Sunday 20 July 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tennis: Wozniacki routs Vinci for Istanbul title

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ISTANBUL (AFP) - Top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her first title of the year and 22nd of her career on Sunday when she defeated second-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1 in the Istanbul WTA final.The former world number one has now won a WTA title every year for the last seven years, winning her first three in 2008, three more in 2009, six in 2010, six in 2011, two in 2012, one in 2013 and now one in 2014.I'm happy to have won my 22nd WTA title -- it's a great feeling. I'm happy how the final went today. I served well and pushed her around the court, and I really dictated the match, said Wozniacki.Vinci added: I tried to play aggressively like always but made a lot of mistakes. It's tough to play like that against Caroline because she puts everything back in the court, and it was tough for me to stay in the rallies today. But I'm happy with my week and Caroline just played much better than me.

Cycling: Kristoff wins 15th stage of Tour de France

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NIMES (AFP) - New Zealander Jack Bauer came within 100 metres of winning Sunday's 15th stage of the Tour de France after a 222km breakaway before Alexander Kristoff chased him down.The Norwegian won his second stage of this Tour following the run from Tallard to Nimes, the third longest stage of 2014.Bauer and escape companion Martin Elmiger had attacked from the off and held a lead of almost nine minutes after 26km but were gradually reeled in.Coming into the last kilometre they still had around 12sec on the bunch and while Elmiger wilted, Bauer fought right to the end, only to be overhauled by the peloton in the last 100 metres.After crossing the line 10th, he broke down in tears.It's just bitter, bitter disappointment. It's a childhood dream to win a stage of the Tour and for a domestique, like myself, I'm normally working for others, said the 29-year-old.This was my first chance to be up the road and with the chance in the wind and the weather, me and Martin realised we had a chance for the win.I faked to be tired but felt I had more punch left. I left it until 400 metres to go. I thought I had it but then I realised in the last 50 metres, that I had nothing.Kristoff, who also won Thursday's 12th stage in Saint-Etienne, said he thought the peloton had left it too late.I was scared of course that they would keep ahead but there were some strong pulls at the end by Giant-Shimano to pull them back, said the 27-year-old.At the end I had the best lane but I wasn't sure I'd win until 100 metres to the finish.With a 45-second lead and 8km left it looked like the breakaway duo might hold on as the chase was disorganised.There were a lot of roundabouts at the end which made it very difficult to get the team together to make a good chase, said Kristoff.The Norwegian admitted he was also surprised to win because he didn't think he would be able to beat Germans Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel in a sprint finish.Giant's Kittel, who had won three of the first four stages, finished 11th while Greipel, the sixth stage winner, came home fourth.I was hoping to win the stage but I didn't expect to beat Greipel and Kittel today so I'm really very happy, said Kristoff, who rides for Russians Katusha.It's great to take a second stage, I didn't expect so much from this Tour. I was hoping for one and now I have two so it's better than expectations.Australian Heinrich Haussler took second on the stage with Peter Sagan third.For Slovak Sagan it was his eighth top-four finish at this Tour and 10th inside the top nine, but he still hasn't won one.Race leader Vincenzo Nibali had a relatively calm day in the saddle, coming home in the bunch to maintain his 4min 37sec lead over Spain's Alejandro Valverde, with young French pair Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot third and fourth at 4:40 and 5:06 respectively.Chinese rider Ji Cheng remains 171st and last at more than four hours, as well as being 24 minutes adrift of the second last rider.Nibali may not have been in the action much but he did impress in one instance on a day of strong winds, rain, storms and generally awful weather.The BMC team of American Tejay Van Garderen had taken up pace-setting duties on a stretch of road where crosswinds were a risk.Realising the danger, Nibali accelerated alongside the long line of riders to ride up to the front and tuck in behind the leading BMC riders.There was a lot of wind coming from the side at that time and I saw BMC all massing at the front, said the 29-year-old Italian.I didn't want to lose the right moment to get up front because when there's wind, you have to be at the front.

34 more Palestinians killed, toll in Gaza rises to 472

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GAZA CITY (AFP) - The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the latest round of Gaza violence rose to 472, medics said, after announcing the deaths of another 34 people early Monday.Emergency services spokesman for the Gaza Strip Ashraf al-Qudra said 72 of the Palestinians had been killed on Sunday in Shejaiya, between Gaza City and the Israeli border, bringing down a previous toll of 73.Qudra said 80 percent of the Shejaiya fatalities were old men, women and children. He said another 4,000 Palestinians were wounded there.Qudras toll included deaths over the past 15 days.Since the Israeli military started Operation Protective Edge on July 8 in a bid to stamp out rocket fire, Palestinian militants have fired 1,414 mortars and rockets that hit Israel, with the Iron Dome air defence system intercepting another 377, the army said.On Sunday the Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation, raising to 18 the number of soldiers killed since the ground operation began late on Thursday.Another two Israeli civilians had been killed by rocket fire from Gaza.

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Gaza

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting late Sunday on the situation in Gaza, where the Palestinian death toll passed 100 in a single day.Diplomats said the meeting, open to the public and set for 9:30 pm (0130 GMT Monday), was requested by council member Jordan, following a call by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.As regional leaders met in Doha for urgent talks on a ceasefire, Abbas said that what the occupation forces did today in Shejaiya is a crime against humanity, referring to a blistering hours-long Israeli assault near Gaza City that has claimed 62 Palestinian lives and wounded another 250.Those who committed it will not go unpunished, Abbas added.As the Palestinian death toll soared to 438 in the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years, a spokesman for the enclave's emergency services said more than a third of the victims were women and children.The Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation.The armed wing of Hamas claimed it had kidnapped an Israeli soldier, prompting celebrations in the streets of Gaza City and West Bank cities.The Council's 15 members held a meeting on Gaza Friday but failed to reach agreement on a joint declaration.Since the conflict began on July 8, the council also held a first inconclusive meeting on July 10, before calling for a ceasefire in a unanimous declaration.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Doha as part of a Middle East tour to push truce efforts.He condemned the atrocious action in Shejaiya and urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint.Too many innocent people are dying... (and) living in constant fear, Ban told a news conference in Doha.

UN chief urges Israel to 'do far more' to spare Gaza civilians

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DOHA (AFP) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint and spare the lives of civilians in its campaign in Gaza, where Sundays Palestinian death toll passed 100.He also condemned the atrocious action of Israel in Shejaiya, near Gaza city, where a blistering hour-long assault at dawn left 62 people dead and at least 250 people wounded.While I was en route to Doha, dozens more civilians, including children had been killed in Israeli military strikes in Shejaiya. I condemn this atrocious action, he told a press conference in Doha, his first stop on a regional trip aimed at bringing an end to the fighting.Israel must exercise maximum restraint and do far more to protect civilians, he said, adding that it also must respect the humanitarian law, as it pressed on with its major military campaign that began on July 8.Too many innocent people are dying...(and) living in constant fear in the narrow coastal strip controlled by the Islamist Hamas movement, he said.At least 438 have been killed in Israels campaign on Gaza, more than a third of them women and children, according to medics.The Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed in a series of attacks inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation.Ban is also travelling to Kuwait City, Cairo, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman.He is to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah ah-Sisi in Cairo on Monday to discuss proposals to arrange a truce in the Gaza conflict.Egypts foreign ministry said their talks would focus on the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire.Cairo had proposed a halt to the fighting but Hamas rejected this, saying it had not been consulted, and Israel initially accept it.Hamas has laid out a set of conditions, including the lifting of Israels eight-year blockade on Gaza, the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the release of scores of prisoners Israel rearrested in recent weeks.Hamas also wants its Turkish and Qatari allies to be involved in any truce negotiations.

Looting in Paris as Europeans protest against Gaza conflict

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SARCELLES (AFP) - A French rally against the deadly Israeli offensive in Gaza once again descended into chaos Sunday as protesters looted shops and riot police lobbed tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds.The demonstration in the northern Paris suburb of Sarcelles is the third to have deteriorated in the space of eight days in a country that counts the largest Muslim population in western Europe and a huge Jewish community.A decision by authorities to ban protests in areas deemed too sensitive has also garnered controversy as they took place anyway and turned violent, while authorised ones elsewhere in the country -- as well as in other cities across Europe -- were peaceful.From Vienna to Stockholm and on to Amsterdam, thousands rallied on Sunday to oppose Israels offensive, which has left more than 400 Palestinians and 20 Israelis dead.Though patrolled by police, few incidents were reported in those demonstrations.Were not anti-Semites, were here for the people. We call on Europeans and Americans to finally do something, organisers of the 11,000-strong march in Vienna said.But in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles -- sometimes nicknamed little Jerusalem for its large community of Sephardic Jews -- a banned but orderly demonstration of several hundred descended into chaos when dozens of youth -- some of them masked -- set fire to bins and lit firecrackers and smoke bombs.Looters then began raiding shops, wrecking a funeral home and destroying its front window as several protesters shouted: Fuck Israel.Others raided a drugstore which caught fire. Young girls grabbed baby milk inside.Were going to get the cash register, one person shouted, his voice drowned by the noise of a police helicopter overhead and the alarm of a nearby pizzeria.Security forces then fired rubber bullets in the direction of the looters.Not far away, riot police blocked access to the local synagogue, where a group of young men stood armed with clubs and iron bars -- one of them flying an Israeli flag.The deadly bombing of Gaza has brought to light deep divides within French society -- a Jewish community increasingly concerned over anti-Semitism, a growing radical Islamic fringe, and far-left activists whose opposition to Israeli policies sometimes verges on anti-Semitism.The violence in Sarcelles closely mirrored that of a rally Saturday in a northern district of Paris, when a protest that began peacefully spiralled out of control, leading to clashes with riot police and dozens of arrests.Both rallies had been banned out of fear of unrest and amid concern that the Jewish community would be targeted after protesters last weekend tried to storm two synagogues in the French capital.Some commentators in France, and the left-wing party which helped organise Saturdays march, railed against the ban, particularly as other protests in France and Europe took place without incident.On Saturday, parts of central London were brought to a standstill as thousands marched against the Israeli offensive.London saw both pro- and anti-Israel rallies on Sunday, but police kept demonstrators at a distance and no arrests were made.Some 11,000 marched in central Vienna on Sunday to protest the murder and oppression in Palestine.Were not anti-Semites, were here for the people. We call on Europeans and Americans to finally do something, the organisers said at the start of the march.Smaller protests of 500 to 600 people were also held in the Austrian cities of Graz and Linz.In Amsterdam, they were some 3,000 marchers carrying signs including Stop the war and Israel war criminals, an AFP correspondent said.It just has to stop. Children are being killed and they are innocent, said Ekrem Kara, 32, wearing a traditional Palestinian black and white keffiyeh scarf.In Stockholm about 1,000 people protested.Frances Prime Minister Manuel Valls defended the decision to stop the Paris protest, saying the violence that unfolded justifies all the more the brave choice by the interior ministry to ban a demonstration.Speaking as he commemorated the anniversary of the Vel dHiv Roundup -- a mass arrest of Jews in Paris on July 16 and 17, 1942 -- Valls warned of a new form of anti-Semitism.He said it was spreading on the Internet, on networks, in working class areas, among young people who are often aimless, who have no awareness of history, who hide their hatred of the Jews behind the facade of anti-Zionism and behind hatred of the Israeli state.President Francois Hollande also hit out at anti-Semitism and racism Sunday, saying it would not be tolerated.The Republic is about being able to live together, to look at our history and at the same time to always be ready to defend democratic values, not to be influenced by arguments that are too far away from here to be imported, not to be swept away by global shock waves, he said.Meanwhile, former French prime minister and leading right-wing politician Alain Juppe criticised the Israeli offensive, which he said was seeking to destroy Hamas but mostly what we see is terrorised families caught in the trap of the Tsahals bombardments.On his blog, Juppe said he does not understand the Israeli governments strategy, and called for an immediate truce.

60 Syria soldiers dead in battle with jihadists: report

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BEIRUT (AFP) - At least 60 soldiers have died as the army battles to retake a gas field in central Syria where jihadists killed 270 people, a pro-regime newspaper reported on Sunday.Al-Watan, citing a military source, give a toll of 60 martyrs for a counter-offensive against the Islamic State (IS) group around Shaar gas field that a security official said was launched Friday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported violent clashes... in and around the gas field.On Saturday, the Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 270 people killed in fighting or executed by IS militants.A large majority of the men killed were executed at gunpoint after being taken prisoner in the seizure of the field, said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.Eleven of the dead were civilian employees, while the rest were security guards and National Defence Forces members, he added.The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground, said at least 40 IS militants were killed in the counter-attack, which was backed by aircraft.Thursdays takeover of the Shaar field was the biggest anti-regime operation by the IS since the jihadist group rose to prominence last year among rebel groups in Syrias conflict, it said.On Sunday, the Observatory said the IS had carried out another 24 executions at a Deir Ezzor oilfield in eastern Syria of men abducted during the past month.At least eight of the men killed on Saturday night were fighters from other anti-regime rebels groups, it said.The Observatory also reported 17 rebels killed in clashes with the IS near rebel-held Akhtarin, a town in the northern province of Aleppo.IS jihadists proclaimed an Islamic caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq last month and have also taken over oil-rich Deir Ezzor province.Deir Ezzor borders Homs province as well as Iraq, where the jihadist group has spearheaded a major Sunni militant offensive that has seen large swathes of territory fall out of Baghdads control.

Battle for Libya airport leaves at least 47 dead

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TRIPOLI (AFP) - Islamist-led militiamen have stepped up their assault on Libya's main airport, controlled by rival fighters, which the health ministry said Monday had left at least 47 dead in a week.The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until Saturday.The European Union condemned a fresh outbreak of violence Sunday, two days after the collapse of a truce with the militia controlling the airport, which left five civilians dead according to local media.A coalition of militias led by Islamist fighters launched an assault on the airport on Sunday, with clashes later spreading along the road to the capital.By Sunday evening, fighting had subsided around the airport, security official Al-Jilani al-Dahesh told AFP, but clashes continued in the western suburbs of the capital, witnesses said.The airport was attacked this morning with mortar rounds, rockets and tank fire, Al-Dahesh told AFP.It was the most intense bombardment so far.Dahesh said the militia which controls the airport -- based in Zintan, southwest of the capital, and seen by Islamists as the armed wing of liberals within the government -- responded with heavy fire.Islamist militias have been joined by other armed groups, including the powerful Misrata Brigades, which played a key role in the 2011 UN-backed revolt that toppled and killed strongman Moamer Kadhafi.The fighting has halted all flights and caused extensive damage to planes and airport infrastructure, with aviation officials saying Tripoli airport could be closed for months.Pictures posted on social media showed a Libyan Airlines plane on fire as plumes of smoke billowed over the airport.The carrier said on its Facebook page that one aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ900, was destroyed.Another aircraft, an Airbus A330, was also later reported to have been destroyed by fire.Loud explosions were heard in the city centre, 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) away, as battles raged along the airport road with rockets striking nearby homes.At least five civilians were killed in the Qasr Bin Ghashir neighbourhood, Mohamed Abderrahman, from the local town council, told private television channel Al-Nabaa.The rival sides are among several heavily armed militias which have held sway in the oil-producing North African nation for the past three years.Relentless violence across Libya this year -- including a war against Islamists in the east launched by a rogue general -- has sparked fears of all-out civil war.The European Union mission in Libya issued a statement Sunday urging fighters to lay down their arms and spare civilians.The EU is concerned about the protracted conflict over Tripoli international airport and urges all parties to exercise restraint, to abide by international law and to respect civilians, it said.The EU calls on all parties to find a peaceful resolution through dialogue and compromise... there is no military solution to the crisis in Libya... the only option is a political solution and a peaceful democratic process.On Thursday, Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz pleaded for UN help to build up Libya's army and police force and to protect vital sites, including the airport and oil installations.The fighting mirrors a deadly power struggle between liberals and Islamists in the General National Congress, Libya's parliament and top political authority.A new parliament was elected last month after the GNC was repeatedly accused of trying to monopolise power.Results of the vote had been due to be announced Sunday, but the electoral commission announced a delay until Monday.The growing lawlessness in Libya has alarmed neighbouring states that fear a spillover of violence.On Saturday, militants attacked a checkpoint on Egypt's border with Libya, killing 22 soldiers, the Egyptian military said.

Bloody Sunday as 100 Gazans, 13 Israeli soldiers killed

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GAZA CITY (AFP) - At least 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed on Sunday with Hamas claiming it had captured another, as Israel ramped up a major military offensive in Gaza.The United Nations Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the Gaza situation at 0130 GMT Monday, following a call by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, as regional leaders met in Doha for urgent ceasefire talks.The Palestinian death toll soared to 438 in the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years, with a spokesman for the enclave's emergency services saying more than a third of the victims were women and children.The Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation, raising to 18 the number of soldiers killed since the ground operation began late on Thursday.It was the largest number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat since the 2006 Lebanon war. Late Sunday, the armed wing of Hamas claimed it had kidnapped an Israeli soldier, prompting celebrations in the streets of Gaza City and West Bank cities.The Israeli soldier Shaul Aaron is in the hands of the Qassam Brigades, a spokesman using the nom-de-guerre Abu Obeida said in a televised address.A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said they were investigating the claim.More than half of Sunday's Palestinian victims were killed in a blistering hours-long Israeli assault on Shejaiya, near Gaza City, which began before dawn and claimed 62 Palestinian lives, with another 250 wounded.With ambulances unable to reach the area, the International Committee of the Red Cross arranged a brief ceasefire that allowed paramedics to evacuate some of the dead and wounded before hostilities resumed. As the violence raged, Abbas arrived in Qatar to discuss a ceasefire with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived later to push truce efforts.I am calling for an urgent session tonight of the UN Security Council, Abbas said in a speech broadcast on Palestinian TV.What the occupation forces did today in Shejaiya is a crime against humanity, he said. Those who committed it will not go unpunished.Ban also condemned the atrocious action in Shejaiya and urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint.Too many innocent people are dying...(and) living in constant fear, he told a news conference in Doha.So far, truce efforts have been rejected by Hamas which has pressed on with its own attacks, undaunted by the Israeli bombardment by land, sea and air.Following a night of terror in Shejaiya, thousands fled for their lives at first light after heavy shelling, an AFP correspondent reported.The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA has opened 61 of its schools to shelter more than 81,000 people who have fled their homes.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the civilian casualties on Hamas using innocents as human shields.He insisted on Sunday that the military campaign had strong international backing. We are carrying out a complex, deep, intensive activity inside the Gaza Strip and there is world support for this... very strong support, he said before a security cabinet meeting.Although Israel said earlier Sunday it was expanding its ground operation to destroy the network of tunnels used by militants to stage cross-border attacks and fire rockets, Netanyahu said troops could end their mission fairly quickly.His Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon also suggested it could end within days. My assessment is that in another two or three days, the lion's share of the tunnels, from our perspective, will be destroyed, Yaalon said.But he demanded international action to demilitarise Gaza, the tiny coastal enclave which is home to 1.7 million Palestinians and is one of the most densely-populated areas on the planet.Palestinian militants have over the past 12 days fired 1,414 mortars and rockets that hit Israel, with the Iron Dome air defence system intercepting another 377, the army said. Israel's right to self-defence in the face of rocket fire from Gaza has won repeated US support, but President Barack Obama has expressed concern over the loss of life in a call to Netanyahu.Secretary of State John Kerry, who is to travel to Cairo to seek an end to the fighting, meanwhile, blamed Hamas for perpetuating the conflict by stubbornly refusing all ceasefire efforts.By its behaviour, Hamas had invited further actions by Israel, he said, in remarks which drew an angry response from Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who accused Israel of killing Palestinians mercilessly.Thousands participated in rallies in France, Vienna, Stockholm and Amsterdam to oppose Israel's offensive, with a demonstration in the northern Paris suburb of Sarcelles descending into chaos as protesters set fire to bins and looted shops.

India eye Lord's triumph as Cook fails again

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LONDON (AFP) - India were on the brink of just their second Test win at Lord's as Alastair Cook's latest failure with the bat prolonged the debate about his future as England captain.England were 105 for four at stumps on Sunday's fourth day, needing a further 214 runs to reach their victory target of 319.But the odds were on India going 1-0 up in this five-match series, after last week's draw at Trent Bridge, and recording only their second victory in 17 Tests at Lord's following a lone win back in 1986.Joe Root was 14 not out and Moeen Ali 15 not out at the close, the pair having come together after England lost three wickets for two runs in collapsing to 72 for four.Left-handed opener Cook fell for just 22 to make it 27 innings since he had scored the last of his England record 25 hundreds.His exit came shortly after Ian Bell, the other experienced batsman in England's top order, had been dismissed for one -- his 19th innings without a Test century.England assistant coach Paul Farbrace did his best to make light of a difficult situation by telling Sky Sports: We've got a bit to do tomorrow (Monday), but we've got two guys in who love a scrap.The captain (Cook) is fine, he's in there chatting to the lads who are not out. The form of the senior players isn't a concern.Fast-medium bowler Ishant Sharma removed both Bell and Cook in a burst of two wickets for no runs in seven balls.At lunch, India were 267 for seven, a lead of 243.Three quick wickets early in the second session and England would have been on course to end their run of nine Tests without a win.But instead the runs flowed.Jadeja made a dashing 68 while adding 99 in an eighth-wicket stand with Kumar that changed the course of the game.We are in a good position, but we need to get them out early, Jadeja said.Reflecting on his cavalier 57-ball innings, which saw him hit both James Anderson and Stuart Broad back over their heads for boundaries after taking several steps down the pitch, Jadeja said: I wanted to go out there and play my shots.Kumar was last man out for 52 -- his third fifty in four innings this series after his Test-best six for 82 earlier in this match.His innings saw Kumar join two of cricket's greatest all-rounders in England's Ian Botham and New Zealand's Richard Hadlee as the only men to have both scored a fifty and taken five wickets in successive Tests.Left-arm spinner Jadeja struck with his first ball Sunday when he had opener Sam Robson lbw.Cook and fellow left-hander Gary Ballance added 58 for the second wicket.But Ballance, who made 110 in the first innings, was caught behind off Mohammed Shami to leave England 70 for two.Bell did not last long, clean bowled off stump by a Sharma delivery that kept a touch low.Then Cook, after more than two hours at the crease, fell in familiar fashion when Sharma had him eding a good length ball through to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Cook had now scored a mere 115 runs in seven Tests innings at home to Sri Lanka and India so far this season.Ali, on 11, survived a confident lbw appeal from Jadeja and was dropped of the spinner on 15 by Dhoni.India resumed Sunday in overcast conditions on 169 for four, with opener Murali Vijay 59 not out and Dhoni unbeaten on 12.After Dhoni fell for a laboured 19, it was not long before Anderson was bowling to Jadeja, with both players facing a possible ban as a result of their alleged confrontation in the Trent Bridge pavilion.Vijay, in sight of a second hundred of the series following his 146 in Nottingham, fell for 95 when he flicked an Anderson delivery to wicketkeeper Matt Prior after more than six hours at the crease.Jadeja counter-attacked brilliantly while Kumar made England pay for Root dropping him on two before India were bowled out for 342.

Raza revels as Zimbabwe rout Afghanistan

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BULAWAYO (AFP) - Sikandar Raza struck 141 runs as Zimbabwe cruised to an eight-wicket one-day international (ODI) triumph over Afghanistan in Bulawayo Sunday.A century from 17-year-old Usman Ghani was pivotal as Afghanistan made 256-7 in 50 overs at Queens Sports Club in the southern Zimbabwe city.But a succession of Afghan bowlers had no answer to right-hander Raza, who combined with Hamilton Masakadza for a 224-run opening partnership.Zimbabwe reached a victory-clinching 257-2 off 43.3 overs.The emphatic victory coupled with a six-wicket win two days ago gave Zimbabwe a 2-0 lead in the four-match series with matches to come on Tuesday and Thursday.Opener Ghani struck 118 runs from 143 balls in a 200-minute stand laced with 12 fours and one six.No other Afghan batsman impressed with the second-best score an undefeated 23 from lower-order Gulbadin Naib.Pakistan-born Raza, who made his ODI debut last year against Bangladesh, averaged over a run a ball as he tormented the visitors' attack.The knock came off 133 balls and his 171-minute spell of havoc included 11 fours and seven sixes.Masakadza fell on 93 having scored 10 fours and one six.Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are preparing for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Smith calls time on Surrey stint

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LONDON (AFP) - South Africa great Graeme Smith will not be returning to Surrey next season, the English county announced Sunday.The former Proteas captain, who was the London clubs skipper, played just three matches for Surrey last season because of an ankle injury and was ruled out for the rest of the ongoing campaign after fracturing his knee in May, subsequently undergoing surgery.Now doctors have told 33-year-old left-handed opener Smith, who retired from international cricket in March after 117 Tests, he will not be able to fulfil the day-to-day duties of a full county season, with both club and player agreeing to end his three-year stay at The Oval a year early.I thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of captaining Surrey but due to my injuries in 2013 and 2014 I have been unable to fulfil my role in achieving the goals that both Surrey and I set out to accomplish when I first arrived, Smith told www.kiaoval.com.I would like to thank Surrey for the way they have looked after me.They have made me feel very welcome and it is very apparent that the current cricket management and personnel in the dressing room are already well on their way to achieving these goals.I will continue to follow the clubs progress over the coming years.Smith played eight championship games in total for Surrey, scoring 383 runs including an innings of 103 against Gloucestershire at The Oval this year.Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said: On behalf of the club, and particularly the dressing room, I would like to thank Graeme for the impact he has had in the time that he was with us over the last two years.As a person and leader his qualities have helped lay the foundations for the progress that we all want for the club, the former England captain added.We wish Graeme the very best in the next stage of his career and he will always be welcomed at the Kia Oval.

Achakzai claims aversion of possible retaliatory attack from Afghanistan

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LONDON (Dunya News) -- In an interview with a British media outlet, Mehmood Khan Achakzai said that Prime Minister (PM) Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif does not want any misunderstanding between the two countries and on the other hand Hamid Karzai wanted the Pakistani government to take action against the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).The head of Pakistans political party Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, Achakzai said that the PM had sent him to Afghanistan because there was credible information of Afghan action against Pakistan.Achakzai added that Pakistan had received a report from informed sources in Kabul that Afghanistan was about to take action against Pakistan.Sharif had reiterated that there should not be any kind of misunderstanding between the two countries.Achakzai said that the Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry also accompanied him on a visit to Kabul where they met the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, his closest associates and ambassadors from China and the United States as well.Achakzai stated that Karzai wanted Pakistan to take action against the banned TTP, adding that the Pakistani security forces action in June at Kunar allegedly killed three Afghan army personnel, which is why Karzai was about to retaliate against Pakistan.Mehmood Khan Achakzai said these two countries will have to state it in front of the entire world that they will not breach each other’s sovereignty and respect it.Achakzai quoted an earlier statement in which the Afghan government had issued a statement that Karzai had ordered a preparation for a retaliatory attack against Pakistan after the Kunar incident.

India rains halt exhumation of bodies of gang-raped girls

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LUCKNOW (AFP) - Indias monsoon rains Sunday halted the exhumation of the bodies of two girls who were gang-raped and lynched, crimes that reignited fury over sexual violence in the country.Authorities began digging up the bodies of the cousins, aged 12 and 14, on Saturday after local police in northern India cast doubt on whether they were sexually assaulted in late May.Local police have claimed the girls may have been the victims of an honour killing. But the families of the girls have accused officers of failing to act quickly in the case because they are from a lower caste.Indias federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ordered a new autopsy after taking over the inquiry into the deaths of the girls, who have been buried on the banks of the Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh state.The CBI was now mulling how to resume the exhumation after the graves were submerged by rising water levels caused by the rains.The CBI team is on the site reviewing the situation to plan the future course of action as the river is in spate, local police senior superintendent L.R. Kumar told AFP.The process can practically resume only when the water level recedes, said local district magistrate Shambhu Nath.India has been trying to restore its battered reputation after a spate of cases of violence against women. But public outrage was reignited by the deaths of the girls who were found hanging near their homes in Baduan district.They had gone outside at night to relieve themselves because, like most homes in their impoverished village, theirs did not have a toilet.Five men have been arrested over the incident.India brought in tougher laws last year against sexual offenders after the fatal gang-rape of a student in New Delhi in December 2012, an attack that drew international condemnation.But the legislation, which was also designed to educate and sensitise police on rape cases, has failed to stem the tide of violence.Police said Sunday they have arrested one man over the attempted rape and murder of a woman in the Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow last week. Her battered and naked body was found dumped near a school.Additional director of police Sutapa Sanyal told reporters the woman was brutally assaulted when she resisted the attackers attempts to rape her.In the southern city of Bangalore, thousands of demonstrators marched on Saturday to demand arrests in the case of a six-year-old girl allegedly raped in a school.Parents accused school authorities of trying to shield suspects and hush up the crime.

Roma teen out of coma weeks after vigilante attack in France

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BOBIGNY (AFP) - A Roma teenager who was left struggling for his life after being brutally beaten by vigilantes in France has emerged from his coma and is talking, his lawyer said Sunday.Gheorghe, who was initially mistakenly referred to as Darius when the incident took place last month, is very well, Julie Launois-Flaceliere told AFP.He has emerged from his coma and his life is no longer in danger. He talks and recognises his family, its very positive.The 17-year-old was dragged into a basement in the Paris suburb town of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine on June 13, savagely beaten by a dozen residents of a housing estate who accused him of theft, and left unconscious in a supermarket trolley where he was later found.Suffering from severe brain injuries, Gheorghe was taken to a Paris hospital where he has been treated since the attack.Launois-Flaceliere said it was too early to assess the after-effects of his trauma, but added he appeared to be recovering his memory.A source close to the case said the judge tasked with investigating the incident was able to visit Gheorghe in hospital on Friday.The teenager, who does not speak French, has an interpreter and his hospital room is closely guarded.Gheorghe left Romania for France to join his parents who were already in the country.At the time of the incident, he and his family had only just moved into an abandoned house in the town just north of Paris.On June 13, he was taken by force in front of his parents by a group of assailants angered by a rumour that he had broken into an apartment in a nearby estate.It is unclear how many people beat him up, but more than a month after the incident, no one has yet been detained.Romas have long suffered discrimination across Europe, centuries after migrating there from India.The Nazis killed hundreds of thousands of Roma during World War II, and even now rights organisations have warned of a spike in violence against the community in Europe.In France, many of the 20,000-or-so Roma come from Romania or Bulgaria in search of a better life, and often end up living in extreme poverty in makeshift settlements with little or no access to basic amenities including water.These are systematically destroyed under a controversial, official French requirement, forcing the traditionally sedentary population to move on to other settlements.Their presence in illegal camps on the fringes of towns and cities has often spurred controversy in France where they are perceived as being behind a rise in petty crime.
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