England in a commanding position

After bowling out Australia for 215, they held a 210-run lead but opted against enforcing the follow-on - and put the tourists' bowlers to task again.Following a sterile session between lunch and tea when England added just 73, Matt Prior's sparkling 61 off just 42 balls turned a turgid innings into a run spree. The Aussies will need to shatter the previous record for a fourth-innings chase when England declare their innings - an event that will surely come early on day four as the hosts seek to secure the lead in the five-match series.

England put themselves in a powerful position after three days of the second Ashes Test at Lord's as they reached 311-6 in their second innings to lead Australia by 521 runs.Most of the damage had been done on Friday, when Australia crashed to 156-8 in reply to England's 425.The excellent James Anderson was unable to add to his four-wicket haul, leaving Graham Onions to mop up the tail, which he did after Peter Siddle (35) and Nathan Hauritz (24) had added 44 for the ninth wicket, all but four of those runs coming on Saturday.

source:BBC news

Milan bans alcohol for youth

Milan has banned the consumption and sale of alcohol to young teenagers in an effort to curb binge-drinking.Parents of children under the age of 16 caught drinking wine or spirits will be liable to heavy fines of up to 500 Euros ($700;£450).A third of 11-year-olds in the city have alcohol related problems, it says.In a country where for centuries wine has been part of local culture - and prohibition would be unthinkable - the ban has come as a shock.

But the authorities are deeply concerned about the increase in consumption of alcohol by children as young as 11 in the country's industrial and financial capital.So as an experiment, supplying alcohol - either wine or spirits - to youths under the age of 16 in bars, restaurants, pizza shops and liquor stores will be banned.Heavy fines will be imposed on the parents of offending children and on shopkeepers or bar owners who serve them.

A national law banning the sale of alcohol to under-16s is only loosely enforced, as Italian families are used to sometimes giving young children a teaspoon of wine as a family party treat.In past centuries, Italian children would sometimes even be given wine to drink in preference to water which was often polluted.There has been a storm of protest by bar owners who refuse to act as alcohol police for young people.But changing social customs mean that old easy-going attitudes towards consumption of alcohol in Italy will have to change.

Michael Aftermath

According to reports it will be Michael Jackson's 79 year old mother Katherine, who will be taking care of his children and his property.
Meanwhile Michael Jackson's death has left several of his die hard fans to be stressed out and even pushed them to committing suicide.
Nearly a dozen of Michael Jackson's fans have reportedly committed suicide following the sudden demise of the King of Pop.Several other fans have been tring to reach help line numbers for getting a counsel on suicide prevention.
A Jackson online fan club has confirmed these deaths and has condemned such hasty acts and has urged the fans to be strong.Gary Taylor who owns an online fan club reacted saying "Michael Jackson would never want this".

Coal Eaters

Finally the scientists in America have found a way to solve the energy crisis that is tightening its noose around the necks of the developing nations.
According to recent reports , Craig Venter , an American scientist has discovered ancient bacterias that are said to be capable of converting coal to methane.
At present the main problem in using coal as a source of energy has been the alarmingly high extent of pollution it has been causing.It is considered to be the highest environmental degradational factor ever.
On the contrary methane does not cause that much pollution.
Moreover Venter adds that by using these bacteria the necessity of digging up of coal from large excavation sites can be avoided.
Instead,by merely infecting the coal fields with these bacteria it is possible to draw out mathane from the coal fields.
According to experts all over the world,if the idea works the potential could be very huge.

Plane Crash

Hello......

An Air bus which had started from Yemen with 153 people aboard, among which there were 66 French Nationalists crashed into the Indian Ocean.

The only survivor of the crash is believed to be a 5 year old infant who was found alive in the sea.The child had been rushed to be offered medical assistance.
The main reason behind the crash is believed to be bad weather.According to officials the weather conditions at the time of the accident were very rough with strong winds and high seas.
However other factors that could have led to the accident are also being analysed by experts.Some officials even claim that the plane was not fault-free during the time it was examined by them.
But they had not black-listed the plane and had just gave a notification.If the case is solved and if the fault is to be on the plane then there could be a ban on Yemen Airlines from flying to European Nations.

Vaughan Retires

Hello everyone...

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan announced his retirement from all forms of the game at a press conference conducted in Edgbaston.Vaughan considered to be England's most successful Test captain with a record of 26 from 51.

Vaughan's captaincy was at its peak when he ended the Ashes drought for his team and put the brakes on a rampaging Proteas team.Right from his debut in 1999 against South Africa where he made 33 runs, Vaughan showed remarkable improvements with each game he played.He was a gentle man on the field and off the field. He has scored 18 test centuries in his career.

Vaughan's retirement comes after a disappointing county season followed by his failure to make it to the Ashes  which begins on July 8.On enquiring about the reason for such a decision Vaughan replied that it was time he moved on gave way to younger and talented cricketers.

A legend passes

Hi everyone,

On june 25 the world bid adeu to one of the greatest and most sensational artist of the 21st century.Yup Michael Jackson........

Michael died due to cardiac arrest at apparently 2:25 pm as told by news agencies. Michael apparently had trouble in breathing at around 12:22 pm and was rushed to the Ronald Reagen medical centre where he was pronounced dead after some time.

Michael's life was short lived.But the fifty years he lived he was always surrounded by his die-hard fans who loved him more than anything.He broke world records in album and ticket sales.

Nevertheless Michael was not free from controversies too.He was accusedof sexual abuse by a 13 year old child named Jordan.However there were no strong proofs for the claims of Jordan Chandler and Michael was let go. But still Michael's good boy image was tarnished.

whatever may be he still remains in all of his fans' hearts. Who can forget his great legacy nor can anyone challenge his MOON-WALK????