Swat’s football field – Trend Pk VIDEO

For the last many years, Swat was under control of extremists who closed all entertainment and sports facilities in the city. Swat’s football field was also closed and has now been reopened after three years to local football players. Syed Shahabuddin takes us to the grounds to share the views of the practicing football players with us. (November 1, 2010)

Swat’s football field – Trend Pk VIDEO

For the last many years, Swat was under control of extremists who closed all entertainment and sports facilities in the city. Swat’s football field was also closed and has now been reopened after three years to local football players. Syed Shahabuddin takes us to the grounds to share the views of the practicing football players with us. (November 1, 2010)

Swat’s football field – Trend Pk VIDEO

For the last many years, Swat was under control of extremists who closed all entertainment and sports facilities in the city. Swat’s football field was also closed and has now been reopened after three years to local football players. Syed Shahabuddin takes us to the grounds to share the views of the practicing football players with us. (November 1, 2010)

Swat’s football field – Trend Pk VIDEO

For the last many years, Swat was under control of extremists who closed all entertainment and sports facilities in the city. Swat’s football field was also closed and has now been reopened after three years to local football players. Syed Shahabuddin takes us to the grounds to share the views of the practicing football players with us. (November 1, 2010)

Swat’s football field – Trend Pk VIDEO

For the last many years, Swat was under control of extremists who closed all entertainment and sports facilities in the city. Swat’s football field was also closed and has now been reopened after three years to local football players. Syed Shahabuddin takes us to the grounds to share the views of the practicing football players with us. (November 1, 2010)

PCB lifts Naved’s year long ban

Staff Report

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday lifted a 12-month ban on all-rounder Rana Naved and reduced his fine by half.

Naved was among seven players banned and fined on the grounds of misconduct and indiscipline by PCB after a dismal tour to Australia earlier this year.

“It is a great relief to finally be cleared of this ban; now I just want to focus on cricket,” Naved told reporters in Lahore after a hearing of the appellate tribunal of the board.

Naved, 32, said he was always confident he would be cleared and now his main aim would be to make a comeback to the national team.

These punishments were a dark chapter of my cricket career and I want to get over it; from tomorrow I will play domestic cricket and show my form,” he said.

The appellate tribunal also reduced a fine of Rs. two million ($23,242) by

CSA suffers soccer stadium blow

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s hopes of making their World Cup soccer stadiums financially viable have been dealt a blow after the cricket board told parliament that most of the grounds were too small to host matches.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola told the portfolio committee on sport that his organisation had hoped to utilise some of the stadiums to spread their game to areas of the country that did not usually enjoy top-flight cricket.

“Historically, our game had not been played in some of areas where some of stadiums were built,” Majola told reporters on Wednesday, referring specifically to the arenas in Polokwane, Rustenburg and Nelspruit.

“We saw an opportunity, but unfortunately we were not part of the designs of the stadiums,” he added.

South Africa underwent a massive building programme in an effort to make the country

London marks countdown to 2012 Olympics

LONDON: London celebrated the two-year countdown to the London Olympics on Tuesday by launching a search for games-time volunteers and opening some of the venues to let athletes test out the facilities where they will be competing for medals after the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012.

Organisers were determined to prove the multi-billion-dollar project offers good value for money at a time of economic austerity.

Despite a severe economic crisis and government budget cuts, London looks on track to deliver in 2012.

The external building work of key arenas is finished, sponsorship revenues are on target, plans are in place to ensure lasting use of facilities, and British politicians, media and the public remain largely on board.

“Believe me, it”s going to be a knockout, it”s going to knock your socks off, it”s going to be, I think, the greatest Olympic Games ever,” London Mayor, Boris Johnson, told reporters.

Olympic athletes provided a glimpse on Tuesday of what fans can look forward to when the greatest sports show comes to town on July 27, 2012.

Four-time US Olympic champion Michael Johnson raced against a group of local school kids for fun on a temporary 60-metre track.

Former NBA player John Amaechi shot a few hoops at the basketball arena much to the delight of visitors at the temporary basketball venue.

British cyclist Chris Hoy, who holds four Olympic gold medals, took a few spins around a temporary track inside the as yet unfinished velodrome.

The government recently ordered relatively modest cuts of 27 million pounds (41million US dollars) in the budget of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body responsible for building the venues.

The overall construction and infrastructure budget stands at 9.32 billion pounds (14.3 billion US dollars).

The largest cost is going toward the development of the 2.5-square-kilometre (1-square-mile) Olympic Park in the Stratford area of east London.

A deprived industrial area of the capital is being transformed into a new complex that will be turned over to the public after the games.

Two dead, up to 200 hurt in China pipeline blast

BEIJING: At least two people died and up to 200 others were injured in an explosion when a chemical pipeline ignited in eastern China on Wednesday, state media reported.

The blast occurred in the city of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, at about 10 a.m. (0200 GMT), China National Radio said on its website. It said a pipeline carrying ethylene blew up on the grounds of an abandoned plastics factory, and that one of its reporters had seen two dead bodies.

About 200 people were injured and rushed to local hospitals for treatment, a website run by the provincial government said. Authorities were still trying to determine the total number of casualties from the blast, which blew out windows in buildings up to 300 metres (yards) away, reports said.

NA meets today

ISLAMABAD: The session of National Assembly would start from today at 5 pm after break of two days.

The NA session would be presided over by Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza. The NA on Friday passed annual budget 2010-2011.

Later, the Speaker adjourned the House to meet again on Monday.

The House passed the Finance Bill with a majority vote when the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) members had already walked out on the grounds that their recommendations were not incorporated in the budget.

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