45 more killed in Gaza as toll reaches 151

GAZA CITY: At least 15 Palestinians were killed in new Israeli strikes on Gaza City late on Saturday, medics in the coastal enclave said.
“At least 15 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City that hit a house and a mosque,” emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. An earlier toll said 10 were killed.Another 35 were wounded in the same strike, and one more person was killed in southern Gaza´s Rafah that also injured five people, Qudra said.

The new deaths brought the toll in the fifth day of the conflict to 151, with more than 1,000 people wounded.

Earlier, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 30 people on Saturday, including two severely handicapped women in a care facility, medics said.

The Jewish state kept options open for a possible ground offensive into densely populated Gaza despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire in the conflict.

In strikes, eight people were killed in raids on Gaza City, central El-Bureij and northern Jabaliya. They included a woman aged 25, and a 16-year-old, Qudra said.

Earlier, six men were killed in the Sheikh Radwan district of western Gaza City, Qudra said. Aged from 21 to 58, they were sitting outside homes in the area when the strike hit, witnesses said. Neighbours told AFP two nephews of former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya were among them and named them as Nidal and Alaa al-Malash.

Their deaths followed an early morning strike that killed two women at a charitable association housing the disabled in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The women, Suha Abu Saada and Ola Washahi, both had severe mental and physical handicaps, association director Jamila Alaywa said. Four others were wounded in the attack —three residents and a helper, she said.

Another three people were killed in eastern Gaza City and three in an attack on the western side of town.

Earlier, Qudra announced the deaths of eight other Palestinians in raids that hit targets including a bank, two mosques and the houses of Hamas officials. Israel’s military said at least one of the mosques was being used to store weapons.

Israel began Operation Protective Edge on Tuesday in an attempt to halt cross-border rocket fire by militant groups. Gaza militants have fired approximately 525 mortar rounds and rockets that struck Israel, while another 138 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system, the army said on Saturday.

Despite international concern, truce efforts have been unsuccessful, according to Egypt, which has been key in mediating previous ceasefires between Hamas and Israel. “Egypt has communicated with all sides to halt violence against civilians and called on them to continue with the truce agreement signed in November 2012,” the foreign ministry said.

“Former British premier Tony Blair, the envoy for the so-called Quartet of Middle East diplomatic players, flew into Cairo on Saturday for talks on ending the violence.

Ismail Haniya, Gaza’s former premier and the most senior Hamas official in the coastal enclave, ruled out any halt to hostilities. “(Israel) is the one that started this aggression and it must stop, because we are (simply) defending ourselves,” he said.

Israel says preparations are underway for a possible ground incursion, with tanks and artillery massed along the border and some 33,000 reservists mobilised out of 40,000 approved by the cabinet. More armour was seen heading south on Saturday morning.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he expected a political decision on a possible ground operation by Sunday. “At the moment we are dealing with the first phase air attacks,” he told Channel One television on Friday. “I imagine we shall decide tomorrow (Saturday) or the day after on the next stage.

Kuwait requested an emergency Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss “the deteriorating situation”, which a diplomat at the Arab League said will be held on Monday.

Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Gaza brought a rebuke from the UN human rights office over civilian casualty toll. “Even when a home is identified as being used for military purposes, any attack must be proportionate and precautions must be taken to protect civilians,” said spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Amnesty International called for the United Nations “to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups” and launch an enquiry into “violations committed on all sides”.

Reuters add: Israel rushed an eighth missile interceptor battery into service on Saturday to counter stronger-than-expected rocket fire from Gaza as the military pounded positions in the Palestinian enclave for a fifth day.

A mosque in the central Gaza Strip was bombed to rubble. The Israeli military said the mosque had housed a weapons cache.

“Eight other mosques have been damaged from bombing and 537 Gaza houses have either been destroyed or damaged, according to the Gaza-based Al-Mezan Association for Human Rights.

Shortfall reaches 3,000 MW with increased

LAHORE/SIALKOT: Although it was Sunday, people across the country faced the worst power outages as electricity shortfall reached 3,000 MW.

The announced and unannounced loadshedding forced citizens to register their protest in various towns and cities, including Lahore, as they set ablaze bills and chanted anti-government slogans.

According to the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), the power generation on Sunday stood at 12,500MW while the demand was recorded at 15,500MW. This shortfall made life miserable for the people in the scorching sun.

Citizens during the protests against the power crisis demanded the government to end loadshedding at the earliest as it had paralysed the routine life with temperatures expected to rise further.

In the urban centres of central Punjab, the loadshedding hours are 10, with 14 in the rural areas. Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab have been experiencing 14 to 18 hours of outages. With indoor temperatures becoming unbearable in the Punjab, many people opted to visit recreational spots and canals to get some relief.

In Sialkot, the city area and other parts of the district, including Daska, Pasrur and Sambrial, the power supply was suspended for eight to 10 hours. The densely-populated and commercial areas of the city – including Chowk Allama Iqbal, Karimpura, Factory Area, Mianapura, Khadimpur Road, Rangpura, Nihal Chand Street, Prem Nagar, Defence Road, Kashmir Road and Muzaffarpura – witnessed two hours of loadshedding after every two hours during the day. The loadshedding in the night was carried out after every alternate hour.

The same reports were received from the nearby towns of Hadiana, Chavinda, Kharota Syedan, Kotli Loharan and other areas. Besides other problems, the power outages also caused severe water shortages in many areas.

Maria Sharapova reaches semifinals in Stuttgart

STUTTGART, Germany: Two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova needed eight match points to put away top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-3 Friday for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals.

Sharapova has won 11 consecutive matches on Stuttgart´s indoor clay. Her semifinal opponent will be eighth-seeded Sara Errani, who was leading 6-3, 6-7 (6), 3-0 when Carla Suarez Navarro retired with a hand injury.

"This was a big victory for me, the biggest since my injury," said Sharapova, who returned late last year after missing more than four months following shoulder surgery.

Ana Ivanovic outlasted 2009 Stuttgart champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a battle between two former French Open winners.

Ivanovic is seeking her third title of the year and is the only player remaining in the tournament to have won an event this year.

Radwanska played her best tennis in the penultimate game, when she fought off six match points and finally broke Sharapova´s serve. Under pressure from Radwanska, Sharapova made two straight backhand errors as she dropped her serve.

But Radwanska could not keep the momentum and Sharapova´s forehand winner down the line gave her two more match points. Sharapova wasted the first with a wild forehand that was both long and wide, but then nailed a forehand winner to the corner to end the match.

Sharapova is aiming for her first title of the year and the 30th of her career. Ranked No. 9, she would have fallen out of the top 10 with a loss Friday. (AP)

Hull reaches 1st FA Cup final in 110-year history

 

LONDON: Hull reached the FA Cup final for the first time in its 110-year history as the Premier League side twice came from behind to beat third-tier club Sheffield United 5-3 in a lively encounter on Sunday.

After winning world football´s oldest cup competition three times as a Manchester United player in the 1990s, Hull manager Steve Bruce will bring his team back to Wembley Stadium on May 17 for the final against 10-time winner Arsenal. "If you had said 10 years ago that Hull will play Arsenal in the FA Cup final, people would have been scratching their heads," Bruce said. "It just shows you what can be done."

Hull is now just one game away from emulating Wigan´s surprising run to the title last year, but the team will need to improve vastly on its first-half performance.

But Hull was transformed after halftime, with Matty Fryatt restoring parity at 2-2 before Tom Huddlestone and Stephen Quinn gave the northeast team what appeared to be a comfortable cushion.

Even though Jamie Murphy pulled a late goal back for United, David Meyler quickly responded to secure Hull´s first trip to a major final. "We were very sloppy in the first half and didn´t get going," Meyler said. "We got together at halftime and regrouped. It´s fantastic."

One dilemma for Bruce in the final will be whether to play son Alex Bruce, who remained on the bench throughout the semifinal. At the 1991 final, Nigel Clough played up front in father Brian´s Nottingham Forest team, which lost to Tottenham. Nigel Clough was back at Wembley managing Sheffield United on Sunday for an emotional occasion as English football marks the 25-year anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.Clough was in the Forest team on April 15, 1989, for the FA Cup semifinal at Sheffield Wednesday´s ground that became the scene of Britain´s worst sporting disaster as 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death. "With the tributes it´s been a very, very emotional weekend for everybody in football," Clough said. "Twenty-five years on the feelings are the same." The Hillsborough game lasted just six minutes before the full magnitude of the deadly crush became clear. On this weekend of tributes to the victims, and education for a new generation of fans, every game kicked off seven minutes later than usual.

Fittingly, United´s opening goal came from Jose Baxter, a boyhood Liverpool fan who went on to play for Everton. After bundling the ball in from close range, the 22-year-old Baxter removed his black armband and held it up while looking up to the sky.

Baxter´s side was in the ascendancy for much of the first half, making Hull look ordinary, until Sagbo slid in to equalize in the 42nd. But United´s lead was restored inside 100 seconds as Stefan Scougall completed a speedy break.

The game swung in Hull´s favor, however, within 10 minutes of the second half as Fryatt forced the ball over the line from close range after United failed to fully clear a corner, and Huddlestone weaved his way through the defense before cooling chipping into the net.

Then came what proved to Hull´s match-winner, with Quinn heading in against his former club in the 67th.

Even though Murphy gave United hope of a dramatic comeback by slicing in his team´s third in the 90th, Meyler´s goal settled the match. If Hull does manage to etch its name onto the FA Cup, it won´t be the one Hull owner Assem Allam wants to see.

The Egyptian businessman was rebuffed by the FA earlier this week in his attempt to change Hull City to Hull Tigers, a name he believes would help the team earn more international fans and exposure. Winning the Cup — and qualifying for the Europa League — could have the same effect. (AP)