Updated - 21/11/2008 - IANS.

Harbhajan Singh, who nullified England’s good start with three wickets in the middle overs in the third One Day International here Thursday, said he bowled an attacking line to get the wickets.

Harbhajan said the ground here was big and he could attack the batsmen.

“The grounds in the last two matches were very small, so I was bowling a legstump line and trying to contain the batsmen. This ground was big so I could bowl outside the off-stump and attack the batsmen,” said the Man-of-the-Match after India beat England by …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - IANS.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta Thursday said even as India is keen on a “collaborative” arrangement for busting piracy in the Gulf of Aden the navy is also considering the option of an aerial recce of the region.

“Aerial recce will be considered in the Gulf of Aden. We are considering augmenting our efforts to keep the Indian traffic in the region safe,” Mehta said.

Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, in brazen acts of piracy this week, have hijacked nine ships, including the supertanker Sirius Star, in the …

Updated - 20/11/2008 - IANS.

At least one protester was killed and 19 injured when a bomb exploded Thursday morning inside the Government House complex in Thailand that has been seized by the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters.

The explosion occurred at 3:25 a.m. just a day after the so-called ceasefire during the royal cremation period, Thai newspaper The Nation reported.

PAD guards rushed the injured to nearby hospitals, but one of them - a 48-year-old man - succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, the newspaper said.

The PAD guards suspect the bomb might …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - IANS.

The European Parliament (EP) Thursday gave its support to the European Union’s ’Blue Card’ scheme to attract highly-skilled workers from non-EU countries to take jobs in the 27-member bloc.

The scheme, modelled on the US ’Green Card’ system, was adopted in the EP’s plenary session in the French city of Strasbourg with 388 votes in favour, 56 against and 124 abstentions, EuAsiaNews reported.

To obtain the Blue Card, an applicant must have found a job in the EU, and have at least five years’ experience in the sector concerned or a …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - IANS.

Former Pakistan cricket chief Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia believes Shoaib Akhtar’s international career is over and has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to show the door to the controversial fast bowler by giving him one last farewell match.

Zia, who was accused of pampering Shoaib during his tenure as PCB chairman that ended in 2004, said the ageing bowler lacks proper fitness to play international cricket. He said it is time Shoaib retired from the Pakistan duty.

Shoaib, 33, missed all three matches of the One-day International series against …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - IANS.

The Congress party Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Madhya Pradesh of “eating up” the money meant for development purposes, and has termed the state government as a “government of criminals”.

“The BJP government has achieved the Himalayan heights of corruption in Madhya Pradesh in independent India. This government has eaten up the money meant for development and public welfare purposes,” said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress spokesperson at a press conference here.

Singhvi alleged the state government had withdrawn thousands of cases against criminals, which was the reason …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - abc news online.

Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell says he expects a more open game against France than the 28-14 win over England at Twickenham last weekend.

The Wallabies drew praise for the way they handled a supposedly superior English pack in that game, but Mitchell anticipates a different challenge from Marc Lievremont’s French side this weekend.

“They’re a lot more flamboyant and they have quite a lot of variety in their attack,” he said.

“They’ve got a big combative forward pack and they’ve got two big midfield centres, but they’ve also got guys …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - abc news online.

Premier Anna Bligh is flying to Blackwater in central Queensland this morning to inspect damage from a fierce hailstorm last night.

The town is the latest victim of the state’s wild weather, which has left Queenslanders again mopping up after severe storms.

Queensland Opposition MP Vaughan Johnson had just driven into Blackwater when the storm hit.

“Next minute I saw hail landing on my front dashboard,” he said.

“I thought ’where in the bloody hell did that come from?’

“It smashed the back window out of my car and smashed the rear …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - DailyNews.

COLOMBO: Refuting certain media reports and allegations, Media and Information Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa reiterated that the LTTE has been completely defeated and driven out of Pooneryn and Mankulam with absolutely no hopes of a come-back.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing in Parliament yesterday, Minister Yapa categorically stated that this was a major setback to the LTTE, who had relied heavily on and consolidated their positions in Pooneryn, to attack the Government Armed Forces in the Jaffna peninsula.

“This is in no way a ’tactical pull-out’ as …

Updated - 21/11/2008 - DailyNews.

A collapse by Zimbabwe of stock market proportions gifted Sri Lanka a leisurely victory here Thursday in the first of a series of five one-day internationals.

And the main instigator was predictably Muttiah Muralitharan who snatched 4-14 in four overs.

It brought “Murali” up to 468 wickets in this form of the game. And it was fortunate for the Zimbabweans that he didn’t bowl any more.

The hapless home side slumped from 124-3 to 127 all out in 31 overs, losing seven wickets for just three runs scraped together. Only Tatenda Taibu …