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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Deadly attack on Pakistan convoy

A suicide bomber has attacked a military convoy killing at least 20 people in a tribal region of northwest Pakistan, police have said.Thirteen more people were injured in the attack, which was carried out near a checkpoint in the town of Kohat, on Saturday.Fareed Khan, a senior police officer, said: "The bomber was driving a pick-up truck which he rammed into a convoy passing by a security checkpost."At the moment, I can say at least 20 people, including soldiers and policemen, were killed."At least 18 security personnel and two civilians died in the blast, Khan said.About eight vehicles were destroyed in the attack and a nearby building housing troops and police was badly damaged.The attack was condemned as a "cowardly act of terrorism" in a statement from the office of Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, which added that the government would use an "iron hand" against opposition fighters.The checkpoint is near the Orakzai tribal region in Pakistan, which has emerged in recent months as stronghold for pro-Taliban fighters who have stepped up their battle against the government.Western nations are pressing Pakistan to take greater action against pro-Taliban forces and al-Qaeda elements in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan loses World Cup matches

The International Cricket Council Board (ICC) have removed Pakistan as a co-host of the 2011 Cricket World Cup due to security fears following last month's attack on the Sri Lankan team.The ICC announced they had made the decision due to the "uncertain security situation" in Pakistan, which was due to co-host the tournament with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.The decision follows the attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus on March 3 as it approached the stadium in Lahore before the scheduled third day of the second Test against Pakistan.Six police officers and a driver were killed. Seven Sri Lankan players, a coach and an umpire were wounded.

IPL team stats

High Score:214
Average:159
Opponent's Average:165
High Score:181
Average:142
Opponent's Average:158
High Score:194
Average:151
Opponent's Average:159
High Score:222
Average:149
Opponent's Average:132
High Score:202
Average:149
Opponent's Average:150
High Score:221
Average:164
Opponent's Average:161
High Score:217
Average:163
Opponent's Average:150
High Score:240
Average:158
Opponent's Average:161
 

IPL to open in colors at Cape Town today

CAPE TOWN The grand opening of the second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held here on Friday.In a bid to glitz the tournament up to the hilt, IPL chairman Lalit Modi has spared no costs to get fans into the stadiums and retain the global TV audiences that made the inaugural Twenty20 tournament a success. Modi has spent lavishly in South Africa on the occasion of second edition of IPL. Cape Town is no stranger to the rich and famous and the IPL teams are staying at the lavish and recently-opened One and Only, the city's latest five-star venture. All the franchise owners, Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, the Ambanis, have arrived here. Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest stars and owns the Kolkata Knight Riders, while Shetty is co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals and a former winner of Celebrity Big Brother. Fellow actress Zinta is part-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise and will jet in from Port Elizabeth where she has been watching the team train and attending the fourth ODI between South Africa and Australia. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is the head of the fourth-richest family in the world, and owns the Mumbai Indians through his conglomerate Reliance Industries. Then there are the WAGS. England batsman Kevin Pietersen will return to his homeland with wife Jessica Taylor, a reality TV star who recently competed in TV's Dancing On Ice. Bollywood actress Lakshmi Rai is also expected to spend some time in Cape Town watching India's pin-up captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the duo rumoured to be dating. Cape Town's fashionistas will also be keeping tabs on Deccan Chargers with Andrew Symonds' girlfriend Katie Johnson joining the extravagana. Johnson was recently voted Australia's top WAG in an online poll.

Pirate Bay File-Sharing Four Found Guilty

STOCKHOLM —  Four men behind popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay were convicted Friday of breaking Sweden's copyright law by helping millions of users freely download music, movies and computer games on the Internet.In a landmark ruling, the Stockholm district court sentenced Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom to one year each in prison.They were also ordered to pay damages of 30 million kronor ($3.6 million) to a series of entertainment companies, including Warner Bros., Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Columbia Pictures.With an estimated 22 million users, The Pirate Bay has become the entertainment industry's enemy No. 1 after successful court actions against file-swapping sites such as Grokster and Kazaa.Lundstrom helped finance the site while the three other defendants administered it.

Thai PM: Emergency powers to stay in place

Thailand's prime minister told on Friday he will not lift a state of emergency until he is convinced anti-government protests that flared into deadly clashes this week would not return to the capital.Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who imposed the state of emergency on Bangkok and nearby areas last weekend, made his comment shortly after a key political ally was shot in the head. Sondhi Limthongkul, a political leader who helped topple former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- who supports the protesters -- underwent surgery and was expected to recover, according to medics.The shooting was the latest chapter in weeks of widespread political unrest in Thailand, pittingThaksin loyalists against Abhisit's supporters.Asked how long the decree will remain in place, Abhisit told CNN's Dan Rivers, "Days, days I would say," adding that it would not be lifted until there was no threat of a "return to chaos and violence."

US envoy presses two-state option

George Mitchell, the US envoy to the Middle East, has told Palestinian officials that the US will vigorously pursue the creation of a Palestinian state.Mitchell is visiting the region in an effort to kickstart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process and was in Ramallah in the West Bank on Friday.He met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and a delegation of senior figures from Fatah, a Palestinian faction at odds with Hamas.He met Israeli leaders a day earlier and was told that Israel's new government is insisting that the Palestinians recognise Israel before any two-state solution can be reached.Fatah leaders told reporters that Friday's meeting was meant to discuss ongoing efforts to reach national reconciliation and to gauge opinion on how the peace process should move forward.Qadura Fares, a spokesperson of the Fatah delegation, said officials told Mitchell that it would not be enough for the US to pressure the Israeli government to accept the two-state solution.A two-state solution would see Israel and Palestine existing as two separate states.

Man at G20 protest died of haemorrhage, coroner says

A coroner's report says a man who was shoved by police at G20 protests in London this month died of an abdominal haemorrhage, not a heart attack, as previously thought. The case has raised questions about police tactics at the demonstration.A man who died shortly after being knocked over by police at G20 protests suffered an abdominal haemorrhage and not a heart attack as previously thought, his family's solicitors said Friday.Almost at the same time a police watchdog body said a police officer suspended after the death of Ian Tomlinson earlier this month has been questioned on suspicion of manslaughter.Tomlinson, 47, who was not taking part in the April 1 demonstration in London, was filmed being hit by an officer with a baton shortly before he collapsed.The case has raised concerns about police tactics at the demonstration.An initial post-mortem examination found he suffered a heart attack but a statement issued by the City Of London Coroner's Court through Tomlinson's family solicitors Tuckers said a second examination by coroner Doctor Nat Cary had rejected this.

Many dead in Afghan earthquakes

Two earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people and left another 20 wounded, local authorities have said.The two quakes - one measuring 5.5 and the other of 5.1 magnitude -   rocked Nangarhar province, 90km east of Kabul, within a span of two hours early on Friday."The police started work early this morning. All the 19 dead bodies were picked up by police," Zemarai Bashari, an Afghan interior ministry spokesman , said."The work is going on and the rubble is being removed to try to find more dead bodies or injured people."Shah Mohammad Khan, a villager in Nangarhar's Sherzad district, told the Associated Press news agency that the death toll could be even higher.Khan said that at least 40 people had died, but officials did not confirm his figure.