COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’’s world record bowler Muttiah Muralitharan will retire from Test cricket after his country’’s first Test against India later this month, the governing body of the sport said Tuesday.

“Muttiah Muralitharan has decided to retire from Test cricket after the first Test in Galle versus India commencing July 18,” Sri Lanka Cricket said on its website.

Muralitharan, 38, who is affectionately known as Murali, is the most successful bowler in history with a record 792 Test wickets and 515 one-day international wickets.

Sri Lanka Cricket said he had the blessing of President Mahinda Rajapakse to retire early, although he had previously said he wanted to remain until the 2011 World Cup.

Murali’’s manager, Kushil Gunasekara, said the star spinner had decided to take early retirement from Test cricket as he could no longer keep up with the demands of the longer form of the game.

“He decided to fast-track his decision because he realised that his body could not take the vigorous kind of physical demands of a five-day match,” Gunasekara said.

“The best time to go is when you know that you can”t do it the way you did
before.”

He said Murali had originally wanted to play Test cricket at least till the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka later this year.

“Everything in life has an expiry date,” Gunasekara said, adding that the world’’s greatest Test wicket-taker may be available for the 2011 World Cup.

“I think, probably, he will be available for the 2011 World Cup,” he said adding, however, that there was no finality on that.

Muralitharan was a member of Sri Lanka’’s World Cup winning team in 1996. He has played 132 Tests, 337 ODIs and 11 Twenty20 matches.

Factfile on world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, who is retiring from Test cricket later this month:

Full name: Muttiah Muralitharan

Born : April 17, 1972 in Kandy

Age : 38 years

Major teams: Sri Lanka, Chennai Super Kings, Kent, Lancashire, Tamil Union Cricket Club

Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Test record: 132 matches, 792 wickets, 22.71 average.

One-day record: 337 matches, 515 wickets, 23.07 average.

Twenty20 internationals: 11 matches, 13 wickets, 20.46 average

(Muralitharan is the leading wicket-taker in both Test and one-day cricket.)

Test debut: v Australia, Colombo, August 1992.

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BEIJING: President Asif Ali Zardari was accorded a warm welcome when he arrived here on Tuesday evening on a six-day official visit to China.

The president, who arrived in a commercial flight, was received at the Beijing international airport by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhi Jun and senior officials.

Pakistan’’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan and senior officials of Pakistan Embassy were also present at the airport.

The president’’s visit is aimed at boosting the multi dimensional ties with particular emphasis on reviewing progress in a number of new developmental initiatives undertaken during the last two years as well as inviting Chinese entrepreneurs to further bolster their investment in Pakistan.

According to Ambassador Masood Khan, during President Zardari’’s July 6-10 official visit the “two countries will make determined efforts to take the relationship to new heights.”

The president, who has a busy official agenda, will have talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao. He would also have meetings with Premier Wen Jiabao and Chairman Chinese People’’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Jia Qinglin.

Chinese ministers of agriculture and water resources will also have meetings with the President.

President Zardari would also reach out to the corporate sector. Chairmen, presidents, and chief executive officers of leading finance and banking institutions, as well as energy, defense production, mining, oil and gas industry would meet the President.

During the president’’s visit, two forums have been organised -the first focusing on Pakistan-China Economic Cooperation to be held in Beijing and the second on Alternative Energy in Shanghai. More than 40 top Chinese enterprises would participate in these forums.

The president would also visit Tsinghua University to inaugurate a photographic exhibition on Mohenjodaro and Gandhara civilizations. In Shanghai, he would visit Pakistan and Chinese pavilions at Shanghai Expo 2010.

The objective of this visit is to strengthen strategic partnership, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural ties between Pakistan and China.

Both countries would intensify their joint efforts against terrorism, and promote regional and international peace and stability to maintain mutual solidarity in the international organisations and forums.

The bilateral trade, with a volume of US $7 billion at present, is picking up momentum. Economic cooperation is expanding in energy, mining, infrastructure, agriculture, construction, telecommunications and port development sectors.

“Meeting between the leadership of the two countries would give fresh impetus to this cooperation,” said Ambassador Masood Khan while talking to Pakistani and Chinese media persons here.

Pakistan and China enjoy an all-weather and time-tested friendship. The leadership of both sides will take further steps to increase exchanges between students, academics, researchers, parliamentarians, media persons, scientists, and artists.

“We would invest, especially in people-to-people contacts,” said Ambassador Masood Khan.

Chinese print and electronic media is scheduled to interview President Zardari in Beijing and Shanghai.

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Pakistan News

LAHORE

MILLIONS of acres of fertile land may become barren due to long closure of Chashma-Jehlum Link Canal, said the Kissan Board Pakistan (KB

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’’s spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan will retire from international cricket after the first Test against India in Galle starting July 18, media reports said.

Murali is the leading wicket taker in both older formats of cricket. He will not play international cricket but said he will be available for Sri Lanka if the country needs him.

Murali has taken 792 wickets in 132 Test and 515 wickets in 337 ODIs since his debut in 1992-93 season.

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LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the suicide attacks at Data Darbar are extremely condemnable; but, the subsequent statements by leaders of Pakistan People’’s Party (PPP) are equally deplorable, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Talking to media outside Punjab Assembly, Rana Sanaullah stressed upon concrete intelligence sharing on the part of the federal government, adding the dilemma whether to talk to Taliban or not, could be resolved only at national level.

The law minister said the government has vigilant eye on the outlawed outfits and their activists in the province.

Commenting on the statement given by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Khawja Sharif regarding the PPP, Sanaullah remarked that it ill behooved him to give the statement; however, the way the PPP is passing statements against this constitutional office of the LHC, is also not up to the mark.

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LAHORE

CHIEF Justice of Lahore High Court Khwaja Muhammad Sharif on Monday took suo motu notice of an incident of disgrace of a woman and her d

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KARACHI: In the stock market, volumes continued to remain low and the index edged lower, as investors continued to remain on the sidelines, cautious over a new capital gains tax and awaiting the re-introduction of margin buying, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index, ended 0.35 percent, or 33.56 points, lower at 9,604.41.

Turnover was 23.24 million shares, up from 14.71 million shares traded on Monday, which was the lowest since December 2008.

“The abnormally low volumes are because of the new tax and I think trades will pick up once the leverage products are introduced again,” said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities.

In its budget for the 2010/11 fiscal year, the government imposed a capital gains tax of 10 percent on stocks held for six months or less, and 7.5 percent on stocks held between 6 months and a year.

The tax was activated on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Dealers said investors were also hoping for there-introduction of margin buying in the market, which will improve liquidity and result in better volumes.

KSE authorities and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) met last month to discuss margin buying and other leveraged products, and decided to form a committee required to submit its recommendations within 15 working days.

A meeting of the stakeholders to discuss the issue is scheduled for Wednesday, dealers said.

The Pakistani rupee fell to a new closing low on Tuesday because of increased dollar demand from importers, but dealers said the local unit was unlikely to post sharp losses in days ahead.

The rupee ended at a record 85.54/59 to the dollar, down from 85.45/50 on Monday.

“There were was pretty heavy demand for the dollar today, which exceeded its supplies and so the rupee fell,” said a dealer at a foreign bank.

“However, it’’s not a panic-like situation, and the rupee is unlikely to start a free-fall from here,” he said.

Dealers said payments worth $150-200 million were made on Tuesday, mostly for oil imports.

“I think for the time being the rupee will move in the band of 85.35-85.70,” said another dealer.

“It is unlikely to strengthen too much but at the same time a sharp fall is also not expected.”

In the money market, overnight rates ended at 11.0-11.5, little changed from Monday, and dealers said they expected them to remain around current levels in the absence of any major cash inflows.

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ISLAMABAD: The graduation degree of Punjab Assembly legislator belonging to PML-Q, Samina Khawar Hayat proved bogus, sources told Geo News Wednesday.

According to the sources, she submitted the BBA degree of Riphah International University and claimed to have received it in 2004 while the said university was established in 2005.

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Pakistan News

DURBAN: Having beaten World Cup favorites Brazil in the quarter-finals, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk has warned his players not to take the less

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LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that lawyers are in the forefront for the dispensation of justice to people and it is the duty o

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