Dhaka set for Opening Ceremony Extravaganza

Excitement in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka reached fever pitch with the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup a mere few hours away. The Details of the opening ceremony have been kept guardedly under wraps, however what we do know is that there will be performances from the likes of Shankar Mahadevan and Bryan Adams. Leaked images from recent dress rehearsals have also shown the spectacular use of lights and laser.

Bangladesh has not hosted an event of this magnitude before and all eyes will be on Dhaka as Sheikh Hasina offically opens the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup. The Bengalis have made strenuous efforts to spruce up the capital and use the event to show off Bangladesh in a new light.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremony is likely to be when the captains of each of the 14 nations are paraded around the Bangabandhu National Stadium on hand drawn rickshaws! As the anticipation builds, the worlds attention now turn to Dhaka for the start of the $30 million extravaganza, the world of cricket hopes for a rousing start to CWC 2011!

Elation for Egyptians after 30 Years of Mulish Mubarak

TODAY came the words the majority of Egyptians had long been waiting for: President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down from the presidency. After 24 hours of stress, suspicion and speculation, the news was broken by the Egyptian Vice President, Omar Suleiman, in an incredibly short , succinct statement on Egyptian state television around 6pm local time. Almost instantaneously, a massive crowd of protesters marched on the Egyptian State Television headquarters in Cairo, waving with pride Egyptian flags, heralding the start of what could be a new era of politics for Egypt and it's residents. 


The protesters then made their way to Tahrir Square in central Cairo, where they joined the thousands of protesters who had been gathered for weeks on end in the Square, pushing for democracy in Egypt. The scenes in Tahrir Square well and truly reflected what the Square stood for: Liberation. The buzzing atmosphere of the Square bought home the idea of change and freedom, something the Egyptians had long waited for, since the enforcement of the state of emergency 43 years ago. 


Ironically, 32 years to the day, the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, led to the overthrow of Shahenshah Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and 21 years ago today, Nelson Mandela was freed from the rule of Apartheid. It would seem today is the day which screams out revolution and freedom in its every second, minute and hour. 


In the short statement made by Suleiman, he confirmed that Mubarak had handed over power to the military. Now that the protesters have achieved their aim of overthrowing Mubarak, it can be predicted that the military will try to crack down on any troublemakers henceforth. We must not forget that the military were once loyal to Mubarak, and he did mention in his speech yesterday that the perpetrators of the protests and violence "would be dealt with" and he condemned the death of over 300 people as a result of the violence which surfaced during some of the protesting taking place in different parts of the country, such as Suez. 


We can now only speculate as to what Mubarak's next move will be, that is if he has one. But the key question here is: Is there more to this than just a simple step-down from power of a man so stubborn, that his whole rule was conducted under a state of emergency? Or is this really his final salute to over sixty years of service to his country?

BREAKING NEWS: MUBARAK TO STEP DOWN THIS EVENING

MANY news agencies and channels have published reports that President Hossni Mubarak will be stepping down this evening, at 10pm Egypt time.


This is following weeks of unrest in the Egyptian capital's Tahrir Square, killing over 300 people, and injuring many. It has been known that the current government has been in talks with opposition members, from which not much has materialised. Mubarak had faced opposition from other global leaders, such a Barack Obama, who urged him to start a peaceful transition to the next government. It has also been rumoured that Mubarak's statement has been pre-recorded, and he has in fact already left Egypt. 


The current scenes from Tahrir Square can be described as historical. Thousands of protesters can be seen, brandishing Egyptian flags, chanting slogans, and cheering. What we are seeing here today is simply revolutionary, and perhaps the dawn of a new era in Egyptian history. 


More to Follow.....

Con-dem Cameron Slams "Segregated Communities", says "State Multiculturalism has failed"

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has addressed a Munich Security Conference today on the issue of race relations, and has made clear that there is a definite distinction between Islam and Islamist Extremism.


Cameron stated that Islam is a religion that is practised peacefully, whereas Islamist Extremism is more of a political ideology, and that it was important that people didn't mix the two together, and bring under fire the majority of Muslims who do observe laws, and live peacefully in the Western world, or any part of the world for that matter. The Prime Minister was pushing for action, saying that "Europe needs to wake up", and tackle the true origins of extremist activity. In his proposed plan for Europe, he outlined measures to reduce the breeding of extremism by clamping down on religious hate-inciting sermons, and to also refuse entry for radical clerics, the latter of which is already in place for the United Kingdom.


Prime Minister Cameron declared that "terrorism is not linked to any one country or group", giving examples of terrorism in Northern Ireland, and the rise of anarchy within the UK. Perhaps through this speech, Mr Cameron is trying to woo the more liberal Muslims into associating with the Conservative Party, which has previously been criticised for being "too white". Who knows, perhaps his words are coming from his actual thoughts, rather than those fed to him by his spin doctor.

Republicans Fail to Repeal "Obamacare" Healthcare Reform Bill

REPUBLICANS in the higher house have failed to repeal the landmark Healthcare Reform Bill, passed by President Barack Obama in the House of Representatives in 2010. Republicans make up 47 of the 100 Senators in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The vote in the Senate has come following a vote last month in the House of Representatives, which voted to repeal the bill. Due to the result of this vote, the final say will now go down to the Supreme Court.

If the Healthcare Bill is not repealed, it would provide healthcare for over 30 million Americans, however, the scheme has been bought under fire from those in the judicial branch. In a Florida case ruling, Judge Robert Vinson declared that the clause of the bill which makes healthcare mandatory for an individual infringes an "individuals rights".

The big question is, will Obama's efforts be in vain? It seems as if, at least in the media, that the healthcare policy of Obama's presidency has taken most of the limelight, with probably only foreign policy just overshadowing it slightly. With an unemployment rate of 9.8%, and an economy in deficit, he cannot afford to narrow his focus just in passing this bill. Although it was one of the policies which eclispsed many other perhaps more important issues, it does not mean that he must channel all of his energies into just ensuring that this bill is passed. As the President of a superpower, he must ensure a balance between all legislative activities, in order to get the USA back on track.

Just to put things into perspective, as of 2nd February 2011, a Ramussen Report found that 32% of American's felt that America was on the "right track", an increase of 3 points from last week. Therefore this means that an absolute majority of 68% felt that the country was on the "wrong track". The "right track/wrong track" perception can be used to determine a President's electability, and is increasingly used around elections by spectators. Historically, if a president does not have a majority of people who believe that the country if on the "right track", he will most likely be ousted from office at the next given opportunity, and with election around the corner, this is definitely something Obama will be wanting to work on.

CPS Lays Charges Against Tainted Pakistan Trio and their Agent

THERE was widespread shock amongst Pakistani fans on Friday as the Crown Prosecution Service laid charges against Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Asif, Salman Butt and their agent Mazhar Majeed. All four will be charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat. Their first court appearance has been set for March the 17th.

Osiris's Views

Most Pakistani fans were expecting the ICC to impose severe bans on the trio but were certainly not expecting criminal charges. While this news has taken us all by surprise I don't personally think that this is a bad thing. Corruption and cheating are a cancer not just in sport but in life as a whole and it must be eradicated at all cost. There seemed to be a mentality amongst some in Pakistani cricket that they could get away with such badmaashi this is a clear sign to any up and coming young cricketer that such behaviour will not be tolerated in the least.

In all honesty I have no sympathy for Mohammed Asif who has been involved in one scandal after another and Salman Butt who it is claimed masterminded the whole thing. It is so tragic since Salman Butt was an educated young cricketer...that also makes it all the more disgusting. If there is any semblance of sympathy then it must go to Mohammed Amir, who is only a young kid....who had the whole world at his feet and yet he's lost it all now. There is no doubt in my mind at least that Amir, being the young naive kid that he is was co-erced and perhaps even pushed to following his captains orders, it is nothing short of a tragedy.

However having said that, Amir had plenty of chances to come clean, firstly when he was questioned by Scotland Yard, secondly through various media appearances and thirdly at the two ICC trials. However on all occasions he stubbornly refused to admit his wrongdoing. He should have blown the whistle on the other two and Butt in particular, he should have pleaded his case of being led astray at a young age. Instead he stuck with Salman and in fact was pictured by the media together, out and about with Salman throughout the ICC hearings while Asif maintained his distance from the two.

So while I do feel that Amirs involvement is an absolute tragedy, he did have several chances to come clean, he chose not to avail of those. Therefore a court will now decide the guilt of all those charged and if found guilty they should in my view face the stiffest punishment, because cricket and in particular Pakistan does not need cheats.

The current Pakistan team need to ignore these going-ons, team Pakistan minus the fixers have gelled together admirably well, they are performing well as a unit and there seems to be a lot of patriotism in the team. We have already moved on from these three to a large extent and we need to do so even more. We may still be big underdogs for the world cup, but it is now more than ever that we need to show true Pakistani Jazba.

South Australia Struck Yet Again by Cyclone Yasi

SOUTH Australia has been bracing itself for days for what has been a massive cyclone, which has struck Queensland yet again.


The worst hit areas were Tully, Mission Beach and Cardwell, where the cyclone reached a colossal 300km/h (190mph). Despite the cyclone's path through many residential areas, the Queensland Premier has confirmed that there have been no reports of any casualties.


Just to give some scope on the intensity of the cyclone, 90% of the buildings in Tully have been damaged as a result of the powerful gale-force winds of the storm.


Since its arrival, it has been downgraded to a category two storm as it continues on its path through Australia. We can only hope and pray that this inflicts as little pain on the already grief-stricken residents of Queensland, who are still unable to return to their homes.