Tears flow at what might be Lacroix’s last haute couture show

PARIS — It’s not every day a fashion show triggers rivers of tears and group hugs. But that was the just what happened Tuesday as Christian Lacroix showed what could possibly be his last haute couture show — at least for as long as it takes the legendary French designer to sort out his finances.

‘First session of any series is vital’, says Stuart Broad

LONDON - England fast bowler Stuart Broad has urged upon the importance of getting stuck into the Aussies and putting pressure on them from the first ball of the Ashes series in Cardiff to have a vital impact.

Pakistani Hindus allowed to travel to India to immerse ashes of ancestors

KARACHI - Hundreds of Hindus based in Sindh province would now be able to travel to India to immerse the ashes of their ancestors in the holy River Ganga, as they have been granted visas after decades of denial by the Pakistani authorities.

Ashes of Sant Rama Nand Dass taken to Haridwar for immersion

HARIDWAR - Followers of the slain preacher of Dera Sachh Khand, Sant Rama Nand Dass are carrying his ashes to immerse in the holy Ganga.

Tamil rebels make conflicting claims over Prabhakaran’s death

COLOMBO - Tamil rebels have made conflicting claims over the reported death of their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, with one saying he was still alive and another confirming his death.

England pacer Anderson tells Aussies to get ready to face his heat

LONDON - England pace bowler James Anderson has warned Australia that he is only just beginning to fulfill his potential ahead of the Ashes series later this year.

Oz’s tremendous past record forced ECB to shift first Ashes match from Lord’s

SYDNEY - Oz skipper Ricky Ponting believes that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided not to host the first Ashes Test match at Lord’s due to Australia’s enviable record there.

1-2-3 batsman are key to winning Ashes, says Hayden

MELBOURNE - Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden, who sees the battle between his heirs and the England opening trio as crucial to the destiny of the Ashes series, said winning the Ashes will be easy if the top three batsman click.

Forget Symonds, it’s my turn to capitalise on opportunities: Watson

SYDNEY - Shane Watson showed little sympathy for troubled all rounder Andrew Symonds after the Queenslander was left out of the Ashes touring squad, saying that he will be doing his utmost to capitalise on the opportunity created by Symonds’s repeated off-field infringements.

Lee makes a comeback, Symonds dropped from Ashes squad

SYDNEY - Australian pacer Brett Lee has been recalled while Andrew Symonds has got the axe for the Ashes series in July.

Australia announces squad for Ashes series

MELBOURNE - Australia’s selectors have named a 16-man squad to contest the five-Test Ashes series against England.

Australia to select Ashes squad Wednesday

SYDNEY - Australian cricket selectors will announce the Ashes squad

at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here Wednesday.

Symonds has less than a week to force his way into Ashes squad

MELBOURNE - Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has one week and a handful of Indian Premier League games to force his way into the Ashes squad.

A brief history of the Sobibor camp, where Demjanjuk is accused of working as a guard

BERLIN — The Sobibor extermination camp, where retired autoworker John Demjanjuk is alleged to have served as a guard, was built by Nazi officers in occupied Poland in 1942 and razed 18 months later.

Bopara credits IPL for helping him score second Test ton

MELBOURNE - England centurion Ravi Bopara has said the Indian Premier League (IPL) has helped him hone his game after he made his second successive Test hundred against the West Indies at Lord’s.

Collingwood says players could opt for T20 rather than ‘mental torture’ of the Ashes

LONDON - England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood believes that future generations of players could choose to play T20 cricket rather than go through the ‘mental torture’ of an Ashes series.

Injured Lee, Watson named in Australian squad for Twenty20 World Cup

MELBOURNE, Australia — Fast bowler Brett Lee and allrounder Shane Watson were named Tuesday in a 15-man Australian squad for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup in England, though both have yet to test their fitness to bowl at international level.

DNA tests confirm remains found in Utah wilderness those of vagabond poet who vanished in ’30s

SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers said Thursday that a skeleton found last year in Utah’s redrock country is that of a 20-year-old artist, poet and wanderer who disappeared in the 1930s and has been the stuff of Western lore and Navajo legend ever since.

Steve Waugh says Aussies just ahead for Ashes

SYDNEY - Former captain Steve Waugh believes Australia are entitled to be slight favorites in this year’s Ashes series, but feels bowling selections will be crucial to the outcome.

Oz pacer Lee has got to get his act together

ABU DHABI - Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, who has 310 wickets at 30.81 from 76 Tests and an equal number of wickets in one-day internationals, is hoping to convince selectors of his fitness ahead of the selection of touring parties for both the World Twenty20 and the Ashes.

Injury forces Andrew Flintoff out of IPL tournament

CAPE TOWN - Andrew Flintoff has returned to his home from the Indian Premier League to undergo surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee, a Cricinfo.com report stated.

Obama calls on world to confront scourges of hatred

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama marked Holocaust Remembrance Day Thursday by warning that preventing genocide in the future depends on the world’s willingness to confront hatred wherever it arises.

Ashes ‘not be all and end all’: Vaughan

LONDON - Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan has made a startling claim that beating Australia in this year’s five-Test series isn’t the be all and end all for the England team.

Vaughan says he’s as hungry as ever to play top-level cricket

LONDON - Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has said that he is as hungry as ever to return to top flight cricket.

Strauss will be an outstanding England skipper: Vaughan

LONDON - Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan is convinced that current incumbent Andrew Strauss will become an outstanding England captain, but has warned him not to read too much into or about Ashes fever.

Flower believes KP has the goods to deliver Ashes to England

LONDON - New England cricket team coach Andy Flower believes batsman Kevin Pietersen can help England regain The Ashes this year.

Flower named England cricket team director

LONDON - Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has been named as the England team director by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Younis Khan predicts 5-0 whitewash for Australia in UAE series

LAHORE - Pakistan captain Younus Khan has said that his team would beat Australia 5-0 in the forthcoming one day international series in the UAE.

Lee will have to earn his place for Ashes

SYDNEY - Australian pacer Brett Lee might have been named in the squad for the One-day series against Pakistan but selectors’ chairman Andrew Hilditch has warned that the pacer’s performance will be closely monitored.

Change of IPL venue could stand Ashes aspirants in good stead

MELBOURNE - A change of country for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could benefit Australian cricketers Brett Lee, Ryan Harris, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh, all of whom are fighting to put their names in front of the national selectors ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series.