PESHAWAR: At least 12 extremists were killed and nine others injured in an action by the security forces following attack on their check post. According to sources, the extremists attacked on a security check post in Orakzai area injuring two security personnel including an officer. Soon afterwards, the security forces returned the attacked killing 12 extremists and injuring nine others.It should be mentioned here that offensive against...

LONDON: Pakistan began their tour of England on a victorious note with an exciting six runs success over a multi-national Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) side at Lords on Sunday.Pakistan, winning the toss and scoring 165 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs, restricted the all-star opposition to 159 for 5.The MCC were always in for a sniff when Australian Aiden Blizzard and former West Indies captain Brian Lara put on 94 runs for the second...

...

BRAZZAVILLE: At least 60 people died and hundreds were injured in a rail disaster in Congo-Brazzaville, officials said on Tuesday, as a survivor said carriages derailed when the train took a bend at speed. “At a bend that the driver went into at full speed, all six carriages where the passengers were derailed. We were thrown by the impact,” said survivor Lucien Koko, 37, speaking from hospital. “Many people remain trapped. I am talking because I have a wound on my forearm. Friends who were with me are gravely wounded, he added....

KARACHI: Shahid Afridi warned on Tuesday that it would be difficult for his players to switch to Test mode after a heavy dose of limited-overs matches during the last few months.But the Pakistan captain still hoped that his team will go all out to give mighty Australia a run for their money in a two-Test ‘home’ series in England next month.“It will certainly be difficult to switch to Test cricket after playing so many Twenty20 and One-day...

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka: Seamer Farveez Maharoof grabbed a hat-trick on his way to 5-42 as Sri Lanka beat India by seven wickets in the last league match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.Maharoof’s feat helped knock India over for 209, before senior pros Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene helped the defending champions gallop past the modest target in the 38th over.Skipper Sangakkara hit 73 off 82 balls and Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 53 during a match-winning stand of 104 for the third wicket at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.The...

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government’s plan to introduce limited political reforms appeared on Tuesday almost certain to be approved after it won the support of a group of pro-democracy lawmakers. The Democratic Party, which holds the swing vote on the issue and is the city’s largest opposition party, agreed to endorse the reform package, which will raise the number of directly elected officials in the city’s legislature. The former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997, has a legal and administrative system independent...

PESHAWAR: Three boys drowned while bathing in Kabul river located near Peshawar while two others were rescued.Those drowned belonged to Kakshal area of Peshawar and were identified as Yasir, 17; Junaid, 17; Ibrahim, 16 and; Shah Faisal, 16, while Siddique and Ismail Mano were rescued.When the dead bodies were taken to their ancestral area, the tragedy brought tears to all eyes.The bereaved family members said the boys being, fed up of load-shedding,...

JOHANNESBURG: Brazil qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup with a 3-1 win against Ivory Coast in their World Cup Group G clash at Soccer City on Sunday, but had star midfielder Kaka controversially sent off.Kaka was dismissed for a second yellow card in the final minutes for pushing Abdelkader Keita, but it appeared the Ivorian had wildly exaggerated the impact of the shove by falling to the ground clutching his head.The Brazilians...

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for extra efforts to battle flooding in central and south China, where torrential rains have left 175 people dead and 107 missing, according to the latest toll Monday. Over one million people have been evacuated from flooded areas in 10 provinces and regions since June 13, while washed out roads, bridges and railways have paralysed traffic and hampered rescue work, the government said. The torrential...

SYDNEY: Batsman Usman Khawaja became the first Muslim named in an Australian Test squad Tuesday as selectors announced a 14-strong party for the two-match series against Pakistan, the country of his birth.Left-handed Khawaja, 23, admitted feeling “shocked” after being brought in for the July Tests in England, which were moved from Pakistan over security problems including last year’s extremist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus.“I was a...

WASHINGTON: The US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, made an “enormous mistake” in his remarks to a magazine, the White House said Tuesday, refusing to rule out that he may be fired.“Without a doubt, General McChrystal, as Secretary Gates has said, has made an enormous mistake,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, adding President Barack Obama had summoned the general for talks on Wednesday.Gibbs would not say...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will go ahead with a plan to import natural gas from Iran even if the US levies additional sanctions on the country, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.Gilani's comments Tuesday come two days after the US special envoy to Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, cautioned Pakistan not to ''over commit'' itself to the deal because it could run afoul of new sanctions against Iran.The deal has been a constant source of tension...

BRUSSELS: Iceland’s whale hunting tradition despite a ban, which it wants lifted, looms as a major hurdle in its upcoming membership talks with the European Union where all cetaceans are legally protected. The EU membership talks haven’t started yet, but a European diplomat stressed that “if Iceland continues to practise commercial whale hunting for scientific purposes, that’s going to create a political problem.” In nearly all areas Iceland has been seen as a perfect EU candidate, and could have started talks earlier had it...

WASHINGTON: The White House on Sunday ratcheted up its condemnation of how BP is handling the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, complaining bitterly that it has had to push the oil giant to do more — and move more quickly — at every step of the crisis. White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel also attacked BP CEO Tony Hayward, calling his attendance at a yacht race on Saturday “part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes.” “A lot of things that they had to be pushed to do, and pushed to do faster,” said Emanuel in an interview with...

NELSPRUIT: World champions Italy suffered an embarrassing 1-1 draw with underdogs New Zealand in their second World Cup Group F match on Sunday, a result which complicates their chances of progressing to the knockout stage.New Zealand, ranked 78th in the world, took a shock lead on seven minutes after struggling Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro made a hash of trying to clear a free kick into the box and Shane Smeltz poked home.It was New...

Pakistan on Sunday announced two different squads for the Twenty20 matches and Tests on their tour of England.Pakistan will play two Twenty20 internationals against Australia on July 5 and 6 before playing two Tests against the same opponents.After playing Australia, Pakistan will feature in four Tests, two Twenty20 and five one-day games against England. The tour ends on September 22.The squad for the one-dayers against England will be...

VANCOUVER: A special prosecutor will look into criminal charges against four policemen who confronted a Polish traveler who died after being stunned with a Taser gun, officials said on Friday. Robert Dziekanski, 40, died in late 2007 just minutes after being stunned five times with a Taser gun and then restrained by four policemen at the airport in this Pacific Coast metropolis.Airport workers called police after Dziekanski, a nervous first-time traveler who spoke only Polish, threw a computer and a chair. He was emigrating...

KARACHI: Michel van den Heuvel was on Saturday appointed as Pakistan’s national hockey coach, becoming the third Dutchman to be chosen for the job in 16 years.Van den Heuvel, who quit as Holland’s coach after this year’s World Cup in New Delhi, will begin his stint from Monday (tomorrow) when he will land in Karachi to supervise a training camp ahead of a European sojourn which begins from July 7. Pakistan will play a series of Test matches against France, Spain and Holland during the 15-day tour.Pakistan are hoping that the...

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: Ghana edged clear at the top of World Cup Group D after an exciting 1-1 draw with ten-man Australia at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday.The Ghanaians moved a point above Germany and Serbia after fighting off a determined bid by the Australians, who lost striker Harry Kewell to a red card in a sensational first-half penalty incident.The Australians, trying to rebuild their World Cup campaign after a shattering 4-0 first-up loss to Germany, now have the tough task of trying to beat Serbia on Wednesday...

BAGHDAD: Twin car bombs in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday killed 18 people and wounded 42, many of them women or traffic police, the Baghdad operations command said.The bombs exploded within minutes of each other at around 11:30 am (0830 GMT) in the Al-Yarmuk neighbourhood of west Baghdad, a security official said.The vehicles were parked close to government offices where identity cards and passports are issued, and large queues of people had formed to seek renewals.Traffic police offices and a branch of the Iraqi Commercial...

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka: Harbhajan Singh smashed the penultimate ball from Mohammad Aamer for a six as India knocked Pakistan out of the Asia Cup with a three-wicket win on Saturday. Harbhajan’s last-gasp shot over the midwicket fence helped India past Pakistan’s 267 with one ball to spare in a heart-stopping finish at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.India scored 52 runs in the last five overs after the sixth wicket had fallen at 219, with...

TEHRAN: Abdolmalek Rigi, head of the Sunni rebel group Jundallah who waged a deadly insurgency in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, was hanged early Sunday, state news agency IRNA reported.“After the decision of the Tehran revolutionary tribunal, Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged on Sunday morning in Evin prison,” IRNA said.It quoted a court statement as saying: “The head of the armed counter-revolutionary group in the east...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan should be wary of committing to an Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline because anticipated US sanctions on Iran could hit Pakistani companies, the US special representative to the region said on Sunday.While sympathetic to Pakistan's energy needs, the US special representative to the region, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters that new legislation, which targets Iran's energy sector, is being drafted in the US Congress...

KARACHI: One policeman was killed in Karachi on Saturday when unknown gunmen opened fire near the City Courts. The gunmen opened fire at a group of policemen who were escorting a number of prisoners to the courts and threw a hang grenade amid the crowd. One policeman was killed as a result of the attack and four prisoners were able to flee along with the gunmen.Security officials followed one of the gunmen, who fled to nearby Jodia Bazaar...

BP remains a "strong company" despite the "setback" it has suffered as a result of the oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico, its chairman says.In an interview with Sky News, Carl-Henric Svanberg dismissed comments by Russia's president that the oil giant may face "annihilation".Mr Svanberg also confirmed that BP chief executive Tony Hayward would be handing over the day-to-day response to BP managing director Bob Dudley.The BP oil rig exploded...

PORT ELIZABETH: After receiving congratulatory smacks and pats from his jubilant teammates, goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic walked off the pitch at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium looking somewhat paunchy.With the game ball protruding from underneath his jersey on Friday, there was no question who saved Serbia in its 1-0 win over Germany in a Group D match at the World Cup.Stojkovic stopped a 60th-minute penalty from Lukas Podolski.Stojkovic,...

KARACHI: Pakistan will target India’s ‘strong points’ when they take on their traditional rivals in a do-or-die clash of the Asia Cup in Dambulla on Saturday (tomorrow).Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, told ‘The News’ from Dambulla on Friday that he has asked his bowlers to go all out for the scalps of India’s prolific openers — Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir — and his counterpart MS Dhoni in what is a mouth-watering clash between...

LONDON: Britain has banned a radical Indian preacher, who claimed that "every Muslim should be a terrorist," from entering the country, a paper reported Friday, citing the interior minister.Zakir Naik, a 44-year-old television preacher, had been due to give a series of lectures in London and northern England but new Home Secretary Theresa May decided to bar him, said the paper."I have excluded Dr Naik from the UK," said May, cited by the...

...

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit Friday said that Ministry of Foreign Affairs would examine the new dossier extended by the Indian government on Mumbai attacks. Talking to a private television channel in a brief telephonic interview, the Spokesman said the government is of the firm opinion that whosoever was involved in the Mumbai attacks should be punished.He said that Pakistan is conducting the trial of the accused of...

JOHANNESBURG: Midfielder Michael Bradley’s late goal sealed the United States’ fight back as they drew 2-2 with Slovenia at the World Cup on Friday night to keep their hopes of reaching the Last 16 alive. Slovenia were heading to their second win of the tournament, and unexpectedly becoming the first team into the last 16, having led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals by midfielder Valter Birsa and striker Zlatan Ljubijankic before the US...

DAMBULLA: Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with bat and ball as Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by 126 runs on Friday to virtually book their place in the Asia Cup final.Dilshan smashed 71 off 51 balls and claimed three wickets as the defending champions piled up a commanding 312-4 in their 50 overs and then shot out Bangladesh for 186.It was Sri Lanka's second win in a row after the 16-run defeat of Pakistan in their opening match and helped...

OSH: Kyrgyzstan's acting leader admitted Friday that the death toll from ethnic clashes is probably 2,000 — ten times the current estimate — as she went to the ravaged south where the UN said up to a million people may have been affected.Both a US envoy and the UN Human Rights Council meanwhile urged investigations into the clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, which sent tens of thousands fleeing into neighbouring Uzbekistan.On the...

NEW DELHI: India's top foreign ministry official will meet her Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad next Thursday as the two nations look to build on a recent thaw in relations.“Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will visit Pakistan at the invitation of the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Mr Salman Bashir,” said a statement from the Indian foreign affairs ministry on Friday.Rao will also meet Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.Qureshi...

WASHINGTON: Pakistanis see their country in crisis and they give their national government lower ratings than at any time in this decade. And almost no one is satisfied with national conditions, a latest survey indicated.President Asif Zardari’s popularity is at all-time low at 32 per cent while Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif has reached a new high at 79 per cent approval ratings. The role of Pakistani media is viewed favourably as almost 77 per cent of those interviewed for the survey believe that the media is...

Thursday ,June 17th, 2010 Friday's OutlookISLAMABADMax Temp =36-38°CLAHOREMax Temp =40-42°CKARACHIMax Temp =34-36°CPESHAWARMax Temp =37-39°CQUETTAMax Temp =34-3...

The UN says that the number of people displaced by unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan has reached 400,000.About 300,000 people have fled their homes, while another 75,000-100,000 people - not counting children - are thought to have taken refuge in Uzbekistan.The Red Cross (ICRC) has described the situation as an "immense crisis".Some aid has begun to arrive in the region, but the ICRC says refugees are running short of basic supplies.At least...

Kyrgyz interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has arrived in Osh in the south of the country, the scene of the country's worst ethnic violence in decades.At least 191 people were killed in fighting between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks around Osh and Jalalabad.About 400,000 people have been displaced by the unrest, with many Uzbeks fleeing into Uzbekistan.The Red Cross (ICRC) has described the situation as an "immense crisis", with shortages of basic...

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has confirmed that he is to leave Hampshire at the end of this season.Pietersen made his first appearance in two years in last Sunday's Friends Provident t20 win over Surrey.That was only his 11th Hampshire game in the last four years and his current Rose Bowl contract is due to expire."It's just a geographical issue," said his agent Adam Wheatley. "He and his family are in London, and the county is 90 minutes...

Two second-half goals gave Mexico their first ever victory over France to leave El Tri well-placed to make the last 16 and the 2006 runners-up on the verge of elimination.Mexico were the brighter of the two throughout but were unable to take any of their chances until just after the hour, when substitute Javier Hernandez broke the offside trap and rounded keeper Hugo Lloris before slotting home.Another Mexican substitute, the 37-year-old Cuauhtemoc Blanco, sealed the victory from the penalty spot after a third replacement, Pablo...

The US has carried out its first execution by firing squad in 14 years.Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner, who had spent 25 years on death row, was killed soon after midnight local time (0600 GMT) on Friday, hours after a final appeal was rejected.Gardner, 49, chose the firing squad as his method of execution before it was banned by Utah in 2004.He was only the third man put to death in that way in the US since 1976.He was convicted...