Friday 6 February 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Nigeria's neighbors could give Boko Haram tougher fight: US intelligence officials

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Boko Haram is flush with cash and weapons after a string of battlefield advances, but the militants could face a tougher fight with Nigerias neighbors, US intelligence officials said Friday.The group is financially secure from bank robberies, kidnappings and other sources, and is able to go toe-to-toe with the Nigerian military after capturing an arsenal of arms, the intelligence officials told reporters.However, the group could soon face an unprecedented test on the battlefield against more capable forces from Cameroon, Chad and Niger.The military intervention of neighboring powers potentially can be a game changer in a positive way, one intelligence official said.The comments came as Boko Haram suffered heavy losses after launching a major attack into Niger on Friday for the first time.The clashes involved troops from Niger as well as Chad, which has adopted a leading role in the fight against the Islamists.US officials drew a possible parallel with Somalia, where regional armies have rolled back Shebab extremists, and said Boko Haram might find its power curtailed by neighboring states.Inside Nigeria, Boko Haram has been steadily gaining in strength, seizing 30 towns and villages in the space of a year, officials said.The advance has allowed the group to carve out a safe haven, from which it has staged more sophisticated operations and attacks over a wider area.Boko Haram, with about 4,000-6,000 fighters, also has seized armored personnel carriers from retreating Nigerian troops, allowing the group to up its game on the battlefield, one intelligence official said.The Nigerian military, meanwhile, has struggled to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram.The army has fallen into a downward spiral, with heavy casualties damaging morale, which in turn has prompted desertions, officials said.The US Defense Intelligence Agencys director, Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, told lawmakers in written testimony this week that Nigerias army has been challenged by mass desertions, as troops often retreat upon their first contact with Boko Haram.But the groups strengths could be its weaknesses as the more ground it controls, the more vulnerable it will become to conventional military attacks as tries to defend large stretches of territory, the official said.Boko Harams campaign of terror could also backfire in other ways.The group could eventually face a food shortage as it has driven out whole populations in areas under its control, leaving farms abandoned with no one to plant and harvest crops.

South Africa pin hopes on golden generation

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africas hopes of ending a World Cup hoodoo will rest with some of the finest players currently active in the one-day game.Captain AB de Villiers is the top ranked one-day international batsman and will arrive at the tournament after displaying dazzling form in their 4-1 series win against the West Indies, including the fastest one-day international century, made off a scarcely credible 31 balls.Not far behind him is Hashim Amla, who has reached a succession of milestones in fewer innings than anyone else -- 2000, 3000, 4000 and most recently 5000 runs. As an opening batsman in one-day cricket, Amla sets the tone for many an innings.Both De Villiers and Amla have career batting averages in excess of 50 and their runs have been scored at a rapid rate -- De Villiers with a strike rate of close to 100 and Amla at just under 90.Amla will be partnered at the top of the order by the prodigious talent of wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, provided the 22-year-old left-hander has fully recovered from an ankle injury. And there are other good batsmen, too, with Faf du Plessis, David Miller, who hit his maiden one-day century in the series against the West Indies, and JP Duminy all having shown their class at international level.In Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, South Africa have two of the most potent fast bowlers in the world game, while new ball bowler Vernon Philander is an accurate exploiter of any life in a pitch. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir made his debut at the 2011 World Cup and was one of the tournaments leading wicket-takers. He has continued to pick up regular wickets and is among the all-time top ten in terms of strike rate.The bowlers can look forward to being backed up by energetic fielders who in recent times have taken almost all the chances that come their way.Unusually, though, South Africa do not possess all-rounders of the quality that has been a hallmark of their teams since their first appearance in a World Cup in 1992. Duminy is a capable off-spinner but only bowled a full 10 overs in four of his first 132 one-day internationals.South Africa have therefore had to decide whether to load their batting or their bowling. They appear to have settled on a formula of seven batsmen and four specialist bowlers, with Duminy and medium-pacer Farhaan Behardien -- who has yet to establish himself fully at international level -- sharing the role of the fifth bowler.It could be a risky strategy, especially if one of the four main bowlers has a bad day -- as was the case for both Philander and Morkel on occasions during South Africas one-day tour of Australia late last year. That will put pressure on the other leading bowlers and particularly on the part-timers.If their specialist batsmen and bowlers hit their best form, South Africa will be serious contenders for the world crown although death bowling remains a problem.The big imponderable, though, is the ability of South Africa to respond in pressure situations. They have been criticised in the past for lacking tactical flexibility, while they will have to overcome the mental hurdle of never having won a knockout match in a major ICC tournament.As a means of getting over that problem, the Proteas have drafted in former Australian Test batsman Mike Hussey as a consultant during the World Cup.

Sri Lanka bank on Sanga-Mahela hit show

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will join hands for the last time in their brilliant careers to plot Sri Lankas World Cup campaign, hoping to make amends for two successive heartbreaks.The missing link in the enduring partnership between the two 37-year-olds that started at the turn of the century is the absence of a World Cup triumph despite coming so near.Jayawardene was captain when Sri Lanka reached the final of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, only to see Australia cruise to a 53-run win in near-darkness in Barbados.Four years later in India, Sangakkara was at the helm in the title clash when Mahendra Singh Dhonis home team inflicted a six-wicket defeat despite a magnificent 103 off 88 balls by Jayawardene.The two veterans, who go into the World Cup as the leading run-getters in one-day cricket among those still playing, took the setbacks in their stride and looked positively ahead at the future.We may not have won those two tournaments, but reaching two successive finals showed we played consistently well, said Jayawardene. Hopefully we can cross the line this time.Jayawardene will hang his boots after the World Cup, having already retired from Test and Twenty20 cricket last year to concentrate on his fifth appearance in the showpiece event.Sangakkara will also bid farewell to limited-overs cricket after the World Cup, but remains undecided about prolonging his Test career after enjoying a tremendous run with the bat in recent months.The World Cup gives both a last chance to bow out in a blaze of glory and, despite losing the one-day series in New Zealand, the signs are already encouraging that this could be Sri Lankas year.In Sangakkara and Jayawardenes final T20 appearance last April, Sri Lanka won the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh to end a drought of major titles since they took the World Cup in 1996.Angelo Mathews men won more one-dayers (20 out of 32) than any other team in 2014, including the Asia Cup title that also featured defending World Cup champions India and Pakistan.Sri Lankans dominate the run-getters list for the year gone by with left-handed Sangakkara leading the pack with 1,256 runs, followed by Mathews in second place with 1,244 and opener Tillakaratne Dilshan in fourth with 990.Unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis topped the bowling charts with 38 wickets, but still failed to make the World Cup squad as the selectors went with left-armer Rangana Herath and off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake instead.Sri Lanka will sweat over the fitness of pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, who was picked for the World Cup in a gamble by the selectors despite being sidelined following an ankle surgery in September.The devastating sling-armer, 31, who is the only bowler in history to claim three hat-tricks in one-day internationals, did not play in the seven one-dayers in New Zealand last month.

Winless tour leaves champs India vulnerable

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Loaded with free-stroking batsmen but missing match-winning bowlers, Mahendra Singh Dhonis India will look to chase down -- rather than defend -- the World Cup title they won four years ago.But a miserable bilateral tour of Australia where India lost the Test series 2-0 and failed to win a match in the tri-series that also featured England, leaves the defending champions on shaky ground.Millions of fans will hope that Dhonis men turn their fortunes around -- as they have done in the past -- when they clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in their World Cup opener in Adelaide on February 15.India went into the 2003 World Cup after a bad tour of New Zealand and still reached the final. In 2011, they won the tournament despite a lacklustre performance in South Africa.In Rohit Sharma, the only batsman with two 200s in one-day internationals, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and the explosive Dhoni, India possess destructive batting firepower.But the frail bowling attack remains a worry, as was evident during the recent Test series where the hosts piled up 500-plus totals in each of the four matches.The same seam attack comprising Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav, will feature in the World Cup alongside three frontline spinners in off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and young Akshar Patel.Big totals are needed to win, Indias first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev told AFP. We will be better off chasing targets rather than giving bowlers a target to defend.India won the title under Dhoni in 2011 with an experienced squad that included seasoned campaigners like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.The present side has just four players -- Dhoni, Kohli, Raina and Ashwin -- who were part of that winning combination, leaving the team short of World Cup experience.The nucleus of the squad is the same which helped India win the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in England in 2013, but a power-packed batting display is needed to succeed again.Rohit Sharma, who followed his one-day 209 against Australia in 2013 with a scintillating world record score of 264 against the West Indies last year, is expected to fire at the top of the order despite a poor Test series.Kohli, recently appointed Test captain after Dhoni quit the longer format, is one of the finest batsmen in the modern game with 21 one-day centuries in the last five years, a testimony of his hunger for big scores.Dhoni, the peg around whom Indias fortunes will revolve, is a leader and batsman tailor-made for limited-overs cricket whose improvised big-hitting has won many a battle for India.A win over Pakistan in their opening match -- India have never lost to their arch-rivals in the World Cup -- will be the tonic Dhoni needs to revitalise the side.

North Korea test-fires ultra precision rocket

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SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea has test-fired a new ultra-precision intelligent rocket to be deployed across its navy, state media said Saturday, in the latest evidence that Pyongyang is stepping up its development of missile technology.The exercise was carried out by the Norths East Sea fleet under the watchful eye of leader Kim Jong-Un, Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.The ultra-precision anti-ship rocket blasted off from a rocket boat. The intelligent rocket precisely sought, tracked and hit the enemy ship after taking a safe flight, KCNA said, without giving a location or date.The new anti-ship rocket would be deployed across North Koreas navy before long, it added.Satisfied with the perfect development of the new rocket, Kim called for the production of more tactical guided weapons of high precision and intelligence.The nuclear-armed communist country has pushed for the development of new ballistic missiles and rockets, despite heavy sanctions imposed by the international community.Pyongyangs rhetoric has become increasingly bellicose since the UN passed a resolution condemning North Koreas human rights record and calling for its leaders to be investigated for crimes against humanity, and Washington blamed it for a cyber attack on a US film company.South Korea and American experts believe the North could be on the way to developing missiles that could threaten the US mainland, although opinion is split on how much progress it has made.In 2012, Pyongyang demonstrated its rocket capabilities by sending a satellite into orbit, but it has yet to conduct a test that proves it has mastered the technology required for an effective inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).South Koreas defence ministry in January said the North had already made significant steps in developing technology that would allow it to equip such a missile with a bomb.The same month, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University released satellite images that offered fresh evidence North Korea is developing a marine-based missile system that would allow it to strike back if hit by a nuclear attack.Commercial satellite pictures suggested a new North Korean submarine -- first seen in July last year -- housed one or two vertical launch tubes used to fire either ballistic or cruise missiles, the think-tank said.Development of a submarine-launched missile capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula.

Acapulco: Police launches manhunt for crematorium owner after 60 bodies found

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ACAPULCO (AFP) - Mexican police launched a manhunt Friday for the owner of an abandoned crematorium after 60 bodies, including children, were found rotting in the Acapulco facility that closed a year ago.Authorities made the grim discovery of bodies covered in white sheets, some piled on top of each other, late Thursday after neighbors called police to complain about the stench coming from the Cremations of the Pacific building.The fading resort of Acapulco has been plagued by drug gang violence whose victims are regularly found around the city, but this time, authorities indicated that they were investigating a macabre case of funerary fraud.The bodies of men, women and children were found perfectly embalmed in the crematorium, officials said.Guerrero state chief prosecutor Miguel Angel Godinez said authorities had requested assistance from federal agencies and Interpol to find the owner, Guillermo Estua Zadai.It could be a possible fraud by the owner of the building against the people who thought the remains of their relatives would be cremated, he later told Radio Formula, adding that officials are investigating whether people were given the wrong ashes.The bodies were covered in white sheets that were brown from what appeared to be fluid from the decomposing corpses.Lime was scattered on the bodies and around the crematorium in an apparent bid to mask the stench, but neighbors said they began to detect a nauseating smell two days ago.Authorities said the crematorium stopped paying taxes three years ago and closed last year after either going bankrupt or failing to pay back loans.Worried relatives who had used the crematoriums services went to Acapulcos morgue, asking authorities to check whether their loved ones were among the abandoned bodies.David Jaimes, who had hired the crematorium nine months ago after his mother died, asked officials to analyze the ashes that were handed to him.I saw the furnace turned on and my mother lying there, but I never saw them put her inside, Jaimes told AFP.The gentleman who was there told us get out if you want because this place is dangerous. We left but we never saw the body go in, so we have this doubt today.Karina Garcia Jacinto, who paid around $400-$470 in December 2013 to cremate her fathers body, went to the morgue with his death certificate.Its a concern that we have, as family members, to see if our relatives are there, she said.Prosecutors were investigating crimes, including the desecration of bodies and violations of burial and exhumation regulations.Forensic experts are examining the bodies to determine the cause and date of death.Investigators have asked directors of local funeral homes to indicate whether they sent any corpses to the crematorium since 2013 in order to identify the bodies.Local residents said they never noticed any suspicious activity around the building.We called (the emergency number) 066 because the smell became unbearable, said one neighbor who requested anonymity. Everything is calm here. I didnt know the crematorium was closed but we hadnt seen people go in and out.The case added another gruesome chapter in a state that has been the scene of horrific violence.In a case that has drawn global condemnation, authorities say 43 college students were abducted in the city of Iguala in September by corrupt police and handed over to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, whose henchmen killed and incinerated the victims.Crime in Acapulco got to a point where the government had to deploy 1,000 troops to guard dozens of schools that closed in November due to gang threats.Authorities announced Friday the arrest of Ronaldo Mendez Matilde, a leader of a gang accused of extorting teachers and attacking a school in December.

Windies plagued by conflict and decline

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ST. JOHNS (AFP) - Once the undisputed kings of cricket, two-time champions West Indies head for the World Cup plagued by infighting, political intrigue and poor form.The fear factor once generated by the worlds fastest and most intimidating battery of pace bowlers has given way to a pop-gun attack and a batting line-up which too often relies on the mercurial talents of Chris Gayle.Until their dramatic one-wicket win in Port Elizabeth last month, their previous three matches saw them swept aside by South Africa with the Proteas, one of the favourites for the World Cup, coasting to wins by 61 runs, 148 runs and nine wickets.South Africa hit back winning the series 4-1 with a 131-run win in the finale.Where once the West Indies made history, now they are a footnote -- their defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg last month saw them concede 439 runs, and take just two wickets.AB de Villiers romped to the fasted ODI century in history off just 31 balls. Three days later, the West Indies were bowled out for just 122.The West Indies need an in-form and motivated Gayle at the World Cup where they will face defending champions India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates in the opening pool games.The 35-year-old Gayle has played 263 ODIs with 8,881 runs to his name but his recent form has been poor.He has just one half-century in his last 17 innings and seems to thrive only in the Twenty20 format where he has become an international batsman for hire.Gayle was out for nought off the first ball he faced in the final game against South Africa at Centurion and there remain questions over his attitude after he accused selectors of victimisation for dropping Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the World Cup squad.Bravo was captain last year when the West Indies abandoned their tour of India over a pay dispute.Barbados fast bowler Jason Holder, just 23, has been installed as captain for the World Cup. The squad does not lack experience with Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Sammy all having played over a 100 ODIs while opener Dwayne Smith is closing in on the three-figure mark.I believe we have selected a very good team which will do West Indies proud at the World Cup, said Clive Lloyd, the West Indies chairman of selectors and the man who skippered the team to the 1975 and 1979 World Cup wins.The responsibility of taking early wickets will fall on the shoulders of seamer Kemar Roach who became just the sixth bowler to claim a hat-trick in a World Cup on his way to career-best figures of 6-27 against the Netherlands in 2011.He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 wickets from six matches as West Indies made the quarter-finals, their best run since 1996.But the Windies suffered a setback last week when off-spinner Sunil Narine withdrew from the squad unhappy with the progress of his bowling action.Narine has 73 wickets from his 52 ODIs but in a further sign of tensions in the set-up, he was one of two players to turn down the offer of a central contract from the West Indies board last month.

UN Security Council to pass resolution to halt funding to IS

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UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - The UN Security Council plans to adopt a resolution next week aimed at halting funding to Islamic State militants from oil, antique trafficking and ransoms, diplomats said Friday.A draft text, drawn up by Russia, was distributed to the 15 member countries ahead of closed-door discussions.The resolution was completed after dialogue with the United States and Europe. It draws largely on previous UN sanctions on organizations and individuals affiliated with Al-Qaeda, particularly the freezing of assets and an arms embargo.Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, anticipating adoption of the resolution on Tuesday, spoke of a very positive response to the measure.British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said no country had raised opposition to the resolution.I dont think this is a fundamental shift but it is an additional legislative act by the council, he said. It demonstrates our determination to tackle ISIL.The council in August adopted a resolution to cut off sources of financing and the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria, warning countries they could face sanctions if they trade in oil with the Islamists.These are already pretty robust, binding obligations and our goal was to expand and clarify and drill down what these obligations mean, how they apply in the context of oil smuggling particularly, a US official said on condition of anonymity.The official added that the text should be adopted next week, but clarified that its enforcement would be difficult due to the multitude of intermediaries who deal with the jihadists.We hope these norms and provisions will have a real impact, he said.One of the resolutions provisions specifically prohibits the trafficking of art and antiquities from Syria, where IS controls a substantial swath of territory. A similar ban already applies to Iraq.It also reiterated that member states are obliged to refrain from direct trade of oil with IS.The resolution said oil, agricultural products, looted goods and other resources were being trafficked by jihadists on roads, and recommended that neighboring states work to control traffic, particularly in Turkey, an important transit point for oil deliveries.A UN report released in November estimated that the militants earned $850,000 to $1.65 million per day selling oil to private intermediaries. The report recommended that tanker trucks from IS-controlled territories be blocked completely.However, oil revenue has declined significantly following recent air raids by the US-led coalition, as well as lower crude prices.The council also reaffirmed that members were not to make ransom payments for kidnapped hostages.And it expressed concern at the proliferation of all arms and related materials of all type in particular manportable surface to air missiles to IS.

Tamed Tigers hope to bite at World Cup

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Bangladesh will need a dramatic turn in fortunes to ensure another World Cup does not cause more misery after the Tigers endured a morale-sapping year in which they slumped from one defeat to another.Bangladesh failed to register wins for most of 2014 till fellow wooden-spooners Zimbabwe came calling at the end of the year and were duly thrashed 3-0 in Tests and 5-0 in the one-dayers.It was only Zimbabwe the Tigers had beaten, but fanatical fans in the South Asian nation celebrated as if the World Cup itself had been won.Bangladesh have struggled at Test level -- winning just seven of their 88 Tests since their debut in 2000 -- but have always appeared more suited to the shorter format where they have recorded creditable wins.A five-wicket win over Australia at Cardiff in 2005 was their moment of glory till they knocked India out of the 2007 World Cup to move beyond the first round for the only time in the tournament.Bangladesh must beat at least one of the big four in pool A -- co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England -- and also win against both Afghanistan and Scotland to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.A must-win scenario awaits them in the first match itself -- against Afghanistan in Canberra on February 18 -- because a loss like the one they suffered against the same rivals at the Asia Cup at home a year ago could prove costly.The kind of squad we have, I am confident we can reach the quarter-finals, Mashrafe Mortaza, who replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as one-day captain last year, told AFP.Former captain and current selector Habibur Bashar wanted Bangladesh to aim big, saying it was not enough to target just Afghanistan and Scotland.We should aim for winning at least three to four matches, Bashar told AFP.The players should believe they can defeat any team in the group. On those true pitches Down Under, any total can be chased down.The focal point of Bangladeshs campaign will be the skillful 27-year-old all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been the teams mainstay ever since his international debut eight years ago.The left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner goes into his third World Cup as the top-ranked all-rounder in all three formats, a tribute to his consistency with both bat and ball over the years.Shakib is the only player in the team who has experienced Australian conditions recently, having turned out for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash Twenty20 tournament.Another player to watch is 22-year-old left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who grabbed eight for 39 against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in only his third Test to record the best Test figures ever by a Bangladeshi bowler.Soon after, he became the first bowler in history to claim a hat-trick on his one-day debut, against the same opponents at the same venue.Competition will be tougher at the World Cup, but the exciting young talent could spring a few surprises.

Ottawa: SC struck down ban on doctor-assisted suicide

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OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadas supreme court on Friday unanimously struck down a ban on doctor-assisted suicide for mentally competent adults suffering from an incurable disease, reversing a decision on the books since 1993.The ruling was, however, suspended for one year to allow lawmakers an opportunity to enact new rules surrounding the divisive issue.The court ruled that an earlier ban on the practice was too broad, saying it wrongly applied to more people than the small group it was meant to protect -- vulnerable persons from being induced to commit suicide at a time of weakness.It noted that making it a crime to assist another person who is grievously and irremediably ill in ending their own life had left the sick with only two options: suicide often by violent or dangerous means, or suffering until natural death.The choice is cruel, the court concluded.Nothing in the courts ruling indicated that doctors would be compelled to take part in assisted suicide if asked by a patient.Physician-assisted death is the existential and moral issue of our time, said Conservative member of Parliament Steven Fletcher.Fletcher, who is a paraplegic, had proposed loosening the ban on doctor-assisted suicide last year, and said he looked forward to working to revise the rules.Fletcher said he agreed with the court, but favors maintaining regulations to prevent abuses.The ruling Tories will take the time to thoughtfully review this very important decision, Attorney General Peter MacKay said, recognizing that there is a wide and obviously very emotional range of perspectives on this issue.At that time, the court expressed concern about protecting vulnerable persons, but in its new ruling pointed to changed Canadian social values.In the more than two decades since the original ruling, debate on the issue has not abated, with parliament voting down several motions seeking to decriminalize assisted suicide.But recent polling shows a strong majority of Canadians -- 85 percent -- support the right to die.Some form of assisted suicide is legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as a handful of US states including Oregon.This is a tremendous victory for human rights and for compassion at the end of life, Grace Pastine of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association said outside the court.What this decision means is that Canadians who are suffering unbearably at the end of life will have a choice now, the choice to seek the assistance of a physician if their suffering becomes unbearable.She thanked publicly men and women with serious diseases like terminal cancer, Huntingtons disease, and multiple sclerosis who testified in favor of repealing the ban by sharing their personal and heart-wrenching stories with this court.This decision has come too late for many of them, she said. May they rest in peace and may their families find solace in knowing that this case is going to be their enduring legacy.There remains, however, fierce opposition to loosening the rules.Amy Hasbrouck of the rights advocacy group Not Dead Yet said she is alarmed by the naive decision handed down by the countrys top court.This decision endangers the lives of lots of Canadians, Hasbrouck said. When you are vulnerable, you need protection.

UAE old guard seek new breakthrough

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DUBAI (AFP) - Skippered by a 43-year-old and with a 15-man squad featuring nine players over 30, the United Arab Emirates believe their status as no-hopers could work in their favour at the World Cup.The last of the 14 finalists to book their place at the showpiece event, the Gulf side are playing in just their second World Cup and first since 1996.Now, two decades on, the expat-driven squad hope to capitalise on their lowly status although the odds are stacked against them with defending champions India, 1992 winners Pakistan, two-time champions West Indies and favourites South Africa all in their group.Realistically, the best the UAE -- whose players are all part-time and drawn mostly from Pakistan and India -- can hope for is to try and scratch out a result against Zimbabwe and Ireland, their opponents in their first two games.Mohammed Tauqir, one of just three Emirati-born players in the squad, has been installed as captain replacing fellow 43-year-old, Pakistani Khurram Khan who had led the side for six years.Tauqir has played in 50 international matches, but just five ODIs.On his ODI debut, in the 2004 Asia Cup against India, he scored 55 off 73 balls and claimed 1-46 with his tidy right-arm off-spin.If we put on a good show against Pakistan and India, that would be the icing on the cake, said Tauqir, who has seen cricket develop in the Gulf state from a sport played on concrete wickets on waste ground to international arenas in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.We are also targeting one or two wins. Its a challenging but a realistic target. These players are capable of causing an upset.Khurram Khan, who hails from Punjab and was born on the same day in 1971 as the captain, will be key to his teams chances.Vice-captain Khurram has played 10 ODIs in his 11-year career but boasts an average of 53.37, a figure boosted by his undefeated 123 in a six-wicket win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Afghanistan in Dubai in November.The UAE won that series 3-1.Khurrams score allowed him to surpass Sanath Jayasuriya as the oldest ODI centurion in the history of the game.The UAE are coached by former Pakistan fast bowler Aqib Javed, who played in the 1992 World Cup winning team.His input will be crucial for a side expected to struggle on the hard, bouncy pitches, particularly in Australia.Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston, who knows how to engineer a World Cup shock after his side defeated Pakistan in the 2007 tournament, believes the UAE attack will toil.The bowling is a concern with only one true paceman in Mohammad Naveed, said Johnston.However, Manjula Guruge will swing the new ball and bowl well at the death.

Point guard chastised for unprofessional comments about NBA referee

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LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The NBA Referees Association chastised Clippers point guard Chris Paul on Friday for personal and unprofessional comments about rookie referee Lauren Holtkamp, one of two women officials in the NBA.Paul lashed out on Thursday night after the Clippers were routed 105-94 by the Cavaliers in Cleveland, the final score flattering the visitors who trailed by as many as 32.The disgruntled Clippers were slapped with five technical fouls in the third quarter, Paul saying after the game that some of the technicals were ridiculous.I think weve got to show better composure, but at the same time some of them were ridiculous, said Paul, who was irked that Holtkamp assessed him a technical when he questioned her decision to stop play after the Clippers tried to inbound the ball quickly after a Cleveland free throw.Thats terrible, Paul said. Theres no way that can be a technical. We try to get the ball out quick every time down the court and when we did that she said Uh-uh and I said Why uh-uh? and she gave me a tech. Thats ridiculous.If thats the case then this might not be for her.Social media erupted with accusations of sexism on Pauls part, although his comments could just as well have referred to Holtkamps inexperience.Either way, the NBA officials union backed the ref and scolded Paul.The NBRA has carefully reviewed the calls made by Lauren Holtkamp and deems them fully justified, the union said in a statement on Friday.Furthermore, the NBRA deplores the personal and unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs.The matter likely isnt over. The NBA forbids public criticism of officiating, so Paul will likely face a fine.Clippers center DeAndre Jordan also received a technical, as did coach Doc Rivers, while Matt Barns got two and was ejected from the game.Barnes received his first technical foul early in the third for stripping the ball from Kevin Love after a foul had already been called on Barnes.He picked up his second some three minutes later for remarks to officials after they called a foul on team-mate Jama Crawford.Barnes 11 technical fouls this season tie him with Oklahoma Citys Russell Westbrook for most in the league, and team-mate Blake Griffin believes Barnes is now being punished for his reputation.I dont think its fair to be judged on your past, Griffin said. Every situation has to be one single situation and it has to be judged that way.

Dow Jones average surges 659.34 points

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks scored their best week of 2015 so far following a rally in oil prices, good US jobs data and some significant corporate acquisitions.For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 659.34 points (3.84 percent) to 17,824.29.The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 60.48 (3.03 percent) to 2,055.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 109.16 (2.36 percent) to 4,744.40.Analysts cited higher oil prices as a source of investor relief. After retreating about 60 percent over six months, the US oil benchmark contract surged more than 16 percent over the last six sessions to finish the week at $51.69 a barrel.While the price of oil is not a primary driver of the market as a whole, the stability of the oil market is very important to the stability of the (stock) market, said David Levy portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.With the stability in the oil market, investors are able to focus on other things that are perhaps more important.The weeks most closely-watched economic report, Fridays US jobs report for January, bested expectations by a wide margin.The Labor Department said the US economy added 257,000 jobs in January, better than the 235,000 projected by analysts.The report also included large upward revisions to jobs growth in November and December, making the most recent stretch the best three-month hiring period in the US since 1997.The report also said hourly wage growth gained 0.5 percent, a big improvement after a December drop in a category that has been closely tracked by the US Federal Reserve as a gauge of economic strength.It was a great number, and it really was a multidimensional report, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.The revision of previous months was strong, and finally we had a good number on wages. It appears the job market is tightening up.Ironically, US stocks retreated Friday after the jobs report. Analysts attributed the drop to profit-taking.US stocks also were propelled following a stream of acquisitions from across different sectors, suggesting 2015 could be another strong year of dealmaking after a robust 2014.US office supplies giant Staples announced plans to buy rival Office Depot in a deal valued at $6.3 billion.The transaction is expected to get a close once-over from antitrust regulators after the US Federal Trade Commission rejected a marriage between the companies in 1997.Executives from the two firms said they were encouraged by the FTCs 2013 approval of a buyout of OfficeMax by Office Depot that observed big changes to office supplies with the rise of online shopping and the expansion of Wal-Mart Stores and other chains into the market.Pharma giant Pfizer returned to the forefront in announcing a $17 billion takeover of Hospira, which will add a portfolio of sterile injectable treatments and biosimilar drugs to Pfizers broad pharma offerings.Analysts expect more deals from Pfizer after its proposed takeover of British giant AstraZeneca failed last year.On Friday, Harris, a supplier of military radios, announced it would acquire fellow defense contractor Exelis for $4.8 billion.Next weeks calendar includes a handful of big earnings reports, including from Dow member Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems and Time Warner. The most closely-watched economic data will be the January retail sales report.

Russia, European powers agree to draft Ukraine peace plan

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MOSCOW (AFP) - The leaders of Russia, Germany and France agreed during late-night talks in Moscow to draw up a plan to end fighting in Ukraine as rebels wage a deadly offensive in the countrys east, officials said Saturday.A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said that more than four hours of talks that wrapped up early Saturday saw the leaders agree on the drafting of a blueprint that would also include proposals from Ukraines Petro Poroshenko.They were substantial and constructive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters of the talks, adding that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande left swiftly afterward.Work is under way to prepare the text of a possible joint document to implement the Minsk agreements, said Peskov, referring to a widely flouted truce from September.A French official also called the talks constructive and substantial and said work was being done to pull together a document aimed at implementing the September truce.The three leaders, who did not address the media after the meeting, are to discuss the effort with Ukrainian President Poroshenko by telephone on Sunday.The European pairs talks with the Kremlin strongman were seen an attempt to prevent the 10-month conflict in east Ukraine from spilling out of control as Washington considers whether to supply weapons to Kiev.The visit was Merkels first to Moscow since the start of the Ukraine crisis while Hollande had made a brief stopover in December. Ahead of the talks, Merkel played down hopes of a rapid end to the fighting that has claimed more than 5,300 lives since April. Merkel and Hollande first flew to Kiev on Thursday for discussions, when US Secretary of State John Kerry also visited the Ukrainian capital. Kerry is set to meet Russias top diplomat Sergei Lavrov at a security conference in Munich this weekend, with the high-level diplomacy seeking to resolve the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War.On Friday, US Vice President Joe Biden said Ukraine was battling for survival in the face of escalating Russian military involvement.We, the US and Europe as a whole, have to stand with Ukraine at this moment, Biden said in Brussels.Russia cannot be allowed to redraw the map of Europe.President Putin continues to call for new peace plans as his troops roll through the Ukrainian countryside, and he absolutely ignores every agreement his country has signed in the past, Biden said.The West and Kiev accuse the Kremlin of sending troops and sophisticated weapons across the border to bolster separatists in Ukraine. Moscow has insisted it is not a party to the conflict.Observers have warned that if the United States gets involved militarily the regional conflict could reach a dangerous new stage and become a proxy war between Russia and the West.Russia is already under heavy Western sanctions over its alleged actions in Ukraine, and European Union officials said Thursday that the bloc would blacklist more Russian individuals. The sanctions already in place along with low oil prices have dealt a blow to Russias economy but have failed to force Putin to change tack over Ukraine.Ahead of the talks, Hollande said a ceasefire should be the first step on the path to a comprehensive settlement. Kerry voiced support for what he called a helpful Franco-German plan.President Putin can make the choices that could end this war, he said.Rebel and Ukrainian forces on the ground agreed a ceasefire for several hours Friday around the battleground town of Debaltseve to allow civilians to leave, both sides said.An AFP journalist in Debaltseve said some 25 city buses sent by both the rebels and the Kiev government left the shattered town to take civilians out, although only one separatist bus was full.The sound of sporadic shelling could be heard in the distance but mortar bombardments in the town itself had halted after days of fierce fighting.Hundreds of civilians have been killed over recent weeks in east Ukraine as fighting spiralled after insurgents ignored the earlier truce deal and pushed into government-held territory. One civilian and two soldiers were killed Friday and 25 wounded in fighting over the past 24 hours, a government official said.

Robust US jobs report pushes up dollar

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar surged higher Friday after a surprisingly upbeat US jobs report fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve would stay on track to raise interest rates in mid-year.The Labor Department reported the US economy added 257,000 jobs in January and revised upward already healthy growth in the prior two months, showing the best gains over three months since 1997.The unemployment rate edged up to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent, but that was in part because more people were actively seeking jobs.Most economists said the fresh data showed real signs of the economy gaining traction after a bumpy 2014 during which it grew a modest 2.4 percent, and could reinforce the Federal Reserves plan to lift interest rates that have been pegged near zero since late 2008.With three-month average job growth of 336,000, the Fed may start thinking about liftoff before June, said Chris Low of FTN Financial.Barclays analysts, however, noted some data weaknesses that could stay the Feds hands to even later in the year. Modest wage gains and a deceleration in underlying inflation skew the risks toward a later than mid-2015 liftoff, they said in a research note.Greece cast a cloud of uncertainty over the euro, as the countrys efforts to renogotiate an international bailout appeared to go nowhere.Greeces new government put itself back on a collision course with the European Union by demanding temporary funding before renegotiating its foreign loans, prompting fresh warnings of a default,Credit rating agency Standard and Poors downgraded Greece a notch, and warned of the renewed prospect of a Greek exit from the eurozone. And rival Moodys placed Greeces credit rating on review for a downgrade, citing high uncertainty about the countrys talks with creditors.
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