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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Bio-metric system significant for fair polls: CEC KP

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PESHAWAR (Online): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Election Commissioner Sonu Khan Baloch has said introduction of bio-metric system is an important step to ensure transparency in the polling process.He was talking to the media after visiting polling stations during the mock polling held in four Union Councils of district Peshawar today under the newly installed biometric system.Sonu Khan Baloch said that introduction of bio-metric system during the polling process was on experimental basis and we faced few technical problems in its implementation.

Bangladesh opposition set for mass march against polls

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DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh opposition protesters were set for a mass march on Dhaka Sunday in a bid to derail controversial January 5 elections, despite a police ban amid fears of widespread violence.The opposition, which is boycotting the polls, has been predicting that up to a million people will descend on the capital in an effort to pressurise Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to halt what it describes as a farcical election.Police have banned the so-called March for Democracy amid fears that the rally would become a focal point for more unrest after what has already been the deadliest year for political violence in the countrys history.Police have detained more than 750 opposition supporters as a preventive measure, while authorities have suspended Dhaka-bound bus, ferry and train services, virtually cutting off the city from the rest of the country.It seems the government has imposed an undeclared shutdown in the country, Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a leading opposition figure, said late Saturday.Alamgir urged supporters to defy the ban and march to central Dhaka where Khaleda Zia, leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was expected to address a mass rally on Sunday afternoon.It was unclear whether Zia would herself make it to the rally, with supporters accusing authorities of keeping her under de facto house arrest since Wednesday.Police and security forces have conducted nationwide raids, searched trains and buses to arrest opposition supporters.The arrests were made ahead of the protests to prevent acts of violence and sabotages, Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.Around 100 passengers were taken off a Dhaka-bound train in northern Tangail district as police searched the carriages for Islamists accused of launching attacks against police in recent months.Bus operators, meanwhile, said they had halted their Dhaka-bound services while ferries remained anchored in river stations.We suspended our services following government orders, Mohammad Faruq Talukder, owner of the countrys largest inter-city bus operator, Sohag Motors, told AFP.Zias party has organised a series of crippling national strikes and transport blockades in recent weeks in a bid to halt the elections.The strikes have done further damage to an economy already reeling from the impact on the crucial garment sector from a factory collapse in April which sparked widespread industrial unrest.The opposition have been demanding that Hasina stand down and allow a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls as in previous contests, but she has refused to yield.The credibility of the polls has been further undermined by the refusal of foreign countries and organisations to send observers.Violence triggered by the election protests and war crime trials of opposition leaders have left at least 273 people dead in 2013 -- the deadliest year of political upheaval since the countrys independence in 1971.With Hasinas Awami League certain of victory, the elections are seen as likely to further widen the political divide in a country which has endured nearly two dozen coups in its short history.

Air strike on market, hospital in Syria's Aleppo kills 25: NGO

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BEIRUT (AFP) - Helicopters dropped TNT-packed barrels on a vegetable market and next to a hospital in Syria's northern city Aleppo Saturday, killing at least 25 civilians including children, a watchdog said.The number of people killed has risen to 25 including two women, four children, a teenager and a media activist, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating an earlier toll.The number is likely to rise further because several people have been critically injured, the Britain-based group added.The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, called the bombing a massacre.The raid targeted a crowded market where people were buying vegetables and home appliances, it said. Many buildings have been damaged, and one collapsed.The Observatory and activists in Aleppo say President Bashar al-Assad's regime has waged a massive aerial offensive against the city and nearby villages since December 15, killing more than 400 people, mostly civilians.Warplanes have launched rockets and helicopters dropped so-called barrel bombs, often on densely populated rebel-held areas, terrorising residents.Rights organisations and Arab and Western countries have condemned the offensive as indiscriminate and unlawful, but Assad's regime says it is targeting terrorists.Activists distributed footage of the badly damaged market area.We have picked up pieces of children's bodies -- they were there with two women and a man, said one man, pointing at a destroyed vehicle.Inside the car there were bodies of women with their heads severed. We put the remains in bags... May God take his vengeance against you, tyrant, he added of Assad.Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the regime is using the same tactic for Aleppo as it has for other besieged rebel-controlled areas.The regime wants to take back rebel areas through an air offensive, terrorising the civilians and pushing out the rebels, said Abdel Rahman.It will then try to besiege these areas, even if it doesn't have enough troops for that right now.Activists said Ahmad al-Hajji, an independent anti-regime activist, was killed in the market attack.They distributed a recording of Hajji taking part in a discussion on Syria that was broadcast on an official television channel months into the anti-Assad revolt.Stop treating us like idiots, Hajji said, calling on all media (in Syria), both public and private... to show how the demonstrations are being suppressed. We should be protecting these demonstrations.Syria's war broke out after Assad's regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent when an Arab Spring-style revolt calling for change erupted.In Aleppo province, helicopters dropped barrel bombs near Aleppo prison, which has been under siege by the jihadist Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist groups for eight months.The Observatory says regime warplanes are using air bases in Aleppo province, notably Nairab east of the provincial capital.Later Saturday, warplanes fired rockets near a girls' school in Azaz in Aleppo province, as well as at Sheikh Eissa village, killing one man and wounding seven children, the Observatory said.Near Damascus, activists said several vehicles carrying aid had reached the town of Moadamiyet al-Sham, despite a truce between regime and opposition fighters breaking down two days ago.The media centre of the opposition local council in the Moadamiyet al-Sham said on Facebook a number of cars carrying emergency supplies had entered the area.Rebels had raised the national flag above the town under the 72-hour ceasefire that was supposed to allow food in to Moadamiyet al-Sham, which has been besieged by government forces for more than a year.

Syria chemical deadline 'unlikely to be met: UN

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Syria is unlikely to meet a December 31 deadline to move its most dangerous chemical arms out of the country, the United Nations acknowledged for the first time Saturday.The UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said important progress has been made on eliminating Syrias banned weapons, but called on President Bashar al-Assads government to intensify efforts to meet internationally-set deadlines.The year-end deadline was the first key milestone under a UN Security Council-backed deal arranged by Russia and the United States that aims to wipe out all of Syrias chemical arms by the middle of 2014.Preparations continue in readiness for the transport of most of the critical chemical material from the Syrian Arab Republic for outside destruction.However, at this stage, transportation of the most critical chemical material before 31 December is unlikely, said a joint UN-OPCW statement.Syrias worsening civil war, logistical problems and bad weather had held up the operation to move chemical agents to the port of Latakia, the two bodies said.Under an internationally agreed plan, the chemicals will be taken to a port in Italy where they are to be transported to a US Navy ship specially fitted with equipment to destroy the weapons at sea, according to the diplomats.Fighting between Assads forces and opposition rebels has held up transportation of the chemicals, and some details of the destruction operation have still not been finalized, UN diplomats said.The US-Russia deal for Syria to surrender more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents averted US-led military strikes after a chemical weapons attack on August 21 near Damascus that the United States says killed 1,400 people.The UN and OPCW are monitoring and helping with the operation but the Syrian government has prime responsibility for moving the chemicals.Since the Syrian Arab Republic disclosed its chemical weapons program three months ago, important progress has been made, said the UN-OPCW statement.Syria has started the destruction of equipment at facilities it declared and completed the eradication of missiles intended for chemical weapons use ahead of schedule, said the statement.The UN and OPCW welcomed important milestones already met by Assads government, but highlighted the importance of maintaining positive momentum.They said the Syrian government needs to intensify its efforts to ensure that its international obligations and commitment are met under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Security Council resolution which ordered the destruction of its weapons.

Lightning kills eight church goers in Malawi

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BLANTYRE (AFP) - A lightning strike killed eight worshippers including a child at a church in Malawi's capital Lilongwe on Saturday, a health ministry official said.The worshippers were having an extended session of Saturday prayers when lightning struck their church at around 4.30pm, Charles Mwansambo, chief of health services in the ministry of health, told AFP.He said the eight victims -- included seven adults and one child -- had arrived already dead at Kamuzu Central hospital from the Seventh Day Adventist Church.Mwansambo said one person was at the intensive care unit, while 40 others were being observed and treated as outpatients.It's a disaster... it was a natural phenomenon, Mwansambo said.Lightning has killed three other people in separate incidents since the start of the rainy season last month, according to media reports.

Suu Kyi's party to contest Myanmar election

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YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party vowed Saturday to contest crucial elections in 2015 even if the constitution is not amended first to allow her to become president.The military-drafted charter blocks anyone whose spouse or children are overseas citizens from leading the country -- a clause widely believed to be targeted at the Nobel laureate whose two sons are British.The constitution also ring-fences a quarter of the seats in parliament for unelected military personnel.Suu Kyi has repeatedly warned that the charter must be changed to allow democracy to take root in the former junta-ruled country, and there had been speculation her party might even boycott the 2015 parliamentary polls.But a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD) said after a party meeting Saturday that the opposition would take part even without a constitutional amendment.We must compete in the 2015 election whatever, he told reporters, adding that the NLD was aiming for an even bigger victory than in landmark by-elections in 2012 that saw Suu Kyi and her party enter parliament.In Myanmar parliament chooses the president.The fledgling legislature is dominated by the military and its political allies so an election victory would make it easier for the NLD to push for a constitutional amendment.The NLD was founded in 1988 after a popular uprising against the military junta that left thousands dead.Two years later, the party won elections in a landslide -- but the results were never recognised by the regime. Suu Kyi was under house arrest at the time and spent much of the following two decades in detention, until she was freed after controversial elections in 2010 that her party boycotted.President Thein Sein's reformist government has since overseen dramatic political and economic reforms, leading to the lifting of most Western sanctions.A parliamentary panel is now reviewing the constitution and is expected to report its recommendations at the end of January.

Lahore: PAT to take out rally against price-hike today

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) will take out a rally against the skyrocketing price-hike in Lahore today (Sunday).Addressing a press conference from Canada through a video link, PAT chief Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri strongly criticized government policies and said that the PML-N government brought into circulation the currency notes worth Rs 1000 billion, burying the citizens of Pakistan under the massive burden of inflation.He said that tax evaders and corrupt mafia were being given unprecedented favours and privileges at the cost of honest tax payers.Criticizing the privatization polices of the present government, PAT chief said that the ruling elite are building up their assets through privatization of public institutions; hence, the people should partake in today’s rally in Lahore against the policies of the government.

Tennis: Djokovic looking forward to life with Becker

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Novak Djokovic saw off David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Saturday and wasted no time looking forward to the season ahead with his new coach Boris Becker.The world number two was just too strong for the Spanish world number three and stormed to victory in the exhibition title for the third time in a row.It was also his fifth straight title since losing the US Open final to Rafael Nadal -- and nothing looks likely to stop him going into next month's Australian Open, where he is aiming for a fourth consecutive title.He also has his sights set on wresting back the world number one slot from Nadal.The 26-year-old Serbian hired former Wimbledon champion Becker to improve his game after a disappointing 2013 by his own high standards.Becker has said he will spend around 20 weeks per year on the ATP Tour with Djokovic and says his young son Amadeus and wife Lilly will join him on occasion.With Becker courtside, Djokovic overcame an early deficit and said: I have to say I'm really glad to have Boris on the team.It's great that it started with winning this trophy right here. Hopefully, we can win more.Asked what he expected Becker to bring to the table, Djokovic laughed. We'll see, ask me in half a year, he was quoted as saying by The National. It's still too early to say where he is going to take us.Including Davis Cup matches and two unofficial wins in Abu Dhabi, Djokovic has won 26 matches in a row since losing to Nadal in the US Open final.Djokovic went into the final with an 11-5 record against Ferrer. Including previous wins in this competition against the Spaniard, which do not count on official statistics, he has now beaten Ferrer eight times in a row.Ferrer admitted he hadn't done enough to upset the odds.With Nole (Djokovic), I need to do more, he said.In the day's other match, world number one Rafael Nadal beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 6-3 to take third place.Having played Nadal, Djokovic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in the tournament this week, Tsonga was asked who had impressed him the most.I would say Novak, he's impressive, replied the world number 10.Ahead of next month's Australian Open, the rest have been warned.

Tennis: Bouchard inspires Canadian win

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PERTH (AFP) - Teenager Eugenie Bouchard emphasised her status as one of the most promising players in women's tennis by leading Canada to a 2-1 win over Australia at the mixed teams Hopman Cup on Saturday.The 19-year-old was named the WTA's Newcomer of the Year in November and opened her new season with the prized scalp of former US Open winner and world number 18 Samantha Stosur.The hard-hitting Bouchard, ranked 32nd in the world, came from a set down to beat the local favourite in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, to secure the Group A tie for the Canadians.Earlier, the powerful serve of Milos Raonic broke the spirit of Bernard Tomic as the 11th-ranked Canadian cruised to a straight sets win, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, to give Canada first blood in the tie.The host nation won the dead mixed doubles rubber.Bouchard was pleased to have reversed her loss to Stosur in the final in Osaka in October.It was a good first match for me, she said.We had a good battle in Osaka and I got my revenge tonight.Stosur started the match well enough, but her game started to disintegrate in the second set, when the pair traded service breaks until Bouchard steadied late to level the match.Bouchard broke the normally imposing Stosur serve in four successive games, including to secure the second set.The Canadian gained the only break of the final set in the eighth game and then served it out.Raonic slammed down 19 aces against Tomic, who once again showed little fight in the second set, after the opening stanza was a tight struggle.Earlier in the day, world number five Agnieszka Radwanska got her new season off to a fine start with a straight sets win over Flavia Pennetta as Poland beat Italy 3-0.After Radwanska edged past the 31st-ranked Pennetta, the Poles clinched the tie in unlikely circumstances, with the 288th-ranked Grzegorz Panfil handed victory over Andreas Seppi in the men's singles when the Italian retired due to illness.Panfil, who was a late call-up for the tournament following the withdrawal of Jerzy Janowicz due to injury, won the first set 6-4 and scores were level at 2-2 in the second when Seppi retired, complaining of dizziness.That gave Poland an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the Group A encounter and they were handed a clean sweep when Seppi also withdrew from the mixed doubles. Radwanska only arrived in Perth the night before her match against Pennetta, but looked in good touch in cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win against the Italian, who has been ranked as high as 10th in the world.The match was closer than the scoreline suggested, with the Italian creating six break points to Radwanska's four.While the Pole claimed all of hers Pennetta was unable to convert any as she was punished by her own errors against the defensive skills of the ultra-consistent Radwanska.The 24-year-old Radwanska was pleased to perform so well given the circumstances of her opening match.I didn't have much time to adjust and I only slept for like three hours, she said after a match that was played under an open roof on a warm day.In Poland it was about five degrees so I was very happy I could play my best tennis, playing alright for the first day here.The 25th-ranked Seppi should have been far too good for Panfil, but the Italian never looked comfortable on the court after being broken in the very first game.Seppi told tournament officials he was hopeful of being fit to play in Italy's next tie against Australia on Tuesday.

Football: Off colour City go top, United win again

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LONDON (AFP) - Manchester City took over at the top of the Premier League table on Saturday but only after weathering heavy pressure from Crystal Palace in a narrow 1-0 home victory.Having described the English festive fixture schedule as not normal, City manager Manuel Pellegrini made six changes to his side and Palace almost took full advantage at the Etihad Stadium.City goalkeeper Joe Hart was left with an ugly cut beneath his left eye after saving at the feet of Cameron Jerome in the first half and it was to mark the start of a frantic afternoon for the England man.He saved brilliantly from Jason Puncheon and Mile Jedinak, while Marouane Chamakh headed wide from eight yards out as Palace looked to continue their impressive recent form under new manager Tony Pulis.With half an hour remaining, Pellegrini sent on Samir Nasri and Alvaro Negredo, and in the 66th minute the hosts made the breakthrough when Edin Dzeko slammed home from Jesus Navas's cut-back.Hart's work was not finished, however, and he had to produce another fine stop to deny Joel Ward before City could celebrate their ninth consecutive home success this season.I think the team that wants to win the title must have different faces, said Pellegrini.We usually score lots of goals at home but after 45 minutes we knew it would not be like that.Victory took City two points above previous leaders Arsenal, who visit Newcastle United on Sunday.Manchester United closed to within two points of the Champions League places after recording a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions with a 1-0 win at Norwich City.The defending champions were without Wayne Rooney due to a groin injury and needed the half-time introduction of Danny Welbeck to secure victory at Carrow Road.David Moyes's side had laboured until then but in the 57th minute a favourable ricochet off Javier Hernandez set Welbeck free and he rounded England team-mate John Ruddy before sliding in the winning goal.Danny Welbeck couldn't score very often last season but he looks like he will do it every time now. He changed the game today when he came on, said Moyes, whose side came from behind to win 3-2 at Hull City on Thursday.He is doing very well and we need everybody to chip in with goals when Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie are out. Rooney has a groin strain. But I would expect Rooney to be back for Tottenham (on Wednesday).The win took United level on points with fifth-place Everton, although they have now played a game more than all of the teams above them apart from City.On Sunday, Everton host Southampton while third-place Chelsea tackle fourth-place Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.Elsewhere, relegation rivals West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion played out a richly entertaining 3-3 draw at Upton Park.West Ham led twice, first through Joe Cole and then Kevin Nolan, but on each occasion they were pegged back by the visitors, who remain without a permanent head coach following the sacking of Steve Clarke.Nicolas Anelka broke his West Brom duck with a quick-fire brace to cancel out Cole's fourth-minute opener and put the away team ahead, with Saido Berahino netting a 69th-minute equaliser after goals from Modibo Maiga and Nolan had restored West Ham's lead.The goal from Berahino, who later hit the post from a free-kick, prevented West Ham from climbing out of the relegation zone and left West Brom two points above the bottom three in 15th.Fulham also remain in the relegation zone after a 6-0 humiliation at Hull, who prevailed through goals from Ahmed Elmohamady, George Boyd, Tom Huddlestone and Matty Fryatt, and a Robert Koren brace.Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw by Swansea City, for whom Roland Lamah cancelled out Gabriel Agbonlahor's seventh-minute opener with a back-post header nine minutes before half-time.Cardiff City will start life without sacked manager Malky Mackay later on Saturday when they host bottom club Sunderland in the final game of the day.

Football: Barcelona 'not scared' of Man City: Iniesta

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MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona are not afraid of facing Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 next month, the Spanish giants' emblematic midfielder Andres Iniesta said in an interview published Saturday.Last week Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said Barcelona -- who he used to play for -- were afraid of their impending clash because of the English club's excellent form.They are quite afraid about us, the way they see us play in the Premier League at home especially, they're quite scared, said the 30-year-old, who joined Manchester City from Barcelona in 2010.We play fantastic football and we score goals, it's total attack. But it's going to be a tough game and for us we know if we're to win we need to be at the top of our game.Asked about Toure's comments during an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca, Iniesta said: We are not scared. This is football, the Champions League and Barca can't be scared of anyone.It's going to be an intense and exciting tie. I think City was the toughest side we could have drawn and will prove a good test for us, the 29-year-old added.Iniesta, who signed a three-year contract extension with Barcelona on Monday which will keep him with the La Liga leaders until at least June 2018, said he would like to end his career at the club.I think I still have many years left playing at the highest level and only time will tell where I end up. I'd like to end my career at Bara, but ultimately, my career will be defined by what I've won, he said.Under the deal he signed last week, after 2018 Iniesta's contract will be automatically extended annually if he has played a certain number of matches in the previous season.Winner of three Champions League trophies with Barcelona in 2006, 2009 and 2011, Iniesta was also key to Spain taking the World Cup in 2010 and being crowned European champions in 2008 and 2012.

Yachting: Wild Oats XI wins Sydney to Hobart honours

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Supermaxi Wild Oats XI won a record-equalling seventh Sydney to Hobart race on Saturday, coming in well ahead of her nearest rival as she stormed across the finish line.The yachts had struggled with the uncharacteristic lack of breeze in the early stages of the 628 nautical mile ocean race, and Wild Oats XI's time of two days, six hours, seven minutes and 27 seconds was well short of her 2012 course record.Wild Oats XI's billionaire owner Bob Oatley told reporters at Constitution Dock he was initially worried his 100-foot boat, skippered by Mark Richards, would not win.(We were) worried until we got across the line today because it is such a difficult race you. You never know how it's going to happen, the 86-year-old said.We lost the lead the first night out with difficult weather conditions. Then we were happy to pick it up again and improve on it which we have done all day.Hundreds of people lined the docks at Hobart's Constitution Dock to welcome the eight-year-old boat which is affectionately known by its crew as the 'Swiss Army knife' because of the number of appendages she boasts.It was its seventh line honours victory for Wild Oats XI, which also crossed the line first every year from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010 and 2012. It equals the record of the boat Morna, later renamed Kurrewa IV, which last won in 1960.As Wild Oats XI crossed the line on Saturday, its nearest rival was fellow supermaxi Perpetual Loyal about 30 nautical miles behind, followed by Ragamuffin 100 a further 10-plus nautical miles behind.Other challengers had been two Volvo 70s -- Giacomo from New Zealand and Black Jack from Queensland -- along with Karl Kwok's brand new 80-footer Beau Geste from Hong Kong and Wild Thing, another 100-footer.Wild Oats XI had led a thrilling neck and neck race out of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day but was overtaken by Perpetual Loyal on the first night, only to stage a dramatic comeback on Friday to snatch back the lead.Skipper Richards said this start had been disappointing, saying the race itself had been draining.It was a really tough race, he told reporters in Hobart. We fell a long way behind Loyal... but the next morning it all just started to come through. The boat was flying.The boat outpaced the rest of the 91-strong fleet all the way to Hobart, gaining pace as she neared the end and reaching speeds of up to 35 knots, and Oatley said she would remain a contender in future years.We've got a great future, more wins. It's beautiful, it's wonderfully built, he said.With winds picking up, most of the mid-sized boats in the fleet are expected to cross the Bass Strait Saturday before forecast gale force winds come through in the evening. However, the smaller and slower boats will bear the brunt of expected rough weather as they make their crossing in subsequent hours.Organisers expect the winds will continue through the notoriously variable final stages of the race, when boats often battle maddeningly calm conditions up the Derwent River to Hobart's Constitution Dock.So far only three boats have retired from this year's race -- Audi Sunshine Coast, Dodo and Wilparina -- reducing the field to 91. Last year Wild Oats XI bagged a historic second triple crown in crossing the line first and winning the overall handicap, as well as setting a new record time of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds.

Misbah happy with Pakistan's 'special wins'

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq termed the one-day victories over South Africa and Sri Lanka as special wins which meant his team ended a tough year on a high.Pakistan beat South Africa 2-1 last month - their first-ever one-day series win over the Proteas - before clinching the Sri Lanka series 3-2 on Friday.Even though Pakistan lost the fifth and final match by two wickets in Abu Dhabi, Misbah said the series win was satisfying.I think it was a tough year for us but the two series we won in South Africa and now against Sri Lanka, they are very special and ended our year on a high note, Misbah said after Friday's game.The win over Sri Lanka was Pakistan's seventh one-day series win this year -- their best-ever in a calendar year -- which also included a 2-1 victory against bitter rivals India in January.Misbah hoped the one-day series win over Sri Lanka would lift his team's morale ahead of the three-Test series starting in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday.We did struggle in the middle of the year, said Misbah of Pakistan's loss in the Champions Trophy in June in England. We have to improve our fielding because we had Friday's match in our hands but we let it go because of poor fielding.Misbah hit a solid 51 to end the year with 1373 runs in 34 one-days -- the highest by any player in 2013 -- to lead Pakistan to 232 all out. Sri Lanka sneaked through in the final over with Dinesh Chandimal hitting an unbeaten 64.Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews showed disappointment over the series loss.We were good enough to get over it but I think we were nowhere near our brand of cricket and disappointed that we lost the series, said Mathews, describing defeat in the first match as the turning point.If you look at the series, the first game was very crucial, we lost that by 11 runs and had we won that game we would have been sitting 3-2 winners, said Mathews of the match in Sharjah.Sri Lanka levelled the series in Dubai with a two-wicket win before Pakistan won the third and fourth matches to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead.Mathews said his team will be more competitive in Tests with experienced batsman Mahela Jayawardene and ace spinner Rangana Herath joining the squad.We played without Herath and Jayawardene in the one-days but they will back for the Tests and so we will be at our full strength and we will be more competitive, said Mathews.The second Test will be played in Dubai (January 4-8) and the third in Sharjah (January 16-20).

BCCI vows to keep defiant Lalit Modi out

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's cricket chiefs on Saturday vowed to enforce a life-long ban on Lalit Modi after the disgraced Indian Premier League founder contested elections for a state association in absentia.Modi, who lives in self-exile in London with his passport revoked by the Indian government on corruption charges, had contested for the post of president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) on December 19.Results for the Supreme Court-monitored elections will be declared by the apex court on January 6, but the Modi faction has already claimed support of 25 of the 33 district units in the state.The elections had angered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which in September had banned Modi for life from holding any cricket post after finding him guilty of serious acts of indiscipline and misconduct.An emergency meeting of the BCCI's powerful working committee in Chennai on Saturday termed the RCA as a delinquent member and voted to keep Modi out of cricket administration.It was noted that Lalit Modi had contested for the post of president in the elections of the Rajasthan Cricket Association notwithstanding his expulsion, the BCCI said in a statement after the meeting.Subject to the decision of the Supreme Court, strict disciplinary action should be taken against the delinquent member while protecting the interest of the game in the state of Rajasthan.The BCCI had earlier warned the state association that it could be suspended from sending teams for official domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and age-group events.The RCA defended the elections saying they were conducted as per the instructions of the Supreme Court which had allowed Modi to contest.When Modi was banned in September, he held no post in the BCCI, having already been removed as IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president after the end of the third edition of the popular Twenty20 league in 2010.The 50-year-old scion of a business family, who is also being investigated by the government on corruption and money-laundering charges, has in the past denied all allegations against him.The life ban was unrelated to the spot-fixing and betting scandals currently swirling around the IPL which has led to players, book makers and others being charged over their alleged involvement.Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of current BCCI chief N. Srinivasan and a former team principal of IPL side Chennai Super Kings, is among those charged with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy over the betting scandal.Apart from the court cases, a three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the scandal is expected to submit its report early next year.The IPL, which began in 2008, features the world's top players signed up for huge fees by rich business houses and individuals in a glitzy mix of sport and entertainment.International news organisations, including Agence France-Presse, have suspended their on-field coverage of matches hosted by the BCCI since last year after the board imposed restrictions on picture agencies.

Lyon joins illustrious company with Test haul

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MELBOURNE (AFP) - Nathan Lyon hasn't always felt secure in the Australia Test team but on Saturday he joined illustrious company with his 100th Test wicket in leading a dramatic turnaround in the fourth Ashes Test.Often under-appreciated and dropped for other lesser spinners, Lyon became only the sixth off-spinner to take 100 Test wickets for his country in his second innings haul of five for 50 to bowl Australia into a winning position in the fourth Ashes Test against England in Melbourne. Lyon joined finger-spinners Hugh Trumble, George Giffen, Ashley Mallett, Bruce Yardley and Ian Johnson to reach the milestone.Australia will go after 201 runs on Sunday's fourth day in their bid to take a 4-0 series lead after skittling the English tourists for 179 in 61 overs after trailing by 51 runs on the first innings.Not sure if it has sunk in yet with the whole emotion of the Ashes Test match, it's still riding pretty high, Lyon told reporters.I am pretty proud of the achievement today. It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's fantastic and amazing to be honest.It seemed like a long way away when I first started but lucky enough to get there (100 Test wickets) and no one can take them off me.Although Lyon has Test best figures of seven for 94 against India in Delhi and five for 34 in Sri Lanka, it is the first time he has taken five wickets in an innings in a Test in Australia.That's the first time in Australia so it was something pretty special and something I won't forget, that's for sure. And to have my family here it's something pretty special as well, he said.Lyon said he was proud to have played an influential role in turning around the Melbourne Test after Australia began the third day trailing England by 91 runs with one first innings wicket in hand.Personally to have that result in the second innings for Australia is fantastic to turn the game around, he said.We didn't expect that, but we knew if we bowled in partnerships and kept on improving as a bowling unit then we knew that we could possibly crack open the game.Lyon, playing in his 29th Test match, has constantly had to justify his place in the team but now has taken 16 wickets and second only to Mitchell Johnson's 31 victims in the Ashes series against England. He now has 101 Test career wickets. I'm pretty happy. It's always a challenge playing Test match cricket and to being in and out of the side is a massive challenge, he said.But I'm lucky enough to have a great captain and an awesome vice-captain as well. I've got a really good relationship with both of them and to have their support has been fantastic.I knew what I had to do and I knew if I kept trying to get better and just really enjoy my cricket and just wanting to improve. If I keep doing that, hopefully things will keep rolling along well for me.
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