New South Wales has signed a contract for the services of one of the most destructive Twenty20 batsmen in world cricket, Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan.

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The signing of Dilshan is still subject to approval from Sri Lanka’s board.
Apart from New South Wales other teams including Sussex, Delhi Dare Devils and New Zealand domestic all have signed Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan for the year 2010.

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The International Tennis Federation has decided to move Pakistan’s next Davis Cup match to New Zealand because of security concerns.
The federation says it has informed the Pakistan and New Zealand teams that their Asia-Oceania Group 2 semifinal will instead be played in New Zealand in July, rather than in Pakistan or at a neutral venue.
New Zealand tennis officials have previously expressed reluctance to play in Pakistan because of security issues.
The Pakistani city of Lahore, which was originally expected to host the Davis Cup match, was hit by two suicide bomb blasts on March 12 that killed more than 50 people.
Several other sporting events have been cancelled in Pakistan since the Sri Lanka cricket team’s bus was ambushed in Lahore one year ago.

The three-member sub-committee of Senate on Sports revealed that some cricketers were involved in the match-fixing during last tour of Australia.
The committee made the stunning disclosure in front of the media after having a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials in which the performance of the national team in Australia was also discussed.
But the members were of the view that more time was required for further investigation as some non-cricketers could also be involved.
Asked if any of that players was included in the recently announced Pakistan T20 World team, the senators says:” We have given the recommendation to the PCB authorities not to select any player in the team”.

GUJRAT PAKISTAN :Kidnapped British Child Sahil Found

British boy in Pakistan Sahil Naqash who was kidnapped from his grandmother’s house in Jhelum was rescued near Kharian town of Punjab.

According to the details, family members of Sahil and British High Commission have confirmed the regain of the child. Sahil has been handed over to Jhelum town administration.

BEIJING China : Twenty-five people have been killed in a coal mine fire in central China, local authorities said on Tuesday, the latest deadly incident in the country’s hazardous mining industry.

The city government said the blaze in a mine in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, was sparked when cables caught fire late Monday in one of the main pits.

Six miners were saved, but the rest died.

Police have detained at least three mine managers and frozen their assets and those of the facility after an initial investigation revealed the mine was operating illegally, the government said.

China’s coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal — the source of about 70 percent of China’s energy.

Earlier this month, more than 30 miners were killed in a flood at a coal mine in the Inner Mongolia region in northern China.

Irene Kng, Jack Neo’s wife, Madam Irene Kng, 46, told Zaobao that the whole family has moved out of their Pasir Ris semi-detached home and is staying temporarily at another place, leaving the maid to look after their home. She would not disclose details of her current location.

News of Neo’s affair with a 22-year-old Wendy Chong first broke on Saturday in the Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao after the mistress showed up at Neo’s house on Friday, demanding to see his wife. All three later headed to Changi Airport’s Crowne Plaza Hotel for a talk. The meeting reportedly stretched over four hours. Chong’s father and sister later joined the group, as did Neo’s pastor, church friend and manager.

Since then, reporters have been staking outside Neo’s house, upsetting neighbours who called the police to chase the media pack away.

Madam Kng has remained calm in the face of the scandal, telling Zaobao that the four children will attend school as usual on Monday. ‘This is the ad-ults’ business. The children must carry on with their lives,’ she said.

Foreign Minister George Yeo, who is acquainted with Neo, has also called for support for the film director’s family.

In a blog entry, Mr Yeo revealed that before the affair surfaced in the press, Neo had personally called him to inform him about it. The minister added that Madam Kng was with Neo at the time of the phone call, and he had asked to speak with her.

Mr Yeo also called on the public to be supportive of the Neo family, so that they can get through this difficult period.

LOS ANGELES: “The Hurt Locker,” a little-seen war film with big backing from the critics, pushed past “Avatar” and other crowd-pleasers to win the best picture Oscar at a Sunday night ceremony here, while its director, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to win the directing award.

“Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” had come into the night as favorites, but the smaller film took the prize from the bigger in the end.

“There’s no other way to describe it, it’s the moment of a lifetime,” said Ms. Bigelow in accepting her award. It was presented by Barbra Streisand, who announced it with the words, “Well, the time has come.”

Mark Boal, a producer of “The Hurt Locker,” said of his modest expectations when the movie was shot back in 2007, “Hopefully, we would find a distributor and somebody might even like the movie.”

There was no mention of a last-minute embarrassment in which a fellow producer of the film, Nicolas Chartier, had been banned from the show for violating Oscar rules by urging academy members by e-mail messages to vote against a film assumed to be “Avatar,” which had the advantage of a vast budget and enormous popularity.

In a sense, the awards season had shaped up into a showdown between James Cameron, who directed “Avatar,” and Ms. Bigelow, who was previously married to Mr. Cameron.

Among other winners, Christoph Waltz took best supporting actor at the start of a sluggishly paced ceremony for his bilingual performance as a Jew-hunting Nazi officer in “Inglourious Basterds.” And also, as expected, Mo’Nique won for best supporting actress for her portrait of a terrifying mother in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

With no excess of modesty, Mo’Nique thanked the academy’s members for showing that “it can be about the performance, not the politics.” The remark was a reference not just to her considerable talent, but to the fact that she had refused to spend time playing the usual Oscar campaign game. Backstage, she blamed the media for trying to stir up a controversy.

Jeff Bridges, a multiple nominee and now first-time winner, took best actor for his gritty portrayal of a broken-down country singer in “Crazy Heart.” A darling of the Hollywood crowd, Mr. Bridges had been seen as the designated winner almost from the moment Fox Searchlight made a last-minute decision to drop the low-budget movie into the Oscar race. “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for turning me on to such a groovy profession,” said the gray-bearded Mr. Bridges, who brought the crowd to its feet in a prolonged ovation as he whooped, hollered and showed obvious joy in the moment.

“Crazy Heart,” one of the evening’s smaller contenders, also took an Oscar for its theme song, “The Weary Kind,” by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

Sandra Bullock, who had been pointed toward an Oscar since winning a bellwether Screen Actors Guild award, won best actress for her performance as a tough and loving contemporary Southern mother in “The Blind Side.” Like Mr. Bridges, she was clearly a favorite of those in the auditorium, though she had never been nominated before and had been best known for romantic comedies like “The Proposal” and the occasional action film, like “Speed.”

“Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?” Ms. Bullock asked her cheering peers.

“Up in the Air” was shut out, although the movie, about a corporate operative who specializes in firing people, had propped up the long awards season with appearances at various prize ceremonies on both coasts and in England by George Clooney, its star, and Jason Reitman, the writer-director.

The show clocked in at a relatively long three hours and 32 minutes, but at times it felt longer than it actually was. That was mostly because the first half was loaded with clip samples and retrospectives, while the latter part moved along with the speed that one of its producers, Bill Mechanic, had promised in advance.

Before the bigger awards were announced, there was a trip back to “The Dark Knight,” as Morgan Freeman explained how sound editors handled a movie from an earlier year, and a lengthy string of excerpts from horror movies, in an effort to reach fans who do not find movies like the “Twilight” series on the show.

The pace had already slowed with the screening of highlights — and the introduction of two recipients, Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall — from an honorary-awards ceremony that had been moved off-camera to a November date, precisely to keep the show from slowing.

This came only a few minutes after a narrator took time to read chunks of script over clips from the best adapted screenplay nominees. But Geoffrey Fletcher, a first-time nominee who won for “Precious,” put some heart in the proceedings as he gasped and seemed to weep in accepting. “I thank everyone,” Mr. Fletcher said simply.

Going into the evening, Mr. Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster, “Avatar,” was expected to dominate the evening along with the smaller, intense film “The Hurt Locker.

Rahul, Dimpy ‘married forever, Rahul Mahajan who married Dimpy Ganguly, the contestant who introduced herself to him by saying, “I’m Dimpy from Kolkata. By the way I hate noodles and can’t cook”. The couple speaks to TOI about their marriage not being a time-bound agreement and the age difference not that serious an issue .

So, Rahul dulhaniya sahi mein le gaya. Isn’t this what the viewers are talking about? Obviously, yes! The excitement is not just because it is Mahajan who tied the knot, but also because the reality-show-can-find-the-right-match model has proved right. Something the viewers were neither expecting nor willing to accept, particularly after the Rakhi-Elesh fiasco. While the critics continue to speculate the span of this marriage, Rahul says he knows the significance this bond carries, for him at least.

“Whatever I’ve done has always been under the media glare, irrespective of me wanting it or not. But I’m glad that I haven’t gone back on the promise (of getting married) I had made to my mom and the country. Mom was aware of Dimpy as my choice and supported my decision. She only wants to see us happy. I feel blessed to have found my soulmate in Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega – Swayamvar Season 2. Bhagwan ke ghar dair hai, andhaer nahin. For Dimpy’s father to have told her to take care of me, considering all that I have gone through in life, was quite touching.”

Contrary to the cynics’ opinion, Rahul tells us there is no time limit to this relationship. “I will stay married to Dimpy till the end of my life. Our marriage will get registered tomorrow in Bandra, Mumbai.” Even though Rahul’s statement might appear like a strong message meant for Rakhi and Elesh who ended up making a mockery of the reality show, he denies any such intention. “Going by the family that I belong to and the values that have been instilled in Dimpy and me, it is not right to break the promise we both have made.”
Having witnessed several hardships on the personal front in the past, Rahul believes this wedding is the first step to a much-sought after blissful life. “This is like second birth to me. I believe positive things have begun to happen in my life and I’m hopeful that it will continue.” And if you think Dimpy alone was experiencing the wedding jitters, you’re wrong. For, the groom tells us that he wasn’t all that comfortable either. “Mera dimaag blank tha. I had no clue about what I was supposed to say. It was pretty difficult for me. Par jaise hi Dimpy ko dekha speech apne aap mooh se nikalti gayi. All this while, only girls had proposed to me. But it felt great when I proposed to Dimpy on national TV. Yeh sammaan ek ladki ko milna bahut zaroori hai. Yeh sammaan mein apni biwi ko doon isse bhadkar koi aur cheez nahin thi. It was a romantic moment that I will narrate to my kids and grand kids. They obviously need to know how I met and married Dimpy.

The United States will deliver 1,000 laser-guided bomb kits to Pakistan this month and is considering additional arms sales to help the Pakistani air force crack down on insurgents in the Afghan border region.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters that the arms sales came in response to a request made by the air chief of the Pakistani air force in December. There continues to be a dialogue back and forth, Donley said, noting that the US government had already agreed to sell Pakistan munitions and night vision goggles, and was also stepping up training. Pakistan is also expected to receive new F-16 fighters made by Lockheed Martin Corp this spring or summer, Donley said, noting that the fighter jets would give Pakistan’s air force greatly expanded capabilities in its fight against “radical elements” in the border region. Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jeffry Glenn said the United States delivered 1,000 MK-82 500-pound bombs to Pakistan last month, and was considering additional requests for those bombs and more laser-guided tail kits. The expected delivery later this year of 18 F-16s to Pakistan will bring its inventory of the planes to 54.

Pakistan has been operating F-16s since 1982. Donley said Pakistan was also upgrading the capabilities of its older F-16 fighter jets.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India called on Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik at his residence in Islamabad today.
During the meeting, the two men discussed Pak-India ties and the situation ensued the Mumbai attacks. The High Commissioner briefed Rehman of the secretary-level talks between the two countries recently held in New Delhi.
Rehman hailed the announcement made by Indian Home Minister Chidambaram regarding improvement of ties with Pakistan.
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