CARDIFF (United Kingdom): Australia beat arch-rivals England 28-20 to get their bid for a 10th World Cup crown off to the perfect start on Saturday. The victory importantly means the Kangaroos will likely top Pool A and avoid defending champions New Zealand in the knock-out phases of the October 26-November 30 tournament. England jumped out to a 10-0 lead through tries from Ryan Hall and Leroy Cudjoe, but Australia hit back in a purple patch with three tries from Johnathan Thurston, Greg Bird and Billy Slater, all converted by Thurston. Wingers Brett Morris and Darius Boyd scored for the Kangaroos in the second-half, Thurston also nailing a penalty. England replied with a George Burgess try converted by Kevin Sinfield, and a late consolatio...
October 27, 2013 at 1:08 am | News Desk
Lisbon: Thousands of demonstrators protested in Portugal on Saturday against salary cuts and public sector reforms imposed by the government under the country’s international bailout deal. Crowds rallied in the old centre of the capital Lisbon and marched towards parliament, while rallies were also staged in the northern city of Porto and 12 other towns, in demos called by a citizens’ collective known as “Get lost, troika”. The word troika refers to the three international bodies that agreed Portugal’s 78 billion euro ($108 billion) rescue deal in 2011 — the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. In return for the bailout money to prevent the indebted country from financial...
October 27, 2013 at 1:03 am | News Desk
Ulan Bator: French nuclear energy giant Areva signed a deal with Mongolia’s state-owned Mon-Atom on Saturday to develop two uranium mines in the Gobi desert, officials said. Areva said in a statement that the agreement would create a company that would be 66 percent owned by Areva and 34 owned by Mon-Atom, and that Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation would take an equity interest. Further details of the deal, which was signed during a visit to Mongolia by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, were not immediately announced. Fabius’ Mongolian counterpart, Luvsanvandan Bold, said the deal represented an important step for the resource-rich but still impoverished nation. Areva, which has had a presence in Mongolia for more than ...
October 27, 2013 at 1:03 am | News Desk
Tehran: Iran said it executed 16 “rebels” Saturday in reprisal after gunmen killed at least 14 border guards near the border with Pakistan, in a rugged area often rocked by violence. The ambush happened overnight in the mountains of Sistan-Baluchestan, a province in southeastern Iran. The province is home to a large community of minority Sunni Muslims, unlike the rest of Shiite-dominated Iran, where drug traffickers and Sunni militants operate. “Fourteen border guards were killed during armed clashes in the region of Saravan, and five others were wounded,” the official IRNA news agency said, citing what it called an informed source. The unnamed source identified the gunmen as “bandits or rebels opposed to the I...
October 27, 2013 at 1:03 am | News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Simon Henshaw, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) on October 23-25 visited Pakistan to demonstrate US commitment to the needs of Afghan refugees and Pakistani hosting communities. While in Pakistan, Henshaw met with States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) ministry and UN officials and PRM implementing partners. He also visited a range of U.S.-funded project sites in Haripur, Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Henshaw visited boys and girls refugee schools which are being expanded from 6th grade to 7th and 8th grades. U.S. government funding for this project fills a specific gap between UN-supported and Government of Pakistan-funded...
October 26, 2013 at 1:00 am | News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Argentina has offered cooperation to Pakistan for large-scale generation of hydroelectricity up to 60,000 Mega Watts for eliminating menace of energy crisis. Argentinean Ambassador Rodolfo Martin Saravia urged for expansion of cooperation in private sectors of the two countries and offered for provision of assistance in generating 60‚000 megawatt of hydroelectricity which could bring significant economic change. Rodolfo Martin Saravia accepted the presence of large scope of cooperation in other areas including textile‚ pharmaceuticals‚ agriculture and sports. Radio Pakistan reported. While being by interviewed with Pakistani Radio, he added that Pakistan needs to focus on enhancing its trade and commercial rel...
October 26, 2013 at 1:00 am | News Desk
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has granted approval to the project of setting up Garments City near Kala Shah Kaku Motorway. He said that the Garments City would be set up over 1000 acres of land where Pak-China industrial zone would also be established. He said that all facilities would be available to the industrialists under one-roof in the Garments City while a labour colony, hospital and other facilities would also be provided on priority basis. He was presiding over a high level meeting at Model Town which was attended by Provincial Ministers Col (Retd.) Shuja Khanzada, Muhammad Shafique, Tanvir Aslam Malik, Hameeda Waheed ud Din, Advisor Dr. Ijaz Nabi, Member Provincial Assembly Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, acting Ch...
October 26, 2013 at 1:00 am | News Desk
Brussels: Nothing is sacred it appears in the high-flying world of pigeon racing in Belgium, where six birds were found to have been doped with drugs such as cocaine and painkillers, Belgian media reported Thursday. Cycling-mad Belgium is used to hearing of sports stars pumped up on performance-enhancing drugs, but officials are now homing-in on the birds used in a sport which rakes in millions in breeding and prize monies. The Belgian pigeon-racing federation sent samples from 20 birds to the National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa after a recent exchange visit, two Flemish dailies reported. Although tests on the same birds in Belgium had not revealed a problem, the South African lab did. “Cocaine in one, painkillers and an...
October 25, 2013 at 2:07 am | News Desk
Brussels: Europe’s leaders united Thursday behind Germany and France as an escalating row over claims of US snooping on its traditional allies overshadowed a key summit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose mobile phone was reportedly the latest target of covert surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA), set the tone. “Spying between friends, that’s just not done,” she said as she joined leaders of the 28-nation European Union for a summit initially called to discuss boosting employment and the digital economy. “We need trust between partners and such trust needs to be re-established.” French President Francois Hollande made no statement on entering the two-day talks, but a diplomatic source...
October 25, 2013 at 1:01 am | News Desk
Damascus: Syrian troops captured a key town southeast of Damascus on Thursday, a military source said, as they sought to close in on suburbs struck by chemical weapons in August. The Syrian opposition meanwhile said it would meet on November 9 to decide whether to attend a Geneva peace conference that the United Nations is trying to convene in parallel with chemical disarmament efforts. Syria is set to hand over a detailed plan for destroying its chemical arsenal Thursday, part of a UN-backed disarmament bid that averted US military strikes after the August 21 sarin gas attack, which killed hundreds of people. A military source told AFP troops had recaptured Hteitit al-Turkman, describing it as an “important centre for the terrorists,...
October 25, 2013 at 1:01 am | News Desk
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate