Chris Gayle turns up in different colours

Former West Indies skipper Chris Gayle watched the final game between his compatriots and India from the stands on Thursday.  He turned up for the game in bright green attire and brought a calmness to the proceedings even while sitting on the sidelines. It was smooth sailing for the West Indies as they beat India [...]

United States in talks with Taliban: Hamid Karzai

KABUL: The United States and other foreign powers are engaged in preliminary talks with the Taliban about a possible settlement to the near decade-long war in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday, the first official confirmation of US involvement in negotiations. Diplomats have already said there have been months of preliminary talks between [...]

Unlucky punters get second chance at 2012 tickets

LONDON: The 1.2 million people who missed out on London 2012 Olympics tickets will get first chance to land a seat when the second round gets under way on June 24, organisers said Friday. Three million tickets were sold in the first round which ran from March 15 to April 26, but of the 1.9 [...]

Saker salutes ‘Big Bird’ Tremlett

SOUTHAMPTON: New fast bowling find Chris Tremlett was likened to West Indies great Joel Garner by England’s bowling coach on Friday. The tall Tremlett troubled the batsmen with his pace and awkward bounce to claim test-best figures of six for 42 for England as Sri Lanka slumped to 177 for nine on another rain-affected day [...]

Explosion kills one in Panjgur

QUETTA: At least one person was killed in a bomb blast in Balochistan province’s Panjgur area on Saturday, DawnNews reported. The blast occurred at the Bismillah chowk and wounded eight people. Police said the bomb was planted on a motorcycle. Security was beefed up in the area following the blast and the wounded were shifted [...]

Indian GP allays ticketing fears

NEW DELHI:The inaugural Indian Formula One Grand Prix on Oct. 30 will face none of the ticketing fiascos that have blighted recent major sporting events in the country, the head of ticketing for the race told Reuters on Friday. Organisers of last year’s Delhi Commonwealth Games were left red-faced when empty galleries greeted athletes at [...]

Clinton says ‘no going back’ in Syria

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged a transition to democracy in Syria, saying in a commentary in the Arabic-language Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the regime crackdown would not quell the momentum for change. In an English translation provided by the State Department, Clinton wrote under the headline "There Is No Going Back [...]

Gayle set to discover Test fate

KINGSTON: West Indies cricket board directors are meeting here on Friday to determine whether Chris Gayle will feature in their Test series against India starting next week. The West Indies batsman is in hot water following his recent controversial comments in an interview with a Jamaican radio station. The directors will discuss a report from [...]

US Republicans urged to back any Obama rival

NEW ORLEANS: US Republicans uneasy with their field of White House hopefuls heard Friday they must set aside dreams of a "perfect" challenger to President Barack Obama in 2012 and back their eventual nominee. "Don’t get hung up on purity. In politics purity is a loser," Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a former national party chief, [...]

Sindh minister has weapons worth Rs10m

ISLAMABAD: Sindh Food Minister Mir Nadir Magsi appears to be the wealthiest member of the provincial assembly, owning net assets of Rs1.36 billion, including arms and ammunition worth Rs10 million. According to statements of assets and liabilities submitted to the Election Commission, Mr Magsi inherited weapons worth Rs7.5 million and added ammunition of Rs2.5 million [...]

Forex & Gold 18, June 2011

Forex Update: KARACHI, June 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 86.4 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST) Note: We do not receive Foreign Exchange Rates regularly. The last received rates are given below. Spot Rates for public per unit of currency Exchange Rates for Currency Notes [...]

KESC-union talks ‘fail’ over jobs of workers

KARACHI: Talks initiated in a surprise move by the KESC management with representatives of workers unions remained unsuccessful on Friday with the former unwilling to reverse its decision of over 4,000 workers' retrenchment, sources said. The KESC had invited representatives of all registered labour unions to the talks, the sources said. They added that the [...]

‘Afridi’s case not a matter of victory or defeat for PCB’

LAHORE: The disciplinary process initiated against former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was under the specified rules and regulations and is not a matter of victory or defeat for the PCB, its chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed stated on Friday. ''All the disciplinary steps against him were part of the board's clearly laid down disciplinary process," [...]

Spot-fixing of another kind devaluing institutions

When institutions, whether democratically elected or dictatorially placed, are not allowed to run independently and are interfered with constantly in their decision-making by the people above, the whole idea of maintaining discipline becomes a farce. As we experience in our day-to-day life, not only at the governmental level but also in sports in our country, [...]

Pakistan lodges naval protest with India

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad lodged a protest with India on Friday over the "dangerous manoeuvres" of a naval ship it said had hit a Pakistan vessel escorting a ship rescued from Somali pirates. "Indian navy ship Godavari not only hampered humanitarian operations being carried out by Pakistan navy ship Babur for the merchant vessel Suez, but also [...]

UN council backs Ban Ki-moon for second term

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council approved Friday a second five-year term for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a critical last step before the 192-member General Assembly holds the definitive vote next week. The vote by acclamation came after a one-day delay due to what UN diplomats described as procedural and technical hold ups from some Latin [...]

Foreign Ministry “concerned” by Nato incursion near border

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday Nato aircraft attacked one of its military posts in the northwest near the Afghan border and it had expressed its serious concern to the US embassy in Islamabad. The incident in the Mohmand tribal region comes after relations between the United States and its ally hit a new low following [...]

If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. – Sir Isaac Newton

Pakistan protests to US, Afghans over incursions

Ogra Chairman, Member Finance involved in bribery scam: DawnNews

High costs seen hampering use of algae as biofuel

WAGENINGEN, Netherlands: – The cost of farming algae as a biofuel must be cut by about 90 per cent if it is to become commercially viable and reduce pressure on food prices, according to research by Dutch scientists. Major companies including oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp Finnish refiner Neste Oil and Dutch vitamin maker DSM [...]

First patients enroll in US stem cell trials on blindness

WASHINGTON: The first clinical trials that examine the use of stem cells to treat two forms of blindness are ready to begin now that patients have been enrolled, a US company announced on Thursday. A total of 24 patients have entered two separate trials at an eye institute in California, said representatives from the Massachusetts-based [...]

Rocket attack over border kills four Afghan children

KABUL: A rocket fired during fighting Friday in Pakistan’s tribal region landed in eastern Afghanistan, killing four children in an area where militants launch attacks on US-led forces, officials said. The rocket landed in Sirkanay district of Kunar province, an area where more than 100 rockets have landed in the last few days from across [...]

Pakistan, India diplomats to meet in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The top diplomats of Pakistan and India will meet in Islamabad next week to discuss Kashmir along with peace and security issues, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Friday. The two countries in February announced the resumption of peace talks after a meeting between Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao [...]

Pakistan says intel on bomb factories was wrong

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army says security forces acting on a tip have destroyed two militant bomb-making factories. But it says intelligence received about two other factories was incorrect. The announcement doesn’t say who provided the intelligence or when the raids occurred, but the Pakistani army has been trying to shake off reports that elements in its [...]

Microsoft Kinect makes moves on computers

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Thursday began letting software developers imbue computers with voice and motion-sensing technology from its Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 videogame console. A free Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit opens doors for computer programs enhanced with depth-perception, voice recognition, or gesture controls using the popular console accessory. "We are looking [...]

Scientists find risk factor for tears in the aorta

CHICAGO: People who have too many copies of genes in a certain chromosome may have a 12-times greater risk of developing bulges and tears in their aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of body, US researchers said on Thursday. The findings, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, could [...]

Pentagon’s advanced research arm tackles cyberspace

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon's advanced research arm, the same group credited with developing the forerunner of the Internet in the 1960s, is working on many fronts to boost US defenses against computer-generated attacks.   The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is building a virtual firing range in cyberspace — a replica of the Internet on which [...]

PCB committee fines Zulqarnain Rs. 500,000

LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan on Friday fined runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider Rs. 500,000 ($5,800) and put him on a year’s probation for abandoning the team in Dubai over alleged death threats. The 25-year-old created a stir in Pakistan cricket by fleeing the team hotel and flying to London last November, saying he had received death threats [...]

Three Pakistani players to feature in World Junior Squash Championship

KARACHI: Danish Atlas Khan, Nasir Iqbal and Salman Mohib will lead Pakistani interests in the WSF Men’s World Junior Squash Championship in Belgium next month. Danish Atlas Khan and Nasir Iqbal, both 17-year-olds from Peshawar, are third and fourth seeds in the prestigious tournament. Meanwhile, Salman Mohib will play as an unseeded player in the [...]