Friday 2 January 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Karachi: 4 gang war accused killed in encounter with Rangers

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, Rangers conducted a targeted operation in Juman Shah area of Lyari on Friday night during which gang war accused opened fire on raiding party. Rangers returned the fire due to which four gang war accused were killed.The deceased were identified as Sheharyar, Liaquat, Amir and Sana Ullah. They were involved in several cases of murder, extortion on money, kidnappings and robbery. Rangers also arrested an extortionist in a separate raid near Tiba Hospital in Azizabad area while a kidnapper, named Amir, was arrested furing an operation in New Karachi area.On the other hand, at least four people were killed in a clash between two rival groups in Lyari area.

US slaps sanctions on North Korea after Sony hack

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States imposed new sanctions Friday on North Korea in retaliation for a cyber attack on Hollywood studio Sony Pictures.In an executive order President Barack Obama authorized the US Treasury to place on its blacklist three top North Korean intelligence and arms operations, as well as 10 government officials, most of them involved in Pyongyangs arms exports.Obama said he ordered the sanctions because of the provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, including its destructive, coercive cyber-related actions during November and December 2014.The activities constitute a continuing threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, he added, in a letter to inform congressional leaders.The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the Government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others, Obama added.The sanctions come after hackers penetrated Sonys computers in late November, stealing and releasing over the Internet employee information, unreleased films and an embarrassing trove of emails between top company executives.The hackers -- a group calling itself Guardians of Peace -- then began to issue threats against the company over the looming Christmas release of the comedy film The Interview, which depicts a fictional CIA plot to kill North Koreas leader.The threats led first to worried movie theater owners dropping the film and then Sony cancelling the public debut altogether, before releasing it online.After the hackers invoked the 9/11 attacks in their threats, the White House branded it a national security threat, and an investigation by the FBI said North Korea was behind the Sony intrusion.Pyongyang repeatedly denied involvement, but has applauded the actions of the shadowy Guardians of Peace group.The White House stressed Friday that its response will be proportional, but also that the sanction actions were only the first aspect of our response.We take seriously North Koreas attack that aimed to create destructive financial effects on a US company and to threaten artists and other individuals with the goal of restricting their right to free expression, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.In parallel with the White House announcement, the Treasury named the first targets of sanctions in the Sony case.They included the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the governments main intelligence organization, and two top North Korean arms exporters: Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) and Korea Tangun Trading Corporation.The individuals named included agents of KOMID in Namibia, Russia, Iran and Syria, and other representatives of the government and the sanctioned organizations.An administration official, briefing reporters, said that they remain very confident in their assessment that Pyongyang is behind the attack on Sony, amid doubts raised by security experts.The official said the three organizations had no direct involvement with the hacking. Theyre being designated to put pressure on the North Korean government, the official said.It was the first time the Treasury sanctions mechanism had been invoked due to a threat to a private company, the official acknowledged.The sanctions forbid US individuals and companies from doing business with those blacklist, and freezes any assets those blacklisted might have on US territory.A particular aim of such sanctions is to limit their access to international financial services by locking them out of the US financial system.All three of the organizations blacklisted in the Sony case are already under US sanctions for the countrys persistence with its nuclear weapons program, its alleged provocations on the Korean peninsula, and other continued actions that threaten the United States and others, as Obama said in his letter.

19 killed in rebel fire on Syria's Aleppo: monitor

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BEIRUT (AFP) - At least 19 people were killed overnight by Syrian rebel fire on government-controlled parts of the northern city of Aleppo, a monitor said on Friday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead included at least five children, three of whom were killed with their mother when a rocket hit the car they were in.The Britain-based group said at least 32 people were also wounded in Thursday nights rocket attack in the western part of the city.On Friday, meanwhile, three people including a pregnant woman were killed by a ground-to-ground missile fired by government forces at a rebel district in eastern Aleppo, the Observatory said.Once Syrias economic hub, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting that began there in mid-2012.The city is divided with government forces controlling the western part and rebels controlling the east.However, government forces have advanced steadily around the eastern outskirts of the city, threatening to besiege opposition-held districts.More than 200,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, according to the Observatory.

Saudi royal court says king, 90, has pneumonia

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RIYADH (AP) - Saudi Arabias King Abdullah is being treated for pneumonia and his condition has stabilized with the help of a breathing tube, according to a Royal Court statement issued Friday.The statement, which was released by Saudi state media, said the monarch, 90, had been transferred Thursday to a military hospital after experiencing shortness of breath and back pain. The Saudi Royal Court said medical tests showed the king had a respiratory infection.After spending a little more than week at his royal encampment in Rawdat Khuraim, a green oasis about 62 miles (100 kilometers) north of Riyadh, the king returned to the capital on Wednesday and was admitted initially to a National Guard hospital for medical tests.The health of the monarch is of extreme importance in the kingdom, where Abdullah holds absolute powers to enact laws and appoint ministers. His condition is also watched internationally largely due to the countrys role as one of the worlds largest oil exporters, as well as regionally where the kingdom has used its influence to counter the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group and Shiite Iran.Abdullah officially assumed the throne in 2005, but has largely been seen as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia since the mid-1990s. He reportedly underwent back surgeries in 2010 in New York City, and in October 2011 and November 2012 in Saudi Arabia.The aging monarch met President Barack Obama in March and appeared before the press wearing an oxygen tube. Official photographs of the king have also shown him in a wheelchair.His successor is 79-year-old half-brother Crown Prince Salman. Abdullah has outlived two other half-brothers who held the crown prince post.In an effort to assuage concerns about continuity and stability in the kingdom, 69 year-old Prince Muqrin was appointed deputy crown prince and second-in-line to the throne last year. He is the youngest surviving son of Saudi Arabias founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud.

IS seizes dozens in northern Iraq

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KIRKUK (AFP) - The Islamic State jihadist group seized dozens of men from two villages in northern Iraq on Friday while searching for people who burned its flag, officials and residents said.An intelligence officer said that a total of 170 men were taken from the villages of Al-Shajara and Gharib in Kirkuk province, after two IS flags were burned in the area, an account confirmed by other officials from the province.Members of the (IS) organisation who were driving around 30 vehicles took the kidnapped (people) to the centre of Hawijah, a nearby town where they have a court and a prison, the officer said.A resident of Al-Shajara said that women pleaded with the IS militants not to harm the men, to which the fighters responded that they would investigate and only punish those responsible for the flag burning in the village.A resident from Gharib said they took around 90 people from that village, and that the fighters said they were searching for 15 men who burned their flag there.It is not the first time IS has turned to mass detentions as it seeks to quell resistence in the swathes of territory in Iraq that it has overrun since June.It seized 50 people in Kirkuk province after residents burned one of their positions and flag in September, and 20 more the following week for allegedly forming a resistance group.Some of those seized by IS have been subsequently released.But the group has also executed thousands of people in areas it controls in Iraq and Syria, sometimes in grisly beheadings it videotapes and posts online.

Djokovic to face Murray in Abu Dhabi final

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ABU DHABI Agencies) - It was a day of contrasting straight-set wins. While Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka was simply overpowered by the world number one Novak Djokovic in his 6-1 6-2 defeat, 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal produced moments of magic against Andy Murray and yet ended up with an embarrassing 6-2 6-0 defeat.The big Friday crowd at the Zayed Sports City tennis stadium must have hoped for some great entertainment, but in the end both the semifinals of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship ended in a whimper. Djokovic will now take on world number six Murray for the title on Saturday while Nadal will get another chance to get some more time on the court when he faces Wawrinka — the man who beat him in last year’s Australian Open final — in the third place match.Wawrinka, who looked in great touch against Nicolas Almagro on Thursday, failed to maintain his level as Djokovic relentlessly attacked him from the baseline, breaking his serve four times in the match. “I guess I can’t have any complaints after a win like this,” Djokovic quipped at the post-match Press conference.“I am extremely happy to have played such a fine match. After all it was my first match of the season. I managed to execute everything the way I wanted to. So it’s great to be able to play at a very high level. Playing a match like this against Stan who is one of the best players in the world will obviously help me.”Djokovic was excited to be playing Murray in the final.“For all of us in the tournament it’s important to get time on the court, to try to see where our game is. The crowd is great here. They love tennis. So it’s inspiring to play in front of such crowd.“Andy played exceptionally well against Rafa today. So I just hope that both of us will be able to give the crowd a great final .”While Djokovic clinched the deal in just 57 minutes, Murray needed one hour and 28 minutes to finish what statistically looked like a very easy match. The match produced some fascinating rallies in the first set, but Nadal just couldn’t go for the kill when he had chances to finish off the big points.Later Murray admitted that it wasn’t a cake walk for him. “Today was a tough match. I mean it wasn’t a really what the score (6-2, 6-0) suggested. There were a lot of close games. He had a lot of break points. Luckily I managed to win lot of important points. It was a good quality match,” the Briton said.Murray was struggling a bit with his shoulder during the first set. “Yeah, it’s a bit sore actually. I don’t know exactly what happened. I never had any trouble with my shoulder before. I have to see how I feel tomorrow morning.”Despite the shoulder issue, the Olympic champion is now looking forward to playing another good match in the final.“Yes, it will be another very good test for me. To start the year with matches against Rafa and Novak would be fantastic. Hopefully I can play a good match. I will try to make it tough for Novak.”

Oil price drops in first session of 2015

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices finished the first day of 2015 trade lower as disappointing manufacturing data from the US, China and Europe kept pressure on the beaten-down commodity.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery ended 58 cents lower at $52.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.European benchmark Brent oil for February delivery fell 91 cents to $56.42 a barrel in London.Analysts said a spate of disappointing manufacturing data from major economies gave traders little reason to shift from their bearish outlook on the commodity.The global economy still looks relatively weak, said Michael Lynch of Strategic Energy & Economic Consulting. Theres light trading and none of the news was particularly strong, with the feeling that the oversupply situation will continue.In the US, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday that its purchasing managers index for manufacturing fell to 55.5 in December from 58.7 in November.A similar survey for the eurozone showed the regions manufacturing PMI stood at 50.6 in December, up from the 50.1 in November, but below the 50.8 initially projected.Several leading economies, including Austria, France and Italy came in below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction, according to Markit.Chinas PMI for manufacturing slipped from 50.3 in November to 50.1 in December.Fridays drop comes on the heels of a nearly 50 percent retreat in crude prices in 2014 due to lofty supply, lackluster economic growth in many regions and a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries against cutting production to prop up prices.

Euro falls to $1.20 as Draghi points to more stimulus

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro sank to $1.20 Friday, its lowest level against the greenback since May 2010, as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi reiterated the possibility of more stimulus coming.Draghi said in an interview published in the German business daily Handelsblatt that deflation remains a threat and that the ECB needs to be prepared to counter it.If inflation is too low for too long, then it can happen that people will bet on a further fall in prices and postpone spending. We havent reached that point yet. But we have to prepare for that risk, Draghi said.But the risk that the central bank will not be able to move inflation higher has increased compared to six months ago, Draghi said.As a result, the ECB is currently technically preparing to adjust the size, speed and composition of our measures at the start of 2015, should it become necessary, he said.Both currencies meanwhile pulled up against the yen, which had strengthened on its safe-haven appeal ahead of the new year holiday.

Not all obese people prone to poor health: study

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MIAMI (AFP) - US scientists encouraged 20 obese people to eat extra fast food for several months, and found that about a quarter stayed in good health despite the additional pounds they gained.The study in the January 2 edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation was led by a team of scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.Subjects were encouraged to eat 1,000 extra calories per day, mainly by frequenting fast food restaurants with the goal of adding six percent of their body weight.This was not easy to do. It is just as difficult to get people to gain weight as it is to get them to lose weight, said chief author Elisa Fabbrini, assistant professor of medicine. Those not suffering from ailments typically associated with obesity at the outset of the study -- such as insulin resistance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess liver fat -- did not have these problems even after adding about 15 pounds (seven kilograms) to their already overweight frames, said the findings.The results mirror what scientists have seen in the general population, which is that about a quarter of obese people do not appear to suffer from metabolic complications that can lead to heart attack, diabetes and stroke.But those whose did suffer from metabolic problems before the study grew even worse when they put on extra weight. All the research subjects were helped by dieticians to lose the weight they gained for the study, which was featured on HBOs documentary Weight of the Nation while the research was under way.Study authors said they now understand better how to distinguish obese people who will be more prone to ill health from those who may be more protected.For instance, those with abnormal metabolisms accumulated fat in their livers, while the healthier people did not, even when they gained more weight.Another difference involved gene function in fat tissue, the university said in a statement.The study found that overweight people with normal metabolisms had more fat-regulating genes. The activity of those genes increased even more when the metabolically normal people gained weight. That wasnt true for people with abnormal metabolism, the study found. Since obesity is known to contribute to dozens of health problems, more research is needed to figure out why some are particularly prone to problems from obesity.Could it be genetics, specific dietary intake, physical lifestyle, emotional health or even the microbes that live in the gut? queried senior investigator Samuel Klein, director of Washington Universitys Center for Human Nutrition.We need more studies to try to understand why obesity causes specific diseases in some people but not in others, Klein said.

Sri Lanka wins toss, bowls in 2nd test vs. New Zealand

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WELLINGTON (AP) - Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and chose to bowl on a greenish pitch Saturday on the first day of the second cricket test against new Zealand.New Zealand made one change to the lineup that won the first test at Christchurch by eight wickets, naming Doug Bracewell as its third seamer in place of Neil Wagner. Tim Southee was passed fit to play after a fitness test on a minor ankle injury.Sri Lanka made three changes. Spinner Rangana Herath rejoined the lineup in place of Tharindu Kaushal after missing the first test because of injury. Dinesh Chandimal, who also missed the first test, was named to bat at No. 6 in place of Niroshan Dickwella and seamer Nuwan Pradeep displaced Shaminda Eranga.We definitely would have bowled first but weve batted first the last couple of times here and weve just got to find a way to make sure we get ourselves a competitive score in the first innings, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said.McCullum, who scored 195 after New Zealand lost the toss and was asked to bat in the first test, scored 302 when New Zealand last played on the Basin Reserve against India in February.Lineups:New Zealand: Tom Latham, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (captain), Jimmy Neesham, B.J. Watling, Mark Craig, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell.Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep.Umpires: Steve Davis, Australia, and Richard Illingworth, England.TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford, Australia. Match referee: Chris Broad, England.

Ramdin leads Windies fightback after Harmer triple

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CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Debutant off-spinner Simon Harmer took three wickets before West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin led a fightback against South Africa on the first day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Friday.West Indies, who are attempting to square the series, were 276 for six at the close. We showed the fight we have been talking about, said top-scorer Leon Johnson, who made 54. We are one or two wickets too many down but were very happy with the position were in.If the West Indies were happy, the same applied to Harmer, who was added to the South African squad three days ago and told on Thursday he would be making his debut in place of leg-spinner Imran Tahir.Harmer took three for 67 and was mainly responsible for the West Indies slipping to 172 for five, dismissing Devon Smith, Johnson and Shivnarine Chanderpaul during an impressive first day of Test cricket.Since I was four years old I have always wanted to play for my country but if you had told me ten days ago that I would be sitting here I probably would have slapped you, he said.Harmer, 25, attributed his successful transition to the Test arena to a strong domestic cricket competition in which he plays for the Eastern Cape Warriors franchise. He said the key to his success on Friday was finding the right length. If its not turning you want to attack with your length, he said.Ramdin (53) and Jermaine Blackwood (45 not out) put on 94 for the sixth wicket to enable the tourists to finish with a respectable total after it seemed they had squandered the advantage of winning the toss and batting first on an easy-paced pitch.Harmer took a wicket with the last ball of his fourth over. It was also the last ball before lunch and came from a disappointing shot by Smith, who chopped the ball into his stumps after battling to 47.Johnson played some handsome strokes in making 54 off 84 balls with nine fours before he was deceived by a quicker ball from Harmer which curved in with the arm and struck the batsman on his front pad deep in his crease. The leg before wicket decision was so obvious that Johnson did not even contemplate asking for a review, departing for the dressing room immediately.Samuels looked in good form, scoring 43 off 70 balls, but hung his head in shame after playing a loose drive against the first ball sent down by part-time bowler Stiaan van Zyl, bowling at a gentle medium pace. The ball went straight to Faf du Plessis at cover.Worse for the West Indies was to follow with the first ball after tea. Harmer fired the ball down the leg side and Chanderpaul was smartly stumped by AB de Villiers. Chanderpaul was out for nine -- his fourth successive failure in a series in which he has scored only 41 runs in four innings. It looked like a planned move but Harmer admitted: I bowled it too straight. It was a brilliant take and stumping by AB.Ramdin, whose previous highest score in eight Tests against South Africa was 32, struck the ball solidly in making his half-century before falling to Dale Steyn shortly before the close. He mistimed a slower ball to offer a return catch to the fast bowler.Steyn took the first wicket of the match when he had Kraigg Brathwaite caught at gully. His two wickets for the day took him to 391 Test wickets and second place on South Africas all-time wicket-taking list, one ahead of Makhaya Ntini and behind only Shaun Pollock, who took 421.Blackwood was picked as an extra batsman in place of left-arm seamer Kenroy Peters and justified his selection with a dogged innings, although De Villiers put down a thick edge off Harmer when he was on 13.There was less assistance than expected for the seam bowlers, despite the pitch having a good coverage of grass, and South African captain Hashim Amla used Harmer for 25 overs, while part-timers Van Zyl and Dean Elgar bowled eight and two overs respectively.

Tennis: Nadal shrugs Murray loss in Abu Dhabi

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Rafael Nadal shrugged off his 6-2, 6-0 defeat to Andy Murray at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships on Friday, insisting hell be fighting fit when his 2015 season starts in Qatar next week.The 14-time Grand Slam title winner was making his first appearance since undergoing an appendectomy late last year having also missed most of the second half of the 2014 season with a wrist problem.The Spaniards rustiness was obvious against Murray, who had played for more than two hours in seeing off Feliciano Lopez in his first match at the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament on Thursday.This was not the best start possible against a tough rival in Andy Murray, the 28-year-old Nadal told the Gulf News. But there are only small things I need to adjust.6-2, 6-0 is too much. I had a lot of chances to have a closer result. I have to improve, thats obvious, and Im going to improve. This match helps me and the defeat does not affect me too much.I felt I was dominating the points a lot of times, but I am missing competitive spirit. I am going to keep working hard to get that.Murray goes on to face world number one Novak Djokovic in Saturdays final after the Serb eased past Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-2.I have been working very hard on my speed and movement around the court -- maybe that made the difference, said Murray after his win over Nadal.Wimbledon champion Djokovic was playing his first match in a month having completed his 2014 campaign by featuring in the International Premier Tennis League.I havent played in over a month, so to play at such a high level against such a class player was nice, said the 27-year-old Djokovic, who won seven titles in 2014, including a seventh major at Wimbledon and the World Tour Finals in London.Djokovic and Nadal will open their competitive 2015 campaigns at the Qatar Open in Doha from Monday.

American missing for 4 days in Mexican wilderness

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WASHINGTON (AP) An American has been missing in rugged wilderness of central Mexico for four days after going on a hike wearing only a T-shirt and shorts and with little food and water, according to his wife and a Mexican official.The search for Hari Simran Singh Khalsa, 25, began Tuesday after he went missing in Tepoztlan about an hour south of Mexico City and has included 150 searchers and three helicopters, said Carlos Mandujano, a civil defense coordinator in the central Mexican state of Morelos.Our orders are to do everything humanly possible to find him, Mandujano said Friday.Khalsas wife, Ad Purkh Kaur, said Friday from Tepoztlan that her husband is a yoga instructor born and raised in Brooklyn. The couple now live in Leesburg, Virginia, and were planning to move back to Brooklyn at the end of the month.Kaur, whose legal name is Emily Smith, said she and her husband arrived to Tepoztlan for a yoga retreat on Dec. 26.She said her husband decided to go for a day hike in the nearby mountains on Tuesday, and left with only a T-shirt, shorts, a liter of water, a handful of trail mix and a knife. Temperatures in the area where Khalsa went missing can get below freezing this time of year.Kaur said she heard from her husband at 12:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday, when he sent a picture of himself on a mountain top, pointing down to the site of the yoga retreat where she was, with the message: Looking down on youShe last heard from him about two hours after that, at 2:20 p.m. CST, when he sent a text message.I accidentally summited another mountain, he wrote, Kaur said. Looks like Ill be a little later coming back. Save me some lunch if you can.Kaur said that searchers have pored over the location they believe Khalsa sent his last text messages with no luck and that helicopters have made many runs overhead, leading her to believe hes injured and may be in a cave or crevasse.Mandujano, the civil defense coordinator in Morelos, said that the area is crisscrossed by ravines and gullies that lead off in different directions, and that Khalsa may have taken one of those.Kaur said her husband is an experienced hiker who was just getting into backcountry hiking, though she said he doesnt have much survival training that she knows of.He hasnt done a lot of overnight hikes, or a lot of backcountry hikes, she said. He has gone on accidental overnight hikes before and had to come down the next day ... Hes very adventurous and strong and smart and capable.I believe he has enough resources to keep himself alive until we can find him, she said.Her optimism was boosted after she said the U.S. Embassy became involved in the search effort Friday and helped obtain cellphone data for Khalsa, which shes hoping will help pinpoint his location.I dont have any other choice than to believe 100 percent were going to find him, she said.

Larkana: Al-Shahbaz Cricket Club awards gold crown to Younis Khan

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Al-Shahbaz Cricket Club Larkana on Friday awarded gold crown to former captain Younis Khan for his excellent services for the national team.Coronation ceremony was organized at Al-Shahbaz Cricket Club where 4 tola gold tiara was crowned to Younis Khan.On the occasion, Younis Khan thanked Larkana Cricket Club and admired Larkana’s talent. Younis said that Sindh has raw talent and PCB has to organize planning camps and first class tournaments to bring that raw talent out.Younis also visited Cadet College Larkana.

Sri Lanka opposition candidate escapes stoning

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COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankas main opposition presidential candidate narrowly escaped a stoning by suspected pro-government activists at a rally Friday, but at least 20 of his supporters were seriously injured in the attack days ahead of the vote.Rocks and stones were hurled into the crowd of some 20,000 people during a speech by Maithripala Sirisena, who is mounting a serious challenge against President Mahinda Rajapakse, on Friday evening.Mobile phone footage of the rally shared on social media showed people trying to cover their heads and duck stones thrown from a nearby multi-storied building.Several victims were seen in blood-splattered clothing and being helped into vehicles to be taken away to hospital.The assault came as the European Union urged Sri Lankan authorities to ensure a peaceful campaign and a fair election, while monitors warned of an escalation of violence.Sirisena said attackers targeted him as he addressed a rally at Pelmadulla, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south-east of the capital Colombo.This attack demonstrates the presidencys democracy, good governance and how he protects election laws, Sirisena told reporters.He blamed pro-government elements for unleashing the attack.Sirisena said he was whisked away to safety by his bodyguards, but at least 20 people were injured in the incident.It was not immediately clear how many were involved in the attack, but police said an investigation was underway and arrests were yet to be made.- Colombo warns EU -====================The attack came hours after Sri Lankas External Affairs ministry warned the European Union not to be prescriptive about next weeks elections after Colombo-based ambassadors urged the government to ensure a peaceful poll.The ministry was responding to a statement issued earlier Friday by ambassadors that Sri Lankans should be free to choose their leaders without violence or fear.Domestic elections are not for foreign government representatives to be prescriptive about, that too, a few days ahead of the polls, the ministry said in a terse statement.It accused the diplomats of commenting on an issue of a strictly domestic nature and added that Sri Lanka was capable of holding free and fair elections.Almost all recent elections have been marred by allegations of voter intimidation, abuse of state resources and other electoral malpractice.The EU statement came a day after Sirisena told foreign envoys that he feared the government may deploy troops to block minority Tamils voting against Rajapakse, who came to power in 2005 and is South Asias longest-ruling leader.Rajapakse is despised by many Tamils after overseeing the crushing end to a 37-year separatist rebellion in 2009 which sparked accusations of rights abuses.Sirisena left the Rajapakse administration in November to become the main opposition candidate at the January 8 vote.He has been endorsed by the Tamils largest political party, which accuses the incumbent of failing to pursue reconciliation in the wake of the conflict against the Tamil Tiger rebels which left some 100,000 dead.Sirisena also has the support of Muslims, the second-largest religious majority in the country, and represents a serious threat to Rajapakse, who called the election two years ahead of schedule.This week, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure the elections are peaceful and that minorities, including Tamils and Muslims, are able to vote without fear.The ruling partys vote sank 21 points at a local election in September, suggesting that the presidents own popularity may be waning five years after he was credited with ending the long and bloody separatist war.
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