Melbourne, Feb. 4 : Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises may baulk at signing Australian stars at this week''s auction because of uncertainty over their availability.

The IPL is scheduled for April-May and the Australian players may be available for only the final two weeks, because of a one-day series against Pakistan, reports news. com. au.

Melbourne, Feb 4 : A Kiwi businesswoman is trying to spice up the romance of Valentine''s Day by offering chocolates fortified with Tongkat Ali - a potent herb from South-East Asia which is claimed to stimulate testosterone production in men.

Last year, Hanna Frederick, a former food scientist, made headlines by feeding beer-flavoured chocolate to brewers and deer antler chocolate to meat industry heads at business conventions.

Now, the Auckland lady is hoping to capitalise on the commercial day of romance with the "aphrodisiac" chocolates, reports the CourierMail.

Melbourne, Feb. 4: Andrew Symonds international cricket career is hanging in the balance after Cricket Australia ruled the troubled all-rounder emotionally unfit to tour South Africa.

The board of directors endorsed the view of CA management that Symonds should not be considered when the selectors meet today to choose the touring party.

The 33-year-old faces an uphill battle to convince his counsellors and employers that he can again represent his country when his situation is reviewed at the end of the Sheffield Shield season next month.

Melbourne, Feb. 4: Australian captain Ricky Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke, were last night anointed joint winners of the Allan Border Medal in the first tie of the award''s 10-year history.

While the two upstaged favourite Mitchell Johnson, it was the crowning of young batting prodigy Phillip Hughes as the young player of the year that was arguably of more significance given his potential importance to the future of Australian cricket as it confronts a difficult period of generational change.

Wellington  - A record 35,304 New Zealand citizens migrated to Australia as the economic recession began to bite in their homeland last year, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

This was up from 28,557 the previous year. The figures released by Statistics New Zealand showed the number leaving the country every year for a new start in neighbouring Australia has more than doubled since 2004.

Four out of every 10 migrants were aged 15 to 29, with children under 14 and the 30-44 age group each accounting for 23 per cent of the outflow.

The figures showed that 8,200 New Zealand citizens returned home from long-term stays in Australia while 4,900 Australians moved residence across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.

Karachi, Feb. 4: Just when the international cricketers of Pakistan who sided with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) were looking for making a comeback in their national squad after being cleared from the ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), there seems to be more problems brewing up, with reports suggesting that Cricket Australia may not allow its team to play against Pakistan if any ICL cricketer is a part of the Pak team.