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LONDON: Two matches will be played in Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament today.In the first match of the day, Bangladesh meet Ireland at 6:30 pm PST whereas Australia will take on Sri Lanka at 10:30 PST.This is a must-win match for both sides. A loss to India at Trent Bridge has left Bangladesh needing to beat Ireland in order to move to the Super Eights. Ireland play their first match of the tournament and for them this is essentially a knock-out game, as they will play India next. Sri Lanka's first match of the tournament is the most crucial one for Australia, who must win to stay alive in an event, which has barely started. Even then a victory might not be enough after their heavy seven-wicket loss to West Indies, which puts them well behind on net run-rate.

BEIRUT: Lebanon's pro-Western coalition claimed victory on Monday over an alliance headed by the fundamentalist Shiite militant group Hezbollah after a fiercely-contested parliamentary election race."This is a big day in the history of democratic Lebanon," a triumphant Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian grouping known as March 14, told cheering supporters at a rally after Sunday's vote."Congratulations to you, congratulations to freedom, congratulations to democracy," said Hariri, the son of slain former billionaire prime minister Rafiq Hariri.Hariri's coalition -- which held the majority in the old parliament -- was set to win 70 seats in the new 128-seat assembly against 58 for Hezbollah and its Christian and Shiite allies, according to his Future television station.Celebratory gunfire erupted near Hariri's headquarters in Beirut and jubilant supporters took to the streets of several cities as the results started filtering out from the electio...

Monday, June 08, 2009 TOKYO: North Korea is warning ships to stay out of waters off its eastern port of Wonsan for three weeks from Wednesday, the Japan Coast Guard said, raising concerns Pyongyang is planning more missile tests. North Korea is alerting vessels by radio not to enter an area that measures 100 by 263 kilometres (60 by 165 miles) at its widest points from June 10 to 30 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, a coast guard spokesman said Monday. "We have acknowledged the information and soon afterward issued the same warning to those who may travel in this region," the spokesman said. The news came amid increasing speculation that North Korea is preparing to test-fire several medium-range missiles from its southeast coast.

Monday, June 08, 2009 RECIFE, Brazil: Further fifteen bodies have been recovered from the debris of an Air France jet that plunged into the Atlantic nearly a week ago, as investigators probe whether a defective speedometer caused the tragedy.Fifteen more bodies were snatched from the waves 1,150 kilometers (600 miles) off Brazil's northeastern coast on Sunday, when search teams battled "unfavorable" weather conditions to recover other bodies spotted floating among seats and other plane debris, Brazilian military officials said.Now, the number of dead bodies found so far has reached 17."Dozens of structural components" from the Airbus A330 were also picked up, air force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz told reporters in Recife, a coastal city in northeastern Brazil.The latest finds followed the recovery on Saturday of the first two bodies from Air France flight AF 447, which came down early June 1 with 228 people on board. The plane left from Rio de Jan...

LONDON: England defeated Pakistan by 48 runs to come back into the tournament in their group B day-night match here at The Oval on Sunday.Chasing an improbable target of 186 runs, Pakistan made 137 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.Skipper Younis Khan remained not out on 46 from 31 balls with five fours. Other mains scorers were opener Salman Butt (28) and Shoaib Malik (20). No other batsman could make any significant contribution.Stuart Broad was the most successful bowler who captured three wickets for 17 runs.Earlier, England were put into bat after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first. They played at a faster rate right from the beginning and made 185 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs.Kevin Pietersen top scored with 58 from 38 balls. He struck three sixes and five fours. Other main scorers were opener Luke Wright and Owais Shah. Wright made 34 off just 16 balls and Shah scored 33. Both hit one six each.For Pakistan, Saee...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 PARIS: Roger Federer gloriously completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday by capturing a first French Open title, and a record-equalling 14th major, with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win over Robin Soderling.The 27-year-old world number two finally won a Roland Garros crown at the 11th attempt and in his fourth successive final having come up heartbreakingly short in the last three showdowns against Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal.His victory, ironically over the Swedish 23rd seed who shocked four-time Nadal in the last 16, took him level with great friend Pete Sampras as the holder of 14 Grand Slam titles.He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the Grand Slam events.Federer, who sent down 16 aces in the final, added: "Until the end of my career, I can play peacefully knowing that I will never again hear it said that I never won Roland Garros."Soderling, who has ...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 LONDON: South Africa made a blistering start to itsTwenty20 World Cup campaign, beating Scotland by 130 runs on Sundayto qualify for the Super 8 stage. A.B. de Villiers hit 79 not out off 34 balls, smashing six sixes and five boundaries to help South Africa post 211-5 _ its highestTwenty20 score and the fifth best in the short history of the format. Jacques Kallis scored 48, while Graeme Smith made 38 and Albie Morkel 24 in 11 balls. Scotland never looked like chasing it down, slumping to 13-4before being bowled out for 81 in the 16th over with only Kyle Coetzer (42) and Majid Haq (15) reaching double figures. Morkel took 2-15, while offspinners Johan Botha and Roelof vander Merwe each took 2-17 and Dale Steyn 2-21. South Africa plays New Zealand at Lord's on Tuesday. Scotland has been eliminated from the tournament. Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton won the toss, but his decision to field looked rash as Kallis hit five fours in a single over. The Scots didn...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 HELD AL-QUDS: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he'll deliver a major policy address next week in the wake of repeated U.S. calls for a freeze in West Bank settlement construction. Netanyahu has said a complete halt to settlement construction will be impossible. But President Barack Obama appears unwilling to compromise on the issue. Speaking before Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Cabinet minister Yisrael Katz said Israel cannot end ``normal life'' in the settlements. He said he hopes the Americans will respect past, unofficial understandings to allow at least minimal construction to continue. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Obama would not recognize any unofficial understandings of the past.However, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said there are differences between the US and Israel on various issues including Palestine; however, the ties with the US are very strong.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 ACAPULCO: A military official says 15 gunmen and a soldier were killed in a two-hour shootout in the heart of Acapulco's hotel zone. The army colonel who led the battle against the gunmen says the shootout erupted when the military received a tip about the presence of armed men at a house in the hotel zone. He says the gunmen opened fire with assault rifles and about 50grenades on soldiers who arrived at the house. The soldiers found four Guerrero state police officers inside the house who said they were being held captive by the gunmen. The colonel led reporters through the scene early Sunday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of security reasons. The gunbattle started Saturday night and went on past midnight.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 KABUL: Taliban militants stormed a police post in northwestern Afghanistan early Sunday, killing four policemen, while two civilians died in a bomb blast in the country's south, authorities said. The policemen were killed after their remote post was attacked by Taliban rebels riding motorbikes in Faryab province, provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziayee said. The Taliban also suffered casualties, the police chief said, but he had no details. "The attackers cowardly escaped after we sent reinforcements," he added. In volatile Kandahar province, a mother and her son were killed when a motorbike they were riding was blown up by a roadside bomb, also on Sunday, the interior ministry said, blaming the attack on insurgents. "Two civilians, a mother and a son, were killed when a mine... planted by the enemies of Afghanistan exploded under their motorbike," the statement said. On Saturday an army soldier was killed in a gun battle with Taliban wh...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 BEIJING: Rescuers blasted through mud and debris Sunday to try and reach 27 miners trapped after a massive landslide buried an iron ore plant and several homes in southwestern China, leaving 26 people dead and dozens missing. The landslide buried the Jiwei Mountain iron ore mine and covered its two entrances with rocks Friday while 27 miners were stuck hundreds of feet below ground, a news agency said. Authorities believe they could still be alive. No official death toll has been released, but state television reported Saturday that 26 people were killed _ 19 miners and seven staff from a mobile phone company. When asked to confirm the report, Chongqing government spokesman Ai Yang said no bodies had been found so far. Hundreds of rescuers scoured the debris with sniffer dogs Saturday but found no signs of life, the news agency quoted a spokesman wit hthe rescue headquarters as saying. The landslide occurred in Wulong county, about 90 miles (150kilometers) from re...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 WASHINGTON: The United States confirmed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend a meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers in Italy at the end of June alongside Iran's diplomatic mission."Yes, the secretary will attend," said State Department spokesman PJ Crowley.Italy officially invited Iran on Thursday to the meeting which will deal with the crises in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Italy, which is holding the G8's rotating presidency, is hosting the meeting to be held June 25-27 in the northeastern city of Trieste.Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in May that Clinton was in favor of inviting Iran to the meeting.The G8 groups the world's leading industrialized nations, the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Britain, Germany, France and Italy. Some 20 other countries have been invited to the meeting, including China, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 SRINAGAR: Indian police arrested Sunday a Kashmiri leader for encouraging week-long protests over the alleged rape and murder of two Muslim women. Syed Ali Geelani, 79, was held after a midnight raid on his house in Srinagar, a police source said, adding that he had been shifted to an undisclosed location to prevent him calling for further demonstrations. Anger over the death of a 17-year-old girl and her 22-year-old sister-in-law has effectively shut down much of the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, over the past week. Indian officials say preliminary investigations suggest drowning was the cause of death, but the families of the victims have accused the security forces of abducting, raping and killing the women. In an attempt to curb the daily protests, which have so far claimed one life and left more than 300 injured, authorities have issued a ban on demonstrations. Before his arrest, Geelani made telephone calls to local reporters calling on...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 BRUSSELS: Voters in 19 nations go the polls Sunday to elect a new European Parliament amid fears of record low turnout and gains for fringe parties in protest at the economic recession blighting the continent. Europe's Super Sunday will see electors from heavyweights France, Germany, Italy and Spain cast their ballots, as governments in Britain and Ireland reel from local elections held at the same time as their EU polls. Opinion polls suggest poor turnout could favour extreme left- and right-wing formations, although probably not enough to upset the balance in the new 736-seat assembly, which is slowly gaining power in EU decision-making. The European assembly is the only EU institution elected by universal suffrage, and the conservative European People's Party, expected to be returned as the biggest bloc, has gradually gained power there over the years. The election in the Netherlands Thursday was a controversial example of how the worst fears of pro-Eur...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 TOKYO: The second China-Japan high-level economic dialogue, co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, opened here Sunday. Attended by senior officials of the two countries' relevant departments, the dialogue will touch upon a wide range of topics including energy conservation, environmental protection, finance, agriculture, trade and investment, intellectual property, information and communication, as well as disaster prevention and relief. The dialogue mechanism, first held in Beijing in December 2007, was jointly launched by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during Wen's trip to Japan in April 2007.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 FERNANDO DE NORONHA: Brazilian search aircraft late Saturday spotted seats and part of a plane wing in the Atlantic where an Air France jet went down nearly a week ago, officials said after two bodies and other items were recovered from the area. "As well as the bodies there are various remains of the aircraft," air force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife. "Plane seats, part of the wing (and) various other items (were) localized," Munhoz said. The finds -- the first from the crash -- were being brought to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, the closest inhabited spot to the zone where they were found, for initial inspection by five Brazilian forensic police. From there, they were to be flown to the mainland city of Recife for further analysis by French officials leading the investigation into what sent Air France flight 447 plunging into the ocean June 1 with 228 people on board. The tw...

Sunday, June 07, 2009 PARIS: Air France acknowledges that speed monitors on its Airbus planes have proven faulty, icing up at high altitude, and that recommendations to change them were first made in September 2007.Air France issued details about the monitors Saturday, hours after the French agency investigating the disaster of Flight 447 said the instruments were not replaced before the plane crashed last week en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.Air France says it began replacing the monitors on the Airbus A330 model on April 27. Pitot monitors are used to measure aerodynamic speed.An Air France statement says icing of the monitors at high altitude has led to loss of needed flying information.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 ANCHORAGE: A moderate earthquake followed by an aftershock shook the Alaska Peninsula region. There are no immediate reports of any injuries or damage. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the 5.2 magnitude quake struck at 4:21 a.m. Saturday about 73 miles (117 kilometers) south of Cold Bay. The 4.2 magnitude aftershock struck at 4:45 a.m. in the same area.

Sunday, June 07, 2009 SRINAGAR: In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has appealed to the international community to play its role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with Kashmiris’ aspirations, KMS reported on Saturday.Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, strongly denounced the illegal detention of Hurriyet leaders and use of brute force by Indian troops against the peaceful demonstrators in the occupied territory. He urged India to repeal draconian laws, withdraw its troops and take steps towards resolving the dispute, once and for all.APHC leader, Nayeem Ahmed Khan talking to media men in Srinagar took strong exception to subjecting of women and photojournalists to severe torture by Indian troops.Indian police personnel re-arrested Hurriyet leaders Shabbir Ahmed Shah and Muhammad Saleem Nunnaji from outside Srinagar Central Jail immediately after their release from illegal detention. They were s...