LAHORE: The training camp for the Asia Cup cricket tournament to be held in Sri Lanka will begin tomorrow in Lahore in which four reserve players will also participate besides the 15-man squad.

Coach Waqar Younis told that training camp would be held under flood lights due to heat of the day and also because of the day and night matches of the Asia Cup.

The players will undergo net practice from 6-00 pm to 9-00 pm daily during which fielding will also be focused.

The training camp will continue until June 10 while the national team will go from Karachi to Sri Lanka where the Asia Cup will be played from June 15.

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KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has announced draws for the Super Football League to be held from June 11 to 31 here at the People?s Stadium Lyari.

Geo Super will telecast all these matches live.

Defending champions Islamabad United, Karachi Energy, Lahore Lajpal, Tribe Club Peshawar and Quetta Zorawar are taking part in the tournament.

In all, 23 matches will be played in the league and the first match will be played between Islamabad United and Karachi Energy on June 11.

The round matches will played upto July 24 while the semi-finals will be held on July 27 and 28 and the final will be played on July 31.

The PFF has directed to include six junior players in each team enabling the selectors to formulate the Pakistan junior team for the Under-23 Olympic Football and the SAF Games.

Each team has been allowed to play four guest footballers in the Super League.

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LAHORE

THE Lahore High Court on Monday ordered PPP MNA Amir Yar Waran from NA-184, Bahawalpur, to appear in court on June 15 in connection with

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KARACHI: Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed believes the return of former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik in the squad for Asia Cup and England t

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JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela was at the centre of a World Cup tug-of-war on Thursday as organisers said they expected him to attend the tournament kick-off and his family insisted he was too frail to appear.

The government, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party and football?s world governing body FIFA said the 91-year-old would be present for next week?s kick-off when the host nation takes on Mexico.

But his family said people had to consider his state of health, reiterating previous comments that there was therefore no way he would make the trip to Johannesburg?s Soccer City stadium.

?I, as a member of the family, together with the family, have taken the decision that my grandfather is 92 years, it would be really a challenge to take him out in a cold winter day to go and watch a game of football,? his grandson Mandla Mandela, the family?s spokesman, told AFP.

?We, as South Africans and the international community need to start considering his health. I really know that he?ll not be at the opening match.?

Mandla Mandela?s comments punctured optimism generated by statements from both the government and the party he used to lead that he would be the star guest at the opening ceremony on June 11. ?Mandela has demanded to attend the World Cup. He requested four tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, and the organisers have granted his wish,? Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile said in The Star newspaper.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was also quoted as saying that Mandela would be among the crowds at Soccer City, the flagship stadium adjoining the vast Soweto township which will stage the opening match and the July 11 final. Mandela campaigned for the World Cup to come to South Africa and was present in Zurich in 2004 when the country was named the event?s host.

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PARIS: Justine Henin?s hopes of a fifth French Open title vanished with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 fourth-round defeat by Australian seventh seed Sam Stosur on M

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GENEVA: China?s curbs on exports of some raw materials to conserve resources may not meet the stated, goals while giving Chinese manufacturers an unfa

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BRUSSELS: Nato and Pakistani leaders agreed Friday on the need to strengthen their political ties, even as they face an increasingly bloody military struggle with Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Measures could include high level exchanges and parliamentary visits, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said after meeting Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the alliance’’s Brussels headquarters.

“We have not only to confine (our cooperation) to only terrorism and extremism,” Gilani told a joint press conference, referring to the fight against Islamist insurgents in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.

“We have to look beyond that so that we can work together in future as well… there should be more cooperation with the parliamentarians.. and with high level exchange of visits,” he added.

“It has to be a process that is demand driven,” said Rasmussen, adding: “We have already started military-to-military cooperation and we stand ready to further develop that,” he stressed.

But “we should expand the political dialogue, personally I attach a lot of importance to dialogue with the parliaments,” he added, echoing his Pakistani guest.

Rasmussen said Pakistan should define the area where the Nato alliance can offer its support.

“Pakistan is determined to win against the evil forces of extremism and terrorism,” said Gilani.

“Defeat in this war is not an option for us,” he added, offering his appreciation of Nato’’s role in Afghanistan.

Rasmussen underlined that “Nato will stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish our job. There should be no misunderstanding about that.

“We count on Pakistan as a partner and we will be a a partner to Pakistan as well.”

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KARACHI: The intensity of Cyclone Phet weakened as it smashed along coastal Oman Friday, lashing the region with up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain.

Phet, once a powerful Category 4 storm, has been downgraded to Category 1 with winds of about 140 km/hr (86 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Yet Phet brought massive flooding to Muscat and whipped the capital with winds gusting above 200 km/hr (125 mph) at the height of the storm.

The storm is forecast to reenter the Arabian Sea late Friday or early Saturday before making a projected landfall near Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday.

It is expected that the cyclone will cause 20-25 ft high tides and heavy rains across Sindh from Sunday to Tuesday.

It has been raining intermittently in the coastal areas of Balochistan including Gwadar since Friday morning. The rains are expected to continue till Monday.

Meanwhile, in Badin strong and dusty winds have begun in Badin, causing fear among the locals.

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ISLAMABAD: Earthquakes measuring 5.3 in magnitude struck upper parts of the country including Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar around 05:10 pm.

The temblors were centered at Hindu Kush range. No reports of damage have been received.

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