Govt not to let anti-democracy forces win, says Nawaz

 

LAHORE: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said the PML-N-led government, together with pro-democracy forces, would foil all conspiracies being hatched by elements of a particular mindset to derail the ongoing democratic system.
Geo TV reported that Premier Nawaz Sharif will be meeting former president Asif Ali Zardari in the next few days and for this purpose he is likely to visit Sindh.Other senior leaders of the party will also be accompanying him.

INP adds: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif huddled together at Jati Umra on Sunday to review issues like the All Parties Conference (APC) called by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), provision of succor to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI)’s threatened long march.

Sources said the prime minister discussed in detail the consequences of the Model Town incident and the issues being agitated by the opposition political parties to destabilise the government.

The two Sharifs expressed confidence and vowed to implement the report prepared by the judicial commission on the Model Town incident which left some one dozen people dead and over 100 injured in Lahore two weeks ago.It was reportedly decided in the meeting that the government would initiate contacts with all the political parties.

The prime minister said those indulging in anti-democratic activities, including the long march, were following an agenda to deny Pakistan of development and prosperity but the government would not allow them to succeed. He said democracy and every institution would be strengthened.

He said the nation needed unity in the wake of the ongoing military operation against the terrorists but unfortunately certain elements were involved in the politics of violence for political gains.

He said the people had given a five-year mandate to the PML-N and asked the opposition parties to wait for the next elections.According to reports, the PM and CM Shahbaz welcomed the decision of the PPP and ANP to not attend PAT’s all-parties conference.

Arham beats Nofil to win Jr. Tennis title

ISLAMABAD: Arham Atiq hammered Syed Nofil Kaleem on Monday to clinch the junior First ACPL National Junior Hard Court Tennis Championship title here at the courts of Pakistan Sports Complex.

Arham beat Nofil by 7 6(2) 6 0 and won a cash prize of Rs 20 000 along with winning trophy while Nofil pocketed Rs 12000.

Ilham Khan won the boys under 14 title by beating Huzaifa Abdul Rehman in a thrilling three set match.

Huzaifa won the first set at 7 6 Ilham won the 2nd set at 6 1. In the final set Ilham was leading 4 1 when Huzaifa conceded the match due to injury.

Ilham was awarded Rs 10 000 while Huzaifa got Rs 6 000 along with shields and certificates. In Boys under 18 doubles final Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor beat Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan 6 4 7 6 (4).

Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor claimed the title of Junior doubles when they eliminated top seed Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan in a well contested two set match 6 4 7 6(4).

Talha and Hasnain won the cash award of Rs 10 000 while Nofil and Dawar pocketed Rs 6 000. Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas Patron PTF was the chief guest at the finals and distributed prizes among the winners. (APP)

Sri Lanka win toss,elect to field in 1st Test

LONDON: Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to field first in the 1st Investec Test against England at Lords.

According to the pitch report there is a bit of grass on the wicket but with the sun out it looks good for batting. Mathews decision to field first seems to be a cautious move.

Teams:

England: AN Cook, SD Robson, GS Ballance, IR Bell, JE Root, MM Ali, MJ Prior, CJ Jordan, SCJ Broad, LE Plunkett, JM Anderson.

Sri Lanka: JK Silva, FDM Karunaratne, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, HDRL Thirimanne, AD Mathews, HAPW Jayawardene, KMDN Kulasekara, HMRKB Herath, N Pradeep, RMS Eranga.

KKR win toss, put KXIP into bat in IPL final

BANGALORE: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the final of the Indian Premier League here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

The KKR would go in to the IPL final with a slight edge over Kings XI Punjab. They won the title two years ago, they are on a eight-match winning streak and they have beaten Kings XI twice in three matches this season.

The KXIP made one change, bringing in Balaji for Sandeep while KKR go unchanged.

Teams:
KKR: RV Uthappa (wk), G Gambhir (captain), MK Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, YK Pathan, RN ten Doeschae, SA Yadav, PP Chawla, SP Narine, M Morkel, UT Yadav.

KXIP: V Sehwag, M Vohra, WP Saha (wk), GJ Maxwell, DA Miller, GJ Bailey (captain), AR Patel, MG Johnson, L Balaji, Karanveer Singh, P Awana.

KKR win toss, put KXIP into bat in IPL final

BANGALORE: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the final of the Indian Premier League here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

The KKR would go in to the IPL final with a slight edge over Kings XI Punjab. They won the title two years ago, they are on a eight-match winning streak and they have beaten Kings XI twice in three matches this season.

The KXIP made one change, bringing in Balaji for Sandeep while KKR go unchanged.

Teams:
KKR: RV Uthappa (wk), G Gambhir (captain), MK Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, YK Pathan, RN ten Doeschae, SA Yadav, PP Chawla, SP Narine, M Morkel, UT Yadav.

KXIP: V Sehwag, M Vohra, WP Saha (wk), GJ Maxwell, DA Miller, GJ Bailey (captain), AR Patel, MG Johnson, L Balaji, Karanveer Singh, P Awana

Selby beats O´Sullivan to win World Championship

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom: Mark Selby beat two-time defending champion Ronnie O´Sullivan 18-14 in the World Championship final at Sheffield´s Crucible Theatre on Monday.

Victory in the all-English clash saw Selby, who was 10-5 down, win his first world title after losing in the 2007 final.

For O´Sullivan, a five-time world champion in all, this was his first defeat in snooker´s showpiece match.

Selby sealed victory in an often gruelling contest by holding his nerve to clear all the colours in the 32nd frame.

This success for Selby, now the new world number one, saw him avoid an unwanted hat-trick of defeats in the finals of snooker´s three major tournaments this season, having lost to Australia´s Neil Robertson --- the man he defeated in his Crucible semi-final -- in the climax of the UK Championship and going down 10-4 to O´Sullivan at the culmination of the Masters.

Selby is renowned as one of the grittiest players on the professional circuit and showed his match-toughness as he came from 8-3 and then 10-5 down on Sunday.

Trailing 10-7 overnight, he won Monday´s first three frames and squared the match at 10-10 with a break of 74. O´Sullivan was well short of the form that sees him routinely described as the most naturally talented player top-class snooker has known.

´The Rocket´ missed what would have been a frame-winning pink to the middle pocket, his power pot rattling the jaws before bouncing out and Selby, showing plenty of composure, made the most of his chance to go 12-11 ahead leading into the concluding session.

The interval gave O´Sullivan the chance to consult with sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, whom he credits for revitalising his career, but it was Selby who proved the stronger come the finish. (AFP)

Juventus celebrate third successive title with win over Atalanta

ROME: The Juventus fans were in a mood to party and their team lived up to expectations as they celebrated winning a third successive Serie A title with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta on Monday.

A second-half Simone Padoin strike enabled the champions to enjoy the moment in front of their supporters by maintaining their 100 per cent home record.Antonio Conte´s side, handed their 30th championship thanks to AS Roma´s 4-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Catania on Sunday, are on 96 points, 11 ahead of Roma and only a point away from equalling the all-time

record set by Inter Milan in 2007.Padion´s powerful 72nd-minute strike which careered in off the post following a nifty flick from Paul Pogba secured Juve´s 18th straight home league win and they only have to beat
Cagliari to finish the season unbeaten at the Juventus Stadium.

Conte made eight changes to the side which failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit in their Europa League semi-final with Benfica and they were rarely troubled by an Atalanta team who stayed in 11th on 47 points and now have no chance of European football.

Stefan Colantuono´s Atalanta are eight points behind sixth-placed Torino with two games remaining after losing four of their last five matches, falling away dramatically after winning six in a row in March.

They are also six behind Lazio and Hellas Verona, who are still in the Europa league hunt after playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw featuring a red card for each side as Verona fought back from 2-1 to lead 3-2 through goals from Iturbe and Romulo.

Juventus celebrate third successive title with win over Atalanta

ROME: The Juventus fans were in a mood to party and their team lived up to expectations as they celebrated winning a third successive Serie A title with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta on Monday.

A second-half Simone Padoin strike enabled the champions to enjoy the moment in front of their supporters by maintaining their 100 per cent home record.Antonio Conte´s side, handed their 30th championship thanks to AS Roma´s 4-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Catania on Sunday, are on 96 points, 11 ahead of Roma and only a point away from equalling the all-time

record set by Inter Milan in 2007.Padion´s powerful 72nd-minute strike which careered in off the post following a nifty flick from Paul Pogba secured Juve´s 18th straight home league win and they only have to beat
Cagliari to finish the season unbeaten at the Juventus Stadium.

Conte made eight changes to the side which failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit in their Europa League semi-final with Benfica and they were rarely troubled by an Atalanta team who stayed in 11th on 47 points and now have no chance of European football.

Stefan Colantuono´s Atalanta are eight points behind sixth-placed Torino with two games remaining after losing four of their last five matches, falling away dramatically after winning six in a row in March.

They are also six behind Lazio and Hellas Verona, who are still in the Europa league hunt after playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw featuring a red card for each side as Verona fought back from 2-1 to lead 3-2 through goals from Iturbe and Romulo.

Real Madrid fans jam streets to celebrate Cup win

MADRID: Thousands of cheering Real Madrid fans welcomed their team back to the Spanish capital early Thursday after winning the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 victory over arch rivals Barcelona. Supporters, many wrapped in the club´s flag, cheered as the squad arrived at Madrid´s central Cibeles Square, the traditional home for raucous Real Madrid victory celebrations, in a white open-topped bus with the word "champions" written in black letters on its sides.

Fans applauded Real goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas as, following tradition, he leant over the side of the bus and wrapped a Madrid insignia and club scarf around the statue of the Roman goddess that adorns a fountain in the square.

The victory bus drove three times around the fountain as fans twirled Real scarves in the air and took photos of the players.

"Winning the cup is fantastic, winning against Barcelona is even better," said Ezequiel Munoz, a 20-year-old student who came to the square with a group of friends after the match.

"We are going to celebrate all night long," added Munoz, who wore a black and white Real jersey with the name of the club´s defender Sergio Ramos on its back.

Gareth Bale scored a stunning individual goal five minutes from time to secure Real Madrid´s 19th Copa del Rey at the Mestalla in Valencia on Wednesday.

The jubilant crowd had started gathering around the stage set up by the fountain in the middle of the square as soon as the final whistle blew on Real Madrid´s win.

The celebrating fans included large groups of teenagers, fathers with their young sons, elderly couples and a few people with dogs wearing Real scarves around their necks.

Fans chanted, set off firecrackers and danced in the streets while they waited for the players to arrive, as images of a football and a trophy along with the word "champions" were beamed onto the walls of city hall.

After failing to win the cup competition between 1993 and 2011, Real Madrid have now won it twice in the last four years.

Emergency services said they treated 16 people for dizziness, anxiety attacks and minor injuries, mainly cuts and bruises due to falls.

Real Madrid´s win made the front pages of Spain´s newspapers on Thursday.

'Chimerica,' 'Book of Mormon' win at Oliviers

LONDON: Irreverent musical "The Book of Mormon" and hit geopolitical drama "Chimerica" were the big winners Sunday at Britain's Olivier stage awards, on a night when London's small theaters flexed their substantial muscle.

"The Book of Mormon" - which stormed London just as it earlier wowed New York - won four prizes, including best new musical and best actor in a musical, for Gavin Creel.

Choreographer and co-director Casey Nicholaw said the success of the show - written by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone - came down to its blend of "good contemporary satire and good old-fashioned entertainment."

Lucy Kirkwood's "Chimerica," a play about the entwined fates of China and the United States that opens with a search for the protester photographed standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989, won five trophies including best new play and best director, for Lyndsey Turner.

It was one of several winners to start life in state-subsidized off-West End venues. "Chimerica" opened at north London's 300-seat Almeida Theatre before transferring to a bigger commercial playhouse.

The same path was followed by an acclaimed revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts," which took prizes for best revival, best actress, for Lesley Manville, and best supporting actor, for Jack Lowden.

"Oh, Larry, where have you been all my life?" said a delighted Manville, clutching her statuette - a bust of acting legend Laurence Olivier.

Director Richard Eyre adapted the play, distilling Ibsen's 19th-century script down to an intense, audience-draining 90 minutes.

"Suicide, euthanasia, feminism, syphilis, morality - you name it, it's in the play," Eyre said, proclaiming Ibsen a "genius."

Lowden - a rising star who will soon be seen in the BBC's television adaptation of Tudor saga "Wolf Hall" - said he was thrilled to win for his performance as the syphilitic son of a troubled family in the intense Norwegian family tragedy.

"Any chance you get to play an arrogant, rash ... drunk, take it," Lowden advised his fellow actors.

Sharon D. Clarke was another winner from the subsidized sector, taking the best-actress trophy for "The Amen Corner" at the National Theatre.

The victories are a boost for state-funded arts groups at a time when Britain's Conservative-led government is cutting all forms of public spending in a bid to reduce the country's huge deficit.

Eyre said subsidized and commercial theater "feed each other."

"You can't have one without the other. ... For all the successes, you have to be able to fail, and that is what subsidy gives you."

Busker romance "Once" won the prize for outstanding achievement in music, and its Croatian co-star, Zrinka Cvitesic, was named best actress in a musical.

"I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but you just changed Croatian history," she said.

The awards, Britain's equivalent of Broadway's Tonys, honor achievements in London theater, musicals, dance and opera.

Founded in 1976, the Oliviers have been laying on the glitz in recent years, with glossy ceremonies modeled on the Tonys.

This year's hosts were actors Gemma Arterton and Stephen Mangan, and performers included tenor Joseph Calleja, Broadway legend Bernadette Peters and ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who reunited onstage to celebrate the 15-year West End run of "Mamma Mia."

Winners in most categories were chosen by a panel of stage professionals and theatergoers. The Audience Award, decided by public vote, went to "Les Miserables."

There were special achievement awards for impresario Michael White - who was behind taboo-breaking shows such as "Oh! Calcutta!" and "The Rocky Horror Show" - and to Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, the National Theatre's outgoing management team.

Screen stars Jude Law, Tom Hiddleston and Judi Dench were among the big-name nominees who missed out on acting prizes - Dench to Manville and the men to Rory Kinnear, one of Britain's leading stage actors, awarded for his scheming Iago in "Othello" at the National Theatre.

Kinnear said the fact that in-demand movie actors like Dench, Hiddleston and Law kept returning to the London stage "shows how addictive it is."

"We as actors basically have to do the same job no matter where it is," said Kinnear, who appeared in the James Bond thriller "Skyfall."

"It's using your imagination to fill up people's skin."

Atletico extends lead, Diego Costa injured in win

BARCELONA: Diego Costa was carried off with a bloody leg after scoring Atletico Madrid´s second goal in a 2-0 win at 10-man Getafe on Sunday, although the team said its star striker escaped without a serious injury.

Atletico extended its Spanish league lead to three points with five rounds to play as it closes in on what would be its first league title in 18 years.

Costa slammed into the post while poking in his 26th goal of the season in the 84th minute, opening a cut on his left shin and requiring the stadium´s medical crew to carry him off the pitch while he covered his face and muffled his screams.

While his teammates looked distraught as he writhed on the pitch, Atletico said less than 10 minutes after the match on Twitter that "luckily Diego Costa only has a cut after hitting the post." "He´s fine, calm, a cut doesn´t do any more harm," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said about his leading scorer. "We now have five games left, and we have to play each one like it was a final."

Despite the scare, Atletico took advantage of Barcelona´s loss on Saturday to open up a three point lead over Real Madrid with Barcelona another point behind.

Defender Diego Godin gave Atletico the lead in the 40th before Getafe´s Alexis Ruano was dismissed with a red card in the 66th for pulling Miranda down in the area, with goalkeeper Jordi Codina saving Diego Costa´s penalty and Raul Garcia´s follow-up try.

Atletico then applied the same stout defense that it used to eliminate Barcelona from the Champions League this week to keep Getafe in the relegation zone. "This was a tough rival to beat because a lot was on the line," Godin said. "(And) the victory is a bitter one for what happened to Diego Costa."

Costa was back in Atletico´s starting 11 having recovered from a right thigh injury that sidelined him for two games.The Brazilian-born player is having a breakout season that has earned him a spot on Vicente del Bosque´s squad for Spain in this summer´s World Cup.

He showed no signs of slowing down as he deployed the same physical style of play that has made him the revelation of the league this season, earning three fouls and two yellow cards for Getafe´s defenders in the first half hour. And after Codina blocked his penalty kick, Costa kept hustling and got his chance to pull to within two goals of league leader Cristiano Ronaldo when he slid to meet Adrian Lopez´s cross.

The goal came at a high price, with his cries heard across the pitch at Alonso Perez Coliseum following his brutal collision with the upright.

Godin put Atletico in front when he rose up over his marker to guide in Juanfran Torres´ cross with a well-placed header over Codina, who was caught off his line and yet nowhere near Godin. (AP)

Shehzad ton sets up easy win for Pakistan

MIRPUR: Opener Ahmed Shehzad scored a superb maiden century Sunday as Pakistan scored an easy 50-run win over Bangladesh in World Twenty20 Group 2 game.

Shehzad, who had a previous highest of 98 not out in Twenty20 internationals, scored an unbeaten 111 off 62 balls with 10 fours and five sixes as Pakistan got 190-5.Bangladesh was restricted to 140-7 with pace bowler Umar Gul bagging 3-30 and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal finishing with 2-20.

Shehzad added 83 runs for the fourth wicket with Shoaib Malik (26) as Pakistan utilized the good batting conditions after electing to bat.

Pakistan now needs to beat the West Indies in the last league game on Tuesday to enter the semifinals.

India has already ensured a semifinal berth from the group with three consecutive wins.

Need to win media war

IN the strongest indication yet that the government may have decided that its chosen option of peace talks with the Taliban had run its course, the civil and military leadership met this week to look at operational measures to tackle rampant terrorism.
Of course any expectation of immediate action would be unrealistic as, sources say, first an infrastructure will need to be put in place which allows all terrorism-related intelligence and information of related efforts to be centralised and shared across the provinces.
Whether this takes the nomenclature Nacta (National Counter-Terrorism Authority) or a JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee) or something similar isn’t significant. What is important is the acknowledgement of the need to have a coordinated fight against terror.
At the same time, the capacity building of fighting forces, apart from the military and paramilitary units, will continue across the country and the recent approval by the Sindh chief minister of a huge, urgent spend to beef up the Karachi police’s wherewithal to deal with terrorism is part of the effort.
If all this finally points to an understanding on the part of those at the helm that a compromise with terrorists isn’t possible because agreeing to their demands would mean taking the country back hundreds of years, it is a positive sign to say the least.
All security officials will have busy months ahead and will need to ponder over how to effectively re-establish the state’s writ over parts of the country which are under the militants’ control — but to move ahead in a manner that civilians caught up in the conflict are evacuated and/or protected from any fallout.
At the same time, the intelligence gathering and sharing mechanism will have to be fine-tuned to contain any repercussions — for example, an even more ferocious bombing campaign in the urban centres by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to ease pressure on its sanctuaries.
Another big challenge for those planning and executing the operational plans will be the media. The last full-fledged military operation in Swat as well as South Waziristan Agency was also carried out in the glare of the media but there was by and large a consensus about its need and legitimacy.
All journalists will need to be constantly briefed and specifically the prime time news show ‘anchors’ will need to be mollycoddled as they like, possibly by the military leadership to keep them onside. This is imperative because the blowback from any action could be serious and the whole thing could last months, even a couple of years.
Also, unlike the Swat and South Waziristan operations which followed a broad-based political consensus, in the run-up to the last elections, and the government formation since, a lot of politics has been played around the issue of how to deal with this threat and what is causing it.
When national leaders, even with utmost sincerity, express such diverse opinions on an existential threat to the country, public confusion is not surprising. Once any action starts, all the national leaders will have to be on the same page. Those who fall fighting the forces of darkness will have to be owned by one and all.
The government will also need to factor in the inherent conservatism of some of our media stars. On cannot but recall their performance before and after the Lal Masjid operation. Many of them demanded that the state act to enforce its writ. The operation over, a significant number changed their tune. I recall one ‘star’ with considerable following saying he could smell attar-like scent from the charred corpses of the militants killed in Lal Masjid.
This isn’t to sing the virtues of the operation, which could have been better executed, but just to point out the critical importance of the ‘propaganda’ war. The sort of speculation, wild stories that followed in the media were not only very destructive to the anti-terror effort but could actually have served as an impetus to terrorism.
For example, it took so many years and a judicial commission of inquiry to establish that 92 ‘civilians’ (some, many of them armed?) and 11 armed forces personnel were killed in the operation. And not a single female student died. I recall a chance conversation with a manager, a local Rawalpindi man, working for a media organisation who complained: “Musharraf is very cruel. He has mercilessly killed 1,000 children of the poor including a large number of girls studying there.”
This view, as I realised to my horror on that trip, was widely held and the media did nothing to present all the facts to the public. Whether it was their conservative beliefs which pushed into the background the demands of their profession or simply that they tilted towards the one they perceived as the underdog, the result was the same.
It isn’t apparent if the government and the army are aware and taking care of this element. But, anticipating a crackdown, the TTP appears mindful of it. The recent TTP-owned murders of technical media personnel and threats to the media are aimed at intimidating their way to sympathetic headlines and coverage once the conflict goes full steam.
Recent pronouncements by the militants’ ideological allies/sympathisers expressing opposition to any action demonstrate that there is a coordinated effort on the part of the right to mould favourable public opinion. The challenge for all those opposed to the TTP and its allies’ toxic, hate-filled ideology would be to speak in unison and forget even legitimate grievances against each other for now. It’s going to be a long haul. Everyone hoping for peace and sanity will have to keep their nerve.