Batsmen, Australians cash in during ground-breaking auction #ipl

Batsmen, Australians cash in during ground-breaking auction

 

 

 

At the end of the largest two-day sports 'auction' in the world, the Indian Premier League took the first clear, decisive step towards its fourth season. Ending months of controversy around the League's own financial deals and its teams' ownership holdings, the ten franchises finally shook hands with the 139 cricketers who will form the core of the high-profile domestic Twenty20 event that begins in India on April 8.

Auction weekend in Bangalore oscillated wildly between extremes of spending, lavish as well as careful, and general sloppiness around its conclusion. What began with the first of four $2m signings on Saturday morning ended with Mohammed Kaif's name finally pencilled into the IPL roster, after being met with silence across the floor not once, but twice on Sunday. Almost like a sudden afterthought, Kaif was hauled onto the IPL4 gravy train, the last cricketer aboard, concluding the 353-man auction used to reshuffle the League's overall player pool.

#US unemployment rate drops in December #inflation

US unemployment rate drops in December

 

 

 "Our mission has to be to accelerate hiring, and accelerate growth" says Barack Obama

The US unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% in December from 9.8% in November, the biggest one-month drop since April 1998, official figures show.

Some 103,000 jobs were created last month, the Labor Department said, although this was fewer than the 145,000 to 175,000 forecast.

The lower rate came not only because more people found jobs, but also because 260,000 had given up looking.

If people stop searching for work, they are no longer counted as unemployed.

Stubbornly high unemployment has hindered the US economic recovery.

'Invest now'

Flash floods hit Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia

 

 

 

Flash floods have hit Queensland, killing one person with several more missing, as heavy rains continue to pound the Australian state.

A massive deluge of water overwhelmed Toowoomba, a city west of the state capital Brisbane, without warning.
A rescue operation is under way to reach those trapped in cars and on the roofs of buildings, officials say.
Eleven people have died since the tropical storms began in November, the worst flooding in the state in decades.

Device 'cancels out the sound of the dentist's drill'

 

 

An invention which cancels out the noise of a dentist's drill could help people overcome their fear of a check-up, researchers say.

For many, the sound of the drill is a big cause of anxiety when it comes to visiting the dentist.
This new device allows patients to listen to music on an MP3 player, while the sound of the drill is blanked out.
Patients are, though, still able to hear the dentist's voice because not all sounds are filtered out.

Mumtaz Qadri admits killing Governor Salman Taseer

 

 

The bodyguard accused of shooting Pakistani governor Salman Taseer has confessed in court to the killing.

Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri told the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi that he had acted alone in the attack.

He was whisked into court a day earlier than scheduled to prevent supporters showing up, correspondents say.

It comes a day after 50,000 protesters marched in Karachi against proposed amendments - backed by the slain Punjab governor - to the blasphemy law.