Younis' century puts Pakistan in control

Close Pakistan 99 and 222 for 2 (Younis 115*, Azhar 75*) lead England 141 (Strauss 56, Rehman 5-40) by 180 runs

	Younis Khan scored the first century of this series to put Pakistan in the driving seat in the third Test © Getty Images
Related Links Matches: England v Pakistan at Dubai (DSC) Series/Tournaments: England tour of United Arab Emirates Teams: England | Pakistan Gallery: Younis, Azhar seize control for Pakistan

The first hundred of this Test series was a long time in coming but it was well worth the wait. It went to Younis Khan. His enduring talent has again lifted Pakistan's expectations that they can achieve their first whitewash in a Test series against England.

When Younis came to the crease shortly before lunch on the second day, he was out of form, 22 wickets had fallen for 268 runs and batsmen on both sides were in mental turmoil over a record number of lbw decisions in a three-Test series. Not another wicket fell all day.

By the close, Younis had 115, his third-wicket stand with Azhar Ali was worth 194 in 72 overs and Pakistan's lead was 180. Some Pakistan fans held aloft a banner stating that Pakistan's target was to be the No. 1 Test side in the world. England can confirm it is an uncomfortable place to be.

Whenever mutterings are heard that his Test career is nearing an end, Younis comes up with something special. England tried to bowl straight, seeking to add to the 37 lbws in the series (the record in any length of series is 43) but the pitch was slow and the sound of ball against pad was conspicuous by its absence as Younis worked the ball serenely through the leg side.

It is only two months since Younis took an unbeaten double hundred off Bangladesh in Chittagong and his serenity flooded back. Both he and Azhar, whose restrained unbeaten 75 again identified him as a talent in the making, read the line confidently, their footwork was crisp and on the rare occasions Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann matched the turn found by Pakistan's left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, they had the skill to adjust to the ball off the pitch.

England imagined they might have dismissed Azhar lbw, on 70, just before the close when Swann found turn around leg stump. Umpire Simon Taufel said no, England reviewed, more in hope than expectation, but to the consternation of the fielding side Hawk-Eye showed the ball going too high. Pakistan's lead was 168 and England had not got the break they desperately needed. Andrew Strauss, an England captain with no time to waste, even took the new ball two overs before the close.

Younis' second 50 took 60 balls and changed the complexion of the match. His gathering confidence was illustrated when he twice reverse-swept Swann as England's spinners resorted to bowling into the rough outside leg stump. Two short balls from Panesar helped him through the 90s. When he swept Panesar to reach his 20th Test hundred, two greats of India's past, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, were moved to rise from their seats in the VIP area and applaud.

But the incident that will most trouble England was one of the rare balls Younis missed: a delivery from Panesar that pitched on middle, dislodged a piece of turf as it spun past the outside edge, and cracked Anderson on the left shoulder at first slip. This is a dry pitch and it can be expected to turn extravagantly as the match progresses.

It all possessed a different feel to the pre-lunch session. Six more wickets tumbled on the second morning, with England scraping a first-innings lead of 42 and then removing Pakistan's openers. Taufeeq Umar's technical frailties were again evident as James Anderson bowled one from wide on the crease to have him caught by Strauss at first slip. Mohammad Hafeez, after striking Panesar cleanly for a straight six, fell lbw to an over-ambitious sweep.

England's batting frailties are now so extreme that their average of 17.84 runs per wicket is currently lower than in any completed series since the 19th century, an era when the roller was probably pulled by a horse, if they could find a horse, and the art of groundsmanship extended to little more than pushing the stumps in.

England began the series fretting about the mysterious spin bowling of Saeed Ajmal but they are ending it baffled by the conventional approach of Rehman, who took five wickets for the second successive innings as Pakistan restricted England's first-innings lead. This canny left-arm spinner, enjoying unforeseen riches in his late-blooming career, had performed the sajda on the outfield in Abu Dhabi when he took five Test wickets in an innings for the first time. Once again he fell to his knees.

England, resuming on 104 for 6, lasted 12 overs. Anderson, the night-watchman, propped forward to the last ball of the first over and was bowled through the gate. It was the sort of respectable, turning delivery Rehman has produced on countless occasions and suddenly it looked unplayable.

Stuart Broad hinted at positive intent but he was lbw to Ajmal after Pakistan turned to DRS to overturn Steve Davis' not-out decision. Broad was straight back to the laptop, analysing his dismissal, seeking answers. Another centimetre and he would have been outside the line. Umpires would never give anybody out on such small margins; technology does.

Andrew Strauss' prolonged resistance ended at eight-down, to his most adventurous shot. He had extended his overnight 41 to 56 when he came down the pitch to hit Rehman over the legside and was stumped by Adnan Akmal.

Read more »

B-town congrats Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza

 
Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza Friday tied the knot at a lavish ceremony in a five-star hotel here. Bollywood wishes "happiness" and "eternal bliss" to the newlyweds.

The couple tied the knot in the presence of family and close friends in a typical Maharashtrian wedding ceremony.
Shah Rukh Khan: What a lovely wedding...riteish & genelia looked beautiful...may Allah bless them with happiness. Side Note: the chola roti was very nice too.
Bipasha Basu: Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Deshmukh! Sooo adorable!

Anupam Kher: Congratulations to Riteish and Genelia for their life together hereafter. May you fall in love with each other everyday of your life.

Madhur Bhandarkar: My heartfelt wishes to Riteish and Genelia for the new journey of life they r going to start together. God bless u both.

Shazahn Padamsee: Congrats to my lovely friends Riteish and Genelia for the beginning of their beautiful journey together today. Lots of love to both of u.

Tusshar Kapoor: Heartiest congratulations to @Riteishd and @geneliad, my 2 most fun co stars on their wedding today!! Another couple bites the dust!!

Kumar Taurani: @geneliad @Riteishd Many congratulations, you looking awesome as couple, God Bless You...

Minissha Lamba: Here's wishing @Riteishd and @geneliad a blissful life of joy! You make love look so beautiful...

Vishal Dadlani: Congratulations, and happiness always! RT @Riteishd: MR & MRS DESHMUKH.

Sujoy Ghosh: Love at its best ... RT @Riteishd: MR & MRS DESHMUKH

Sophie Choudry: Big day for the beautiful couple Riteish and Genelia when officially to become one! Wishing them happiness, fun times and eternal bliss! God Bless.

Neha Dhupia: From my side too congrats to Riteish and Genelia for their wedding. Flower petals filled tweets coming your way!

Read more »

England vs Pakistan: Placing All Bets On Pakistan

   

by Ashar Zaidi

Profile: A Sports correspondent at Geo New

Logic might favor England but passion is eager to topple it down; let’s see who rules the deserts.


Agreed, you are the number one test side in the world. Agreed, you have dominated your last six test series. Agreed, the world’s best have kneeled before your might, that you are gifted with some of the best performers in the game and you feel refreshed after a four months rest, but that doesn’t mean things will walk your way all the time. Sharpen your swords England, Misbahism is geared up for a showdown.


England and Pakistan are two top teams. Try comparing them in any aspect and the equilibrium will hit the middle mark each time.  That’s precisely the reason why fans and experts appear impatient for a mouth watering encounter, followed by the trickiest question of all, who will come out victorious?


This is a tough question to answer. The bookies love England but ask me and I see this love affair as a well disguised googly. My hard-earned money is on Pakistan and I won’t risk it without rock-solid reasoning.


Strauss has a world conquering squad just like Michael Vaughn did in 2005, but like the Indians, they are mostly back-yard heroes that can win in favorable conditions. Expose them to hostile terrain and they fall like autumn leaves. I remember England touring Pakistan in 2005 still basking in the euphoria of their Ashes triumph, only to see their top names licking injuries and Shoaib Akthar puncturing their batting sedans. With mud for UAE pitches flown in from Karachi, I can only see history repeating itself.


So, here are six reasons why I believe England will return home with only Arabic hospitality to talk about.


1- Stepping into the Unknown


It’s UAE, meaning it’s an arid-zone. Even in January the place can be devilishly humid, dusty and the scorching sun beats hard on your head. No coach in the world can teach you how to handle quickies while dry winds are slapping your face. Long days in the heat can drain life out of your legs and water alone would fail to quench the English thirst, instead tons of Gatorade would need to be gulped.


For statistic devotees, England are yet to play a test match on UAE soil and the last ODI they played here was way back in 1999. As for Pakistan, UAE is their second home. The green shirts have played nine matches and are well versed with the conditions.  Will the ball turn or skid on these placid wickets? England must have spent sleepless nights solving this enigma. For Pakistan, they have the perfect idea for mix and match.


2- Paki Pace Factory Fired Up


They say a team is built around its fast bowling therefore it can’t possibly go wrong in Pakistan’s case. Pakistani spinners have been capturing bulk of headlines recently, somewhat over shadowing the brilliance pacers have shown with the ball. The likes of Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Tanveer Ahmed and Aizaz Cheema have largely been responsible for causing early dents and paving way for the spinners to wipe out the cake. These maverick quickies are equipped with a plethora of lethal deliveries, good enough to sink any batting line on Earth.


To fine tune their every move is the bowling maestro Aquib Jawaid (Bowling coach) who himself has bowled countless memorable spells on these barren fields. Hard to forget would be his seven against Sri-Lanka in Sharjah. He is a living example for his militia to follow.


England, on the other hand could have wished for a few better options. Let’s admit, Tim Bresnan was one bowler who could have extracted life out of Dubai’s moribund surface. But with him out of the picture the English pace battery appears vulnerable. Major work load will fall on James Anderson and Stuart Broad and don’t expect the likes of Grame Onions, Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett to cause Pakistanis much trouble.


This will be the ideal setting for an unseen injury popping up to one of these pacers. If that happens, England is sure to lose heart. In most of their previous victories, it’s the combination of four fast bowlers that have guided them through; Dubai could be a different story.


3- Spin Fear


We heard it before, now we have seen it. England doesn’t like to play spin. Take the two practice matches for example: M. Nabi, the off-spinner from Afghanistan bagged five while the Swabi born Leggie, Yasir Shah cleaned up eight in the second, exposing a huge feebleness in English defense.


This is their fragility before second string spinners, and the big boys haven’t even stepped in. Both Saeed and Rehman are world class spinners and their fingers are itching to cast magic. The spot-light is on the tricky Ajmal who some see as the English tormentor, with 50 wickets in the calendar year, he is one player around whom the hype has been building.


Ajmal is a darling character; he loves challenges and has a habit of cracking jokes. Remember the “Special Delivery” he warned about? It is now termed “The Teesra”.  We have seen the traditional off-spin, then Shane Warne invented the “Seedha” while Saqulain brought out the “Doosra”. Where in the world Ajmal’s Teesra will spin is still a mystery!


The spin night-mare doesn’t end here. Rehman and Hafiz are equally good supplements that give their Captain plenty of option to juggle.


England on the other hand is pinning hopes on their Desert Rose, Grame Swann, but whether their vital cog can live up to expectations is another story. Ask me and I would say he is an over-rated bowler, simply because England doesn’t have another quality act. Just 27 wickets in 2011 and you expect him to make you shiver? C’mon, even a club bowler could do better. While some would argue that he is nurtured under Mushtaq Ahmed’s watchful eyes, let me remind you that Pakistani batsmen are best mediators of spin. As for Monty, let’s first see if he finds a place in the final 11. We can ponder about his vitality later on.


4- The Younis Factor


Mince no words, Younis will be the difference between victory and defeat.  While many credit Misbah for keeping the unit together and turning it into a winning lot, if you knew the dynamics of the Pakistan dressing-room you would know it’s Younis that has keeps the fabric knitted. On the field he is a classy batsman, an excellent exponent of classic stroke-play and a skilful fielder with a deadly accuracy of hitting the stumps. Back in the drawers, he is the best pitch reader, an astute thinker, motivator and a strategy genius for his side.


The 34 year old Khan from Mardan is a tough nut to crack and possesses a dreadful appetite for runs. His mountainous 313 at Karachi and epic 267 at Bangalore are credible proof’s he can play really long innings and bat England out of the match. 2011 has been a fantastic year for Khan, cracking 765 runs in just 12 innings with a staggering avg of 85. England definitely won’t want him batting long and nursing the tail.


5- No Rating Fear, Only Hunger to Prove


The brutal fact is that this is one horror Strauss can’t shy away from. Stepping in 2012 as the top ranked test side, the English have a lot at stake. They might have belted the Protease, Aussies and the Indians, but they are well aware of the un-predictability and destruction Pakistan can cause. If England loses, the Telegraph, Guardian and Times would cry that England succumbed on the first real litmus test.


Pakistan are enjoying life out of any such fear. Their recent feats have been looked down as being against toothless opponents, so this is their proving stage. If they win, it will be a testimony of their metal. If they lose, Misbah would simply shake off the loss as it would be one against the best side in the world.  


6- Pakistanis Don’t Break Under Pressure


England reached summit No. 1 after thrashing India last summer. Apart from their prolific play England had two other factors to thank. India is a team of ageing legends and as Brad Haddin rightly pointed out, it’s a team that breaks down under pressure. Rest assured Strauss won’t find anything like-wise here.  Even at 38 and 34, Misbah and Younis are the fittest horses in the stable and whenever stakes are down, even Ajmal can show heroics with the bat. It’s an All for one, and one for all equation.


May the Best Team Win:


And so my bragging comes to an end. Thankfully, Pakistanis are realistic and focused on the task ahead. Opener Taufiq Umar couldn’t be more candid admitting that his team would have to exceed their abilities to beat England. On the other hand, the placid tracks of UAE demonstrate the rarity of a positive result. This means a single session played loose could slip out the series. Have no doubt in mind; there will be loads of storms in the deserts.

Read more »

Anonymous gain access to FBI and Scotland Yard hacking call

The hackers published a video of the call on YouTube

Hacking network Anonymous has released a recording of a conference call between the FBI and UK police in which they discuss efforts against hackers.

The call, said to have taken place last month, covers the tracking of Anonymous and similar groups, dates of planned arrests and details of evidence held.
Anonymous also published an email, apparently from the FBI, showing the email addresses of call participants.
The FBI and Scotland Yard confirmed the leak and said they were investigating.
It also emerged on Friday that hackers linked to Anonymous had accessed the websites of several US law enforcement agencies and that of the Greek justice ministry.
 
'Email intercept'

The FBI said in a statement: "The information was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained. A criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible."

London's Metropolitan Police's central e-crime unit said the matter was being investigated but that no operational risks had been identified.
It was unclear how Anonymous had managed to obtain the recording but a lawyer for one of the suspects discussed told the BBC it appeared to have been taken as an audiofile from an intercepted email, rather than having been eavesdropped on.
A comment on one of the Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous, AnonymousIRC, said: "The FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the recording, which was published on YouTube, will be highly embarrassing for the cyber crime detectives.
At one point an FBI agent thanks the Metropolitan police for their help with investigations, to which the British detective replies: "We're here to help. We've cocked things up in the past, we know that."

Analysis

Leo Kelion Technology reporter

While it now appears that the FBI-Scotland Yard conference call was obtained through an intercepted email recording, recent research does suggest it is possible for hackers to intercept communications systems once thought secure.
Earlier this week, two researchers from Germany's Ruhr University Bochum announced they had reverse engineered two of the secret ciphers used to encode calls made by satellite phones. The pair said the devices - used in military campaigns and natural disaster areas - used algorithms that were "considerably weaker" than what was available elsewhere.
Another noted security researcher, Karsten Nohl, told a conference he had generated a code book which allowed calls made on mobiles using the GSM standard to be decrypted.
One solution is to make VoIP (voice over internet protocol) calls using the latest encryption techniques. But such conversations only remain safe if any recordings are similarly encrypted and the decryption codes safely guarded.

The FBI said in a statement: "The information was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained. A criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible."

London's Metropolitan Police's central e-crime unit said the matter was being investigated but that no operational risks had been identified.
It was unclear how Anonymous had managed to obtain the recording but a lawyer for one of the suspects discussed told the BBC it appeared to have been taken as an audiofile from an intercepted email, rather than having been eavesdropped on.
A comment on one of the Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous, AnonymousIRC, said: "The FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the recording, which was published on YouTube, will be highly embarrassing for the cyber crime detectives.
At one point an FBI agent thanks the Metropolitan police for their help with investigations, to which the British detective replies: "We're here to help. We've cocked things up in the past, we know that."
'Attention seeker'
According to the alleged leaked email, the 17-minute phone call took place on 17 January.
The email was sent to law enforcement officials in the US, UK, Sweden, Ireland and other countries, inviting them to "discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups".
The recording features the voices of about five men, apparently speaking from London, Los Angeles and Washington.

What is Anonymous?

Anonymous describes itself as an "internet gathering". The term is used to describe a collective of people who come together online, commonly to stage a protest.
The groups vary in size and make-up depending on the cause. Members often identify themselves in web videos by wearing the Guy Fawkes masks popularised by the book and film V for Vendetta.
Its protests often take the form of disrupting websites and services.
Its use of the term Anonymous comes from a series of websites frequented by members, such as the anarchic image board 4Chan.
These allow users to post without having to register or provide a name. As a result, their comments are tagged "Anonymous".
In the past, groups have staged high-profile protests against plans by the Australian government to filter the internet and the Church of Scientology.
Many Anonymous protests tackle issues of free speech and preserving the openness of the net.

They begin with light-hearted conversation but move on to discussing the names of some of the people being tracked and their plans for legal action.

The online pseudonyms of suspects are included in the recording, but some of the real names appear to have been bleeped out.
Among those discussed are several British men accused of being behind cyber attacks in the US and UK, including Jake Davis and Ryan Cleary who were arrested last year.
The British detectives discuss delaying some arrests while US investigations are being carried out.
The police also refer to a 15-year-old who claims to have been behind an attack on online gaming site Steam last year, where the identities and credit card details of tens of thousands of users were accessed.
"He's a 15-year-old who's basically just doing this all for attention," says the British detective.
Anonymous is a loose collective of hackers, anarchists and pranksters which has targeted the websites of a range of governments, companies, law enforcement agencies and individuals in recent years.
Also on Friday, Anonymous claimed credit for an attack on a police website in the US city of Boston. A message posted on the site said it had been hacked several months ago in response to "police brutality" towards the Occcupy Wall Street movement.
This followed another attack on a police website in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, where officials say personal information on informants, crimes and residents were accessed.
Hackers operating under the Anonymous name also took over the website of Greece's justice ministry on Friday, prompting officials to take the site down.
The hackers said the action was a protest against Greece's signing of a global copyright treaty and the government's handling of the economic crisis.
The website was replaced with a video of a figure wearing the symbolic white mask of Anonymous supporters, saying: "Democracy was given birth in your country but you have killed it."

Read more »

10 Tips To Get Google Adsense Approved in Pakistan

I know many of you’d desperately want to read this post as Google is now very strict with its Adsense account approval polices, especially for those living in Pakistan.
We know that all professional bloggers are very serious about their blogging and hence they will not get involved in any activity which is against Google Adsense Terms and Conditions. Then why Google is banning Adsense accounts of professional bloggers in third world countries like Pakistan?
Well there is a reason, that has been repeatedly discussed on this website, which is mainly the misuse of Adsense accounts in Pakistan by spammers. They create Google Adsense account via third party websites and upon approval sell these accounts to non professional bloggers, who than put ads on their spammy blogs. Sorry to say but this is not the way to earn money from Google Adsense.
Buying and selling of Google Adsense accounts is not the only misuse in Pakistan. Just pickup the newspaper and look at Classified Ads to see the number of ads related to Google Adsense. All these spammers are trapping innocent people claiming that they will tell a way through which one can easily earn 25,000 to 30,000 Rupees per month. When you contact them and ask them what is the way of earning this much money online, and guess what there answer would be “Google Adsense”.
There are hundreds if not thousands of Groups working in Pakistan, which are misleading people saying that Google Adsense is a easy way to earn money on internet.
Here’s how they trap innocent people:
Almost every trainer/fake teacher creates free blogs on blogger.com and redirect it to free domain name services like Dot.tk or Co.cc. They pick articles from article directories like Ezinearticles.com or Goarticles.com and post 5 to 10 articles on each blog. Now such a blog won’t get adsense approval, hence they get these accounts through third party website like FLixya and Docstoc. After that they put ads on these crappy blogs and show them to innocent people and charge them thousands of rupees.
One more thing I would like to add before I tell you the 10 killer Tips to get your Google Adsense account approved in Pakistan. After creating these blogs they create groups of different peoples in different cities and assign them tasks, such as visiting these websites regularly to generate impressions. Also they ask users to cross-click on Google Ads of other members to earn money.
This whole situation is really terrifying and if it continues Google will surly ban Pakistan. So we must condemn these activities and must educate our people that this is not the way to earn money from Google Adsense.
Below are the few tips through which everybody can get Google Adsense account, which is of course illegal.
10 Tips To Get Google Adsense in Pakistan
1. Buy your own Top level domain and a reputable webhosting service, examples are Godaddy or Hostgator. If you’ll buy cheap webhosting from an ordinary webhost, initially Google might accept your application but after some time when your site traffic increases Google will surly ban your Adsense account because of the slow server speed.
2. Second and most important thing now a days specially after Google Panda Update is choosing a theme or template for your site. Its better to buy premium theme rather than free themes because of SEO optimization and other rich features. This way you can tell Google that you are serious about your blogging profession and you are not a spammer.
3. Some of you might not agree with me but try to use blogger as your blogging platform and avoid WordPress. After Google banned thousands of Pakistani bloggers Adsense accounts i have manually checked nearly 100 blogs and believe me or not more than 90% blogs were on WordPress and very few Top level Domain blogger blogs were banned by Google (as we all know blogger is owned by Google so you can understand).
4. Register your domain on your own name and address and provide same name and address when you apply for Adsense account. Its better to provide working Telephone number, full address including postal code as well.
5. Wait for at-least 6 months before applying for Google Adsense. Yes I know this is the most painful step and you don’t want to wait this long but friends we are not alone in this case. China and India are also with us and Google is not accepting applications from these countries before 6 months.
6. First 6 months of your blog wants real effort and hard work. Write as much quality and unique content as you can. This will surly leave a good impression on Adsense team and no doubt they want to partnership with you.
7. Make sure you blog has neat and clean design and easy to find navigation system. Recently Google has banned many Pakistani bloggers account saying that your blog is not providing user experience.
8. Never apply for Google Adsense if your blog has less content and is not optimized according to Google terms and Conditions. Make sure your blog has Privacy policy, Copyright Policy, Disclaimer, About Us and Contact Us pages before applying for Adsense.
9. Never try to create Adsense account via third party websites like Flixya or Docstoc. If you create account from these websites and put ads onto your blog than you are wasting your blog. In future Google will surly catch you and will ban your account.
10. Make sure that your blog has at-least 300 unique visitors per day before applying for Adsense. If you blog’s traffic’s main source is Facebook than there are little chances that Google will accept your application. Try to optimize your blog so that it gets natural traffic from search engines rather than social networking websites.
Hope it helps.

Read more »

PTI Facebook Pages Hacked, Millions of Fans Lost

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s more than 30 fan pages were hacked today in a single go, costing the political party millions of fans go wasted.
No one has taken the responsibility for this massive hack down of PTI’s facebook fan pages.
Citing President of the Insaf Students Federation in Karachi, Arsalan Ghumman, The Express Tribune reported that the official Facebook pages of PTI leader Imran Khan, the student wing Insaf Students Federation, and several, more including that of Dr. Alvi were hacked into and hidden from the public’s eye.
“The pages were hijacked at 3 pm on Friday. We are in touch with the Facebook authorities to recover them,” he said.
On other hands Facebook is notorious for taking such cases non-seriously.
Reportedly, hacker first cracked the gmail id of Mr. Imran Ghazali, the web manager of PTI social media team before cracking into facebook pages of political party.
It is unclear so far if pages were deleted or are kept private (hidden from public) by the hacker.
If not recovered, this is going to be a big blow PTI’s short term plans. This incident yet again reminds us that we are living in a country without cyber law..
 

Read more »

Beating England 3-0 will be big, says Misbah

Misbah-ul Haq attends a practice session at The Dubai International Cricket Stadium

[© AFP]

Captain Misbah-ul Haq believes routing world number one England 3-0 will be a big achievement but stressed his team will not take that extra pressure into the third and final Test starting here from Friday.

No team has ever registered a clean sweep in the 58 years of Pakistan-England cricket and Misbah's team has a good chance of creating history after their comprehensive ten wicket win in the first Test and by 72 runs in the second.

England, who will also be in danger of losing their world's top rankings if they lose here, will have to find a quick solution to counter Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal (17 wickets) and left-armer Abdul Rehman who has 12 in two matches.

Misbah said Pakistan will look for an encore in the third Test.

"It will be a big achievement for the team (winning 3-0)," said Misbah of the clean sweep which Pakistan last achieved against Bangladesh at home in 2003, while their last against a top Test nation was beating West Indies 3-0 in 1997.

"The way the team is performing with consistency, if we play well like we did in the first two games good results will come but we will not take that extra pressure (of clean sweep)," said 37-year-old Misbah.

Since taking over as captain in the aftermath of spot-fixing scandal during which Pakistan lost 3-1 to England in 2010, Misbah has led Pakistan to eight wins with one defeat and five draws.

Misbah said England were still a good team and winning the last Test will not be easy.

"No doubt, England is a good team, they are number one in the world and it will not be easy because they will be more prepared, but we will try our best," said Misbah, who praised Ajmal and Rehman.

Ajmal took a career best 7-55 in the first Test here and Rehman registered his best 6-25 in the second in Abu Dhabi, feats which Misbah said were extraordinary.

"I think both have been bowling well for quite some time now and they create pressure on the batsmen and never give any opportunity to let them out of that and on top of that England batsmen were low on confidence," said Misbah.

Misbah hinted about keeping the same combination, although Pakistan have the option of using the bench player in paceman Wahab Riaz in place of Junaid Khan.

"I am a firm believer in the balance of the team because the first priority is to win and I think we will go with whatever is the best combination for the team," said Misbah, predicting the Dubai stadium pitch will help batsmen more than in the first Test.

England captain Andrew Strauss admitted the key would be countering Pakistan's spinners.

"That's one of the crucial things about playing spin, you have to adapt your game according to the surfaces you play on. I am very optimistic, you'll see people a bit clearer in what their gameplan is and how they are looking to play, which is a good starting point," said Strauss.

"These conditions are slightly different, so it's more about adapting your game to the conditions than going right back to square one and saying 'right, I need to change everything'. That's a dangerous route to go down.

"It's a setback (2-0 down) in the sense that we didn't want it to happen, and we didn't want to lose a series. But that's gone, finished - and in some ways, maybe it's a good lesson for us that if you're five percent off your game against the majority of sides you're going to come unstuck."

"We desperately want to avoid losing the series 3-0; we desperately want to come back and show we're better than we have shown so far in the series. I think there's a feeling among the whole squad that we can and should come back and do that."

Strauss added that middle-order batsman Ian Bell was fit after suffering stomach problem which forced him to miss practice on Wednesday.

The only question remaining is whether England will play with two spinners or drop one from Graeme Swann or Monty Panesar.

Read more »

Wi-Fi Service, Cellphone Headed for More Subway Stations

 Wall Street Journal

By Ted Mann

Rob Bennett for The Wall Street Journal

Subway travelers have been able to used cellphones in the C, E line station at Eighth Avenue and 23rd Street since September. Cell service is scheduled for 30 more stations this year.

Cellphone service will arrive at 30 additional subway stations in 2012, including Times Square and Rockefeller Center, broadening access to include much of Midtown, the firm conducting the improvements said this week.
Transit Wireless, which launched cell service in six stations on 14th and 23rd Streets in September, is working to extend cellphone access to the 30 new stations this summer. Construction is slated to begin in April, a spokesman said.
Among the stations scheduled to be wired for cell service this year are those at Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle and stations along 96th Street. A full list of the new locations is below.
The stations would come online in groups of five or six at a time, beginning in July or August, said Patrick Smith, spokesman for Transit Wireless.
Transit Wireless has negotiated deals with AT&T and T-Mobile to provide cell coverage in the subways, and negotiations with other wireless carriers for access to its underground system is ongoing, the company said.
The company also plans to announce the launch of free wireless Internet access in six subway stations within the next several weeks, said Smith. The wi-fi access would be free to subway passengers, and paid for through a sponsorship arrangement still under negotiation.
The MTA has previously estimated the cost of wiring all 271 subway stations in the transit system at roughly $200 million, a cost being borne entirely by Transit Wireless. Transit Wireless and MTA will share proceeds of the company’s contracts with wireless carriers, MTA officials have said, with a minimum annual payment to the transit system of $3.3 million once the cellphone network is complete.
“Bringing wireless service into our underground subway system reinforces the MTA’s effort to use technology to improve customer convenience that allows them to stay in touch with friends, relatives and business contacts,” said Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the MTA. “And by having access to real-time service status updates while underground, riders can better navigate the system.”
Meanwhile, the MTA announced the winners of its App Quest contest, in which software developers built applications to display subway data and schedules on smart phones. The winning app, called EmbarkNYC, features GPS navigation, street and subway system maps, and a trip planning feature that doesn’t require a cell phone signal to be operational.
A list of the contest winners is at the MTA’s contest website.
Stations scheduled to begin cell phone service in 2012:
1, 2, 3 station, W. 96th Street & Broadway
1 station, W. 86th Street & Broadway
1 station, W. 79th Street & Broadway
1, 2, 3 station, W. 72nd Street & Broadway
1 station, W. 66th Street & Broadway
1 station, Columbus Circle, W. 59th Street & Broadway
1 station, W. 50th Street & Broadway
1, 2, 3 station, Times Square, W. 42nd Street & Broadway
1 station, 7th Ave. & W. 28th Street 1 station, 7th Ave. & W. 23rd Street
1 station, 7th Ave. & W. 18th Street
B, C station, West 96th Street & Central Park West
B, C station, West 86th Street & Central Park West
B, C station, West 81st Street & Central Park West
B, C station, West 72nd Street & Central Park West
A, B, C, D station, Columbus Circle, W. 59th Street & Broadway
B, D, E station, 7th Ave. & W. 53rd Street
C, E station, 8th Ave. & W. 50th Street
B, D, F, M station, Rockefeller Center, 6th Ave. and W. 47-50th Streets
A, C, E station, Times Square, 8th Ave. & W. 42nd Street
N, Q, R station, 5th Ave. & W.59th Street
N, Q, R station, 7th Ave. & W. 57th Street
N, Q, R station, 7th Ave. & W. 49th Street
N, Q, R station, Times Square, W. 42nd Street & Broadway
R station, W. 28th Street & Broadway
R station, Madison Square, W. 23rd Street & Broadway
7 station, Times Square, W. 42nd Street & Broadway
Shuttle, Times Square, W. 42nd Street & Broadway
F station, 6th Ave. & 57th Street
E, M station, 5th Ave. & 53rd Street
Stations with existing cell phone coverage:
A, C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
L station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street
1, 2, 3 station at Seventh Avenue and West 14th Street
F, M station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street
L station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street

Read more »

US TODAY: Slain border agent's family files $25M claim against U.S.

PHOENIX -- The family of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry filed a $25 million wrongful death claim Wednesday against the federal government, saying he was killed because U.S. investigators allowed murder weapons into the hands of criminals.

Terry died Dec. 14, 2010, when his special-operations unit got into a shootout with border bandits in a remote canyon area near Rio Rico. At the scene, investigators found two AK-47s that were traced back to a gun-smuggling probe by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Congressional investigations and Department of Justice records have since revealed that ATF agents allowed as many as 1,400 guns to be transported into Mexico, and that the AK-47s were purchased by a known firearms trafficker. The so-called "gun-walking" strategy used in Operation Fast and Furious remains the subject of inquiries by Congress and the Department of Justice's inspector general.

• STORY: Justice, House GOP tangle over Fast and Furious

In the civil claim, which is a required legal step prior to the filing of a lawsuit, Terry's family says federal agents were not only negligent, but acted "in violation of ATF's own policies and procedures."

"The murder of Agent Terry and other acts of violent crimes were the natural consequence of ATF's decision to let dangerous weapons designed to kill human beings 'walk' into the hands of violent drug-trafficking gangs," says the claim, filed by Phoenix attorneys Patrick McGroder III and Lincoln Combs.

The 65-page document was filed on behalf of Terry's parents, Josie and Kent Terry Sr., as well as surviving siblings. In it, family members criticize federal authorities for attempting to cover up the flawed strategy in Fast and Furious, and its connection with Brian Terry's death.

The claim says family members met in March 2011 with former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, who resigned amid the scandal. The claim alleges he incorrectly said that guns found at the scene were from a store in Texas, and that the fatal bullet would never be found even though it was recovered during an autopsy.

"Burke hemmed and hawed, bobbed and weaved, refused to give straight answers, and flat-out lied about when he knew about Brian's death and Operation Fast and Furious," the family alleges.

The claim contains poetry, dozens of family photographs, lyrics from Terry's favorite songs and a detailed account of his life. In explanation of the $25 million demand, it concludes: "The love and companionship of a beloved son, warrior and American hero like Brian is impossible to quantify, but it is worth at least that much."

Wagner also reports for The Arizona Republic.

Read more »

Miami Herald to occupy a Memphis-owned building

A Memphis-based commercial real estate firm is exchanging one high-profile tenant in Miami for another, from the U.S. Southern Command headquarters to the Miami Herald.
The Miami Herald Media Company has signed a lease for the 158,000-square-foot building SMPO Properties built and opened in Doral in 1997 for $40 million.
The newspaper will move its business and news staffs of more than 700 people 12 miles inland from its longtime headquarters on the Atlantic in Downtown Miami to the affluent Doral suburb.
SMPO, owned by Oscar Seelbinder, built the building. GPA-I, a special-purpose business entity created for the project, took ownership and leased it to the Southern Command until the military moved out last August.
The Southern Command oversees military activity in South and Central America during crisis situations and disasters.
Seelbinder is also a partner in GPA-I with fellow Memphians including Jerry Sklar, an attorney; Ron Sklar, a builder-developer; and John H. Montgomery, who splits his time between Memphis and Chicago.
The Herald had been hunting for a new home. Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co., which owns the Miami Herald, sold the Herald’s seaside headquarters eight months ago for $236 million with the agreement the paper could stay rent-free for up to two years.
The Herald signed a 15-year lease for the two-story office building and nine acres. GPA also sold an adjacent six acres where the Herald will build a 120,000-square-foot production facility.
The Miami Herald lease isn’t the only big deal landed recently by SMPO, which is headquartered at 5858 Ridgeway Center Parkway in East Memphis.
Just before the Herald lease, SMPO completed a deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lease for 20 years a 45,000-square-foot laboratory building in Los Angeles.
“It’s the second-largest lab the USDA will have in the United States,” Seelbinder said. “The value of the lab is more valuable than the property leased to the Herald.”
SMPO was founded in 1984. It’s a comprehensive commercial real estate firm and what Seelbinder describes as a “merchant builder.’’
“You build things and then you sell them,” Seelbinder explained.
It began by building and leasing out post office buildings. SMPO has built more than 150 of them.
But the company also has built a CVS pharmacy, AutoZone stores, four FedEx facilities ranging from 115,000 to 575,000 square feet, and Captain D’s restaurants.
SMPO has sold the vast majority of the nearly 200 properties it has built over the years across 40 states, Seelbinder said.
“We only have a couple left,” he said. “It’s difficult to hold on when people offer prices. In merchant building, you put up property that’s income-producing. In essence, somebody will pay us more than we feel it’s worth and we sell it.”
In addition to developing, SMPO is a commercial real estate broker of government leased and credit-rated tenant transactions. The combined value of its brokered deals over the years exceeds $500 million.
SMPO also manages property, and as SMPO Financial, LLC, it even structures commercial real estate loans of $750,000 to more than $100 million.
Despite its successes and longevity, SMPO doesn’t seem that well known.
“There’s never been an importance placed on being in the public eye,’’ Seelbinder said.
“The primary business we do has more to do with public bids to government, and relationships with credit tenants. It just never has seemed important to have publicity.”

Read more »

Women’s Tennis: WVU Hosts Pitt and Akron

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia women’s tennis team will play host to Pitt on Friday at 3 p.m., as well as Akron on Sunday at 12 p.m., with both matches being held at the Ridgeview Racquet Club.

Tina Samara

The Mountaineers enter Friday’s tilt against the Panthers with an 0-3 record, but are coming off a loss to No. 9 Virginia in which coach Tina Samara saw strides in the right direction.

“We took some positives away from our match against a very tough Virginia team,” says Samara. “We competed on Tuesday, and if we bring that same fire to the court this weekend, we like our chances.”

WVU had the opportunity to square off against players from Pitt, who enters the match at 1-1, during the fall season at the Martha Thorn Invitational and the ITA Regionals.

“We saw some of Pitt’s players this fall,” Samara says. “They have some strengths at certain spots, but I definitely think that they are beatable. Again, it comes down to what we do. If we stay within ourselves and do what we are capable of, we will be fine, but that is a big if.”

The Mountaineers lead the all-time series against the Panthers, 29-4.

“We should be coming out with more fire than normal because it is Pitt,” Samara says of the rivalry. “There is a little extra behind it. We made sure the upperclassmen told the younger girls what this match is all about.”

Sunday’s match against Akron (2-0) will present a different difficulty to the Mountaineers, as the Zips come in as a somewhat unfamiliar opponent. WVU did not compete against them in the fall.

“We don’t know a whole lot about Akron,” Samara says. “We have looked over their results, and they look like a pretty solid team.”

Akron won 5-2 over Michigan State on Jan. 22 and will enter Sunday’s match having played two matches the day prior.

In order for the Mountaineers to be successful in both matches this weekend, junior Emily Mathis will need to continue her strong play in the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles spot.

“I am not worried Emily,” Samara says. “She will go out and do her best. She will fight hard and do what she does to get wins.”

A full recap of both matches will be available on MSNsportsNET.com after the completion of competition.

Read more »

Spoonhour remembered as basketball 'pied piper'

His college basketball teams won 373 games and, with high school and junior college, the total was just short of 700.
But what Charlie Spoonhour really had wanted to do growing up in Rogers, Ark., was to play second base for the Cardinals.
Spoonhour, the former Missouri State and St. Louis University coach who died at age 72 in Chapel Hill, N. C., Wednesday after battling a lung affliction for two years, was a Cardinals fan his entire life. He regularly would come to spring training in either St. Petersburg, Fla., or Jupiter, Fla., after whatever team he was coaching had been eliminated from postseason play.
Once, after his University of Nevada-Las Vegas club had lost at South Carolina in the NIT, he bolted immediately to the airport, flew to Atlanta, spent the wee hours in the airport there and arrived in Jupiter well ahead of his luggage, wearing only his Runnin' Rebels warmup jacket and the same pants he had sported at the game.
Another time, Cardinals manager Joe Torre suited Spoonhour up for an exhibition game and had him sit on the bench next to him. He even let Spoonhour try to flash the squeeze sign to the third-base coach although by the time "Spoon" had gone through his gyrations, everybody on both sides knew what was up.
"He loved baseball," said Henry Iba Jr., perhaps Spoonhour's best coaching friend. "If that wasn't his first love, it was his second, as far as sports."
Spoonhour had been in and out of the Duke University Medical Center for the past couple of years after getting a lung transplant there in 2010. He had been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a scarring of the lungs.
There had been plans to replace Spoonhour's other lung but there were too many complications from the first surgery and his body never was strong enough to endure another procedure. Spoonhour, whose weight had dropped to 110 pounds, was brought home to hospice care in Chapel Hill, on Tuesday.
"It was peaceful," said his wife, Vicki, who was at his side with other members of his family. "It was better than being in the hospital."
Testimonials from all over the country poured in Wednesday and a couple of hundred spoons were stuck in the ground at a SLU quadrangle in honor of Spoonhour.
When his teams were filling the old Arena in the mid-1990s at 17,000 a night, the sign everyone wanted to see at the end of the game was the one which said, "Stick a Spoon in 'Em. They're Done."
As much as Spoonhour loved both basketball and baseball players, friends loved him as much, if not more.
"I don't think you can think of anybody who disliked Charlie," said Iba, who had Spoonhour on his staff as an assistant at Nebraska from 1981-83 before Spoonhour got his first head coaching job at Southwest Missouri State the next season.
Larry Garrett, Spoonhour's longtime friend from Rogers, Ark., said, "there have been at least 12 people who have said Charlie was their best friend. You don't hear of that very often."
At Southwest Missouri (now Missouri State), Spoonhour's teams were 197-81 with five NCAA appearances. At SLU, Spoonhour compiled a 122-90 mark with three NCAA appearances.
He finished his coaching career at UNLV from 2001-04 with a 57-31 mark before retiring with a heart issue.
Scott Highmark, a star in the mid-1990s under Spoonhour at St. Louis U., said, "Coach Spoon always wanted us to have fun. When he came here, the tone was pretty negative. But he said to (Erwin) Claggett and me, 'We're just going to have fun. This is not like life and death.'
"He was like a pied piper. People would come to a game just to see Charlie Spoonhour coach. Who does that?
"He just had a way of connecting with people better than anyone I've ever been around. The wins and losses were great. But it was more the human being. He just drew people to him. ... He was one of a kind."
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins knows that. Huggins, one of Spoonhour's closest friends in the business, got to know Spoonhour best when the former coached at the University of Cincinnati and Spoon was at SLU.
"Guys in our profession know that it's gone well beyond what it used to be," said Huggins. "Guys were friends and you had dinner the night before a game. It always happened with us. We always got together the night before a game and sometimes afterwards."
Huggins' favorite story concerning Spoonhour took place in March 1995 at Milwaukee, site of the Great Midwest Conference tournament. All the teams were staying at the same hotel.
"We're getting ready to play DePaul and (coach) Joey Meyer," Huggins said, "and he calls me and says, 'Come up here (to his room). I said that I was watching DePaul tape. And he says, 'Then you're not as smart as you think you are. You've already played them two times.'
"So I go upstairs and sit around and do what we always do (12-ouncers were involved). We both win and the next night we're getting ready to play Memphis and he's playing Marquette. He calls me and says, 'Junior (his nickname for Huggins), I believe it's your night to host.' I was watching Memphis tape but I said, 'All right, come on down.' He was in my room all night.
"We beat Memphis and they beat Marquette and now we're playing each other in the tournament championship. He says, 'Junior, I'm a man of my word. It's my turn. Come on up.' "
After another night together, the two then walked near Lake Michigan the next morning before the game and Huggins and his team repaired for a pregame meal. For one reason or another, Spoonhour had been closed out of his team's meal so, when Huggins saw Spoonhour standing near the door of the restaurant, Huggins invited Spoonhour to eat with his team.
As was his custom with nearly everyone else, the home-spun Spoonhour had Huggins and the Bearcats in stitches. The game ensued and Cincinnati won by two points on a last-second shot. "We slap hands afterward and then Spoon says, 'Well, Junior, it looks like you're hosting tonight,' "Huggins said.
"There was nobody better," Huggins said. "There's never been a better person. He's a really special guy."
For many years, when he wasn't coaching, Spoonhour was an analyst, most often for the Missouri Valley games. In fact, Spoonhour will be among the honorees on March 2 here as he and five others are inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame.
MVC commissioner Doug Elgin said, "He was very upbeat about that. Right up until the end, he was very excited about coming back here.
"Charlie was unforgettable," Elgin said. "He was a very legendary figure — bigger than life — both as a person and as a coach. And whatever you saw with him wasn't a schtick. He never forgot his roots. He may have moved on to St. Louis and other places but there still was a lot of northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri down-home-boy in him."
Vicki Spoonhour said Charlie told her in his final hours, "'Don't spend the money on a funeral.' He didn't want all of his friends flying in for a funeral and crying. He said, 'Have a party.'
"He had a lot of friends," Vicki Spoonhour said. "He had 348 contacts on his phone. I think everyone considered him a friend. That says a lot about him."
Services will be private in North Carolina, Vicki Spoonhour said. Spoonhour is survived by sons Jay, head coach at Moberly Area Community College, and Stephen, in addition to five grandchildren.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/charlie-spoonhour-remembered-as-basketball-pied-piper/article_ef71b3af-40bb-5351-bf6d-2f6bb3e1eef5.html#ixzz1lGWrXrJN

Read more »

Cricket: Black Caps lose early wickets

Expand

Martin Guptill. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Black Caps have lost two early wickets in the first ODI against Zimbabwe at University Oval in Dunedin today.
LIVE SCORING
Nicol was dismissed for a duck in the sixth delivery of the match after edging to Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor at first slip off Keegan Meth.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, batting a three today, then fell in the second over for just three runs when Kyle Jarvis trapped him LBW, leaving the Black Caps at 4 for two.
That introduced Kane Williamson to the crease who joined opener Martin Guptill.
Earlier Taylor won the toss and sent New Zealand into bat.
New Zealand are playing three debutants today with Dean Brownlie, Tom Latham and Andrew Ellis all playing their first ODIs for the Black Caps. Jacob Oram is New Zealand's 12th man.
Zimbabwe won the last clash between the two sides in Bulawayo in November after chasing down a mammoth 328-run target.

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (c), Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Dean Brownlie, Nathan McCullum, Andrew Ellis, Doug Bracewell, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee. 12th man: Jacob Oram.
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (c), Hamilton Mazakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Regis Chakabva, Tatenda Taibu, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Keegan Meth, Shingirai Mazakadza, Ray Price, Kyle Jarvis. 12th man: Tino Mawoyo.
- HERALD ONLINE

Read more »

Ali's Legendary Trainer Angelo Dundee Dies at 90

n this Jan. 14, 2012, file photo, Muhammad Ali, right, celebrates his 70th birthday next to his longtime trainer Angelo Dundee at a fund raiser for the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. (The Muhammad Ali Center/AP Photo)

Celebrated boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's cornerman in his greatest fights, has died at the age of 90.

"Angelo died surrounded by family and friends," his family said in a statement. "He was very happy that he got to celebrate Ali's (70th) birthday earlier this year and also that he got to go to the Hall of Fame.

The genial trainer got to see his old friend, and reminisce about good times. It was almost as if they were together in their prime again, and what a time that was.

Dundee died in his apartment in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday night at the age of 90, and with him a part of boxing died, too.

He was surrounded by his family, said his son, Jimmy, who said the visit with Ali in Louisville, Ky., meant everything to his Dad.

"It was the way he wanted to go," the son said. "He did everything he wanted to do."

Jimmy Dundee said his father was hospitalized for a blood clot last week and was briefly in a rehabilitation facility before returning to his apartment.

"He was coming along good yesterday and then he started to have breathing problems. My wife was with him at the time, thank God, and called and said he can't breathe. We all got over there. All the grandkids were there. He didn't want to go slowly," the son said.

Dundee was the brilliant motivator who worked the corner for Ali in his greatest fights, willed Sugar Ray Leonard to victory in his biggest bout, and coached hundreds of young men in the art of a left jab and an overhand right.

More than that, he was a figure of integrity in a sport that often lacked it.

"To me, he was the greatest ambassador for boxing, the greatest goodwill ambassador in a sport where there's so much animosity and enemies," said Bruce Trampler, the longtime matchmaker who first went to work for Dundee in 1971. "The guy didn't have an enemy in the world."

How could he, when his favorite line was, "It doesn't cost anything more to be nice."

Dundee was best known for being in Ali's corner for almost his entire career, urging him on in his first fight against Sonny Liston through the legendary fights with Joe Frazier and beyond. He was a cornerman, but he was much more, serving as a motivator for fighters not so great and for The Greatest.

Promoter Bob Arum said he had been planning to bring Dundee to Las Vegas for a Feb. 18 charity gala headlined by Ali.

"He was wonderful. He was the whole package," Arum said. "Angelo was the greatest motivator of all time. No matter how bad things were, Angelo always put a positive spin on them. That's what Ali loved so much about him."

Arum credited Dundee with persuading Ali to continue in his third fight against Joe Frazier when Frazier was coming on strong in the "Thrilla in Manilla." Without Dundee, Arum said, Ali may not have had the strength to come back and stop Frazier after the 14th round in what became an iconic fight.

Dundee also worked the corner for Leonard, famously shouting, "You're blowing it, son. You're blowing it" when Leonard fell behind in his 1981 fight with Tommy Hearns — a fight he would rally to win by knockout.

A master motivator and clever corner man, Dundee was regarded as one of the sport's great ambassadors. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992 after a career that spanned six decades, training 15 world champions, including Leonard, George Foreman, Carmen Basilio and Jose Napoles.

"He had a ball. He lived his life and had a great time," Jimmy Dundee said. "He was still working with an amateur kid, a possible Olympic kid, down here. When he walked into a boxing room he still had the brain for it."

Read more »

Israel could launch military strike on Iran 'within nine months

Israel could launch an air strike against Iran within nine months in a bid to slow Tehran's progress towards building a nuclear weapon, according to a former senior White House aide.

Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat on the Middle East, said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not necessarily feel restrained by objections from President Barack Obama, despite his country's historically close ties with Washington.

His remarks came as Israel's chief of military intelligence, Gen Aviv Kochavi, said Israel was convinced Iran had enough radioactive material to produce four nuclear bombs.

"Iran is very actively pursuing its efforts to develop its nuclear capacities, and we have evidence that they are seeking nuclear weapons," he said.

With anxiety about an Israeli attack spreading, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said: "I worry that there will be a military conflict and that certain countries might seek to take matters into their own hands."

Britain, he said, had been attempting to demonstrate "that there are very tough things we can do which are not military steps in order to place pressure on Iran".

Read more »

Taliban will retake Afghanistan: US

LONDON: The Taliban are set to retake control over Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country.

That’s according to a leaked US report, which also accuses Pakistan of assisting the Taliban in attacking NATO forces.

The Times of London newspaper said the document’s findings were based on interrogations of more than 4-thousand Taliban and al Qaeda detainees. Pakistan denies the charge, describing the report as "frivolous" and going against the country’s policy of "non-interference".

The leaked report comes as the US and Afghan governments are trying to enter peace talks with the Taliban. Despite the presence of about 100-thousand foreign troops, the UN says violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.

Large parts of Afghanistan have recently been handed back to the Afghan security forces, with the last foreign troops due to leave by the end of 2014.

Read more »

UAE, Qatar stop trade finance to Iran over sanctions

 The central banks of UAE and Qatar have told lenders to stop financing trade withIran, bankers said on Thursday, cutting another source of credit for a country struggling under Western economic sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.

The Gulf has a long history of trade with Iran, especially in Dubai where there is a large Iranian trading community, and Gulf banks had been expected to fill a funding gap for the import of grains left by European lenders banned from financing trade by EU sanctions.

"Banks in Dubai were asked by the UAE central bank to stop issuing letters of credit to finance trade with Iran. Before the sanctions, the central bank regularly checked on trading with Iran and wanted to know of all dealings between the two countries," said a Dubai-based banker active in trade financing.

"Banks can't do this anymore."

About 8,000 Iranian traders are registered in Dubai, and re-export trade between Iran and the UAE totalled 19.5 billion dirhams ($5.32 billion) in the first half of 2011, according to the latest figures from United Arab Emirates' customs authority.

Qatar's central bank also recently told banks to stop providing credit for Iranian trade, according to a senior Doha-based banker.

Iran is struggling under the weight of sanctions. Its currency, the rial, has depreciated, there has been a run on its banks and inflation is rising, U.S. intelligence chiefs have said.

The United States imposed the harshest sanctions so far on Iran, banning transactions involving Iran's central bank, and the European Union has banned the import, purchase or transport of Iranian oil, cutting off its main foreign currency earner.

The 27-member bloc also agreed in January to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank to try to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at producing an atomic weapon.

Iran denies the charge.

The sanctions, which Western powers say are aimed only at the Iranian administration, may be having unexpected consequences.

SHIPMENTS STOP

Iran is heavily dependent on grain imports for animal feed, but some 10 ships have been unable to deliver grain to Iran for more than three weeks after banks refused to process payments, or offer loans to, Iranian buyers.

On Thursday, up to five of those vessels may have been diverted to new destinations, ship tracking data showed.

]

The United Arab Emirates' central bank ordered financial institutions two years ago to freeze Iran-linked accounts belonging to firms targeted by United Nations sanctions.

In Bahrain, which has traditionally had more limited trade ties with Iran, there have been no guidelines.

"Business with Iranians flourished in the past but Bahrain was never a trading hub like Dubai," one senior banker said. "Financing export of goods through the ports wasn't really a prime line of business."

Iranian trade with Dubai has flowed for decades, plied by wooden dhows carrying household goods and basic commodities such as grain, rice and sugar.

"Historically, grain came to Dubai from South America, mainly Argentina, the USA and EU, mainly France and then re-exported from Dubai to Iran," said the Dubai-based banker.

Read more »