Skill, not emotion, wins World Cups: Clarke

Melbourne- Australia's retiring one-day captain Michael Clarke has urged his players to put "skill over emotion" in their bid to down New Zealand in Sunday's World Cup final, though his swan-song is sure to imbue the match with extra sentiment.
Clarke announced his retirement from the one-day game on the eve of the Melbourne Cricket Ground blockbuster and will hope to wrap up his career in the 50-over format by leading Australia to a fifth world trophy.
Clarke's captaincy has proved torrid in recent months, grieving the death of team mate Phillip Hughes and battling a succession of hamstring injuries.
His race to be fit for the World Cup overshadowed Australia's preparations, and local media are certain to question the timing of his retirement announcement.
Clarke said nothing would change in his preparation for the 245th and final ODI of his career, though his every movement is certain to be under heightened scrutiny.
"It's a special game, no doubt about it, but it needs to be about the team and I want it to be about the team," he told reporters at the MCG on Saturday.
"I just said it to my team mates then. And I've been the one to come out and say, 'it's not emotion, it's skill that helps you win major games and major tournaments, and tomorrow will be no different'.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for every single player in that change room to walk out onto the MCG in a World Cup final.
"It's a very special event. But yeah, it's no more special because it's my last game."
Brendon McCullum confirmed New Zealand would bring the same team that downed South Africa in a semi-final cliff-hanger in Auckland.
Australia are also expected to bring the same side that thrashed India in Sydney, though Clarke could not confirm it.
He threw his arm around his New Zealand counterpart McCullum in a private moment during a photo-shoot with the trophy.
Both captains have been open about their mutual admiration, and Clarke's mantra about playing with "freedom" could have been straight from McCullum's mouth.
"The fact that the whole team is here again today at an optional training session shows the dedication, shows where the team is at mentally," Clarke said.
"I don't think I have to say too much to be honest. I think the guys are ready to play. Like I said after the last game, mentally we are ready for this final.
"Physically we've got another day to recover or try and get what you need to be right for tomorrow, but I think the team is ready."

New Zealand 'fearless' ahead of World Cup

Melbourne- New Zealand are sticking with the same team, and the same fearless approach, for Sunday's World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said the Black Caps would use the same lineup that beat South Africa in the semi-finals and the same bold tactics that have served them so well during the tournament.
Showing no signs of nerves or apprehension ahead of the biggest match in New Zealand cricket history, McCullum said his players had been told to go out and attack the Australians from the start.
"We need to play like that, that's how we're going to beat teams on regular occasions," McCullum told a news conference. "We're not afraid of losing.
"For us, we think about what we can achieve. That's not always going to work and there are going to be times when we come out on the wrong side of it. But that gives us our greatest chance of success against big opposition teams on a regular basis.
"So we'll continue to play like that and develop a sense of fearlessness ... and a real 'can do' attitude."
New Zealand's intimidating approach to the game has paid off during the World Cup.
With the dashing McCullum laying the foundations at the top of the order, the Black Caps have been piling on the runs with the bat and skittling opposing lineups with their fast bowlers.

ULTIMATE GAME

They have also shown they can handle pressure, beating Australia in a tight match during the group stage and South Africa in the semi-finals.
Now, McCullum says, his team have to make sure they do not freeze in the final.
"I'm confident we'll play well tomorrow," he said. "That doesn't guarantee us anything, it doesn't mean that Australia won't beat us, but I'm very confident we'll turn up and display our skills just as we have done throughout the tournament.
"I guess this is the ultimate game for us to be able to play in, so with that I'm sure some guys will be nervous.
"Putting our skills against the best in their backyard certainly whets the appetite and creates the greatest stage we can ask for."
McCullum conceded that four times champions Australia were the favourites on home soil but said his team mates were aware this was the chance of a lifetime.
"It's pretty amazing, the ride we've been on, and I've said that time and time again that it's been the greatest time of our lives," he added.
"We dreamed right from the start and to now give ourselves a 50-50 chance in the final is an amazing achievement.
"The brand of cricket that we've played has really touched a lot of people and endeared ourselves to a lot of people who follow this game.
"There is no challenge which is insurmountable."

Factbox- Previous World Cup finals

Sydney- 

A look back at the previous Cricket World Cup finals.

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1975: WEST INDIES BEAT AUSTRALIA BY 17 RUNS AT LORD'S

Striking the ball with relaxed brutality, West Indies' captain Clive Lloyd tamed an attack headed by the pace and fury of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson to score 102 from 85 balls.

He was ably assisted by the 39-year-old Rohan Kanhai, a late replacement for the injured Garfield Sobers. Kanhai contributed 55 to West Indies' 291-8 from their 60 overs.

Australia captain Ian Chappell led a spirited reply with 62 before he fell victim to one of three run outs effected by the electric reflexes of Viv Richards. Australia lost five wickets in total to run outs.

Lillee and Thomson added 41 for the final wicket before Australia were finally dismissed for 274 at twilight on the longest day of the year.

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1979: WEST INDIES BEAT ENGLAND BY 92 RUNS AT LORD'S

Viv Richards stroked an imperious 138 and Collis King struck a whirlwind 86 to power West Indies to 286-9 in their 60 overs.

Although England captain Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott put on 129 for the first wicket, they took up 38 of the 60 overs.

After their dismissals, the giant Joel Garner ran through the middle order with a series of unplayable yorkers to take five wickets in 11 balls and give his team victory by 92 runs.

Colin Croft also took three wickets.

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1983: INDIA BEAT WEST INDIES BY 43 RUNS AT LORD'S

Viv Richards seemed intent on winning the final against underdogs India on his own after West Indies had been set a modest 184 to win.

He struck seven boundaries in his 33 from 28 balls before top-edging a hook which India captain Kapil Dev, running away from the pitch towards the boundary at mid-wicket, coolly collected.

West Indies imploded thereafter, with India recording a famous 43-run victory which was to have profound implications at home where one-day cricket quickly superseded the test game as the most popular form of the sport.

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1987: AUSTRALIA BEAT ENGLAND BY SEVEN RUNS AT EDEN GARDENS

Because of the shorter daylight hours on the sub-continent all matches were played over 50 overs, now the standard length, instead of 60.

Opener David Boon's 75 took Australia to 253-5 which seemed to be not enough.

England appeared to be cruising to victory at Kolkata's Eden Gardens when Mike Gatting tried a reverse sweep off opposition captain Allan Border's first delivery and lobbed a simple catch.

A well-drilled and disciplined Australia side went on to win by seven runs.

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1992: PAKISTAN BEAT ENGLAND BY 22 RUNS AT THE MCG

Coloured clothing, floodlights and a white ball, all pioneered in World Series cricket, were finally introduced into the tournament.

Famously urged by captain Imran Khan to "fight like cornered tigers," Pakistan rebounded from imminent elimination in the opening round to defeat England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

All-rounder Imran scored 72 batting at number three in his final match for his country as his side posted 249-6 in 50 overs. He also took the final wicket after his protege Wasim Akram had blown away Ian Botham, Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis.

Leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed also took three wickets for Pakistan.

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1996: SRI LANKA BEAT AUSTRALIA BY SEVEN WICKETS IN LAHORE

Captain Mark Taylor's 74 took Australia to 241-7 in 50 overs at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Sri Lanka lost explosive openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana early but a 125-run stand for the third wicket between Aravinda de Silva (107 not out) and Asanka Gurusinha (65) put them on course for their first title.

De Silva, their most accomplished batsman, and captain Arjuna Ranatunga (47 not out) then added 97 for the unbroken fourth wicket to see their side through for a seven-wicket win.

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1999: AUSTRALIA BEAT PAKISTAN BY EIGHT WICKETS AT LORD'S

Australia, the world's best test side, made a no contest of the final against Pakistan, taking barely 4-1/2 hours to overwhelm the 1992 champions.

Pakistan were all out for 132 in 39 overs, with leg-spinner Shane Warne taking four wickets which proved an easy target for Australia to chase down.

Wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist smashed 54 off 36 balls as his side chased down the total in 20.1 overs with eight wickets to spare.

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2003: AUSTRALIA BEAT INDIA BY 125 RUNS IN JOHANNESBURG

Australia's new one-day captain Ricky Ponting struck eight sixes in his 140 not out in the final against India as his team scaled new heights with a relentless 125-run victory.

The Australians became the first team to win three World Cups and took their unbeaten run in the tournament to 16.

Riding on Ponting's imperious ton and half-centuries from Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn, Australia made 359-2.

The total proved too tough for India who were bundled out for 234 inside 40 overs despite 82 from opener Virender Sehwag.

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2007: AUSTRALIA BEAT SRI LANKA BY 53 RUNS (D/L) IN BARBADOS

Adam Gilchrist bettered Ponting's record tally in a final with a typically audacious 149.

Australia finished with victory over Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The win gave Australia their third title in a row and fourth overall World Cup title.

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2011: INDIA BEAT SRI LANKA BY SIX WICKETS IN MUMBAI

Mahela Jayawardene scored an unbeaten 103 in Sri Lanka's challenging 274-6 but India recovered from a slow start to win by six wickets with 10 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Gautam Gambhir made 97 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni an unbeaten 91 as India became the first country to win the World Cup final on home soil.

Nadal, Murray advance in Miami

Miami- Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray got their Miami Open bids off to a solid start with straight sets victories at Key Biscayne on Friday.
Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-2 in 89 minutes in windy conditions as he began his campaign to finally win the Miami tournament where he has lost in the final on three occasions.
"In general I thought I played a solid match. I played well, I had good movement," said Nadal. "I had to put the balls in and play with no mistakes -- that was the idea with very tough conditions. Almagros was not an easy opponent."
Murray had little trouble dealing with American Donald Young in his opening match with a 6-4 6-2 victory. Murray, a two-time winner at Key Biscyane, broke left-hander Young four times as he wrapped up the win in 82 minutes. The Scot will face Santiago Giraldo in the next round after the Colombian beat Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-2 3-6 6-0. Murray is looking for his 10th Masters 1000 title and his third trophy in Miami, having won in 2009 and 2013. Key Biscayne is something of a ‘home court’ for Murray, who practices at the venue during his off-season preparation. “I spend hours, hundreds and hundreds of hours, practicing on that court," he said.
"Each week, when I am here, I would practice 14 hours at least on that court. Over the last seven, eight years, I have spent a lot of time on it." South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon, who gained his first ATP World Tour win on Wednesday, was beaten by eighth seed Tomas Berdych, the Czech triumphing 6-3 6-4.
Chung showed his promise again, however, gaining a 4-2 lead in a rain-interrupted second set before Berdych took control, winning the last four sets. Berdych will face the 25th-seeded Bernard Tomic, who edged American Austin Krajicek 7-6(6) 7-5. South African Kevin Anderson fought superbly to beat American Sam Querrey 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes. Querrey served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not close it out, and then dropped serve at the start of the third as Anderson fought back.
World number one Novak Djokovic gets his campaign under way against Slovak Marin Klizan today.

New Zealand unchanged for World Cup final

Melbourne- New Zealand will bring an unchanged lineup into Sunday's World Cup final against fellow co-hosts Australia in Melbourne, captain Brendon McCullum confirmed on Saturday.
New Zealand head into the match at the Melbourne Crikcet Ground after defeating South Africa by four wickets in Auckland in the semi-finals.
New Zealand team - Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (captain), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

The legendary Australia, New Zealand rivalry

Wellington- The trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia is most clearly displayed in the sporting arena, though there are other reasons why the neighbours have a fierce competitive relationship.

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RUGBY - New Zealand regularly treated Australia as second-tier opponents until 1979 when the Wallabies won the Bledisloe Cup and took the trophy on a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground, an act that stung the All Blacks.

Australians still harbour ill-feelings over Colin Meads inflicting a career-ending leg injury on scrumhalf Ken Catchpole in 1968. The Wallabies have also beaten New Zealand twice in World Cup semi-finals, though the All Blacks' recent domination - they have won 19 of the past 24 tests with two draws - has diminished the rivalry a little.

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CRICKET - Australia had little to do with New Zealand after thrashing them in their first test in 1946, not playing the longest form of the game again until 1973. Competitive one-day matches in the early-1980s reignited the rivalry, at least in New Zealand, as the side showed they could compete. The 'underarm incident' in 1981, Greg Dyer's claiming of a non-catch in 1987 and Brad Haddin knocking the bails off in 2009 have infuriated New Zealand fans, who view the incidents as examples of Australia's win-at-all-costs mentality.

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YACHTING - While not technically a rivalry between the two countries, Australian skipper Jimmy Spithill's goading of Team New Zealand at the last America's Cup in 2013 briefly made him public enemy number one. Spithill then turned Team Oracle USA's performances around and roared back from an seemingly unwinnable position to retain sport's oldest trophy.

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PHAR LAP - Foaled just out of Timaru in New Zealand's South Island, the gelding became the most famous racehorse in the world in the late 1920s and whose name is still muttered with reverence across both sides of the Tasman Sea. The horse, however, was trained and raced in Australia, which many point to as the sole defining fact in determining where he was from.

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MUSIC - Debate has raged for decades over the band Crowded House. Consisting of former members of New Zealand band Split Enz in Neil Finn and Paul Hester, the band spent the majority of their career based in Melbourne. Hester and Nick Seymour are both Australian though the creative force Finn was from Te Awamutu. New Zealand's recent Grammy winner Lorde has also been claimed as "Australasian" by Australian media.

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BAKING - Named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the meringue-based dish is a staple dessert at Christmas in both countries. New Zealand claims it was invented by a Wellington chef to serve the world-famous dancer when she visited in 1926. Australians argue the recipe appeared in local magazines earlier than that. The only thing the two agree on is that it is delicious.

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FILM - Oscar winner Russell Crowe is New Zealand-born but Australia-raised and identifies with the Sunburned Country. Crowe recently said he had been turned down twice for Australian citizenship, something denied by Australian officials. Many New Zealanders feel Australia is welcome to him.

PCB fires Moin Khan over casino visit

LAHORE- Pakistan chief selector Moin Khan, reprimanded by the cricket board for visiting a casino in New Zealand during the World Cup, has been sacked from his position after a high-level meeting of top officials today.
Moin, who received more flak for his casino visit than his contentious team selection for the World Cup, has been offered another position in the PCB with his contract yet to expire.
The meeting also discussed potential candidates for ODI captaincy after Misbah-ul-Haq's retirement.
According to PCB chairman, PCB didn’t find anything arguable regarding Moin’s visit.
"He realizes that it was inappropriate to have visited a casino ahead of Pakistan's match against the West Indies," PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said.

Syrian army turns to women on Damascus front lines

Sammy Ketz - Perched on a makeshift bench taking turns with a sniper rifle, the Syrian army’s top markswomen await their “prey” on the front line in east Damascus.
Sergeant Rim, 20, and Chief Sergeant Samar, 21, belong to the First Women’s Commando Brigade of the Republican Guard, an elite unit stationed on some of the most dangerous battlegrounds on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
There are roughly 800 soldiers in these all-female commando brigades, who face determined and entrenched rebels to the east and southeast of Damascus.
Rim and Samar’s Russian-made SV-98 rifle pokes out through a small hole in the side of a building in the Jobar district.
In front of them is a scene of devastation.
There is no sign of life amid the rubble and burned-out vehicles.
But looks can be deceiving - the ground beneath the commandos is crisscrossed with tunnels and death lurks at every corner.
  The building where the women lie in wait is less than 200 metres (yards) from rebel lines.
It is defended entirely by female commandos.
Their commander describes them as the finest markswomen in the brigade.
“It’s true that we have a lot of patience, and this is the most important quality for a sniper,” Rim says shyly.
‘Not a question of gender’
A fearsome warrior hides behind her eye make-up and childlike smile - she boasts a record of 11 kills in a day.
“My commander gave me a sort of certificate, like in school,” she says, smiling.
“I usually hit three or four targets per day, and honestly, if I miss a gunman, I could cry,” she says.
Her fellow sniper’s record is seven kills in a day.
From another vantage point in the same building, a third female commando opens fire with a B-10 recoilless rifle, a much bigger weapon that is usually mounted on wheels or a tripod.
“It has hit the target,” Zeinab says proudly after one 82 mm round causes a terrifying explosion in a building 500 metres (yards) away.
The 21-year-old says she chose a career in the army after finishing her bachelor’s degree.
Her friends and family encouraged her decision and, after three months of intensive training, she joined the commandos.
  Asked why she chose such a large weapon, Zeinab is unabashed as she expresses determination to cause the maximum casualties.
“Snipers kill one person at a time.
But with the B-10, when I hit that house, I could be sure everyone inside was killed.
”Her male commanding officer Captain Ziad takes pride in her attitude.
“There’s no difference between men and women.
Some have a strong heart and deep courage, and others don’t.
It’s not a question of gender.
”Promoting women
The women commandos are new to the Syrian army but the unit’s commander denies their introduction was enforced by the heavy losses in male ranks during more than four years of civil war.
More than 46,000 soldiers have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“It’s true that it’s the first time we have female commandos,” says Major Ali.
“But it’s a decision that was taken by President Bashar al-Assad, who wants to promote the role of Syrian women and show that they are capable of being successful in all fields.
”In its battle with rebel fighters increasingly dominated by militants and other extremists, the Assad regime has played up its secular credentials.
Major Ali says the women have all enlisted for 10 years.
Angham, 21, saw an army recruitment advertisement in a store in her home province of Hama after completing her bachelor’s degree.
She underwent five months’ training at the naval academy in Jbele, in northwestern Syria, before being transferred to the capital.
“My three brothers are soldiers, and I have a sister who wants to join me too,” Angham says.
  Her weapon of choice is the Dushka, a heavy machinegun.
Outside the building, Samar, 19, and two female comrades pass by in a tank, throwing up a cloud of dust behind them.
“Several of the women have learnt to drive it,” Samar said.
“It weighs 43 tonnes but I said to myself: ‘Why not?’ It was very difficult but we succeeded.

Arab allies pound Yemeni rebel camps

SANAA - Arab coalition warplanes bombed rebel camps in Yemen Friday in a second straight day of strikes led by Saudi Arabia, which accused Iran of “aggression” across the region.
Saudi Arabia has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to prevent the fall of its ally President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, accusing Iran of backing the Huthi rebels’ power grab.
At least 39 civilians have been killed in the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against the Huthis, officials at the rebel-controlled health ministry in the capital said.
Twelve died when surrounding residential areas were hit in a raid on a military base north of the city, the officials told AFP.
Three dawn strikes Friday hit the presidential compound in south Sanaa which the rebels seized last month, witnesses said.
Warplanes also bombed a Huthi-controlled army brigade in Amran province north of Sanaa, and arms depots in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada, residents said.
Hadi, backed by the West and Gulf Arab states, arrived in Riyadh Thursday with officials saying he was on his way to Egypt to join a two-day Arab League summit at the weekend.
It was the first confirmation of Hadi’s whereabouts since the rebels began advancing this week on the main southern city of Aden, where he had taken refuge since fleeing Sanaa last month.
Saudi Arabia says more than 10 countries, including four other Gulf monarchies, have joined the anti-Huthi coalition.
As explosions rocked Sanaa, those families who have not already fled huddled in fear.
“Whenever a plane flies over our home and is met by anti-aircraft gunfire, my three children run to a corner and start screaming and crying,” said Mohammed al-Jabahi, 32.
“We spent a night of non-stop terror and hysteria.
” An anti-aircraft missile wounded eight people, one seriously, when it exploded in a market in Sanaa on Friday, a day after being fired by Huthis, a security official said.
The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said the kingdom had deployed 100 warplanes to the operation, while the United Arab Emirates had committed 30, Kuwait 15 and Qatar 10.
Bahrain said it had committed 12 fighters.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly also mobilised 150,000 troops near the border.
The rebels have also clashed with tribes as they push south.
At least 21 Huthis were killed Friday when residents of a tribal southern region ambushed their vehicles north of Aden, a local official said.
The White House voiced concern about “reports of Iranian flow of arms into Yemen”, while Riyadh denounced Tehran.
“The Iranians are the ones who are meddling in the affairs of the Arab countries whether it’s in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq.
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in Yemen,” the kingdom’s ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, told Fox News.
“We have to deal with Iran’s aggression in the region.
We’re dealing with their support of the Huthis and the Huthis’ attempt to take over in Yemen,” he added.
Iran reacted furiously to the Saudi-led strikes, calling them a violation of Yemen’s national sovereignty.
“Any military action against an independent country is wrong and will only result in a deepening crisis and more deaths among innocents,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following a year of nationwide protests, is accused of allying with the rebels, relying on the loyalty of many army units that he built during his three-decade rule.
The conflict has raised a major hurdle to Washington’s longstanding drone war against Al-Qaeda militants who have exploited the power vacuum since Saleh’s downfall.
The Islamic State (IS) group, which has seized vast tracts of territory in Syria and Iraq, is also vying for prominence with Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
IS recently claimed its first attack in Yemen - suicide bombings which killed at least 142 people at mosques in Sanaa.
Some observers warned that the Saudi strikes risked feeding instability and extremism.
“I think the net effect of this operation is ultimately dangerous for Yemen’s future path,” said Frederic Wehrey, a Gulf specialist at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“It will open up more fissures on the ground, perhaps bolster the Huthis’ popular support as defenders of Yemeni sovereignty, and create more opportunities for AQAP and IS to flourish.
”The fighting triggered a sharp rise on world oil markets on fears the conflict could threaten supplies, although prices gave back some of their gains on Friday.
Washington has pledged logistical and intelligence support for the campaign, while Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan said they were joining it.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday of fomenting strife in the Middle East, rebuffing his accusation that Iran was trying to dominate the region.
“It would be better if those who have created irreparable damages with their strategic mistakes and lofty politics would adopt responsible policies,” Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
“Under the current circumstances, all countries must work toward establishing stability and preventing the spread of insecurity in the region,” Zarif, who is attending negotiations on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme in Switzerland, added.
Erdogan declared his support on Thursday for a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen targeting the Houthis, and suggested the group’s links to Tehran were evidence of Iranian ambitions.
“Iran is trying to dominate the region.
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This has begun annoying us, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.
This is really not tolerable and Iran has to see this,” Erdogan said at a press conference.

Two missing, 25 hurt after NY building collapse

NEW YORK - Two people were missing on Friday after an explosion brought down three buildings and damaged a fourth property in New York’s popular East Village, injuring 25 people, city officials said.
Preliminary indications suggest the incident, which triggered a fire that lingered into a second day, was gas-related, raising fresh concerns about safety in some of Manhattan’s older buildings.
Police listed two people as unaccounted for early Friday.
Local media identified them as a young man on a date at a sushi restaurant, in the building where the explosion happened, and a bus boy.
Twenty civilians and five uniformed personnel were injured, city hall officials said Friday, raising an earlier injury toll of 19.
Four civilians were taken to the hospital in a critical condition.
The blast ripped through a commercial and residential building at 121 Second Avenue, triggering its partial collapse and the partial collapse and full collapse of two adjoining properties.
City hall said that all three buildings were destroyed, as any remaining portions would have to be knocked down.
Dramatic cell phone footage broadcast by TV channel PIX11 showed panicked people running in fear from the sushi restaurant.
“What happened? Oh my God!” one woman is heard yelling.
Bystanders bend over a person lying amid debris.
Fire personnel were still working to extinguish the fire after daybreak on Friday, officials said.
The Red Cross set up an emergency site in a school to support those made homeless and a hotel also offered three free nights to people living in the immediate vicinity.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the initial impact appeared to have been caused by plumbing and gas work at the site.
Last year, eight people were killed when a gas explosion leveled two apartment buildings in East Harlem in northern Manhattan on March 12, 2014.
The East Village is one of the most popular areas of New York, home to a large number of students and wealthy professionals, and stuffed with boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs and cafes.

Maldives jails ex-defence minister for 11 years

COLOMBO - The Maldives’ former defence minister has been found guilty of attempting a coup and jailed for 11 years, his family and officials said, weeks after the conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed sparked international concern.
The controversial criminal court found Mohamed Nazim guilty of smuggling dangerous weapons into the upmarket tourist destination with the aim of toppling President Abdulla Yameen.
Nazim’s family said he had not received a fair trial following the verdict, which came out overnight Thursday and is likely to intensify fears of growing political repression in the honeymoon island nation.
The verdict came less than two weeks after the court convicted opposition leader Nasheed under anti-terror laws for ordering the arrest of a chief judge in 2012 when he was president and sentenced him to 13 years in jail.
“This is a verdict that neither us nor any Maldivian accepts,” Nazim’s family said in a statement that was copied to diplomats in Colombo.
“We ask your for help in getting justice.
”
President Yameen sacked Nazim in January shortly after police raided his flat in the capital Male and seized documents as well as a pistol and ammunition.
He was also accused of engineering a fire at the main desalination plant serving the island capital capital Male that triggered a water crisis in December.
Nazim, a retired colonel from the Maldivian National Defence Force, was minister of defence and national security.
He was a key figure behind the downfall of Nasheed, who was forced to quit the presidency in February 2012 after a mutiny by police and troops that followed weeks of protests over then-criminal court chief judge Abdullah Mohamed’s arrest.
Nasheed’s jailing has sparked street protests in the Maldives and widespread international criticism including from the UN Human Rights Council.
His Maldivian Democratic Party has said the criminal court judges were biased, a charge the government has denied.
Nasheed’s lawyers said this week the authorities had prevented them from filing an appeal by a Sunday deadline.
The rising political unrest threatens the reputation of the atoll nation of 340,000 Sunni Muslims, whose pristine beaches and secluded coral islands have long been a huge draw for honeymooners and other tourists.

Israel accused of war crimes during Gaza war

PARIS - The Israeli army committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during last year’s offensive in Gaza, a rights group said on Friday.
The 50-day military offensive in July and August 2014 - code-named “Operation Protective Edge” - “was marked by serious breaches of .
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international human rights law,” said the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
The Paris-based group also condemned Palestinian armed forces for “indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars”.
But it said those actions did not give the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) “carte blanche” to disregard international laws.
It accused the IDF of “indiscriminate attacks on civilians and their residences; attacks on medical facilities, transport and personnel; and attacks on structures providing shelter to internally displaced populations”.
The seven weeks of clashes in the Gaza Strip killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and more than 70 Israelis.

Nigeria recaptures Boko Haram 'HQ' Gwoza

ABUJA - Nigeria's military on Friday announced that troops had retaken the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram, from which the group declared their caliphate last year.
"Troops this morning captured Gwoza destroying the Headquarters of the Terrorists self-styled Caliphate," Defence Headquarters in Abuja said on Twitter.
"Several terrorists died while many are captured.
Mopping up of entire Gwoza and her suburbs is ongoing," it added in a separate message.
Earlier this month, residents who fled the town in Borno state told AFP that militants had been massing in Gwoza and killing local people who were unable to flee.
That led to speculation that the group, which has been pushed out of a number of towns in three northeast states in recent weeks, was preparing for a final assault.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau declared on August 24 last year that Gwoza was "part of the Islamic caliphate", adding to speculation the militants were imitating the Islamic State group.
Shekau had the previous month praised IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but stopped short of pledging allegiance.
He has since formally allied himself to the group in Syria and Iraq.
Nigeria's national security spokesman Mike Omeri said last week that troops had begun the "final onslaught" against Boko Haram, saying Gwoza was one of three areas yet to be retaken.
A four-nation coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has claimed a number of successes since the turn of the year to end the insurgency which has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2009.
The ongoing operation was cited as a reason to delay Nigeria's general election on February 14 to this Saturday, as soldiers would not be able to provide security nationwide.
In a televised address broadcast on Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan hailed troops for having "successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories".
"I heartily commend the very courageous men and women of our Armed Forces for the immense sacrifices which they continue to make in defending the nation and protecting its citizens," he added.
But Chad's President Idriss Deby accused Nigeria of failing to cooperate with the regional coalition battling the militants, saying there had been zero contact between their armies.
"The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big army.
.
.
is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs," Deby told French magazine Le Point, in an interview published this week.

2011 Nobel literature laureate Tomas Transtroemer dies

STOCKHOLM - Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer, who won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature, has died at the age of 83, his publishing house Bonniers said on Friday.
Transtroemer, who suffered a stroke in 1990 which affected his ability to speak, wrote poems full of imagery that addressed nature, history and death.
He has been called a master of mysticism, who often presented a dream-like consciousness in which time slows to allow for dissection of the relationship between the inner self and the surrounding world.
“Most of Transtroemer’s poetry collections are characterised by economy, concreteness and poignant metaphors.
In his latest collections.
.
.
Transtroemer has shifted towards an even smaller format and a higher degree of concentration,” the Nobel jury said when it honoured him.
His books of poetry include “The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems” (New Directions, 2006), “The Half-Finished Heaven” (2001); “New Collected Poems” (1997); “For the Living and the Dead” (1995); “Baltics” (1975); “Windows and Stones” (1972), an International Poetry Forum Selection and a runner-up for the National Book Award for translation; and “The Half-Finished Heaven” (2001).
The poet, who was also a trained psychologist, died on Thursday, according to the Nobel Foundation.
“Saddened to hear of the loss of Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer who passed away yesterday at the age of 83,” the foundation tweeted.
Sweden’s foreign ministry also took to Twitter, writing: “Sad news.
Swedish poet and Nobel Prize winner Tomas Transtroemer has left us.
But his words will never die.
”
Transtroemer suggested that the poetic examination of nature offered insights into human identity and its spiritual dimension, which often enters metaphysical territory.
“A human being’s existence does not end where the fingers end,” one Swedish critic said of Transtroemer’s poems, which have been described as “secular prayers”.
Transtroemer’s reputation in the English-speaking world owes much to his friendship with American poet Robert Bly, who has translated much of the Swede’s work into English, one of 60 languages in which his poems have appeared.
Born on April 15, 1931 in Stockholm, Transtroemer was raised alone by his mother after his father left them.
He graduated in psychology in 1956 and later worked in an institution for juvenile offenders.
In his parallel careers as psychologist and poet, he also worked with the disabled, convicts and drug addicts while, at the same time, producing a large body of poetic work.
When he was 23 and still a psychology student, Transtroemer’s first collection of poetry, “Seventeen poems” was published by Bonniers, northern Europe’s most prestigious publishing house.
Bonniers has described Transtroemer’s poetry as “a permanent analysis of the enigma of the individual identity faced with the labyrinthian diversity of the world”.
In 1966, he received the Bellman prize, which was followed by numerous others, including the Bonner award for poetry, Germany’s Petrarch prize and the Swedish Academy’s Nordic prize.
In 1997, the working-class city of Vaesteraas, where the poet lived for three decades before moving back to the capital Stockholm in the 1990s, established a special Transtroemer prize.
After publishing 10 volumes of poetry, Transtroemer suffered a stroke in 1990 which affected his ability to talk and permanently damaged his right hand.
Following a break of six years, he came back with “Grief Gondola”, a collection that sold 30,000 copies in his native Sweden, a stunning figure by poetry standards.
In the wake of this success, Transtroemer published nothing for eight years, except for his correspondence with Bly, before returning in 2004 with a collection of 45 haikus, Japanese-style poems invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons.
Music then became more important to the accomplished amateur pianist than his writing, playing everyday and spending his mornings listening to classical music, he told a Swedish newspaper in 2011.
Transtroemer was married and had two daughters.

Ban calls on defence chiefs for unity on UN peacekeeping

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday urged senior military officials for more troop contributions from States around the world and for political will and purpose, as he opened the first-ever United Nations defence chiefs conference.
“We need unity and backing,” the secretary-general said.
“Effective performance demands broad consensus on why, where and how peacekeepers carry out their mandates.
”The historic event brings together chiefs of defence and senior military officials from more than 100 Member States to discuss issues central to UN Peacekeeping as part of a wider process of engagement by the UN with Member States to expand the peacekeeping partnership and promote effective and efficient implementation of mandates.
Held in the ECOSOC Chamber, the conference continues throughout today, with Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, and Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, also speaking.
Pakistan is being represented by Corps Commander Lt.
Gen.
Ghayur Awan, who is leading a delegation of senior military officers.
Pakistan UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi is assisting him.
Ban told the gathered soldiers that threats to peacekeepers were on the rise, with more deaths year-on-year now than ever before.
 “Before 2000, there were four times when more than 100 peacekeepers lost their lives in a single year.
Since then, we have suffered that tragic toll ten times.
Consecutively, 10 times.
”After a moment of silence was marked for fallen peacekeepers, the secretary-general went on to stress the dangers faced by UN peacekeepers as they protect innocent lives “on the front lines of human misery” in some of the world’s most dangerous places.
“Over the past two decades, the Security Council has given peacekeepers increasingly challenging mandates,” he said, pointing to Mali and Central African Republic.
“Even in traditionally static missions, such as UNDOF, in the Golan Heights, there can be sudden changes in the operating environment.
”The role of peacekeeping was first and foremost to protect civilians from violence, he said, adding that they also helped with stabilisation, the extension of state authority, strengthening of the rule of law, addressing gender equality and protecting human rights.
“With such diverse responsibilities, peacekeepers can bring comprehensive stability – when they have the right capabilities and political will to succeed,” Mr.
Ban said.
“The needs are rising – but the resources fall short.
I have appointed a High-Level Independent Panel to address the serious difficulties we face.
”In a dangerously complex global security landscape, marked by terrorism, organized crime, civil conflicts and even health crises, peacekeepers were being given increasingly challenging mandates by the Security Council.
More than 130,000 military, police and civilian staff from around the world today serve in the UN’s 16 peacekeeping operations.
He said peacekeepers should be able to rapidly deploy into active conflicts that may escalate at any moment, with capacity to move peacekeepers quickly and safely to where they are most needed, and with intelligence capabilities and other support to enable them to fulfil their mandates
“This is our largest deployment in history.
It must be matched by a stronger international partnership for peacekeeping,” he said.
“Peacekeeping is a shared global responsibility that advances the world’s common interests.

Crash pilot should have been grounded

Duesseldorf- German authorities said on Friday they had found torn-up sick notes showing that the pilot who crashed a plane into the French Alps was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy.
French prosecutors believe Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked himself alone in the cockpit of the Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday and deliberately steered it into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board.
"Documents with medical contents were confiscated that point towards an existing illness and corresponding treatment by doctors," said the prosecutors' office in Duesseldorf, where the co-pilot lived and where the doomed flight from Barcelona was heading.
Torn-up doctor's notes found in his home would have excused Lubitz from work for medical reasons, for a period that included the day of the crash. That supported the view that Lubitz had "hidden his illness from his employer and his colleagues", the prosecutors said.
They found no suicide note or confession, "nor was there any evidence of a political or religious background to what happened", they added.
Germanwings said Lubitz had not submitted any sick note that would have grounded him on Tuesday, March 24, the day of the crash.
In France, authorities said they had recovered between 400 and 600 body parts strewn across the Alpine crash site. No bodies were found intact and DNA testing would be the best way to identify the remains, Patrick Touron, deputy head of the criminal research division of France's Gendarmerie, told reporters at the site. Investigators would look for pieces of uniform to try to identify the crew including Lubitz.
Lubitz's mental health - and what Germanwings and parent company Lufthansa knew about it - could become central questions in any future legal case over the crash. Under German law, employees are required to inform their employers immediately if they are unable to work.
A hospital in Duesseldorf said Lubitz had visited to receive a diagnosis as recently as March 10. It would not give further details because of patient confidentiality rules but said media reports he was treated there for depression were inaccurate.
Reports in German media suggested Lubitz had suffered from depression in the past, and that Lufthansa would have been aware of at least some of that history.
Germany's Bild newspaper, citing internal documents forwarded by Lufthansa's Aero Medical Center to German authorities, reported that Lubitz had suffered a "serious depressive episode" around the time he suspended his pilot training in 2009. It said he subsequently spent over a year in psychiatric treatment.
Lufthansa and German prosecutors declined to comment on the report. The airline's CEO Carsten Spohr said on Thursday there was nothing in his past suggest Lubitz was a risk, and that after he resumed his training, he passed all tests with "flying colors".
An international agreement generally limits airline liability to around $157,400 for each passenger who dies in a crash, but if families can prove an airline was negligent they can pursue compensation for greater damages in lawsuits.
Lawyers who have represented families in past airline disasters told Reuters that potential lawsuits could focus on whether Germanwings properly screened the co-pilot before and during his employment, and on whether the airline had adequate safety policies controlling access to its cockpits.
Within hours after French prosecutors disclosed their theory that the crash was deliberate, several airlines changed their rules to require two crew members in the cockpit at all times, a measure already mandatory in the United States but not in Europe.
Lufthansa announced on Friday that it too would change its rules to require a second crew member in the cockpit. On Thursday, Spohr had said he saw no need to do so, sparking a social media backlash.
Brussels announced it would recommend that rule change to all EU airlines. Such a recommendation can be implemented faster than changing European regulations to impose the requirement.
Robert Tansell Oliver, whose 37-year-old American son Robert Oliver Calvo was killed in the crash, said the family was not eager to sue. His son, a father of two small children, had been working for a fashion company in Barcelona.
"I don't feel anger. I'm really sorry for the parents of that young pilot. I can't imagine what they are going through right now," the father said outside a hotel near Barcelona airport where family members of victims have been staying.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the German airline had an obligation to share information about Lubitz.
"I am careful when there is a judicial inquiry, but everything points to a criminal, mad, suicidal action that we cannot comprehend," Valls told iTELE.
Lubitz was described by acquaintances in his hometown of Montabaur in western Germany as a friendly but quiet man who learned to fly gliders at a local club before advancing to commercial aviation as a co-pilot at Germanwings in 2013.
A friend who met Lubitz six years ago and flew with him in gliding school said he had become increasingly withdrawn over the past year.
Before Lubitz became a co-pilot in late 2013, the friend said the two had gone to movies and clubs together. But he noticed at two birthday parties they attended over the past year that he had retreated into a shell, speaking very little.
"Flying was his life," said the friend, who agreed to speak to Reuters about Lubitz's mental state on condition of anonymity. "He always used to be a quiet companion, but in the last year that got worse."

US lauds Pakistan's efforts in Afghanistan

Washington- The United States has lauded Pakistan's sincere efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Dan Feldman during a briefing in Washington said Pakistan wants to make the best use of the current environment by aiding a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan.

Gastro outbreak hits 108 people in Multan

Multan- At least 49 people have been admitted in different government hospitals after more than a hundred fell prey to gastro due to the change in the season.
Some 108 patients have been brought to different hospitals for treatment. While, 49 patients have been admitted in the hospitals due to their critical condition.
According to the Health Department, sub-standard drinks are the major cause of the outbreak. The department has advised the locals to take good care of what they eat and drink to avoid taking ill.

Court extends Ayyan's judicial remand for 14 days

Rawalpindi- Customs Court has extended the judicial remand of supermodel Ayyan Ali for 14 days today.
According to details, Ayyan was presented before the special Judge Custom Mumtaz Hussain Chaudhry after the termination of her earlier judicial remand. The court ordered to present the suspect again before the court on April 11.
Earlier, renowned supermodel Ayyan Ali was sent on a 14-day judicial remand to Adiala Jail by a local court for allegedly smuggling foreign currency worth millions of rupees overseas at Benazir International Airport in Islamabad.
According to sources, Ayyan was off to Dubai through a private airline when Airport Security Force (ASF) checked her luggage on the counter and recovered US $ 506,800.
LHC has sought a reply from the custom court in this regard and will conduct the hearing on March 30 in this regard. The accused also filed an application for the attainment of Class-B in the jail for which custom court asked the jail authorities to submit a reply, however; the authorities in a written reply stated that as the supermodel is detained on judicial remand, she is not entitled to B-class facilities. The supermodel is currently being kept in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.

IMF approves release of tranche worth $501.4m for Pakistan

Islamabad- International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved immediate release of 501.4 million dollars tranche for Pakistan.
In a statement IMF said, the Fund's Executive Board completed the sixth review of Pakistan's economic performance. The latest disbursement is part of about 6.12 billion dollars 36-month program supported by an Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which Pakistan secured in September 2013.
It signifies the Fund's confidence in Pakistan's progress towards economic growth and reforms. The latest approval brings total disbursements under the arrangement, to about 3.5 billion dollars.

Two Czechs kidnapped in Pakistan released: Czech PM

Prague- Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka today said that two Czech tourists kidnapped two years ago in Pakistan had been released and have returned to the Czech Republic.
"I am glad that I can confirm that Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka, have returned to the Czech Republic this morning," Sobotka said in an emailed statement.
He added Turkish organisation Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) took part in the negotiations that led to the release.
The two were hosted at the IHH's office in Van in eastern Turkey for a time and then handed over to Czech officials and sent back to their home country, Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolian said.
The women were kidnapped by armed assailants in March 2013 in Pakistan's western Baluchistan province, while travelling from Iran to India.

We will stand with Saudi Arabia in hard times: Khurshid Shah

Sukkar- Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Ahmad has said Saudi Arabia is our brotherly Muslim country, and we will stand with it in every trying time.

“Saudi Arabia is our brotherly Muslim country and we will stand with it in all hard times. All Muslim countries should sit together and resolve their disputes”, he said while speaking to journalists.

He went on to say “Imran Khan Politics is highly non serious. He sought assistance from MQM during his dharnas in Islamabad when needed. He forged alliance with PML-N, during Senate polls.”

Shah said that Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tarin have complained, that PML-N is backing out from 3 points with respect to Memorandum of Understanding reached between government and PTI. If it happens so then we will stand with PTI, he announced. This is not time for becoming embroiled into conflicts but the politicians should sort out all issues through mode of table talk, he stressed.

FIA investigates true age of Shafqat Hussain

Karachi- FIA Islamabad team has arrived in Karachi central jail to investigate to ascertain true age of death row prisoner Shafqat Hussain, whose legal councils now claim was a minor at the time of sentencing.

The government despite making claims, hasn’t been able to take any practical step so far. Instead of forming a medical board to determine convict’s age, the government has asked the FIA to scrutinize documents.

According to sources, on the directives of Federal Interior Ministry FIA Islamabad team under the command Deputy Director Gulfarm had visited Karachi central jail. According to FIA source, the jail record was checked by FIA team and during interrogation by the team, Shafqat Hussain kept trying to hide his face. He had shaved off his moustache and beard to appear younger than his real age.

According to jail sources, a prisoner less than 14 year cannot be brought in Karachi central jail. The relevant record has been collected by the team and the final report will be submitted to Interior Ministry.

Clarke drops retirement bombshell on eve of final

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael Clarke dropped a bombshell on the eve of the World Cup final by announcing he will retire from one-day cricket after Sunday's title-decider against New Zealand.
The 33-year-old said it was the “right time” for him to step back from the ODI format in order to prolong his test career and to allow his successor to take the one-day team forward.
“Tomorrow will be my last ODI game for Australia,” Clarke told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where he hopes to lead Australia to a fifth world championship.
Sunday will mark Clarke's 245th one-day game for Australia, and the skipper said it had been “an honour and a privilege” to represent his country in that amount of games.
“I don't think it's realistic that I'll be fit and healthy and available to play the next World Cup so I believe it's the right time.
“I was very fortunate four years ago to get the opportunity to captain this one-day team and that was really good preparation for me leading up to this World Cup, and I think the next Australian captain deserves the same opportunity.”
George Bailey led Australia in their opening match of the World Cup against England but was replaced when Clarke returned to fitness after hamstring surgery.
Bailey has proved an adept and capable leader during Clarke's regular absences due to injury but batsman Steve Smith, who led the test team with aplomb in the series win over India, will be heavily backed to succeed Clarke.
Smith has batted at number three during the World Cup and led from the front with a match-winning century in the semi-final against India.
Clarke, however, has been in scratchy form with the bat, with just one half-century against Sri Lanka in the pool phase.
Battling a succession of hamstring injuries toward the end of 2014, pundits and former players urged him to quit the one-day game, but he was adamant he would lead the team at the World Cup on home soil.

PINNACLE OF THE SPORT

Clarke took over the one-day captaincy from Ricky Ponting after the Tasmanian stepped down following the quarter-final exit at the 2011 World Cup.
Just before the quarter-final match against Pakistan in Adelaide he said he had no intention of quitting, but on Saturday said he had changed his mind after speaking to his wife following the semi-final win in Sydney. Clarke said he was leaving the one-day team in a better place but believed he still had a lot to offer the test side.
“I've never hid behind the fact that I find test cricket to be the pinnacle of the sport,” he said.
“I don't feel bad about saying that test cricket is the toughest part of our game. I love that challenge.”
Clarke has scored eight centuries in his 7,907 ODI runs at an impressive average of 44.42.
He has also proved a handy wicket-taker in the 50-over game, with his left-arm spin reaping 57 wickets at an average of 37.64.

IDP repatriation to North Waziristan to begin on March 31

PESHAWAR: The repatriation process of internally displaced people (IDPs) to North Waziristan will begin on March 31, with a conditional agreement drafted by North Waziristan's political administration and some tribal elders.
The eight-page draft of agreement contains two parts: one for the political administration and the other for IDPs to abide by after they return to their homes.
The agreements was drafted by the political administration but it is yet to be agreed up on.
The initial draft of the agreement obtained by DawnNews revealed that after IDPs return to North Waziristan, they are to abide by the constitution of Pakistan, Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and local customs and traditions at any cost. It further said that the IDPs are not to shelter or protect enemies of Pakistan or allow their soil to be used by any foreigners or locals to destabilise the country.
Furthermore, the draft stated that whoever is involved in supporting or helping banned organisations will be captured and handed over to law enforcing agencies and that the locals will not be allowed to let any banned outfit operate in their areas.
The document also stated that identifying and handing over miscreants to law enforcing agencies will be the responsibility of the locals, other wise the local will be exiled and the property of miscreants will be sealed by law enforcing agencies. T
The drafted agreement also suggests ban on heavy arms and the local will be responsible to hand over the ammunition.
On the other hand, some elders of North Waziristan expressed strong reservations over the proposed agreement. Local Malik Nisar Khan told DawnNews that the said agreement is harsh and the locals have conveyed their reservation to those concerned.
"The authorities want us to define, identify and take action against miscreants," said Malik. "That is the responsibility of the political administration, not our.”
According to Fata Secretariat, the registration process for IDPs is under way in Banu District and more that 1300 have been registered so far.
An official from the Fata Secretariat said that repatriation of North Waziristan's IDPs will be completed in four phases. In the first phase, IDPs from Mir Ali's 29 villages will be rehabilitated and each family will receive Rs25,000 through ATM cards and an additional 10,000 for transportation.
According to the Fata Secretariat, more than 91,000 families were displaced due to the Zarb-i-Azb operation.

Two Czechs kidnapped in Pakistan in 2013 freed

PRAGUE: The Czech government says two Czech tourists who were abducted by gunmen two years ago as they were travelling on a bus through Balochistan have been released.

Government spokesman Martin Ayer says the two women arrived in the Czech Republic Saturday morning.

Ayer says a Turkish humanitarian organisation helped negotiate their release. He didn't immediately give further details.

The women — Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka — were on the road from Iran to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, when they were seized in March 2013.

The kidnappers first released a video of two girls saying that that Dr. Afia, the Pakistani national imprisoned in the US on charges of alleged ties to Al Qaeda, should be set free.

'Moin sacked as chief selector, decision on ODI captain expected'

Pakistan's embattled chief selector Moin Khan, reprimanded by the cricket board for visiting a casino in New Zealand during the World Cup, has been be sacked from his position after a meeting of top officials on Saturday, a highly-placed source confirmed.
Moin, who received more flak publicly for his casino visit than his contentious team selection for the World Cup, has been offered another position in the PCB with his contract yet to expire.
PCB chairman Shahryar Khan met with former captain Wasim Bari, Salahuddin Ahmed, Azhar Khan, Haroon Rashid and Salim Jaffer during the meeting, raising speculation that Moin would be replaced by one of the men as the next chief selector.
The meeting also discussed potential candidates to take over as Pakistan's ODI captain after Misbah-ul-Haq's retirement from the limited-overs squad at the end of the World Cup.
Shahryar had earlier declared "chapter closed" in the Moin 'casino controversy' after a formal apology from the chief selector but it seems the former wicketkeeper's night out has cost him much more than he bargained for.
Shahryar said the PCB investigation found nothing contrary to Moin's statement that he had visited the casino in Christchurch, New Zealand, to have dinner with friends.
"He realises that it was inappropriate to have visited a casino ahead of Pakistan's match against the West Indies. But he reiterated that he only had dinner over there and nothing else. He also admitted that, perhaps, a casino was not the right place to have dinner and has apologised. This chapter is now closed," Shahryar had said.
The 43-year-old Moin's presence with Pakistan's World Cup squad was subject to severe criticism in the local media and it was widely being reported that former captain was 'too involved' in the selection of the playing XI.
Moin was the chief selector and manager of the Pakistan team but relinquished the latter role before the World Cup.
He had been Pakistan's head coach for two months till the end of the 2014 t World T20.

Australia captain Michael Clarke will quit one-day international cricket after Sunday’s World Cup final against New Zealand

“I think it’s the right time for me and the Australian cricket team,” the 33-year-old Clarke told reporters.

“I made the decision 48 hours ago when I asked myself if I thought I would be playing in the next World Cup and I said to myself that I don’t think I will be.”

Clarke has played 244 one-day internationals, scoring 7,907 runs with a highest score of 130.

He intends to prolong his Test career having already played 108 matches with 8,432 runs and a highest score of 329 not out.

“I think it’s the right time for me. A lot of it is giving the next captain and the team the opportunity to prepare and the selectors to work out what they feel is their best squad for the next World Cup,” Clarke said. “I leave the one-day team in a better place than when I took over the captaincy and it gives me my best chance to prolong my Test career. They are the three main reasons why I have decided to walk away from one-day cricket.”

Clarke said it was not for him to go into who should be Australia’s next one-day captain, although Steve Smith has been mentioned after he took over for the last three Tests against India in Clarke’s recent absence following hamstring surgery.

“Smithy has certainly matured as a player and a person,” Clarke said. “His form is because of his hard work and I am not surprised that he is scoring as many runs as he is because he’s training extremely hard and he’s worked hard on his game.”

“He’s learnt a lot about his game. I don’t think it would be fair for me to say who’s going to be the next captain, that’s not my place, that’s up to the selectors. Smithy is certainly someone who will be spoken about.” he added

Pro-Iran Hezbollah says Riyadh will be 'defeated' in Yemen

BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia will be roundly “defeated” in its air campaign against Yemen, Hassan Nasrallah, head of Lebanon’s pro-Iran movement Hezbollah, said Friday, calling on Arab leaders to stop the “aggression”.
“The outcome of this war is clear: Saudi Arabia will be defeated and the Yemeni people will have an undeniable victory,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
Hezbollah is now militarily involved in Syria, where it is bolstering the embattled regime, and in Iraq where it says it is fighting Sunni extremists.
A months-long rebellion by Shia fighters in Yemen escalated into a regional conflict Wednesday, when a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began conducting air strikes on rebel-held territory.
Hezbollah firmly criticised the operation, calling it “unjust” and “illegal”.
“It is the right of the oppressed… Yemeni people to resist and defend… and that is what they are doing,” Nasrallah said Friday, calling for a political solution to the conflict.
The Hezbollah chief launched into a strongly worded diatribe against the Saudi kingdom, accusing it of launching air strikes against Yemen to “regain its hegemony” over the country.
“The problem is you — you failed. Your way of doing things failed,” he said, addressing the Saudi leadership.
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, gives a speech in Beirut. PHOTO: AFP
“Saudi leaders have one last chance before they are defeated and humiliated, and that is to behave with the Yemenis like brothers and to begin a dialogue while the door is still open,” Nasrallah said.
He called on the Arab League, “instead of being complicit in the bloodshed in Yemen, to assume a historic responsibility by stopping this aggression and moving towards a political solution.”
“Otherwise, defeat and shame will meet the invaders,” Nasrallah warned.
A two-day Arab League meeting from Saturday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is expected to be dominated by the Yemen crisis.
Nasrallah spoke for a little over an hour on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station, which has been closely covering the situation in Yemen.
Since its founding in the 1980s in Lebanon, Hezbollah has been financially and politically supported by the Islamic republic of Iran.

Every effort being made to evacuate Pakistanis from Yemen: FO

On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered the immediate evacuation of stranded Pakistanis from Yemen.
The decision was taken following air strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia on Wednesday against Huthi rebels in Yemen.
The prime minister instructed the relevant authorities that steps should be taken on war footing for the safety and early return of Pakistanis stranded in Yemen.
According to unofficial estimates, 560 Pakistanis are stranded in the besieged Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Pakistan’s foreign ministry officials say around 2,145 Pakistanis are currently living in Yemen while the local media reported that “half of them are in a state of uncertainty and fear”.
“We, Pakistanis, are very nervous. We have been surrounded by Houthi rebels. We appeal to our government to evacuate us, please,” Rehan Ali, a Pakistani national, told a news channel in Pakistan. Ali also complained that the Pakistani diplomatic mission in Sanaa has yet to start evacuating the stranded Pakistanis.
Pakistan has not made a decision on whether to commit military support to a Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told lawmakers on Friday, while pledging to defend the oil-rich kingdom against any threat to its sovereignty.
“We have made no decision to participate in this war. We didn’t make any promise. We have not promised any military support to the Saudi-led coalition against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen,” he said while speaking in the National Assembly.

Every effort being made to evacuate Pakistanis from Yemen: FO

On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered the immediate evacuation of stranded Pakistanis from Yemen.
The decision was taken following air strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia on Wednesday against Huthi rebels in Yemen.
The prime minister instructed the relevant authorities that steps should be taken on war footing for the safety and early return of Pakistanis stranded in Yemen.
According to unofficial estimates, 560 Pakistanis are stranded in the besieged Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Pakistan’s foreign ministry officials say around 2,145 Pakistanis are currently living in Yemen while the local media reported that “half of them are in a state of uncertainty and fear”.
“We, Pakistanis, are very nervous. We have been surrounded by Houthi rebels. We appeal to our government to evacuate us, please,” Rehan Ali, a Pakistani national, told a news channel in Pakistan. Ali also complained that the Pakistani diplomatic mission in Sanaa has yet to start evacuating the stranded Pakistanis.
Pakistan has not made a decision on whether to commit military support to a Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told lawmakers on Friday, while pledging to defend the oil-rich kingdom against any threat to its sovereignty.
“We have made no decision to participate in this war. We didn’t make any promise. We have not promised any military support to the Saudi-led coalition against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen,” he said while speaking in the National Assembly.

Saulat Mirza’s hanging put off again

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain put off on Friday the execution of Saulat Mirza for a month, raising the possibility that the death-row prisoner’s statement in which he implicated Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders in targeted killings could be investigated.
The development came on the same day an MQM delegation called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to express concerns over the ongoing operation in Karachi by Rangers.
A statement by the Prime Minister Office said it sent a summary to President Hussain seeking a one-month extension in the execution of Mirza.
The statement said: “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has advised President Mamnoon Hussain to extend the order of holding in abeyance the death sentence of Saulat Mirza for a period of 30 days starting from April 1.”
A source in the presidency said President Hussain had approved the summary and now the convict would be executed on April 30.
On March 19, just a few hours before Mirza was to be executed, the president stayed his hanging for three days after the convict sought more time to give information regarding target killers and their alleged patrons.
According to a source, Mirza would be produced before a judicial magistrate soon so that his statement could be recorded formally.
Saulat Mirza was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court on May 24, 1999 for killing the-then managing director of KESC, Shahid Hamid, his driver and guard on July 5, 1997. He was arrested on Dec 10, 1998 at Karachi airport upon his return from Bangkok.
In a video clip telecast on the night he was supposed to be hanged, Mirza alleged that he had received the ‘order’ for the ‘hit’ from MQM chief Altaf Hussain at the residence another party leader Babar Ghauri. The claims were rejected by the party.

Last Tuesday an anti-terrorism court issued a black warrant for Mirza for April 1 but now his hanging has been put off till April 30.

Saudi navy evacuates diplomats from Yemen's Aden: Saudi television

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's navy began an operation to evacuate dozens of Saudi and foreign diplomats from the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, state television reported on Saturday.
“The Saudi Royal Navy implemented an operation called Hurricane to evacuate dozens of diplomats, including Saudis, from Aden,” a news ticker on the state news broadcaster read.
Yemen's Houthi rebels made broad gains in the country's south and east on Friday despite a second day of Saudi-led air strikes meant to check the Iranian-backed militia's efforts to overthrow President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Shia Muslim Houthi fighters and allied army units gained their first foothold on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast by seizing the port of Shaqra 100km (60 miles) east of Aden, residents told Reuters.
Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition bombed Shia Houthi militants in Yemen on Thursday in support of Yemen’s embattled president, as Iran warned the intervention was “dangerous”.
Houthi advance raised Saudi fears the Shia minority fighters would seize control of the whole of its Sunni-majority neighbour and take it into the orbit of regional rival Iran.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television had said the kingdom had deployed 100 fighter jets for the operation, while the United Arab Emirates had committed 30, Kuwait 15 and Qatar 10. Bahrain said it had committed 12 fighters.
The channel had said Saudi Arabia had also mobilised 150,000 troops near the border, while all civilian flights were halted at seven Saudi airports in the border region.
Dozens of people have been killed as the Houthis backed by troops allied to Mr Saleh have clashed with pro-Hadi forces in their drive southwards.
Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Houthis launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.

Ayyan's remand extended for 14 days

RAWALPINDI: A customs court on Saturday extended for 14 days the judicial remand of supermodel Ayyan, who was arrested on March 14 from Benazir Bhutto International Airport for attempting to fly out to Dubai with over $0.5 million.

After the termination of her earlier 14-day judicial demand at Adiala jail, Ayyan arrived at the hearing which was presided by Justice Mumtaz Hussain Chaudhry in a customs department vehicle. An investigation team comprising customs department personnel was also present at the hearing.

Ayyan was clad in a traditional burqa and a face veil when she arrived at the court amid tight security.

A burqa-clad Ayyan was accompanied by her lawyers and security personnel to the customs court. -

Her lawyer Khurram Latif Khosa presented before the court documentary evidence showing that she acquired the money from her property dealer Mr Mumtaz, who according to her materialised the deal of five files of her properties.

Customs officials requested the court an extension in Ayyan's judicial remand, following which the court extended her remand for 14 days and ordered her appearance in the court on April 11.

Ayyan's lawyers also requested the court to assign her a class B 'VIP' inmate status which would entitle her to several privileges unavailable to other inmates. They argued that class B status was Ayyan's right because she was an educated personality and a "graduate".

Customs officials opposed her lawyer's request by maintaining that any inmate arrested in a case of money-laundering cannot be granted class B status. The court deemed correct the objection of customs officials and rejected Ayyan's plea to be granted class B status.

Ayyan's father shot

Ayyan's father Muhammad Hafeez had earlier expressed his concern to media personnel about having personal enmities.

Meanwhile, Ayyan's father Muhammad Hafeez, who was on his way to attend the hearing of his daughter's case, was shot by unknown motorcyclists near Gujar Khan area.

Hafeez had departed from Gujar Khan on the outskirts of Rawalpindi when unknown men opened fire at him near Jinnah Hotel.

Police arrived at the scene and shifted the injured man to Rawalpindi's District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital and later to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where he was later reported to be out of danger.

Hafeez had earlier expressed his concern to media personnel about having personal enmities.

Ayyan, a former resident of Dubai, had blamed her father for the crisis as she claimed that she was ignored by him since she passed her matriculation examination. She later joined the entertainment industry as a model and ambassador for leading fashion and commercial brands.

She had also said that she does not want to see her father while in the jail because he had been absent when she needed his support. She also claimed that "someone jealous of her success" may have orchestrated the crisis.

Ayyan's father separated from her mother 10 years ago.

15 militants killed in Khyber Agency

PESHAWAR: Fifteen militants were killed on Saturday in a clash with security forces in Khyber Agency, the military's public relations wing said.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), approximately 30-35 militants attacked a security forces check post in Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley, but attack was foiled through "effective retaliation".
Three security personnel sustained injuries in the clash.
Security forces seized 10 bodies of the militants, along with arms and ammunition, the ISPR said. However, this information could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to the restive agency.
Khyber is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous regions governed by tribal laws and lies near the Afghan border. The Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked groups who stage attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are also known to have strongholds in the zone.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), at least 80 militants were eliminated in an operation in Khyber Agency last week. It said seven soldiers also lost their lives during the operation.
A spokesperson for the banned Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), Salahuddin Ayubi, told journalists on the phone that bodies of 11 soldiers were in the custody of his group. He said the soldiers were killed during a ground offensive launched by security forces to take control of the LI stronghold in Sipah area.