Jayasuriya Lacerate Chennai bowlers

Sanath Jayasuriya single-handedly led Mumbai Indians to a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
The Sri Lankan scored an aggressive 48-ball 114 not out that included nine boundaries and 11 huge sixes.
Jayasuriya and captain Sachin Tendulkar (12), playing in his first match in the IPL, put on 82 for the opening wicket in just 44 balls, Mumbai's best opening wicket stand so far in the competition, as the hosts made light work of the chase.
A packed crowd waited in eager anticipation to see Tendulkar perform but instead they witnessed Jayasuriya steal the thunder with the spectacular performance. Even Tendulkar was a mute spectator from the other end as the Sri Lankan severely punished the Chennai bowlers.Chasing a modest 157, the home team romped home with 6.1 overs to spare.Sanath was named Man Of the Match.

Shoaib Akhtar bowls Knight Riders to victory

Shoaib Akhtar produced a magical three-over opening spell to demolish the Delhi Daredevils top-order, as Kolkata Knight Riders scripted a sensational 23-run win in the DLF-Indian Premier League encounter at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.
Akhtar, who had to miss two matches on fitness grounds and was doubtful even for this tie, it was a memorable IPL debut. He began in spectacular fashion, sending back Delhi Daredevil skipper Virender Sehwag in the second ball of the opening over.
He removed Gautam Gambhir in his next over and dismissed A.B. de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary off successive balls in his third over to be on a hat-trick. Tillekeratne Dilshan, however, denied Akhtar a hat-trick.Akhtar was adjudged Man of the Match.

60 killed, 150 hurt in Jaipur blasts

Terrorists struck for the first time in Jaipur triggering seven blasts in a span of 12 minutes on Tuesday night in crowded market areas and near a Hanuman temple in the walled city leaving at least 60 killed and 200 injured.
"According to the information I have received 60 people have died and 150 have been injured," said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who rushed back to the state capital from Jodhpur.
Bangladesh-based Harkut-ul-Jehadi Islami is suspected to be behind the blasts that has taken the state authorities by surprise, home ministry sources said.
The sources ruled out the use of RDX in the carefully orchestrated low-intensity explosions which were suspected to have been set off from cycles in areas including near the famous Hawa Mahal which are frequented by domestic and foreign tourists.
The blasts rocked Tripolia Bazar, where large number of devotees turned up at a Hanuman temple, Johari Bazar, Manas Chowk, Badi Choupal and Choti Choupal -- all located within a two-km radius in the old city. Inspector General (Jaipur) Pankaj Singh said in all there were seven blasts, a couple of them in the same area.
Police said one explosive was defused by bomb disposal squad near the Hanuman temple.

China quake Toll rises to 12,000

A Chinese disaster relief official says the death toll has risen to nearly 12,000 following a massive earthquake that struck the country
Disaster Response Director Wang Zhengyao said at a news conference Tuesday that 11,921 people had died so far from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that was centered in Sichuan province.
The death toll from Monday's quake is expected to rise even higher, with state media saying thousands are still trapped in collapsed buildings.

The Red Devils Rule England

Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty and a late goal from Ryan Giggs gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Wigan at the JJB Stadium as they retained the Premier League title.
The Portugal winger collected his 31st league goal to help Sir Alex Ferguson's side lift their 17th league title which left them just one behind Liverpool's haul of 18.
United were handed an opportunity to break the deadlock after Emmerson Boyce brought down Wayne Rooney in the penalty area and referee Steve Bennett pointed to the spot.
Ronaldo stepped up to take the 33rd-minute spot-kick and calmly side footed the ball past goalkeeper Chris Kirkland who dived the wrong way.
Giggs, on as a substitute to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for the club, added a second for United in the 80th minute although the result mattered little after Chelsea drew 1-1 with Bolton at Stamford Bridge.

China Earthquake Several thousands feared Dead

At least 3,000 people are feared dead after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale rocked South West China's Sichuan province on Monday, the Chinese local government said.
Nearly 900 students in southwest China's Sichuan Province were feared buried when a high school building collapsed Dujiangyan, Sichuan in an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale on Monday afternoon, Xinhua reported.
At least four third-graders -- two boys and two girls -- were confirmed dead at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometres from the epicenter in Wenchuan County, parents and witnesses said.
Xinhua reporters saw a three-story school building had partially collapsed. Some buried teenagers were struggling to break loose from underneath the ruins while others were crying out for help.
Grieved parents watched as five cranes were excavating at the site and an ambulance was waiting, the agency said.The tremors were felt in Beijing and Shanghai and other cities in the country, official Xinhua news agency said.
China rushed its troops to the earthquake-struck Wenchuan County of southwest Sichuan province for disaster relief work, with President Hu Jintao ordering all out effort efforts to help the affected people.

Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched the troops who would assist the local government in Wenchuan county to guage the situation and help in relief work, Xinhua said.Premier Wen Jiabao was also on his way to direct the rescue work.
Premier Wen described the massive earthquake as "disaster" and called for calm.
Meanwhile, 10 more people were killed and 14 others injured in China's northwest Gansu province due to major earthquake in Sichuan province today, Xinhua reported.
The epicentre Wenchuan, about 146 km northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital, has a population of about 111,800. Chengdu is a fast growing metropolis of over 10 million people.
Before the strong earthquake struck, the Sichuan provincial seismological bureau detected a moderate quake measuring 5.4 on the Richter Scale in Mianzhu city of Deyang, Xinhua said.
Today's quake was the strongest to hit Sichuan province in more than 30 years. Overall, 44 aftershocks had been reported, the strongest one measuring 5.6, it said.
The Chinese Air Force has sent helicopters to assist in relief work in the quake-stricken areas, while the State Seismological Bureau is also dispatching a team to gauge the situation.
The airport at Chendgu was closed to flights in the afternoon and all domestic flights headed there were diverted to Chongqing, the biggest industrial city in Western China, local aviation staff said.
Tremors were also reported in Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Yunnan, Hunan and Hubei provinces and the Tibet Autonomous Region, the State Seismological Bureau said.
In Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, people rushed out of homes and offices. Many said they felt dizzy and saw the ceiling light fixtures swinging back and forth.
The local government informed citizens through mobile phone messages about the earthquake and schools told students to go home or gather them in the playground.
Xinhua reporters in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said they felt their office building rocking back and forth for about four minutes.
China said the Three Gorges Dam, largest hydro-electric project in the world, was not affected by the earthquake.
"There were no signs that the earthquake has affected the dam," Hu Xinge, an executive with the dam, was quoted as saying.
The National Stadium (Birds Nest) for the Olympics in Beijing was also not affected by the quake, Li Jiulin, an engineer in chief for the project said. The stadium, the main venue, was designed to endure an earthquake of 8 magnitude.
Major telecom firms said the quake had damaged power supplies to local telecommunication facilities, affecting cell phone services.
In Sichuan, about 2,300 local base stations stopped operating due to power shutdowns and transmission failures caused by the quake, Xinhua added.

Tornadoes in Missouri, Oklahoma

Many have fled this depressed, pollution-scarred mining town. Those who have chosen to stay or have not yet relocated face a new heartache.
A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said Picher's victims included an infant. He said at least three people were confirmed missing.
"Trees are toppled over, ripped apart," he said. "There are cars thrown everywhere. It looks like a bomb went off, pretty much."
Brown said 32 people were transported to Integris Baptist Hospital in the nearby town of Miami. Of those, 26 were treated and released.
Many families have moved away from Picher to escape the lead pollution left by mining operations. The town's population has dwindled from a peak of roughly 20,000 to about 800 people.
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry issued a statement saying a major emergency response was under way. He planned to visit the area Sunday.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Picher and all of the other Oklahoma communities that have been impacted by the latest wave of severe weather," Henry said.
At least 12 people were killed after severe storms spawned tornadoes and high winds across sections of southwestern Missouri, the State Emergency Management Agency said. Ten of the dead were killed when a twister struck near Seneca, about 20 miles southeast of Picher, near the Oklahoma border.
"They're going over the hard-hit area and turning over everything and looking," SEMA spokeswoman Susie Stonner said of emergency workers' search for victims and assessment of damage. "It's hard to do in the dark."

Balaji shines with a hat-trick

lakshmipati Balaji registered first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League to help Chennai Super Kings assert their supremacy over Kings XI Punjab and beat them by 18 runs in Chennai on Saturday.
Balaji claimed five wickets, including a hat-trick in the last over of the match, and gave away just 24 runs in his four overs to seal his team's victory.
CSK set a target of 182 to win. Punjab Kings were restricted 18 runs short of the target.