11th IIFA awards in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will host the 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here in June. One of the highlights of the three-day event will be a 20Twenty match between Bollywood stars and Asian cricketers.

The award function will be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium June 2-4, reports dailynews.lk.

Sri Lanka has been chosen from among countries such as South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and South Korea.

Parallel to the IIFA awards, an international fashion show will also be held.

"This is a very rare and wonderful opportunity for Sri Lanka. Thanks to the prevailing peace, Sri Lanka has received international recognition," Minister of Tourism Achala Jaagoda said.

Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga's Wedding Photos

Slinga Malinga ties knott..

Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga's Wedding Photos

Coincidence Photography

Sri lanka Railway - Very rare photos

Ceylon (Presently Sri lanka) was under British rule before its Independence in 1948.

Highway and Railway near Bandarawela, Ceylon.

A mountain station Ohiya, Ceylon in 1894.

Riding on the railroad

Tunnels on the Railway near Ohiya, Ceylon

Sensation Rock, Kadugannawa Railroad Incline 1910 - Kadugannawa, Ceylon

Railway line at Colpetty, Colombo, Ceylon

Colombo to Kandy Railway, Ceylon

sensation rock, Kadugannawa

View on the Railway Colombo to Kandy, Ceylon

Undergoing constructions of a Tunnel, Colombo - Kandy Railway Line, c.. 1860

Undergoing constructions of Colombo - Kandy Railway Line 1860

Railway bridge in 1880-1890
Kadugannawa Railway Station Colombo - Kandy, Ceylon

Construction on Government Railway Line, Ceylon

Undergoing constructions of Colombo - Kandy Railway Line 1860

Colombo Central Railway Station, Ceylon 1860 to 1880

Colombo to Badulla on the main line at Kadugannawa incline

Railway Bridge Over Bentota River (Gin Ganga), Galle in 1894

Lion's Mouth Colombo Kandy Line

Pothuhera Railway Station, Kurunegala, Ceylon 1890's

Ceylon Railway Engine 66 at Kurunegala in 1909

Railway tracks to Kandy 1890s

LG ICC Awards 2009 short lists announced..

This year's LG ICC Awards includes eight individual prizes and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket. The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former players such as India's Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming. The short-lists were created after the individual player awards were voted for by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world*. The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

Based on the period between 13 August 2008 and 24 August 2009, the LG ICC Awards 2009 - presented in association FICA - take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game. That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England, the ICC Women's World Cup 2009 in Australia and the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in South Africa, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series. The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and this year it will be held in Johannesburg to coincide with the ICC Champions Trophy 2009. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

Short-lists of nominees Individual Awards

Cricketer of the Year

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)

Gautam Gambhir (Ind)

Mitchell Johnson (Aus)

Andrew Strauss (Eng)

Test Player of the Year

Gautam Gambhir (Ind)

Mitchell Johnson (Aus)

Thilan Samaraweera (SL)

Andrew Strauss (Eng)

ODI Player of the Year

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)

Virender Sehwag (Ind)

Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

Emerging Player

Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus)

Graham Onions (Eng)

Jesse Ryder (NZ)

Peter Siddle (Aus)

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year

Rizwan Cheema (Can)

Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)

William Porterfield (Ire)

Edgar Schiferli (Ned)

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year

Shahid Afridi (Pak) for scoring 51 off 34 balls and taking 2-16 against South Africa during the ICC WT20 semi-final in Nottingham on 18 June

Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) for scoring 96 not out off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semi-final of the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 19 June

Chris Gayle (WI) - for hitting 88 off 50 balls against Australia during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 6 June

Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 13 June

Women's Cricketer of the Year

Charlotte Edwards (Eng)

Shelley Nitschke (Aus)

Claire Taylor (Eng)

Umpire of the Year

Aleem Dar

Tony Hill

Asad Rauf

Simon Taufel

Spirit of Cricket

Australia

England

New Zealand

Sri Lanka

*Note: Specifically, the 25-person independent voting academy is made up of:

Former players - Ian Healy, Ramiz Raja, Athar Ali Khan, Allan Donald, Bob Willis, Sidath Wettimuny, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ian Bishop, Jeremy Coney, Dave Houghton, Roland Lefebvre.

Media - Jim Maxwell (Aus), Osman Samiuddin (Pak), Sayeed Uzzaman (Ban), Neil Manthorp (SA), Scyld Berry (Eng), Ramil Abeynaike (SL), Sharda Ugra (Ind), Fazeer Mohammed (WI), Richard Boock (NZ), Enock Nuchinjo (Zim), Jon Coates (Associate Representative).

Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees Representative - Alan Hurst.

Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Representative - Billy Bowden.

Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee - Clive Lloyd.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 logo unveiled

The event logo story - a celebration of cricket

The crowd is part of the action, hands up and cheering and shouting for their heroes. The circular shape makes a cricket ball hurtling down the pitch, seam up. Different player silhouettes and the crowd form a pattern around the seam. The green seam indicates the one day ball and the green of the pitch and ground. The players and crowd surround this with motion and activity. The colours and figures on each side of the ball represent the event host nations coming together along with the world of cricket. The colour and movement creates a festival, players and fans coming together from around the world to celebrate cricket in the sub-continent.

A RARE PHOTO U CAN NEVER SEE IN SRI LANKA OR INDIA...

U.S President Obama talks to aides as he sits on the steps of the U.S Ambassador's residence in Paris.

BUTTERFLY MAN !!!

Little Butterfly man found in Gampola, Sri lanka..

Amazing.. Truly Amazing....