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Thursday, July 02, 2009 KARACHI: In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batting, Younus Khan is in number-one position and will be aiming to become the 25th batsman in history to reach the 900-point mark.The 31-year-old right-handed batsman is just 20 points short of becoming the second Pakistan batsman after Mohammd Yousuf to achieve the rare distinction.Younus had first gone to the top of the batting chart after scoring 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February before regaining the number-one position from Shivanarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in May.Conversely, if Younus fails to perform to his high standards and at the same time second-placed Kumar Sangakkara excels with the bat, there is a possibility that there might be a change at the top of the order as 26 points separates the two elegant and stylish batsmen.The other batsmen from either side in the top 20 and aiming for an upward movement are Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera who currently occupy ...

Thursday, July 02, 2009 AMMAN: Pakistan won the seniors event of the Asian Bridge Championship being held here in Jordan while they faced defeat in the final of the women’s event.Pakistan played against India in the final of the men’s event and completely outclassed their arch rivals by 81-63.However in the women’s event, Pakistan were defeated by hosts Jordan 44-80.Pakistan beat Syria and Bangladesh in open event whereas India beat Pakistan.After 18 rounds were completed, Pakistan came second with 307 points and are complete contender for reaching the final.

Almost 1,000 schoolchildren drew a picture called "My Land - Kazakhstan" over the course of three hours. The activity took place in Shymkent in honour of International Children's Day. According to Salima Bakhtagaliyeva, the director of the Instructional Research Centre of the Shymkent Department of Education, all 14 regions of Kazakhstan, with their recognisable symbols and landmarks, are depicted on the drawing, which is one kilometre long and seven metres wide. Aidos Ziyabekov, a pupil at Shymkent's children's art school, explained that the schoolchildren wanted to celebrate their city and republic with this drawing so that the world will know that a wonderful city exists in southern Kazakhstan. The feat involved a large amount of preparatory work preceding the day of drawing. First, a selection of the best children’s drawings from local art schools was organised and approved as project sketches. Each participant of the event received a colour printout of a frag...

Thursday, July 02, 2009 LOS ANGELES: A will signed by Michael Jackson putting his multimillion-dollar estate in a trust for his children and mother was filed in court on Wednesday, as details of his highly-anticipated funeral remained sketchy. Some media outlets reported a memorial service would take place this coming Tuesday at Los Angeles' Staples Center arena and others pointed to the city's Coliseum sports stadium, but a spokesman for Jackson's family could not confirm those reports nor could officials with the venues. Jackson's family did issue a statement saying the pop star would not be buried at his Neverland Valley Ranch in central California and no funeral or memorial service would take place there. Media outlets earlier in the week said the family was considering Neverland as a possible burial ground. The will values the "Thriller" star's estate at more than $500 million, and puts his assets in the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which ultimately...

Thursday, July 02, 2009, NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday decriminalized homosexuality by reading down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights, said the high court. However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex. Any kind of discrimination is anti-thesis of right to equality, said the court, while allowing plea of gay rights activists for decriminalization of homosexuality. The court said that this judgment would hold till Parliament chooses to amend the law. Snapshots of the Rainbow rise in Bangalore , Delhi and Chennai..... If the government musters courage to decriminalize homosexuality, or if the Delhi high court effects such a change on the petition challenging Section 377 IPC, India will shed the dubious honor of being among the 10 countries that can impose life senten...

Thursday, July 02, 2009 HELD AL-QUDS: Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of Gaza Strip homes in attacks that amounted to war crimes, Amnesty International charged Thursday, in the first in-depth human rights group report on the recent war in Gaza.Amnesty called on Israel to publicly pledge not to use artillery, white phosphorus and other imprecise weapons in densely populated areas. And it urged Gaza's militant Hamas rulers to stop rocket fire against Israeli civilians — attacks it also described as war crimes.Amnesty — which first accused Israel of war crimes shortly after the fighting ended on Jan. 18 — said "disturbing questions" remain about why high-precision weapons like tank shells and air-delivered bombs and missiles "killed so many children and other civilians."The group deplored Israel's use of less-precise artillery shells and highly incendiary white phosphorous in built-up areas. It also accused Israe...

Thursday, July 02, 2009 GAZA: The first commercial animated film made in the Palestinian territories, about one woman's struggle with cancer is released in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Fatenah, a 30-minute film, is inspired by the story of a Gazan woman whose battle against breast cancer included fighting inept Palestinian doctors and indifferent Israeli soldiers, documented in a report by the Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights after she died in 2004.

Thursday, July 02, 2009 SINGAPORE: The Asian Youth Games are underway in Singapore. China tops the medals table with six golds, followed by South Korea and Japan after the second full day of the competition.China took on hosts Singapore in boys under-14 football. The hosts trailed early when China's captain Peng Yan struck in the 26th minute.Peng doubled China's lead with a rasping right-foot shot from the edge of the area less than ten minutes later.Then it was also Peng Yan who scored at the end, completing the match with a hat trick. China defeated Singapore 3-0, finishing second in Group A and advancing to the semis.

WIMBLEDON: Roger Federer neutralized Ivo Karlovic's huge serves to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and move a step closer to a record 15th Grand Slam championship. Two-time finalist Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Tommy Haas completed the final four.Federer conjured up a few great returns to break the 6-foot-10 Croatian twice and secure a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory at the All England Club.Federer's next opponent will be Germany's Tommy Haas, who upset fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal.The 31-year-old Haas was the oldest player in the quarters, while the 22-year-old Djokovic was the youngest.Third-seeded Andy Murray swept Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.Murray will face the sixth-seeded Roddick, who served 43 aces and outlasted 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the day's most competitive match.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 MADRID: With the crowd chanting his name, Kaka received a roaring welcome Tuesday when he was introduced at his new home of Real Madrid before at least 50,000 fans.The 27-year-old Brazilian playmaker, acquired from AC Milan for $92 million, was presented by team president Florentino Perez at Santiago Bernabeu. Kaka shook his head in delight at the response by the fans.Kaka, who passed his medical earlier Tuesday, and Cristiano Ronaldo are Perez's major summer signings as the team tries to make up for a season without a trophy.Kaka agreed to a six-year contract with Madrid and will team with Cristiano Ronaldo, the world player of the year who was acquired by Madrid for a record transfer of $131 million.