South Africa omit Smith from World T20 squad

South Africa test captain Graeme Smith was omitted from the 15-man squad to take part in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Thursday.
The 31-year-old last played a T20 international in October 2011, but in July was named by CSA in a 30-man provisional squad for the global event.

There was, however, a place in the squad for all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who has played just one T20 international for his country since May 2010.
"We are confident that our squad will be very competitive and make South Africa proud. We have had basically the same squad together for the past year and many of them also produced stand-out performances at the Indian Premier League (IPL)," CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson said in a statement.
The World T20 starts in Sri Lanka on September 18 with South Africa drawn in the same group as the hosts and Zimbabwe.
In an effort to gain some valuable match practice ahead of the global showpiece, the same 15-man squad will play a three-match T20 series in England next month.
“"The Proteas will also have excellent preparation for the World Twenty20 by finishing the England tour with three matches. They may be playing on a different surface to that they will find in Sri Lanka but they will be able to hone their T20 specific skills," Hudson added.
Squad: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Francois du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Facebook opens doors to real-money gambling in Britain

On Tuesday, Gamesys, an independent gaming company, launched a version of online Bingo for Facebook users in Britain who are at least 18, and which the company said will pay winners real money. Gamesys also announced plans to offer virtual slots gambling on Facebook.

Facebook confirmed that it is partnering with Gamesys to allow gambling on its service.
"Real money gaming is a popular and well-regulated activity in the UK and we are allowing a partner to offer their games to adult users on the Facebook platform in a safe and controlled manner," Facebook said in a statement.
Facebook spokeswoman Linda Griffin said there are no current plans to offer gambling in any other countries or with any other partners besides Gamesys.
She declined to disclose what portion of the revenue Facebook would take from the gambling on the Gamesys games, but acknowledged that there was a revenue sharing agreement between Facebook and Gamesys.
Facebook takes a 30 percent share of revenue for transactions on non-gambling games on its service, such as when users purchase virtual tractors and seeds in Zynga Inc's popular Farmville game.
Facebook, which makes the majority of its money from online advertising, has seen its revenue growth slow sharply during the past year. In the second quarter, Facebook reported revenue growth of 32 percent, down sharply from more than 100 percent growth it delivered at the same time last year.
Shares of Facebook were down 3 percent at $21.26 on Tuesday afternoon on the Nasdaq.

Disneyland Paris - 20 years of magical rides

Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 20th anniversary starting April 1 with a series of special events and a new nighttime show named Disney Dreams! created for the occasion. Over 20 years, the park located in Marne-la-Vallée -- which is among the most visited touris destination in France and Europe -- has launched many new rides and features. Here is an overview of the park's two decades of history

Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located 32 km (20 mi) from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne.
Disneyland Paris is composed of two theme parks, a retail, dining and entertainment district, and seven Disney-owned hotels. Operating since 12 April 1992, it was the second Disney resort to open outside the United States (following Tokyo Disney Resort) and the first to be owned and operated by Disney.
Disneyland Paris is operated by French company Euro Disney S.C.A., a public company of which 39.78 percent of its stock is held by The Walt Disney Company, 10 percent by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed and 50.22 percent by other shareholders. The senior leader at the resort is chairman and CEO Philippe Gas.
The complex was a subject of controversy during the periods of negotiation and construction in the late 1980s and early '90s, when a number of prominent French figures voiced their opposition and protests were held by French labour unions and others. A further setback followed the opening of the resort as park attendance, hotel occupancy and revenues fell below projections. The complex was renamed from Euro Disney Resort to Disneyland Paris in 1994. In July 1995, the company saw its first quarterly profit.

A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, opened to the public on 16 March 2002. With 15,405,000 combined visitors to the resort's Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in the fiscal year of 2009, it is France's and Europe's most visited themed attraction.
MineCon 2012 of Minecraft will take place in Disneyland Paris during November 24-25th 2012.

Kevin Pieterson : I may quit next week

KEVIN PIETERSEN last night threatened to quit Test cricket after his relationship with England plunged to an all-time low.
The batsman spoke of his anger at the England management for leaking details of private meetings — and said next week’s Third Test against South Africa could be his last.
Pietersen also hinted at tension between him and other PLAYERS in the team. After his astonishing outburst, coach Andy Flower, captain Andrew Strauss and the selectors might feel they cannot even pick Pietersen for the Lord’s match which starts next Thursday.
There was also a self-pity in Pietersen’s comments as he claimed: “Being me in this dressing room and playing for England is tough.”

KP wants to continue playing five-day cricket — he has already quit limited-overs matches — but might now be beyond the point of no return.
Last month, he asked the ECB to miss the first two Tests of next summer against New Zealand to play a full Indian Premier League.
Details of that meeting became public knowledge.
The England hierarchy also rejected his demand to quit 50-over cricket and continue playing Twenty20, forcing him to retire from all one-dayers.
Pietersen, 32, said: “I can’t rule out the next Test being my last but I won’t elaborate during the series.
“You can ask me 100 times but I won’t tell you until the end of the Lord’s Test. “I’m trying to have talks. Playing in the IPL, the World T20 and spending more time at home are three points but not main points.
“There are others that I’m trying to sort out in the dressing room. This is 100 per cent not about money.
“It would be a huge shame if this is my last Test. I love playing Tests for England. “The saddest part about all this is that the spectators love watching me play but the politics I have to deal with personally are tough.
“Pre the Test, it was me grabbing headlines. Did I leak anything? I never spoke to the media for a second. But it was me being made to look the bad guy. I thought it was a meeting behind closed doors.”
Strauss said: “I don’t want to comment on what Kevin might have said. But one thing I would say is that the team spirit and unity over the last three years has been superb.”
Pietersen overshadowed what was, for a while, a gripping final day of the Second Test.
Strauss shuffled his batting order and ordered his men to try to chase down a big target as they tried to retain their No 1 status, before the Headingley match ended in a draw.
They must now win at Lord’s to remain top of the pile.
Stuart Broad produced a five-wicket burst and then Graeme Smith declared to set England 253 to win in 39 overs.
Pietersen opened England’s innings and they kept pursuing the target until wicketkeeper Matt Prior was run out to leave the total 106-4.
Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell shut up shop until the players shook hands with six overs left.

Kevin Pietersen accuses team-mates as 'Tweetersen' storm fuels England bust-up

Kevin Pietersen’s relationship with his England team-mates has worsened because of an hilarious spoof Twitter account.
The star batsman believes somebody in the dressing room might be responsible for posts mocking him.
It is one of the reasons that Pietersen has threatened to quit after next week’s crucial Investec Third Test against South Africa at Lord’s.
The Twitter account @KevPietersen24 is called KP Genius.

It claims to be written by Pietersen and speaks of his brilliance at cricket and other things in life.

A typical recent post is: “There’s 3 things guaranteed in life. Death, Taxes & KP genius.”
Another entry on the fake account read: “We’ve lost 5 Tests this year and to be honest, KP doesn’t want to be associated with a team full of losers. Read into that what you will.”
Pietersen’s team-mates love reading the posts.
But it seems the man himself does not see the funny side — partly because he is worried that some people could believe it really is written by him.
Following his Man of the Match award for a brilliant innings of 149 and four wickets in the drawn Second Test at Headingley, Pietersen hinted at tensions in the England dressing room.
The South African-born star also accused the ECB of leaking details of a private meeting about his international future.
KP, 32, then made the extraordinary claim that ‘being me in this dressing room and playing for England is tough’.
That comment left his team-mates baffled and upset because the England squad prides itself on unity and the idea that no man is bigger than the team. The players also sniggered with disbelief after Pietersen insisted the current wrangle is ‘100 per cent not about money’.
England are unlikely to omit him from the Third Test but head coach Andy Flower is again angry that Pietersen is a big distraction before a match England must win to retain their No 1 status in the world Test rankings. The draw at Leeds left skipper Andrew Strauss’ side still 1-0 down in the three-Test series against South Africa.
As much as anything, the England hierarchy are baffled by Pietersen’s sabre-rattling because he has already lost £200,000 in four months by retiring from 50-over inter- national cricket.
KP must now decide whether to sign a new Test contract next month or become a globe-trotting Twenty20 gun for hire.
The official ECB line is that channels of negotiation are still open, which means they have not given up hope that Pietersen’s stance will soften.
But Flower and England managing director Hugh Morris will continue to hold Pietersen to his current contract, which states that players cannot pick and choose which matches they are prepared to play.
Surrey took on the maverick in 2010 only as a favour to the ECB when he wanted to quit Hampshire and play for a London-based county.
But that deal is dependent on him staying a centrally-contracted player with England. So if he quits England, he may also find himself without a county.

Infosys faces second case of US visa misuse

India's second largest IT company Infosys has been charged for the second time with misuse of US visas.
Satya Dev Tripuraneni, a US citizen and former employee of Infosys in the US, has filed a lawsuit in a California court early this month alleging that though he had brought to the notice of the Infosys management the alleged misuse of visas, no action was taken.
Confirming that the suit has been filed, Infosys Thursday said in a statement in Bangalore that the matter is being investigated.
"Shortly after Tripuraneni filed his complaint with the Infosys whistleblower team, per our policy, the company launched a comprehensive investigation of his allegations," the statement said.

"That investigation is continuing. As for comments on the legal matter, we are choosing to concentrate our attention and resources on the investigation. We feel this is the prudent and responsible course of action at this time," it said.

Infosys is already fighting a lawsuit filed by another former employee, Jack Palmer, alleging visa fraud by the company.
Infosys has dismissed Palmer's charges, though it tried to settle the issue with him through mediation.
Since mediation efforts failed, the trial on Palmer's charges is scheduled to begin in the US Aug 20.

Sarah Attar does a first for Saudi Arabia

Sarah Attar became the first female track and field athlete to represent Saudi Arabia at an Olympics when she competed in the 800 metres heats at the 2012 London Games on 8 August 2012.

The 19-year-old, who wore a white head cover, a long sleeved green top and black leggings and sported luminous green running spikes, received a generous ovation from a capacity-crowd at the Olympic stadium as she trailed in last of the eight runners.

"It's an incredible experience," Attar, who has dual United States citizenship and is a student at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, told reporters.
Attar, who clocked two minutes 44.95 seconds - over 43 seconds behind heat winner Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei of Kenya, is the second Saudi woman to compete at the Games following judoka Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani.
"It is the hugest honour to be here to represent the women of Saudi Arabia," said Attar, born and raised in the United States.
It is a historic moment. I hope it will make a difference. It is a huge step forward. It's a really incredible experience."
As of 2012, Attar attends Pepperdine University, where she is majoring in art, having won the Rex Hamilton Memorial Art Scholarship

The Mini Mini Cooper

The remote-controlled mini Mini Cooper that shuttles javelins to athletes

This is awesome: It's a remote-controlled mini Mini Cooper that shuttles track and field equipment like javelins, discuses and hammers back to the takeoff area after they're thrown by competitors.

There are three Minis in the Olympic fleet. They run in four-hour shifts and travel up to four miles per day. The cars hold a single discus, hammer or shot. Two javelins can also fit.
There's been a light controversy over the cars. Critics -- yes, critics of cool javelin-delivering remote-controlled vehicles -- say that the mini Minis violate the IOC's ban on advertising. The high-minded IOC doesn't allow corporate branding on the field of play, you see. There's no McDonald's logo on those purple Olympic banners that encompass each venue nor a Heineken sign on the sign board at half-court in the basketball venue. The Olympics are pure sport! So even though the mini Minis don't have a logo, some say it's a blatant advertisement for BMW, the manufacturer of the cars. Everyone knows what a Mini looks like, after all. I see the IOC's point. Corporate branding has no place during competition. That's not what the Olympics are all about. I mean, can you imagine how uncivilized it would be if you saw adidas logos on volleyball uniforms or a runner with Nike swooshes on her shoes, jersey, shorts, wristband and socks?

Us-bound Indian students beware

Indian students may need to rely on their own investigations to avoid the web of fraudulent US universities that continues to thicken because of a weak regulatory structure recently slammed by the audit arm of the US Congress.

While the cautionary tale is late for the 450 Indian students of Herguan University in Sunnyvale, California, who are under threat of deportation, prospective students can take heed.
On August 2, Herguan University CEO was arrested for visa fraud. The duped students have to leave the US this week unless they transfer to a legal university, a department of homeland security statement has said. In January 2011, 1,000 Indians returned home after the Tri Valley University fraud. In a report to Congress, the US government accountability office - the equivalent of India's CAG - had blamed immigration authorities for failure to stop fraud universities from attracting foreign students. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Hindustan Times.