Saturday 4 February 2017

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Pakistan will always support Kashmiri brothers and sisters: PM Nawaz

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain said that Pakistan will always support Kashmiris on every forum, reported Dunya News.As Pakistanis are observing Kashmir Day on Sunday (5 February) PM said that India has deprived Kashmiris of the right of self-determination for last seven decades.PM said that Pakistanis are standing with their Kashmiri brothers and sisters like always and will always stand with them in every situation.He added that Kashmir is an incomplete agenda of division of sub-continent and declared as disputed territory by United Nations (UN).President Mamnoon Hussain said that Pakistan would always offer moral, ethical, diplomatic and political support for the Kashmiris.

Pakistan observing Kashmir Day to show solidarity with Kashmiris

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MUZAFFARABAD (Dunya News) - Pakistan is observing Kashmir Day on Sunday (5 February) to show solidarity with the Kashmiris, who sacrificed their lives to fight for their freedom against Indian forces, reported Dunya News.The day is marked in Pakistan since February 1990 to pay homage to the Kashmiri martyrs and highlight their struggle for right to self-determination, promised to them by the international community under the resolutions of United Nations Security Council.On this occasion, public holiday is being observed across the country.Rallies and demonstrations are being organised in various cities of the country, Azad Kashmir and the connecting points between Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.Seminars and rallies would be held in different cities on the occasion. Human chains would also be formed at various bridges connecting Azad Kashmir with Pakistan.In last 28 years, Indian forces martyred 94,610 Kashmiris in fake encounters and in peaceful protests. 139,612 Kashmiris were jailed whereas 107,740 homes were set on fire.

Liverpool crash again as Hull boost survival bid

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Hull, United Kingdom (AFP) - Hull’s resurgence under new manager Marco Silva continued as goals from Alfred N’Diaye and Oumar Niasse secured a 2-0 victory which leaves Liverpool still waiting for their first league win of 2017.Whatever the future holds for N’Diaye on Humberside, he is unlikely to have many easier goalscoring opportunities than the one goalkeeper Simon Mignolet gifted him in the 44th minute at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.Mignolet dropped Harry Maguire’s header from Kamil Grosicki’s right-wing corner, and although he was pressured by Abel Hernandez, it should have been a routine save.Instead, the ball fell at the feet of N’Diaye who added to the growing concerns facing Reds boss Jurgen Klopp as he still awaits his first league victory of the calendar year.There was nothing the goalkeeper could do with the second goal, on 84 minutes, however as Andrea Ranocchia eased a spell of pressure by punting the ball forward and substitute Niasse shrugged of Joel Matip before finishing from a dozen or so yards.Fourth placed Liverpool have won only once in their last 10 games in all competitions, while Hull move up to 18th place in their battle to avoid relegation.Hull had actually faced problems even before kick-off, when defender Michael Dawson was injured warming-up and Italian Ranocchia stepped up from the bench to make his first start.But Liverpool, boasting a talented forward line that featured Sadio Mane for the first time since the start of last month, toiled to test home goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic.On one of the rare occasions they were able to do so, from a 22nd minute cross from Roberto Firmino, the Swiss international fumbled his attempted clearance, presenting Philippe Coutinho with the best chance of the game so far.However, the Brazilian struck a downwards shot which bounced high, enabling Jakupovic to turn it around for a corner.Matip summed up Liverpool frustrations when he rose unmarked to meet a Coutinho corner but failed to find the target with his 15-yard header and the visitors were soon trailing at the interval.Liverpool’s players were sent out before the start of the second half a good two minutes before their opponents and their early play looked more lively as won a series of corners.One of those, from James Milner on the left, was snatched at by Mane at the far post, with Matip also trying to make contact before Hull cleared.Milner spied the Hull goal a few minutes later, after a right-wing attack had broken down, but succeeded only in lofting a tame shot towards the top corner for Jakupovic to catch.The Hull keeper faced a far stiffer test just before the hour when Coutinho’s far-post cross was met by Mane, out jumping Andy Robertson for an excellent header which Jakupovic did well to tip over.Lucas and Matip had shots blocked in the same attack, from yet another corner, but there were warning signs at the other end that Liverpool’s defence would be susceptible to the counter.First, Tom Huddlestone neatly played through Hernandez although the forward could do little more than flick an attempt into the side-netting under pressure.Hernandez was guilty of a more glaring miss moments later, allowing Mignolet to block at his feet, after a superb pass from Grosicki.Coutinho produced an equally bad miss, flashing a shot wide with the goal beckoning, after Milner’s effort had been cleared off the line by Maguire.

Football: Kane keeps Spurs title hopes burning

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London (AFP) – Harry Kane’s penalty ended Middlesbrough’s resistance as Tottenham’s 1-0 win on Saturday kept their flickering Premier League title challenge alive.Spurs are nine points off runaway leaders Chelsea thanks to Kane’s second half spot-kick — the players answering manager Mauricio Pocchetino’s demand on Friday to maintain their hold on second place and pray for Chelsea’s form to slump.Tottenham lost precious ground after being held by Sunderland in their previous game and Middlesbrough were in danger of repeating the trick.That was until Kane struck in the 58th minute to give the hosts their seventh successive home win and leave Middlesbrough — without a win away since the opening month of the campaign — looking nervously over their shoulders.Aitor Karanka’s side are just a point above the bottom three.Tottenham’s task would have been much tougher had Alvaro Negredo not planted Adama Traore’s right-wing cross over in the opening minutes.It appeared to spark Spurs into action as man of the match Korean international Heung-Min Son saw his low shot pushed out by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Victor Valdes.Dele Alli was next to try, but hit the side netting after Christian Eriksen’s shrewd pass had opened up the visitors’ defence.Valdes, though, could find himself in hot water with the Football Association after raising his hands at Alli in the aftermath which was missed by referee Mark Clattenburg but caught on camera.It promised to be a busy night for the Spaniard, who was saved by his post in the 24th minute.Eriksen’s corner was met by Toby Alderweireld and the Belgian’s powerful header bounced off the outside of the post.Middlesbrough frustrated the home side but the breakthrough almost arrived via Kane in the 24th minute.Son’s cross found the England striker but Kane was stretched and could not direct his header on target from six-yards out.The game was played exclusively in Middlesbrough’s half but Karanka’s side were happy to sit back and soak up pressure.When it looked like they had been breached, the assistant referee’s flag saved them as Kane had strayed offside after turning home Son’s cross.Spurs were hitting a brick wall as Eriksen’s piledriver was pushed away by Valdes but Spurs were finally presented with the chance in the 57th minute that would not be passed up.Son was tripped by Espinosa Bernardo and Kane, who blazed his last spot-kick over the crossbar last month at Southampton, sent Valdes the wrong way.Two minutes later Spurs would have doubled their lead when Kane played in Eriksen, only for Valdes to once again come to Middlesbrough’s rescue.The game was finally opening up and the lively Son shot just wide but Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal had still not had a shot to save.Negredo, who spurned his side’s best chance, saw an overhead kick drift wide before Marten de Roon steered a volley just off target in the last minute.

Dont let this slip, Conte tells Chelsea

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London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte promised to keep a close eye on his players’ concentration levels after they tightened their grip on the Premier League title race by beating Arsenal.Goals from Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas gave Chelsea a 3-1 win on Saturday that left them 12 points clear of Arsenal and nine points above second-place Tottenham who edged Middlesbrough 1-0.But Conte said his own experiences of home-straight collapses as a player and coach with Juventus means he will not consider the race over until the trophy is in his hands.“I don’t slip and I don’t want my players to slip,” he told reporters at Stamford Bridge, in an unwitting echo of Steven Gerrard’s words prior to Liverpool’s collapse in the 2013-14 season.“In my squad I have a lot of players with good experience, because they won a lot in their careers. They know that until now we haven’t won the title.“And it’s important to know this, to keep our antennae very high, because in my career as a footballer, above all as a footballer, I won a lot, but I lost a lot.“And when you lose three finals of the Champions League and you win only one, I think you have a great hunger.“During my experience as a footballer I won a title with eight points (to make up) four games before the end and another time I lost in the same way.”The chief talking point from Saturday’s game centred around Chelsea’s 13th-minute opener, awarded despite Alonso cleaning out Hector Bellerin with his forearm as he leapt to head the ball in.Bellerin had to go off, to be replaced by Gabriel, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt it was “100 percent a foul”.Conte, unsurprisingly, took a different view.“In England, in this league, this is always a goal,” he said.“This ball, it’s a contest and Alonso jumps more than Bellerin and scores a goal. To hear this in England, I’m surprised. I must be honest. In Italy, maybe (it would have been a foul).”Hazard scored a stupendous second goal in the 53rd minute, running from the centre circle, shrugging off Francis Coquelin and twice outfoxing Laurent Koscielny before squeezing a shot past Petr Cech.Conte said Hazard was in “great shape”, but said his defensive efforts off the ball had pleased him more than anything.Former Arsenal captain Fabregas lobbed in Chelsea’s third after a misplaced kick from Cech before Olivier Giroud replied with a stoppage-time header.Despite his reservations about Alonso’s opener, Wenger conceded his side’s defensive errors and attacking profligacy had been equally responsible for the outcome of the match.“We were really naive and not clinical in our defending,” said the Frenchman, who watched powerlessly from the stands as he served the third game of a four-match touchline suspension.“Then Chelsea looked the better side. We took risks and they were well organised and played well on the counter-attack and looked powerful.“We lost the ball many times. In situations we lacked maturity and experience.”Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were conspicuously incapable of giving Arsenal a foothold in the game, but Wenger would not be drawn on individual performances.“I leave that to you. It’s very difficult for me to comment individually on players after a big disappointment like that,” he said.“Individually we were not at our best in some positions. But it’s very difficult to speak about that straight after the game.”Once again Arsenal’s title hopes have faded miles from the finish line, but Wenger refused to look beyond next weekend’s home game with Hull City when asked where defeat at Chelsea left his side’s season.“It leaves us to focus and prepare to win the next game,” he said. “That’s what football is about.”And Chelsea? “It’s for them to lose it.”

Serbia reach last 8, defending champion Argentina stay alive

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BELGRADE (AFP) - Serbia reached the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Saturday to set up a possible mouthwatering clash between Grand Slam heavyweights Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal while champions Argentina stayed alive.Serbia, the 2010 champions, took an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia in their World Group opener in Nis when 40-year-old Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki downed Andrey Kuznetsov and Konstantin Kravchuk 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4.On Friday, Troicki beat Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (8/6) in the opening singles before Djokovic made it 2-0 when Daniil Medvedev retired with cramps in the fourth set allowing the 12-time major winner to claim a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 win.I have to congratulate Viktor for an excellent match after spending five hours on court Friday, said Zimonjic, the Serbia captain.It was a massive challenge even though hes one of the fittest players on tour.Djokovic could face Nadal in the last eight in April should five-time champions Spain see off Croatia in Osijek.Nadal was sitting out the trip to Croatia after reaching the Australian Open final last weekend but would be certain to return to face a Djokovic-inspired Serbia.However, Croatia were trying their best to ignore the script when they took a 2-1 lead over the Spaniards thanks to Marin Draganja and Nikola Mektic carving out a 6-7, (6/8), 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, the French Open champions.Croatia, playing without top star Marin Cilic, saw world number 223 Franko Skugor unexpectedly defeat 26th-ranked Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday before world number 16 Roberto Bautista Agut levelled the tie overnight by beating Davis Cup debutant Ante Pavic, the world number 486.Meanwhile, Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer kept defending champions Argentina in their tie against Italy in Buenos Aires with a marathon 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7) win over Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.That made the overall score 2-1 after Paolo Lorenzi and Andreas Seppi had won the opening day singles against an Argentina team missing Juan Martin del Potro and Federico Delbonis, the stars of their 2016 final triumph over Croatia.On Saturday, Berlocq and Mayer needed six match points to secure their win.Australia, the 28-time champions, completed a 3-0 drubbing of the Czech Republic in Melbourne when John Peers and Sam Groth breezed past Jiri Vesely and Jan Satral, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.Australia, captained by Lleyton Hewitt, will now host the United States in the quarter-finals on April 7-9.The US, the 32-time champions, completed a 3-0 win over Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday when Steve Johnson and Jack Sock beat Henri Laaksonen and Adrien Bossel 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).Against a Swiss side missing Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, world number 20 Sock got the United States off to a fast start on Friday, seeing off world number 146 Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.John Isner, ranked 23rd, had to work a little harder for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) victory over Laaksonen, ranked 127th in the world.Nine-time champions France wrapped up a 3-0 victory against Japan after Wimbledon winners Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut brushed aside Yuichi Sugita and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.France will play either Canada of Britain for a place in the last eight.In Ottawa, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot defeated 44-year-old Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 as Britain took a 2-1 lead.The two countries were locked 1-1 overnight after Dan Evans, his countrys top player in the absence of world number one Andy Murray, beat 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov in straight sets.Pospisil pulled Canada -- missing world number four Milos Raonic -- level with a 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Kyle Edmund.In Frankfurt, Belgium were 2-1 ahead of Germany after Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore sealed a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 win over brothers Alexander and Mischa Zverev.The winners will face either Argentina or Italy in the last eight.The reverse singles in all eight World Group ties take place on Sunday.

Tennis: France and Australia reach Davis Cup Quarterfinals

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MELBOURNE (AFP) - Doubles pair John Peers and Sam Groth gave Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup World Group with a crushing straight sets victory in Melbourne on Saturday.Peers and Groth raced through the scratch Czech pairing of Jiri Vesely and Jan Satral, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 90 minutes to deliver the tie to the Australians.The Czechs had to win the pivotal doubles rubber to stay in the best-of-five match tie after losing both of Fridays opening singles matches.John Peers and Sam Groth in action for Australia in the Davis Cup. AFP John Peers and Sam Groth in action for Australia in the Davis Cup. AFPBut they were further disadvantaged when doubles specialist Radek Stepanek was forced to withdraw from the doubles with injury on top of the unavailability of world number 10 Tomas Berdych for the tie.World number 15 Nick Kyrgios conceded just seven games in reeling off a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over the 157th-ranked Satral, while rookie Jordan Thompson upset Czech number one Vesely 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in Fridays singles.Australia, captained by Lleyton Hewitt, will now face either the United States or Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the teams competition on April 7-9 and will have home advantage should the Americans progress.Im very happy. We wanted to make a run this year. We know itll get tougher but weve got a really good team, Hewitt said.They (Peers and Groth) prepared well, they did all the hard work getting to gel because they dont play together that often.It would be a tough ask against the USA. Theyre a tough team with four good players but its not long between ties which is good.Doubles specialist Peers is fresh off a Grand Slam title win at last weeks Australian Open, while Groth reached the quarter-finals of the mens doubles in Melbourne.Its never easy to back up after what happened at the Australian Open. Everyone did an amazing job to come together and that made it easier, Peers said.Groth added: I thought we played well together. Weve had a lot of time on court and it came together.Australia now lead the Czech Republic 8-1 in the Davis Cup competition.Australia, 28-time winners, have not won the Davis Cup since 2003 and only returned to the competition’s top tier in 2014 after a six-year absence.In Tokyo France wrapped up victory in their Davis Cup first-round tie against Japan after Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won Saturdays doubles to give the visitors an unassailable 3-0 lead.The Wimbledon champions swatted aside Yuichi Sugita and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 after Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon had dominated the opening days singles in Tokyo on Friday.Japan have failed to win a single set in three matches in the absence of world number five Kei Nishikori, who opted to sit out the World Group clash.Gasquet swept past Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday before Simon overpowered Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to put Yannich Noahs team firmly in the driving seat.Nine-time winners France have now won all four of their Davis Cup meetings with Japan, who will look to avoid a whitewash in Sundays dead-rubber reverse singles.The French will face either Canada or Britain in Aprils quarter-finals.

Barcelona thrash Bilbao 3-0 as Messi scores again

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Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi struck another trademark free-kick as Barcelona moved to within one point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.Madrid have two games in hand, the first of which was supposed to take place on Sunday at Celta Vigo.However, wind damage to Celta’s Balaidos stadium has left the ground unsafe to hold the game, according to the mayor of Vigo. Neither the club nor La Liga would say whether the match will go ahead however.Barca took their chance to apply pressure at the Camp Nou, but needed some wasteful finishing by Athletic in a much tighter game than the scoreline suggests.Luis Enrique again made a raft of changes with the second leg of Barca’s Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid looming Tuesday.Luis Suarez was left on the bench to allow Paco Alcacer a rare start and he netted his first La Liga goal since joining from Valencia for 30 million euros ($32 million) in August.Athletic should have been in front before Alcacer’s 18th minute opener as Raul Garcia’s low effort was turned onto the post by Marc-Andre ter Stegen before Inaki Williams headed wide when unmarked from 12 yards out.Alcacer has endured a torrid time since joining Barca, but settled the hosts when he turned home Neymar’s cut-back inside Gorka Iraizoz’s near post.However, Barca got another break moments later when Gerard Pique was lucky to only see a yellow card for hauling down Garcia on the edge of the box.Athletic’s day was summed up with Barca’s second, five minutes before half-time. After scoring in both legs of the Copa del Rey last 16 clash between the sides from free-kicks last month, Messi again outdid Iraizoz from the narrowest of angles.This time, though, the goalkeeper was more at fault than brilliance from the Argentine as Messi registered his 31st goal in 30 games this season.Only injuries to Pique and Rafinha blighted Barca’s day. Pique limped off at half-time as a precautionary measure with a groin strain, whilst the Brazilian suffered a knock in clashing with Ter Stegen.Messi took a rare break as he was replaced with 25 minutes to go by Sergi Roberto.Yet, even that change worked in Barca’s favour as Aleix Vidal was pushed into a more advanced role from right-back and rounded off the win by firing into the far corner 23 minutes from time for the Catalans’ 100th goal in all competition this season.In Vigo confusion reigned as to whether Balaidos will be safe enough to host the European champions on Sunday.“Firemen, the town hall and Celta’s security staff looked at the conditions and (the game) can’t go ahead,” mayor Abel Caballero told La SER radio.“The game will be played at another time, in better conditions, because we can’t guarantee the safety of the people that go there.”However, Celta said they were still waiting on official confirmation that the game was postponed.“Celta are awaiting official confirmation of the suspension of the game this Sunday,” the club posted via their Twitter account.Celta’s Galician rivals Deportivo la Coruna’s clash with Real Betis on Friday was also postponed due to weather damage to Deportivo’s Riazor ground.The news could prove a big blow to Real’s title hopes. Celta were set to rest a host of players with the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Alaves to come on Wednesday with the tie finely balanced at 0-0.

Real Madrids trip to Celta off after stadium damage

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Madrid (AFP) – La Liga leaders Real Madrid’s visit to Celta Vigo scheduled for Sunday has been postponed after strong winds and heavy rain caused structural damage to Celta’s Balaidos stadium, the Spanish league confirmed.Earlier on Saturday, the mayor of Vigo stated the stadium wasn’t in a safe condition to host the game, but both clubs and the league waited on a security report before a final decision was made.“According to the report from the Vigo town hall, this organisation believes the Balaidos stadium will not be secure for players and fans to attend the match tomorrow Sunday, February 5, 2017, for Week 21 of La Liga Santander between Celta Vigo and Real Madrid,” La Liga said in a statement.“La Liga will propose possible dates to dispute said match listening to the opinion of the clubs and television operators, so that the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) can decide to fix a date for a postponed match.”Celta’s Galician rivals Deportivo la Coruna saw their clash with Real Betis on Friday also postponed due to weather damage to Deportivo’s Riazor ground.“Firemen, the town hall and Celta’s security staff looked at the conditions and (the game) can’t go ahead,” Vigo mayor, Abel Caballero, told Spanish radio station La SER.“The game will be played at another time, in better conditions, because we can’t guarantee the safety of the people that go there.”The news could prove a big blow to Real’s title hopes as Celta were set to rest a host of first-team players with the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Alaves to come on Wednesday. The tie is finely balanced at 0-0.Madrid hold a one-point lead over title rivals Barcelona but now have two games in hand.Zinedine Zidane’s men face a packed fixture schedule in the next few months with a return to Champions League action also to come against Napoli on February 15.Due to Madrid’s Champions League campaign and Celta’s involvement in the Copa del Rey and Europa League, a date for any rearranged fixture could be put back until May.

Bayerns Schalke draw opens door for Leipzig

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Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich left the door open for second-placed RB Leipzig to trim their lead in the Bundesliga to one point after being held to a 1-1 draw by Schalke on Saturday.Robert Lewandowski’s deft chip gave Bayern an early lead in Munich before Schalke defender Naldo drilled home a free-kick on 13 minutes to level the scores.Captain Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for Bayern, but the Bavarian giants were made to work for their point.“It was a tough game because Schalke played well,” said Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti.“We started well but were not so compact, also in midfield, and our two lines were too far apart from one another.“We could only increase the pressure slightly at the end, but it was not enough.”Flu-hit Leipzig will look to cut into Bayern’s provisional four-point lead with a win at Borussia Dortmund in Saturday night’s key showdown in Germany’s top flight.But Leipzig have a tough task with top-scorer Timo Werner, midfielder Diego Demme and striker Marcel Sabitzer all out with flu, while playmaker Emil Forsberg is suspended.In Munich, Bayern took the lead with just nine minutes gone.Arturo Vidal, back from injury, threaded a pass to Lewandowski and the Poland striker lifted his shot over Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann for his 15th league goal this season.But Schalke kept their composure and equalised four minutes later when Naldo hammered a free-kick past Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.Both sides had clear first-half chances as Schalke striker Guido Burgstaller hit the crossbar, just like Lewandowski did at the other end.This was a tight, bruising encounter as Schalke fought hard for the point which left them 11th.“Our plan would have worked out 100 percent if we’d won, but we can be very happy and can live with the point,” said a delighted Schalke coach, Markus Weinzierl.– Hoffenheim bounce back –Hoffenheim, the last team in a top European league to lose their unbeaten record last weekend, went third with a 4-0 hammering of Mainz at home.Hoffenheim went ahead when midfield playmaker Sebastian Rudy’s long pass was chested down by striker Mark Uth, who drilled home his shot with five minutes gone.Hoffenheim doubled the lead when midfielder Marco Terrazzino headed their second nine minutes from time then replacement striker Adam Szalai scored two goals off the bench against his old club.Hertha moved up to fourth with a 1-0 win at home to strugglers Ingolstadt.After losing their first two games of 2017, coach Pal Dardai had demanded a reaction and Hertha delivered with an early goal.Salomon Kalou took advantage of some weak defending, sprinted down the wing to cross for Japan midfielder Genki Haraguchi to give them the lead after just a minute at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.Cologne are fifth following their 1-0 win at Wolfsburg thanks to Anthony Modeste’s second-half penalty, having been fouled by Wolves goalkeeper Diego Benaglio in the area.Borussia Moenchengladbach picked up their second straight win with a 3-0 victory at home to Freiburg courtesy of goals from captain Lars Stindl, striker Raffael and winger Patrick Herrmann to go tenth.

New Zealand bat first against Australia in third ODI

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HAMILTON (Dunya News) - New Zealand won the toss against Australia and decided to bat first in the third and last ODIin Hamilton, reported Dunya News.New Zealand captain Kane Williamson decided to bat first and told that their experienced opener Martin Guptill was not playing due to injury.Dean Brownlie came in place of him.Australia also made a change to their side asSam Heazlett was left out and Adam Zampa replaced him. Australia lead the 3-match ODI series 1-0 as they had won the first game and second game was washed out due to rain.

Cricket: South Africa rout Sri Lanka by seven wickets

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SOUTH AFRICA (AFP) - South Africa routed Sri Lanka by seven wickets to take the third one-day international at the Wanderers on Saturday in a match held up for an hour after bees swarmed onto the famous arena.The hosts also took a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series after bowling out Sri Lanka for 163 before South Africa captain AB de Villiers starred with an undefeated 60.In what has become a traditional pink day at the Wanderers, with the South African players and most of the capacity crowd wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness, De Villiers apologised for not providing the feast of run scoring that has marked four previous such occasions.The crowd was amazing although we didnt score 300 and hit a lot of sixes, said De Villiers.Our focus today was on winning the series and our bowlers did a fantastic job. It wasnt an easy wicket to bat on and if Sri Lanka had got a hundred runs more they could have made it difficult for us.Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga was left to bemoan another sub-standard batting performance, with five batsmen falling to short-pitched bowling.We had a very good start but we didnt capitalise. Niroshan Dickwella batted well but didnt have support.Despite Dickwellas 74, Sri Lanka were bowled out in 39.2 overs after being sent in to bat. It was the third time in as many matches they failed to bat for a full 50 overs.It was never likely to be enough, although pace bowlers Suranga Lakmal and newcomers Lahiru Kumara and Lahiru Madushanka made the hosts work hard in the early stages of the chase.Kumara and Madushanka both picked up a wicket while Lakmal had Hashim Amla dropped by wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal when the opening batsman was on 12.Amla went on to make 34 before being run out by a superb throw from deep extra cover by Madushanka.The left-handed Dickwella was dropped on 25 when JP Duminy, running back from backward point, could not hold on to a high leading edge from Kagiso Rabadas bowling.He was tested several times by some short-pitched deliveries from South Africas fast bowlers.With Dickwella on 55 and looking settled, there was a delay of an hour after a swarm of bees drove the players from the field with the total on 117 for four after 26.3 overs.The bees were eventually cleared with the help of a local beekeeper who was watching television and rushed to the ground with his equipment and talked his way in.Dickwella added another 19 runs before his 80-ball innings was ended when he gloved an attempted pull against a short delivery from Dwaine Pretorius to present wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock with his 100th dismissal in 72 one-day internationals. Dickwella hit seven boundaries.Sri Lanka got off to their best start of the series with Dickwella and Tharanga putting on 60 for the first wicket before Tharanga (31) top-edged a pull against Rabada, one ball after Dickwella had been dropped, and was caught at fine leg.Seamer Pretorius, playing in his first match of the series in place of Wayne Parnell, took three for 19 and was named man of the match.

Chelseas Hazard scores stunner to dent Arsenals title hopes

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London (AFP) – Eden Hazard scored a sublime solo goal as Premier League leaders Chelsea thrust a dagger into Arsenal’s title aspirations with a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.The Belgian winger left a trail of defenders in his wake to double Chelsea’s lead in the 53rd minute, in between a contentious header by Marcos Alonso and a late lob from Arsenal old boy Cesc Fabregas.It was Chelsea’s 11th home victory in succession and their 16th win in 18 league games, stretching their lead over third-place Arsenal to a huge 12 points with 14 games of the season remaining.Chelsea have been close to unplayable since Antonio Conte changed their system during their 3-0 loss at Arsenal on September 24 and it seems only a matter of time until they are crowned champions.For Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who watched from the stands as he served the third game of a four-match touchline ban, his side’s season is following a wearily familiar pattern.Arsenal have lost their last five games at the Bridge and had conceded 13 unanswered goals prior to Olivier Giroud’s stoppage-time consolation.They have lost four of their last nine league games and once again face the prospect of a run-in given suspense only by the tussle for Champions League places.With a raft of midfielders unavailable, Wenger was obliged to start with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain alongside Francis Coquelin in the middle, while Theo Walcott replaced Giroud in attack.Arsenal had conceded two goals in the first 13 minutes of Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at home to Watford.They almost caught Chelsea cold here, Alex Iwobi curling wide after Thibaut Courtois overhit a pass towards David Luiz.But after Gary Cahill had headed into the ground and over the bar at the other end, Chelsea went ahead in the 13th minute with a goal that left Arsenal fans fuming.Pedro sent a cross into the box from the right that Diego Costa headed against the bar at the near post, sending the ball spinning into the air.As Hector Bellerin got himself in position to head it away, and with Walcott watching on impassively, Alonso flew in, cleaning his fellow Spaniard out with his forearm and heading the ball home.Referee Martin Atkinson allowed the goal to stand and Arsenal’s disappointment was compounded by the sight of a dazed Bellerin being led down the tunnel, with Gabriel taking his place.Chelsea were buoyant, Costa driving a shot into the side-netting and Pedro forcing Petr Cech to push the ball behind from Alonso’s accurate cut-back.But Arsenal ended the first half strongly, Courtois producing a stunning one-handed save to turn Gabriel’s header over the bar and then dropping onto a tame effort by Mesut Ozil.It took a last-ditch tackle by Laurent Koscielny to prevent Hazard scampering clear early in the second half, but when the Chelsea number 10 picked up the ball in the 53rd minute, there was no getting it back.After striding onto a loose ball in the centre circle, he beat Koscielny, shrugged off Coquelin, leaving him flat on his back, and then outfoxed Koscielny again before squeezing a shot past Cech.On the touchline, Conte celebrated with characteristic abandon.There were flickers from Arsenal, Courtois clawing away a deft header from substitute Danny Welbeck, before Fabregas lobbed in from 25 yards after Cech shanked the ball straight to him.Giroud reduced the arrears, heading in from Nacho Monreal’s cross.

Heavy snowfall halts life in upper parts of the country

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Snowfall and rains in upper parts of the country has completely halted the daily life activities as folks confine to their homes in most of the areas.In addition, traffic was also put to halt in various area owing to intense weather.It has also been reported that a kid also died as a result of the intense weather while six vehicles got stuck in Dhak area of Balochistan.Hundreds of people are reported to have been stuck in snow as a result of this incident.ISPR revealed that a rescue operation has been put in place in order to recover those trapped in snow.ISPR spokesperson also confirmed that food, blankets and medicine have also been provided to the affectees.It has also been reported that owing to intense weather, helicopters could not reach the area.It has also been reported that Chitral’s road contact with other areas was also disrupted owing to heavy snowfall.In addition, the electric supply was also cut off due to the electric wires and poles being dismantled in the area.

Rangers DG looks over security measures in Karachi

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to the Rangers spokesperson, Sindh Director General (DG) Rangers Major General Muhammad Saeed inspected the security situation of Karachi on Saturday.He visited different area of the provincial capital including Liaqatabad, Nazimabad, Golimar and Pak Colony where he was briefed by the sector commanders about peace process.SindhRangers DG passed important orders during the occasion. He also went to the Site Association of Industries office where he was thanked by the traders and industrialists for reviving peace in Karachi.Maj Gen Muhammad Saeed promised the traders that Rangers will continue to play their active roll in eradicating extremism and ensuring peace in the city.
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