Sri Lanka see backlash from Aussie ‘wounded soldiers’
Label: World(Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team to be wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series after the hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlier this week.
Australia’s hopes of snatching the Proteas’ top test ranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and final test in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfort from the home side’s disappointment.
“I see them as wounded soldiers – they could come back stronger against us,” Jayawardene told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday, on the eve of a three-day tour match against a Chairman’s XI side.
“So we just need to make sure we are ready for that and start well.
“We can’t be complacent – we need to make sure we know from ball one we give them a good go at it.”
Sri Lanka have their own problems coming into the first test at Hobart next week, losing their last test at home to New Zealand by 167 runs to level a two-match series 1-1, with key batsmen out of form.
Kumar Sangakkara scored five, nought and 16 in his three innings against New Zealand, but Jayawardene backed the veteran to bounce back in Sri Lanka’s bid to win their first test Down Under.
“I am happy that he went through a lean phase because he’ll be really hungry for runs – that’s Kumar for you,” Jayawardene said of the 35-year-old stalwart.
Jayawardene also said he would weigh up his future as captain after the series, which includes tests in Melbourne and Sydney, after taking on the role for a second time in the wake of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s sudden resignation in January.
“After this, we get a well-deserved four weeks off, after about three years, so it gives me a bit of time to think (about) what I need to do,” said Jayawardene, who captained the team for more than three years in his first stint from 2006.
“We need to groom another leader as well. It’s very important to have that changeover done smoothly while the senior players are still in the side.”
Australia / Antarctica News Headlines – Yahoo! News
And the most overpaid actor award goes to: Eddie Murphy
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (Reuters) – Eddie Murphy was once among Hollywood’s top box office draws, but he now has the dubious honor of being crowned its most overpaid actor, according to Forbes magazine.
In its annual list, determined by the misalignment between star salaries and their films’ box office take, Murphy, once a one-man gold mine with 1980s hits such as “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills Cop”, displaced Drew Barrymore for the top spot.
“Murphy‘s career has just collapsed,” Forbes said, citing such recent box office bombs as “Imagine That”, “A Thousand Words” and “Meet Dave”.
Weighing box office receipts against paychecks, Forbes calculated that for every dollar Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of just $ 2.30 at the box office. Murphy placed second on the list a year ago.
Popular actresses such as Katherine Heigl, and Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock, made the top five, with “returns” ranging from $ 3.40 to $ 5.
Forbes took issue with Witherspoon’s “questionable” choices such as the star-laden, James L. Brooks romantic comedy “How Do You Know”, which was one of 2010′s worst-performing films. It cost $ 120 million, much of which went toward star salaries, but grossed a paltry $ 49 million.
The cast included two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, as well as actors generally considered solid at the box office such as Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller.
“Washington‘s films do fine at the box office but he can demand an outsized paycheck on those movies,” Forbes noted. His current hit “Flight” was not included for this year’s list.
Washington‘s return was the same $ 6.30 calculated for Sandler, whose comedies Forbes said were consistent performers — except when they’re not, such as the disappointing “Jack and Jill”.
It was the same with Stiller, whom Forbes said “earns so much money per film that one miss can make him seem overpaid. That’s what happened with “Tower Heist”, in which the actor co-starred with — Eddie Murphy.
Will Ferrell, who topped the list for two of the last four years and came in third a year ago, didn’t place.
The full list can be found at www.forbes.com/overpaidactors.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney and Andrew Hay)
Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Watch: World’s Oldest Person Dies at 116
Label: HealthHome > Video > Most Popular
NYC Man Pushed on Subway Tracks, Killed by Train
NYC Man Pushed on Subway Tracks, Killed by Train
Police are looking for suspect who they say pushed another man off a subway platform.
NYC Subway Fight Caught on Tape
NYC Subway Fight Caught on Tape
Video shows a group of teenage girls scuffling with police officers.
Bystanders Pull Mom, Son From Subway Tracks
Bystanders Pull Mom, Son From Subway Tracks
Frightening moment caught on tape shows straphangers rushing to aid of mother, son.
Caught on Tape: Man Run Over by Subway
Caught on Tape: Man Run Over by Subway
An Oregon man survives an encounter with two trains after falling on the tracks.
Arrest in Deadly Subway Push
Arrest in Deadly Subway Push
A man is held for questioning in deadly subway shove.
Kate Middleton Spends Second Night in Hospital
Kate Middleton Spends Second Night in Hospital
Lama Hasan has the latest on the health of the Duchess of Cambridge.
Alaska Barista Murder Suspect Found Dead
Alaska Barista Murder Suspect Found Dead
FBI believes Israel Keyes was linked to seven other killings across the U.S.
Kate Middleton Pregnant: Royal Couple Expecting
Kate Middleton Pregnant: Royal Couple Expecting
Prince William and his wife announce they are expecting their first child.
Judge Orders Return of Adopted Girl to Biological Father
Judge Orders Return of Adopted Girl to Biological Father
Adoptive Utah couple has 60 days to return child given up by mother without father’s knowledge.
Kate Middleton Pregnant, Rushed to Hospital
Kate Middleton Pregnant, Rushed to Hospital
The Duchess of Cambridge, expecting first child, diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum.
Alaska’s Missing Barista: Arrest Made
Alaska’s Missing Barista: Arrest Made
Israel Keyes was arrested in disappearance of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig.
Missing Alaska Barista Had Past Restraining Order
Missing Alaska Barista Had Past Restraining Order
Samantha Koenig’s father says he thinks he knows who holds the key to the case.
Twins Caught Fighting in the Womb
Twins Caught Fighting in the Womb
MRI footage shows twin fetuses kicking each other.
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Barista Kidnapped at Gunpoint
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Police are searching for a teen taken against her will by coffee shop robber.
Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Fuel rise axed as economy worsens
Label: Business5 December 2012 Last updated at 10:02 ET
George Osborne: “There will be no fuel tax rise this January”
Chancellor George Osborne has scrapped a planned 3p rise in fuel duty, but benefits face a further squeeze as he admitted the UK economy was struggling.
There will be more money for roads, London’s Underground and schools, but councils were warned of cuts to come.
Austerity measures will be extended to 2018, as debt-cutting targets are missed, his Autumn Statement revealed.
“Turning back now would be a disaster” for the UK, he said. But Labour said his economic plans were “in tatters”.
Mr Osborne had said debt would start falling as a proportion of GDP by 2015/16 – the year of the next general election.
But he has been forced to delay that target by a year because of the worse than expected state of the economy, which is now expected to shrink this year by 0.1%.
The Office for Budgetary Responsibility says the UK has a “better than 50% chance of eliminating the structural current deficit in five years time”, said the chancellor – meaning his other key objective has been pushed back by a year to 2017/18.
This move heralds a fresh benefits squeeze and a raid on the pensions of the wealthy.
‘In this together’
Most working age benefits, such as Jobseekers Allowance and Child Benefit, will be go up by 1%, less than the rate of inflation, for the next three years.
Continue reading the main story
What is the Autumn Statement?
- One of the two major statements the chancellor has to make to Parliament every year
- Since 1997 the main Budget – which contains the bulk of tax, benefit and duty changes – has been in the spring before the start of the tax year in April
- The second statement has tended to focus on updating forecasts for government finances
- Over the past few years this distinction has become blurred, with the Autumn Statement becoming more of a mini Budget
- Under the last Labour government it was called the pre-Budget report
And there will be a further cut in tax relief on large pension pots, saving £1bn a year.
He told MPs: “I know these tax measures will not be welcomed by all; ways to reduce the deficit never are. But we must show we’re all in this together. When you’re looking for savings, I think it’s fair to look at the tax relief we give to the top 2%.”
Income tax personal allowances will go up by £1,335 – £235 more than previously announced – so no tax will be paid on earnings under £9,440.
The threshold for the 40% rate of income tax is to rise by 1% in 2014 and 2015 from £41,450 to £41,865 and then £42,285.
The basic state pension will rise by 2.5% next year to £110.15 a week.
Mr Osborne announced a fresh crackdown on tax avoidance and a squeeze on Whitehall budgets to pay for a new road and school building programme.
He told MPs: “It’s taking time, but the British economy is healing.”
But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, for Labour, accused Mr Osborne of breaking his own rules on falling debt on which his credibility depended.
“Today after two and a half years we can see, and people can feel in the country, the true scale of this government’s economic failure,” Mr Balls told MPs,
He said the average family with children on £20,000 a year would be “worse off” – even with the personal allowance changes.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
At a time when his critics – and Ed Balls in particular – are able to say “I told you so”, George Osborne looked and sounded confident whilst the shadow chancellor looked the reverse.”
End Quote
Mr Balls claimed Mr Osborne’s plan to raise £1bn from pension tax relief on the well-off raised less than £1.6bn given away in Mr Osborne’s first Budget on the same reliefs.
CBI director general John Cridland welcomed the promised investment in infrastructure and new tax relief measures for small firms but said businesses now “need to see the chancellor’s words translated into building sites on the ground”.
“It is no surprise that after a difficult year the economic realities dictate that austerity and debt reduction will take longer,” he added.
“The chancellor has stuck to his guns on deficit reduction – avoiding deeper cuts or more borrowing in order to retain international credibility.”
But TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “What is missing today is any vision of a future economy that can deliver decent jobs and living standards – it’s pain without purpose.”
He added: “When you are self-harming you should stop, not look for better sticking plasters.”
BBC News – Business
Officials: NATO to decide on missiles for Turkey
Label: WorldBRUSSELS (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are expected to approve Turkey‘s request for Patriot anti-missile systems to bolster its defense against possible strikes from neighboring Syria.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels. Parliaments in both nations must approve the deployment, which would also involve several hundred soldiers.
Ankara, which has been highly supportive of the Syrian opposition, wants the Patriots to defend against possible retaliatory attacks by Syrian missiles carrying chemical warheads. NATO leaders have repeatedly said they would provide any assistance Turkey needs.
Europe News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Howard Stern signs on for more “America’s Got Talent”
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Shock jock Howard Stern will return as a judge for his second season on NBC‘s summer talent show “America’s Got Talent,” the broadcaster said on Monday, although the high-priced radio host appears to have done little to improve the show’s ratings.
NBC hoped Stern, 58, known for this sexually explicit radio interviews, would attract bigger audiences, but the finale in September was watched by a record low of under 11 million viewers, according to ratings data.
“Howard Stern’s towering presence and opinions on last season’s show as a new judge made a dramatic impact and added a sharper edge to the fascinating developments on stage,” Paul Telegdy, president of alternative programming at NBC, said in a statement.
The show, which also features celebrity judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, remained the top-rated summer series among adults aged 18-49, the demographic most coveted by advertisers.
NBC attributed the overall 2012 audience decline partly to an earlier start that pitted “Got Talent” against end-of-season original programming in May.
The network is still searching for a replacement for Osbourne, who has quit in a dispute with NBC over their decision to drop her son Jack from another reality show.
Unlike popular singing competitions “The Voice,” “The X Factor” and “American Idol,” “America’s Got Talent” is open to dancers, comics, dancers and other performers. It is produced by “The X Factor” creator and judge Simon Cowell.
Stern is noted for his say-anything and do-anything radio program but he toned down his act when he started appearing as a judge on the show.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant)
TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Two conservative Republicans booted from House budget panel
Label: HealthWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two of the most conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have been kicked off the House Budget Committee, a rare move that could make it easier for the panel to advance a deal with Democrats to cut fiscal deficits.
Representatives Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Justin Amash of Michigan – both favorites of the anti-tax Tea Party movement – are among those Republicans voting most often against House Speaker John Boehner.
Huelskamp and Amash, who both will begin second terms in the House next month, voted against last year’s deal to raise the federal debt limit and staunchly oppose any tax increases. Boehner has now included new revenue in his latest offer to avert the “fiscal cliff” of year-end tax hikes and automatic spending cuts. Given their voting records, winning support from Huelskamp and Amash for such a compromise seemed an uphill battle.
Huelskamp released a statement saying the Republican leadership “might think they have silenced conservatives but removing me and others from key committees only confirms our conservative convictions.
“This is clearly a vindictive move and a sure sign that the GOP establishment cannot handle disagreement,” he said.
Huelskamp and Amash had said that despite sweeping changes to the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs, committee chairman Paul Ryan’s budget did not make deep enough cuts to entitlement programs and military spending.
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel declined to be specific on the reasons for their ouster by the House Republican Steering Committee, which occurred Monday in a closed-door meeting.
“The Steering Committee makes decisions based on a range of factors,” Steel said.
Huelskamp said he was given “limited explanation” for his removal from the Budget Committee, a move he called “vindictive.” A spokesman for Amash could not be immediately reached for comment.
Huelskamp and Amash cast the only House Budget Committee votes against Ryan’s budget plan earlier this year.
While there is often wrangling over committee chairmanships just before a new Congress takes office, it is rare for rank-and-file committee members to be stripped of their assignments.
The 34-member Republican steering committee is headed by Boehner and includes members of House leadership, committee chairs and other lawmakers representing different regions of the country.
The same group last week recommended that Ryan, the conservative former Republican vice presidential candidate, be renewed as Budget Committee chairman.
(Editing by Bill Trott)
Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Osborne to announce PFI reforms
Label: Business4 December 2012 Last updated at 09:21 ET
The government is expected to change the way it raises money for public projects such as schools and hospitals to ensure a better deal for taxpayers.
Chancellor George Osborne is set to announce the changes to the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement.
Under the plans, the taxpayer will take a share of up to 49% in new projects.
The current PFI regime has been criticised as being too generous to private contractors.
As well as allowing the taxpayer to take a share in profits from public infrastructure projects, the coalition says the new scheme, expected to be called PFI 2, will be quicker and more transparent.
It will allow the public sector to appoint directors to the boards of individual projects, as well as requiring the projects to publish financial performance figures every year.
The government has also renegotiated existing PFI deals to save £2.5bn, according to the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston.
Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the chancellor must explain “which frontline services, like the police and social care, he will cut further to pay for this latest U-turn”.
“In last year’s Autumn Statement, ministers boasted that their infrastructure plan would boost the economy, but none of the road schemes they announced have even started construction. The government needs to ensure that this funding urgently gets through on the ground.”
‘A way forward’
The previous government engaged the private sector to provide major funding for large numbers of schools and hospitals, in return for payments from the public sector.
But the Treasury has decided that this financing model is no longer appropriate at a time when government debt levels are so high.
Nick Bliss, a lawyer who has worked on PFI contracts for 20 years, told the BBC the changes should provide more of a partnership between the public and private sectors.
“From the private sector’s perspective, what has really irritated them has been for the last year or two, there has been a total lack of consensus about the way forward.
“This at least will provide a way forward and these are the rules of the game, like them or loathe them.”
BBC News – Business
Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay
Label: WorldASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo‘s presidency last June.
Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report prepared at the police headquarters in the provincial capital of Curuguaty.
A friend, Mario Espinola, told The Associated Press that Vega was shot down when he stepped outside to feed his farm animals.
Vega was among the public faces of a commission of landless peasants from the settlement of Yby Pyta, which means Red Dirt in their native Guarani language.
He had lobbied the government for many years to redistribute some of the ranchland that Colorado Party Sen. Blas Riquelme began occupying in the 1960s.
By last May, the peasants finally lost patience and moved onto the land. A firefight during their eviction on June 15 killed 11 peasants and six police officers, prompting the Colorado Party and other leading parties to vote Lugo out of office for allegedly mismanaging the dispute.
Twelve suspects, nearly all of them peasants from Yby Pyta, have been jailed without formal charges since then on suspicion of murdering the officers, seizing property and resisting authority. The prosecutor had six months to develop the case and will present his findings Dec. 16.
Vega was expected to be a witness at the criminal trial, since he was among the few leaders who weren’t killed in the clash or jailed afterward.
He wasn’t charged because he was away getting supplies when the violence erupted at the settlement erected by the peasants inside Riquelme’s ranch, the Naranjaty Commission’s secretary, Martina Paredes, told the AP.
“We think he was assassinated by hit men who were sent, we don’t know by whom, perhaps to frighten us and frustrate our fight to recover the state lands that were illegally taken by Riquelme,” she said.
Riquelme, who died of natural causes about a month after the battle in June, occupied the land during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, whose government gave away land for free to anyone willing to put it to productive use.
A local court in Curuguaty upheld Riquelme’s claim to the land years later. Lugo’s government later sought to overturn the decision, but the case remains tied up in court.
Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News
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