U-19 squash player robbed of Paris event chance

Robbers snatched passport and other valuables from the junior squash player, Saad Shahid, leaving him unable to travel for Squash U-19 Tournament in Paris.

 

Street-criminals, who held Shahid at gunpoint, fled away with his valuables, which included a mobile phone, Rs20000 cash, ATM card, passport, and important documents.

 

Shahid, while talking to News Trends, appealed to the looters to return his passport for he was set to leave for an international event in three days, which he wouldn’t be able to attend as a new passport would take at least ten days to come.
 

NZealand beat Zimbabwe in Twenty20 in first T20

AUCLAND: Martin Guptill continued his rich vein of form against Zimbabwe as he scored 91 not out to help New Zealand beat the visitors by seven wickets at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday in the first of their two Twenty20 internationals.   

Guptill, who scored 232 runs in the three one-day internationals at an average of 77, blasted five boundaries and six sixes as New Zealand made 160 for three off 16.5 overs after Zimbabwe had scored a credible 159 for eight from 20 overs.   

 Kane Williamson (48) combined with Guptill in a 137-run partnership after Kyle Jarvis had taken two wickets in the second over to put New Zealand under some pressure for the first time on their tour.   

 Jarvis had been belted for two boundaries off his first two balls but then bounced back to bowl Rob Nicol with his third delivery of the over.    

Jarvis then bowled a wide before having Brendon McCullum caught off the fourth legitimate delivery for a duck. He finished the eventful over by bowling another wide, conceding a single and then a dot ball.   

Guptill, who was dropped on the boundary on 20, and Williamson, however, set about ticking off the runs with Guptill the aggressor while Williamson kept rotating the strike and ensured New Zealand achieved the total with 19 balls to spare.    

The visitors had finally displayed some of the batting talent that has been hinted at with Hamilton Masakadza blasting three boundaries and three sixes to top score with 53 off 36 balls.    

Elton Chigumbura also cleared the fence four times and hit three boundaries as he scored 48 from 24 deliveries at the end of the Zimbabwe innings.   

Left-arm seamer Michael Bates, who bowled Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor in his first over, grabbed two wickets in the 20th over to finish with innings best figures of three for 31.   

Zimbabwe’s tour concludes after the second Twenty20 international at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Feb. 14. AGENCIES

Cavendish wins 5th stage of Tour of Qatar

 

Tom Boonen closed in on the overall victory by protecting his lead on the penultimate day.

 

Cavendish secured his second stage win in three days by taking a mass sprint at the end of a 160-kilometer ride from a camel race track in the east of the country to Al Khor in the north. The Team Sky rider arrived in Doha with a bout of flu but still beat Liquigas-Cannondale duo Daniel Oss and Peter Sagan to the finish line.

 

Boonen retained a 31-second lead over Tyler Farrar going into Friday s final stage. Spanish rider Juan Antonio Flecha is third, while Cavendish moved up to seventh.–AP
 

3rd ODI: New Zealand set 374-run target for Zimbabwe

 

New Zealand set Zimbabwe a daunting target of 374 after a quick-fire century from captain Brendon McCullum inspired the Black Caps to their third highest one-day international total on Thursday.

 

Chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat on a flat Napier wicket, finishing their 50-over innings at 373 for eight.

 

McCullum scored a swashbuckling 119 from 88 balls, including five sixes, after openers Martin Guptill (85) and Rob Nicol (61) laid the foundation for New Zealand s innings with a 153-run partnership.

 

Zimbabwe, returning to the ground where they suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 301 runs in a one-off Test last month, continued to struggle, undermined by loose bowling and shoddy fielding.

 

Kyle Jarvis was the best of the Zimbabwe bowlers with a modest two for 58, while Brian Vitori haemorrhaged 105 runs in nine overs for just one wicket.

 

Zimbabwe s best score in the series is 231 and it would be a major upset if they overhauled the New Zealand total.

 

The home side rode their luck at times but always looked comfortable against a Zimbabwe attack that has failed to adapt to New Zealand conditions.

 

Opening batsman Nicol, a centurion in the last one-dayer, was given out lbw for four in the first over but survived after appealing to the third umpire, who ruled he had got an inside edge off a Vitori inswinger.

 

He should have been out two overs later when a mis-timed pull shot sailed to square leg, only for Tinotenda Mawoyo to ground the catch.

 

Guptill, New Zealand s most consistent batsman of the series, made the most of the short McLean Park boundary, bringing up his fifth consecutive one-day half century in 38 balls, including four sixes and four fours.

 

Prosper Utseya eventually broke the opening partnership, trapping Nicol lbw on 61, while Guptill went for 85 after a bizarre stumping the next ball.

 

The batsman played and missed at an innocuous Ray Price delivery, called a wide, then took off for a single, believing the ball had skidded past wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu.

 

However, the ball had lodged under Taibu s arm and the wicketkeeper gleefully pulled it out and whipped off the bails as Guptill tried to scramble back to his crease.

 

It was one of the few pieces of good fortune to go Zimbabwe s way and McCullum, who was out to the last ball of the innings, ensured they had a miserable afternoon in the field. 

 

SC deadline on by-polls legislation ends today; 23 lawmakers to be disqualified

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: Deadline given by the Supreme Court (SC) for giving legal cover to the by-polls is coming to an end today (Monday). As many as 23 members of the Parliament will be held ineligible if the government fails to get 20th Amendment passed.

A four-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry will hear the case regarding the voter lists.

It should be mentioned here the apex court stayed the process of by-elections on the present electoral rolls and held that the by-polls under an incomplete Election Commission are unconstitutional and illegal.

Meantime, the court gave time till February 6 to the Parliament to endorse the by-elections’ results; the deadline is coming to an end today.

National Assembly will meet today after an interval of two days to make an attempt for the passage of Twentieth Amendment. The government needs support from its coalition partners as well as the opposition parties for the purpose. TrendPK

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Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes off Philippines

SINGAPORE: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake, at a depth at 29 miles, struck off the Philippines Monday, northeast of Dumaguete, Negros island, at 0349 GMT, the US Geological Survey reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that based on all available data a Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected. AGENCIES

Triple Domki killings: SC suo motu case today

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) will hear today (Monday) the suo motu case against the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti’s granddaughter. The court called Inspector General of Sindh Police and Advocate General to appear before the court today.

Meantime, wheel-jam strike is underway in Balochistan against the triple killings.

It should be mentioned here the apex court turned the plea of Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) into a petition against the killing of MPA Balochistan Bakhtiar Domki’s family and a driver and summoned Sindh’s IG and AG to appear before the court.

Domki’s wife, daughter and driver were gunned down in the wee hours on the morning of January 31 near the Gizri Bridge in Clifton.

The victims were riding their black Toyota Mark II car (ANR-353) when they were intercepted by killers who shot them dead at point-blank range.

The tribe’s spokesman said severe anger and agitation is found among the people of Domki clan over the assassinations. He demanded the Sindh government to immediately arrest the people responsible for the killings. TrendPK

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Oil sheds 30 cents towards $114

SINGAPORE: Brent crude slipped towards $114 on Monday, weighed down by a stronger U.S. dollar and the risk that a sovereign debt default by Greece could tip the euro zone in to a demand-sapping recession.

However, losses were limited by escalating tension between Iran and the West, which threatens to disrupt supplies from the world’s fifth-largest crude oil exporter.

Front-month Brent crude fell 30 cents to $114.28 a barrel by 0317 GMT, snapping four straight days of gains. Brent rose 2.8 percent last week to settle near a three-month peak on Friday, after a positive U.S. jobs report fueled hopes of stronger demand in the top petroleum-consuming nation.

U.S. crude was down 59 cents at $97.24 a barrel, after posting a loss of 1.73 percent last week.

“There’s still not much confidence over the euro zone economies, and that is limiting upside from strong U.S. data and the tensions in Iran,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager with Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo.

Coalition parties in Greece, which is at the centre of Europe’s two-year old debt crisis, must tell the European Union by Monday whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal worth 130 billion euros in order to avoid a disorderly default.

The greenback strengthened against a basket of currencies after the euro softened ahead of the Greek deadline, making dollar-denominated commodities like oil more expensive when purchased in other currencies.

“One of the key risks in the European situation is the possibility that Greece will not achieve agreement to the austerity measures being required of them,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst with CMC Markets in Sydney.

IRAN SUPPORTS
Oil prices remain supported by growing tensions in the oil-producing region of the Middle East, as Iran continued to threaten military action in its increasingly volatile stand-off with world powers over its nuclear ambitions.

Iran’s deputy Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday Tehran will target any country used as a launchpad for attacks against its soil, days after the country’s supreme clerical leader threatened reprisals for the West’s new ban on Iranian oil exports. AGENCIES

Football: Australia, Japan hit by Olympic setbacks

SINGAPORE: Australia’s Olympic hopes were dealt a major blow with away defeat to Uzbekistan late on Sunday, while Japan were knocked off the top of Group C with an upset loss to Syria.

South Korea needed an injury-time equaliser to scrape a 1-1 draw against unfancied Saudi Arabia, while Southeast Asian Games champions Malaysia remained winless in four outings as they lost 2-1 to Bahrain.

But Aurelio Vidmar’s “Olyroos” were the biggest losers as they crashed to  the bottom of Group B with a 2-0 loss in freezing Tashkent, leaving them five  points off the lead with two games to play.

Only the top teams in each of three Asian groups gain automatic berths for  this year’s London Games, while three second-placed teams will compete for a  play-off spot.

Australia went down 2-0 through goals from Kenja Turaev and Oleg Zoteev  either side of half-time, meaning they are still yet to find the net in their  four qualifiers so far.

In temperatures of minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 Fahrenheit), Jason  Hoffman had a goal ruled out for offside while a Mitch Nicholls’s effort was  disallowed for a foul in the penalty area.

In Amman, Japan were rocked by an early Yuya Osako own-goal before Kensuke  Nagai got them back on terms just before half-time. But defender Ahmad Al-Salih  clinched it 2-1 for underdogs Syria with his winner on 90 minutes.

With the victory, Syria take over as Group C leaders due to their superior  tally of goals scored compared with Japan, who are also on nine points.

Meanwhile Kim Bo-Kyung spared South Korea’s blushes as he cancelled out  Omar Sultan Khudari’s opener for Saudi Arabia in the first minute of injury  time in Dammam.

The draw was enough to preserve South Korea’s slender one-point lead at the  top of Group A after Qatar and Oman drew 2-2 in Doha. AGENCIES

New Zealand set Zimbabwe 372 to win 2nd ODI

WHANGAREI: A powerful 146 off 134 balls by opener Rob Nicol led a New Zealand batting onslaught which produced 372 for six in the second one-day international against Zimbabwe in Whangarei Monday.

Nicol, who lasted until the 48th innings, produced the fifth highest New Zealand one-day innings as he clouted the cream of the Zimbabwe bowlers around the ground in an innings which produced 10 fours and six sixes.

After rain delayed the start of play from 35 minutes, New Zealand made a cautious start, surviving two maiden overs before Nicol started the scoring with an unorthodox slog which resulted in a top edge over slips for four.

But his innings, his second century in only his fifth ODI, was near chanceless after that, as he stood in a 131-run partnership with Martin Guptill (77) for the first wicket.

Nicol was prepared to let Guptill lead the way and also propped up his end as the hard-charging Jacob Oram (59) and Brendon McCullum (20) came and went at the other end.

But when New Zealand were four down for 261 with nine overs remaining, Nicol let rip, racing from 94 to 146 over the following eight overs before he was caught at deep midwicket by Shingi Masakadza off Prosper Utseya.

Utseya was the most successful of the Zimbabwe bowlers, taking three for 71 off his 10 overs in an innings where the tourists were made to pay dearly for fielding lapses.

Their woes began when Oram, on 45, skied the ball towards mid-off where Elton Chigumbura was slow to react and his desperate dive was too short and too late.

Oram added another 14 before Hamilton Masakadza dismissed him two overs later, ending a whirlwind innings in which the big New Zealander scored 59 off 28 deliveries.

Hamilton Masakadza also had McCullum dropped by Kyle Jarvis on four and the New Zealand skipper went on to make 20, while Tom Latham was given a life on 14 by Stuart Matsikenyeri and was eventually dismissed for 48.

New Zealand won the first match in the series in Dunedin on Friday by 90 runs with the third and final game in Napier on Thursday.

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