Norman Gimbel, an Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, has died at the age of 91.
The songwriter passed away on December 19 at his home in Montecito, California, his son Tony Gimbel told The Hollywood Reporter.
Gimbel was best known for writing the lyrics of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and the English lyrics for "The Girl From Ipanema" with his writing partner Charles Fox
The duo also collaborated on Croce's "I Got a Name," released the day after the singer's death in a plane crash September 20, 1973. The song served as the theme to "The Last American Hero" (1973), starring Jeff Bridges.
They also wrote themes for the Garry Marshall comedies "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", and "Angie".
Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.

Oscar-and Grammy-winning lyricist Norman Gimbel dies at 91

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Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Shahbaz Ahmed has resigned in disgust over the step motherly treatment being meted out to the national sport in the country.
"When the government and ministry of inter-provincial coordination don't have either the time or funds for our national game than I also don't have time for hockey," Shahbaz said on Saturday while submitting his resignation at the PHF's Working Congress meeting.
The meeting was called to take stock of Pakistan's dismal show in the recent World Cup in India where it didn't win a single match.
Pakistan's lacklustre performance at Bhubaneswar has already seen the resignations of the head coach, coaches and manager.
Shahbaz, a celebrated name in world hockey and a former captain, said since becoming the secretary he has always stressed on the need to have a proper system in place to generate funds or else the sport would not survive or improve.
"What is the use of my spending time in the PHF when in these last three years ..

PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed resigns

Disappointed at Australia's abject surrender in the first innings, batting coach Graeme Hick has asked his batsmen to show more intent and learn the art of pacing innings from India skipper Virat Kohli.
After the hosts were bundled out for a meagre 151 in 66.5 overs on day three of the third Test, Hick stressed on the need to develop awareness of the game and gave the example of Kohli's first innings 204-ball 82-run knock.
"We spoke about how Kohli went about it. We knew (Cheteshwar) Pujara, even Kohli, one of the most explosive batters, got to 20 off 25, 26 balls, then the rest of his innings took whatever it was," Hick said on SEN Radio on Saturday.
"For the best player in the world to change his innings and play like that, if you can't be on the same field as him and watch him and learn from what he is doing, then you are in the wrong space.
"There are certainly thing our players can take out of that. It takes a lot of discipline, a lot of patience and, on top of that, you have got 

Australian batsmen need to learn from Kohli: Hick

India's bowling coach Bharat Arun Saturday said that Jasprit Bumrah's unconventional bowling action has made him one of the most lethal pacers in world cricket as his deliveries are difficult to be picked by opposition batsmen.
Bumrah, who has so far taken eight wickets in the third Test against Australia here, has 47 Test wickets to his kitty after making his debut in January.
"What makes him (Bumrah) so special is because he is so unique (in his bowling action). Maybe the batsmen pick up his balls a little later than which they normally do from a clean action and that makes him so much more potent. Of course, for any fast bowler to be bowling 145 clicks and above consistently over a period of time, you need to generate a lot of speed from your arms," Arun said.
"We were extremely confident of Bumrah doing well even before he started playing Tests because he was unique and most batsmen who played against him said it was difficult to pick him," he said at the post-match conference ...

Bumrah's unconventional action is hard to pick, makes him a potent bowler: Arun

At least six deaths were attributed to severe weather in the US as heavy snow and high winds snarled air and ground transportation during a busy holiday travel period.
More than 500 flight cancellations and 5,700 delays were reported Friday as the winter storm blanketed areas from the north central plains and the Midwest with  eight to 12 inches of snow.
As much snow, if not more, was forecast to fall in the coming days in the southwestern state of New Mexico, along with a deluge of rain in some southern and eastern states -- ruining New Year travel plans for thousands of Americans.
Millions more in the South were warned of potential flooding from heavy rains.
A 58-year-old woman in Louisiana was killed Wednesday evening when lightning struck a tree which then fell on her home, according to TV station WDSU.
In Kansas, police said icy roads caused a fatal car crash Thursday on an interstate highway. Another crash involving a snowplow and a car in North Dakota claimed one life.
A woman .

Winter storms batter large swaths of US

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday triggering a brief tsunami warning.
The quake struck southeast of Davao City at a depth of 59 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, a week after a volcano-triggered tsunami killed more than 400 people in neighbouring Indonesia.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible" along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.
However, waves were forecast to be less than 30 cm above tide level, it said, while Philippine monitors warned that "minor sea level disturbances" were to be expected.
The Philippine government's seismology institute initially advised people to "stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast fronting the Philippine Sea," for about two hours after the quake.
But it later cancelled the tsunami advisory, saying that wave heights had returned to normal.
Although people rushed out of buildings during the quake, the civil ...

6.9-magnitude quake hits Philippines triggering small tsunami

Museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the nation's capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on.
So will the National Zoo and a lively ice rink near the National Mall.
The attractions have stayed open by using unspent funds, but they are about to run out of that money.
Museums and galleries under the Smithsonian Institution umbrella will close starting January 2, the Smithsonian said on its website.
That includes the zoo, as well as the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of Natural History, and several galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery, with its paintings of former presidents.
Smithsonian facilities are open on January 1.
The National Gallery of Art will close starting January 3, a spokeswoman said.
That includes the iconic West and East buildings as well as an ice rink in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden that ..

Shutdown to close DC museums; some basic services provided

A sympathetic Nathan Lyon is not too worried about the Australian batsmen's abject first-innings surrender in the third Test against India, saying "success for them is around the corner".
The hosts were placed at 258 for eight Saturday, chasing 399, and are two wickets away from conceding a 2-1 series lead to the visitors.
"I see how much hard work the guys are doing in the nets and in training. We know they are working hard and not going out to fail. They have all my support," Lyon said at the end of fourth day's play.
"We are up against a world-class bowling attack, one of the best Indian attacks I have ever seen. They are disappointed but I know how hard they are working. Success for them is around the corner."
In reply to India's first-innings total of 443 for seven declared, the hosts were bowled out for 151.
"I am a massive fan of Aaron Finch. He is working hard and seeing a lot of balls in nets. We have seen him in international cricket in all three formats as a world-class ...

A day after meek surrender, Lyon backs Australian batsmen

The Indonesian volcano which caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people last week lost more than two-thirds of its height following the eruption which triggered the killer waves.
A section of Anak Krakatoa's crater collapsed after an eruption and slid into the ocean, generating the tsunami last Saturday night.
A visual analysis by the Indonesian volcanology agency found the volcano has lost more than two-thirds of its height, an official said Saturday.
Anak Krakatoa which used to stand 338 metres (1,109 feet) high was now just 110 metres tall.
The agency estimated the volcano lost between 150 and 180 million cubic metres of material as massive amounts of rock and ash have been slowly sliding into the sea following a series of eruptions.
"Anak Krakatoa is now much shorter, usually you can see the peak from the observatory post, now you can't," Wawan Irawan, a senior official at the agency, told AFP.
Before and after satellite images taken by Japan's space agency showed that a ...

Indonesian tsunami volcano lost two-thirds of its height

A 22-year-old Pakistani national, who crossed over the border to meet Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, returned home after  spending 22 months in Indian jail.
Abdullah, a resident of Mingora of scenic Swat district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was arrested by the Indian authorities on May 25, 2017 when he had come to witness the Beating Retreat Ceremony held every evening at the Wagah border gates.
He crossed the Zero Line after the ceremony and told the Border Security Force officials that he wanted to meet Shahrukh and Kajol.
He was repatriated on Wednesday through the Attari-Wagah border on the basis of an emergency travel certificate issued by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, officials said.
Upon arrival at his native home he was garlanded by his relatives, neighbours, friends and well wishers.
Speaking to local media in Swat, Abdullah said he crossed the border in a bid to meet Shahrukh and Kajol of whom he is a great fan.
"I was arrested by the ...

Shahrukh Khan's Pakistan fan returns home after 22 months in Indian jail

Neil Prakash, Australia's most wanted jihadist who became a recruiter for the Islamic State terror group, has been stripped of his Australian citizenship.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described the 27-year-old former rapper from Melbourne  as "a very dangerous individual".
Through his father, Prakash had joint Australian and Fijian citizenship. Under Australian law, a dual national can be stripped of their citizenship if they are convicted or suspected of terror offences.
He had featured in ISIS videos and has been linked to a failed Melbourne plot to behead a police officer and another attack in which two officers were stabbed outside a Melbourne police station, the SBS News reported,
Prakash left Australia for Syria in 2013, taking the name Abu Khaled al-Cambodi. He was mistakenly reported to have been killed in a US air strike in Mosul, Iraq, in 2015.
He was a recruiter for the Islamic State (IS) group and encouraged terrorist plots in Australia.
Prakash who is ...

Australian jihadist Neil Prakash stripped of citizenship

Four people were killed in landslides and thousands of others evacuated from their homes after a storm swept through the central Philippine islands on Saturday, officials said.
Three members of a family were buried in a landslide in Legazpi City southeast of Manila while a woman was crushed by another landslide in Bulan town as heavy rains brought by the storm loosened the earth, the government's office of civil defence said.
Almost 12,000 people were also evacuated from their homes in the Bicol region after the low pressure area, locally named "Usman", hit the eastern side of the country on Saturday, the office said.
The weather disturbance, packing maximum winds of 65 kilometres per hour, was charted as moving west across the central islands at 10 kilometres per hour and was expected to be over the South China Sea by Sunday, the government weather station said.
Although Usman's winds were not too powerful, it still brought heavy rains that caused landslides and flooding in areas it .

Four dead as storm sweeps through central Philippines

Junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha decried "opportunists" on Saturday after a wave of coordinated bomb attacks by suspected insurgents hit Thailand's Muslim-majority "deep south" in the lead-up to the New Year holidays.
The region bordering Malaysia has been in the grip of a low-level but bloody insurgency for more than a decade as ethnic Malay militants battle the Buddhist-majority state for greater autonomy.
Since 2004, insurgents armed with homemade bombs and grenades have clashed with Thailand's powerful military, killing nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians, of both Muslim and Buddhist faith.
However, 2017 saw a record low of 235 people killed in clashes.
The latest attacks occurred Friday night in a series of seven separate incidents in three different districts of Narathiwat province, said police commander Major General Dussadee Choosungkit.
Two bomb attacks occurred in Sri Sakhon district, four in Chanae district, and militants "ambushed a base in Rangae district" using grenades, 

Spike in bomb and grenade attacks in Thailand's restive south

A man was arrested for allegedly killing an Indian-origin police officer in California's Newman County, when he was planning to flee to his native Mexico, police said.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Gustavo Perez Arriaga and living illegally, was arrested from a home in the Kern County, about 200 miles south from the place of the shooting, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson was quoted as saying in the CNN.
Corporal Ronil Singh, 33, pulled over the suspect just before 1 am on Wednesday and a few moments later he called out "shot fired" over the radio.
Other officers who reached the spot found Singh shot and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Singh was a native of Fiji and joined the force in July 2011.
Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson said at a Friday news conference that this has never happened in the history of the 12-member department.
Arriaga came to the US illegally and was believed to have been fleeing to Mexico, he said, adding the suspect 

Man arrested for killing Indian-origin police officer in California

Cameron Bancroft's ban for ball-tampering expired Saturday and he was immediately rushed into the Perth Scorchers squad for their Big Bash League clash with the Hobart Hurricanes.
The 26-year-old opener was suspended from international and state cricket for nine months after attempting to alter the ball in a Test against South Africa in March.
Then-Australian captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were exiled for a year with their suspensions due to run out in late March.
"What a journey this has been over the last nine months," Bancroft wrote on Instagram.
"Grateful of where I am and the person I continue to grow to be. Thank you to every person, group, team and community I have come across over the last nine months. You know who you are."
Bancroft re-emerged into public life with an explosive television interview on Wednesday in which he confirmed Warner asked him to use sandpaper to rough up the ball.
He claimed he went along with it "to fit in" and because he "didn't know 

Bancroft ban expires and back in Perth Scorchers squad

New Zealand were eyeing an historic victory as injury and a barrage of Neil Wagner bouncers left Sri Lanka in tatters at the close of day four of the second Test in Christchurch on Saturday.
The conditions were tailor-made for short-ball specialist Wagner, New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said, as Sri Lanka were 231 for six at stumps.
At most they have only four wickets left, but with doubt whether the injured Angelo Mathews will return to help them survive the final day.
At the crease were Dilruwan Perera on 22 and Suranga Lakmal on 16 with their 660-run target out of sight.
Wagner, who had little success earlier in the series, broke through stubborn Sri Lankan resistance, with figures of three for 47 from a marathon 28 overs.
"I think he showed what he could do once he had a little bit more bounce on offer. I thought he bowled with really good pace and really questioned the Sri Lankan batsmen," Jurgensen said.
"I was commenting in our viewing area saying I think this day is 

New Zealand eye victory as Wagner rocks Sri Lanka

A new extreme heat policy that dictates when it is safe to play will be introduced at next month's Australian Open to better deal with frequent oven-like conditions on court.
The "Heat Stress Scale" will be used for the first time at a Grand Slam to help prevent players from fainting and suffering exhaustion, relying on more weather-measuring devices at Melbourne Park.
Organisers said it followed "cutting-edge research and testing into the specific effects of heat stress on tennis players".
New rules will allow for a 10-minute break between the second and third sets in women's singles matches when a four -- on a scale of one to five --- is recorded on the HSS prior to or during the first two sets of a match.
Men will get a 10-minute breather after the third set if a four is reached.  If the heat stress scale goes to five, play can be suspended.
Tennis Australia chief medical officer Carolyn Broderick said the scale took into account the effects of heat on the human body including the .

New Australian Open heat policy to counter oven-like conditions

Chinese athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs will receive criminal punishments and jail terms from next year, as China cracks down on doping ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, state media reported.
China's sports administration and top judicial authority are drafting rules that would apply criminal law to doping cases, official news agency Xinhua said Friday.
Citing remarks made at a Friday meeting by Gou Zhongwen, director of China's sports administration, Xinhua said that the new anti-doping punishments will be put into effect "probably in early 2019".
"It is our will to show the world we are really serious about anti-doping, and are taking concrete measures on fight against doping," Gou said.
China's sports administration told AFP it could not confirm Xinhua's report.
Doping scandals have riddled China's international sporting record in the past decade, with some athletes stripped of Olympic gold medals.
In January 2017, three Chinese women's weightlifting gold ...

China to punish athletic doping as criminal offence: state media

Sports scientist Danny Deigan, who has played a crucial role behind raising the fitness levels of the Indian football team, says the methods followed are "very similar" to the ones in leading clubs such as Arsenal.
"After visiting a number of EPL clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, I can say that the methods that we use in the Indian team are very similar to them," Deigan stated.
"It's important to take note of the output against the top teams in Asia so that we can replicate them, and even do better in the upcoming Asian Cup," he added said during India's ongoing preparatory camp for the forthcoming continental showpiece.
It was Stephen Constantine who had suggested that "we need our players in the best of their shapes to run for 90 minutes".
"If you can't run, you can't fight on the pitch. The effect of the tests and the results have been great for us. The credit goes to Danny's effort in the past three years, and Joel Carter since earlier this year to ...

Methods we use with Indian team are similar to Arsenal, Leicester: Deigan

India came within sniffing distance of a defining victory before a stoic resistance by Australia's tail delayed the inevitable in the third Test here Saturday.
Pat Cummins scored a heroic half-century as Australia finished at 258 for eight at stumps on day four after being reduced to 176 for seven after tea.
At end of play, he had scored an unbeaten 61 runs, facing 103 balls and hitting five fours as well as a six, while Nathan Lyon was batting on 6, as they put on 43 runs for the ninth wicket.
Australia need another 141 runs for an improbable win, while India are two wickets away from a 2-1 series lead.
Post tea, Travis Head (34) and Tim Paine (26) took their sixth-wicket partnership to 22 runs. The duo cut down on risky scoring shots and played for time.
But they couldn't last long, as Head played on off Ishant Sharma (1-37) in the 51st over. Paine though continued his resistance and put on 19 runs with Mitchell Starc (18), seeing through 11 overs in this partnership.
Ravindra ...

India close in on win as Australia reach 258/8 at stumps

Bangladesh stepped up security Saturday with thousands of army troops patrolling the streets along with paramilitary forces and police as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeks a record fourth term in Sunday's general elections.
Security agencies have been asked to keep an extra vigil on religious minority communities during the voting on Sunday as media reports said at least three Hindu households were set on fire by miscreants between December 16 and 26, Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda said.
Law enforcement agencies in major cities are checking vehicles as part of their vigil as some 600,000 security personnel including several thousand soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed across the country.
Thirteen people have been killed and thousands injured in clashes between supporters of Hasina's ruling Awami League and activists of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The opposition parties have alleged that thousands of its leaders and activists have been .

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