NEW DELHI: There are as many as 14 television channels from Pakistan out of a list of 25 channels which security agencies in the Government have identified as illegal.

The agencies have said that the content of some of these channels is not conducive to the security environment in the country and is a potential security hazard.

Parliament was informed that out of the other 11, there are two from Nepal (one identified as Nepal, and the other as Kantipur), and one channel each from Bangladesh (NTV Bangladesh), Maldives (TV Maldives), Bhutan (Bhutan Broadcasting Service), and there is a UK-based channel, Ahmedia Channel.

Other channels from Arab countries are Peace TV from Dubai, Saudi TV, and Al Jazeera News.

The Pakistani channels are PTV, PTV Home, PTV World, Geo TV, Dawn, Express, Waqat, Q TV, Madni TV, Noor TV, Hadi TV, Aaj, Filmax and STV.

The nationality of two channels has not been disclosed: ARY TV and XYZ TV.

According to Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua, amendments have been made in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 to tackle illegal channels, making their transmission a cognizable offence. Another amendment to the same bill in this regard had been introduced in the Lok Sabha in December and is awaiting approval of Parliament.

Authorised officers have been appointed in all states to deal with complaints against cable operators carrying these channels, Jatua said.

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the last three days of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 will be shown live by ESPN Star Sports. This is the first time that there will be live broadcast of an ICC Development event online and on television to a global audience.

Six matches from 22-24 March will be shown live from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium online at www.espnstar.com/live. The ICC has also secured live television coverage of these games into key territories via ESPN Star Sports and its licensees around the globe. A full broadcast list will be circulated at a later date.

This will be the first time that an ICC Development event, featuring only the Associate and Affiliate Members, will be shown on a live global television broadcast.

The ICC said this represents a breakthrough to expose cricket outside the traditional Test playing countries and, aligned with the ICC?s Strategic Plan, is an important step in promoting cricket to become a bigger, better global game.

The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 is a 16-team global event that will be played in the UAE from 13-24 March. The top two sides will progress to the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012, to be staged in Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele from 18 September to 7 October, where they will have the potential opportunity to face Australia, England, India and West Indies.

Among the six live matches that will be broadcast from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium are the first qualifying final, the preliminary final, the second qualifying final and the overall event final.

ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said, "We are delighted that the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 can be watched live on television and online broadcast. We would like to thank our broadcast partner, ESPN STAR Sports, and our licensees for their splendid commitment to help us grow the game across the world and for their recognition of the growing interest in the sport outside of the Test playing world. This is an important part of our global strategy."

ESS senior VP, corporate development and cricket rights Anurag Dahiya said, "We are pleased to be working with the ICC to ensure that six matches from this important qualification tournament are shown across the world via our digital platform espnstar.com. We have already seen through our broadcast of recent ICC events, how well the likes of Afghanistan and Ireland have competed against some of the best players in the world, so it will be exciting to see these teams battle it out with some of the other leading Associate and Affiliate teams and allow our viewers to watch matches between nations that they may have never seen play cricket before."

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board will hold the first of its scheduled 2012 meetings in Dubai, from 31 January -1 February.

The major topics on the agenda include ICC VP (2012-2014) nomination.

The ICC board will consider the nomination received from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the next ICC VP who will succeed Alan Isaac as the ICC president in 2014.

Promotion of Test Cricket: Following the decision to defer the Test World Championship, the ICC Board will consider a proposal to increase incentives in the form of prize money to promote Test match cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.

Other agenda items include update reports on the ICC Global Cricket Academy, the implementation of Anti-Corruption Codes at domestic level, the adoption of a Safety and Security Code, the independent report from KPMG on ticketing during the ICC Cricket World Cup and the annual report from the ICC Ethics Officer

Independent Governance Review: In April 2011, the ICC had adopted a new strategic plan which identified the need for an independent governance review as one of the key initiatives to ?build a bigger, better global game?. In August 2011, after confirming the scope for the review, the ICC Board appointed Lord Woolf of Barnes and PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct the review.

The governance review is intended to help the ICC?s aspiration to be a well governed and leading global sporting organisation. The Board had agreed that, inter-alia, the ICC?s committee structure and Board makeup will benefit from a thorough governance review, recognising that the ICC?s Memorandum and Articles were drafted at a time when the cricket landscape was very different.

Following an interim report presented by Lord Woolf during October 2011, the ICC Executive Board will now receive a final report with recommendations. Lord Woolf, who has been assisted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and advised by Judge Mudgal of India, had previously praised the Board for embracing the concept of an independent review.

The scope of the review is comprehensive and includes:

- Clarifying the role and structure of the ICC and its committees to ensure that strategic goals are met effectively and that decision-making is made in the best interests of the game. This would include consideration of independent committee members and directors

- The ICC president nomination and election process

- The Member categories and criteria for membership

- The effectiveness of the regulatory environment

- The Constitutional framework and documents to ensure they are ?fit for purpose?

- Making recommendations to ensure that the ICC enjoys a reputation as a well governed and leading global sporting organisation.