of their career during that tournament.


"It has been a true honour and a great privilege to serve my country as captain during the past two years and, although bitterly disappointed that we could not win the final, I am very proud of the performances of the team.


"I met with the selectors on Monday and I explained my reasons for my decision and I assured them of my fullest support in helping our new captain settle into the leadership.


"In this regard, I have offered to continue as the Test captain for the forthcoming series with England and possibly Australia if the selectors believe this would help the new captain and aid the transition.


"I have no plans of retirement from international cricket at this stage and subject to form and fitness I would like to be considered for selection in all three formats of the game for the foreseeable future. "


Source ESPN

IPL SEASON 4 STARTING ON 8TH !

IPL 2011 will be featured by 10 teams this time and it will be a great opportunity
for Indian to keep on Enjoying their victory over Lions in World Cup 2011.

1. Kochi Tuskers Kerala (newly formed) will be lead by Mahela Jayawardena  and will
be strengthen by likes of Spin Legend Muttiah Muralitharan, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum and hard hitting Thisara Perera. Also other popular players are RP Singh, Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Steven Smith, O Shah, Parthiv Patel with some young energetic indian players.

2. Mumbai Indians will be lead by Legendary Sachin Tendulkar once again and he will
have the support of Toe Crusher Expert Lasith Malinga, Spinner Harbhajan Singh, Hard
Hitting All Rounders like Andrew Symonds & Kieron Pollard with good support from
players like Munaf Patel, James Franklin and Rohit Sharma.

3. Chennai Super Kings will be lead by Victorious Indian Captain MS Dhoni. Batting will be strengthen by likes of Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay and will be supported by all rounders like Scott Styris, Dwayne Bravo & Albie Morkel. Tim Southee latest addition will strengthen the bowling department with likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Suraj Randiv and Nuwan
Kulasekara.

4. Deccan Chargers will be lead by 2011 World Cup Runners UP Captain Kumar Sangakkara who is one of the best Captains other than Dhoni and a World Class Wicket keeper. Batting will be strengthen by Jean-Paul Duminy,Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White,Shikhar Dhawan and Michael Lumb. Bowling will be strenthen by like of Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Manpreet Gony.
 
5. Delhi Daredevils will be lead by Dashing Opener Virender Sehwag once again. This
time his teams batting will be weaken a bit as his side consist of few prominent batsmans. David Warner and Venugopal Rao will be some of them but his squd consist of several international level all rounders like Ajit Agarkar, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan with bolwlers like  Roelof van der Merwe and Ashok Dinda

6. Kings XI Punjab will be lead by former legendary wicket keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist while batting will be strengthen by David Hussey and Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Marsh and Dinesh Karthik while several other prominent players in his sqaud are Piyush Chawla, Ryan Harris, Praveen Kumar and Nathan Rimmington.

7. Kolkata Knight Riders will be lead by Solid Opener Gautam Gambhir while supported
by Legendary All Rounder Jacques Kallis with both bat and Bowl. Yusuf Pathan, Eoin
Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Brett Lee, Brad Haddin and Lakshmipathy Balaji and
Shakib Al Hasan will support him.

8. Pune Warriors another newly formed team will be lead by the World Cup Man of the
Series Player who performed extreamly well with bowth bat and bowl Yuvraj Singh.
Jesse Ryder, Graeme Smith, Callum Ferguson, Robin Uthappa, Angelo Mathews (All
Rounder yet to confirm his fitness), Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine to support batting
wise while Jerome Taylor, Ashish Nehra, Wayne Parnell, Nathan McCullum and
Murali Kartik to support as bowlers.

9. Rajasthan Royals will be lead by 41 year old Legendary Spinner Shane Warne.
Batting will be strenghten by like of Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor. Batting allrounders will be Shane Watson and Paul Collingwood. Bowling will be strengthen by Johan Botha and Shaun Tait.

10. Royal Challengers Bangalore will be lead by well experianced Kiwi Captain
All Rounder Daniel Vettori while he will have a good support from All Rounder Tillakaratne Dilshan who would have being the man of the series if Sl had won the world cup 2011, Hard Hitting Relaible AB de Villiers, Promising Young Virat Kohli, Expericened Mohammad Kaif. Bowling will be strengthen by likes of Veteran Medium pace bowler Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes and Charl
Langeveldt. Young Pacie from Sl, Nuwan Pradeep too in this squad.

Source Used to compoase the article ; Cricinfo

About 11,500 tons of radioactive water to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean - Fukishima Nuclear Plant latest update !

About 11,500 tons of radioactive water that's collected at crippled Japan's Fukishima Daiichi nuclear facility will be dumped into the Pacific Ocean, a cabinet minister said Monday, as workers prioritize dealing with a crack that has been a conduit for contamination. ( Photo shows water gushing from the cracked concrete shaft at the Nuclear Plant)








These are the latest, but hardly the only challenges facing workers at the embattled power plant and its six reactors, which have been in constant crisis since last month's ruinous earthquake and tsunami.


Authorities have decided to release excess water that has pooled up in and around the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors directly into the sea -- a step that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano called "unavoidable," even though this liquid was contaminated in the process of trying to cool nuclear fuel rods.


The build-up of water could cause problems around the nuclear facility, which is 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo, Edano said Monday.


More than that, the decision was made because authorities have made a priority of dealing with water coming out of the No. 2 unit, including some that has been gushing directly into the sea through a crack in a concrete shaft. By getting rid of water from the Nos. 3 and 4 units, authorities hope to get more room in limited storage space to keep seemingly more dangerous fluid that is collecting around the No. 2 reactor.


"The radioactivity level is very high near the No. 2 reactor, and we know this. We have to stop the leak as early as possible to prevent this from going into the sea," said Edano. "The radioactivity level is much less in the water from the Nos. 3 and 4 units (than it is in the No. 2 unit)."


"For the safety of the (No. 2) reactor, we have no choice," he added.

Pieces of Crashed Air France jet in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 found - Killed All 228

French investigators said on Sunday that they have found pieces of the Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing all 228 people on board.


Air France Flight 447 disappeared after taking off from Rio de Janeiro on its way to Paris.






France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, said that a team -- led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution -- discovered parts of the aircraft during an underwater search operation conducted within the past 24 hours.


The agency did not immediately say what parts of the jet the team found.
Investigators have not yet established what caused the crash, and large parts of the plane -- including both flight recorders -- have never been located, despite an extensive search operation that included a French navy submarine.


The Air France plane went down in stormy weather, and most of the bodies were never recovered.


Studies of the debris and bodies that were found led the BEA to conclude the plane hit the water belly first, essentially intact. Oxygen masks were not deployed, indicating that the cabin did not depressurize, the BEA said in a 2009 report.


Automated messages sent from the plane in the minutes before the crash showed there were problems measuring air speed, investigators have said, though they said that alone was not enough to cause the disaster. The area where the plane went down is far out in the Atlantic -- two to four days for ships to reach from the nearest ports in Brazil or Senegal in west Africa. The underwater terrain is rough with underwater mountains and valleys, the BEA has said.