Sydney, Feb. 3 : Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz has said that he is prepared to wait for his turn to turn out for the national squad, and has become immune to the speculation, opinion and criticism swallowing Australian cricket.

"Coming from being picked in a Test match after being 12th man for NSW the week before, I''m not worried about the pecking order or anything like that," Hauritz said as NSW defeated Tasmania by 114 runs yesterday on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at Newcastle No. 1 Sports Ground.

Sydney  - An Australian cleric and six of his followers were jailed Tuesday for forming a terrorist cell that police allege plotted to bomb the 100,000 spectators at the 2005 rugby cup final in Melbourne.

The Islamists were rounded up in November 2005 and found guilty in September 2008.

Algerian-born Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 48, who told his followers it was "permissible to kill women, children and the aged" in the cause of jihad, was sentenced to 15 years for intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organization.

Sydney  - The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut interest rates by 1 per cent to 3.25 per cent in hopes of lifting consumer confidence and helping the economy skirt the global recession.

It was the RBA's fifth monthly cut and brings the rate it charges banks for borrowing to a level not seen since the 1960s.

The further easing of monetary policy comes after figures were released showing inflation falling sharply towards the RBA's 3-per-cent upper-range target.

Sydney  - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Tuesday announced a 42-billion-Australian-dollar (27-billion-US-dollar) spending programme that he hoped would stop the faltering Australian economy from lurching into recession.

Rudd last raided the piggy bank in October for a 10.4-billion-Australian-dollar package of one-off payments to low-income families, first-time house buyers and pensioners.

The latest stimulus package is more of the same: one-off payments to families, to farmers and the unemployed. But as well as hand-outs to households, there will be a

Sydney, Feb. 2 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has said that he is missing the next two one-day internationals against New Zealand "reluctantly", adding that the decision was made by the selectors alone.

"My absolute priority is to the Australian cricket team. I wanted to play on through the coming week and continue to lead the team in the series against New Zealand. However, the decision was made by the national selection panel as part of their plan to rest all players at appropriate times during this year," Fox Sports quoted Ponting, as saying.

Sydney, Feb 2 : Men in Sydney are all set to become the first in the world to try a contraceptive, which can give them control over their own fertility.

ANZAC Research Institute, at Concord Hospital, is starting the trail of a new two-monthly male contraceptive injection.

The jab shuts down the reproductive function just like the female contraceptive pill does.

It works by tricking the brain into thinking that it has already produced sperm, and that too without affecting men''s sexuality.