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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

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New Zealand's Mills follows Vettori into retirement

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Mills announced his retirement from all cricket Wednesday, following Daniel Vettori in calling it quits after the World Cup final.Mills was consistently ranked among the worlds top 10 one-day bowlers throughout his illustrious 14-year career, and for a long time was ranked number one.Its been an honour and privilege to play cricket for my country over the past 14 years and I will miss it greatly, the 36-year-old said.However the time is right for me to step away from playing this great game and devote more time to my family who have sacrificed so much for me to keep playing the game I love.Mills represented New Zealand in 170 ODIs and took 240 wickets to be the Black Caps second highest wicket-taker in the shortened game behind Vettori, who took 297.Vettori announced his international retirement on Tuesday when the New Zealand side returned from Melbourne after losing the World Cup final to Australia by seven wickets.Mills took part in three World Cups, although in the latest edition he was one of three members of the New Zealand squad who did not take the field as the Blacks Caps kept a largely unchanged line up throughout the tournament.He also played 42 Twenty20s and 19 Tests for his country.Kyle has been a wonderful ODI player over a long period of time and, but for injury, would have played closer to 200 games for New Zealand, New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said.However, what Ill always remember Kyle for most was when he knocked over the England Test teams top-order during his match-winning spell at Hamilton in 2008, dismissing in quick succession Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.Mills finished that innings with his best return of four for 16 from 13 overs. His best ODI figures were five for 25 against South Africa in Durban in 2007.To have the longevity that Kyles had takes an incredible work ethic and desire to represent your country, coach Mike Hesson said.On top of what hes achieved on the field, hes also a fantastic bloke and a great team man. Hes a natural leader who did a superb job of captaining the side in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka last year and has brought a lot of passion to the group.

Australia's final World Cup sledge ends with apology

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has offered an unusual half-apology after his final World Cup sledging of New Zealand, suggesting that liquid celebrations may have fuelled his frank comments during a radio interview.The arch sledger had been at the forefront of big send-offs for Kiwi batsmen Martin Guptill and Grant Elliott as well as spinner Daniel Vettori after their key dismissals in Sundays final in Melbourne, where Australia thrashed their traditional rivals.The next day Haddin went on local radio and, asked about the send-offs, added a few more remarks.You know what? They deserved it, the wicketkeeper said.They were that nice to us in New Zealand (when Australia lost a pool match) and we were that uncomfortable. They were that nice to us the whole week.I said in the team meeting: I cant stand for this anymore. Were going at them as hard as we can.I said, Im not playing cricket like this. If we get another crack at these guys in the final Im letting everything (out). And Im not going to play another one-day game so they can suspend me for as long as they like.But Haddin has since tempered his words and suggested the celebrations after winning the tournament might have had something to do with his comments.We were celebrating a World Cup win and enjoying ourselves after a long tournament, he said.In hindsight, we should have stayed off the radio. If I offended anyone, it was never my intention.Haddins sober remarks stood in stark contrast to his earlier on-air descriptions of the party antics of coach Darren Lehmann and all-rounder James Faulkner among other players.Ill paint a picture for you now, Haddin said during the radio interview. Ive got a coach whos spooning the World Cup who cant speak.Ive got James Faulkner whos got his clothes off but dont tell everyone.And Ive got the Marsh boys, and you know I cant even talk about the Marsh boys because you know what trouble they have.Ive got Josh Hazlewood ... hes never been drunk in 30 years. Its a problem. We just cant get him drunk. Hes an absolute nightmare to drink with.Defeated New Zealand arrived home Tuesday after diplomatically playing down the send-offs.It wasnt really discussed within the group, said captain Brendon McCullum.Send-offs are send-offs. Its not something we necessarily are concerned about. I think the focus should be on how well Australia played and how they deserved this victory rather than any minor issues.Australia won by a crushing seven wickets.

Tennis: Djokovic storms back to reach Miami quarters

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MIAMI (AFP) - Desperate Novak Djokovic fought back from a set and a break down to defeat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-0 Tuesday, salvaging hopes of defending his Miami Open title.World number one Djokovic won 24 of the last 27 points to reach a quarter-final against Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 winner over Frenchman Gilles Simon at the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament.Ukraine challenger Dolgopolov was unable to stretch his lead to a double break in the second set, Djokovic saving two break points in the fourth game.I was really frustrated, Djokovic said.The Serbian top seed turned the match on its head in a 22-minute final set in which he could do no wrong, sustaining his chance for a US double after his Indian Wells final victory over Roger Federer.Dolgopolov began breaking down in the third set after getting blisters on both feet taped. Near the end he was clasping at his thighs with cramps as he went down to defeat.Britains Andy Murray won his 500th career victory, defeating South Africas Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.The third-seeded Scotsman, who holds two Grand Slam titles, needed his best effort against his 17th-ranked rival.Murray, who has won four of five matches against Anderson, improved his career match record to 500 triumphs and 155 defeats with 31 titles, including the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon crowns.I hope Ive still got a lot more wins in me, Murray said. To get to 500 is good. Its not an easy thing to do at my age. Its nice. Hopefully I can keep going.Murray is the first British man, the ninth active player and the 46th man in the post-1968 Open Era to achieve the 500-win plateau.There have not been loads of players that have done it. Its nice for me the fact that it happened here as well, said Murray, who trains in Miami in the off-season. Its just fitting just because I have spent so much time training here and working to get better and to improve. That was nice.Next up for Murray will be Austrian Dominic Thiem, who defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-5.He had his best year on the tour last year. Hes a very talented guy. Hes strong, said Murray. I know him fairly well and practice with him quite a bit. I expect tomorrow will be a tough match.Japans fourth seed Kei Nishikori beat Belgian David Goffin 6-1, 6-2 with Nishikori set to move to a career-best fourth in the world, sending Rafael Nadal to fifth.Another quarter-final was set as Czech eighth seed Tomas Berdych advanced thanks to a mid-match withdrawal from Frances injury-hit Gael Monfils.Berdych won 6-3, 3-2 when his opponent stopped a game after falling heavily on his right hip. Monfils has now withdrawn 15 times in his career.In the end I feel sorry for Gael. Thats not the ideal way to finish up the match, Berdych said. But in the end, Im through. Thats what matters. Thats what counts.Im happy with the win. Really its not the way that you want to finish the match, but thats how it is. So we need to move on and just go for the next one.Berdych will take on Argentinas Juan Monaco, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Fernando Verdasco. Monaco will be playing in the last eight at the ATP Masters level for the first time in three years.On the womens side, German ninth seed Andrea Petkovic ousted Czech 14th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2, in a quarter-final.Petkovic saved six of the eight break points she faced while breaking five times in the 75-minute victory.Ive been playing really well in practice but I just couldnt transfer my game into the match, and I was very upset and very disappointed with that, Petkovic said.But now Im playing well, it was good that I stayed calm. I believed in myself. I knew that I was playing well and I worked on a lot of things.

Tennis: Britain's Murray takes milestone 500th victory

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MIAMI (AFP) - Britains Andy Murray won his 500th career victory Tuesday, defeating South Africas Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the ATP and WTA Miami Open quarter-finals.The third-seeded Scotsman, who holds two Grand Slam titles, needed his best effort against his 17th-ranked rival.Murray, who has won four of five matches against Anderson, improved his career match record to 500 triumphs and 155 defeats with 31 titles, including the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon crowns.A brief post-match ceremony paid tribute to Murrays achievement.Murray is the first British man, the ninth active player and the 46th man in the post-1968 Open Era to achieve the 500-win plateau.Next up for Murray will be Austrian Dominic Thiem, who defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-5.Another quarter-final was set as Czech eighth seed Tomas Berdych advanced thanks to a mid-match withdrawal from Frances injury-hit Gael Monfils. Berdych won 6-3, 3-2 when his opponent stopped a game after falling heavily on his right hip. Monfils has now withdrawn 15 times in his career.In the end I feel sorry for Gael. Thats not the ideal way to finish up the match, Berdych said. But in the end, Im through. Thats what matters. Thats what counts.Im happy with the win. Really its not the way that you want to finish the match, but thats how it is. So we need to move on and just go for the next one.Berdych will take on Argentinas Juan Monaco, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Fernando Verdasco. Monaco will be playing in the last eight at the ATP Masters level for the first time in three years.Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer beat French 12th seed Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-5), 6-0.On the womens side, German ninth seed Andrea Petkovic ousted Czech 14th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2.

Football: Cape Verde record historic win over Ronaldo-less Portugal

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Cape Verde upset a weakened Portugal 2-0 in Estoril on Tuesday as seven days of international football friendlies involving African teams ended.Portugal lacked many stars, including the biggest one of all Cristiano Ronaldo, having won 2-1 at home against Serbia just 48 hours earlier in a Euro 2016 qualifier.The Blue Sharks scored twice within six minutes close to half-time at Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota for a rare away victory over European opposition.An Odair Fortes cross found the corner of the net on 38 minutes and Gege tapped the ball over the goal-line at the far post to double the lead to seal a win over a side that had four players making their debuts. Former Portuguese colony Cape Verde comprises a string of islands off the coast of Senegal and has just 500,000 inhabitants.The Sharks are ranked 38 in the world -- 31 places below Portugal -- and made a first-round exit from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea after three consecutive draws.Ghana and Mali drew 1-1 at Stade Sebastien Charlety in southern Paris, enabling both countries to avoid suffering two straight losses during the international window.Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, who has not scored for Serie A outfit Udinese this season, put the 2015 Cup of Nations runners-up ahead on 53 minutes.He nudged a through ball past Soumaila Diakite and then ran past the fallen goalkeeper to tap the ball into the net.Bakary Sako from English second-tier promotion contenders Wolves levelled by converting a 71st-minute penalty needlessly conceded when Richmond Boakye fouled Molla Wague.Malian Modibo Maiga rattled the crossbar during the first half and Boakye struck the post after half-time.Mali lost 4-3 to Gabon last Wednesday and Ghana fell 2-1 to Senegal three days later.A stoppage-time equaliser from Yu Dabao forced Tunisia to settle for a 1-1 draw with China in the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre stadium. After conceding a couple of late goals to lose 2-0 in Japan, the Tunisians looked set for victory having taken the lead on 39 minutes.Substitute Mohamed Ali Moncer crept unnoticed to the far post and gave the Chinese goalkeeper no chance with a powerful header.Saber Khalifa wasted a chance to double the advantage soon after half-time as his penalty was blocked and he fired the rebound wide.Democratic Republic of Congo, who exceeded expectations with a third-place Cup of Nations finish, were the only African team to lose both friendlies.A 1-0 defeat by Iraq at Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium in Sharjah followed a 2-1 loss to the same country three days ago at another United Arab Emirates venue.Yaser Kasim from English third-level side Swindon Town scored the winner on the hour, running across the field just outside the box before unleashing an unstoppable rising shot.Corentin Martins celebrated his first success since succeeding fellow Frenchman Patrice Neveu as coach of Mauritania with a 2-0 victory over Niger in Nouakchott.After 73 goalless minutes at Stade Olympique, Adama Ba put the hosts ahead from a penalty and Ali Abeide added a second soon after.Moussa Konate, whose two goals sank Ghana last Saturday, was on target again as Senegal won 2-1 at French Ligue 2 club Le Havre. Pape Souare was the other Teranga Lions scorer.

Olympics: First Rio Games tickets go on sale

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Tickets for the Rio Olympics went on sale Tuesday with the first batch of a total 7.5 million tickets made available online to thousands of fans who had pre-registered via the official web portal, www.rio2016.com portal.The sales process for Brazilian nationals and residents started from 1700 GMT after organizers last week released a detailed competition schedule for each sport allowing fans to seek out their favoured events.Tuesday, fans were asked to choose based on sport, game day and event site, give their financial details and apply online.One missing element was tickets for football matches due to be held in Sao Paulo amid a dispute with Corinthians football club, owners of the Corinthians Arena, over who must pay for overlay costs to adapt the venue for the Olympic tournament.The club wants local government to stump up funds running to an estimated $10 million, though the figure is widely disputed.The football event is the only sport to host action outside Rio owing to the amount of matches.World governing body FIFA has given the green light to six cities and seven stadiums -- Rio, Salvador, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Manaus in Amazonia and Sao Paulo.Porto Alegre in the south and Fortaleza in the northeast are possible stand-in options should Sao Paulo ultimately be dropped -- but organizers insist there is no plan B.Tuesday, a source said: Sao Paulo football tickets will be included in due course once negotiations are completed.Home fans had to register via the official website for the initial sales phase running to April 30.Seventy percent -- or 5.2 million -- tickets have been earmarked for Brazilian residents, millions of whom will be eligible for discounts and also able to pay in up to five monthly instalments.Tickets will bear the name of the applicant, each of whom may apply for up to 20 event sessions and a maximum of 4-6 for each -- four for the most popular attractions. An electronic platform is being established to redistribute returns.Foreign fans must apply through a separate process for the August 5-21, 2016 extravaganza, South Americas first ever Olympiad.Fans have been required to register for both lottery draws -- the current one whose result will be announced in June, then again in July, prioritizing unsuccessful first-wave applicants.A real time, first come first served, sale of remaining tickets will follow from October for Brazilians and Brazil residents.On-site box office sales for the remnants will then start from June next year prior to tickets being sent out from May, completing what organizing committee president Carlos Nuzman and commercial executive director Renato Ciuchini praised earlier this year as a fair and transparent process.Just over half of the tickets will be available for 70 reais ($30) or less.The cheapest full price tickets will be 40 reais for weightlifting.Pensioners, the disabled and students will enjoy half price concessions, meaning the cheapest deal of all will be just 20 reais.National Olympic Committees have around one million -- around 13 percent of the total -- to sell to foreign fans outside of Brazil via authorised resellers listed on the official site.Three percent of tickets will cost upwards of 600 reais for marquee events, including the mens 100m final whose defending champion is world record holder Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt.Such events are pricey propositions for the poorest fans in a country where the minimum monthly wage is just 788 reais ($246) after Januarys annual readjustment.The most expensive seats of all will be box seats for the opening ceremony at the Maracana stadium costing a hefty 4600 reais ($1440). Organizers have warned ticket touts will face fines -- selling tickets on for higher than face value, a practice illegal in Brazil but which notably occurred at last years World Cup.

Barriers outside Bilawal House removed

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - The barriers and barricades placed outside Bilawal House in Karachi have been removed on night between Tuesday and Wednesday. Heavy machinery was used to remove the barriers.According to PPP leader Sherry Rehman, the barriers outside Bilawal House have been removed on the directives of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.Zardari had given orders to remove barriers outside Bilawal House despite security threats. Necessary directives were issued to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in this regard.Rangers had appealed to Karachi citizens last week to remove barriers from their neighbourhoods within three days, as they were hampering movement of law enforcement agencies.

Tiny songbird can fly the Atlantic, say scientists

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PARIS (AFP) - A diminutive songbird weighing the equivalent of just three teaspoons of sugar can fly over the north Atlantic, scientists said on Tuesday, resolving a 50-year mystery.The tiny superbird is the blackpoll warbler (Setophaga striata), they reported in the journal Biology Letters.Tipping the scale at a mere 12 grammes (4.2 ounces), the white-throated, black-capped bird migrates each autumn from New England to South America.For half a century, scientists have debated whether the birds fly non-stop over the ocean or take breaks on land to carry out this marathon flight.Backpack flight recorders, attached to 40 of the birds, have now provided irrefutable evidence that they do it all in one go, the scientists said.The geolocators, weighing only 0.5g (0.02 ounces), found that the birds completed an astonishing non-stop flight of between 2,270 and 2,770 kilometres (1,410-1,721 miles).This was the distance from their summer homes in Vermont and Nova Scotia to Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Greater Antilles islands, where they made landfall before continuing to northern Venezuela and Colombia.The devices were able to track the birds flight path but were not big enough to transmit the data in real time.Three devices with the stored information were recovered for analysis from the Vermont birds, and two from the Novia Scotia group.Albatrosses, sandpipers and gulls are famous for their ultra-long flights -- but they have broad, long wings and can settle on water if they get tired or blown off course.For a forest bird no bigger than a tennis ball, which would drown if it touched the sea, to do such a feat is a wonder, the researchers said.For small songbirds, we are only just now beginning to understand the migratory routes that connect temperate breeding grounds to tropical wintering areas, said Bill DeLuca at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Were really excited to report that this is one of the longest non-stop overwater flights ever recorded for a songbird, and finally confirms what has long been believed to be one of the most extraordinary migratory feats on the planet.The trackers provided confirmation that had thwarted previous investigations into the blackpolls.The indirect evidence in favour of an Atlantic voyage was fairly strong, said Ryan Norris, a professor of biology at the University of Guelph, Ontario.You have birds landing on ships in the Atlantic, radar studies off the tip of Nova Scotia showing the birds heading south, and very few sightings of blackpolls in the southern US in the fall.

New ECB chairman Graves mulls four-day Tests

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LONDON (AFP) - Incoming England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves confirmed on Tuesday that he is considering tabling proposals to shorten Test matches from five days to four.Personally, I think we should look at four-day Test cricket and play 105 overs a day starting at 10.30am in the morning, and finish when you finish as all the grounds now have lights, Graves, who takes up his role in May, told the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) website.The ECB could not itself introduce four-day Test matches, but it could push for changes to the Test format in international negotiations.Expanding on the idea, Graves added: Every Test match would start on a Thursday, with Thursday and Friday being corporate days and then Saturday and Sunday the family days.From a cost point of view, youd lose that fifth day, which would save a hell of a lot of money from the grounds point of view and the broadcasters. I would look at that.The proposals first came to light earlier this year after an ECB document entitled Strategy Conversation Summary was leaked.Reacting to the leak, the ECB revealed that it was in the early stages of formulating a long-term strategy for the game in England and Wales, which we anticipate will take a year to complete.Graves and new ECB chief executive Tom Harrison have also held initial talks about future proposals for the English county championship and a possible English Premier League Twenty20 competition.

McCullum joins Birmingham Bears for T20 Blast

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LONDON (AFP) - New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum confirmed Tuesday he has signed for the Birmingham Bears for the defence of their T20 Blast title.McCullum joins the Bears -- Warwickshires T20 name -- on a seven-match deal after playing a major role as New Zealand reached the World Cup final, where the Black Caps lost to co-hosts Australia.The Birmingham Bears had a great season last year, including winning the T20 Blast, and hopefully I can make a big contribution and ensure that we can progress in the tournament, said McCullum.Edgbaston is a fantastic ground to play at and hopefully it will be rocking for the big Friday night matches. Im really excited about becoming a Bear and the challenge ahead.McCullum will link up with the Bears after New Zealands tour of England with his first game against Lancashire Lightning on June 26 at Old Trafford.He played a starring role at the top of the order in the Black Caps run to the World Cup final.Among his four half-centuries in nine matches was a destructive 77 off just 25 balls against England in Wellington.Birmingham Bears director of rugby Dougie Brown said: Brendons dynamic performances in the ICC Cricket World Cup have demonstrated once again exactly why he is one of the most feared batsmen in the game.Securing his availability for our last seven games has to make him one of the biggest overseas player signings in the competitions history.His power at the top of the order and experience of playing in big matches are great assets to bolster our already strong squad as we look to win through to the quarter-finals and defend our NatWest T20 Blast title.McCullum is the leading run scorer in the history of T20 internationals, with 2,105 at an average over 35, with two centuries.

Oil slumps as Iran talks deadline looms

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices fell Tuesday as global powers and Iran raced to reach a deal on Tehrans nuclear program that could ease sanctions on the crude producer, adding to the global oversupply.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery lost ground for the third day in a row, losing $1.08 to $47.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May, the global benchmark, tumbled $1.18 to settle at $55.11 a barrel.Marathon talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, looked set to miss a self-imposed Tuesday midnight deadline (2200 GMT) to agree the outlines of a agreement that could lead to an easing of sanctions placed on Iran based on beliefs that it was developing a nuclear weapon.As the deadline nears late Tuesday, Washington said there had been enough progress to keep going into Wednesday.An Iranian nuclear deal could mean an eventual increase in Iranian supply that has the potential to turn a passing surplus into a more persistent oversupply on the global market, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.Commerzbank analysts, citing shipping sources, said that Iran has at least 30 million barrels of oil in storage onboard tankers.In other words, it could make an additional one million barrels of crude oil available per day for at least a month if sanctions were to be lifted, without even having to ramp up its oil production, putting immediate pressure on the market, Commerzbank said in a research note.The stronger dollar also weighed on oil, which is priced in the US currency. The euro was down to $1.0746 around 1845 GMT, from $1.0825 late Monday, on Greek debt pressures.Meanwhile, traders awaited the Department of Energys weekly US oil inventories report Wednesday, expecting another increase in crude stockpiles to a new record high.

Dollar firms as US consumers grow more confident

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar gained further ground against the euro Tuesday as traders weighed an upbeat report on American consumer confidence and tense Greek bailout talks. The Conference Boards March consumer confidence report came in better than expected, solidly rebounding from a slump in February. Americans were more optimistic about conditions in the worlds largest economy in the coming months, particularly about jobs availability and wage growth.The confidence report came ahead of Fridays US March jobs report.Another strong month of hiring in excess of 200,000 (net new jobs) would reinforce an outlook of higher US interest rates and buoy the greenback, said Joe Manimbo, an analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.Traders followed the tortuous talks between Greece and its creditors on a disputed list of reforms presented by Athens in hopes of unblocking 7.2 billion euros in loans to stave off a possible debt default and eurozone exit.EU Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that the negotiations were complex, and a late April deadline agreed between Greece and its EU-IMF creditors was still within reach.I hope we will reach an agreement by the end of April, for me it is possible, Tusk said.

France refuses supply of submarines over issue of transfer of technology

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Secretary Defense Alam Khattak said on Friday that forces would be sent to Saudi Arabia on the discretion of government. Talking to the standing committee, Alam Khattak was told that the transfer of submarines to Pakistan was suspended by France due to issues pertaining to transfer of technology, reported Dunya News.Secretary Defense Lieutenant General(R) Alam Khattak explained army’s stance for the first time during the ongoing Yemen crisis.The Defense Secretary said that the army would follow the policy outlined by the government.Disagreement arose between members of the committee regarding Pakistan’s involvement in Yemen crisis at the meeting.Officials of Pakistan Navy told the committee that government had sent a summary to Chinese government for demand of 8 submarines.The officials told the meeting that government was in talks with Germany, Britain and France regarding procurement of submarines however France has refused amid worries over transfer of technology.The officials informed that the Navy was being upgraded to in accordance with defense policy which demanded the induction of submarines into the fleet.The defense officials dismissed the claims of Chinese equipment as faulty adding that the defense technology acquired from China is completely reliable.

Jinnah Ground incident violates electoral code of conduct: ECP

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ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Jinnah Ground incident has on Tuesday been declared as violation of the electoral code of conduct by the Election Commission of Pakistan. It directed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to display political reconciliation and tolerance, Dunya News reported.The ECP took notice of the clash between PTI and MQM workers in Jinnah Ground Karachi and declared it as violation of electoral code of conduct. ECP directed the leaders and workers of both the parties to stop hurling baseless allegations against each other.ECP directed the two parties to act with maturity and adopt political reconciliation. It also directed them to hold public meetings in accordance with the orders of the district administration.

Muslim myths surrounding April Fools' Day - and reality

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LAHORE: (Web Desk) – There are many myths and legends surrounding the April Fool’s Day and almost all of them look quite compelling, especially when compared to the myths circulating on the internet, and given currency to by some of the columnists in Pakistan, regarding the victimization of the Muslims by Christians on this day. There are several such stories circulating on the web but the top three will be discussed here.Fall of Granada and Christian conspiracy:Granada was one of the most glorious cities ruled by the Muslims in the past. It was the heart of Muslim Spain containing some of the most beautiful monuments built by the Umayyad caliphs of the region. The conspiracy theory regarding the fall of Granada says that the Muslims were unbeatable in Spain some 1000 years ago. When the Christians of Spain realized that they could not defeat the Muslims in a combat, they finally decided to introduce liquor and tobacco to the Muslims, according to this theory. When in 1492, the Muslim fort was finally taken by Ferdinand and Isabella; they celebrated the day as April Fool’s Day because according to this theory, Christians conspiracy had worked.Fact:To discredit this theory, the very fact that Muslims surrendered on 12th of January and not 1st of April is enough. However, there is more to it. Truth is that the Europeans were introduced to tobacco after quite some time and Muslims were introduced to liquor way before 1492.Muslim massacre by Spaniards:Another story says that when Muslims were being shipped back from Spain after the fall of Granada in 1492, they were given guarantees of security by the Spaniards. But when they were in the middle of the sea, all of them were massacred by the Spanish crew of the ship.Fact:The theory is again highly misleading as Muslims were not ordered to evacuate Spain until 1609.Bahadur Shah Zafar presented with his son’s skull:When the last king of Mughal dynasty Bahadur Shah II, or more commonly known as Bahadur Shah Zafar, was sacked by the East India Company in 1857 as a result of the mutiny in India, he was exiled to Burma, currently Myanmar. It is said that he was presented with his son’s skull as breakfast on April 1st and that it was an act of celebrating April Fool’s Day by Major Hodson.Fact:This theory also remains ill-founded. Although Bahadur Shah was presented with his son’s skull but that was in accordance with the Nowruz celebrations, a Persian festival that was regularly celebrated in Mughal India. Although the festival also starts on March 21 and this is quite possible that the skull arrived a few days late given the means of transport in those days, the fact remains that it was in accordance with Nowruz and not the April Fools’ Day.The latest: Tipu Sultans deathIn a stream of conspiracy theories, the latest one has been coined by none other than the Punjab governments spokesperson Syed Zaeem Hussain Qadri who has said on Tuesday that Muslims should not celebrate April Fools Day because Tipu Sultan, the eighteenth century Muslim ruler of the Mysore kingdom, in Southern India, also embraced martyrdom on 1st of April.Fact:Although remedies as banal as facts cannot cure the disease that the conspiracy theorists suffer from, the sad fact is that this theory, too, is ill-founded. Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Tipu, or Tipu Sultan, actually embraced martyrdom on 4th of May, 1799.Reality of April Fools Day:According to most historians, April Fools’ Day started to be celebrated in the sixteenth century when the Pope declared 1st of January as the start of the New Year replacing 1st April, which was previously believed to be the first day of the year. There were some people who refused to celebrate the New Year on 1st of January and stuck with 1st of April. These were the people who were started to be called as April Fools by those who had abided by the Pope’s verdict and had started to celebrate the New Year on 1st of January.However, there is nothing concrete. Even this theory is contested by many others but one thing is for sure that all the myths about Muslims being fooled into massacre by the Christians on 1st of April stand completely baseless.The most beautiful of all these theories is that of the Earth’s indigenous people celebrating the arrival of the spring season and playing pranks over each other to enjoy the festival, or whatever that would be. This must have been for all the people across the globe and something that would unite the people living throughout the world in those days unlike the theories that divide the people today.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 4/01/2015 07:44:00 AM

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