Former hockey player from Kodagu stabbed to death by wife

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

Bengaluru, Mar 12: The Karnataka government on Wednesday clarified that no coronavirus "emergency" has been declared in the state and that all the schools and offices will remain open.

Earlier, there were fake reports that Karnataka has declared "coronavirus as an epidemic" in the state.

In a statement, Karnataka health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey refuted the reports doing rounds on social media which said Karnataka had declared COVID-19 as a "state epidemic".

Refuting the rumours, he added that all the schools, offices and other institutions will continue to function normally in the state.

The Karnataka government earlier today issued temporary regulation which asked all government and private hospitals to have flu corners for screening of suspected cases of COVID-19.

According to the regulation, no person/institution shall use print or electronic media to spread mis-information on COVID-19 without prior permission of the department of health & family welfare. If a person is found indulging in any such activity, they will be punished, it said.

The Karnataka government also started a campaign called 'Namaste over Handshake' that encourages people to greet in the traditional Indian style, to tackle the spread of the virus.

The state has reported four positive cases of coronavirus so far.

India, so far, has 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 16 Italians tourists.

Mangaluru, Jan 20: A suspicious unattended laptop bag with the suspicion of containing “something harmful” was found abandoned at the Mangaluru International Airport on Monday.

The bag was found kept in the rest area meant for the passengers outside the airport. According to reports, two men came in auto and left the bag near the ticket counter, which is near the VIP vehicles parking area.

The bag, which was lying unattended near the entrance of the airport was removed from the spot by the airport security personnel at 8.45 am.

Bomb detection squad personnel has rushed to the spot and shifted the bag to a safe zone, said Mangaluru Commissioner of Police P S Harsha.