Sunday, 18 September 2011

Pakistan edge Zimbabwe by five runs

Pakistan's Misbah ul-Haq (C) and Sohail Khan celebrate victory as Zimbabwe batsman Tatenda Taibu (R) walks off the pitch in the second and final Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club. -AFP Photo

HARARE: Pakistan completed a clean-sweep of Zimbabwe by winning the second and final Twenty20 international by five runs at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Pakistan made 141 from their 20 overs with Mohammed Hafeez top-scoring with 51 before Zimbabwe were held to 136 for seven.
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Vusi Sibanda, Chamu Chibhabha, Cephas Zhuwao, Hamilton Masakadza, Charles Coventry, Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu, Elton Chigumbura, Ray Price, Prosper Utseya, Kyle Jarvis
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Rameez Raja junior, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Shah, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan

At least 15 killed in anti-Saleh march in Yemen

(1 hour ago) Today

Students shout slogans as they protest outside Sanaa University in support of boycotting university studies as part of protests demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa. -AFP Photo

SANAA: At least 15 protesters were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, when gunfire broke out at one of the biggest demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in recent months, a Reuters witness said.
Scores were wounded when security forces opened fire on the crowds and sprayed them with tear gas as tens of thousands spilled out of Change Square, where many youths have camped out, demanding an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule, a Reuters witness said.
Dozens of men were slumped on the ground, overcome by tear gas inhalation. Men on motorbikes and ambulances whisked them away from the scene.
The Defence Ministry said on its website protesters threw petrol bombs, setting a police car ablaze. It blamed leading Islamist opposition party, Islah, for opening fire on the march.
Frustrated by Saleh’s tenacity and their failure to dislodge him, protesters are seeking to ratchet up demonstrations, which have dragged into their eighth month.
“Escalation, escalation,” they chanted, flooding side streets where there were large numbers of security forces and armed anti-Saleh tribesmen, who have appointed themselves as defenders of Yemen’s protest movement.
Earlier on Sunday, fighting broke out in a northern district of Sanaa, the latest breach of an uneasy ceasefire between tribesmen opposed to Saleh and troops loyal to him.
Shelling could be heard near the home of a prominent anti-Saleh tribal leader in the Hasaba district, the site of weeks of fighting. The family of Sadeq al-Ahmar said the Republican Guard, commanded by Saleh’s son, had shelled their house.
Saleh, recovering in Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, is holding on to power despite international pressure to quit and eight months of protests against his 33-year rule which have bought the impoverished Arab state to the brink of civil war.
The United States and Saudi Arabia fear unrest in Yemen will embolden al Qaeda’s Yemen-based regional wing to launch strikes in the region and beyond.
On Thursday, mediators from neighbouring Saudi Arabia intervened to help end the street fighting, which was the fiercest in recent weeks, diplomatic sources said

Magnitude 6.8 quake hits northeast India

(3 hours ago) Today

“Cracks have developed in some buildings in Gangtok. Most phone lines are down and there is no electricity now. People have come out on the street,” said Gangtok resident Bobby Dahal. - File Photo

NEW DELHI: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit a remote area in northeastern India on Sunday evening, causing panic as far as the capital of neighbouring Bangladesh, but officials did not initially report large scale casualties or damage.
The US Geological Survey said on its website the quake was centered 64 km (40 miles) north west of Gangtok, capital of northeastern state Sikkim. It was 10 km (6.2 miles) deep.
“Cracks have developed in some buildings in Gangtok. Most phone lines are down and there is no electricity now. People have come out on the street,” said Gangtok resident Bobby Dahal.
“It is too early to ascertain any damage. We are trying to get in touch with the state government of Sikkim to know if they need any help from us,” Sujata Saunail, joint secretary of he National Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters.
Sikkim is India’s least populous state, located in the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
The quake was felt all the way to Bangladesh, shaking buildings in the capital and neighbouring areas, but no casualties or damage were reported immediately. Thousands of panic-stricken families in Dhaka ran out of high-rise buildings on to the streets as the ground under their feet shook.
Several earthquakes have hit north and east India this year, but none have caused major damage or injuries.
“We do not expect major damage as the quake was moderate despite being strong. But we do expect some aftershocks,” said G. C. Debnath, a director at state-run India Meteorological Department’s Kolkata unit.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
Powerful tremors were felt in Guwahati, the main city in neighbouring Assam some 600 kilometres away, sending panicked residents running into the streets.

UAE beat Pakistan 2-0 in AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers

(4 hours ago) Today

UAE's Mayed Al-Zaabi (R) challenges Pakistan's Muhammad Sohail. -Reuters Photo

LAHORE: Pakistan’s fall to more illustrious Middle East sides continued as they were beaten 2-0 by the UAE at Mohammad Ali Hamad Stadium in Kuwait.
The loss is a huge blow for Pakistan’s attempts to get a good standing in the group for qualification to final round, espescially since rivals Kuwait beat Maldives 5-0 while Afghanistan prevailed 2-1 over Yemen.
According to the press release issued by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), Pakistan team coach Sajjad Mehmood said that team’s better finishing in front of goal could have decided the tie in their favor as striker Muhammad Bilal missed three sure shot chances.
But UAE maintained an upper hand as two goals from defender Rashed Ali Suleiman in either half helped them get another precious three points.
The result leaves Pakistan now struggling on 3 points from 3 games in 5th place, ahead of lowly Maldives with 0 points, while Kuwait lead the pack with seven points, with UAE and Afghanistan in 2nd and 3rd places with five points each, while Yemen lie 4th with four points.
Pakistan now face a daunting task as they must win their final two games against impressive surprise package Afghanistan and a gutsy Yemen side if they want any chance of finishing higher in the group.

More fighting breaks ceasefire in Yemen capital

(4 hours ago) Today

Students shout slogans as they protest on the Sanaa University campus to show their support for a boycott of university studies as part of protests demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. The Arabic on banners at left reads, “for the blood of the martyrs, I will convey my revolution from inside the university to each house.” – AP Photo/Hani Mohammed

SANAA: Fighting broke out in a northern district of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, the latest breach of an uneasy ceasefire between tribesmen opposed to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and troops loyal to him.
Shelling could be heard near the home of a prominent anti-Saleh tribal leader in the Hasaba district, site of weeks of fighting that began in May and brought the impoverished Arab state to the brink of civil war.
The family of anti-Saleh tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar said the Republican Guard, commanded by Saleh’s son, had shelled their house.
State media and a security source blamed the fighting on the tribesmen, who have sided with protesters demanding the resignation of Saleh, saying they had attacked the Interior Ministry building in Hasaba armed with a variety of weapons.
Several civilians were hurt in the attack by the tribesmen, state television said.
Tensions that have been bubbling in the past week have led to two earlier outbreaks of fighting in the capital.
On Thursday, mediators from neighbouring Saudi Arabia intervened to help end the street fighting, which was the fiercest in recent weeks, diplomatic sources said.
Saleh, recovering in Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, is holding on to power despite international pressure to quit and eight months of protests against his 33-year rule.
The United States and Saudi Arabia fear unrest in Yemen will embolden al Qaeda’s Yemen-based regional wing to launch strikes in the region and beyond.

Netanyahu says Palestinian UN bid doomed to fail

(2 hours ago) Today

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, talks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. – AP Photo

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that next week’s bid by the Palestinians for UN membership had no chance of success and that they would ultimately seek renewed talks.
“Their attempt to be accepted as a member of the United Nations will fail,” he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
“That attempt will fail, since it has to pass through the Security Council.”
President Mahmud Abbas has promised Palestinians he will seek UN membership from the Security Council next Friday, despite stiff opposition from Israel and the United States, who say that only direct negotiations can resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Washington, Israel’s main ally, has already announced it will use its veto to block the Palestinian bid in the Security Council.
“As a result of the actions of the United States, which is working closely with us, and of other governments with which we and the Americans are working, I predict that this attempt will fail,” Netanyahu said.
“In the end, after the smoke clears and after everything that happens at the UN, the Palestinians will come to their senses, I hope, drop these moves to bypass negotiations and return to the table in order to bring peace to us and our neighbours.”
Netanyahu compared the Security Council to the UN’s government, while the General Assembly, he said was more like a parliament.
“There you can pass almost any resolution,” he said. “They could decide that the sun rises in the west and sinks in the east but it doesn’t have the same weight and the same importance as the Security Council.”
Netanyahu has said he too will go to the UN to explain Israel’s opposition to the Palestinian move. Like Abbas, he is to speak on September 23, a government official said.
The White House says he is also likely to meet President Barack Obama in New York.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians foundered nearly a year ago in a dispute over Israel’s continued construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land.