Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have been found guilty of their part in a "spot-fixing" scam after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Former captain Butt, 27, and fast bowler Asif, 28, were both found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.
They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last summer.
Another bowler, Mohammad Amir, admitted the charges prior to the trial.
The guilty pleas by the bowler, who was 18 when the scam took place, could not be reported before.
The jury was not told of these pleas.
BBC sport news correspondent James Pearce said all three are facing the real prospect of jail terms.
Conspiracy to accept corrupt payments carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
Our correspondent also said the case "raises serious questions about the integrity of Test cricket".
A statement was read out by Amir's lawyer at the start of the trial, before any evidence had been heard.
He said: "Mohammad Amir accepts full responsibility for deliberately bowling two no-balls and, in due course, you will hear how this vulnerable 18-year-old boy was subjected to extreme pressure from those on whom he should have been able to rely.
"He recognises the damage his actions have caused Pakistan cricket."
Spot-betting involves gamblers staking money on the minutiae of sporting encounters such as the exact timing of the first throw-in during a football match or, as in this case, when a no-ball will be bowled.
After deliberating for nearly 17 hours, the jury unanimously convicted Butt and Asif of conspiracy to cheat.
The jurors also found Butt guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments by a majority of 10 to two.
Our correspondent said Butt's wife, Gul Hassan, had given birth to a baby boy one hour before he was found guilty.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Lahore, said the story was leading the national news in Pakistan and the four-week trial had been closely followed in the country.
The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, extended bail for Butt and Asif until sentencing later this week.
'Rampant corruption'
They were charged after a tabloid newspaper alleged they took bribes to bowl deliberate no-balls.
The court heard the players, along with fast bowler Mohammad Amir, conspired with UK-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, to fix parts of the Lord's Test last August.
Three intentional no-balls were delivered during the match between Pakistan and England from August 26 to 29 last year.
Prosecutors said Butt and Asif had been motivated by greed to "contaminate" a match watched by millions of people and "betray" their team, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the sport itself.
Aftab Jafferjee QC, for the prosecution, said the case "revealed a depressing tale of rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket".
Former Pakistan cricket captain Asif Iqbal told BBC 5Live it was a "sad day for cricket" and said the case would send out a "huge message".
Angus Fraser, a former England fast bowler, said it could be a "watershed" for cricket.
"It shows young cricketers that there is a consequence to their behaviour. In the past players have been banned and then they have come back," he told BBC 5Live.
"The International Cricket Council has got to support the players, see these signs and help them out of predicaments, but also see (that) if players do commit these offences they are punished severely."
The jury in the corruption trial of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif has retired for the day after failing to reach a verdict.
It comes after the judge said he would take majority verdicts because they could not reach unanimous decisions.
Mr Butt, 27, and Mr Asif, 28, deny conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.
They are accused of plotting to bowl deliberate no-balls in last summer's Lord's Test against England.
The allegations came from an undercover reporter investigating match-fixing.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Butt, the former Pakistan captain, and bowler Mr Asif conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, to deliver three intentional no-balls during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England from August 26 to 29 last year.
Jurors were told that Mr Majeed, 36, accepted £150,000 in cash, as part of an arrangement to rig games or aspects of games, from an undercover News of the World reporter.
The jury has heard that the agent told the undercover journalist that two no-balls would be bowled by Mr Amir and one by Mr Asif at pre-arranged points during the Lord's Test.
Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 37, who is eight months pregnant, attended the launch of the Sri Hanuman Chalisa album in Mumbai on Sunday.
Her father-in-law, actor Amitabh Bachchan, has also sung in the album.
Ash, who wore an off-white, Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla suit, was seen holding a dupatta over her baby bump as she walked in with mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan.
AshAishwarya was also spotted during the Navaratri celebrations.
PARIS: Nearly two-dozen countries next Wednesday will take part in a full-scale test of the Indian Ocean's tsunami alert system, using the 2004 Sumatra quake as the basis for the exercise, UNESCO said on Thursday.
Exercise IOWAVE 11 will re-enact the seismic events of December 26, 2004, simulating a 9.2-magnitude quake that occurs northwest of Sumatra, sending waves across the Indian Ocean that strike the coast of South Africa 12 hours later.
It will be a trial run for newly launched Regional Tsunami Service Providers (RTSPs), located in Australia, India and Indonesia, which will issue simulated "alerts."
They are part of a region-wide tsunami warning and mitigation service, set up by 28 countries after the 2004 disaster, which claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives.
Until now, two bodies -- the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre -- have been in charge of tsunami alerts in the Indian Ocean.
They will end this interim job at the end of 2012, provided the handover goes well.
"The exercise aims to evaluate the system's operational capacity, the efficiency of communications among the different actors and the state of preparation of national emergency services," the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said in a press release here.
"The test will also include the evacuation of coastal communities in several countries, notably India and Malaysia."
So far, 23 countries have signed up for the October 12 test.
They are: Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, East Timor, France (La Reunion), India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Yemen
The Indian Ocean system was devised by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), a UNESCO body.
JIUQUAN: China successfully launched an experimental craft on Thursday paving the way for its first space station amid a blaze of national pride, bringing the growing Asian power closer to matching the United States and Russia with a long-term manned outpost in space.
The Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace," blasted off from a remote site in the Gobi Desert at 9:16 pm (1316 GMT), adding a high-tech sheen to China's National Day celebrations on October 1.
Premier Wen Jiabao watched as the small, unmanned "space lab" and the Long March rocket that heaved it skyward from a pad at Jiuquan in northwest Gansu province, lifted off under clear skies, in images shown live on state television.
It is the latest show of China's growing prowess in space, and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.
"Its name ... speaks for a dream home the Chinese have long envisioned in the sky. In Chinese folklore, a heavenly palace often refers to the place in outer space where deities reside," the official Xinhua news agency said.
The big test comes weeks after its launch, when the eight tonne craft attempts to join up with an unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft that China plans to launch.
Space docking tests conducted with the Tiangong 1 will provide experience for the building of a permanent manned space station around 2020, mission spokeswoman Wu Ping said.
China's government will hope to set a successful Tiangong mission alongside other trophies of its growing technological prowess, including the launch of a trial aircraft carrier.
And the launch, just before China's National Day holiday, was accompanied by an outpouring of proud support for the country's technological achievements.
"I feel great pride in being Chinese today. This is another great step forward for China in space," wrote Shi Zhongshan on the popular Twitter-like microblogging site Sina Weibo.
However, some wondered why all the fuss considering recent problems on another engineering feat China had lauded, the rapid development of its rail system.
In July, 40 people died in a collision on a high-speed rail line in eastern China, and
this week more than 200 people were injured when two subway trains ran into each other in Shanghai.
"I'd prefer more attention be paid to the high-speed train and Shanghai subway crashes than to Tiangong 1. The later is related to face, but the former is to do with our lives," wrote "Weixiao Xiaoran," also on Weibo.
Engineers had been watching launch preparations nervously, after another Long March rocket malfunctioned and failed to send an experimental satellite into orbit last month.
Beijing is still far from catching up with space superpowers. The Tiangong launch is a trial step in Beijing's plans to eventually establish its own space station.
Russia, the United States and other countries jointly operate the International Space Station, to which China does not belong.
But the United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017, and Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority for its space program, which has struggled with delays and glitches.
Earlier this month, NASA unveiled plans for a deep-space rocket to carry astronauts to the moon and Mars. President Barack Obama has called for a human expedition to an asteroid by 2025 and a journey to Mars in the 2030s.
China launched its second moon orbiter last year after it became only the third country to send its astronauts walking in space outside their orbiting craft in 2008.
It plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012, and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. Scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.
China is also jostling with neighbors Japan and India for a bigger presence in space, but its plans have faced international wariness. Beijing says its aims are peaceful, and military involvement natural given the enormity of the undertaking.
"The military enjoys unique advantages in organizing and coordinating such large-scale activities, and its involvement in aerospace missions is an international practice," Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said this week. (Reuters)
China has promised to build this station at the end of the decade.
Assuming the Shenzhou 8 venture goes well, two manned missions (Shenzhou 9 and 10) should follow in 2012. The yuhangyuans - two or three at a time - are expected to live aboard the conjoined vehicles for up to two weeks.
Tiangong-1 will launch on the latest version of a Long March 2F rocket
The lab will go into a 350km-high orbit and will be unattended initially
An unmanned Shenzhou vehicle will later try to dock with Tiangong
The orbiting lab will test key technologies such as life-support systems
China's stated aim is to build a 60-tonne space station by about 2020
The Tiangong project is the second step in what Beijing authorities describe as a three-step strategy.
The first step was the development of the Shenzhou capsule system which has so far permitted six nationals to go into orbit since 2003; then the technologies needed for spacewalking and docking, now in progress; and finally construction of the space station.
At about 60 tonnes in mass, this future station would be considerably smaller than the 400-tonne international platform operated by the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, but its mere presence in the sky would nonetheless represent a remarkable achievement.
Concept drawings describe a core module weighing some 20-22 tonnes, flanked by two slightly smaller laboratory vessels.
Officials say it would be supplied by freighters in exactly the same way that robotic cargo ships keep the International Space Station (ISS) today stocked with fuel, food, water, air, and spare parts.
China is investing billions of dollars in its space programme. It has a strong space science effort under way, with two orbiting satellites having already been launched to the Moon. A third mission is expected to put a rover on the lunar surface. The Asian country is also deploying its own satellite-navigation system known as BeiDou, or Compass.
Bigger rockets are coming, too. The Long March 5 will be capable of putting more than 20 tonnes in a low-Earth orbit. This lifting muscle, again, will be necessary for the construction of a space station.
"There are loads of ideas floating around, and they're serious about implementing them," said UK space scientist John Zarnecki, who is a visiting professor at Beihang University, the new name for the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
"There's a sense of great optimism. It's not driven so much by science, but by the desire to develop new technologies. The money is there, although it's not limitless. And they're taking it step by step," he told BBC News.
Tiangong-1 has a two-year lifetime. It is likely to be followed by a second lab and possibly a third. China says that at the end of their missions, the modules will be driven into the atmosphere for a destructive descent into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
KARACHI: Shoaib Mansoor’s movie ‘Bol’ released under the banner of Geo Films has not only established new success records, it has even set a new business record at the box office. It has become the film earning the highest gross in the first week of release, smashing all previous records.
Shah Rukh Khan’s film “My Name Is Khan” had done business of Rs21.658 million in a week, whereas ‘Bol’ has done business of Rs22.038 million in just six days. It is expected that when record of the full week is available, this film will make a gross earning of Rs25 million setting up new business record.
It may be recalled that ‘Khuda Key Liye’ the first movie of Shoaib Mansoor too had set up new records and now his second venture is maintaining the tradition. A large number of fans are making a beeline to cinemas and multiplexes. Families are specially being attracted to the movie and they want to see it at the earliest. Since its first show on June 24, the film is continuously on the march to success. By thronging the cinemas, viewers have proved that if good and standard films are produced, they will definitely be attracted to cinema houses.
NEW DELHI: Shoaib Akhtar in his autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’ has accused Waseem Akram of trying to ruin his career. The former Pakistani fast bowler said that Tauqeer Zia supported him during that time.
The fastest bowler in the 134-year official history of international cricket - Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar has made some startling claims in his autobiography entitled 'Controversially Yours'.
From the preview of excerpts of Shoaib Akhtar, who holds the record for the fastest delivery in cricket ever clocking 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph), it transpires that the autobiography is no less controversial with the Rawalpindi Express admitting to ball tampering and also claiming that Sachin Tendulkar chickened out during the Faisalabad Test.
"I bowled (Sachin) a particularly fast ball which he, to my amazement didn't even touch. He walked away! That was the first time I saw him walk away from me - that, too, on the slow track at Faisalabad," he wrote in his book.
The former Pakistani stump-wrecker said that Master Blaster and The Wall are not match winners. "I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren't exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game," he said.
In the autobiography, Akhtar also alleged that Shahrukh Khan and former Chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi cheated him. "Shahrukh and I talked about my not being happy with the money settled on me. Shahrukh and Modi got me to agree. I should have never listened to Modi and Shahrukh," he stated.
Akhtar, who retired from cricket following the 2011 World Cup, also revealed that he tampered with the ball claiming, "everyone tampers with the ball. I did so too. Tampering should be legalised."
The biography maps Shoaib's journey from his economically deprived childhood to his peak in international cricket. Born flat-footed, suffering whooping cough, the bowler describes the blood, sweat and tears that took him to breaking the 100 mph barrier.
Comfort stayed elusive. Akhtar describes the severe class discrimination marring Pakistani cricket, his humiliation and his failures, including ball-tampering and even attacking teammates with a bat.
Alongside, he takes on Pakistani and international players, coaches, selectors and the media. "Shoaib Malik did not deserve to be captain and was made captain because he was a stooge of the PCB Chief Naseem Ashraf," stated Akhtar.
Not just this, the former Pakistani pacer also went on to claim that legendary Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram attempted to finish his career. He stated, "Wasim Akram threatened to walk out with half the team if I was included in the team. General Tauqir Zia backed Shoaib against Wasim."
A right hand fast bowler, Akhtar was born on August 13, 1975, in Rawalpindi. He remained involved in several controversies during his career.
In 2005, he was sent home during the Test series in Australia for unprofessional attitude. A year later, he was snared in a drug scandal after testing positive for stimulants. He was banned in September 2007 for picking up a fight with teammate Mohammed Asif, and in the following year banned for five years for criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board. In October 2008, the Lahore High Court suspended the ban.
Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.
MUMBAI: Latino pop star Shakira will take part in famous Indian reality show Big Boss 5. The show will be hosted by Bollywood actor Sunjay Dutt.
This is not the first time an international celebrity will take part in the show. Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson was featured in the show during its last season.
Big Boss 5 will start from October 2 and it is rumoured that Pakistani actress Humaima Malik will also be taking part in the reality show.
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the statement of Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding links with the Haqqani network is against facts, Geo News reported.
COAS Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in a statement, termed these accusations as very unfortunate and not based on facts. This is especially disturbing in view of a rather constructive meeting with Admiral Mullen in Spain, he said.
On the specific question of contacts with Haqqanis, the COAS said that Admiral Mullen knows fully well which all countries are in contact with the Haqqanis. Singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive, the statement said.
‘Categorically denying the accusations of proxy war and ISI support to Haqqanis, the COAS wished that, the blame game in public statements should give way to a constructive and meaningful engagement for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an objective to which Pakistan is fully committed.’
A Saudi prince is to be questioned again over allegations he drugged and assaulted a young model on a yacht in the Mediterranean three years ago. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 56 - one of the world's richest men with an estimated fortune of £12.3billion - is accused of assaulting the 20-year-old while in Ibiza in August 2008. The case was closed last year on the grounds of insufficient evidence but it has now been re-opened following an appeal. The prince could now be called back to the island to provide a DNA sample. Court papers said forensic tests on the woman found evidence of assaulting activity and traces of a sedative. Prince Alwaleed is a leading investor in both Citigroup and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire, and held 26th place on this year's Forbes list of the world's richest people. He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and bought London's Savoy Hotel in 2005 for £250million. The alleged victim claims she was lured on to the 384ft yacht Turama after her drink was spiked in a nightclub on the island. She said she woke up during the assault by a man she claims was Prince Alwaleed. This week the prince issued a statement via his investment firm Kingdom Holding Company denying the accusations, branding them 'completely and utterly false.' He said he was not in Ibiza in August 2008 and has not visited the island for more than 10 years. The statement also said the prince was unaware of the allegations until earlier this week and said he could have been mistakenly identified as the attacker after someone impersonated him.
PESHAWAR: PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif said Friday that strict punishment should be given to those behind the violence in Karachi, Geo News reported.
Sharif who was addressing workers during a party convention said many parties were behind the violence and the city was destabilised on purpose. “If the situation was solved in parliament than the court would not have to take notice” said Sharif who also attributed the governments failure as the reason behind the violence.
Sharif said the present government was ruining the situation in the country on purpose and if the right decision meant calling for a revolution than he would make that call. Sharif added that if the government stopped extravagant spending than there would be no need for international assistance.
On the electricity shortfall in the country, Sharif said the government could end loadshedding. “If there is electricity than several problems will be solved” Sharif said.
