Somalia's Islamic militants kill two for watching football match

Published>Tue, Jun 15 10 12:08 PM

London, Jun 15 (ANI): Islamic militants have killed two Somali football fans after they caught them watching World Cup football matches.

The Hizbul Islam group militants stormed a house near the capital Mogadishu where people were watching Nigeria play Argentina on Saturday and killed two people.

The areas of southern and central Somalia controlled by the Islamic militants are under a strict version of Islam. The group also arrested ten people for watching the match.

The next night, another 30 people were arrested as they watched the Germany-Australia game in the town of Afgoye, The Telegraph reports.

Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aros, a spokesman for the militants, said Somalia should respect their ban on the World Cup and focus on pursuing jihad.

"We are warning all the youth of Somalia not to dare watch these World Cup matches," he said.

"It is a waste of money and time and they will not benefit anything or get any experience by watching mad men jumping up and down," he added. (ANI)

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Hockey India elections next month

Published>Tue, Jun 15 10 11:42 AM

India, June 15 -- Hockey India on Monday announced that it would hold its elections in July. The body, which took the decision at its special general body meeting, though did not announce the dates for the polls. Close to 70 representatives from 29 member units attended the meeting, with SPS Tomar being the government observer. The special general body also ratified the affiliations given to 25 state units including Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab and Jharkhand.

The Delhi High Court had overruled on the manner in which the IHF had been derecognised to pave the way for HI.

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Early debut ruined my career: Nazir

Published Tue, Jun 15 10 11:26 AM

Karachi, Jun 15 (PTI) Discarded Pakistan opener Imran Nazir feels debuting internationally at a tender age of 17 damaged his career as he was neither technically sound nor mentally strong enough for the grind at that stage. Nazir was given his senior Pakistan cap at the age of 17 in 1999 in both Tests and one-dayers and he now rues that early induction into international cricket. "The truth is I was not ready for international cricket at time, my technique was faulty and I didn''t have the mental strength or understanding of the game," he said in an interview. "Now that I have began to understand how international cricket needs to be played I have been dropped from the national team," he said. Nazir, now 28, last appeared for Pakistan in Dubai in a Twenty20 series against England in February this year before being ignored for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. "I am a more mature batsman now and if I get a chance to play again for Pakistan I will play in sensible fashion and cement my place in the team. I am ready to curb my natural instincts to play again for Pakistan," Nazir said. Nazir said when he made his debut in 1999, he only knew how to play the cut and pull shots properly. "But now after a lot of ups and downs in 11 years of international cricket I realise a batsman with limited range of shots cannot survive. Plus your shot selection has to be sensible you must have the patience to wait for the bad ball to hit not try a slog on every ball that I used to do previously," Nazir said. Nazir, who has played eight Tests, 79 one-dayers and 16 Twenty20 matches, said he was working hard on his batting. "I would say a player must be given time in domestic cricket before he is blooded in international cricket. Give him time to adjust and understand the game," he added.

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Railways to promote Commonwealth Games throughout India

Published>Tue, Jun 15 10 10:16 AM

New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) Tracking the history of the Commonwealth Games and the contribution of Indian Railways to sports, a special train will this month begin a cross-country journey to inform and take visitors down memory lane through rare photographs and memorabilia.

The train, which will be flagged off by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee June 24 and will return on Oct 2, a day before the Commonwealth Games kick off, will stop for two-three days at selected stations.

Five coaches of the train will feature exhibitions on the Commonwealth Games, while five will focus on information and technology in railway operations. An eleventh bogey will be converted into a 100-ft-long travelling sports photo exhibition, curated by sports filmmaker Sunil Yash Kalra, who has also donated rare pictures from his collection of over 5,000 photos.

'The exhibition train with a focus on youth will promote sports and information technology. It will also promote the Commonwealth Games, its significance and other things about it,' a senior official of the railway ministry told IANS.

'In the Commonwealth exhibition section, we have focussed on India's participation in the Games over the years. We have also tried to explain what the Commonwealth Games are and the history behind it.'

The train, he added, details how the Commonwealth Games had evolved over the years. 'Besides there will be trophies and medals won by sportspersons associated with Indian Railways.'

In the information and technology exhibition, the effort is to show the usage of IT in railway operations.

'People will be able to have a glimpse of the exhibitions during the stoppage at a particular station for two-three days. The whole idea is to make the people aware about sports and the need for it.'

The 'nostalgia exhibition' curated by Kalra will showcase many photographs for the first time. It has pictures of sportspersons down the decades, from 1928 to 2010, said one of the organisers.

'There are around 70 rare pictures in the exhibition, of which the oldest is of Indian hockey team that won the hockey gold medal in 1928. Photographs of about 100 national sports award winners from the railways in the last 75 years is also there at the exhibition,' he told IANS.

As a sports filmmaker, Kalra has made the docudrama 'Women's Cricket - Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies'. He has also authored various research papers on feasibility of sports sponsorship in India.

The train will be painted in logos of the 19th edition of Commonwealth Games and also Indian Railways. It will return to the capital by Oct 2, a day before the start of the mega-sporting event.

The ministries of railways, sports, and information and technology have joined hands for showcasing the exhibition across the country.

The train is the culmination of a promise made by the railway minister when she had presented the rail budget on Feb 28.

'Indian Railways will be the lead partner of the Commonwealth Games being hosted by India this year. To mark this event and also to spread the message, the railways proposes to start a Commonwealth exhibition train,' Banerjee had said.

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INTERVIEW - U.S. Open win would trump Turnberry for Cink

Published>Tue, Jun 15 10 08:46 AM

Stewart Cink clinched his first major title by beating golfing great Tom Watson in a playoff for last year's British Open but victory at this week's U.S. Open would give him even greater pleasure.

"To come through here at a course like Pebble Beach, with all the history and all the champions' names, would mean the most to me," Cink, 37, told Reuters after playing nine holes in practice on Monday.

"This tournament, especially the way they have been setting it up lately, really identifies the best players."

American Cink tied for eighth when the U.S. Open was last held at Pebble Beach in 2000 and he described the set-up for this year's edition as "difficult but fair".

Although the spectacular coastal layout is renowned for its small greens, Cink felt the severely sloping fairways would present the toughest challenge this week.

"There are going to be some holes where probably less than 20 percent of the guys are going to hit in regulation," the six-times PGA Tour winner said.

"For instance, on the 10th hole, you can't just hit it down the right half of the fairway and expect your ball to stay in. You have to hit the left half of the fairway. Holes like that are not going to be very often birdie holes."

Cink has recorded three top-10s at the U.S. Open, the most painful at Southern Hills in 2001 when he double-bogeyed the final hole to end up one stroke shy of a two-way playoff.

ERASING MEMORIES

"Looking back on it, it probably took me longer than I thought it would to erase memories of that," he said.

"Once the confidence from playing well wore off, I entered a stretch that was probably the darkest of my career -- most of '02. I just wasn't very happy with the way I was playing."

Cink had been tied for the lead with eventual winner Retief Goosen of South Africa as the duo played the final hole at Southern Hills.

However the American missed the green with his five-iron approach before three-putting for double-bogey, missing the last from two feet.

"My mind was in the wrong place in '02 and a lot of that was directly related to what happened at Southern Hills because I felt like that was my identity," Cink said.

"And that really isn't the way you want to be identified as a golfer."

Last year's British Open at Turnberry, however, provided him with the perfect setting to bury his painful memories of Southern Hills.

Although Watson at the age of 59 was the fan favourite, Cink rolled in a 15-footer on the 72nd hole to draw level with his compatriot before clinching the title in a playoff.

"Southern Hills never came to my mind at all during Turnberry last year," he said. "Not one time until I was with the press afterwards and someone asked me about it.

"And I thought: 'Oh well, you're right. I have put that (memory) away.' It did linger with me for a little while but after Turnberry I think I was successful at silencing all those little demons in the head."

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Federer says shock defeat against Hewitt will not derail his Wimbledon preparations

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 02:08 PM

London, June 14 (ANI): Champion tennis player Roger Federer has said that his defeat at the hands of Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the Gerry Weber Open final in Germany will not derail his Wimbledon preparations.

The Swiss star will walk out on the All-England Club Centre Court a week today looking for a record 17th Grand Slam.

Federer crashed 3-6 7-6 6-4 to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

He went into the match with a grass record of 76-1 - and that one loss was to Rafa Nadal in the Wimbledon final two years ago.

Federer - who won his previous 15 matches against Hewitt - said: "I was unfortunate not to come through, but the loss does not worry me."

"It was a good tournament for me. I've got to ensure I draw the right conclusions for Wimbledon," The Age quoted him, as saying.

Federer, 28, will return home to Switzerland for two days before heading to London on Wednesday. (ANI)

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Oz channel for reinstatement of all wickets in the second innings in split ODIs

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 02:03 PM

Melbourne, June 14 (ANI): Australia's Channel Nine has said that it will approach Cricket Australia with a proposal for reinstatement of all wickets in the second innings of 's radically revamped split-innings one-day matches to be trialled domestically next season.

According to The Age, as a trade-off to the fielding side, Nine will ask CA to explore the possibility of removing the limitations on how many overs a bowler can bowl.

"We would certainly like to see the wickets restored for the second innings," said Brad McNamara, the former NSW all-rounder who is Channel Nine's executive producer of cricket.

"Not everyone is going to get a bat, but it's about getting the best batters to bat twice. Last summer we saw Chris Gayle dismissed in the first over, and the game was over.

"Maybe there is no restriction on bowlers, but you force the fields up for longer periods. The better bowlers can bowl to those fields. It is about getting the balance between bat and ball."

Broadcasters such as Nine are concerned that should a team lose many wickets in the first innings, the prospect of watching tailenders struggle to keep their wickets in the second innings is not appealing to viewers.

And should the tailenders be dismissed swiftly in the second innings and lose the match, networks will be left with hours of space to fill.

While Nine will not show the inter-state games - Fox Sports holds those rights - they are the international broadcast partner of CA and have significant weight at the negotiating table.

The split-innings formula has been trialled in England's second division, where teams have two 20-over innings each - essentially back-to-back Twenty20s. (ANI)

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Goalie Green says he let England down during match against US

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 01:42 PM

London, Jun 14 (ANI): Goalkeeper Robert Green, who made a horrendous mistake costing England victory in their opening World Cup game against underdogs USA, has admitted that he let his country down.

A family friend told how Green speak out his heart to dad Steven and mum Jacqueline after his gaffe, The Sun reports.

Green telephoned his parents after his World Cup howler, and told them: "I feel like I've let the country down"

"I'm going to make you and England proud. I was upset about it, but the important thing is to come back from this and do well in the rest of the tournament.

"I'm not going to let everyone down, I'm not going to let my country down. I'm really fed up as I'd been doing so well in training and was chuffed to be picked for a match.

"But that's football - everything can change in a second. It was just one of those things that happens," Green said. he friend said Green was determined to pick himself up and help England win the World Cup.

Green's astonishing mistake cost the Three Lions two vital points in their Group C opener against the US. (ANI)

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Drogba, Zidane launch UNDP anti-poverty TV appeal

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 01:39 PM

New York/Cape Town, South Africa, 14 June 2010-To kick-off the 2010 FIFA World Cup(tm), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassadors, Didier Drogba and Zinedine Zidane, launched an anti-poverty TV spot appealing for the world to live up to the challenge and join the team that will beat poverty.

"There can be no spectators in the fight against poverty," said Chelsea striker Drogba, and Cote d'Ivoire national team captain. "We all need to be on the pitch to improve the lives of millions of poor people in this world."

The multilingual public service announcement will be broadcast during the tournament in South Africa and aims to bolster efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight internationally-agreed targets which aim to reduce poverty, hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, inadequate shelter and gender inequality by 2015.

"The World Cup brings people around the globe together to support their national teams, and we need the same kind of passion to end poverty and hunger," said Zidane, former French national team captain.

"The 2015 target for the Millennium Development Goals is a few years away, so the time to make a difference is now."

Zidane and Drogba's video can be viewed on UNDP's new football site, www.kickoutpoverty.org, which gives people the opportunity to join the fight against poverty.

This spot was produced by UNDP with the creative vision of Mark Titus at August Island Pictures in Seattle, USA. All production costs were covered pro-bono thanks to August Island Pictures and Freestudios in Geneva. Official FIFA Partner, Sony Corporation, will be assisting with the broadcasting of the public service announcement. (ANI)

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Sehwag warms up with a ton, Yuvraj does the grind

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 01:33 PM

Virender Sehwag gave reason for worry on Friday when he called for a runner but nevertheless he provided a spectacle with a chanceless 159 from mere 103 balls, a knock which included 22 fours and five sixes at the Modern School Grounds. Riding on his century, his side Ragnigandha CC entered the final of the Lala Raghubir memorial tournament. Sehwag had taken prior permission to skip the first day of the national camp in Chennai to get more match practice ahead of the Asia Cup. In hindsight it proved to be a correct decision given his scores, and the washout at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Sehwag is reported to have experienced stiffness in his legs while batting and decided against taking a chance and so he requested for assistance. However, he is expected to be fine for the tournament. Incidentally, Sehwag had played the runner's role for Mithun Manhas during Thursday's game in another club tournament. Interestingly, the semi-final match was originally slated for Saturday but was advanced because Sehwag was keen to play one more game before leaving for Asia Cup. The organisers and the opposition readily agreed for a re-shuffle of dates. Ragnigandha registered a three-wicket victory over Malik Sports with Sehwag contributing 159 in a chase of 233. He also finished with 2 for 28.Meanwhile, out of favour Yuvraj Singh turned out for Air India. Yuvraj scored 38 in his side's semi-final win at the Goswami Ganesh Dutt tournament at St Stephens ground. Batting at No.3, Yuvraj was dropped early, on six, and took his time to strike the meat of the bat, hitting just one boundary and two sixes in his 47-ball stay. He also took one wicket with his left-arm spin.

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Oz cricketers angry over UK Govt. demand for Ashes tour related tax

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 01:22 PM

Sydney, June 14 (ANI): Australian cricketers are seething after receiving huge tax bills from the British government following their tour of England.

Some of the top earners owe in excess of 150,000 dollars, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

While the players are always taxed on overseas earnings, they have previously offset the hefty sums when completing their tax in Australia and transferring owed monies to foreign governments from their returns.

To do this, it is believed they get a deferment on overseas taxes before each tour via a withholding clause.

The waiver was either not sought nor approved before the Ashes trip and now the players are paying out of their pockets, adding to the pain of surrendering the urn.

Australia's top earners - Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin - are believed to owe six-figure amounts.

Cricket Australia last week sent an email to all players involved in the tour alerting them of the bill and advising them that they must start paying.

The players are being taxed twice. However, it is understood they will be able to claim back the excess tax.

The Herald can reveal that some players are angry with CA, whom they deem responsible for organising the withholding clause.

Money they have reserved for loan repayments and business ventures is being docked from their wages to pay the outstanding tax.

It is not yet known why or how the oversight occurred, but players said it had not happened before. (ANI)

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Bad balls, pitches and vuvuzelas worry Dutch

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 01:06 PM

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk has not seen his team kick a ball in competition at this World Cup yet but that has not stopped him finding fault with much of what he has seen so far.

On Sunday, it was the new Jabulani ball which added another crease to the brow of the irascible Dutch boss although the altitude was also a concern not to mention the ubiquitous vuvuzela trumpet and problematic pitches.

"So far every free kick I saw went far over the goal while cross passes proved hard to control," Van Marwijk told a news conference after Dutch training at Soccer City ahead of Monday's opening Group E clash with Denmark there.

"During our training camp in Austria we also experienced problems with the ball at a higher altitude but during the warm up matches in Rotterdam the ball reacted normally."

Besides the problems with the ball and the much-discussed vuvuzela trumpets which have made a terrific din during the matches played so far and have been banned by him from training sessions, Van Marwijk also found time to find a problem with the pitches.

"The pitches are good and even but the foundation is harder than we are used to so it is tougher to keep standing.

'IMPROVE THINGS'

"As for the noise from the (vuvuzela) horns, playing with earplugs is not an option as the players wouldn't be able to hear each other so that wouldn't improve things."

To add to Van Marwijk's concerns, his key player, winger Arjen Robben was still unable to train with the rest of the squad following a hamstring injury picked up last weekend.

"Robben trained separately at Wits (University) and follows the same programme like we did when we arrived and it is better for him to use a whole pitch," he added.

Even when he turned his attention to Group E, which also includes Japan and Cameroon, Van Marwijk found it hard to look on the bright side even though his men are firm favourites to progress as its winners.

"We know the Danes very well and they know us, so we have no surprises for each other," he said. "But you saw yesterday at the England match that nobody wins their opener easily."

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Resumption of Indo-Pak bilateral cricket series important for world cricket: Miandad

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 12:56 PM

Karachi, Jun.14 (ANI): Former Pakistan cricket captain Javed Miandad, wants the resumption of bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan as soon as possible, which he believes was important to boost world cricket.

"I feel sad that Pakistan cricket is facing a situation where teams don't want to come to our country because of security issues. Worse bilateral cricket ties with India are again frozen," The Daily Times quoted Miandad, as saying.

"We need to play more often against each other it keeps the sport alive in both countries and boosts world cricket," he added.

Miandad, who recently celebrated his 53rd birthday, said that the most memorable moments in his entire career were the matches he played against India.

The former Pakistan middle-order batsman recalled that both 1976-77 and 2004 series against India in Pakistan were most cherished by him.

"In both cases India toured Pakistan after a gap of many years and the huge interest in the series was out of this world," said Miandad, who played 124 Tests for Pakistan.

Miandad, however, expressed the hope that things would be sorted out soon and the arch rivals would again be seen battling it out on the cricket field.

"There is so much passion for the sport in Pakistan that at times it is tragic that we are facing a situation where we can't play international cricket on our own grounds. But the cricket world is supporting us and hopefully things will normalise soon," he said.

"Cricket in the subcontinent has a great cricket heritage and I find it hard to believe that right now they are also no bilateral cricket ties between Pakistan and India," Miandad added. (ANI)

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Younis shines in Surrey's win over Somerset in Friends Provident T20 Tournament

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 12:52 PM

Taunton, Jun. 14 (ANI): A breezy half century from former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan helped Surrey thrash Somerset by 21 runs in the Friends Provident T20 Tournament at the Surrey County Ground here.

Younis' 41 ball 59 runs inning, along with Mark Ramprakash's blistering knock of 59 from just 38 balls helped Surrey put up a formidable total of 160.

Younis came at the crease when his team was wobbling at 47 for four after losing dangerous Andrew Symonds, but Younis along with Ramprakash steadied Surrey's ship with some sensible batting.

Both shared a valuable partnership of 84 of just 49 balls that took Surrey to a respectable position.

Younis' half century included seven boundaries and no sixes, but the former Pakistani captain ensured that the fours came at regular intervals.

Chasing the target, Somerset could only manage 139 for eight in the allotted 20 overs, The Daily Times reports.

Somerset never looked like chasing down the total. Although big hitting West Indian all-rounder Keiron Pollard did provide some entertainment hitting 42 runs in 30 balls, his departure sealed the victory for Surrey.

Ramprakash was adjudged Man of the Match for his electrifying knock. (ANI)

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Tiger Woods fathered a love child, claims TV tell-all

Published>Mon, Jun 14 10 12:38 PM

London, June 14 (ANI): Tiger Woods parented a secret love child, claims a new TV documentary.

Journalist Neal Boulton, who helped Woods in hiding his affairs, has said that he knows someone who has full details of the girl - and DNA evidence.

"There is a lot more to come out. Tiger will eventually admit to fathering a child," the Sun quoted her as saying.

Rumours about Woods' love child started circulating after he split from his wife Elin.

According to reports, Theresa Rogers gave birth to a girl in 2003 and demanded 2million pounds for her silence.

The claims are made in Channel 4's TV documentary, titled 'Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall'. (ANI)

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