LAHORE: Four blasts have occurred in quick succession near Al-falah theatre on Maal Road in Lahore on Friday.Six injured are being shifted to hospitals where emergency has been declared, sources said.Police has cordoned off the area while rescue teams as well as ambulances have rushed to the site of the blasts.
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LONDON: Andrew Strauss promised the England team would come together after being confirmed here Thursday as their new Test captain after the exits of former skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores.Pietersen and Moores’’s bust-up cost both men their positions Wednesday.With the Ashes just six months away, Strauss now has the job of restoring morale and making sure Pietersen continues to score the runs England expect from their star batsman. While Pietersen was England’’s captain in all forms of cricket, Strauss was still waiting to find out if he would lead the team in one-day internationals with the squad’’s January 21 departure for the Caribbean now just days away.England’’s selectors are due to meet on Friday to discuss the one-day captaincy.
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Pakistan News
A top US diplomat on Friday praised Pakistan for its crackdown on Islamists blamed for the Mumbai attacks, but called for its government to go further to rid the region of the scourge of extremism.
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LAHORE: Loud blast heard near Al-falah cinema on Maal Road on Friday, sources said.
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DOHA: Rafael Nadal made a miserable start to the first season he has ever begun as world number one, losing in the Qatar Open quarter-finals to Gael Monfils in less than an hour and a half on Thursday. But although the Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion was not at his best, he certainly did enough to have survived against most other players apart from the superbly in-form Monfils.The 22-year-old Frenchman reminded everyone during his 6-4, 6-4 win that he was tipped as a future world number one himself and that he still has the speed of foot, the weight of shot, the passion, and enough time left to achieve that goal.It did though raise questions as to whether or not Nadal - who was also beaten by Andy Murray in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Sunday - might have had his off-season preparation affected by the troublesome knee injuries which caused him to miss the last two events of 2008.World number 13 Monfils will face Andy Roddick, who defeated Romania’’s Victor Hanescu, for a place in the final.The other semi-final will be a mouthwatering clash between Roger Federer and Murray, a repeat of the 2008 US Open final won by the Swiss. Federer enjoyed a 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) win against Philipp Kohlschreiber, the eighth-seeded German, coming from 3/6 down in the tie-break to win it 8/6 with five perfectly played points in a row.Murray also enjoyed a hot streak during his 6-2, 6-4 win over Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine, which was a repeat of their US junior open final of 2004.
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Pakistan’s main spy agency has given India information about the Mumbai terror attacks, the prime minister said Friday, while denying media speculation of a rift between him and the president.
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Both militants have been linked to suicide attacks in Pakistan in recent months, and were also on the FBI’s most-wanted list for ties to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
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ISLAMABAD: US Vice President-elect Joe Biden has arrived at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to hold important discussion with President Asif Ali Zardari.Earlier, Biden was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and ambassadors Hussain Haqqani and Anne W Paterson.Biden is accompanied by Senator Lindsay Graham and will be meeting President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss various regional issues.
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Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday called on the international community to help contain tensions between India and Pakistan, calling the situation on the common border “very fragile”.
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HANGU: The curfew remained continued for fourth consecutive day in Hangu whereas closure of Kohat- Parachinar road created problems for the masses.According to official sources, the curfew was imposed in the area on Tuesday to maintain law and order during Muharramul Haram. Entry and exit routes have been closed for traffic. Local administration said curfew would continue for indefinite period.
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