BEKOJI: Bekoji is a small and modest town perched on top of an Ethiopian plateau but when it comes to its Olympic Games record, it boasts more trophies than several developed nations. The entire town had gathered around four television screens set up in cafes to watch Tirunesh Dibaba win the 10,000 metres final in Beijing, confident that the town’’s latest prodigy would add her name to a growing hall of fame. “It didn”t come as a surprise, I never doubted her victory in the first place,” said Sintayehu Eshetu, a veteran coach who once trained Tirunesh in Bekoji as part of the town’’s youth programme. After calmly staying in silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse’’s slipstream for most of the race, Tirunesh switched on the turbo in the last lap and breezed to her first Olympic victory. “There was enough competition nonetheless,” adds Sintayehu, proudly looking at his former protege posing for photographs on the cafe’’s TV screen as locals chant and cheer.
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BEIJING: No runner-up finish to her friend and rival this time. Nastia Liukin won the biggest prize of all. Liukin edged teammate Shawn Johnson for the all-around gold in women’’s gymnastics Friday in an intense matchup that lived up to its billing at the Beijing Games. Liukin finished with 63.325 points, a mere six-tenths ahead of Johnson, the reigning world champion who beat Liukin at the U.S. championships and Olympic trials only a few weeks ago. Yang Yilin of China won the bronze. “I don”t think it’’s really set in, but I feel like this journey has been so long,” Liukin said.Made even longer by having to wait for Johnson to follow her on the floor exercise.Liukin paced back and forth while Johnson, the final competitor, completed her performance, clapping as her teammate floated high in the air. In the end, it was Liukin who soared. When Johnson’’s score was posted and Liukin realized she won, tears filled her eyes. Her father and coach Valeri grabbed her in a bearhug, squeezing her tight for several minutes.
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BEIJING: Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka upset US top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan on Friday to reach the men’’s doubles final, assuring the Swiss world number one of a first Olympic medal. Federer, stunningly defeated in the singles quarter-finals by James Blake, and Wawrinka ran out 6-2, 6-4 winers in their second match of the night after earlier beating India’’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. In the other semi-final Sweden’’s Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson beat Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France in the longest three-set men’’s match in Olympic history. The eventual scoreline of 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 19-17, played over four hours and 46 minutes, added up to 59 games plus a tie-break. The previous record of 54 games was set by Australian doubles greats Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in their Atlanta 1996 semi-final win against Dutch duo Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis. Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Federer has never won an Olympic medal but finished fourth in the 2000 singles.
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MELBOURNE: New South Welshman Michael Clarke will captain Australia in the upcoming one-day series against Bangladesh, with skipper Ricky Ponting sidelined by a wrist injury. Cricket Australia announced a 14-man squad for the three-match series in Darwin here Friday. The Australians play Bangladesh on August 30, and September 3 and 6.While Ponting was left out, veteran opener Matthew Hayden was named in the squad despite a lingering achilles tendon problem. In the absence of Ponting, the 27-year-old Clarke led Australia to successive wins over the West Indies in one-dayers in early July. Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said the priority was having Ponting fit for a hectic campaign that includes an away series against India and home Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.
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Getting something in your eye can be irritating enough, but you do more damage to your eye while trying to get it out. To get dust, an eyelash
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Islamabad The counsel of Anam Naz, who remained in alleged custody of Ghulam Muhammad for five years and became mother of three illicit childr
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NEW YORK: World crude oil prices slid again on Friday as the OPEC crude producers” cartel lowered its forecast for oil demand growth, citing the weak global economy.New York’’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, closed down 1.24 dollars at 113.77 dollars a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery dropped 1.13 dollars to settle at 112.55 dollars a barrel. The September contract had expired at 112.64 dollars on Thursday. “The softening economic situation has led to a further slowdown in oil demand growth,” the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its latest monthly forecast on Friday. OPEC, which produces about 40 percent of the world’’s oil, revised its global oil demand growth forecast for 2008 down to 1.17 percent from 1.20 percent in July. The cartel also kept its 2009 forecast for oil demand growth unchanged at 1.03 percent, according OPEC’’s latest report. “Due to a major slowdown in transport and industrial fuel consumption not only in North America but also in … Europe and Pacific (industrialized nations), oil demand growth will be on the decline in 2009 which will make the world oil demand growth the lowest since 2002,” the monthly report added. OPEC predicted that world oil demand would rise to 86.90 million barrels per day in 2008 — up from its July estimate of 86.81 million bpd — and to 87.80 million bpd in 2009.
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Pakistan News
IslamabadEver since the introduction of the blood group diet, the field of nutrition too has been graced with its own brand of quackery. The b
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ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has indicated to a 30 to 35 per cent increase in tariff of all distribution companies
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NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday that the peace process with Pakistan was in danger of failing because of attacks like l
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