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Saturday, March 16, 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

12 killed in Iraq ahead of invasion anniversary

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Separate gun attacks north of Baghdad killed 12 security members -- eight soldiers and four militiamen -- Friday, a second deadly day in Iraq as it nears the 10th anniversary since the US-led invasion.The violence comes a day after a string of coordinated bombings and a brazen assault on a ministry complex in the capital left 18 people dead, with barely a month to go before the country holds its first elections in three years.In Friday's deadliest attack, gunmen killed eight Iraqi soldiers as they were on their way to report to their unit in a town north of Baghdad, security and medical officials said.The soldiers had set off from the town of Qaiyarah in the northern province of Nineveh and were headed to a military camp in Taji, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Baghdad.When they were about half way along the route and near the town of Baiji, gunmen opened fire on their minibus, causing it to overturn, at which point the militants shot at the soldiers.In all eight were killed, and although at least one survived the gun attack he was badly wounded, security and medical officials said.The attackers managed to flee the scene before emergency services arrived.Earlier on Friday, gunmen in military uniforms attacked the house of an Iraqi anti-Al-Qaeda militia leader north of Baghdad, killing him and three of his sons, police and a medic said.The gunmen bound their hands and killed Khalil al-Ajili and one of his sons in the house near Baquba. Two other sons tried to escape but were killed in a nearby field.With the latest attack, 17 members of the Sahwa anti-Qaeda militia forces have been killed this month.The Sahwa are made up of Sunni Arab tribesmen who joined forces with the US military against Al-Qaeda from late 2006, helping to turn the tide against the insurgency.The violence comes after a new study released on Friday estimated that the conflict in Iraq cost the lives of at least 116,000 civilians and more than 4,800 coalition troops between the outbreak of war in 2003 and the American withdrawal in 2011.The report, published in the British peer-reviewed journal The Lancet, also estimated that the United States' involvement in Iraq had so far cost it $810 billion (625 billion euros) and could eventually reach $3 trillion.In addition to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, the violence comes just weeks before April 20 provincial elections, the country's first vote since parliamentary polls in March 2010.Several candidates for next month's polls have also been targeted.On Thursday alone, one candidate and her husband were shot dead by gunmen, a bombing targeted another prospective provincial councillor, who escaped unhurt, and one was kidnapped along with his father and other relatives north of Baghdad the night before.

Syria warplanes launch raids near capital: watchdog

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BEIRUT (AFP) - Syria's air force launched new air strikes on Friday on rebel bastions near Damascus, as clashes raged in flashpoints across the country two years after the anti-regime uprising began, a watchdog said.Regime forces resumed an assault on parts of third city Homs, pounding the Old City and Khaldiyeh rebel enclaves in the city centre and the embattled Baba Amr district in the southwest, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.At least 151 people were killed on Friday, 55 of them civilians, according to a preliminary toll released by the Britain-based watchdog, which relies on a broad network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its information.It said that among the dead were at least 23 civilians and seven rebels killed in Damascus province, a flashpoint for violence. Tanks also bombarded the Assali and Qaboon neighbourhoods in the capital itself.In Homs, the army made a new attempt to take back control of rebel enclaves, more than nine months into a suffocating siege on insurgent-held neighbourhoods, said the Observatory.The army also shelled Baba Amr, which rebels infiltrated in a counter-offensive last week, it added.Although activists have dubbed Homs the capital of the revolution, some 80 percent of the city is now under regime control.In Homs province, warplanes targeted the city of Houla, killing at least six people, among them a child, said the Observatory.Friday's violence came a day after at least 178 people were killed across the country -- 62 civilians, 66 rebels and 50 soldiers, it added.The United Nations says the conflict has left more than 70,000 people dead.The conflict broke out after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on a peaceful uprising that began on March 15, 2011 and later morphed into a bloody insurgency.

Afghan intelligence: Massive truck bomb seized

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KABUL (AP) - The Afghan intelligence service says it has seized a massive truck bomb packed with 17,200 pounds of explosives on the eastern outskirts of Kabul.Intelligence spokesman Shafiqullha Tahiri said Friday that intelligence agents also killed five suspected suicide bombers and arrested two others during a raid early Wednesday when the truck was seized.He says all were suspected members of the militant Haqqani network, which is closely allied with the Taliban.Tahiri says the explosive material was disguised as bags of cement, a trademark method of the Haqqanis, who are known for conducting spectacular attacks.He says agents also seized several suicide bomb vests, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and hand grenades.

US to bolster missile defenses to counter N Korea

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to unveil plans Friday to bolster US missile defenses to counter a growing threat from nuclear-armed North Korea, an administration official said Friday.This is a response to a threat from North Korea that has increased over time, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.Hagel was scheduled to make an announcement on missile defense at 3 pm local time (1900 GMT), the Pentagon said in a statement.The US military already has 30 anti-missile interceptors on the Pacific coast, stationed at Fort Greely in Alaska and at Vandenberg air base in California.A top Pentagon official, James Miller, undersecretary of defense for policy, said this week that the United States could quickly mobilize additional interceptors as a response to North Korea's provocations.North Korea's shrill public pronouncements underscore the need for the US to continue to take prudent steps to defeat any future North Korean ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), Miller said at an event at the Atlantic Council think tank on Tuesday.We have the ability to swiftly deploy up to 14 additional Ground-Based Interceptors if needed, he added.The Pentagon was also prepared to build a new missile field on the East Coast or to add more interceptors in Alaska should either approach become necessary due to further future increases in the threat from Iran and North Korea, he said.North Korea has missiles that can strike South Korea and Japan but has yet to demonstrate it has the capability to fire long-range missiles. But US officials worry the North has made progress on that front, having put a satellite into orbit, while Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program underlines the potential threat.North Korea has issued a wave of drastic threats in recent days and announced it has abandoned the 60-year-old armistice that ended the Korean War.

Double-decker bus crash kills 24 in South Africa

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CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Twenty-four people including two children were killed in South Africa on Friday when a double-decker bus carrying a church group crashed in a mountainous pass near Cape Town.Rescue teams had to use a crane to lift the bus and cut away bodywork to extract passengers trapped in the overturned wreckage in the Hex River pass.Twenty-three died on the scene and one person on the way to hospital, said Faiza Steyn, Western Cape health spokeswoman.Of the dead, 22 were female. Another 45 people were injured and taken to hospital.The bus veered off the road 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Cape Town and landed on its side, said provincial traffic services head Kenny Africa.A lot of the passengers were trapped under the bus, we had to use a huge crane to lift the bus to get the passengers out underneath, he told AFP.The bus collided with the mountainside so they had to cut some of the body parts of the bus to free the people that were trapped inside, he added.According to the traffic official, braking problems appeared to have caused the accident.The driver had tried to stop the bus by entering a sandy, slowing lane. But this failed and he lost control, with the bus landing on its side against the mountain.The bus was bringing people back home to Cape Town's township of Khayelitsha from a church gathering in eastern Mpumalanga.The victims had attended a prayer meeting in Secunda and were from various congregations of the 12 Apostles Church in Christ's Pastor Dumisani Ximbi told the public broadcaster SABC.They are members of the church. These women were from Mpumalanga in Secunda where there was a national prayer meeting, he said.The emergency effort involved three helicopters, including an air force chopper, 11 ambulances and nine other response vehicles.Two of the injured were in a critical condition and one was a child, said Steyn.The identification of bodies will begin on Monday.

India scrap Pakistan series after tensions spike

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's national hockey team announced Friday that it was calling off a series against arch-rivals Pakistan planned for next month amid growing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.Narinder Batra, the secretary general of Hockey India, said that the decision had been made at the instigation of the government less than three weeks before the start of the five-match home series.The foreign ministry did not give permission (for the series), he told AFP.Pakistan, which had been due to host a return series straight afterwards, deplored India's decision, saying sports events were in the wider interest of both countries.Pakistan believes that in the larger interest of maintaining peace between Pakistan and India, sustained and uninterrupted implementation of confidence building process including sports events is required, its foreign ministry said.Asif Bajwa, secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, threatened that Pakistan could pull out of the junior world cup to be staged across the border in December this year.The cup is being held under the auspices of the International Hockey Federation, which could take action against Pakistan for not participating.We condemn India's policy of mixing politics with sport and if they continue to do so it will be a big loss for hockey fans and for hockey in Asia, Bajwa told reporters.We will not play the hockey series on a neutral venue and now, if they agree to play a hockey series in the future, then India will have to tour us first, the former Olympian added.India and Pakistan had been due to play five matches from April 5-15 but the sport has now become the latest victim of tensions between the two countries, particularly over the disputed region of Kashmir.Five Indian paramilitary police were killed in an ambush on Wednesday in Srinagar, the main city in the Indian-administered part of the territory.Indian officials have said the attackers -- who were themselves shot dead -- appeared to have come from Pakistan, despite denials from Islamabad.The Indian government has also been angered by a resolution passed by the Pakistani parliament on Thursday, denouncing the recent hanging in Delhi of a Kashmiri separatist convicted of plotting an attack on the national parliament.Last week, Pakistan was forced to put off a snooker series after India raised security concerns after a bomb attack killed 50 people in Karachi on March 3.Several Pakistani hockey stars were also forced to pull out of the inaugural Indian Hockey League in January following a spate of killings across the de facto border in Kashmir.The two sides last played a bilateral field hockey series in 2006 although they recently faced off in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh in Malaysia.The countries have won 11 Olympic field hockey titles between them and dominated the Games arena for decades, with India winning eight and Pakistan three.

English trio kept apart in Europa League draw

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NYON (AFP) - English trio Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all managed to avoid one another as the Europa League quarter-final draw was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.Dethroned Champions League winners Chelsea host Russian club Rubin Kazan in their first leg on April 4 while Tottenham are at home the same night against Swiss outsiders Basel and Newcastle travel to former European champions Benfica. Tottenham, who won the inaugural competition in 1972 when it was known as the UEFA Cup and added their last European trophy in the same tournament in 1984, will fancy their chances against Swiss champions Basel.However Spurs manager Andre Villa-Boas will be fully aware of the threat posed by Basel after they ousted 2008 champions Zenit Saint-Petersburg 2-1 to set up an intriguing tie against the North Londoners. Newcastle head to Lisbon after scoring with the last kick of the match on Thursday to defeat Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and face a Benfica side who are two points clear of Porto and unbeaten in 22 domestic matches this season.It's a great draw for us, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said.The Estadio da Luz is a great venue. I've been there and it's a fantastic stadium. Importantly, we are at home in the second leg and that will give us an advantage. he added. The venue for the second-leg between Chelsea and Rubin Kazan in Russia has yet to be decided with freezing conditions in Kazan potentially being a factor in moving the tie to Moscow. There are no Spanish clubs in the quarter finals while defending champions Atletico Madrid who thrashed Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in last year's final went out in the last-32 this season against Rubin Kazan. Liverpool were the last English winners of the competition in 2001, when under Gerard Houllier, they defeated Alaves 5-4 in Dortmund although Fulham reached the 2010 final under current England manager Roy Hodgson, only to lose 2-1 against Atletico Madrid. Middlesbrough were also beaten finalists in 2006 when they were defeated 4-0 by Sevilla before their coach Steve McClaren left the club for a doomed spell as England manager. The final last-eight tie features 1999 Cup Winners' Cup champions' Lazio against Fenerbache with the first leg to be played in Istanbul.Fenerbache are trying to reach the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time after reaching the last eight on three occasions while Vladimir Petkovic leads a Lazio side currently sixth in Serie A and four points adrift of the final Champions League spot in Italy. The final is set to be played at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday, May 15.

Golf: Strange grabs lead at Thailand Open

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BANGKOK (AFP) - Australian Scott Strange shot a seven-under par 65 Friday to grab the clubhouse lead after a rain-interrupted second-round of the $1 million Thailand Open at Thana City Golf & Sports Club near Bangkok.Strange, winner of OneAsia's first-ever tournament the Volvo China Open five years ago, went one better than his opening round and at the halfway stage sits at 13-under par on the 6,930-yard Greg Norman-designed course.Japan's Azuma Yano, Brazilian Lucas Lee, and Australian Terry Pilkadaris had a share of second place in the clubhouse, with eight others a shot further behind -- including some still to complete their rounds.Defending champion Chris Wood, three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington, Koreans Hwang Jung-Gon, Lee Kyoung-Hoon, and Cho Min-Gyu and Thailand's Thanyakon Khrongpha finished on 11 under.The round of the day belonged to Thai youngster Thanyakon, who equalled the course record 63 set by Welshman Ian Woosnam in 1996.Paul McGinley, recently named captain of Europe's Ryder Cup team for 2014, was forced to withdraw mid-way through the second round with a bad back.The second round will resume on Saturday with 36 players still to finish before the cut is made.

Bob's Worth wins Cheltenham Gold Cup

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CHELTENHAM (AP) - Bob's Worth overtook long-time leader Long Run with a late burst to win the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on Friday, completing a remarkable personal journey for jockey Barry Geraghty in one of Britain's top races.Geraghty bought Bob's Worth for €16,000 ($20,900) as a yearling, sold him to trainer Nicky Henderson for a small profit three years later and ended up riding the 8-year-old horse to a winner's check of more than 310,000 pounds ($470,000).This is brilliant, he is a gorgeous horse and he has a great attitude, Geraghty said. He's as game as a lion and he loves the job.Geraghty was close to tears as he paid his respects to fellow Irish jockey JT McNamara, who underwent surgery on Friday after fracturing two vertebrae in his neck after falling from a horse during a race at the festival on Thursday.I'd love to be happier, Geraghty said, moments after crossing the winning post. All we can think about is John Thomas McNamara. We just hope and pray to God he's OK.Bob's Worth made it five wins from five races on the Cheltenham track after choosing his moment perfectly to attack Long Run and Sir Des Champs. Jumping the final fence level with his two rivals, Bob's Worth pulled clear in the sprint to the line up the hill and won by seven lengths, justifying his position as 11-4 favorite and earning Henderson his 50th festival winner.Sir Des Champs was second ahead of Long Run, the 2011 winner who was looking to become the second horse to regain the Gold Cup title after Kauto Star, winner in 2007 and '09.Long Run ran a cracker, jockey Sam Waley-Cohen said. He made one or two mistakes for a lack of concentration, but I could not ask any more of him. He is a star.Bob's Worth hadn't raced since winning the Hennessey Gold Cup in November and started favorite ahead of Sir Des Champs and Silviniaco Conti, who fell at the third-to-last fence when in third place.The four-day festival ended with drama as Oscar Delta unseated jockey Jane Mangan when leading on the run-in in the Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup.Oscar Delta was running so close to the rope at the side of the course that he jinked to the right and slowed up dramatically, knocking Mangan off her mount and allowing Salsify to romp home unchallenged.I felt like I had the race won, Mangan said. This is a nightmare.The victories of Salsify and then Alderwood in the last race earned Irish trainers a record 14 winners at Cheltenham this year, breaking the record of 13 set in 2011.

Squash leader pushes bid for Olympic inclusion

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LONDON (AP) - The head of squash's governing body doesn't consider wrestling a big threat as eight sports fight for a single place on the program of the 2020 Olympics.World Squash President N. Ramachandran told The Associated Press on Friday he is confident his sport can win its bid for inclusion despite the high-profile support wrestling has received since being cut from the list of core sports last month by the IOC executive board.Everybody knew one sport was going to get dropped, Ramachandran said. Be it any sport that was taken off, you'd have had the same hype. You would have had the same people, the supporters of that particular sport complaining that their sport should not have been dropped.Wrestling's exclusion triggered a backlash around the world, with officials in the United States, Russia, Iran and other countries now leading a push to bring the sport back. The influential associations of national Olympic committees and international federations have also supported wrestling's return.Any sport would have done that, Ramachandran said. If you have been in the Olympics long enough, you definitely have the support of many countries, many IOC members and so forth. So any sport that would have gone out would have caused a backlash. Everybody knew that one sport would go out. I don't see that as a 'big threat.'My job is to promote the sport of squash and that is what I'm doing, Ramachandran said. I concentrate on my sport and I leave it at that.Squash is bidding for a third time to get into the Olympics. It failed in 2005, when the IOC voted not to accept any new sports, and again in 2009, when rugby and golf won inclusion for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.Ramachandran said squash has learned its lesson.We have totally changed the sport on its head, he said. The last time, we bid for the sport in the Olympics but we had not changed our sport to suit the standards of the IOC.Now we have done that, we have spoken to the IOC, we have improved our sport and the result is there for everybody to see. It is totally different from what existed two or three years ago.Among the improvements, Ramachandran cited the use of glass courts, referee video reviews, a new scoring system and state-of-the art television technology that allows spectators to see the ball more clearly.The game has been totally transformed in the last two or three years, he said. Where there was possibly a downward trend in the people playing squash, that has been rectified. The sport is more attractive for youngsters and this has resulted in a renaissance for squash.Squash is already played in the Pan American Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Games and Youth Olympics.The only multi-sport event where we are not there is the Olympics, so that is where we would like to be, he said.Ramachandran said the sport is cheap and simple to include in the Olympics, with two easy-to-install courts. Squash, which would include 32 men and 32 women players in the Olympics, could also share a venue with badminton or another sport.Ramachandran said squash courts could be located at iconic venues in any of the three cities bidding for the 2020 Games.In Istanbul, I can set it up next to the Blue Mosque, he said. In Madrid, I can put it outside the (royal) palace. I can put up in the Ginza district in Tokyo. We can showcase the city like no other sport can.Ramachandran dismissed the suggestion that the Olympics already has enough racket sports with tennis, badminton and table tennis.What's wrong with more racket sports? he said. If my sport is good enough, why not? There is no fixed rule saying you can have only so many martial arts sports or racket sports. The best sport has to cross the winning line at the end of the day.Ramachandran also said his sport meets the IOC's requirement for universality, meaning it is played around the world.All the five continents in the world have produced male and female world champions, he said. How much more universal can you get?

Oil rises ahead of US industrial production data

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NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil rose to near $94 on Friday ahead of the release of U.S. industrial production and manufacturing figures that analysts expect to show an improving economy.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for April delivery was up 60 cents to $93.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 51 cents to close at $93.03 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.Traders expect to see improvement in U.S. industrial production for February when the Federal Reserve releases the details later Friday. Analysts at Capital Economics said in a market commentary that they expect a month-on-month increase of 0.6 percent.February's employment and hours worked data suggest that manufacturing output also increased, the analysts said, so we wouldn't be surprised to see something of a rebound in February.Oil's rise on Thursday was attributed to favorable U.S. employment data, offsetting news about ample crude supplies and worries about the eurozone economy. Weekly U.S. jobless claims fell by a greater-than-anticipated 10,000 to 332,000, helping to sustain hopes over the U.S. labor market.Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, was up $1.14 to $110.10 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.Experts said Brent's rise was due partly to reports of decreasing oil exports from Iran which is enduring sanctions from Western powers because of its nuclear program and expectations about aggravated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East related to the upcoming visit to Israel by U.S. President Barack Obama.A weaker dollar was also supporting oil prices, making crude cheaper for traders using other currencies. On Friday, the euro was up at $1.3090 from $1.3010 late Thursday in new York.

Dollar slides after weak US consumer report

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar retreated for the second straight day Friday following the release of disappointing US consumer confidence data.At 2100 GMT, the euro was valued at $1.3075 compared with $1.3003 at the same time Thursday.The dollar fell to 95.26 yen from 96.08 yen, while the euro bought 124.61 yen, down from 124.91 yen a day earlier.The weak performance of the dollar came after a University of Michigan consumer confidence index showed a drop to 71.8 in early March from 77.6 in February. The consumer confidence data shocked the market amid concerns that the federal spending cuts and the hike in the payroll tax finally hit the worker's paycheck, said Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management.The euro gained further support after a European Union summit suggested that German Chancellor Angel Merkel would not oppose efforts by France and Italy to focus on growth and not just austerity.European leaders endorsed 'structural' budget assessments at their summit, suggesting a slight lessening in the focus on austerity, said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank.The rise in the euro is very much reflective of this optimism by investors that the region could begin to recover from the severe contraction that has plagued it since Q4 of last year, Schlossberg added.The dollar also weakened against the pound, which bought $1.5129, up from $1.5078 late Thursday, and fell to 0.9377 Swiss franc from 0.9470 franc.But David Song, currency analyst at DailyFX, said the dollar's retreat may only be temporary.Citing increasingly upbeat sentiment about the US economy, Song said the Federal Reserve may soon adopt a more hawkish tone for monetary policy.

Pakistan level ODI series with 6-wicket win

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CENTURION (AFP) - Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan took four wickets in a devastating opening spell to set up a six-wicket win in the second one-day international against South Africa on Friday.Tall left-armer Irfan took a career-best four for 33 in seven overs as South Africa were bowled out for 191 in a match reduced to 44 overs a side.Pakistan achieved victory with 4.4 overs to spare, captain Misbah-ul-Haq anchoring his side's chase, making 57 not out.The win levelled the five-match series at 1-1 after South Africa had cruised to a 125-run win in Bloemfontein last weekend with the third game to be played in Johannesburg on Sunday.Misbah said Irfan's bowling had been the key to the win on a pitch with some damp spots which caused uneven pace and bounce. We really needed this win. The batsmen are getting their confidence back, said Misbah.South Africa crashed to 62 for five under Irfan's onslaught but recovered to reach 177 for seven after 38.4 overs when a violent thunderstorm struck the ground and caused a stoppage of almost two-and-a-half hours.South Africa failed to see out the revised quota of 44 overs, losing their last three wickets for 12 runs to be bowled out with four balls to spare.Farhaan Behardien led the South African fightback, making a measured 58 off 82 balls for his maiden international half-century. Robin Peterson made 44 and helped Behardien put on 67 for the seventh wicket before Behardien was caught on the midwicket boundary one ball before the stoppage.It was a very disappointing performance, said South Africa captain AB de Villiers. Pakistan took the initiative early on and although there was a good fightback, we (batsmen) put our bowlers under pressure.Irfan, the tallest player in international cricket, gained steep bounce as he ripped through the South African top order. He dismissed Hashim Amla and Colin Ingram off successive balls in the fifth over and followed up with the wickets of de Villiers and Faf du Plessis.After Irfan had made his inroads, slow bowlers Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi kept the pressure on. Ajmal took two for 23 and Hafeez two for 35, while Afridi conceded only 24 runs in eight overs.Pakistan had a brief wobble when they slipped to 69 for three in the 15th over, with Hafeez and Kamran Akmal falling in successive overs. But Misbah and Younis Khan, the side's most experienced players, steadied the innings with a fourth wicket partnership of 46 off 67 balls. Shoaib Malik joined Misbah and they added an unbeaten 77 off 82 deliveries, with Malik contributing an aggressive 35 not out off 75 balls. Misbah's 57 runs were made off 75 balls with three fours and three sixes.

Zimbabwe's woes highlight widening test gap

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BRIDGETOWN (AFP) - Zimbabwe's three-day thrashing at the hands of West Indies has once again highlighted the widening disparity between the top and bottom halves of the international cricket test rankings.The Africans only made it to halfway through the third day of five sheduled in the first of two tests on Thursday.At first glance, the one-sided contest at the Kensington Oval here suggested the Zimbabweans are out of their depth at this level and therefore undeserving of test status.However, a broader examination of the structure of test cricket reveals a format that limits the opportunities for struggling nations to improve standards and seriously challenge the higher-ranked countries.Since ending a self-imposed six-year exile from test cricket in August 2011 -- caused by the domestic political situation that resulted in a mass exodus of the country's top players -- Zimbabwe had played only five test matches and none in the preceding 14 months to this one.Despite marking their return with a victory over Bangladesh, they lost the next four, one each to Bangladesh and Pakistan and two to New Zealand, the final encounter by the massive margin of an innings and 301 runs in Napier in January 2012.While Zimbabwe were much more competitive prior to exile, they had nonetheless never reached the upper echelons of test cricket, even when at their very strongest.So to expect them to hold their own immediately after their return, even among the weaker opponents, would seem unrealistic.Fundamental to the challenges faced by nations like Zimbabwe is the International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme.Rather than offering a fixed schedule of test, one-day international and t20 series involving all ten full-member nations on a regular basis, it is in practice a flexible guideline, adjusted and amended bi-laterally to facilitate the priorities of the higher-ranked and financially more powerful members.Ironically, it is the same inequitable structure that has given the West Indies the opportunity to enjoy a winning streak that harkens back to their halcyon era of the 1980s, if only statistically.The team led by Darren Sammy has now won five test matches in a row with every prospect of extending that run to six with the second and final test against Zimbabwe starting in Dominica next Wednesday.Such continuous success has not been enjoyed by the Caribbean side since the all-conquering squad led by Vivian Richards won seven test matches in a row in 1988.Yet the differences between the two achievements could not be more pronounced.Back then the West Indies won the last four matches in England and the first three in Australia against experienced, battle-hardened opponents who possessed a number of quality players in their line-ups.In contrast, the current team, which is still ranked only seventh of the ten test nations, have beaten eight-ranked New Zealand twice at home, ninth-ranked Bangladesh twice away and now the unranked Zimbabwe.Add to that the fact that the West Indies, since defeating England by an innings in Kingston in February, 2009, have played 37 tests with only one victory over a team ranked higher than themselves (Pakistan in Guyana in May, 2011), and it becomes clear that while the team is clearly improving, they are undoubtedly flattered by their present run of success.

South Africa bowled out for 191 in rainy 2nd ODI

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CENTURION (AP) - Mohammad Irfan polished off South Africas top order with a career-best 4-33 as Pakistan bowled out the Proteas for 191 in the rain-shortened second one-day international on Friday.Rain stopped play for nearly 2 1/2 hours and the match was reduced to 44 overs a side.The 2.16-meter (7-foot-1) paceman Irfan troubled batsmen with his extra bounce and removed Hashim Amla (17) and first ODI century-maker Colin Ingram off successive deliveries before getting rid of Graeme Smith (10) and Faf du Plessis (17) to leave South Africa reeling at 62-5 in 11 overs.Farhaan Behardien (58) scored a fighting maiden half century and holed out in the deep a ball before the thunderstorm forced the players off the field in the 39th over. Robin Peterson (44) added 67 with Behardien before he was the last man to be dismissed in the 44th over.Pakistans decision to include a third paceman in place of a batsman paid off as South Africa captain AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat first.Irfan extracted lot of bounce from the SuperSport Park pitch and found the edges of Amlas and Ingrams bats in his third over. Ingram was adjudged caught behind by television umpire Kumar Dharmasena despite inconclusive replays of hot spot.De Villiers also misjudged the extra bounce of Junaid Khan and was caught in the slips while attempting to leave a short-pitched delivery off the left-arm paceman.Irfan bowled a lengthy opening spell of seven overs and further dented South Africa with Smith getting a faint edge, and du Plessis was brilliantly caught and bowled by the diving fast bowler with his left hand.Behardien repaired the innings with partnerships of 44 with Ryan McLaren (17) and another 67 off 108 balls with Robin Peterson.Beherdiens dismissal and the immediate thunderstorm robbed the South Africans of momentum.The home team was 177-7 in 38.4 overs when rain started and Pakistan did well to allow only 14 more runs when play resumed. Dale Steyn was tied down for 16 balls but could not open his account before he was bowled by Khan.Steyn replaced Rory Kleinveldt in the only change made by South Africa from the team which defeated Pakistan by 125 runs in the first match of the five-game series last Sunday.Offspinner Saeed Ajmal did well to contain South Africa with a tidy 2-23 while Khan (2-29) and Mohammad Hafeez (2-35) were also amongst the wickets.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 3/16/2013 07:22:00 AM

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