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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Mumbai bomb suspect Yakub Memon hanged

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MUMBAI (AFP) - India on Thursday executed convicted bomb plotter Yakub Memon for his role in a series of co-ordinated attacks that killed hundreds of people in Mumbai in 1993, television stations reported.Memon was hanged at Nagpur jail in the western state of Maharashtra in the early hours of the morning, according to the NDTV and CNN-IBN news channels, after last-ditch pleas for clemency were rejected.The Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of Air India and a luxury hotel were among about a dozen targets of the March 1993 blasts, which killed 257 people in the deadliest attacks ever to hit India.They were believed to have been staged by Mumbais Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 1,000 people.Memon, a former accountant by profession, was the only one of 11 people convicted over the atrocity to have his death sentence upheld on appeal. The sentences on the others were commuted to life imprisonment.He has denied any involvement in the blasts during a staggered trial and appeal process that has bitterly divided opinion in India and led to calls from rights activists and an ex-judge for his life to be spared.Former Supreme Court judge Harjit Singh Bedi had said the Supreme Court should take notice of reports that Memon had co-operated with investigators and returned voluntarily from Pakistan, where he fled after the blasts.Others pointed out that his brother Tiger Memon was alleged to have masterminded the attacks, along with Mumbai gang boss Dawood Ibrahim. Both have been on the run since 1993.Memon and two other brothers were convicted in 2006 by a specially designated court, using controversial anti-terror legislation that was introduced after the attacks that is no longer on the statute books.Executions are only rarely carried out in India, but President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected a number of mercy pleas in the past three years, ending a de facto eight-year moratorium.The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks was hanged in 2012, while a Kashmiri separatist was executed in New Delhi the following year after being convicted of involvement in a deadly 2001 attack on the Indian parliament.The Memon family left for Dubai in the days before the 1993 bombings, but all except Tiger were arrested when they returned to India the following year.Eight members were charged over the attacks, all of whom denied any role in the atrocity. Memons father died during the long-running legal proceedings, three were acquitted and three others are serving life in prison, including Yakubs sister-in-law Rubina Memon.Amnesty India said before Yakubs execution it was disappointed by the decision to go ahead with the hangings.The judgement regrettably puts India in opposition to the global trend towards moving away from the death penalty, the rights group said.The attack also embroiled Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who is serving a prison sentence for buying weapons from gangsters accused of orchestrating the bombings.Memon was convicted by a specially designated court under the draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, which was promulgated immediately after the 1993 bomb blasts.The act lapsed two years later and was never revived, after activists accused the government of using it to harass Muslims.

Russia vetoes UN resolution on MH17 tribunal

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution Wednesday that sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine.Eleven of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, which had been drafted by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.Russia exercised its veto. Angola, China and Venezuela abstained. The Council session began with a moments silence in honor of the 298 people killed in the July 17, 2014 disaster.The resolution was supported by Britain, France and the US, which accuse pro-Russian separatist rebels of shooting down the Boeing 777 with a Buk surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia.Moscow denies involvement and blames the Ukrainian military. On Wednesday, its ambassador Vitaly Churkin launched into a lengthy defense of Russias actions, dishing the blame onto others.Churkin said Russian investigators had been denied equal access to the crash site and criticized what he said would have been criminal prosecution carried out in a closed fashion.What are the grounds to be assured of the impartiality of such an investigation? Churkin asked in a speech to the Council, lashing out against aggressive... propaganda in the media.Western powers on the Council, as well as Australia and the Netherlands, whose citizens together with Malaysia accounted for most of the victims, castigated Russia for its veto.They insisted the veto would do nothing to silence efforts to seek international justice for the perpetrators.It is tragic that Russia has used the privilege entrusted to it... to frustrate international peace and security, said US ambassador Samantha Power.The United States believes firmly that those who carried out this unspeakable crime cannot remain unnamed and unpunished, Power added.There cannot and will not be impunity.Thirty-nine Australians perished on board MH17. The countrys Foreign Minister Julie Bishop attended the Council vote in person, delivering a stinging rebuke on Russia.In a world with an increasing number of violent terrorist groups and other non-state actors... it is inconceivable that the Security Council would now walk away from holding to account those who brought down a commercial airplane, she said.The veto only compounds the atrocity, Bishop said. Excuses and obfuscation by the Russian Federation should be treated with the utmost disdain.She pledged to the families and friends of the victims that Australia will continue to do everything we can to ensure the perpetrators of this barbaric act are held to account.she said Australia and other members of the joint investigation team would decide on alternative prosecution mechanism to ensure that truth does prevail and those responsible for this unspeakable act will be brought to justice.Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders expressed his deep, deep disappointment and said his thoughts went out to the families of the victims who had placed hope in the creation of a tribunal.Most of the passengers on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were Dutch. The flight was downed over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Kievs armed forces and pro-Russian separatists.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin accused Russia point blank. There can be no reason to oppose this unless you are a perpetrator yourself, he said.This tribunal is about the truth. If you are afraid of truth you are definitely on the wrong side.Before the vote, Malaysias transport minister appealed to the Council to adopt the resolution and said a tribunal would be best placed to deliver justice to the families of the victims.All those who travel by air will be more at risk if the perpetrators are not held to account, Liow Tiong Lai said.

Deadly car bomb hits Yemen capital as fighting rages in south

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SANAA (AFP) - A car bomb claimed by the Islamic State group exploded outside a Shiite mosque in Yemens capital Wednesday, killing four people, as loyalist fighters advanced on a rebel-held airbase in the south.Witnesses said the blast was near a mosque of the Bohra sect of Shiite Islam, not far from Ath-Thawra Hospital in the Rammah district of Sanaa, where several attacks claimed by IS have targeted Shiite rebels who control the capital.An IS Twitter user calling himself Karar al-Moayad said the jihadist group had carried out the attack and that it had left several dead, while a medical source said another four people were wounded.Four people were also killed in a similar explosion on July 21, according to a toll provided by the Huthi insurgents, who control large parts of Yemen.Bomb attacks by the radical Sunni IS, which considers Shiites to be heretics, targeted several Shiite mosques in the capital on March 21 and killed 142 people.Meanwhile, clashes raged in the south, where pro-government forces expanded their area of control after recapturing the port of Aden, Yemens second city, after four months of fighting.The loyalists pushed back rebels in Lahoum, on Adens northern outskirts, following heavy fighting in which 12 rebels were killed, military sources said.Three pro-Hadi fighters were killed and dozens wounded, medical sources said.The area is on the road to Lahj, where loyalists have been tightening the noose on rebels, aiming to recapture the strategic Al-Anad airbase.The clashes and renewed anti-rebel air strikes Wednesday by a Saudi-led Arab coalition highlighted the failure of a five-day truce declared from midnight Sunday by the coalition to allow the delivery of desperately needed relief supplies.Four months of fighting has left 3,984 people dead, nearly half of them civilians, according to the United Nations.On Tuesday, the UN aid chief urged the Security Council to step up efforts to secure a pause in fighting.This conflict has brought appalling damage on an already suffering people, Stephen OBrien said.We must redouble our efforts to secure a pause in the fighting which is adhered to by all parties, to reach all those in need with basic assistance, and urgently to give time and space to seek to reach a more durable ceasefire and a political solution.OBrien said the much-needed aid response in Yemen was woefully under-resourced, with only $241 million (219 million euros) received out of a $1.6 billion UN appeal.Aid agencies had developed a plan to reach three million people during the truce with vital aid, including water, sanitation, food and healthcare.Eighty percent of Yemens population -- an estimated 21 million people -- are in need of aid and protection, and more than 10 million are struggling to obtain food and water, the UN says.In other developments, the exiled Yemeni government has issued an order for militiamen fighting alongside loyalist troops against the rebels to be merged into the armed forces.The countrys supreme defence council, which met in Riyadh Tuesday, decided to assimilate members of the Popular Resistance into the units of the armed forces and security forces, the government-run news agency said.The decision was to reward them for their brave contribution to defending the homeland.Popular Resistance units were formed when the Iran-backed rebels and their allies advanced on southern regions after they had overran the capital in September.

Israel PM approves 300 settler homes in occupied West Bank

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Wednesday the immediate construction of 300 settler homes in the occupied West Bank as his government came under pressure from right-wing Jewish groups.A senior Palestine Liberation Organisation official denounced the plans to build new homes as war crimes and accused Israel of sabotaging peace efforts.West Bank settlements are major impediments to peace negotiations with the Palestinians, who see the land as part of a future independent state, and Western nations have called on Israel to halt such projects.Both the United Nations and the European Union condemned Wednesdays announcement.UN chief Ban Ki-moon said settlements are illegal under international law, an impediment to peace and cannot be reconciled with Israels stated intention to pursue a two-state solution, his spokesman said in a statement released in New York.Ban urged Israel to halt and reverse such decisions in the interest of peace.A spokesman for the EU also said the decision called into question Israels stated commitment to a negotiated two-state solution in the Middle East peace process.The decision comes amid already strained relations between Israel and the United States, particularly over the July 14 nuclear deal with Iran, but Netanyahu is also under pressure to hold on to his razor-thin majority in parliament.After consultations in the prime ministers office, the immediate construction of 300 homes in Beit El has been authorised, Netanyahus office said, adding that planning for another 504 homes in annexed east Jerusalem had also been approved.According to the statement, the 300 units had been promised three years ago following the demolition of other homes in the Beit El settlement.The approval came after the Israeli High Court upheld earlier Wednesday a demolition order for two structures being built illegally in Beit El.The planned demolition had drawn protests from settler groups, who clashed with police at the site on Tuesday and Wednesday.Netanyahu had said he opposed the demolition, which began Wednesday.Right-wing members of his government also spoke out strongly against the demolition, and Education Minister Naftali Bennett addressed protesters at the site.On Wednesday, he immediately hailed the decision on new construction announced by Netanyahus office.This decision is a Zionist response, Bennett of the right-wing Jewish Home party said in a statement. This is the way in which we will build our country.Netanyahu holds only a one-seat majority in parliament following March elections and settler groups wield significant influence in his government.Israels government does not consider state-authorised settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal.They are seen as further complicating peace negotiations aimed at leading to an independent Palestinian state. Talks have been stalled since last year.These settlement measures and war crimes are part of a plan by Israeli leaders to impose a Greater Israel on historic Palestine and destroy the two-state solution and the chance for peace, senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi said.The two buildings being demolished in Beit El were reportedly on private Palestinian land that was seized by the army in the 1970s.Several hundred protesters clashed with police Tuesday as authorities took control of the buildings, then again Wednesday as demolition started.Police used water cannon to push back protesters and detained a number of people, an AFP photographer reported.In a separate incident Tuesday, several hundred people illegally entered the former Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank that Israel had evacuated in 2005.Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War and nearly 400,000 Jewish settlers currently live there.

Bangladesh confident of upset win against SAfrica

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DHAKA (AFP) - Asian minnows Bangladesh are confident of pulling off an upset victory against world number one South Africa in the deciding cricket Test starting on Thursday, captain Mushfiqur Rahim said. Speaking to reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday, Rahim said his players dominated the last Test against the Proteas in Chittagong before rain forced a draw.It is an opportunity against the worlds number one team and (to) put them under pressure, Rahim said.We almost dominated them in every sessions of the last match and we have the capability to pick up 20 wickets.But its not that we can win in one day, so we need to be consistent and that is a big challenge, he cautioned.Bangladesh have a poor record in Test cricket, but they are riding high after posting their highest ever total against South Africa of 326 in the first Test. Bangladesh also clinched 2-1 the preceding one-day international series against the Proteas.South Africa captain Hashim Amla denied his team was under pressure to restore pride despite being unbeaten in a Test series on the subcontinent since 2006.Certainly we are here to win. We started well in the last Test matchs first two sessions. It was a kind of a drifter in the two days after that, Amla told reporters.But this Test match everybody is excited. We managed to get a few training sessions although there was rain around.And thankfully the weather looks very good at the moment. Hopefully if we get a full five days, then its about us trying to do as well as we can.Amla said South Africa was unlikely to add another pacer to their lineup.South Africa fielded with three pacers -- Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander -- during the match in Chittagong.Steyn needs just one more wicket to join a select group of bowlers to claim 400 Test scalps.

India president and supreme court reject clemency for 1993 bombings plotter

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indias president and supreme court rejected last-ditch pleas to stay the execution of Yakub Memon over his role in the countrys worst-ever attack, clearing the way for him to be hanged on Thursday, the Press Trust of India reported.Lawyers and activists petitioned on behalf of Memon to supreme court Chief Justice H.L. Dattu after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected a clemency plea late on Wednesday.The failure of the 11th hour appeals mean Memon is set to be hanged on his 53rd birthday in Nagpur in the western state of Maharashtra.His lawyers had argued to the supreme court that executions are only to be carried out after seven days have passed following the rejection of a mercy petition.But in a pre-dawn hearing, the court ruled that because his first mercy petition had been rejected last year, the execution met the required rules.Ruling that a stay of (the) death warrant could be a travesty of justice, the court said that Memon had ample time after (the) rejection of first mercy petition to prepare himself for the last and final meeting with family members and for all other purposes, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.Anand Grover, who was among the group who petitioned on Memons behalf, condemned the supreme courts decision, however, as a tragic mistake and a tragic decision, according to PTI.Memon was convicted of plotting a series of coordinated bomb attacks in Indias commercial capital Mumbai in 1993 that killed 257 people, the deadliest attacks ever to hit the country.Authorities in Nagpur have barred people from assembling outside the jail and beefed up security in sensitive areas in Mumbai.Memon was the only one of 11 people convicted to have his death sentence upheld on appeal.

Tennis: Federer withdraws from Montreal ATP event

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MONTREAL (AFP) - Roger Federer withdrew from next months Rogers Cup ATP Masters event in Montreal on Wednesday as he builds toward the US Open. The 33-year-old world number twos withdrawal was announced in a press release, with reports citing scheduling issues for the pullout. I am disappointed that I wont be playing in Montreal because its a tournament and a city that I really enjoy and has incredible fans, the Swiss star said, adding that he hoped to return to the tournament in the future.Federer, beaten in the Wimbledon final earlier this month, is a two-time winner of the Rogers Cup when it was staged in Toronto in 2004 and 2006. He also finished runner-up last year to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Jerzy Janowicz of Poland was named to replace Federer in the main draw.

Golf: McIlroy out of WGC event, uncertain for PGA

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AKRON (AFP) - World number one Rory McIlroys ankle injury which prevented him from playing at The British Open forced him to withdraw on Wednesday from next weeks World Golf Championships event.McIlroy, who won the WGC event at Firestone Country Club last year, is also an uncertain starter for the final major of the season the PGA Championship in two weeks at Whistling Straits, where he is also the defending champion.Unfortunately, I will not be defending my World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational title, McIlroy said. Best of luck to all the competitors and I look forward to returning to Firestone in 2016.McIlroy suffered the injury in early July, rupturing ankle ligaments while playing football with friends.Second-ranked Jordan Spieth, who won this years Masters and US Open and was only one stroke off the pace at the British Open two weeks ago, could overtake McIlroy for the world number one ranking with a victory at next weeks WGC event, the same tournament McIlroy won last year to take the top spot.

Swimming: Ishchenko sets new record with 21st medal

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KAZAN (AFP) - Russias Natalia Ishchenko became the most decorated synchronised swimmer of all time on Wednesday as she won her 21st major medal by taking gold in the individual freestyle at the world championships in Kazan. Returning to action after having a baby, Ischenko racked up a score of 97.2333 to relegate Chinas Huang Xuechen into silver position on 95.7000, while Spaniard Ona Carbonell claimed bronze on 94.9000pts. The 29-year-old from Smolensk is a three-time Olympic champion and won the first of her 18 world titles in 2005. She is also a nine-time European champion.

Racing: 'Voice of Racing' O'Sullevan dies at 97

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LONDON (AFP) - Peter OSullevan whose dulcet tones and well chosen words earned him the monniker the Voice of Racing died aged 97 on Wednesday.Still widely regarded as the greatest racing commentator -- although Australian JA McGrath is sometimes mentioned almost in the same breath -- the Irishman was also a successful racing owner and a fine tipster.OSullevan -- who also worked for the Daily Express -- commentated for the BBC for 50 years (1947-97) and just prior to his 50th and final Grand National he was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. Nigel Payne, chief executive of the Sir Peter OSullevan Charitable Trust, said: Sir Peter died earlier this afternoon (Wednesday), very peacefully, at home.Sir Peter was one of the greatest men Ive ever known. Only last week he was talking about what he wanted me to do for the trust in the future. He was still very alert. Its a sad day.Former Liverpol, Real Madrid and England striker Michael Owen, now a successful owner and breeder of racehorses paid a handsome tribute to him.He is one of the voices you associate the sport with and as soon as you hear that voice you think of him, Owen told the Daily Mail.It is a great loss for racing and poignant to lose him during a meeting like Goodwood.If his mother had had her way OSullevans career would have taken a very different turn after she was left less than impressed following one of his early efforts albeit in the days of black and white television.Darling, I saw you on television yesterday and you looked absolutely ghastly. I do hope youre never going to do that again, she remarked to her stunned son.OSullevan, who was still defying the years and driving over from England for the Arc de Triomphe weekend every October accompanied by his faithful dog and was hauled over by the French police for speeding three years ago but was allowed to proceed after playing on their fondness for mans best friend, produced many great commentaries.Among the pick were Red Rum getting up to beat longtime leader Crisp in the 1973 Grand National: Hes beginning to lose concentration - hes been out there on his own for so long.Four years later OSullevan -- whose voice was described by one admirer as perhaps the only hectic drawl in captivity -- called Red Rums epic third National success under top weight.Hes coming up to the line to win it like a fresh horse in great style. Its hats off and a tremendous reception... youve never heard one like it at Liverpool... Red Rum wins the Grand National, said OSullevan.OSullevan, who always hung a Do Not Disturb sign on his hotel room door the eve of the National so he could study in total tranquility the 40 or more runners and their colours for the worlds greatest steeplechase, admitted the most difficult commentary he ever had to make was when his own horse Attivo won the prestigious Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1974.And its first Attivo, trained by Cyril Mitchell, ridden by Robert Hughes, owned by Peter OSullevan, said OSullevan in as matter a fact tone as he used for giving out the details of the winners after they crossed the line. No, no, theres absolutely no excuse for partiality because moneys involved in horse racing, he explained to The Daily Telegraph in 2008.

Google adds 20 languages to instant translation app

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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google announced Wednesday it was adding 20 new languages for its mobile translation application that reads text and instantly converts to another tongue.The smartphone app now can read 27 languages and instantly convert the text without an Internet connection, the tech giant said.Google also said it was making voice translation faster and smoother in the Translate app, which can interpret street signs, ingredient lists, instruction manuals and other texts.The real-time text translation began with seven languages -- English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.The new ones added are Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian.Additionally, one-way translations are available from English to Hindi and Thai.Googles picture mode translation, which requires a snapshot of text, can operate in 37 languages.The California group said the new features come from extensive research to develop so-called convolutional neural networks, or using artificial intelligence to recognize letters and words and filter out backgrounds.Weve still got lots of work to do, said product leader Barak Turovsky.More than half of the content on the Internet is in English, but only around 20 percent of the worlds population speaks English. Todays updates knock down a few more language barriers, helping you communicate better and get the information you need.

Oil rallies on surprise fall in US crude inventories

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rallied Wednesday as an unexpected weekly fall in US crude oil inventories somewhat eased worries about demand in the worlds largest economy.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in September rose 81 cents to $48.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for September, the global benchmark, closed at $53.38 a barrel, up a modest eight cents from Tuesdays settlement.The US Department of Energy said Wednesday that American commercial crude inventories tumbled 4.2 million barrels in the week to July 24, to 459.7 million, still close to unprecedented levels. Analysts had expected a smaller increase.Falling inventories tend to push prices higher because they could signal strengthening demand.There is the sense, especially after todays US inventories, that maybe the bearishness we see in the market was overplayed a little bit, said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.In addition to the big drop in US crude inventories last week, Flynn said, there was a decline in US crude production, by 145,000 barrels per day.So that runs against the oversupply story, or at least slows down the oversupply (story), and with the market being so oversold, this gives us a bounce, he said.Since the beginning of July, the WTI futures contract, which had stabilized around $60 a barrel in the spring, has pulled back toward lows last seen in March -- when it hit a six-year low of $45.Flynn said that oil also found support from a report that Saudi Arabia is talking about reducing production at the end of summer.Whether this is in response to the possible return of Iranian crude or just because they want to support prices its hard to say, but its the first time in a long time we see the Saudis having any intention at all of pulling back their production.

Dollar rises as Fed keeps interest rates on hold

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The US dollar pushed higher against other major currencies Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged but left the path clear for a hike in the coming months.The dollar pushed up 0.6 percent on the dollar to $1.0990, and about 0.2 percent on the yen, to 123.91 yen.The Fed gave no new signals on its intentions after a two-day policy meeting, but remained relatively upbeat on the economy. Analysts said that if US jobs data remains strong for the next six weeks, the Fed could easily undertake its first rate increase in nine years in its September meeting.Fed policymakers held steady in their data-dependent strategy, noting that a rate hike would be appropriate once they have seen some further improvement in the labor market, said Kim Chase at BBVA Research.This gives them some room to play with incoming economic data as long as some of the indicators hint at improving conditions.Although the Fed was not as hawkish in its policy statement as some expected, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management, investors scooped up dollars on the notion that September tightening remains on the table.

Pakistan, Sri Lanka first T20 today

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COLOMBO (Agencies) - Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 (T20) of the two-match series at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today (Thursday).Pakistan have been outstanding in the tour of Sri Lanka so far. They won the Test series after a long wait and recently they have won the ODI series after nine years. The win in the ODI series helped Pakistan to inch closer to seal a berth in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which will be held in England.After suffering a humiliating defeat in the ODI series against Bangladesh earlier this year, their spot in the Champions Trophy was under threat. But after beating Sri Lanka they have resurrected their run of form in ODIs. Now they are coming into this T20 series riding on a winning momentum and they would look to seal the tour in style. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have been the top team in this format of the game after winning the last ICC World T20 in 2012 in Bangladesh. Surprisingly, they have only played a single T20 game after their triumph in the T20 World Cup. But looking at the kind of form the hosts are in, the above-mentioned facts does not mean anything. Sri Lanka Cricket announced the T20 squad earlier this month and they have added five uncapped players in the side. In this transition period, they are looking to rebuild their side before the ICC World T20 2016. On the other hand, Pakistan have not made any major changes to their squad. They have just added two uncapped players to their squad in the form of left-arm pacer Zia-ul-Haq and batsman Nauman Anwar. The wicket is likely to produce a run feast and the weather reports suggested that there are no chances of rain. So one can expect it to be a cracker-jacker of a match under the floodlights today. Squad:Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (c), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Mukhtar Ahmed, Nauman Anwar, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Shah, Imad Wasim, Zia-ul-Haq.Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Tilakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kithruwan Vithanage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Kulasekara, Binura Fernando, Chaturanga de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene.

Pakistan agree to limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe

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KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan on Wednesday agreed to play a limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe comprising two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals starting in September, after plans for a tri-series involving the West Indies were scrapped.The planned tour comes after Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe in May and June, the first visit to the militancy-hit South Asian country by a Test-playing team in six years.The Africans tour was hailed as a breakthrough moment for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan, which was suspended after militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said: Pakistan will play two Twenty20 internationals in Zimbabwe in September before playing three one-day internationals in October.Zimbabwe Cricket had proposed to play a tri-series involving the West Indies instead of a bilateral series.But it is widely believed the PCB wanted to avoid playing the West Indies to ensure they remained in the worlds top eight teams before the September 30 cut-off for qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.Pakistan had moved to eighth place from ninth after beating Sri Lanka 3-2 in a series that ended last week, but risked dropping back down to eighth had they lost to either team.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 7/30/2015 07:32:00 AM

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