Saturday 27 July 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Ban to review Syria chemical arms accord

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN leader Ban Ki-moon will review an accord struck with Syria on investigating the use of chemical weapons before any details are announced, a UN spokeswoman said Saturday.Ban will meet in New York on Monday with the two envoys who struck the accord, spokeswoman Morana Song told AFP.The UN and Syrian government said in a joint statement issued late Friday that an accord had been reached on the way forward in the investigation, following the visit to Damascus by Ake Sellstrom, head of the UN inspectors, and Angela Kane, the UN disarmament envoy.The statement did not say whether UN inspectors would be allowed into Syria as Ban has demanded.Ms Kane and Dr Sellstrom are expected to report to the secretary general on Monday on the result of their visit to Syria, Song said.We will have no further comment until the secretary general has had an opportunity to get briefed on the visit and review the situation, she added.Kane and Sellstrom were in Damascus on Wednesday and Thursday. They met with Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and deputy prime minister Qadri Jamil, said the joint statement.The discussions were thorough and productive and led to an agreement on the way forward, the joint statement added, without giving any other detail.The UN says it has been given reports of 13 chemical weapons attacks during the 28-month old conflict.Ban has demanded widespread access to investigate all allegations. Syria has insisted the UN only investigate its claim that opposition rebels used chemical weapons in the town of Khan al-Assal on March 19.Britain, France and the United States say all the attacks were carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Russia, Assad's main ally, says its inquiry found opposition rebels used sarin gas in Khan al-Assal.

Aleppo missile toll hits 29 dead, mostly children: NGO

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BEIRUT (AFP) - At least 29 people, including 19 children, died in a missile strike by regime forces on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a watchdog said Saturday, revising an earlier toll.At least 29 people, including 19 children and four women, were killed in Aleppo's Bab Nairab neighbourhood in a surface-to-surface missile strike by regime forces on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The Britain-based watchdog, which relies on a wide network of medics and activists on the ground, had earlier given a toll of 18 dead, including three children.A militant group said the toll could rise as rescue operations were still underway on Saturday.The Observatory said the army was aiming at rebel headquarters, including a base of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), in Bab Nairab, in the south of Aleppo city.But the missile fell dozens of metres (yards) away, the Observatory said.An earlier report suggested that more than one missile had been fired.My whole family was wiped out, my whole family, a boy in tears said near the rubble of his home, in a video posted by the Observatory.The militant Syrian Revolution General Commission said in a statement that the death toll could rise as rescuers were still trying to pull people from under the rubble.

US expresses 'deep concern' over Egypt bloodshed

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed deep concern Saturday about the bloodshed and violence in Egypt that has killed and injured scores, saying the country faced a pivotal moment.Kerry, in a statement following calls with Egyptian and EU officials, also urged an independent and impartial inquiry into the events of the past 24 hours and urged all of the Egypt's leaders to act to help their country take a step back from the brink.At least 65 people were killed during clashes in Cairo early Saturday, Egypt's health ministry said, after violence erupted at a demonstration in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.The ministry said nine others died in violence in Egypt's second city Alexandria, putting the toll in two days of unrest at 74.This is a pivotal moment for Egypt, Kerry said.Over two years ago, a revolution began. Its final verdict is not yet decided, but it will be forever impacted by what happens right now.Kerry also said that, at a time of extreme volatility, Egyptian authorities have a moral and legal obligation to respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.Violence not only further sets back the process of reconciliation and democratization in Egypt, but it will negatively impact regional stability, he said.At this critical juncture, it is essential that the security forces and the interim government respect the right of peaceful protest, including the ongoing sit-in demonstrations.Kerry said he conveyed his concern in telephone calls to Interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, Interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton.

Gunman among 7 dead after US apartment shootout

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HIALEAH (AP) - A gunman holding hostages inside a South Florida apartment complex killed six people before being shot to death by a police commando team that stormed the building early Saturday following an hours-long standoff, police said.Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez told The Associated Press that police got a call around 6:30 p.m. Friday that shots had been fired in a building with dozens of apartments in Hialeah, just a few miles (kilometers) north of Miami.Rodriguez said that when police arrived, they discovered an active shooter situation: He's inside the building, moving from floor to floor. Eventually he barricades himself in an apartment.A crisis team was able to briefly establish communication with the man. Rodriguez said negotiators and a special weapons team tried talking with him from the other side of the door of an apartment unit where he was holding two hostages.But Rodriguez said the talks eventually just fell apart. Officers stormed the building, fatally shooting the gunman in an exchange of gunfire.They made the decision to go in there and save and rescue the hostages, Rodriguez said. Both hostages survived. Rodriguez said he didn't have any information on how long negotiations lasted.He said police discovered two people, a male and female, shot to death in the hallway in front of one unit. Three more, a male and two females, were found shot and killed in another apartment on a different floor. Another man who was walking his children into an apartment across the street also was killed. Rodriguez said it wasn't immediately clear whether the gunman took aim at him from an upper-level balcony or if he was hit by a stray bullet.From up there, he was able to shoot at people across the street, catching this one man who was just walking into his apartment, Rodriguez said.In the large Miami suburb of Hialeah, the entrance to the quiet neighborhood lined with apartment buildings was blocked off early Saturday.The standoff occurred in an aging beige five-story building with an open terrace in the middle.Miriam Valdes, 70, said she lives on the top floor one floor above where the shooting began. She said she heard gunfire and later saw smoke entering her apartment.She described running in fear to the unit across the hall, where she stayed holed up as officers negotiated with the gunman.From the apartment, Valdes said she could hear about eight officers talking with the gunman.She said she heard the officers tell him to let these people out.We're going to help you, she said they told him.She said the gunman first asked for his girlfriend and then his mother but refused to cooperate.Ester Lazcano said she lives two doors down from where the shooting began and was in the shower when she heard the first shots. Then there were many more.I felt the shots, she said.Neighbors said the gunman lived in the building, but police wouldn't confirm that information. Rodriguez said police were still investigating the motive and identifying the gunman and victims.

94 dead in tribal fight in Sudan's Darfur: leader

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KHARTOUM (AFP) - Fighting in the past two days between rival tribes in Sudan's Darfur region has killed 94 people, despite a peace deal between them, a tribal leader said Saturday.Since yesterday there has been a clash between us and the Salamat after they tried to attack us, Ahmed Khiri, who described himself as a leader of Misseriya troops, told AFP.We lost eight of our men and killed 86 from the other side.But a Salamat leader gave a lower toll.The Misseriya attacked our village and we resisted, losing 52 of our men, he said, asking not to be named.The troop leader said his group killed a number of their adversaries but could not be more specific.He added that his forces destroyed two of the 30 vehicles armed with heavy weapons which Misseriya used in the attack.The African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) says inter-ethnic fighting has been the major source of violence in the far-west region this year, leading to the displacement of an estimated 300,000 people in the first five months alone.That is more than in the previous two years combined.The latest fighting occurred in southwestern Darfur's Umm Dukhun area, near the Chadian border.There is a committee trying to bury the bodies, said Khiri, who professed to be speaking from the battlefield.Fighting between Misseriya and Salamat in April led 50,000 to flee into Chad, the United Nations said.On July 3 the two tribes signed a peace agreement under which they were to pay compensation to each other, and refugees would return.The Salamat in April had accused members of the paramilitary Central Reserve of joining fighting in Rahad el Berdi near Umm Dukhun, which the tribe said left dozens dead.UN experts and human rights activists have also accused government security forces of involvement in Darfur's tribal fighting.But Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the head of UNAMID, has said the nature of the tribal disputes -- mainly competition for land, water and mineral rights -- made it hard to tell who was on which side as police and militia also had ethnic affiliations.Prior to this year's upsurge of violence there were already 1.4 million people in camps for people uprooted by Darfur's conflict, which began a decade ago when rebels from black tribes rose against what they said was the domination of Sudan's power and wealth by Arab elites.Security problems have more recently been compounded by the inter-tribal fighting, kidnappings, carjackings and other crimes, many suspected to be the work of government-linked militia and paramilitary groups.In its latest Humanitarian Bulletin, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that about 12,000 people are believed to have fled into Umm Dukhun town from the surrounding area after the Misseriya-Salamat unrest began in April.OCHA said logistical and security challenges have delayed delivery of emergency shelter and other aid to the displaced.Most commercial transporters in the area are not willing to go to Umm Dukhun citing insecurity on the roads, OCHA said in the July 15-21 bulletin.

Youzhny, Haase to face off in Swiss Open final

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GSTAAD (AFP) - Sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny produced a workmanlike performance to beat 2008 champion Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday and set up a final with Robin Haase at the Swiss Open.Dutchman Haase rallied past Spanish fifth seed Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a battling contest lasting one and three-quarter hours in torrid heat to reach just his third ATP Tour final.Youzhny, who finished runner-up to Roger Federer last month on grass at Halle, leads 57th-ranked Haase 4-0, with their last encounter coming in the first round at Wimbledon in June.The pair of finalists are far from what had been expected when Roger Federer announced his surprise participation in the wake of a second-round loss at the All England Club.The week in the Alps had been driven by hype and expectation from the presence of Federer and fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.But with both of the drawcards making premature exits having been hampered by back injuries during the sell-out week, it is the no-nonsense 31-year-old journeyman Youzhny who finds himself playing for the title against a tournament debutant.I made a semi-final in 2011 but it's great to go even further, said Youzhny, who saved three match points in his quarter-final against Juan Monaco.Youzhny, ranked 33rd and winner of eight ATP titles, dealt Hanescu a first service break of the week in the opening set, finishing with seven aces in the 71-minute contest.After claiming the opening set in bright sunshine, Youzhny went up a break for 3-2 in the second but had to save a break point in the next game to earn a 4-2 margin.The Russian put Hanescu under pressure a game later, with the Romanian saving three break points while receiving two time violation warnings. Youzhny sealed his spot in the final two games later on a first match point.Youzhny admitted that while he won, he did not play his best game to reach his 20th career final.I was a bit tired from match of yesterday and I think it showed. There were a lot of mistakes from both of us. But I did what I could to play my tennis and try to win.Meanwhile, Haase recovered after dropping the first set against Lopez, winning the second with a double break and starting the third with a break for good measure.It proved decisive as Haase, whose only career titles have come over the last two seasons on similar high-altitude clay in Kitzbuehel, Austria, remained resolute on serve to book his place in Sunday's title match.It's amazing to be in this final playing here my first time, said Haase. It was a tough match against Feliciano, especially with the heat.I had to just take it point by point and grab any chance I had. He completely dominated me in the first set but I was able to recover. It ended up being a really tough three-setter.I'll really have to be ready for Youzhny, he's got a lot of experience. I'll have to play my best against him.

John Isner advances to Atlanta final

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ATLANTA (AP) - Top-seeded John Isner beat seventh-seeded Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) on Saturday to reach the Atlanta Open final.The 6-foot-9 American will play the winner of the night match between second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and 21-year-old American Ryan Harrison.Isner improved his ATP-best tiebreaker record to 24-6 for the season.In all three Isner-Hewitt meetings in 2013, Isner has won the first set. In the two previous matches, the Australian rallied to win the next two and, for a while Saturday, it looked as if the formula might repeat.Isner's service game was impeccable in the first set, when he took the only break by passing Hewitt with a scorching forehand. Hewitt then began figuring out the serves and broke Isner twice in the second set.In the third, the players stayed on serve until the tiebreaker. There, with Hewitt serving, Isner took a 6-5 lead when he played a backhand slice shot at the net that Hewitt could not reach. Moments later, Hewitt could not return an Isner serve.Isner fell in the Atlanta Open finals to Mardy Fish in 2010 and '11.

Dortmund beats Bayern 4-2 in German Super Cup

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DORTMUND (AP) - Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich 4-2 to win the German Sup Cup on Saturday, handing Pep Guardiola his first defeat in charge of the European Champions.Marco Reus scored twice in what was a rematch of the Champions League final between the sides, opening the scoring in the sixth minute and wrapping up the victory four minutes from time.We're delighted, said Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller. We won the Super Cup, especially against such a good team.Arjen Robben had equalized in the 54th, but Daniel van Buyten's attempted headed clearance from Ilkay Gundogan's cross flew spectacularly past his own goalkeeper a minute later.Guendogan then followed up the minute after that by running at the Bayern defense and curling his shot inside the far post.Robben scored again at the other end in the 64th, but offseason signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set up Reus to decide the first title of the season in the 86th, though replays showed the winger was marginally offside.The game was simply brilliant, said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp. To have won it is just awesome.The loss ended Guardiola's perfect start at Bayern after taking over from Jupp Heynckes, who led the Bavarian side to an unprecedented treble last season.Bayern had scored 61 goals and conceded just three in Guardiola's nine friendly games in charge.I don't have the feeling that they played much better than us, said Guardiola, who will have to wait a bit longer for his first title with Bayern. As Barcelona coach, he had taken 14 of the 19 titles on offer during four years in charge.It's football. It can happen, Guardiola said. We played well, we did things right. We played against a strong team, who played the Champions League final. But I'm honored for my players. It's a good lesson for us. After one month, I am very happy with our performance.Bayern's defense was to blame for the home side's opening goal when it failed to deal with Sven Bender's header and reserve goalkeeper Tom Starke could only parry the ball away, allowing Reus to score with a header.Robert Lewandowski, a transfer target for Bayern, had a goal ruled offside shortly afterward, and later shot straight at Starke from close range.Xherdan Shaqiri, playing in place of the injured Franck Ribery, was twice denied by good saves from Roman Weidenfeller, while Mario Mandzukic came agonizingly close to converting a dangerous cross whipped in by David Alaba as Bayern sought a response.But Dortmund finished the half strongly, with Gundogan drawing a save from Starke and having another effort deflected wide by Jerome Boateng, who berated teammate Van Buyten after another mix-up almost allowed Lewandowski through.Robben was booed with every touch of the ball, as the home fans remembered his late winner against their side in the Champions League final, and he answered by meeting Lahm's cross to equalize.Dortmund bounced right back through the unfortunate Van Buyten's interception and though Robben claimed his second to keep the tie in doubt after Gundogan's exquisite strike, the visitors' luck ran out when Thomas Mueller's late effort struck the crossbar.We wanted to win and it didn't work out, said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm. It can happen. They scored four goals and we two.

Bolt anchors Jamaicans to victory in London

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LONDON (AP) - Usain Bolt sprinted to a second Diamond League victory inside 24 hours in London on Saturday in what could be his last race in England.Exactly a year after the start of the 2012 Summer Games, Bolt anchored a Jamaican relay team to victory in the Olympic Stadium at the London leg of the Diamond League this year also called the Anniversary Games.The Racers Track Club finished the 4x100 race in 37.74 seconds, a day after Bolts victory in the individual sprint in the London stadium where he swept three gold medals last year.We havent run a lot of relays together, but just being around each other we can understand each other and know how fast we are personally so it worked out very well, Bolt said.The 26-year-old Bolt led home teammates Mario Forsythe, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Warren Weir ahead of France and Canada.Im the team leader and I try to keep them focused and give them wisdom, Bolt said.About 60,000 fans packed into the Olympic Stadium which temporarily reopened to host the Diamond League meet before closing again to be revamped into a multi-sport stadium, which will be used by Premier League team West Ham from the 2016-17 season.It is always beautiful and always wonderful in London, I really enjoy it here, Bolt said. It is just an extremely great stadium and I am happy.Bolt isnt happy, though, with the countrys tax laws.He only returned to London to compete because the British government agreed to an amnesty that allowed international athletes to compete tax-free at this meet as they did at the Olympics. Taxes are usually imposed on appearance fees and prize money for nonresident athletes in all sports when in action here.Bolt said returning here to race depends on what the tax laws say, if they say its OK I will be here next year.A tax exemption is in place for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year, but Bolt is not committing to competing in the Scottish city.And the government does not appear willing to waive its tax rules whenever it suits Bolt.You have to be a little bit careful about this, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson told The Associated Press. We have a very straight forward modus operandi with the Treasury whereby whenever we need a tax break for a particular event we make the case, they look at it and they have been very good at granting it as they were for Usain Bolt.You have to just realize, though, that all these decisions are taken against the backdrop of the national economy and giving and giving tax breaks to wealthy sports stars when the economy is in the state it is at the moment is something that needs careful decision on a case-by-case basis.Mo Farah also made a winning return to the Olympic Stadium, treating the home crowd to a dominant victory in the 3,000.The Briton produced a devastating final lap, storming in front with around 500 to go to win in 7 minutes, 36.85 seconds more than five seconds ahead of Ryan Hill of the United States.Its great to be back, said Farah, who won the 5,000 and 10,000 double at the Olympics. It was a good race and the crowd were great ... I wanted to make them proud.Other Olympic champions also replicated their success in London.Sally Pearson won the 100 hurdles in 12.65, around a tenth of a second ahead of Tiffany Porter of Britain. It was a disappointing day for another Briton, however, as Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill finishing fourth in the race as she returned from injury.Pearson has been struggling with hamstring problems this season, but looks to be finding her form ahead of the world championships in Moscow.Everyone told me to be patient and believe in myself and thats what Ive done, she said. Its three weeks yesterday to my race at the world championships so its finally coming together. My form is slowly coming back ... there are a lot of parts of the race I can fix.The 110 hurdles was won by David Oliver, the American who failed to qualify for the Olympics last year.Olympic champion Aries Merritt clipped a hurdle and went out.Im fine, I think I ran too close to the hurdle and hit it with my trail leg I was trying to run too fast, the American said. Next time in Moscow, I wont press as much in order to run well.In the pole vault, Renaud Lavillenie achieved a world-leading 6.02 meters, but failed three times to overhaul Sergei Bubkas world record of 6.14 that has stood since 1994.In the shot pot, Valerie Adams was crowned a winner while still in the Olympic Stadium this time by throwing 20.90 meters. The New Zealander belatedly won Olympic gold after the London event when Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus was disqualified for doping.

Langer takes 3-shot lead at Senior British Open

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SOUTHPORT (AP) - Bernhard Langer seized a three-shot lead after the third round of the Senior British Open on Saturday, mastering Royal Birkdale with superb links play for a 4-under 66.Langer shared the overnight lead with American Mark Wiebe but birdied three of his first seven holes to jump in front on his own. David Frost of South Africa shot his third straight 68 to sit alone in second place, while Wiebe only managed a 70 to drop into third, four shots back.Langer's only bogey came on the 14th, but he finished with two birdies on 15 and 17 to stay in control.That was as good as I can play, said the German veteran, who is bidding for his second Senior British Open title having won at Carnoustie in 2010. My ball striking was almost perfect and I played really well, apart from the mistake at the 14th.His lone bogey came when he hit his tee shot to the back of the green, sent his approach putt long and left and missed the return.He got it back immediately with a birdie at the long 15th, added another at the long 17th and just missed his birdie chance from 12 feet at the last.Frost made three birdies in a row from the seventh but then made three bogies came on the 10th, 14th and the 18th, with two other birdies in between.Three players are in joint fourth place, six shots back home favorite Sandy Lyle (69), Australian Peter Fowler (70) and first-round leader Gene Sauers of the U.S (70).Colin Montgomerie of Scotland also had a 69 but is tied for 13th at 2 over. Miguel Angel Martin of Spain had the day's best round of 65 but is also on 2 over.Defending champion Fred Couples had a 68, his best round of the week, but his out of contention at 4 over.Ireland's Mark McNulty shared fourth place overnight but quickly fell back when he dropped a stroke at each of the first four holes and another two at No. 7 and 8. He finished with a 76.

Afridi hits 400th international six

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KINGSTOWN (AFP) - Pakistan's Shahid Afridi became the first cricketer to hit 400 sixes in an international career on Saturday.Afridi reached the landmark in the 16th over of Pakistan's reply to the West Indies' 152 for seven in the first Twenty20 international.Chris Gayle, playing for the West Indies, is next on the list having hit 353 sixes in his Test, ODI and T20 career.

Pakistan beat West Indies by two wickets in first T20

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KINGSTOWN (AFP) - Zulfiqar Babar completed a dream debut by striking the final ball of the match for six to give Pakistan a two-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first Twenty 20 international at the Arnos Vale Stadium Saturday.Having taken three wickets for 23 runs with his left-arm spinners in helping to restrict the world champions to 152 for seven, the 34-year-old newcomer then made the winning hit off Marlon Samuels with the scores level to hand the home side their first defeat in this form of the game since they lifted the world title last October in Sri Lanka.Pakistan have the chance to displace the West Indies in second spot in the international rankings with a win in the second and final match at the same venue on Sunday. Shahid Afridi, who became the first player to hit 400 sixes in an international career during his innings, was named man of the match for his 46 off 27 balls, but even he conceded that Zulfiqar was the man of the moment.West Indies were rocked onto the back foot at 42 for four after choosing to bat first, Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez taking the critical wickets of openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle, before Zulfiqar made an immediate impact by bowling Lendl Simmons in his first over. He then added the scalps of Samuels and Dwayne Bravo, but not before Bravo and Kieron Pollard put on 56 for the fifth wicket.I was really happy to see the desire to win from the players, especially the newcomers in the side, said a relieved Hafeez. It was always going to be tough to get a target like that on this pitch, but I was really impressed with the way Umar Amin played and then Shahid Afridi brought it home.Kieron Pollard, returning to something like his best form after an atrocious run in the preceding one-day series, finished unbeaten on 49 for the West Indies but was over-shadowed by skipper Darren Sammy who smashed 30 off just 14 balls and dominated a 53-run sixth-wicket stand. Such was the extent of the carnage that 54 runs came off the final four overs to give the West Indies a fighting chance.Like the West Indies, Pakistan also got off to a poor start before another newcomer, Umar Amin, marked his first T20 international with a polished 47, the highest score by a Pakistani on debut. However wickets were falling around him until Afridi came to the crease and rode his luck in typical flamboyant to tilt the balance Pakistans way.Sammy engaged in some peculiar tactics in the critical final stage of the match. Apart from choosing not to bowl himself, despite his one over earlier costing just four runs, he persisted with the expensive Shannon Gabriel for the penultimate over. The fast bowler claimed the wicket of Afridi but again proved costly, spraying an additional three wides down the leg-side to ease Pakistan towards their target.We should have been able to defend that total, said Sammy. We gave away too many runs early on and could have fielded a lot better. I thought Gabriel with his extra pace would have made the difference at the death but it didnt work out that way.Simmons ran out Saeed Ajmal with the scores level, but West Indies hopes of pulling off a tie, as they did in the ODI a week earlier in St Lucia, were ended by Zulfiqars heave back over the bowlers head.

Warner dismisses on-field altercation as 'banter'

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PRETORIA (AP) - Australia batsman David Warner dismissed his latest brush with trouble as friendly banter after an on-field altercation with a wicketkeeper in South Africa on Saturday led to the umpires intervening to calm the situation.Warner and Thami Tsolekile had to be separated by another player and the two umpires when they confronted each other on the last days play of an unofficial test between Australia A and South Africa A in Pretoria. The game was stopped briefly by the umpires after South Africa As Vaughn van Jaarsveld pulled Tsolekile away from an angry exchange of words with Warner while the Australian was batting.Sent from the Ashes series in England to tour with Australia A after a string of disciplinary problems, Warner later posted on Twitter: Great to be back playing cricket, had lots of fun this week and a bit of friendly banter from the wicket keeper. Was very funnyThe 26-year-old Warner was fined and banned by Cricket Australia last month for hitting England batsman Joe Root in a late-night incident in a bar during the Champions Trophy and ultimately was dropped for Australias first two Ashes tests in England. He also had been in trouble and apologized for comments he made in an argument with reporters on Twitter. This month, he had to disassociate himself from comments his brother made on the social network site criticizing Australia teammate Shane Watson.Since being sent away from the Australian team in England, Warner has said he needed to be dropped and accepted responsibility for the problems.But his altercation with former South African wicketkeeper Tsolekile on Saturday overshadowed his own outstanding batting performance for Australia A, having made 193 in the first innings. The heated exchange between the pair reportedly was a result of tensions earlier in the game, when Tsolekile was unhappy with comments made toward him by the Australians when he was batting in South Africa As first innings. The game ended in a draw.Australias selectors decided to send Warner to the A teams tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa because his preparations for the Ashes were not ideal, they said, but he would be in contention for a place later in the series.He is in need of match practice and runs in the longer format and the Australia A games in Zimbabwe and South Africa will provide him with the best possible opportunity, national selector John Inverarity said in a statement this month. David remains a member of the Ashes squad and will return to England at an appropriate time once were happy he has had adequate preparation in match conditions.

Mohit eyes call as India aim to clinch series

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HARARE (AFP) - Seamer Mohit Sharma looks set to earn his international debut on Sunday as India aim to wrap up the one-day series against Zimbabwe at the first opportunity.India go into the third one-day international at Harare Sports Club leading the five-match series 2-0, having won the first two matches comfortably.Although the visitors fielded the same XI in those outings, part of their objective on this tour is to discover the depth in their ranks and Mohit is the first in line for an opportunity.The 24-year-old put in a string of impressive performances for the Chennai Super Kings during the Indian Premier League this year, when Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni regularly called upon his services in pressure situations.Mohit is expected to replace R Vinay Kumar, who has been Indias most errant bowler on the tour so far, conceding 106 runs in 18 overs during the first two matches.Beyond that change, India may hold off further experimentation until they have wrapped up the series and moved down to Bulawayo for the final two games.I feel Zimbabwe are playing good cricket and theres always a chance they could cause an upset, but wed like to win all of the games, opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan said.Dhawan played a leading role in Fridays second one-day international, making the most of the three lives granted to him to score 116 in a 58-run victory.For their part, Zimbabwe will be looking to cut down on the sort of errors which helped Dhawan to his century and also saw the home side lose wickets to loose shots.Whats quite frustrating is we should be learning from the opposition, coach Andy Waller said afterwards.We look at guys like (Virat) Kohli and them bat: they dont play too many rash shots, they just keep it simple and we should be learning from that.Were not, and weve got to start doing that, otherwise were going to find it difficult.Dhawans advice for the struggling Zimbabweans was that they needed as much game time as possible if they want to move forward.You need a lot of match practice - thats what I feel, he said.You learn how to take the pressure and you learn how to play in different situations. I feel that works for us.

Taylor presses Ashes claim against Aussies

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LONDON (AFP) - James Taylor advanced his case for an England recall by making an unbeaten 64 for Sussex against Australia on the second day of three at Hove on Saturday.Nottinghamshire batsman Taylor has been given special dispensation by England chiefs to guest for Sussex, with officials concerned about the fitness of star batsman Kevin Pietersen for next weeks third Test in Manchester.Ashes-holders England, 2-0 up in the five-match series with their arch-rivals, are due to name their squad for Old Trafford on Sunday and Taylor, who last played Test cricket a year ago, seems set to be included as cover in case Pietersen does not overcome a calf injury.The 23-year-old Taylor batted for nearly three-and-a-half hours before rain forced an early close at Sussexs Hove headquarters on Englands south coast, with the hosts 228 for five in reply to Australias 366 for five declared.However, the diminutive Taylor was almost yorked first ball by paceman Mitchell Starc and then saw Steven Smith drop a low, hard, second slip catch off Jackson Bird on 23.But, after Rory Hamilton-Brown had made a dashing 73, Taylor batted through until the close. Hed so far faced 146 balls, including five fours.Both Bird and Starc are bidding to replace James Pattinson in the Ashes side after their fellow fasr bowler was ruled out of the remainder of the tour with a stress fracture of the back after Australias colossal 347-run second Test loss at Lords.Bird had the marginally better figures Saturday, taking two wickets for 33 runs in 14 overs compared to Starcs one for 28 in 13.Earlier Smith, 98 not out overnight, reached three figures before Australia declared, the all-rounder cutting England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar for four to complete a 165-ball century including 16 boundaries.
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