Playing Asif in Champions Trophy is a big gamble: Zaheer

September 14th, 2009 CAIRNS - An Aussie woman has revealed that she received a 200-dollar fine from the Cairns Regional Council after claims that inspectors mistook two fibreglass dogs in her yard for real dogs. Mishka Gamble said she was shocked when she received a notice saying she had seven days to pay the fine for the registration of two dogs.

September 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif is likely to visit Saudi Arabia next week to meet King Shah Abdullah, sources said. According to sources, Sharif is likely to reach Riyadh on September 11 to hold talks with King Abdullah and Saudi Intelligence chief Shahzada Muqran.

September 5th, 2009 LONDON - A new UK study has shown that while boys aspire to take up a job that would catapult them to limelight, girls are likely to wish for more caring roles. The survey involving 2,000 adults, showed that majority of the men admitted that they dreamt of playing professional football as a boy.

August 28th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khwaja Asif has rejected reports that the ISI had paid millions to politicians, including party chief Nawaz Sharif. Talking to private television channel, Asif termed the allegations as a 'film based on an obsolete script.' Asif said PML-N has faced many such allegations in the past and come out of it successfully.

August 12th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - A madrassa teacher allegedly thrashed a nine-year-old student with an iron rod before burning his hands with cigarettes. According to the Daily Times, Zaheer Hussain, of Dhoke Kangal, said his nephew Asif, 9, complained that his teacher Hafiz Majeed and senior student Khizar beat him up badly with an iron rod.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Chinese man fell into a coma after playing mahjong non-stop for 32 hours. The man in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, fell into coma on Sunday.

May 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Manchester United's left-back Patrice Evra, who insists he will go into the Champions League final as the best left-back in the world, has told Barcelona's golden boy, Lionel Messi, to not mess with him. The Manchester United player has the most daunting job of all in the Champions League final next Wednesday.

May 6th, 2009 LONDON - Prince Harry has been honoured with a top award at the end of the first phase of his helicopter training for his natural flying skills, say reports. The third-in-line to the throne, who is training to pilot the meanest attack machine in the British Army, the Apache, was previously reported to have flunked a theory exam earlier this year.

April 29th, 2009 LAHORE - Tainted Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif could only return to Dubai after 25 years, if the appeal made by Dubai's senior public prosecutor is accepted by the court. The senior public prosecutor in Dubai Shakir Hashim Al Darmakl, while contradicting reports which said that Asif has not been banned for life from entering Dubai, said: "It is a 25-year-ban that I had recommended for him for carrying a drug." Darmakl informed that during Asif's 19 day detention in Dubai, his eyes were also scanned to prevent him from entering the city.

April 24th, 2009 Explore neutral venues, ICC tells PakistanISLAMABAD — The International Cricket Council has urged Pakistan to explore overseas venues for its home matches after foreign teams refuse to visit in the wake of the Lahore terror attack. "If Pakistan manages to play at neutral venues like Dubai, Ireland, England or elsewhere it would be too good for all us," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat was quoted in The News on Friday.

April 14th, 2009 LAHORE - Realizing that it is difficult to host international matches in Pakistan because of security concerns, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will soon finalize neutral venues for Test and one-day international series scheduled to be played over the next year. PCB chairman Ejaz Butt and Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf would meet the New Zealand, Australian and English cricket board officials during the upcoming ICC Executive Board meeting in Dubai to finalize these venues.

April 11th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has once again come under the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-doping scanner ahead of the forthcoming one-day international series against Australia in the UAE. Sources said Akhtar's mysterious and sudden increase in fitness levels just weeks after suffering a major knee injury could attract the ICC's attention.

April 10th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam and captain Younis Khan have different views about playing conditions and pitches in the UAE. While Alam, recently, visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai to inspect the pitches for the series against Australia, and said Pakistan will have an advantage over the visiting team, Khan made it clear that performance will matter even if provided home conditions in the UAE.fter inspecting the pitches in the two cities where five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match is to be played, Alam looked pleased with the preparations.

April 4th, 2009 LAHORE - The list of controversies and scandals is getting longer by the day for banned Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif, as he has now been accused of being a 'home-wrecker' by a film actor Babrak Shah. According to The Daily Times, Shah has accused Asif of destroying his marital life.

March 26th, 2009 LAHORE - Banned Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif may be slapped with a hefty fine for not producing relevant immigration documents before a special committee looking into his Dubai detention case. According to The Nation, Asif told a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committee that he was not facing any ban to enter Dubai, on which the committee asked for the relevant documents which he has not tabled before it as yet.