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Presidents return will silence rumour-mongers: Firdous
SC to hear memogate case today
Benazir, Zardari wedding anniversary passed away quietly
Asad Zia clinches Governor Golf title
Mass wedding ceremony held in Jhelum
Pakistan players barred from Bangladesh T20 league
Israel frees 550 Palestinian prisoners
Afghan authorities condemn night raid
6 soldiers among 21 killed in Syria violence
Iran TV shows suspected US spy 'confessing'
Kuwait to hold early general election on Feb 2
More than 50 feared dead in Russian oil rig disaster
Silva strike sends City back to the summit
Squash: Willstrop takes Matthew's top ranking
Handball: Norway beat France for world title

Presidents return will silence rumour-mongers: Firdous

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Federal Information Minister Firdose Ashiq Awan has said that President Asif Ali Zardari s return is a slap in the face of those who spread rumours and they should now apologize from the nation. She said that it is my advice to media also that not to play in the hands of those who spread rumours and report the news of their own desires. She said that it’s the responsibility of media to inform people about true facts and avoid spreading sensation.

SC to hear memogate case today

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Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will head the a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court which will hear the petitions regarding alleged memo today. For proper court decorum and smooth functioning of the Supreme Court, security arrangements have been finalized. Entries in the courtroom shall only be allowed to the litigant parties and their counsel whose cases are fixed before court on the day, as subject to the availability of space in the courtroom, after checking/frisking and searching of bags/purses etc. Entry of irrelevant persons shall not be allowed, and no cell phone shall be allowed to be inside the courtroom.

Benazir, Zardari wedding anniversary passed away quietly

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Wedding ceremony of President Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto was held on December 18, 1987. Benazir Bhutto was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan twice and Asif Ali Zardari served on different post during her two tenures. In the general elections after the assassination of Benazir on December 27, 2007, Pakistan People’s Party came into power again and Asif Ali Zardari was elected as President of Pakistan. On the 24th wedding anniversary, President Zardari was in Dubai for medical treatment where doctors have advised him bed res.

Asad Zia clinches Governor Golf title

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Asad Zia of Gugranwala Golf Club won the title of the Governor Cup Golf Tournament which concluded at the Lahore Gymkhana Club. Asad won the amateur category of the three-day event with a net score of 213. Mohsin Anwar of Lahore Gymkhana remained runners-up. Fiaz Ghani won the veteran category with a net score of 72 while the gross event was won by Javed Hamid. The senior event of won by Nuhammad Arshad while Noori Zaman won the women’s event. Punjab Governor Latif Khosa was the chief guest on the final day and distributed the prizes among the winners.

Mass wedding ceremony held in Jhelum

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The mass wedding ceremony in Kala Gojra near Jhelum was attended by friends, relatives and parents of the grooms and brides. The organizers of the mass wedding presented dowry and presents to the brides. The newly wedded couples looked very happy after the ceremony and were very thankful to the organizers.

Pakistan players barred from Bangladesh T20 league

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Pakistan players have been refused permission to play in the lucrative Bangladesh Twenty20 league by their cricket board (PCB) in order to concentrate on next month s test series against England in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Nine Pakistani players have been offered contracts by different clubs in the Bangladesh premier league that begins on Dec. 26 but the PCB has stopped test players, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Rehman from signing. "The PCB feels that at this time when the national team is due to play a very important test series against England it would not be appropriate to allow our top players to play in any foreign T20 league," PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar told Reuters. "No player at this stage has been given permission to sign any contract." Other players offered contracts include out of favour test players, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz and Umar Akmal and Sohail Tanvir who recently played in the one-day series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Pakistani team is currently touring Bangladesh and will return home next week before leaving for Dubai on Jan. 9. The first of three tests against England start on Jan. 17 with the squad scheduled to be named next week.

Israel frees 550 Palestinian prisoners

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Israel on Sunday freed 550 Palestinian prisoners, completing the second phase of a deal which saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed in October, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Officials and witnesses in the West Bank city of Ramallah said that the main contingent of freed prisoners entered the city on a fleet of 12 buses at around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), where thousands of well-wishers awaited them at the Palestinian presidential headquarters. A small group of 41 crossed at about the same time into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where about 3,000 jubilant supporters gathered at the border, an AFP photographer said. An Israeli prison official said that another two were taken to the border with neighbouring Jordan and two more were released at Atarot in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. "The International Red Cross Committee assisted in the process of conveying the prisoners," the Israeli military said in a statement. It confirmed that 505 prisoners were transferred to the West Bank and 41 to the Gaza Strip with the remaining four taken to Jordan and east Jerusalem. One of the Jerusalem residents freed was Salah Hamuri, a French-Palestinian who was convicted of plotting to assassinate a Jewish religious leader and had been due to complete his seven-year sentence in March. Among the 550 were six women and 55 minors aged 14-17, according to UN children s rights agency UNICEF, which welcomed the youngsters  release. Unlike in the first stage of the deal, which saw the release in October of 477 Palestinians including hundreds serving life for killing Israelis, Sunday s operation did not include anyone "with blood on their hands," officials on both sides said.

Afghan authorities condemn night raid

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The Afghan authorities on Sunday condemned a night raid by NATO-led coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan in which a woman was killed. Following the raid, NATO s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the operation in the Gardez district of Paktia province targeted a leader of the Haqqani militant network who was responsible for roadside bomb and gun attacks. But the provincial governor s office said it was an "arbitrary operation" launched on the house of the Paktia anti-drugs chief, who had been detained along with his two sons. "A national security council meeting held in the presidential palace on Sunday condemned the international forces night raid on the house of the Paktia counternarcotics chief, in which a woman was killed and four others wounded," a statement released by Afghan President Hamid Karzai s office said. The statement said General John Allen, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, apologised to the meeting -- chaired by Karzai -- over the raid, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning. But ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson said: "There has been no apology by ISAF as an investigation is ongoing." Allen s spokesman, Commander Brook DeWalt, said the counternarcotics chief had now been released. "General Allen did send his condolences and regrets for the death of the woman that was killed in the incident," he said. "He did note to President Karzai that there would be a full investigation and he would report back on the issue. "General Allen ordered the release of two of the three and retained the suspected Haqqani network leader." Karzai has led public criticism of night raids over concerns they endanger and harass local communities, but ISAF has defended the operations as a tactical success. The statement from Karzai s office said the president had repeated calls for international forces to halt such operations, which have been a sticking point in negotiations over the strategic partnership document being agreed with the US.

6 soldiers among 21 killed in Syria violence

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Isolated and faced with a possible civil war, Syria appeared to be bending toward allowing Arab League observers in as a step toward ending the conflict. The Al-Arabiya TV channel said it had information from the Qatari prime minister that Syrian President Bashar Assad will sign an observer deal but gave no further details. Last month Syria agreed to an Arab League plan but balked at its implementation. The foreign minister of Oman, speaking to reporters ahead of a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Saudi Arabia, also said Sunday he is "optimistic" that Syria will sign the protocol within 24 hours "and save the Arab world from foreign intervention." The Arab League has given Syria until Wednesday to sign a protocol to allow observers into the country, or else it will likely turn to the U.N. Security Council for action to try to end the deadly violence against regime opponents. Syria s state-run news agency SANA quoted Assad Sunday as saying in front of an Iraqi delegation that Syria has "dealt positively with proposals presented because it s in (Syria s) interest for the world to know what is happening in Syria." Syria has in the past said it would accept to have the monitors but then placed conditions that were rejected by the Arab League. Syria s foreign minister was scheduled to hold a news conference Monday, when he is expected to announce Syria s position.

Iran TV shows suspected US spy 'confessing'

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Iran s state TV broadcast video of a young man Sunday it claimed was a CIA spy who sought to infiltrate Iran s secret services. The TV identified the man, apparently in his late 20s, as Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an American-Iranian who received special training and served at US military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran for his alleged intelligence mission. "Their (US intelligence) plan was to initially burn some valuable information, to give it free so that (Iran s) Intelligence Ministry would see the good things and then would contact me," said in a part of the confession that was broadcast. The voice of an unnamed announcer on the video said US intelligence was certain that Iran s secret services would not ignore the data. Therefore, they provided a mix of correct and false information to mislead Iran s intelligence but tempt it at the same time. "Iran s intelligence apparatus overcame the thirst and detected the deception, identified the intelligence corridors (Hekmati s alleged link to U,.S. intelligence) ... and contained the infiltration mission," it said. The TV showed a card with writing in English identifying the bearer as an "army contractor." It also showed several photos of the man identified as Hekmati, some of them in military uniform, together with US army officers. There was no immediate comment from Washington.

Kuwait to hold early general election on Feb 2

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Kuwait will hold parliamentary elections on February 2, an official statement said on Sunday, the fourth poll in under six years for the OPEC Gulf state as it seeks political stability. Education and Justice Minister Ahmad al-Mulaifi said after a cabinet meeting that the government approved a decree calling on an estimated 400,000 Kuwaiti voters to elect a new parliament on February 2, according to the statement. The move comes just four days after Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah swore in a new cabinet with only minor changes to the government that resigned in November over allegations of corruption. Kuwait has been rocked by a series of almost non-stop political disputes since Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, was appointed premier in February 2006. During Sheikh Nasser s tenure, all seven of his cabinets were forced to resign over political disputes and parliament was also dissolved four times. Mulaifi said that the government agreed to allow Kuwait Transparency Society to monitor the elections and also decided to establish hotlines in various areas for people to report violations. It will be the first time Kuwait, which introduced parliamentary elections in 1962, will allow anybody to monitor the elections which are supervised and managed entirely by the ministries of interior and justice. Kuwait is OPEC s third largest producer, pumping around 3.0 million barrels of oil per day. It has a native population of just 1.2 million in addition to 2.4 million foreign residents. Despite accumulating massive assets exceeding $300 billion from high oil prices, development projects have been stalled because of the political turmoil.

More than 50 feared dead in Russian oil rig disaster

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At least four people died and 49 were missing and feared dead Sunday after an oil rig capsized and sank in icy seas off Russia s far eastern Sakhalin island, the country s second major water disaster since July. Another 14 people were rescued as officials stubbornly clung to hope that more crew members could be pulled out alive even after spending more than 16 hours in the frigid waters of the Okhotsk Sea. The Kolskaya oil rig platform with 67 people on board was being towed from the Kamchatka peninsula across the sea towards Sakhalin island when it got caught up in a storm, capsized and sank within 20 minutes. President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a probe into the disaster, telling officials to provide victims with all the necessary assistance. "This is a horrible tragedy which caught the crew off guard," said Dmitry Dmitriyenko, governor of the northern Murmansk region, which was home to 33 of the 67-strong crew. "I am asking you to believe in the rescue of the crew members, there is still a chance," Dmitriyenko said in a statement. The rescue operation was continuing through the night even though efforts have been hampered by strong winds and waves around five metres (15 feet) high. "The operation is taking place in complicated weather conditions," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Silva strike sends City back to the summit

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David Silva s second half goal ensured Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League as Arsenal were defeated 1-0 in an entertaining game at Eastlands here on Sunday. City s nine-week stay at the summit came to a temporary end after champions Manchester United overcame Queens Park Rangers 2-0 earlier in the day. But Silva s 53rd minute effort saw City leapfrog their neighbours as manager Roberto Mancini celebrated his second anniversary in charge of the world s richest club with a win. Arsene Wenger s Arsenal played their part in a wonderful game but the Londoners could have few complaints as City were denied a second goal when Pablo Zabaleta hit the post. The match saw Arsenal back in Manchester for the first time since suffering an 8-2 thrashing by United on August 28. That Old Trafford defeat sent them to 17th in the Premier League table with the prospects of qualifying for the Champions League appearing difficult and their ability to mount a title challenge remote. Yet Arsenal recovered from that humiliating experience to win nine of the following 12 league games, and they returned to Manchester in fifth position and back in contention for a berth in the top four after a run of seven wins in their last eight league outings.

Squash: Willstrop takes Matthew's top ranking

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James Willstrop defeated ailing Frenchman Gregory Gaultier on Sunday in the New Delhi Masters final and will replace English compatriot Nick Matthew as the new world number one in January. Willstrop clinched his third successive tour title when Gaultier retired with cramps 1-4 down in the fourth game of the match at the Siri Fort Complex. The French player had won the opener 19-21 before the 28-year-old Willstrop took the next two games, 11-8, 11-4. "It s a very special day for me. I can t really believe I ve played and won this match - and I d like to thank Greg for the great spirit in which it was played," said Willstrop. "The day is so special. I m very proud I ve done it in India where I won the world junior title."

Handball: Norway beat France for world title

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Olympic and European champions Norway defeated France 32-24 on Sunday to win their second world women s handball title. Norway became only the second nation to hold the three trophies at the same time after Denmark, who were Olympic gold medallists in 1994, European winners in 1996 and world champions in 1997. Norway won their first world crown in 1999, also beating France in the final.

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Cricket - Sports

Monday, December 19, 2011

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