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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Team Standings IPL2009

MPWLNRRRP
Delhi7520+0.1610
Chennai8431+1.369
Rajasthan8431-0.329
Hyderabad7430+0.048
Bangalore8440-0.208
Punjab8440-0.508
Mumbai7331+0.767
Kolkata9171-1.093

Gambhir’s 71 against Kolkata helps Delhi top

A half-century from stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir led Delhi Daredevils to the top of the Indian Premier League table with a nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. Gambhir's measured innings of 71 not out eased Delhi to their target of 155 with one over to spare, although he did enjoy some luck after being dropped by Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum on 21 and was given not out after being caught behind just short of his half-century. It was Kolkata's seventh loss from nine matches, and they rued some poor fielding with a number of dropped catches and unnecessary boundaries after their batsmen set a reasonable total. McCullum finally found form to record a speedy 35, but it was fellow opener Morne van Wyk who really sparkled with 74 from just 48 balls. 

Rajasthan beat Punjab by 78 runs

Rajasthan Royals defeated Kings XI Punjab by 78 runs here at Kingsmead on Tuesday.Chasing an improbable target of 212 runs, Punjab were in trouble from the start as they lost five wickets for only 39 runs. Only their captain Yuvraj provided some resistance making 48 from 37 balls with three sixes and three fours but his efforts proved wasted.For Rajasthan, Amit Singh captured three wickets for only nine runs and their captain Shane Warne grabbed two wickets.

Manchester United stun Arsenal to sweep into final

Titleholders Manchester United reached the Champions League final as they punished Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg of their semi-final. The Red Devils will face Chelsea or Barcelona in Rome on May 27.Holders Manchester United swept imperiously into the Champions League final after demolishing Arsenal 3-1 in the second leg of their semi-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.The victory secured a 4-1 aggregate win for United who killed off their Premier League rivals with two goals in the first 11 minutes.The only blot on an otherwise perfect night for United was a late red card for midfielder Darren Fletcher which will keep him out of the final in Rome on May 27.United opened the scoring after eight minutes when Arsenal's teeenage defender Kieran Gibbs slipped over, allowing Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung a simple chance to find the net.Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia then misjudged the flight of a 40-metre Cristiano Ronaldo free kick three minutes later which doubled United's lead.Ronaldo's second goal from a rapid breakaway on 61 minutes sealed United's place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona who meet in the second leg of their semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.Robin van Persie's penalty, awarded for the foul by Fletcher which earned him the red card, gave Arsenal a late consolation.

Russia rejects Georgia mutiny claim

Russia has dismissed as "insane" claims that it was behind a mutiny at a military base in Georgia on the eve of Nato war games planned in the former Soviet state.Moscow's response on Tuesday came hours after dozens of Georgian tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded the Mukhrovani base in the Gori region, bringing a mutiny among 500 soldiers to an end.The commander of the tank base had been arrested and other soldiers were being questioned, Georgia's interior ministry said."It's over. Most of the people have surrendered. A few people have escaped," Shota Utiashvili, an interior ministry spokesman, said.

Pakistan fears exodus from Swat

Up to half a million Pakistanis living in the Swat valley could be forced flee amid fierce fighting between Taliban fighters and the military, the Pakistan goverment has said.Thousands of people fled the main town of Mingora in the valley, part of the North West Frontier Province, on Tuesday after being told to leave by government officials.Men, women and children piled onto pick-up trucks in their haste to flee the town."People are leaving with literally clothes on their backs and what few possessions they can carry and heading to ... a makeshift camp," Sohail Rahman, said."The social development minister ... has appealed to aid agencies to try and help those people who were leaving the Swat area and Buner with accommodation.""In view of the situation in Swat, at least 500,000 people can migrate from that area. Camps are being established for them," Mian Iftikhar Hussain, North West Frontier Province's information minister, said.The military had earlier ordered neighbourhoods on the edge of Mingora to evacuate and announced the end of a curfew for the displaced to flee, a move that sparked fears of an imminent new offensive.Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's Islamabad correspondent, said: "This is a major catastrophe unfolding in the North West Frontier Province."

Obama seeks $1.5 billion more per year for civilian projects

US President Barack Obama is seeking an additional $1.5 billion for each of the next five years for civilian projects in Pakistan as part of a broader US strategy for the region. The funding will primarily go to building roads, schools and hospitals.US President Barack Obama is calling for an additional $1.5 billion in spending annually for five years to boost civilian development in Pakistan as part of his strategy for the region.Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced a bill on Monday to authorize the funds, primarily for projects like roads, schools and hospitals. Kerry said while the funding was mainly intended for civilian projects, the administration could submit a plan directing some of it to military uses.Congress is considering an additional $2.3 billion in aid for Pakistan, including $400 million for counterinsurgency.While requesting huge boosts in assistance for Pakistan, the US administration has sounded increasingly frustrated with the civilian government.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Islamabad of abdicating to the Taliban by agreeing to impose Islamic law in the Swat valley, and Obama has expressed concern the government is "very fragile" and unable to deliver basic services.As he seeks to wind down the war in Iraq, Obama's strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan has won some praise for its focus on boosting aid and development and not relying entirely on a military solution to the fight against al Qaeda."Today the war is being lost in Afghanistan, but is not yet lost," Bruce Riedel, an author of Obama's strategy, wrote in a piece for the Brookings Institution last week. "President Obama has decided to send the resources to the war to break the movement of the Taliban. He is right to do so."

White House Prepares for Intensive Talks With Afghanistan, Pakistan

The Obama White House is set to launch what it calls an unprecedented joint dialogue with Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to beat back the Taliban and its Al Qaeda allies while at the same time boosting agriculture and urban economic development, limiting corruption and coordinating military and intelligence activities, amid fears Pakistan's nuclear arms might fall into terrorist hands."This has never happened before," said a senior administration official intimately involved in the diplomatic efforts undertaken as part of President Obama's multi-layered strategy in the region. "This is a sustained process where success in one nation needs to be followed by success in the other."Top administration officials briefed reporters in advance of Obama's meetings Wednesday at the White House with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Obama will meet with each leader separately and then bring them together for a historic trilateral meeting meant to lower suspicions about each other's and the United States' motives in the region.For example, senior officials emphasized Obama supports Zardari and in no way sought to undercut his authority by authorizing comments weeks ago from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Zardari's government had failed to take a firmer stand against advancing Taliban fighters in Pakistan's northwest frontier zone."The Pakistani Government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," Clinton said April 22. "We cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan."On Tuesday, the tone in the White House briefing was far more supportive of Zardari."Our goal is to help Pakistan to be a stable, secure, democratic country," the senior official said. "For the life of me, I don't understand why people would say we're distancing ourselves from Zardari when, quite the contrary, he has been invited here by the president in what is a very important part of a trilateral process; but there's also a bilateral part. Pakistan's importance to our national security is self-evident."The senior officials said there needed to be a "course correction" in the unfounded perceptions in the region that Obama was pulling back from Zardari. There were low-level fears in the White House that confusion over the issue could lead to a military uprising against Zardari's civilian government."Why people would think we'd invite him here to weaken him is kind of one of these weird things that happens sometimes," the officials said. "We don't want a military coup. We don't want a military takeover. Half of Pakistan's history has been run by the military. It doesn't do us any good. It doesn't do the Pakistanis any good."

UN blames Israel for Gaza attacks

A United Nations inquiry into the war in Gaza has found that Israel was to blame for at least seven direct attacks on UN operations - including schools and medical centres.The UN report, commissioned by Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, said the Israeli military intentionally fired at UN facilities and civilians hiding in them during the war and used disproportionate force.Missiles, bombs and small arms were all used by Israel against the UN - leading to dozens of deaths.The UN's own fuel and aid depot in Gaza was hit with Israeli artillery shells causing widespread damage.The attack continued for two hours after the UN asked the Israeli military for it to stop.