.

Cricket - Sports

Loading...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Obama congratulates Nawaz, wishes to meet soon

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama called Pakistan's incoming prime minister Nawaz Sharif to congratulate him on his election win and to pledge strong cooperation with Islamabad, the White House said Tuesday.Today the president spoke by phone with Nawaz Sharif to congratulate him on his party's success in May 11 parliamentary elections, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.The president also thanked Mr. Sharif for his role in the historic transfer of power between civilian governments, a significant milestone in Pakistan's democracy, Carney said.The two leaders agreed to continue to work together to strengthen US-Pakistan relations and advance our shared interest of a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan and region, the statement said.Obama also praised the extraordinary voter turnout and courage shown by Pakistanis determined to cast their votes despite intimidation and violence by extremists.Pakistan has had an uneasy relationship with the United States ever since it was thrust into the frontline of America's anti-terror war after the September 11 attacks in 2001.Sharif said after his election that he would extend full support to Washington as US and NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.But he also faces intense domestic political pressure over Washington's unpopular drone strikes targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in the northwestern tribal belt.

Altaf demands re-poll in NA 250 constituency

Posted:

KARACHI (Dunya News) - Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold re-poll in the entire NA250 constituency instead of in 43 polling stations.Addressing a sit-in via telephone from London, Altaf Hussain said that is due to certain unknown reasons that the crew and election material did not arrive at dozens of polling stations in NA250 on elections day; but, its blame also has been leveled against the MQM.He said that people had gathered outside the EC office within one hour of MQM Coordination Committee call. Altaf Hussain said that upright people should be inducted in the Election Commission and people of entire NA-250 Constituency whether they were rich or poor should be given right of franchise.

England, New Zealand seek Lords swing

Posted:

LONDON (AFP) - It will be a case of familiarity having bred respect when England face New Zealand in the first of a two-Test series at Lord's on Thursday.England could have been forgiven for thinking they had completed the hard part of their most recent tour programme when they wrapped up an impressive Test series win in India before Christmas.They then travelled to New Zealand for a three-match series against a home side still reeling from the botched way in which senior batsman Ross Taylor was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Brendon McCullum.But the green pitches and easy haul of wickets against a New Zealand side who as recently as January had been bowled out for just 45 by South Africa in Cape Town did not materialise.Instead, a three-match series ended 0-0 with England clinging on, by just one wicket, to a draw in the finale at Auckland's Eden Park in March where only a superb rearguard century by wicket-keeper Matt Prior denied the Black Caps a famous win.But at least they had regained a measure of pride after their problems with the Proteas' formidable pace attack.Early season Tests in English conditions often pose particular problems for touring sides, although overcast skies are not exactly unknown in New Zealand.However, the raised seam of the English Duke ball provides an additional challenge for batsmen used to flatter balls elsewhere in the world.Left-armers Trent Boult and Neil Wagner proved a handful for England's batsmen in New Zealand and now Alastair Cook, the England captain, will look to his side to respond in kind.England seam-bowling all-rounder Stuart Broad is well aware of his skipper's requirements, saying: Regardless of what New Zealand did as a bowling unit, we didn't swing the ball.So it needs to be looked at, and we have looked at it. We know we can bowl a lot better than in New Zealand. Discipline too would be key, according to Broad, with England missing,Regardless of whether you are moving the ball, you can still put six balls in the over into the right area - and we probably didn't do that as a unit in New Zealand, said the Nottinghamshire all-rounder.Individuals might have done it here and there, but we were not disciplined enough to do it consistently. It is about the discipline of the bowling unit being together and building pressure. That's where we let ourselves down a bit in New Zealand.Hamish Rutherford was a thorn in England's side with an impressive debut hundred in March, his performance suggesting he could ease the heavy batting load carried by Taylor and McCullum.He's an interesting player ... the first time we bowled at him, he whacked 170 in the first Test in Dunedin, Broad said.It takes a bit of time to get used to different players like that - he makes 'fourth-stump' into width. He seems a pretty talented player - and as you look through that whole New Zealand line-up, they get quite aggressive the more you go down as well.New Zealand have lost five of their last six Test series in England, with their most recent triumph a well-deserved 2-1 success in 1999.It's often been the fate of New Zealand touring sides to be regarded as a 'warm-up act' for a main event of greater importance and inevitably they've taken second billing to the Ashes series in England starting in July.But against an England side missing injured star batsman Kevin Pietersen through injury, the tourists will fancy their chances.I can guarantee from our perspective these two Tests are massive for us, said Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, when his squad arrived in England. We are making progress as a side and we certainly wouldn't like to be the entre for the main course later on.

Earthquake shakes Islamabad, adjacent areas

Posted:

ISLAMABAD: An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale jolted the federal capital and adjacent areas.Epicenter of the quake was in eastern Kashmir at the depth of 133 kilometer, said seismic center.

Nigeria president calls state of emergency in three states

Posted:

ABUJA, Nigeria (AFP) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday imposed a state of emergency in three states menaced by Islamist group Boko Haram, saying the level of violence called for extraordinary measures.I hereby declare a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, Jonathan said in a televised speech, referring to the three northeastern states which have been among the hardest hit by the insurgency. He said more troops would immediately be deployed to the areas.Jonathan made a similar move in January 2012 following a spate of Boko Haram attacks, but in that case the decree only applied to specific local government areas in four states.In seeking to impose the measure across a whole state, Jonathan must first secure the approval of Nigerian legislators, which he pledged to do. The enhanced powers that come with the measure are unclear.When former president Olusegun Obasanjo invoked the measure twice in 2004 and 2006, he removed democratically elected governors and installed appointed administrators to manage the states, both former military officers.Jonathan vowed that he would not employ that measure. The governors and other political office holders in the affected states will continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities, he said.The Boko Haram insurgency, which the group says is aimed at creating an Islamic state in the countrys mainly Muslim north, has cost some 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.But a series of recent brazen attacks have raised concerns that insurgents have become emboldened, with Jonathan saying that the latest violence amounted to a declaration of war.

Dell raises intrigue by rescheduling 1Q report

Posted:

ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) - Struggling personal computer maker Dell will report its latest quarterly earnings ahead of schedule in a move likely to spur speculation that the results will be dismal.The schedule change announced Tuesday means Dell Inc. will release its fiscal first-quarter earnings after the market close this Thursday. The Round Rock, Texas, company had planned to report the results on May 21.Dell spokesman David Frink declined to say why the company made the switch.Theres high intrigue surrounding Dells earnings report because the company is trying to sell itself to CEO Michael Dell and other investors for $24.4 billion.Two of Dells biggest shareholders, billionaire Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, have made an alternate proposal in an attempt to block that deal.Dells board of directors so far has maintained the proposed sale to Michael Dell and his allies at $13.65 per share represents the safest deal for the companys shareholders because of a steady deterioration in PC sales as more people and businesses buy smartphones and tablets instead of laptop and desktop machines.The boards reasoning will be bolstered if Dells first-quarter results paint a bleak picture. The chances of a rosy outlook appear remote. The research firm International Data Corp. estimates Dells PC sales fell 11 percent during the first three months of this year. That downturn followed an 8 percent drop in Dells total revenue during its last fiscal year.Analysts surveyed by FactSet are predicting Dell will post adjusted first-quarter earnings of 35 cents per share on revenue of $13.5 billion. If those figures pan out, it would represent a 19 percent decrease in Dells adjusted earnings from last year and a 6 percent dip in revenue.Michael Dell, who founded the company 29 years ago while he was in college, says he can turn things around by focusing on more profitable areas of technology, such as business software and data storage. The changes could depress Dells results for several years, a factor in Michael Dells hopes to take the company private after 25 years on the stock market. He says Dell will be able to overhaul its business away from the glare and distractions of the stock market.Icahn and Southeastern disagree, arguing that existing shareholders should be given an opportunity to reap the gains for a turnaround. Their proposal would give shareholders the option of retaining a stake in Dell as a publicly held company. Icahn and Southeastern believe so strongly in their plan that they are mounting an effort to oust the 12-member board thats backing the companys sale to Michael Dell and replace it with directors who would support their alternate proposal.Dells stock shed 9 cents to $13.43 in afternoon trading Tuesday.

Prince Harry arrives in NYC after shore tour

Posted:

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, New Jersey (AP) - Britains Prince Harry and Prime Minister David Cameron are visiting New York City.The pair stepped off a red double-decker bus at an event in Manhattan as part of a campaign to promote England as a tourist destination and U.S. business partner.Earlier in the day, the prince toured two New Jersey shore communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy.Later hes scheduled to throw a pitch to promote a community baseball program involved with a royal foundation.Cameron spent the morning in Boston, where he visited a memorial to the marathon bombing victims.

Jury reaches verdict in Las Vegas Sands case

Posted:

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A jury has reached a verdict in a Hong Kong businessmans breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Las Vegas Sands, potentially bringing nine years of litigation to an end.Richard Suen sued the casino giant run by multibillionaire Sheldon Adelson for $328 million in 2004. He says the company owed him for his help securing a lucrative gambling license in the Chinese territory of Macau, the only place in that country where casino gambling is legal.Suen says he was hired by the Las Vegas Sands to curry favor with the Chinese government and was successful.Las Vegas Sands attorneys argued Suen was owed nothing because he didnt make good on his promise to aid company executives in 2000 and 2001.The Clark County District Court jury deliberated for about two days before reaching a consensus Tuesday. It is expected to be announced soon.

EU probes oil companies for possible price-fixing

Posted:

LONDON (AP) - European anti-trust authorities have launched investigations into at least three oil companies on suspicion of price-fixing.Britains BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Norways Statoil confirmed they are subject to the inquiry announced Tuesday by the European Unions executive arm, the Commission.Statoil said a raid at its headquarters in Stavanger, Norway, was carried out with the assistance of Norwegian antitrust officials. Norway is not a member of the EU. BP and Shell offered no details, but said they were cooperating with authorities.Platts, which compiles prices for energy markets, said the Commission also visited its London operations on Tuesday. Platts is a division of McGraw Hill Financial.Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in and providing services to the crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels sectors, the Commission said in a statement Tuesday. It did not identify the companies involved.The Commission said it had concerns that oil companies may have colluded in reporting distorted prices. Such prices are used to determine the market cost of several energy products in Europe and globally.Even small distortions of assessed prices may have a huge impact on the prices of crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels purchases and sales, potentially harming final consumers, the Commission said.The Commission said it was investigating whether the companies may also have prevented others from participating in the price assessment process, with a view to distorting published prices.EU antitrust officials can make unannounced inspections of a companys offices as a preliminary step in an investigation. Such probes do not mean the companies are guilty of any wrong-doing, the Commission said.There is no deadline for the completion of the investigation.

Palestinian rivals promise unity government

Posted:

CAIRO (AP) - A leading Palestinian official says rival groups Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a national unity government in three months.Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed said both sides agreed on a timetable that begins with creating laws to govern elections.Al-Ahmed spoke in Cairo after he met with a Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk. Tuesdays meeting was brokered by Egyptian intelligence officials.The Hamas militant group controls the Gaza Strip, while the Western-backed Palestinian Authority governs autonomous areas in the West Bank.In 2011, Hamas and Fatah leaders signed an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement that was not implemented.According to subsequent talks, the two factions were to form a national coalition government of independents to oversee legislative and presidential elections.

Hazard to miss Europa League final against Benfica

Posted:

AMSTERDAM (AFP) - Chelseas preparations for the Europa League final against Benfica were dealt a blow on Tuesday when manager Rafael Benitez revealed that Belgian forward Eden Hazard will miss the game with a hamstring injury.Hazard, one of the revelations of Chelseas season, hurt himself during his sides 2-1 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.He travelled to Amsterdam with his team-mates on Tuesday, along with club captain John Terry, who is a doubt with an ankle complaint, but Benitez said he would not feature in Wednesdays game.John, we will try and see how he feels. But we will decide tomorrow. Were Terry to be declared unavailable, it would be the second time in two seasons that he has been forced to miss a major European final, after he sat out last years Champions League triumph due to suspension.The former England captain was not guaranteed to play in any case, however, having lost his place in Benitezs starting XI, but Hazards absence will be keenly felt.The 22-year-old has scored 13 goals and laid on 20 assists since signing from Lille last year and was recently voted into the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Team of the Year by his peers.Wednesdays game gives Chelsea an opportunity to end a turbulent season by joining Juventus, Bayern Munich and Ajax as the only teams to have won all three of Europes top club competitions, including the now-defunct Cup Winners Cup.The Europa League was seen as something of an unwelcome consolation prize after Chelseas Champions League title defence ended in a humiliating group-stage exit, but midfielder Frank Lampard says that is no longer the case.You cant have it your own way every year, he said.Last year things went our way and we had a good run to the final. We were disappointed to find ourselves in the Europa League this year, but the closer you get to the final, the more you want to win it.Victory at the Amsterdam Arena will also make Benitez only the second coach after Giovanni Trapattoni to win the competition with two different clubs, after a previous success with Valencia in 2004.Benitez faced outright opposition from some of Chelseas fans when he succeeded Roberto Di Matteo in November, but although some ill-feeling remains, he is proud of his achievements at Stamford Bridge.Its a final, so I want to win, and if we can do, Ill be really proud because weve worked really hard in difficult circumstances and you have to give real credit to everyone, he said. If we win, itll be easier and people will realise that to be here at this stage of the competition means we have done well.Always you can improve, or make more mistakes. It was not an easy situation at the beginning and I think we managed it quite well. He added: We have played 68 games now, two games a week for some time. Imagine any team doing that, reaching semi-finals, and now a final.Whatever people say, we feel we have done a good job and we think we can do even better.Benitez also lamented the short-termism creeping into English football, after Roberto Mancinis sacking by Manchester City on Monday brought the number of Premier League managers to have lost their jobs this season to six.England is changing a little bit. I see society is going fast and football is going fast, said the Spaniard, who spent six successful years at Liverpool between 2004 and 2010.Everyone decides they want to win on the first day, and its not easy. When I decided to come to England, it was a five-year project and I was asked to work with young players.Now you have to win and if you cannot... Its changed a bit, and I think that its a pity.

A look at how Russia, US still spy on each other

Posted:

RUSSIA (AP) - Russian spies still operate in the U.S. and American ones in Russia. On Tuesday, Russias security services said they had caught a U.S. diplomat whom they claim is a CIA official trying to recruit a Russian agent.Heres some other cases of apparent spying between the old rivals:The Anna Chapman RingThese Russian spies lived in suburban U.S. homes and worked at jobs like real estate brokers or travel agents, quietly inserting themselves into American life and trying to penetrate U.S. policy circles. Court papers said Chapman and nine others assumed the identities of people who had died, swapped bags in passing at train stations and communicated with invisible ink and coded radio transmissions. After their 2010 arrests, all 10 pleaded guilty to spying charges. An 11th man was arrested in Cyprus but jumped bail.Dubbed a femme fatale, the red-headed Chapman, 28 at the time, became the most notorious member of the ring, partially because of glamorous photos she posted on social networking sites of her international travels. She has stayed in the limelight since her deportation to Russia, hosting a reality TV show, modeling lingerie and becoming the face of a Moscow bank.Sergei TretyakovTretyakov once called the United Nations a nest of spies. And he would know. For five years in the 1990s, Tretyakov worked at Russias diplomatic mission at the U.N , recruiting and running spies. He also found Canada to be fertile ground for finding people willing to rat on the U.S.Tretyakov claimed his agents helped Russia siphon nearly $500 million from the U.N. oil-for-food sanctions program for Iraq. Then in 2000, he defected to the U.S. Its thought that Tretyakov handed significant information over to Washington, although he never specifically confirmed that he became a double agent. He died in Florida in 2010 at age 53 of a heart attack.Stanislav Borisovich GusevGusev, a Russian diplomat, planted a bug inside the State Department in Washington, D.C., and then hung around on a bench outside the building or in his car to listen, according to U.S. authorities. Agents became suspicious when they spotted him feeding a parking meter outside State Department headquarters without ever going inside. He was arrested in 1999 and expelled from the U.S.Aldrich AmesAs a CIA officer in Turkey, Ames worked to turn Russians against their government. But in 1985, he switched sides himself, offering his services to the Soviets. He continued working for the Russians after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. He communicated with his handlers by leaving chalk marks on a Washington, D.C., mailbox. He eventually passed along to Moscow dozens of names of Russians who were spying for the U.S. The Soviet Union executed 10 of them. The FBI arrested Ames in 1994 and he pleaded guilty to spying that same year.

Mauritanian police sentenced over al-Qaeda plot

Posted:

NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) - A court in the capital Nouakchott ruled the policeman had served as a liaison between AQIM terrorists and prisoners from the organisation in Mauritania, the source said on condition of anonymity.He transmitted photos and security information between dangerous prisoners and their mentors, the source said, without elaborating.According to observers, this is the first time a member of the Mauritanian security services has been tried and sentenced for links with AQIM.Online news agency Alakhbar said the officer had provided AQIM with pictures and other information from inmates on the conditions of their detention in the northern Mauritanian Salah-Eddine airbase.The monitoring of prisoners convicted of terrorism and considered dangerous due to their suspected membership of AQIM is currently the responsibility of the national Mauritanian police force, the agency said.It was not immediately clear when the offences were committed or when the unnamed police officer was arrested.Thirteen members of AQIM, including eight on death row, were moved from the Mauritania capitals central jail to a secret location in 2011, security sources and relatives of the prisoners told AFP at the time.Among the eight sentenced to death, three had been found guilty of involvement in the murders of four French tourists in Aleg in south Mauritania in December 2007.

US, Russia, Iran unite against wrestling drop

Posted:

LUKE MEREDITH (AP) - The governments of the United States and Russia can sometimes be at odds.Americans and Iranians rarely see eye to eye on anything.But the possibility of wrestling losing its Olympic spot has given these three often-divergent nations a cause to rally around.The U.S., Russian and Iranian wrestling teams will meet on Wednesday for an historic exhibition in New York. Its a showcase event for what the sports international governing body has dubbed World Wrestling Month.The IOC in February recommended that wrestling be dropped from the Olympic program starting in 2020. Wrestling now has to plead its case to the IOC to be included as a provisional sport in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 29.The New York exhibition, known as The Rumble on the Rails and to be held at Grand Central Terminal, is designed to highlight the sports international appeal and popularity.The pre-meet news conference is even being held at the United Nations, and the meet will be televised live by the NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports a rarity for a sport struggling for ways to make itself more viewer-friendly.The Iranians, who will be competing in the U.S. for the first time in 10 years, will also compete against the Americans at an exhibition in Los Angeles on May 19.In this crisis, we all stick together. Wrestlers maybe can do, sometimes, what politicians cannot, said Nenad Lalovic, the acting president of FILA, the sports governing body. We love our sport, and we are united to save it.If theres one thing that the U.S., Russian and Iran have in common, its a proud tradition of wrestling success and a deep passion for the sport thats been re-ignited by the IOC.The Americans have won more Olympic medals in wrestling than any other country. When put in certain context, it can be argued that the U.S. wrestling team has been more successful than any other American Olympic team.The Russians are now the worlds premier wrestling nation. They won 11 medals in the recent London Olympics, including four golds, when no other nation claimed more than six medals.The Russians were furious at the IOCs recommendation, and their angst over the sports Olympic future stretches all the way to the top.The removal from the Olympic program of traditional forms of sports, which were its basis from the beginning and were in the program of the Olympic Games even in the time of ancient Greece is unjustified, Russian president Vladimir Putin said in March.But wrestling holds a place in Iranian culture that likely exceeds that of even the U.S. and Russia.Its often been said that wrestling is the national sport of Iran, where it doesnt have to compete with the likes of baseball, American football and hockey. The Iranians won three golds in London, backed by a fan section more boisterous than any other nation.Tehran also served as the first place for the international wrestling community to come together and start formulating a plan to save its Olympic status.The first major meet of the year, the World Cup, was held in Tehran roughly a week after the IOC decision, and the worlds top 10 wrestling nations including the U.S., Russia and Iran met to discuss how to respond to the IOC.

Paris image tarnished by PSG fans violence

Posted:

PARIS (AFP) - Pariss image, already tarnished by alarm over recent tourist muggings, has taken a further bashing after violence during a trophy parade to mark Paris Saint-Germains first French League win in 19 years.The shock violence occurred late Monday after up to 15,000 PSG fans, who had thronged the esplanade at Trocadero by the iconic Eiffel Tower to mark the victory, turned unruly and attacked tourists and others in the heart of the city.The unrest came amid increasing reports of thefts against tourists and a strike on April 10 by workers at the Louvre museum who complained that it had been plagued by gangs of increasingly aggressive pickpockets. Police had to patrol the museum.Smoke bombs were thrown and bars and restaurants were damaged during an hours-long confrontation between an 800-strong police presence and hardline PSG supporters known as ultras.In all 32 people suffered injuries and 39 arrests were made following the disturbances. French media reported that a number of tourists were targetted during the unrest.A PSG players cruise on the river Seine was cancelled and the team members hastily left the podium at the Place du Trocadero without addressing the crowd. They ended up feting the evening by eating pizza in a hotel, according to French media reports.This gives a terrible image of France, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on RTL radio.Basically I am furious and disgusted like many people. We must be very firm, very hard with these hooligans.The melee saw a scooter burnt and shop windows smashed and led to calls from the right-wing UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy for the resignation of Interior Minister Manuel Valls.Fabius brushed aside these suggestions, saying Manuel Valls is a good interior minister.Valls meanwhile said a ceremony to hand the trophy over to the champions in front of Paris city hall on Tuesday evening had been cancelled as well as all public events linked to the club.All public demonstrations in public places which are linked to Paris Saint-Germain are obviously not possible in the coming hours, he said on Europe 1 radio.Valls denounced the intolerable violence and vowed to make an example of the perpetrators.Restaurants on the famed Champs Elysees, including the celebrated Fouquets, had to close early as a result of the violence.Several hundred ultras -- some of whom have been banned from stadiums, hooligans, young and drunken -- attacked people and journalists and smashed shop windows and cars for several hours, Valls said.Paris police commissioner Bernard Boucault said that given the disturbances, PSG would never be granted a public celebratory parade again.Paris Saint-Germain, which was bought two years ago by Qatar Sports Investments and earlier this year signed football legend David Beckham, has struggled with fan violence in the past, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.In stark contrast to the violence in Paris, tens of thousands of Manchester United fans on Monday paid tribute to legendary boss Alex Ferguson who is stepping down after guiding the Red Devils to the English Premier League title for a 13th time.The event in Manchester passed off without incident.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 5/15/2013 07:35:00 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

World EYE

Loading...

  © Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP