Clarke needs to improve his man-management - Warne

SYDNEY, April 1-New Australia captain Michael Clarke is an astute cricket tactician but will need to be more "formal and firm" in his man-management, according to spin-bowling great Shane Warne.

Clarke was appointed Australia's 43rd test captain on Wednesday in place of Ricky Ponting, who had resigned a day earlier, and departs with his first squad to Bangladesh for three one-dayers on Monday.

Warne, who took 708 test wickets in a glittering career and remains a highly influential voice in Australian cricket, said Clarke, a close friend, was the right man for the job but would need to further develop some of his skills.

"As far as a leader of men goes, this is where I think Michael can improve," he wrote in his column for Friday's Daily Telegraph. "The way he conducts himself is laid back and fun by nature, but as skipper he will need to become a bit more formal and firm.

"In dealing with his team, I believe he has their respect as a player, but now it's time to earn that respect as a leader - firstly from the extended Australian cricket family and then the public," Warne added. In other areas, though, Warne said he thought Clarke, who turns 30 on Saturday, was already the finished article. "His communication skills remind me of a young Mark Taylor, who was the best captain I played under," he wrote.

"He works well with the bowlers and we don't see him running up to them after every ball -- that's a good thing by the way -- or looking like a cop directing traffic. "Some captains like that because it's a power trip - look at me, I'm in charge."

Warne, who never captained his country in tests because of off-field indiscretions, said he thought Clarke's style of captaincy would suit a team that does not enjoy the ascendancy that Australia had in Warne's heyday.

"His tactics are spot on and his style of play is aggressive," Warne wrote.

"With a team in transition, it's important to put players under pressure. That is, you have to risk losing to win, not be happy to not lose and draw.

"That way the players learn how to win and learn by their mistakes. You can't just be defensive, sit back and hope someone will make something happen. You must be pro-active and set the ground rules out from day one.

"We know we won't be number one again in any form of the game for some time but if the attitude of the team is 'try to be the best we can be', then the current group can't do any more than that," he added.

Nessie-like creature spotted in Sydney Harbour waters

Sydney residents were left in fear after a 'Nessie-like' creature appeared in the waters near the Harbour Bridge, according to eyewitness accounts.

Detective superintendent Harvey Edison said that many local police station phone-lines were jammed from 6pm until late last night due to the large number of calls describing a “strange creature emerging from the waters”.

Mr. Edison revealed that the reports initially came from people on cruises, ferries and boats on Sydney Harbour. “At first we dismissed the calls as a hoax since most of them were made by people on party cruises who were obviously inebriated.”

Nonetheless, more eyewitness reports, photos and even videos soon made their way to various Police stations. “This is not the first time we’ve received reports of strange sightings in Sydney Harbour,” Mr. Edison admitted. “But, before yesterday, they’ve always turned out to be false.”

According to the detective superintendent, usually these sightings are nothing but “prank calls” aimed at having a laugh at the expense of the NSW Police. “We’ve heard it all: from a shiver of vicious great white sharks, to a giant octopus. But never before had we received as many calls reporting the same incident as yesterday.”

Mr. Edison said that all the videos and photos received are currently being evaluated by a team of experts to determine if they’re real or fake. Although he admitted that it was hard to believe that that much evidence “could have been fabricated in such a short period of time.”

When questioned about the possibility of such a creature, prominent Icelandic marine biologist Tsüj Gniddik, who has spent most of his career studying unusual marine specimens, said that people shouldn’t be surprised if more of these sightings start happening all around the world.

“As of late, the quantity of natural phenomena has increased dramatically,” Mr. Gniddik said. “Most of this activity happens underwater, at very deep levels, and is rarely felt on the surface.

“These natural phenomena have created several cracks in the ocean floor, which serve as openings to unexplored areas. We have very little understanding of the fauna that resides in these places, as most of them have been cut off from the top level of the ocean for centuries and even millennia.

“If you analyse most sightings of ‘mythical’ sea creatures throughout the years, it is usually a small group or a single individual who claim to have seen them, making these incidents almost impossible to prove.

“The Sydney Harbour sea-creature is the first recorded incident of this kind where the same ‘creature’ was spotted by hundreds of people at the same time and at the same location, which makes it particularly significant.”

According to an official statement, a team of experts – which includes world-famous biologists and divers – will soon arrive in Sydney to investigate the sightings.

In response to the reports, NSW Police have cancelled all ferry and party cruise services until further notice, and asked people to refrain from sailing or using luxury boats on Sydney Harbour.

The announcement has elicited a plethora of negative reactions from people who were planning on celebrating April Fools’ Day aboard one of Sydney’s popular party cruises.

Kim Cattrall Tells Reporter to Get a 'Respectable Job'

We'd like to blame it on a lack of beauty sleep, but it sounds like Kim Cattrall's red-hot temper stole the drama from the red carpet at the premiere of her new flick, 'Meet Monica Velour.'

According to the New York Post, Cattrall was ranting about ageism in Hollywood, citing her age as the reason for her lack of serious roles.

"Ask me about being a woman," she demanded. "Do you know what it's like to be 54 and marginalized? It doesn't get easier as you get older."

In the film, for which she gained 20 pounds, Cattrall plays a porn star who lives in a trailer park and is forced to strip to pay her bills -- a dramatic departure from her star-making turn as posh Samantha Jones on 'Sex and the City.'
Although we agree that the young and beautiful reign in Hollywood, we don't see any shortage of roles for Cattrall's fellow 50-plus females like Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren or Sigourney Weaver.
Her age wasn't the only thing Cattrall was fired up about. Apparently, she isn't too keen on entertainment journalism either. When a Post reporter asked her a question about bikini waxes (a topic made mainstream by her 'Sex and the City' character, Samantha) Cattrall let loose, saying, "That's a stupid question. You're a smart girl. How could you write that?" She went on to add that the reporter's gossip column reporting gig was not a "respectable job."

But after telling the reporter to ditch her current job and work for "Roybers" (she later corrected with the correct news agency, Reuters), Cattrall admitted, "Yeah, sorry, I've been drinking."

This is one case where we'll let Cattrall blame it on the alcohol. But she wasn't even close to finished with her rant. When the reporter later disclosed that she hadn't seen her film, 'Meet Monica Velour,' yet, Cattrall dismissed her with "You didn't see my film. Why are you even here?"

We have a feeling that if she keeps up her anti-entertainment reporter status, she'll have a tough time on the film review front.

Libya confirms resignation of FM, now in Britain

TRIPOLI, Libya – The Libyan government has conceded that Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has resigned but says the regime still enjoys the support of his people.
Koussa's defection to London has been hailed by the rebels as a sign that Moammar Gadhafi's regime is cracking at the highest levels. But government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Thursday that Koussa's decision was personal and "other people will step in and do the job."
Ibrahim says Koussa had been given permission to go to Tunisia because he was sick with diabetes and high blood pressure. He says the regime didn't know he would go to London.
Koussa arrived in Britain Wednesday on a flight from Tunisia.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Opponents of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi battled Thursday to reverse days of losses on the battlefield but took heart in the defection of one of the autocrat's closest confidants — a sign that the embattled regime is cracking at the highest levels.
Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who is blamed for some of Libya's brutality and credited for some of its diplomatic successes, is privy to all the inner workings of Gadhafi's regime. His departure could open the door for some hard intelligence, though Britain refused to offer him immunity from prosecution.
In another blow to the regime, U.S. officials revealed Wednesday that the CIA has sent small teams of operatives into rebel-held eastern Libya while the White House debates whether to arm the opposition
The moves come as Gadhafi's regime has regained the military momentum in recent days despite an international air campaign. The rebels have been pushed farther eastward by the government's superior weaponry, training and organization.
"Moussa Koussa's resignation is a big accomplishment for the Libyan revolution," said Khaled, a rebel leader in Zintan who used only his first name for fear of reprisals. "The regime is currently breaking apart from the inside, and no one is safe. So anyone around Gadhafi knows they will be held accountable and will be punished by the international community."
The British government said Wednesday that Koussa had arrived in Britain from Tunisia and resigned. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Koussa "notified us that he was sick and that he was going to Tunisia."
"We are not waiting for individuals to lead the struggle," Ibrahim told reporters in Tripoli, the capital. "This is the struggle of a whole nation. We are not relying on individuals, no matter how high-ranking they are. And so if everyone feels tired or sick or exhausted, they want to take a rest, it just happens. But I'm not confirming anything."
Ibrahim said Gadhafi and his family all remain in Libya.
Despite the setbacks and ongoing airstrikes — now led by NATO — Gadhafi loyalists have been logging successes on the battlefield, retaking much of the territory the rebels had captured since airstrikes began March 19.
The latest fighting centered on Brega, a town important to Libya's oil industry on the coastal road that leads to Tripoli. It has gone back and forth between rebel and loyalist hands, and on Thursday it was a no man's land, with Gadhafi's forces at the western gate and rebels east of the city.
The rebels came under heavy shelling by Gadhafi's forces. Black smoke billowed in the air over Brega as mortars exploded.
Rebels fired back from sand dunes, chanting "Allahu akbar" or "God is great" with each rocket fired. Spotters with binoculars watched where they landed and ordered adjustments.
"Gadhafi's forces advanced to about 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of Brega," said rebel fighter Fathi Muktar, 41. Overnight, he said the rebels had temporarily pushed them back, but by morning they were at the gates of Brega. "There were loads of wounded at the front lines this morning," he said of rebel casualties.
Many people also have fled Ajdabiya, a rebel-held city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the east, for fear that government forces were on their way.
The fighting has highlighted the rebels' weaknesses: some ran screaming to cars after being frightened by the outgoing fire from their own side.
Koussa is not the first high-ranking member of the regime to quit — the justice and interior ministers resigned early in the conflict and joined the rebellion based in the east. Koussa, however, is a close confidant of Gadhafi's.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the resignation showed the regime is "fragmented, under pressure and crumbling."
Koussa was Libya's chief of intelligence for more than a decade. The opposition blames him for the assassinations of dissidents in western capitals and for orchestrating the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the bombing of another jet over Niger a year later. The links have never been confirmed.
In later years, however, Koussa played an important role in persuading Western nations to lift sanctions on Libya and remove its name from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. He led settlements of Lockerbie, offered all information about Libya's nuclear program and gave London and Washington information about Islamic militants after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"His defection is a serious blow" to Gadhafi, Elliott Abrams, a former assistant secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, said in a story posted on the Council on Foreign Relations' website. "This is the first loss of such a close comrade," he said, adding that he may have be able to identify other potential defectors.
Abrams, who met Koussa in 2004 in negotiations over Libya's handover of weapons of mass destruction programs, described him as a handsome, well-dressed man speaking perfect English. Koussa attended Michigan State University in the 1970s.
Abrams said the simple fact that Koussa was able to make it to England "suggests that the regime is falling apart despite its battlefield victories in the last two days." His departure suggest that Gadhafi's inner circle "now know how this story ends, and do not wish to be with the dictator when that end comes," he said.
The poorly equipped rebels, however, still seem no match for Gadhafi's troops. Their setbacks are hardening the U.S. view that they are probably incapable of prevailing without decisive Western intervention, a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press.
The U.S. has made clear that it is considering providing arms to the rebels. Still, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday no decision has been made yet.
"We're not ruling it out or ruling it in," he said.
Obama said in a national address Monday night that U.S. troops would not be used on the ground in Libya.

Rebels in Ivory Coast besiege Abidjan

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan on Thursday as the top army commander fled his post in the face of a lightning offensive that saw several towns and a seaport quickly fall.

Alassane Ouattara, whom the United Nations and Ivory Coast's own electoral council declared the winner of November presidential elections, said the rebels will "re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people."

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down and recognize the result of the election. But even a rebel onslaught on the country's commercial capital will not force him to do so, said Toussaint Alain, one of his advisers.

"He will not resign in the wake of this attack. He is not going to abdicate. He is not going to lay down his arms," Alain said. "He will stay in power to lead the resistance to this attack against Ivory Coast organized by France, the United States and the United Nations."

United Nations radio announced that the port of San Pedro, 190 miles (300 kilometers) west of Abidjan, was taken by rebels late Wednesday. Residents said by telephone that soldiers retreated in trucks while firing into the air as the rebels moved in. Hours earlier the rebels took the capital, Yamoussoukro, in central Ivory Coast

In Abidjan, rebels already in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said. The rebels also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports Gbagbo, witnesses said.

The rebel army is on the periphery of Abidjan, said a close aide to Ouattara.

"They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions," said the adviser, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press. Rebels overnight also took Gbagbo's hometown, the village of Mama, where the former president had built a lavish villa, the aide said.

"The rebels slept in Gbagbo's bed," he said.

At least 462 people have been killed and up to 1 million have fled their homes amid the postelection chaos.

Ouattara said Thursday on his private television station that the rebels, who fought in a vicious civil war almost a decade ago that left the country divided with the rebels holding the north, were attacking to install him in the presidency. Ouattara had repeatedly asked for international military intervention, which never came.

"In order to end the escalation of violence in our country and in keeping with their mission to protect the population against militias and mercenaries under Gbagbo's control, (the rebels) have decided to re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people," he said.

Ivory Coast's army chief of staff, Gen. Phillippe Mangou, sought refuge at the home of the South African ambassador in Abidjan with his wife and five children, South Africa's foreign ministry said Thursday.

Advancing on foot while firing into the air, the rebels set up roadblocks on one of Yopougon's main thoroughfares and have been battling with police since early Thursday morning, said a resident of the neighborhood of Abidjan who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

Across town in the predominantly pro-Ouattara Adjame district, several residents reported that pro-Gbagbo militiamen were firing weapons, though it was unclear at what.

The rebels have seized over a dozen towns since beginning their offensive on Monday. After they took the capital they did a victory lap in vehicles as people cheered and clapped.

They have faced almost no resistance but many fear that army troops still loyal to Gbagbo plan to make a final stand in Abidjan, the seaside city where the presidential palace is located.

Outtara's whereabouts were not immediately known. He had been holed up for months in the lagoonside Golf Hotel in Abidjan, protected by United Nations peacekeeping troops. Ouattara, who is from the country's north, had long tried to distance himself from the rebels.

Clayson Monyela, a South African foreign ministry official, said Mangou and his family were allowed to stay at the ambassador's home in Abidjan "on humanitarian grounds," but that no immediate decision has been made on whether to grant him asylum. He said South Africa's foreign ministry is consulting with unnamed parties in Ivory Coast, West African regional leaders, the African Union and the U.N. on Mangou's move.

South African President Jacob Zuma has been a key mediator as the African Union sought to find a peaceful way to install Ouattara as president.

On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously demanded an immediate end to the escalating violence and imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle.

Gbagbo and Ouattarahave vied for the presidency for months, with Ouattara using his considerable international clout to try to financially and diplomatically suffocate Gbagbo.

Seydou Ouattara, a spokesman for the rebels who is not related to the political leader, said that they faced so little resistance because Gbagbo had tried to neuter the army. Diplomats and human rights groups have said that Gbagbo has enlisted Liberian mercenaries and has armed militias, because he did not trust the regular army.

"He recruited mercenaries. He recruited militias. He essentially told the army we have no confidence in you. We were able to use this to our advantage," said Seydou Ouattara. "In each town, we told the soldiers, we are your brothers. We want the same thing.

Diaz lowers school standards with 'Bad Teacher'

LAS VEGAS – As big-screen teachers go, Cameron Diaz will not be joining, say, Sidney Poitier or Sandy Dennis as inspiring role models to her classroom kids.
The title of Diaz's school comedy pretty much sums up her character: "Bad Teacher."

Diaz's Elizabeth Halsey is a cussing, conniving, boozing, even skanky schoolmarm who calls her students morons as she hurls their test papers at them, dresses like a stripper for a class car wash and has only one educational goal: to get her hooks into a rich substitute teacher. He's played by Diaz's real-life ex, Justin Timberlake.
"Bad Teacher" arrives just in time for summer vacation, debuting in theaters June 24.
Diaz, who stopped by theater owners' CinemaCon convention Wednesday in Las Vegas to collect an award as female star of the year, described her character's life as "one big F-bomb."
"This woman is so wrong but so right," Diaz, 38, said in an interview. "She says and does everything you wish you could say, and does it just irreverently. She doesn't really care, and sometimes, I think people want to walk through life not really caring."
So how does a woman like that end up a teacher, a hallowed profession in such big-screen dramas as Poitier's "To Sir, With Love" and Dennis' "Up the Down Staircase"?
"According to her, she thought she was doing it for all the right reasons. She has no accountability, she has the summers off," Diaz said. "The system allowed it to happen, and she took advantage of it. She could kind of skim by and get the sort of minimal out of the minimal that she was giving, enough for her to go and chase her dreams of marrying a rich man."
Timberlake's the wealthy heir Diaz's character pursues while he's slumming as a sub, and Jason Segel co-stars as a gym teacher whose advances she rebuffs.
Diaz, who is about to begin shooting the heist romp "Gambit," co-starring Colin Firth and Alan Rickman, said there was no awkwardness acting opposite ex-boyfriend Timberlake.
"We wanted the best person for the job, and Justin was that person," said Diaz. "He's such a great comedian. He's proven himself over and over again. We all knew what he would deliver on this and how great he would be.
"The only thing that I think we were concerned with was what people would make up. The stories that people would make up about us. We were hoping that wouldn't happen, because we're there to work, and we didn't want to have to be distracted by any of those things. And fortunately, for the most part, the media behaved themselves."
Diaz had fun cutting loose with streams of profanity on the set. But her character's raunchy language was not exactly foreign to her.
"I don't think I've ever pretended to have, like, a clean mouth," Diaz said. "I've always had to sort of curb my usage of the words that are not allowed on screen often. I do definitely have to watch my language. I've gotten better over the years, but where I grew up, you kind of had to be able to use those words."

Carrie Ann Inaba got the proposal on air

Carrie Ann Inaba got more than she bargained for when she agreed to sub for Kelly Ripa on today’s episode of ‘Live With Regis and Kelly’ — 2.5 carats more, to be exact.

The ‘Dancing With the Stars’ judge was surprised on-air by her boyfriend of two years, Jesse Sloan, when he asked for her hand in marriage.

Earlier in the show, Inaba, 43, denied reports that she was engaged, showing off her bare ring finger to the audience.
In the show’s final minutes, all of that changed. The lighting crew set the mood as violinists ushered in the would-be groom, who told told Inaba how beautiful and inspiring she was to him, finally working up the nerve to ask, “Will you marry me?”

Inaba joyfully responded, “Yes! I will marry you!” and showed off her new 2.5-carat Rafinity princess-cut ring to the audience.

If things hadn’t gone as planned, Inaba always had a second choice: newly single Jake Gyllenhaal, who toasted the happy couple with fellow guest Howie Mandel following the proposal, had offered himself — and a fake ring — to Inaba before Sloan arrived with the real thing.

Source: planckz_blogs