Twenty-two dead in Argentina plane crash: “official”

Friends and family members of victims of a plane crash react at Neuquen airport, early May 19, 2011 - Reuters (File Photo)

BUENOS AIRES: A small commercial plane crashed in an isolated part of Patagonia in southern Argentina late Wednesday, killing all 22 people on board, officials said.
“We did not find anyone alive. There were no survivors. The plane is in multiple charred fragments. Everything is burnt and smashed to pieces,” said local hospital director Ismael Ali, who participated in the rescue mission.
The plane had earlier been reported missing on a flight between the southern cities of Neuquen and Comodoro Rivadavia, in Rio Negro province.
Horacio Farre, a spokesman for the private company Sol, which owned the plane, confirmed that there had been no survivors.

Chechens killed in Quetta were unarmed: witnesses

A wounded woman attacker raises her hand next to a security checkpost during exchange of fire with Pakistani troops in Quetta on May 17, 2011. – Photo by AFP

QUETTA: While police and other law enforcement agencies’ investigators are silent about the killing on Tuesday of five Chechen suspects, witnesses say they were unarmed, had not put up any resistance and appeared ready to surrender.
Hospital sources said on Wednesday that the three women and two men had died on the spot of multiple bullet wounds.
All the bodies were found at a picket of the Frontier Corps surrounded by barbed wires.
According to officials who tried to reconstruct the scene, the suspects had gone to the checkpoint for shelter or to surrender
when they saw a heavy contingent of law enforcement personnel who had rushed to Killi Khezi after receiving a wireless message from a police post on the Airport Road about the entry into the area of a vehicle carrying suspected foreigners.
According to sources, they had hired the vehicle in Kuchlak, for coming to Quetta with the help of two local people.
They had crossed two police posts, but policemen deployed at the third one told them to accompany them to the police station near the airport.
While on way to the police station, the local men and the driver forcibly offloaded a policeman accompanying them and sped away. After some time, the driver, Ataullah, stopped the vehicle and refused to take them to Quetta.
The Chechens stepped off the vehicle, offered prayers in a mosque in Killi Khezi and asked local people to guide them to an address.
But all of a sudden they found themselves surrounded by police and Frontier Corps personnel.
The frightened Chechens moved to the nearby FC post, apparently to surrender or take refuge.
“They raised their hands as a gesture of surrender but law enforcement personnel opened indiscriminate fire at them,” witness Irfan Khan alleged.
A private TV channel telecast the shooting by security personnel and an injured woman waving her hand and pleading with them to stop firing.
“An investigation is under way on the basis of information being collected from some mobile phones and a diary,” Quetta police chief Daud Junejo told Dawn on Wednesday night.
He insisted that the Chechens were armed and had hurled a grenade at the checkpost.
However, no other official of the security agencies involved in the firing was ready to comment on the incident.
People who witnessed the action of law enforcement personnel expressed doubts about the official claims, saying that no
suicide vests, grenades or weapons were found from the bodies.
“I did not see any suicide jacket or bomb strapped to the bodies,” a senior journalist who was at the place when the incident took place told Dawn.
A senior police officer who had searched the bodies also said not even a knife had been found.
“Only five passports were found in their pockets,” he added.
The statements of police and FC officials were contradictory, too.
Police said the Chechens were carrying suicide jackets, while FC officials claimed that they had grenades in their hands.
Another question being raised here is why the suspects were not arrested when they were injured.
“They could have been arrested alive because they were unarmed,” an officer of a law enforcement agency said.
He said the suspects could have provided useful information.
The officer said he believed that security personnel opened fire out of a fear that the suspects might have been wearing suicide vests.
The bodies were lying in the morgue of the Bolan Medical Complex after postmortem.
Sources said the Chechens had not crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in the recent past and it appeared that they had come to Kuchlak from North Waziristan.
Their passports had expired two years ago, an official said.
Amanullah Kasi adds: The Balochistan National Party-M, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, both factions of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami have called for an impartial investigation into the incident.Leaders of the parties said there were contradictions in the statements of security forces. They claimed that they had information about the arrival of terrorists intending to carry out suicide attacks, but failed to explain how the suspects had managed to reach Kuchlak, near the provincial capital.
The leaders said all vehicles were searched at the Baleli checkpoint by FC, police and Levies personnel, but the Chechens appeared to have dodged them.
They said that if the security forces’ version of the incident had been correct, the suicide vests would have blown up when police and FC personnel opened fire on the ‘terrorists’.

Al Qaeda releases posthumous bin Laden audio recording

Bin Laden backed the uprisings which began in Tunisia and have spread across much of North Africa and the Middle East. –File Photo

CAIRO: Al Qaeda released a posthumous audio recording by Osama bin Laden in which the group’s ex-leader praised revolutions sweeping the Arab world, and called for more “tyrants” to be toppled. 
Extremists have often been conspicuous by their absence in the uprisings largely led by ordinary citizens angered by autocratic rule, corruption and economic mismanagement.
But bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid on May 2 in Pakistan, backed the uprisings which began in Tunisia and have spread across much of North Africa and the Middle East.
Al Qaeda had said bin Laden, who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, recorded a message a week before his death. The audio was included in an Internet video lasting more than 12 minutes and posted on extremist websites.
In the audio, a voice which appears to be bin Laden’s referred to the uprisings which began in the Maghreb region of North Africa.
“The sun of the revolution has risen from the Maghreb. The light of the revolution came from Tunisia. It has given the nation tranquility and made the faces of the people happy.”
Tunisia’s president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in January, followed by Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak after mass protests centred on Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Bin Laden backed efforts to topple more leaders in the Muslim world, calling on al Qaeda supporters to “set up an operations room that follows up events and works in parallel to save the people that are struggling to bring down their tyrants”.
“Tunisia was the first but swiftly the knights of Egypt have taken a spark from the free people of Tunisia to Tahrir Square,” said bin Laden, adding: “It has made the rulers worried.”

Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo dies in apparent suicide

Inayatullah is the eighth prisoner to die at the detention center since the US began sending foreign captives there. –Photo by AFP

MIAMI: An Afghan prisoner died at the Guantanamo detention center in a recreation yard in an apparent suicide, the US military said on Wednesday.
The prisoner, identified as Inayatullah, a 37-year-old accused of being a member of al Qaeda, was found dead by guards conducting routine checks at the facility.
“An investigation is under way to determine the exact circumstances of what happened,” said Navy Commander Tamsen Reese, a spokeswoman at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba.
The US military’s Southern Command said guards “found the detainee unresponsive and not breathing,” according to a statement. “After extensive lifesaving measures had been exhausted, the detainee was pronounced dead by a physician.”
Inayatullah is the eighth prisoner to die at the detention center since the United States began sending foreign captives with suspected al Qaeda or Taliban links to Guantanamo Bay in January 2002.
Five others died of apparent suicides and two died of natural causes.
The prison camp has held 779 foreign captives since the United States invaded Afghanistan to oust al Qaeda and its Taliban protectors following the hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. It now holds 171.
In March, President Barack Obama lifted a two-year freeze on new military trials at Guantanamo Bay and suggested the US Congress was hurting American national security by blocking his attempts to move some trials into US civilian courts.
Obama had tried and failed to overcome objections by Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats in Congress to transfer some detainees to US prisons.
The military said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service will conduct an autopsy on Inayatullah’s body before it is prepared for repatriation.
Inayatullah arrived at Guantanamo in September 2007, according to the military.
It said he admitted to being a planner for al Qaeda’s terrorist operations and helped to coordinate documentation, accommodations and vehicles to smuggle al Qaeda fighters through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq.
Cuba has repeatedly criticized the Guantanamo base, saying it is an illegal enclave on its territory.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigns as IMF chief

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, is arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, on charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid. –AP Photo/Emmanuel Dunand

NEW YORK: The International Monetary Fund said Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as its head following charges against him of sexual assault and attempted rape. 
“I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me,” Strauss-Kahn said in his letter of resignation, which was released by the IMF and dated May 18.
“I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence.”
He will on Thursday for a second time request release on $1 million cash bail and placement under 24-hour house arrest while he awaits trial on charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid, his lawyers said. He is being held in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail. “Yes there will definitely be a bail hearing tomorrow,” Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Erin Duggan told Reuters on Wednesday.
A mug shot of Strauss-Kahn, 62, taken more than 24 hours after he was pulled from a plane and detained on Saturday, showed him exhausted, his eyes downcast and half-closed and wearing a rumpled, open-neck shirt.
The photograph may fuel outrage in France over how a man who had been viewed as a strong contender for the French presidency has been paraded before the cameras before he has had a chance to defend himself in court.
Polls released in France on Wednesday showed 57 per cent of respondents thought the Socialist politician was definitely or probably the victim of a plot.
The woman Strauss-Kahn allegedly tried to rape, a 32-year-old widow from West Africa, testified on Wednesday before a grand jury. It will decide in secret whether there is enough evidence to formally press charges with an indictment.
“The proceedings are ongoing,” her lawyer, Jeffrey Shapiro, said.
Strauss-Kahn’s arrest has dashed his prospects to run for the French presidency in 2012 and raised broader issues over the future of the International Monetary Fund.
Developing countries are questioning Europe’s hold on the top IMF position, and jockeying to replace him has already begun.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Europe would naturally put forward a candidate to replace Strauss-Kahn if he were to step down.
Germany, which wants a European to keep the job, said the IMF should deal with its immediate leadership internally and that it is too early to discuss a successor to Strauss-Kahn.
French officials said John Lipsky, the IMF’s American number two official whose term ends in August, would represent the Fund at next week’s Group of Eight summit in France.
In Strauss-Kahn’s absence, Lipsky is temporarily in charge of the IMF, which manages the world economy and is in the midst of helping euro zone states like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

China will remain “forever friends” with Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani (R) and China's Premier Wen Jiabao inspect honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 18, 2011
BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao assured his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani of China’s “all-weather friendship” on Wednesday, at the start of a visit that sharply contrasts with the intense strain at present between Washington and Islamabad.
“I wish to stress here that no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers,” Wen told Gilani, according to a pool report.
“I do believe that this visit will give a strong boost to the friendship and cooperation between our two countries and take that friendship and cooperation to a new high,” he added, during a meeting in central Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Gilani’s four-day trip to China began on Tuesday to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties, but has also given the neighbours a chance to display their steadfast friendship, which stands at odds with US anger at Pakistan’s inability to catch Osama bin Laden.
“I would like to thank your Excellency for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to me and my delegation since our arrival in China,” Gilani told Wen.
Pakistan’s brittle relationship with the United States, its major donor, was intensely strained after US forces on May 2 killed bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, in Pakistan. He appears to have hidden there for years, prompting anger and questions in Washington about why he was not found sooner.
“ALL-WEATHER FRIENDS”
China and Pakistan praise each other as “all-weather friends” and their close ties reflect long-standing shared wariness of their common neighbour, India, and a desire to hedge against US influence across the region.
On Wednesday, official Chinese media kept up that theme.
“Currently, China and Pakistan both regard each other as diplomatic cornerstones and important backers,” said a commentary in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, China’s main government newspaper.
Beijing’s support for Pakistan reflects its worries about instability spilling into its own western regions, especially heavily Muslim Xinjiang.
But the mutual vows of Sino-Pakistani friendship only go so far in balancing US influence, several analysts told Reuters.
Pakistan’s government and military are too reliant on US security and economic aid to risk that alliance.
Nor does Beijing want to risk deep entanglement in volatile Pakistani politics, risking its own interests and alienating India, a big but wary trade partner.
“Pakistan has high hopes for China, because its relations with the United States are so tense,” said Hu Shisheng, an expert on South Asia at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a think tank in Beijing.
“But nonetheless the US-Pakistani anti-terror alliance isn’t going to rupture.”

Arnie admits lovechild triggered marriage split

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives with his wife Maria Shriver for a dinner at the White House in Washington in February. The former California first lady has moved out after 25 years of marriage, and the couple confirmed their separation in a joint statement released on May 9 after questions raised by Los Angeles Times. – Reuters Photo

LOS ANGELES: Film star turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted Tuesday to fathering a lovechild with a staff member which he kept secret for a decade, until its disclosure torpedoed his marriage.
The former bodybuilder’s estranged wife Maria Shriver, a daughter of the Kennedy political dynasty, reacted by asking for privacy during a “painful and heartbreaking time,” while their children rallied round the family.
A power couple married for 25 years, Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation last week, four months after the former “Terminator” star left office as California governor in January.
They gave no reason for the split at the time, but on Tuesday Arnie revealed he had told his wife about the child he had fathered with another woman, a long-term member of the couple’s household staff.
“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” said Schwarzenegger, 63, “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family.
“There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry,” he said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Shriver, 55, who moved out of the couple’s Brentwood mansion earlier this year, appealed for privacy.
“This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal,” said the 55-year-old.
The Times did not give the name of the woman or her child to protect their privacy, but said she retired in January of this year after working for the couple for 20 years.
She received a severance payment and “left on good terms” with the couple, the paper said. Other online media were quickly on the hunt for the woman and child, who one report said was an 11-year-old boy who resembles Schwarzenegger.
It was not known how the Austrian-born actor managed to keep the child secret, while the woman remained on their joint staff — and while he continued to support the child financially, according to the LA Times.
In announcing their separation last week, Schwarzenegger and Shriver said they were taking time to “work on the future.”
A few days later Schwarzenegger said they still loved each other, and were taking “one day at a time,” hinting at possible reunion — but reports suggest Shriver is determined to move on.
It is not the first time the marriage has been strained by Schwarzenegger’s relations with other women: it came under the spotlight notably during the 2003 election which he won, amid reports of his history of groping women.
Shriver, a former TV journalist, defended him at the time, and has stood by his side during his seven years at the helm of the Golden State, a term that ended when Jerry Brown succeeded him four months ago.
The couple, who met in 1977 and married in 1986, have four children, aged between 14 and 21.
Patrick Schwarzenegger, 17, tweeted Tuesday: “Some days you feel like shit, some days you want to quit and just be normal for a bit, yet i love my family till death do us apart.”
Since January Schwarzenegger has started to return to show business, unveiling plans for a “Governator” comic book and animated TV show, and reportedly signing for a new film in the “Terminator” series.
But his latest bombshell revelation has prompted reaction among at least one gubernatorial peer.
Former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm tweeted: “Another guy guv admits 2 cheating on his wife. Maybe we need more women governors… Guys: keep ur pants zipped, for Pete’s sake.”

Obama worth millions, mainly due to book royalties

The records showed Obama and his wife, Michelle, had some retirement savings accounts with the mutual fund company Vanguard and checking accounts at J.P - AP (File Photo)

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama was worth millions of dollars in 2010, mostly due to royalties from the sale of his books, financial disclosure forms showed on Monday.
Obama had between dollar 100,001 and dollar 1,000,000 from “Audacity of Hope,” a book tied in with his run for the White House in 2008, and between dollar 1,000,001 and dollar 5,000,000 from “Dreams from My Father,” a memoir about his upbringing, according to the forms.
Both books were published before Obama became president.
The records showed Obama and his wife, Michelle, had some retirement savings accounts with the mutual fund company Vanguard and checking accounts at J.P.
Morgan Chase and Northern Trust. They also own Treasury bills and have college savings accounts for their daughters Malia and Sasha.
In tax returns released in April, the Obamas reported an adjusted gross income of dollar 1,728,000.

Coffee cuts risk of lethal prostate cancer

More is better when it comes to drinking coffee to ward off the risk of deadly prostate cancer, according to a major US study released by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health - AFP (File Photo)

WASHINGTON: More is better when it comes to drinking coffee to ward off the risk of deadly prostate cancer, according to a major US study released Tuesday by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Men who drank six or more cups per day had a 60 per cent lower risk of developing the most lethal type of prostate cancer and a 20 per cent lower risk of forming any type of prostate cancer compared to men who did not drink coffee, it said.
Even just one to three cups per day was linked to a 30 per cent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer.
“Few studies have specifically studied the association of coffee intake and the risk of lethal prostate cancer, the form of the disease that is the most critical to prevent,” said Harvard associate professor and senior author Lorelei Mucci.
“Our study is the largest to date to examine whether coffee could lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer,” she said.
The effects were the same whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated, leading researchers to believe the lower risk could be linked to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of coffee.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in US men, but it is not always deadly.
A blood test can detect it early, and the cancer can be graded on what is known as a Gleason score; the higher the score the more likely the cancer is to spread.
There are 16 million survivors of prostate cancer worldwide, and one in six men in the United States will get prostate cancer during their lifetime.
Risk factors are typically linked to Western high-fat diets, heredity, alcohol and exposure to chemicals.
The study examined 47,911 US men who reported on how much coffee they drank every four years from 1986 to 2008.
Over the course of the study, a total of 5,035 cases of prostate cancer were reported, including 642 fatal, or metastatic, cases.
The lower risk seen in coffee drinkers remained even after researchers allowed for other factors that typically boost risk and were more often seen in coffee drinkers than in abstainers, such as smoking and failure to exercise.

Azlan Shah Hockey: Pakistan brush aside arch-foe India by 3-1

A spirited Pakistan gave them a great chance to qualify into the final of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2011 here Wednesday when they literally decimated arch-rivals India by 3-1.

Pakistan vs India

Pakistan had lost four previous matches against India and were on the verge of losing fifth consecutive match as Rupinder Pal Singh gave his side lead in the 20^th minute of the match.

India kept hold of the proceedings for the best part of the match but denied further goals by a strong defence and superb goalkeeping by Pakistani players.

Pakistan vs India

With defence doing their job in style, Pakistani forwards regained confidence and started to attack more frequently on Indian goal. Their efforts paid off in the 49^th minute when Umar Bhutta equalized with a beautiful field goal.

More was yet to come as the competition heated up. Pakistani forwards further upped the pressure and started finding gaps in Indian defence-line. Mohammad Imran then made no mistake in the 55^th minute when he converted a penalty corner to give Pakistan lead for the first time in the match.

Tension further gripped the match but Pakistani forwards kept on making more moves which resulted in a penalty corner in 57^th minutes of the match where the world’s top goal-scorer Sohail Abbas pushed the ball into the net to give Pakistan a comfortable lead over their arch-foes.

Pakistan vs India

The last 13 minutes proved lethal as players from both sides made their best efforts to keep and snatch the advantage but Pakistani defenders kept their nerves and thwarted all attempts on Pakistani goal effectively.

This was Pakistan’s third victory in the tournament and now their chances to play in the final are quite alive as they defeated New Zealand and South Korea with an identical margin of 4-2 before losing to England and Australia by 3-2 and 5-1.

Pakistan now have nine points from five matches and have scored 19 goals while 13 goals have been scored against them. Australia and England are currently the other two top teams in the competition with 10 and nine points respectively.

Earlier in the day, Australia defeated South Korea by 4-2 while New Zealand edged past hosts Malaysia by 3-2.

Australia now have 10 points from four matches and are yet to be defeated in the tournament while England have nine points from four matches and their chances of qualifying in the final are sparkling the most at the moment.

Pakistani stocks end up; rupee weakens; o/n rates down

The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 0.24 per cent, or 28.12 points, higher at 11,930.24 on turnover of 63.35 million shares. - File Photo

KARACHI: Light trading nonetheless pushed Pakistani stocks higher on Tuesday led by middle-tier shares, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the monetary policy announcement and the budget announcement for 2011/12 fiscal year, dealers said.
The monetary policy is due to be announced on Saturday while the budget for 2011/12 fiscal year is due to be announced on May 28.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index ended 0.24 per cent, or 28.12 points, higher at 11,930.24 on turnover of 63.35 million shares.
“Activity remained thin on uncertainty over the SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) policy announcement on May 21 and federal budget implications on the corporate sector,” said Ahsan Mehanti, director at Arif Habib Investments.
In the currency market, the rupee ended weaker at 85.47/52 to the dollar compared with Monday’s close of 85.37/42 because of import payments, but dealers said incoming remittances should support the rupee and it should remain around these levels.
Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 23.81 per cent to more than $9 billion in the first 10 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, with $1.03 billion received in April, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
In the money market, overnight rates fell to between 12.75 per cent and 13 per cent, compared with Monday’s close of 13.90 per cent after the SBP conducted a three-day reverse repo and bought government paper worth 22.65 billion rupees ($265 million).
Dealers said they were awaiting the treasury bill auction scheduled for Wednesday in which they expect cut-off yields to rise marginally.

No assurances given to Afridi: Ijaz Butt

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt announced on Wednesday that Shahid Afridi’s place as the captain of the ODI team was not assured.
Butt’s statement is likely to put into disarray what looks like a settled limited overs unit.
“No assurance has been rendered to Shahid Afridi as far as retaining him as skipper for the upcoming ODI tour of Ireland,” Butt told a private TV channel.
Butt said that he clearly told Afridi in their last meeting that owing to the all-rounder’s disciplinary issues, the PCB was mulling the option of bringing in someone else.
He added that consultation was underway over selection of the team for the Ireland ODIs and a finalised team will be announced in a day or two.

Warne fined $50,000 for IPL clash

Australian cricketer Shane Warne arrives at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters to attend a hearing of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai. -Photo by AP

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board on Wednesday slapped a $50,000 fine on soon-to-retire bowling legend Shane Warne over a bust-up between the Australian and an official during this season’s IPL.
The punishment casts a cloud over Warne’s last game of professional cricket on Friday when his Rajasthan Royals team take on the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
The leg-spin maestro, captain of the Rajasthan team, was involved in an angry exchange with Sanjay Dixit, secretary of the Rajasthan state cricket association, following his team’s defeat at home last week.
Warne was furious about his team being asked to play on a different wicket than one used in previous games, but he later apologised for “any distress” his action may have caused.
After a complaint by the Rajasthan cricket association, Warne and Dixit were summoned for a hearing before a disciplinary commission comprising IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and former player Ravi Shastri.
“The commission has decided to impose a fine of US$50,000 upon Mr Warne,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which runs Indian cricket, said in a statement.
It said the disciplinary commission “regards the public criticism of Mr Dixit as being a serious breach by Mr Warne of his IPL playing contract”.
“However, at the same time, the commission also recognises that Mr Warne has apologised to Mr Dixit, and that the incident occurred just after the match.
“In addition, the commission is cognisant of the contribution to the game of cricket in general, and to the Indian Premier League, which has been made by Mr Warne.”
The 41-year-old touched off controversy when he hinted at a conspiracy over the selection of a new wicket for a home match against Chennai Super Kings which Rajasthan’s spin-heavy attack struggled to bowl on.
Sacked former IPL boss Lalit Modi, who is under investigation for alleged corruption, has implied that Chennai owner and BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan used his influence to have the wicket changed.
Dixit claimed Warne had been putting pressure on him to provide a “suitable” pitch for Rajasthan’s home matches.
Things came to a head when Warne walked up to Dixit following a second defeat against Bangalore on May 11 and exchanged angry words with him in full public view.
Rajasthan are already out of contention for an IPL play-off place after suffering seven defeats in 13 games.
A lacklustre Warne has taken 12 wickets from as many games in the Twenty20 competition so far.
His team’s last game against debutants Kochi saw Rajasthan capitulate for just 97 and Warne did not even bother to bowl, uncharacteristic of the fiercely competitive sportsman.

Impressive Pakistan unlucky to lose in the final

-Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Had luck been on their side, Pakistan would have overcome the might of Australia and returned from the Azlan Shah Cup as champions, the team’s manager Khawaja Muhammad Junaid said on Wednesday.
Pakistan lost to world champions Australia 3-2 in the final of the Malaysia-based hockey tournament, with the winning goal being scored in extra time. The result, according to Junaid, could have been different had luck not eluded them in Sunday’s final at Ipoh.
“With a bit of luck, we could have not only avenged the earlier defeat (in the round-robin phase) but also won the championship,” he told APP after the team’s return from Malaysia.
The final was played in front of a packed Azlan Shah Stadium, where 500 Pakistani fans were reportedly in attendance. The match swayed between the two sides as Australia took the lead but were soon brought back on level terms. The world champions surged ahead once more, only for veteran striker Rehan Butt to bring his team back in the match. With the score tied at 2-2 at full time, the match went into extra time.
“This was Pakistan’s best performance against Australia in recent years, which kept the spectators on their feet through the course of its duration,” the former Olympian said.
Australia eventually clinched the title in the second half of extra time via a golden goal, but the Kookaburras were made to work hard for the win by a Pakistan side that comprised a mix of youth and experience. Junaid named Syed Kashif Shah, Muhammad Rizwan and Muhammad Imran as the ones to watch out for in the future.
It was, however, the old pros like Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi who were among the top awards at the conclusion of the tournament. Abbas, drag-flicking maestro and the world’s leading goal-scorer, was the tournament’s top-scorer with six goals from seven matches. Striker Shakeel Abbasi was named the Player of the Tournament for his key contributions in Pakistan’s campaign.
The team, meanwhile, won the Fair Play award for their spirited performances in the seven-nation tournament.
Earlier, Pakistan had received a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the same opponents in the round-robin phase of the tournament. Junaid praised the team for rising above the loss to play a thrilling final and taking the match to extra time.
“They showed a lot of spirit and character in the final despite the earlier defeat.”
“Their excellent fightback and impressive performance in the final took Australia by surprise.”
The second-place finish in Malaysia comes on the back of Asian Games glory, which came in China last November and the Greenshirts’ manager believes the team is on its way to resurrecting the status of hockey, which once brought much joy to the nation.

LHC adjourns plea against website “Facebook”

Facebook’s terms of service require users to be at least 13 years old but many children, or their parents, get around that rule by giving a false birth date when they sign up for the social networking site. – Reuters Photo

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday adjourned till Thursday the hearing of a petition seeking permanent ban on access to social networking website Facebook for its plans to holding a fresh blasphemous contest on May 20.
Justice Sh. Azmat Saeed put off the matter after a deputy attorney general failed to appear before the court today.
The petition was filed by Muhammad & Ahmad, a public interest litigation company through its chairman Mohammad Azhar Siddique.
The petitioner-counsel pleaded the court in his petition that due to holding of fresh competition, SHO Civil Lines Police Station be directed to register a criminal case under Section 295-C and other relevant provisions of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the perpetrators.
Petitioner has sought directions for the federal government to stop display of material with respect to blasphemy of any religion or Holy Prophet (PBUH) on Facebook and all other such websites in Pakistan.
He said the government be directed to establish a permanent authority, having legal status, who would monitor such objectionable activities across the world, so that blasphemy of the Holy Prophet(PBUH) should be banned forever, including other personalities of all religions.