Pak News Wire

Familiar foes, familiar champs herald 2015

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831623/familiar-foes-familiar-champs-herald-2015/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831623-AUSSI-1422886673-859-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			KARACHI: The previous year, Stan Wawrinka swept aside an injured Rafael Nadal to claim the Australian Open title, breaking almost a decade-long stranglehold of the Big Three in tennis’ first Grand Slam of the year. Twelve months later, Novak Djokovic has not only reestablished the tradition, but is also now the undisputed ruler of the Melbourne Park with five Australian Open titles to his name. The world was awaiting the outcome of the 2015 final with bated breath. Had Andy Murray won, not only would it have been his first Australian Open title, but he would also have become the first British man to have lifted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Fred Perry in 1934. On the other hand, a fifth Australian Open would have made Djokovic the leading veteran of the Melbourne Park major. Fate chose to favour the latter, granting the Serb powerhouse his eighth Grand Slam title in the process. Tennis history added another first to its biography; Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to capture the Australian Open title a total of five times. It was far from easy though. Murray had recovered his threatening form after his last forgettable season. The Scot had dropped just two games on his way to the final, a far cry from his last match of 2014 where he lost 6-0, 6-1 to Roger Federer. The two-time Grand Slam winner pushed Djokovic to give his best in the first two sets of the Australian Open decider, losing the first one narrowly and winning the second one. However, after winning the next two games, the 27-year-old suddenly seemed to lose steam as Djokovic rallied to take the upper hand in the match. Allowing Murray to take just one more game, the world number one grabbed the next nine consecutively to underline his dominance over the sixth seed. Contrastingly, the women’s final was a one-sided affair from the word go. Although Serena Williams had a formidable 16-2 winning record against Maria Sharapova before the decider, a clash between the two is always a highly anticipated spectacle all over the world. Given Serena’s health troubles throughout the tournament and Sharapova’s smoother passage to the final, the latter’s chances of finally upsetting her intimidating rival after a long time seemed brighter than usual. A win for Serena would have pushed the top seed ahead of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the Grand Slam count, while victory for Sharapova would have given the Russian her second Australian Open title since 2008. But as had happened in their past 16 meetings, it was a determined Serena who brushed aside her illness to dominate the match from the outset, claiming the first set 6-3. The second set threatened to lead up to a third as it went to tie-break, but the American slotted home her 18th ace of the match at the crucial moment to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the sixth time in her career. 2014 had seen the encouraging rise of a younger generation in the elite club of the usual suspects, especially in men’s tennis. Two of them (Wawrinka and Marin Cilic) won two of the four Grand Slams, and Japan’s Kei Nishikori became the first male from an Asian country to reach the final of a Grand Slam (US Open) as well as the first man from Asia to qualify for the season-ending World Tour Finals. However, the young pretenders still have a long way to break the Big Three’s domination of the game once and for all. The 2015 Australian Open’s final has proven that point succinctly.   Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

Familiar foes, familiar champs herald 2015

KARACHI: The previous year, Stan Wawrinka swept aside an injured Rafael Nadal to claim the Australian Open title, bre...

2015 World Cup: Asia may be struggling, but can’t be written off

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831629/2015-world-cup-asia-may-be-struggling-but-cant-be-written-off/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831629-ASIA-1422887419-254-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			NEW DELHI: Conventional wisdom says Asian teams usually succumb on the bouncy wickets of Australia or the seaming pitches in New Zealand, making them vulnerable and ranked outsiders for the World Cup. Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, alongside the mighty South Africa, are the bookmakers’ favourites to win one-day cricket’s biggest prize, with Asian teams way down in the pecking order. But those already writing off Asia’s big three – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – will do so at their own peril. And not just because of the unpredictable nature of the limited-overs game. The only other time the tournament was held Down Under, in 1992, it was Pakistan who won the title, beating England by 22 runs in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia did not even make the knock-out rounds, while the Kiwis, like the South Africans, crashed out in the semi-finals. Defending champions India are the only team to have won the World Cup on home soil, while Sri Lanka won it in Pakistan as co-hosts of the 1996 event. Barring major upsets, like in 2007 when India and Pakistan were knocked out in the first round, Asia should have three teams – even more if Bangladesh, Afghanistan or the UAE cause an upset – in the quarter-finals. Kapil Dev, under whom India won its first World Cup in 1983 by shocking overwhelming favourites West Indies at Lord’s, said picking a winner was not easy. “Once you enter the quarter-finals, anything can happen,” said Dev. “But if a side has to have an off-day, it better be during the first round where one can recover. Can’t afford that in the knock-outs.” In 2011, India and Sri Lanka finished second in their respective groups and yet entered the final as Pool A winners Pakistan fell in the semi-finals and Pool B leaders South Africa went out in the quarter-finals. While India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have the batting to take on the rest, much will depend on how their meagre bowling resources are able to contain the opposition. Sri Lanka, finalists on the last two occasions, boast the top three run-getters in one-day cricket among those still playing in Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Pakistan, faced with bowling suspensions of Saeed Ajmal and Muhammad Hafeez due to faulty actions, and missing Umar Gul and Junaid Khan due to injury, will look to make amends through their batting which includes captain Misbahul Haq, Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi. In Rohit Sharma, the only batsman with two 200s in ODIs, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper MS Dhoni, India possess destructive batting firepower to tame the best attacks.   Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

2015 World Cup: Asia may be struggling, but can’t be written off

NEW DELHI: Conventional wisdom says Asian teams usually succumb on the bouncy wickets of Australia or the seaming pit...

Soccer medical secrets

Soccer medical secrets

Pakistan prepares for Saudi royal to hunt Houbara bustards

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831621/pakistan-prepares-for-saudi-royal-to-hunt-houbara-bustards/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831621-houbarabustard-1422884800-624-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			QUETTA: Pakistani authorities are finalising arrangements for a Saudi prince to visit Balochistan to hunt the Houbara bustard, a bird supposedly protected by law, officials said Monday. An advance party has already reached the Yak Much desert in Balochistan along with falcons which will be used to catch the bustard, officials said. Saudi Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz is expected to join the group in coming days. He led a hunting party to Balochistan last year that officials said killed more than 2,000 bustards. The birds are listed as “vulnerable” and declining in numbers by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” of threatened species. Hunting them is banned in Pakistan. But authorities issue special permits to wealthy visitors from Arab countries. Permit holders are in theory restricted to hunting a maximum of 100 of the protected birds over 10 days, but only in certain areas. Saifullah Zehri, district forest officer for wildlife in Chagai district of which Yak Much is a part, told AFP the advance party arrived on Sunday in a C-130 transport plane. “They were fully equiped and had all the material which is required for bird hunting,” Zehri said. Arab sheikhs are known as enthusiastic hunters, travelling to Pakistan each year to hunt the bird using the traditional Arabian method. They arrive by private jets from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. According to conservative estimates, between 500,000 and a million birds of all species migrate through Pakistan each year — flying south from Siberia to pass the winter in Central and South Asia.

Pakistan prepares for Saudi royal to hunt Houbara bustards

QUETTA: Pakistani authorities are finalising arrangements for a Saudi prince to visit Balochistan to hunt the Houbara...

Egyptian court sentences 183 to death

Egyptian court sentences 183 to death

An Egyptian court sentenced 183 defendants to death Monday, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported.

The worst call in Super Bowl history?

The worst call in Super Bowl history?

For one half, it was a snoozer of a game. There were 28 points but except for the final six seconds before intermission, there weren't a...

Controversial measures

Controversial measures

After a devastating massacre, a school in Pakistan is taking controversial measures to prevent future attacks. CNN's Michelle Stockman r...

China executes doomsday killers

China executes doomsday killers

Two members of a banned Chinese doomsday cult have been put to death for the murder of a woman in a McDonald's restaurant in May 2014, C...

China executes two cult members for McDonald’s murder

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831503/china-executes-two-cult-members-for-mcdonalds-murder/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831503-image-1422854761-744-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			BEIJING: China on Monday executed two members of a banned religious cult, a father and his daughter, for murdering a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant after she rebuffed an apparent recruitment attempt by the group, state media said. The 37-year-old woman, surnamed Wu, was attacked last May in the eastern province of Shandong by members of the Church of Almighty God, which had preached that a global apocalypse would take place in 2012. The case sparked a national outcry after it was revealed that Wu was beaten to death for refusing to give her telephone number to members of the group. Zhang Fan and her father, Zhang Lidong, were put to death after the Supreme Court approved their sentence, the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that the two had been allowed to meet family members before being executed. In earlier reports state media said Zhang Fan and another cult member had called Wu an “evil spirit” and the group beat, kicked, and stamped on her head until she died on the spot. The group, which originated in central Henan province, believes that Jesus was resurrected as Yang Xiangbin, wife of the sect’s founder, Zhao Weishan, according to previous Xinhua reports. In 2012, China launched a crackdown on the group, which called for a “decisive battle” to slay the “Red Dragon” Communist Party, and preached that the world would end that year. The party brooks no challenge to its rule and is obsessed with social stability. It has cracked down on cults, which have multiplied in recent years. Demonstrations have been put down with force and some sect leaders executed. In 1999, then-President Jiang Zemin launched a campaign to crush the Falun Gong religious group. It was banned as an “evil cult” after thousands of practitioners staged a surprise but peaceful sit-in outside the leadership compound in Beijing to demand official recognition of their movement.

China executes two cult members for McDonald’s murder

BEIJING: China on Monday executed two members of a banned religious cult, a father and his daughter, for murdering a ...

Egypt frees Australian reporter Greste after 400 days in jail

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831499/egypt-frees-australian-reporter-greste-after-400-days-in-jail/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831499-austrailaianjournalisttt-1422854252-280-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			CAIRO: Egypt freed and deported Australian journalist Peter Greste on Sunday after more than 400 days following a global outcry over his jailing on charges of backing the Muslim brotherhood, but two colleagues remained in prison. Greste, an award-winning correspondent for Al Jazeera English television, flew to Larnaca in Cyprus with brother Michael after his release from Cairo’s Tora prison, interior ministry and airport officials told AFP. His brother Andrew told reporters in Brisbane Peter’s excitement was “restrained”, adding “he won’t give up” until his colleagues were also freed. In Canberra, Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke of his “personal delight and our nation’s relief” at Greste’s release, expressed his government’s support for a free media and thanked Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi. Greste was detained with colleagues Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed in December 2013 on charges of aiding the blacklisted Brotherhood. The arrest of the three journalists sparked worldwide condemnation with Washington and the United Nations leading calls for their release. Qatar-based Al Jazeera welcomed Cairo’s decision and expressed hope the other two journalists would soon be set free. “We’re pleased for Peter and his family that they are to be reunited,” said Mostefa Souag, acting director general of Al Jazeera Media Network. “We will not rest until Baher and Mohamed also regain their freedom.” Fahmy’s relatives expect him to also be deported under a decree passed by Sisi that allows for the transfer of foreigners on trial, but it was not immediately clear when he would be released. Greste’s family expressed their joy after speaking to Peter on the phone and vowed his colleagues still behind bars would not be forgotten. “I’m ecstatic,” his mother Loris told a press conference in their hometown Brisbane. “I just can’t say how happy I am about it.” Greste was resting in Cyprus and the family said it was not clear when he would arrive in Australia. “He is gathering his thoughts for the trip home,” brother Andrew said. “He is safe, healthy, very, very happy to be on his way home.” “He’s not going to forget his two other colleagues,” Andrew added. “There’s no doubt that his excitement is tempered and restrained and will be until those guys are free, he won’t give up until Baher and Mohamed Fahmy are out of there.” Andrew had earlier expressed relief on Twitter, thanking journalists and others who kept pressure on Egypt. “Without the worldwide support we could not have got through it. @PeterGreste on his way home,” he tweeted. Canada said Greste’s release was “positive” and that it remained “very hopeful” that Fahmy would also be freed soon. The family of their Egyptian colleague Baher Mohamed has pinned their hopes on a presidential pardon or his acquittal on appeal. Their high-profile trial, at which Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison and Mohamed to 10, proved a public relations nightmare for Sisi, who has cracked down on Islamists since toppling president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The verdict was overturned and a court in January ordered a retrial for the three. “There is a presidential decision to deport Peter Greste to Australia,” an interior ministry official told AFP minutes before Greste flew out from Cairo. Amnesty International said Greste’s release should not overshadow the ongoing imprisonment of Fahmy and Mohamed. “All three men are facing trumped up charges and were forced to endure a farcical trial marred by irregularities,” said Amnesty’s Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog, welcomed the release and called on Sisi to pardon and free Fahmy and Mohamed “and the other journalists still behind bars for doing their work”. Egyptian police arrested the journalists at the peak of a diplomatic row between Cairo and Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera. The broadcaster had been critical of the deadly crackdown on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement following the Islamist leader’s overthrow. Qatar has since moved to mend ties with Egypt, and Al Jazeera has closed its Arabic-language Egyptian affiliate which backed the Brotherhood. The rapprochement reflected growing international acceptance of the crackdown on Egypt’s Islamist opposition and militants who have killed scores of police and soldiers since Morsi’s overthrow. The crackdown, which has left at least 1,400 people dead, had tested Egypt’s ties with the United States, which temporarily froze part of its annual $ 1.3 billion military aid in 2013. Greste, who turned 49 in jail, worked for multiple news organisations including Reuters and the BBC before joining Al Jazeera English. He was the BBC’s Kabul correspondent in 1995 and returned there after the US-led invasion in 2001. From 2009, he was based in Nairobi, winning the broadcasting industry’s prestigious Peabody Award in 2011.

Egypt frees Australian reporter Greste after 400 days in jail

CAIRO: Egypt freed and deported Australian journalist Peter Greste on Sunday after more than 400 days following a glo...

The most memorable moments at the Super Bowl

The most memorable moments at the Super Bowl

Vietnam’s ‘World Building of the Year’

Vietnam’s ‘World Building of the Year’

The Chapel is a small, colorful building on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Pilot held by Islamic State puts Jordan’s king in a tough spot

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831513/pilot-held-by-islamic-state-puts-jordans-king-in-a-tough-spot/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831513-download-1422860546-771-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			JORDAN: The fate of a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State (IS) has raised public pressure on King Abdullah over his country’s role in the US-led military campaign against the hardline group in Syria, fuelling the risk of broader discontent in the US ally. After his capture in December, militants released pictures of the young pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh being led out of the water by fighters. His F-16 jet had smashed onto the banks of the Euphrates River in Islamic State’s stronghold in northern Syria. The images of the young, newly-wed pilot shocked Jordanians and brought home the stakes of the US-ally’s involvement the war. King Abdullah has defended the campaign, saying that moderate Muslims need to combat a group whose ideology and brutality have insulted the spirit of Islam. But in Kasaesbeh’s hometown of Karak dozens of young people protested, chanting anti-coalition slogans and calling on the King to pull out of the campaign. “We will not be a sacrificial cow for America!” angry youths chanted last month in a city whose tribes have long been a bulwark of support for the Hashemite monarchy. Although few believe the crisis will compel Jordan to withdraw completely from the campaign, it may take a more low-key role like in the past, analysts and diplomats say. King Abdullah’s father, King Hussein, did not take part in a US-led military campaign against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait in 1990, going along with public opinion which was against military involvement. By contrast, his son has taken a bolder role in this campaign by sending its jets to Syria – the first time Jordan took part on bombing missions abroad rather than just providing intelligence and logistical support. King Abdullah’s stance stems from his concern about the heightened threat of militants to his kingdom. Al Qaeda launched a series of deadly attacks in Jordan including a bombing on a hotel in Amman in 2005, killing 60 people. IS has called for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, one of the hotel attackers who was convicted after her explosive belt failed to detonate. It has said it will spare Kasaesbeh’s life if she is let go but has not said it will release the pilot. “It’s our war” Seeking to rally his people, King Abdullah has said concern about the pilot’s plight united all Jordanians and his capture proved the war must be won. But as he comforted Kasaesbeh’s parents and wife in the royal palace, demonstrations took place. “There is not an hour in the day that me and the armed forces are not working on this, our hero the pilot. Unfortunately the war today is one within the Islamic world and it’s our war,” the King told a group of tribal elders in a visit ten days ago. The case has polarised Jordanians. Nationalists say it is not time for recriminations and have called for rallying behind the throne while others say they will lay the blame on the country’s political rulers if the pilot is killed. “People will blame the Jordanian regime and they will say why did you send him to this war. No one will blame IS if it executes him, it will only increase support for them,” said Ali Dalaen, a former deputy from the pilot’s hometown. He led a demonstration on Friday calling for an end to military involvement and accusing the government of not negotiating seriously with IS. Some Jordanians have even raised fears that Jordan would send land troops to battle IS, which is also known by the  Arabic acronym Daesh. “We insist this is not our war and if Daesh unfortunately sacrifices our son, we hope the wisdom of the government and the King would be furthest away from participating in a land campaign,” said Hind al-Fayez, a deputy from the powerful Bani Sakhr tribe. Her comments provoked a strong backlash. Islamic State has released three emotive videos in response to repeated appeals by the family. The group says their son’s bombing missions had been responsible for the deaths of women and children. Observers say IS is trying to deepen domestic rifts in a country whose security forces are growing increasingly alarmed by the appeal of jihadist ideology, especially in impoverished cities across the kingdom. Dozens of youths even from the pilot’s hometown have travelled over the border to fight alongside hardline groups in Syria and as far away as Afghanistan. “It’s an impossible situation for (Jordan). They don’t have a decent hand,” a Western diplomat in Amman said. “It’s clear that Daesh (IS) is looking to manipulate the political space with Jordan, and unfortunately they are very adept at that.”

Pilot held by Islamic State puts Jordan’s king in a tough spot

JORDAN: The fate of a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic State (IS) has raised public pressure on King Abdullah over his...

The week in 32 photos

The week in 32 photos

Pakistan test-fires new cruise missile Ra’ad

<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/831544/pakistan-test-fires-new-cruise-missile-raad/"> 				<img alt="" height="120" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/831544-ISPRx-1422865361-612-160x120.jpg" width="160" /> 			</a> 			ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday conducted a successful flight test of the indigenously developed Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Ra’ad, ISPR reported. With a range of 350 kilometres, the Ra’ad missile enables Pakistan to achieve strategic standoff capability both on land and at sea. The state of the art Ra’ad cruise missile was built with “Cruise Technology” which has been developed by only a few countries in the world and gives the missile stealth capabilities. The low altitude missile has high maneuverability capabilities and can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with pin-point accuracy. Director General Strategic Plans Division, Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat congratulated the scientists and engineers on this acheivementr and termed the milestone as a major step towards strengthening Pakistan’s full spectrum credible minimum deterrence capability. He appreciated the technical prowess, dedication and commitment of scientists who contributed whole heartedly to make this launch a success and showed his full confidence over operational preparedness of the Strategic Forces including employment and deployment concepts, refinement and training of all ranks in operational and technical domains. The successful launch has been commended by the President and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who have congratulated the scientists and engineers on their outstanding achievement.

Pakistan test-fires new cruise missile Ra’ad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday conducted a successful flight test of the indigenously developed Air Launched Cruise Mi...