Ricky Ponting will be replaced by Phillip Hughes for Sri Lanka Test

Phillip Hughes is in line to replace newly retired Ricky Ponting after being named Thursday in the Australian squad for the opening Test against Sri Lanka, starting in Hobart next week.

Hughes, whose last Test appearance was against New Zealand in December 2011, was preferred ahead of Rob Quiney and Usman Khawaja to fill the vacancy left by former skipper Ponting. Ponting, the second-highest Test run-scorer of all-time behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar, played his final and record-equalling 168th Test for Australia against South Africa in Perth, which finished on Monday.

 

Selectors also recalled pace bowlers Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus for the December 14-18 Hobart opener after they were left out of the third South Africa Test, won by the Proteas who sealed the series 1-0. Hughes, who has played 17 Tests as an opening batsman, gets another chance to establish himself after technical issues with the rising ball led to his axing.

 

“Phillip Hughes has been selected to fill the vacancy created by Ricky Ponting’s retirement,” chairman of selectors John Inverarity said.

 

“Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Rob Quiney and Alex Doolan were the four batsmen to come under consideration to bat high in the order. ”Phillip is an improved player and his recent and overall career statistics present a compelling case,” Inverarity said.

 

“The selection panel holds the view that he, having just turned 24, is a very significant part of the future.”

The chairman said captain Michael Clarke would decide on his batting order during the next few days, with Hughes an option at number three in Ponting’s place. ”The dressing-room will be different without the presence of Ricky Ponting. His absence creates both the opportunity and the necessity for others to grow and fill the gap,” Inverarity said.

 

Pacemen John Hastings and Josh Hazlewood were not considered because of injuries.

“The squad welcomes the return of Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle. Neither bowler was considered to be 100 percent fit to perform and (they were) not included in the final squad of 12 for the Perth Test match against South Africa,” said Inverarity.

 

Australia – Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Mike Hussey, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.

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Aamir on cloud nine for recent movie sucess

The perfectionist of Bollywood Aamir Khan was recently spotted in an elated mood, after his latest film ‘Talaash’ received a positive opening response at the box office and appreciative reviews from critics and audience as well.
The 47-year-old actor, who made his comeback to the silver screen with his new suspense drama after a gap of three years, asserted that he is happy with the positive reaction from the audience and the “great collection” made by the movie.
“I am really happy that the film is being received well by the audience and the box office collections it has been making. The opening weekend of the film went really well and even on Monday the film made great collection,” he said.
“The reaction from the majority of the audience that I have been getting matches my emotions when I first read the script. So, I am really very happy with that,” he said.
Aamir also said that the entire cast and crew associated with the movie deserved a grand party to celebrate the endeavor and dedication that had been put in the flick.
“We would love to have a success party and I think the entire team deserves that. Everyone has put in a lot of effort and as the film as been doing so well, I am confident; I will also speak to Ritesh (Sidwani) – the co-producer of the film – to organise a party. People have put in a lot of effort in this film, we should celebrate now,” he added.

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Angelina Jolie to Quit Hollywood?

Angelina Jolie has revealed that she is ready to quit acting to spend more time with her six kids. The 37-year-old actress said that she would consider turning her back on Hollywood as her children enter their teens. Her oldest, adopted boy Maddox, is now 11.
“I think I’m going to have to give up acting as the kids hit the teenage years because there is going to be too much to manage,” the Sun quoted her as saying. ”If it went away tomorrow I’d be very happy at home,” she said.

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Hindu Temple Demolished in Pakistan

Pakistani Hindus took to the street to protest after a Hindu temple was demolished in Pakistan.The incident occured on Saturday when the century-old temple, the Shri Rama Pir Mandir in Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area was demolished by a private builder along with three or four houses located next to it, thus rendering nearly 40 people homeless.
According to the Express Tribune, a local builder in possession of the land ordered the hasty demolition to rid the land of encroachers.He had given notice to residents in 2007 to vacate the properties.But the victims are angry as the demolition took place hours before the the court issued an order protecting it from immediate demolition.The Sindh High Court had issued a stay order restraining the local administration and the private builder from demolishing the temple till December 7.
“The temple was over 50 years old,” Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, founder of the Pakistan Hindu Council, told The Wall Street Journal.He said demonstrations would continue until the government responded, adding that “this is the third such incident in three months.”
Krishna Mandir, in a residential area of Karachi, was damaged in September during protests against an anti-Islam movie. In the same month a temple erected by Hindu families living in Peshawar was demolished in a land dispute, Mr. Vankwani said.
The authorities have so far denied any religious angle in the proceedings.The local police has gone to the extent of denying the existence of the temple completely. The police maintained that they had orders to remove the encroachments. DSP Pervaiz Iqbal of Nabi Buksh police station said, “There was no temple there. There were just Hindu gods present inside the houses and we made sure that they were safe.”The people were given plenty of time to remove their belongings out of the house, he said. Supporting this theory, Military Lands and Cantonment director Zeenat Ahmed said that the operation was against illegal occupants and “encroachers have no religion.”
But the now homeless victims are demanding justice and feel they were discriminated against as they were Hindus.“They destroyed our mandir and humiliated our gods,” said an angry Prakash, pointing towards the huge debris of concrete, stones and walls of the temple. The demolishing team did place the statues of four Hindu deities on the side but the residents accused them of taking away their gold jewellery and crowns and they demanded that a idol of Lord Shankar be returned to them.
The homeless as well as other members of the Hindu community took part in a protest against the injustice meted out to them. “We don’t have any shelter. Our children spent Saturday night shivering in the cold. We were made homeless in just seconds. What was our fault?”, asked a victim.The angry crowd demanded the government arrange tickets to India for them. “If you don’t want us, we will go to India,”, said one. Another man added that, “our temple is as sacred to us as your mosque is to you.”
The Pakistani government has been slow in reacting to this sensitive incident so far.The provincial minorities minister, Mohan Lal, hasn’t even visited the site or issued any statement. On Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari directed authorities concerned to submit a report in this regard.

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Strauss-Kahn’s Hearing Set for December 10

Disgraced ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will face a hearing on December 10 in New York to settle with the hotel maid whose sex assault allegation triggered his downfall, a judge said on Monday. ”If the case is settled, this will be announced in open court on that day,” Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon told AFP.
The hearing is set for 2pm (1900 GMT). McKeon said he expects the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, to be present, and for Strauss-Kahn to skip the proceedings. If Strauss-Kahn, 63, and Diallo, 33, agree on the still undisclosed terms of the settlement, the one-time favorite for the French presidency would put to an end his sordid 18-month legal battle in the United States.
Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers have refused to give details of any pay-off, reported to reach somme $6 million if Diallo drops her civil suit. Until now, Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers repeatedly said they would not agree to a deal and called Diallo a gold digger. Her legal team insisted equally strongly that she wanted her day in court to confront her alleged abuser.
Diallo’s allegation of attempted rape in May 2011 triggered a stunning fall from grace for Strauss-Kahn, who had been seen as close to announcing he would run in an upcoming French presidential election. Criminal charges were quickly brought, and then thrown out when Manhattan prosecutors said Diallo’s testimony wouldn’t stand up in court. Meanwhile, Diallo filed her own civil lawsuit in a Bronx court, alleging that the 63-year-old leapt on her, naked, and forced her into oral sex.
Strauss-Kahn — who says a hurried, but consensual, sex act took place in his luxury room — returned immediately to France after the criminal case disintegrated. However, by then Strauss-Kahn’s career was in tatters, his marriage was on the rocks and he soon faced a string of other sex-related investigations by French authorities.
In France, Strauss-Kahn will learn December 19 if he is to face further investigation into pimping charges arising from allegations that he and associates arranged sex parties with prostitutes in the northern French city of Lille. His lawyers have filed a request for the charges to be dismissed.
French prosecutors last month dropped an investigation into Strauss-Kahn’s alleged participation in a gang rape after the woman involved said she had consented and was not pressing charges. Strauss-Kahn has also been accused by 32-year-old author Tristane Banon of trying to rape her in 2002.

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Kylie Minogue Reveals Fitness Secret

‘Agent Provocateur’s’ top model and sensational pop star, Kylie Minogue tells us how she has managed to maintain her curvy body since so many years.
The ‘secret to her fitness’ lies in her diet and the kind of workout regime she maintains.
Minogue says that she owes her fit body to Pilates and occasional visits to the gym.
Minogue maintains her slim figure by following a strict diet and a fitness system which is not agonizing to the body and mind.
Minogue says she loves to be on the move and includes physical activities rather than a stringent exercise routine.
“I do Pilates. And when I”m staying in a hotel sometimes go to the gym. But I don’t overdo it. I wish I was one of those women who do their exercises first thing in the morning, or run straight to the fitness studio as soon as they get up. But unfortunately I”m just not that disciplined! I like to go snowboarding in winter,” Minogue told the British magazine Star.
Nevertheless, Kylie Minogue is very particular about what she eats and maintains a strict healthy diet plan.  Her ‘fitness secret’ mainly lies…in the diet she takes. She loves to eat fresh green vegetables and fish. She prefers grilled fish and vegetables for lunch and maybe some tuna on a bed of salad for dinner.

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New App Will Let Smartphones Sense Your Moods

Forget about your smart phone locating the nearest bus stop or restaurant. A new computer programme would enable the gadget to sense your moods too, through mere speech, with pinpoint accuracy, say researchers.
Surprisingly, the programme doesn’t look at the meaning of the words.
“We actually used recordings of actors reading out the date of the month it really doesn’t matter what they say, it’s how they’re saying it is what we’re interested in,” said Wendi Heinzelman, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Rochester University.
Heinzelman explained that the programme analyzes 12 features of speech, such as pitch and volume, to identify one of six emotions from a sound recording. And it achieves 81 percent accuracy – a significant improvement on earlier studies that achieved only about 55 percent accuracy, according to a Rochester statement.
The research has already been used to develop a prototype of an app. The app displays either a happy or sad face after it records and analyzes the user’s voice. It was built by one of Heinzelman’s graduate students, Na Yang, during a summer internship at Microsoft Research.
“The research is still in its early days,” Heinzelman added, “but it is easy to envision a more complex app that could use this technology for everything from adjusting the colours displayed on your mobile to playing music fitting to how you’re feeling after recording your voice.”
Heinzelman and her team are collaborating with Rochester psychologists Melissa Sturge-Apple and Patrick Davies, who are currently studying the interactions between teens and parents.
“A reliable way of categorizing emotions could be very useful in our research,” Sturge-Apple said. “It would mean that a researcher doesn’t have to listen to the conversations and manually input the emotion of different people at different stages.”
Teaching a computer to understand emotions begins with recognizing how humans do so. “You might hear someone speak and think ‘oh, he sounds angry!’ But what is it that makes you think that,” asks Sturge-Apple.
She explained that emotion affects the way people speak by altering the volume, pitch and even the harmonics of their speech. “We don’t pay attention to these features individually, we have just come to learn what angry sounds like – particularly for people we know,” she adds.
These findings will be presented Wednesday at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Workshop on Spoken Language Technology.

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