PERTH: Cricket Australia (CA) has been forced to change the dates for the much-anticipated first Test between Australia and South Africa later this year to accommodate the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, it was announced here Thursday. With confirmation that the Champions League would be held from December 3-10, rather than in September as originally planned, the first Test at the WACA Ground has been pushed back five days to December 17-21. The Proteas, who are second in the Test rankings behind the Australians after their series win over England, were also scheduled for a three-day tour match against Western Australia from December 6-8, but that has been changed to a two-day clash on December 13 and 14. Domestic cricket fixtures in Australia will also be altered to avoid clashes with the Champions League, which will pit the best domestic Twenty20 teams from around the world against each other. CA chief executive James Sutherland said the fixture change was good news for cricket fans.
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MULTAN: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that after successful resolutions in Punjab, Sindh and NWFP Assemblies, Balochistan Assembly (BA) would also adopt a resolution in support of impeachment of the President. While talking to the newsmen here on Thursday the foreign minister said that the decision regarding impeachment was taken in consultation with all coalition partners and added that this process will be completed. He said that Pakistan has always extended diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri brothers in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). Condemning the recent killings of innocent Kashmiris, he said, it was our responsibility to point out worsening situation in the IHK and added that violence directed at innocent Kashmiri people should be stopped. He emphasized the need for enabling environment that is free of violence for sustainable peace process and to address the Kashmir issue.
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BEIJING: James Blake rescued a flagging United States at the Olympics on Thursday as Michael Phelps took a breather from his gold medal parade and superstar tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams both crashed out of the Games. Blake stunned world number one Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) to reach the semi-finals of the men’’s singles and hand his country a rare glimmer of light on a day where the mood of the Americans, having failed to pick up a single gold, was as somber as the dank Beijing weather. Serena Williams lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Russia’’s Elena Dementieva while big sister Venus slumped to a 7-5, 7-5 quarter-final defeat to China’’s Li Na. Blake, 28, collapsed to his knees and roared with delight as he celebrated his first win over Federer in nine attempts, a run stretching back to 2003. “I would say beating the number one player in the world has got to be up there,” Blake said. “The feeling, the emotion involved is huge.” Women’’s number four seed Serena, one of the favourites after a series of pull-outs, was seeking her first singles medal after winning doubles gold in 2000 but missing Athens 2004 because of injury. After a blistering start she appeared to run out of steam, double-faulting to hand Dementieva the second set and quickly going 5-1 down in the decider. “I didn”t serve really well. It was what it was,” said the glum American. The US squad mustered just one silver and four bronze medals all day leaving them on 10 golds in their medal haul of 34; China have 22 golds in a total of 35. Phelps, who raced in the 200 metres medley and 100m butterly heats on Thursday, won six golds in Athens in 2004 and has already been confirmed as the greatest Olympian of all time with five titles and five world records here. If he can win the 200m medley and the 100m butterfly, and help his country to victory in the 4×100m medley relay, Phelps will break fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’’s 36-year-old record of seven golds at one Games.
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KHAR: Around 135,000 residents have fled a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan to escape clashes between troops and Taliban militants that have left scores dead, officials said Thursday. The officials said that up to half of the population of some villages in the troubled Bajaur tribal district had moved, although militants were stopping people from leaving some areas. “We have around 135,000 people who have left their homes there,” the additional chief secretary for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Habibullah Khan, told Geo News.”We have directed officials in adjoining districts to provide shelter, food and health care to the migrating families. We are setting up more camps to help these people just like refugees,” he said. Witnesses said that thousands of families had arrived in Shabqadar, a small town adjoining the tribal belt. Local residents and welfare groups were raising funds and cooking food for them, they said. In the Mammoond area of Bajaur, Taliban militants had banned people from migrating, saying that if they left the area it would be a sign of defeat, residents said. More than 180 people, mostly militants, have died since Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships and jets started military operations in Bajaur a week ago.
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COLOMBO: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his batsmen needed to be positive against Sri Lanka’’s latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis in the upcoming one-day series.”He (Mendis) is a bit different and the batsmen need some time to settle in. We have to be positive, but ultimately it comes down to how we play him in the middle,” said the Indian skipper.The five-match series starts in Dambulla on August 18. Spinner Mendis was a revelation in the recent three-Test series against the tourists, claiming 26 wickets to play a key role in his team’’s 2-1 victory.When asked whether the Indian batsmen were now in a better position to handle the Sri Lankan spinner, Dhoni said: “It’’s tough to say anything right now, but we know what he have to do. We know our abilities and are quite confident.”
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ISLAMABAD: President of Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan said Thursday that government should restore the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry before his visit to Europe. He made this remarks while talking to media at the Benazir Bhutto Airport today.The SCBA president said Iftikhar Chaudhry would begin his European tour from November 4 and then leaves for America. However, he said, visit to Washington is not part of the program.Deposed Chief Justice would be given medal in US, Ahsan said.
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NEW DELHI: Abhinav Bindra , who is the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, was accorded warm welcome on returning home here on Wednesday.Bindra won the gold medal in the Men’’s 10m Air Rifle in Beijing on August 11 with an incredible performance in the final. He defeated China’’s Zhu Qinan, the gold medalist at Athens 2004. Bindra shot a total score of 700.5.The Indian gold-medalist was welcomed by many sports fans besides his relatives and friends on his arrival at the New Delhi airport.Bindra said on this occasion that he is very much delighted that his dream of winning the Olympic gold medal has come true.
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