LAHORE: Members of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)?s governing board have begun consultations to bring expression of no confidence against chief operating officer Wasim Bari.

The PCB governing board meeting is going to be held on Monday and its eight-point agenda has been sent to the members.

International tours programme will be discussed besides domestic cricket at the meeting.

As there is only one day left before the meeting the governing board members have started lobbying against the chief operating officer in full swing.

Their stance in this regard is that Wasim Bari has insulted Dr Mohammad Ali Shah by sending him notice on making a statement.

The board members feel that the salaried officers of the PCB are openly criticizing the team. Players are themselves making statements against each other so how the chairman explaining code of conduct to the board members.

It is interesting to note that tenure of seven board members expires on October 29.

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Pakistan News

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is canceling plans to send a3,500-member Army brigade to Iraq, a move that speeds the drawdown there and could free up forces as President Barack Obama considers sending new troops to Afghanistan.

The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, had been scheduled to relieve another combat brigade in Iraq in January.

But the brigade will no longer deploy and will now return to the Army’’s pool of available combat forces, the Defense Department said Saturday.

?This decision was based on a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq and reflects the continued improvement in the ability of the Iraqi Security Forces to safeguard Iraqi citizens and institutions,”” the statement said.

The U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has recommended from as many as 80,000 more troops to as few as 10,000 for the war in Afghanistan but favors a compromise of 40,000 more forces.

Such additional forces would not be deployed until early next year at the soonest, and it is not clear how they would be fully compiled.

Obama has said he would make up his mind on additional troops in the coming weeks, and no announcement is expected before November.

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JOHANNESBURG: Pakistan?s Saadi Abbas has grabbed gold medal title in Karate championship of Commonwealth Games, Geo news reported Saturday.

According to details, in the final of 67 kilogram category, Saadi Abbas representing Pakistan defeated South Africa?s Karate Kaze.

It may be mentioned he won gold medal in Saif Games 2007 and also qualified for quarter-finals in Karate World Championship held in Tokyo.

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LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain Saturday said the time is near when the flags of the party would be waved in the towering mountains of the Northern Areas like the entire country.

According to a statement issued from Karachi, he said this while taking to the MQM office-bearers and workers by phone in Skardu.

Rabta Committee members including Wasim Aftab, Tauseef Khanzadah, Provincial Organizational Committee Incharge Altaf Zaidi, MQM Gilgit Organizer Hidayat Ali and other members of Organizing Committee and local workers in large number were present on the occasion.

Altaf Hussain believed that the sectarianism would be exterminated from Northern Areas as a result of struggle of MQM workers and the people hailing from all the schools of thought would demonstrate sectarian harmony.

He said the MQM would emerge as the biggest party of Pakistan and the resolute party workers would make Gilgit-Baltistan the fortress of the MQM and the time for this is quite near.

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Karachi

Although the local government (LG) system all over the country has ended on October 16 (Friday) after completing its four year tenure,

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HYDERABAD: A whirlwind half-century from Trinidad Tobago all-rounder Kieron Pollard saw New South Wales sink to a dramatic four-wicket defeat at the Champions League Twenty20.

NSW scored 4-170 with openers Phillip Hughes (83 off 64 balls) and David Warner (63 off 41) putting on 121 off 15.2 overs.

The Blues looked in control of the League A clash when they had their opposition reeling at 6-118 in the 16th over.

However, big hitter Pollard (54 not out off 18 balls) single-handedly turned the match around with an awesome display of power hitting, smashing five fours and five sixes.

He belted three sixes and two fours off a series of over-pitched deliveries from Moises Henriques in a 27-run 17th over which swung the match around.

Pollard and Sherwin Ganga milked eight off the next over from Brett Lee to get the target down to 16 from two overs.

Blues captain Simon Katich bravely opted to give Henriques the penultimate over.

However, the gamble failed, as Pollard smashed the opening ball for four and then belted successive sixes to clinch an improbable win with nine deliveries to spare.

The loss leaves NSW (two points) second on the League A ladder behind Trinidad and Tobago (four) and just ahead on percentage of South Africa’’s Diamond Eagles, who kept their hopes alive with a five-wicket win over English side Somerset (zero points).

The Blues need to beat Somerset on Sunday in Hyderabad to give themselves a good chance of making the last four.

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BANGALORE: Today?s first match between Cape Cobras and Victoria started 100 minutes late and it was reduced to 17-over-a-side due to bomb scare at the stadium.

An under-22 cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir staying at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) complex in the Chinnaswamy Stadium has been arrested by the Bangalore police in connection with a suspected presence of explosives at the venue.

Police asked Cape Cobras and Victoria, whose match was supposed to begin at 4.00 pm, to remain in their hotel. The players were briefed by the tournament organisers about the security situation. Spectators were being allowed into the venue after thorough checks.

Victoria chose to bat on a Bangalore pitch that has not been used so far in the tournament. They enter this game with the same eleven that pulled off a solid victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, and a win today will make them the first team to make the semi-finals.

The Cobras had a couple of changes to their side as Herschelle Gibbs and Ryan Canning were replaced by Derek Brand and Sybrand Engelbrecht.

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JOHANNESBURG: Reconstruction of the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg has been completed and it will soon be handed over to FIFA.

the newly-reconstructed Soccer City Stadium will host the inaugural match of the World Cup Football on June 11, 2010.

The Soccer City Stadium has been constructed in Johannesburg’’s southwest and is only a short distance from one of the country’’s football-crazy townships, Soweto. About 40 per cent of Johannesburg’’s population live in Soweto and this proximity is bound to make the stadium a hub of activity throughout the 2010 finals.

The ground’’s design is inspired by the iconic African pot known as the calabash, and its aesthetic appeal will be heightened when the stadium is lit at night.

The original stadium, which was known as the FNB Stadium, is situated on the same location. It had a capacity of 80,000 whereas the newly-reconstructed stadium has the capacity of 94,700.

A special encircling roof has been constructed and new floodlighting has been installed in the stadium.

This stadium has been constructed espesially for the Football World Cup 2010 and it will host host the first and final matches of the event in South Africa.

The stadium is widely regarded as the heart of football in South Africa as it has hosted many important matches through history.

In the mid 1980s, officials came together to build the first international football stadium in the country and the construction was funded from the football fraternity’’s coffers.

The Soccer City hosted the first mass rally of Nelson Mandela after his release from prison in 1990. Thousands of mourners lamented Chris Hani’’s assassination at the stadium in 1993.

It was also the venue for the 1996 CAF African Cup of Nations final, with South Africa eventually triumphing 2-0 over Tunisia.

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Karachi

Pakistan?s military cannot survive for a single day without the assistance of the United States (US), said eminent economist Haris Gazd

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LAHORE: Minister for Investment Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan Saturday said the Investment Policy would not be tabled at Senate for approval, until all the stakeholders including the chambers and trade organizations get satisfied with it.

Addressing the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here, he said the new Investment Policy would span five years, adding the government has decided to stabilize the alternate dispute resolution mechanism.

Waqar Ahmed Khan said the government wants to establish Special Economic Zones, adding the new Investment Policy would be offered legal cover, as new investment cannot be ensured without it.

Speaking on the occasion, Lahore Chamber president said the energy crisis is spiraling up, adding the industry cannot make any headway without putting an end to this crisis.

The government should increase more contacts with the chambers, he added.

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