FundayForum
Register
Forum Blogs Gallery Files Poetry Books
Portal Facebook YouTube Twitter
👀 You are watching:
Jump to content
👉 Click here to explore Remote Jobs, Work From Home & Global News – USA 🇺🇸 | UK 🇬🇧 | Canada 🇨🇦 | Pakistan 🇵🇰 ×
🚫 Guest Access Notice ×
LIVE UPDATES

Waqas Dar

🔥 Admin/Core Authority
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    11,281

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    552

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Adnan Syed  ANNAPOLIS, United States: For the past 18 years he has spent behind bars, Adnan Syed has claimed he is innocent of murdering his ex-girlfriend in a case turned into a global sensation by a hit podcast.
    Now a US court is weighing whether the 37-year-old son of Pakistani immigrants can be retried, the outcome of a stunning reversal after the "Serial" series poked major holes in the prosecution´s case.
    The case was largely ignored in the media until it was taken up by the weekly podcast and turned into a blockbuster when an American journalist revisited the story and cast doubt on Syed´s guilt.
    The podcast -- a mix of investigative journalism, first-person narrative and dramatic storytelling -- focused its first season entirely on Syed´s story in 12 nail-biting episodes. They were downloaded more than 175 million times, a world record.
    The show cast doubt on whether Syed received proper representation at trial and whether he had in fact murdered Hae Min Lee.
    In Annapolis on Thursday, prosecutors and Syed´s lawyers appeared at the Maryland Court of Appeals after the state opposed the judge´s order to get a new trial.
    "We´ve got someone who was unconstitutionally convicted, who I personally believe is innocent, who is sitting in jail right now," Syed´s lawyer Justin Brown said outside the court.
    Murder out of jealousy?
    In early 1999, the strangled body of an 18-year-old South Korean native high school student was found buried in a shallow grave in the woods of Baltimore, Maryland.
    Both Hae Min Lee and Syed were honour students and children from immigrant families who had concealed their relationship from their conservative parents.
    Spurred on by an anonymous tip, investigators focused on Syed, then 17.
    A small-scale cannabis dealer who knew Syed, Jay Wilds, told police the high schooler had confided in him that he had killed the young woman, and said he helped Syed bury the body.
    At trial, prosecutors argued that Syed strangled Lee after school in the parking lot of a Best Buy electronics store, jealous that she was seeing another, older man after they broke up.
    Prosecutors laid out a clear case, saying Syed´s conservative Muslim upbringing made him feel especially humiliated, and that he chose to react in the most violent way possible by killing Lee.
    He was sentenced to life in prison in 2000.
    The hearing received little notice beyond Maryland at the time.
    But 13 years later, journalist Sarah Koenig reviewed the police documents and other materials at the urging of Syed´s family, seeing the case with fresh eyes.
    Her podcast focuses on several worrisome inconsistencies in the prosecutors´ case.
    Cristina Gutierrez, Syed´s now-deceased lawyer, is namely shown to have neglected a technical analysis about how cell-phone towers relay information. The report cast doubt on whether Syed was located near the site of Lee´s body.
    Gutierrez also failed to contact a young girl who claimed to have seen Syed in a public library at the apparent time of the murder.
    #FreeAdnan
    Syed supporters are demanding a new trial on the basis of those two elements.
    Prosecutors on Thursday assured the hearing that Gutierrez probably had good reasons not to seek out more information concerning Syed´s possible presence at the library.
    "How can you evaluate an alibi witness if you don´t even talk to them?" chief judge Patrick Woodward asked during the state´s presentation.
    Syed, who was absent from the proceedings, is said to be optimistic, and is currently fasting in observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
    "He is good, he is in good spirits," said Rabia Chaudry, the author of "Adnan´s Story: The Search for Justice for Adnan Syed."
    Without the mouthpiece of Serial, all hope would have been lost, she told AFP.
    "We got fundraising done, we got new investigators, we found new evidence, it couldn´t have happened without Serial," she said.
    "Now we just want him to get a new trial"
    Many of Syed´s supporters, who have been leading a #FreeAdnan campaign on social media, plan to meet in front of the appellate court.
    It is unclear when the court will rule on the case.


  2. Waqas Dar
    Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani - File photo  DOHA: Qatar said Thursday it will not "surrender" and rejected any interference in its foreign policy, defying its Gulf neighbours in an escalating dispute over its alleged support for extremists.

    In an interview with AFP, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said calls for a change in Qatari policy from Saudi Arabia and its allies, which cut diplomatic ties with Doha this week, were unacceptable.
    "No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed said.
    He also rejected "a military solution as an option" to resolving the crisis, and said Qatar could survive "forever" despite the measures taken against it.
    "We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender the independence of our foreign policy," he told reporters later, adding: "No one will break us."
    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain led a string of countries that this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate´s financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia´s regional arch-rival.
    On Thursday the four countries issued a list of individuals and entities they said had "terrorist" links to Qatar, in their first joint statement since severing ties with Doha.
    The group said the list shows Qatar "announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand."
    But the document contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.
    Qatar strongly denied the earlier allegations and expressed a willingness to engage in talks to resolve the crisis.
    Al-Jazeera in the crosshairs
    The gas-rich emirate´s satellite news giant Al-Jazeera has also emerged as a point of contention, and on Thursday the broadcaster said it was battling a major cyber attack.
    Al-Jazeera tweeted that it was "under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms", and a source said it was trying to repel the hack.
    The UAE and Saudi Arabia have banned Al-Jazeera from the airwaves and closed the channel´s offices.
    The Arab countries closed air, sea and land links with Qatar, barred the emirate´s planes from their airspace and ordered Qatari citizens out within 14 days.
    The feud has raised fears of wider instability in an already volatile region that is a crucial global energy supplier and home to several Western military bases.
    Kuwait -- which unlike most of its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members has not cut off ties with Qatar -- has been leading efforts to mediate.
    Its emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks on Wednesday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following talks with senior UAE officials and Saudi King Salman.
    US President Donald Trump, who had initially backed the measures against Qatar in a tweet, called Sheik Tamim on Wednesday with an offer "to help the parties resolve their differences".
    Qatar hosts the Al-Udeid military base, the largest US airbase in the Middle East. Home to some 10,000 troops, it is central to the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
    Foreign policy gone wild
    Analysts say the current crisis is in part an extension of a 2014 dispute, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recalled their ambassadors from Doha over Qatari support for Egypt´s Muslim Brotherhood.
    A top Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP a major concern was the influence of Sheikh Tamim´s father, Sheikh Hamad, who had allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha and helped arm Syrian rebels before abdicating in 2013.
    "The previous emir is a big supporter of this whole extremist agenda, so we do have an issue," the official said.
    Doha has for years forged its own alliances in the region, often diverging from the politics of the six-state GCC and taking in leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Hamas and members of the Afghan Taliban.
    A senior Emirati official told AFP this week´s decision was not aimed at a change of regime in Qatar but to pressure the country to reshape its policy.
    "This is a foreign policy that has gone wild," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told AFP. "We need to put everything in check."
    Gargash said the four Arab states seek a "political commitment to change course" by Qatar, including ending its support for the Brotherhood and Hamas.
    Bahrain on Thursday followed the UAE in announcing that expressing sympathy for Qatar over the sanctions was an offence punishable by jail.


  3. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Results have started coming in for Britain?s snap election with Prime Minister Theresa May poised for victory but losing her parliamentary majority.

    The exit poll showed May's Conservatives on course to fall from 330 to 314 seats, short of an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two deadly terror attacks.
    The main opposition Labour party, led by leftist Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile is projected to increase its number of seats from 229 to 266, according to the joint exit poll by Sky, the BBC and ITV news.
    The pound immediately tumbled after the poll.
    The election came at a pivotal time in British history as it negotiates a complicated exit from the European Union, the first country to leave the six-decade-old bloc.


    The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second referendum that could keep Britain in the EU, were forecast to increase their seats from nine to 14.


    In Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for independence to avoid a "hard Brexit", her Scottish National Party was tipped to lose seats but still dominate.


    All parties urged caution at the shock poll, with the final results not likely until early on Friday morning.
    An exit poll gives an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

    In 2005 and 2010, the exit poll accurately forecast the number of seats won by the largest party. In 2015, it slightly underestimated the number of seats won by the victorious Conservatives but got the order of the parties right.

    The forecast Conservative victory is far smaller than suggested by opinion polls when she called the snap election at a time when her popularity was running high.

    Analysts had blamed the decline on May´s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which have led to scrutiny of her time as interior minister before becoming prime minister.
    Security for voting day was reviewed following the recent London attack, which left at least eight dead, with the city's Metropolitan Police force implementing a "specialist and highly flexible operation" which it said could be deployed as needed.



    LIBERAL DEMOCRATS SAY "VERY DIFFICULT TO JOIN COALITION 
    Britain's Liberal Democrat party would find it very difficult to join a coalition again after suffering severe damage from its deal with the Conservatives after the 2010 election, former leader Menzies Campbell said on Thursday.

    "(Party leader) Tim Farron made it very clear. He said no pact, no deal, no coalition. We´ve had our fingers burnt by coalition, I don´t need to tell you that. I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he previously said," Campbell told the BBC.
    Exit polls suggest the Liberal Democrats will increase their number of seats in Britain´s 650-member parliament to 14. The results of the exit poll show that Prime Minister Theresa May´s Conservative Party looks short of an outright majority.

    geo_embedgallery
    Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into power without a national vote last year after David Cameron´s resignation following the Brexit vote, called for a three-year-early election for June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.
    If May does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead. However, the lead has shrunk substantially since then. 
    CORBYN SAYS HIS CAMPAIGN 'CHANGED POLITICS'
    The head of Britain´s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, on Friday said the country´s political landscape had been upended in a general election forecast to result in a hung parliament.
    "Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better," Corbyn said in a tweet. An exit poll predicted unexpected gains for Labour in Thursday´s vote, causing Prime Minister Theresa May to lose her overall majority.
    MAY, CORBYN CAST VOTES
    Earlier today, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at the Pakeman primary school in Holloway, North London.
    The politician appeared to be in an amiable mood as he smiled and waved to the media.
    Corbyn waved, smiled and posed for the media as he came to cast his vote. Photo: AP Speaking to the press, he said ?Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It?s a day of our democracy. I?ve just voted. I?m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.?
    On the other hand, clad in white-and-black May also cast her vote at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire.
    According to media reports, she just greeted the media with a simple ?hello? unlike her opponent.
    Theresa May casted her voted at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire. Photo: Reuters  She was also holding a polling card in her hand even though voters didn?t need to show up with one to vote.  
    BRITISH-PAKISTANI CONTESTING POLLS 
    More than 40 men and women of Pakistani origin have taken part in the elections. Of these, around 31 are from the mainstream parties such as Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats while the rest are from smaller parties or contesting as independents.
    31 British Pakistanis contesting UK elections from mainstream parties
    13 Labour, 11 Lib Dems, 6 Conservatives, 1 SNP, 3 UKIP and several taking part as independent candidates
    Research by Geo News correspondents showed that the Labour Party has given tickets to 13 British Pakistanis; Liberal Democrats to 11 candidates; six candidates for the Conservative; one from Scottish National Party (SNP); three for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and one for the Green Party.
    Labour has given tickets to the highest number of candidates with a high chance of winning on safe Labour strongholds or relatively safe seats. 
    'LITTLE CONFIDENCE'
    It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.
    "I don´t think it has really been a campaign, we don´t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it´s been pointless really," said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.
    "I have little confidence in anybody," added voter Simon Bolton, 41. "I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited."
    The election was May's first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.


  4. Waqas Dar
    Two teams of astronomers said Thursday they have for the first time detected a key chemical building block of life swirling around infant stars that resemble our Sun before its planets formed.
    The molecule, methyl isocyanate, "plays an essential role in the formation of proteins, which are basic ingredients for life," said Victor Rivilla, a scientist at the Astrophysics Observatory in Florence, Italy, and co-author of a study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
    The findings could offer clues on how chemicals sparked into living matter on Earth several billion years ago.
    At the very least, they show that elements crucial for the emergence of life "were very likely already available at the earliest stage of solar system formation," said Niels Ligterink, a researcher at Leiden Observatory in The Netherlands, and lead author of a second study in the same journal.
    Scientists spotted the organic compound in a dense envelope of interstellar dust and gas circling three young stars some 400 light years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus, better known as the Serpent Bearer.
    Using the Atacama array of radio telescopes in the northern desert of Chile, the two teams independently isolated the chemical signature of methyl isocyanate, and then followed up with computer modelling and laboratory experiments to probe the molecule's origins.
    "Thanks to the amazing capabilities of current telescopes, we are discovering more and more complex organic molecules around the birthplaces of stars and planets," Rivilla told AFP.
    Life-giving but toxic

    Scientists also recently detected sugars in space, including a compound called glycolaldehyde, which plays a role in the formation of DNA structure.
    Methyl isocyanate beyond our atmosphere was first discovered two years ago, but in a very different context: near complex, high-mass stars many times bigger than the Sun. These are not environments that can yield planetary systems like our own.
    Earth and the other planets in our Solar System formed some 4.5 billion years ago out of matter left over from the Sun.
    At this very early stage of evolution, the material feeding the formation of the three-star system described Thursday -- known prosaically as IRAS 16293-2422 -- is rotating in a disk around each star.
    Some of the gas and dust will fall to the stars, and the rest will make up the planets.
    Paradoxically, methyl isocyanate -- and other chemical precursors to life -- are highly toxic, potentially lethal, to humans and other animals.
    "This makes laboratory work challenging," Ligterink noted dryly by email.
    Indeed, methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO) was the main poison in the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India, in which a leak from a pesticide factory on the night of December 2 killed more than 3,700 people.
    But in combination with other molecules, such as water, it transforms and can eventually lead to life-bearing compounds.
    One of the new studies contained a note in memory of the Bhopal victims.




  5. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Electricity supply in the provincial capital suffered heavy disruption after heavy rain in the wee hours of Friday caused over 200 feeders to trip.
    According to the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) spokesman, over 200 feeders tripped due to the heavy rain in Lahore.
    The weather turned pleasant following the rain, as sweltering temperature came down much to the relief of the residents of Lahore and adjoining areas.
    Although rain showers in Multan Road, Thokar Niaz and various areas of Lahore caused the distressing heatwave to break, suffering continued, as the provincial capital plunged into darkness with disruption in the supply of electricity.
    According to LESCO authorities, the process of restoring the tripped feeders will begin as soon as the rain stops.


  6. Waqas Dar
    SYDNEY: Australian police were carrying out "counter-terrorism" raids in Melbourne early on Friday, just days after a deadly siege by a lone gunman in the country's second biggest city.
    Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the raids were linked to the siege earlier this week that was claimed by the Daesh group.
    "I've been briefed very early this morning, a number of warrants are being executed in Melbourne as we speak," Andrews told Sky News. "We're obviously limited in what we can say, we don't want to put any of our operational staff in harm's way by speaking about these matters, but they are in connection with terrible tragic events of Monday in Brighton."
    Police shot dead gunman Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history, on Monday night after he killed a man in an apartment block in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, and held a woman hostage for several hours.
    Victoria Police confirmed they were "conducting a police operation in the northern suburbs" of Melbourne, but declined to comment further.
    The Australian government has signaled a drive to reform parole laws as a result of the incident, including a ban on parole for violent offenders who have any links to extremism, as Khayre was on parole for a violent home invasion.
    Andrews said parole reform will be at the top of the agenda at a meeting of state and federal governments on Friday, including having decisions made by state attorneys general rather than parole boards in cases involving extremism.
    "This meeting today presents us with the opportunity not simply to talk about these matters but to recognise that terror is not half a world away," Andrews said. "There are very real threats in communities right across our nation and there are some practical things, some common sense things that we can do and that we need to do."
    Senior officials said Khayre had been acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009. He was also accused of traveling to Somalia, where he was born, to seek a religious ruling in support of the planned 2009 attack.
    Australia passed laws last year allowing the indefinite detention of anyone convicted of terror-related offences if authorities believed that person posed a threat after their release.


  7. Waqas Dar
    Cholera, which has hit war-ravaged Yemen with 100,000 suspected cases and 789 deaths, is a highly contagious waterborne bacterial disease which can kill in a matter of hours.
    Caused by poor sanitation, it mainly affects poverty-stricken people, and goes hand-in-hand with misery, disaster and war.
    Cholera is an acute diarrhetic infection caused by a comma-shaped bacterium called Vibrio cholerae, transmitted through water or food that has typically been contaminated by human faecal matter.
    Despite being deadly if untreated, it can be cleared up quickly by rehydration if medical care is available quickly.
    Global threat

    "Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development," according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
    According to the organisation, 42 countries were affected by cholera in 2015, with a total of 172,454 cases, 1,304 of which were fatal.
    But WHO stresses that many cases around the world go unrecorded.
    Researchers have estimated there are roughly 1.3 to four million cholera cases annually with 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide.
    Providing safe water and sanitation is critical to control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
    Filthy, crowded cities and refugee camps or displaced people whose basic needs for water and hygiene are not met, are typical risk zones.
    Cholera spreads via population movements, helped by a lack of hygiene, unclean drinking water, inefficient sewerage and toilets, dirty hands, unsafe food and poor medical care.
    Disasters

    Such conditions occur above all after natural disasters, such as the devastating quake which hit Haiti in 2010, or war, which is currently the case in Yemen.
    After an incubation period of two to five days, the illness manifests itself with severe diarrhoea which dehydrates the patient.
    Unless treated immediately by the replacement of fluids, salts and sugars, a stricken person can lose 10 percent of bodyweight in four hours and the disease is often fatal.
    The efficiency of available vaccines is far from guaranteed and does not replace the need for hygiene precautions.
    The fight against an epidemic involves screening the ill and putting in place health cordons to prevent the spread of the bacterium.


  8. Waqas Dar
    File Photo  LONDON: Whoever ends up becoming Britain´s new prime minister faces a daunting five years in office, with the negotiations of the country´s withdrawal from the European Union topping the list of priorities.

    Here are the five main challenges ahead:
    Brexit
    The Brexit negotiations are set to start around June 19, with Britain set to leave the bloc by the end of March 2019.
    First up will be the status of EU nationals resident in Britain, and of British citizens living elsewhere in the bloc.
    Both Labour and the Conservatives have said freedom of movement will end when Britain leaves the EU.
    If no party wins an overall majority as indicated in Thursday´s exit poll, there will be little time to form a new government and get a negotiating stance up and running.
    Parliament meets on June 13 to swear in MPs.
    The state opening of parliament by Queen Elizabeth II is set for June 19, when she will read out her new government´s programme.
    Prime Minister Theresa May called the election in order to strengthen her majority in parliament to go into the Brexit talks with a more secure hand.
    Terrorism and security
    The election was meant to be about Brexit but deadly terror attacks in Manchester, where 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing, and London, when eight were killed in a van and knife rampage, changed the debate.
    London was the third extremist terror attack in three months, also following an attack on Westminster Bridge.
    Eighteen terror plots have been foiled since 2013 -- five of them since March.
    May has come under pressure during the campaign for cutting thousands of police jobs during her time as interior minister.
    There were further questions when it emerged some of the attackers were known to security services and apparently escaped the surveillance net.
    Tackling the problem of radicalisation among extremists returning home from Syria will likely be a recurring theme for the incoming government.
    Economy
    Britain ran a budget deficit of 2.6 percent of gross domestic product in March 2017, down from 9.9 percent in 2010 after the financial crash.
    Its total public debt was £1.7 trillion in April, or 86.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Growth stands at 1.8 percent and inflation at 2.6 percent.
    Leaving the EU single market would give Britain the opportunity to strike its own trade deals outside the bloc.
    The Conservatives pledged to eliminate the deficit and return Britain to profit by the "middle of the next decade", meaning further years of austerity.
    Labour pledged to end austerity, hike corporation tax, raise taxes for the top five percent of earners, and eliminate the deficit within five years.
    The pound plunged on the exit poll predicting a hung parliament.
    Scotland
    Scotland´s governing Nationalists are pushing for a second independence referendum once the terms of the final Brexit deal start to become clear in late 2018 or early 2019.
    Backed up by the Greens, the separatists have the Scottish parliament´s support to ask the British government for the formal powers to start the process.
    Theresa May fended off their push saying now was not the time, so soon after the 2014 referendum, when 55 percent backed keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom.
    If Labour required the backing of the Scottish Nationalists to form a government, it would likely come at the price of another referendum.
    Northern Ireland
    One of the most delicate parts of the Brexit negotiations will be the place of Northern Ireland within the UK, and relations with the Republic of Ireland, which will be the kingdom´s only land border with the EU.
    The likelihood of the UK being out of the EU single market, customs union and the EU´s free movement area could mean a return of a "hard border" which is fiercely opposed by local residents.
    The 1998 accords that maintain the peace in the province after three decades of inter-community bloodshed are delicate and there is concern that Brexit could upset stability.
    There is currently no sign that a majority in Northern Ireland, where pro-British Protestants remain the largest group, want to merge into the republic.
    But Irish nationalists Sinn Fein have called for a referendum on reunification within the next five years.


  9. Waqas Dar
    File Photo LONDON: An exit poll following Britain´s general election on Thursday suggested the country could be heading for a "hung parliament", in which no party has an overall majority.

    Here is what would happen next if the forecast is confirmed by the full results, most likely due on Friday.
    - If this does translate into a hung parliament when results come through, Theresa May as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government -- either as a minority or in coalition with others.incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government -- either as a minority or in coalition with others.
    - If May did manage to do this, she would then go to the House of Commons to see if her government could survive a motion of confidence, probably after the state opening of parliament on June 19.
    - But if May could not form a government or did not survive the motion of confidence, she would be expected to hand in her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.
    - The monarch would then be likely to invite Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, to try to form a government. That, again, could be a minority or coalition administration.
    - If no government can command the confidence of the House of Commons, parliament can be dissolved and another election held. Parliament can be dissolved and another election held.
    Britain´s first-past-the-post voting system means hung parliaments are relatively rare -- there have been only five since the end of the 19th century.
    The last ones were:
    May 2010
    Prime Minister: David Cameron (Conservatives)
    Composition: Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition
    Lasted: Five years
    February 1974
    Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour)
    Composition: Labour minority government
    Lasted: Eight months
    1929
    Prime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)
    Composition: Minority Labour government backed by Liberals
    Lasted: until 1931, but amid the Great Depression, MacDonald formed ´National´ coalition government of Conservatives, Liberals and small number of Labour MPs which won 1931 and 1935 elections.small number of Labour MPs which won 1931 and 1935 elections.
    1923
    Prime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)
    Composition: Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin´s Conservatives won more seats than Labour but stepped aside for Labour´s MacDonald
    Lasted: 10 months
    1910
    Prime Minister: Herbert Asquith (Liberal Party)
    Composition: Liberal Party in a minority government, with support of Labour and the Irish Nationalists. Then a coalition government from 1915.support of Labour and the Irish Nationalists. Then a coalition government from 1915.
    Lasted: Six years


  10. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: Chimpanzees do not deserve the same rights as people, a New York state appeals court unanimously concluded on Thursday, as it refused to order the release of two of the animals to a primate sanctuary.
    The 5-0 decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan is the latest defeat for the Nonhuman Rights Project and its lawyer Steven Wise in a long debate over whether caged chimpanzees are actually legal "persons" entitled like humans to bodily liberty.
    Tommy and Kiko, the chimpanzees in question, are held by private owners in upstate New York.
    Citing experts like British primatologist Jane Goodall, the Nonhuman Rights Project said chimpanzees and humans share many behavioural, cognitive and social capabilities.
    It said this entitled chimpanzees to many of the same rights, including against improper detention, and sought "habeas corpus" relief to win freedom for Tommy and Kiko.
    But the shared capabilities "do not translate to a chimpanzee's capacity or ability, like humans, to bear legal duties, or to be held legally accountable for their actions," Justice Troy Webber wrote for the appeals court.
    "While petitioner's avowed mission is certainly laudable, the according of any fundamental legal rights to animals, including entitlement to habeas relief, is an issue better suited to the legislative process," Webber wrote.
    Thursday's decision upheld rulings by state Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe in Manhattan.
    The Nonhuman Rights Project was not immediately available for comment. Wise previously also tried to win the release of Hercules and Leo, chimpanzees held by the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
    Tommy's and Kiko's cause drew support from Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe in a friend-of-the-court brief.
    According to the decision, Tribe suggested that nonhuman animals could face legal duties, citing a "long history, mainly from the medieval and early modern periods, of animals being tried for offenses such as attacking human beings and eating crops."
    Webber, however, said none of the cited cases were recent or from New York, and that chimpanzees' inability to defend themselves or take sufficient responsibility explains why those that kill or seriously injure humans are not prosecuted.
    Tribe, in an email, said, "The court's quotation from my amicus brief speaks for itself, as does the court's decision to discount it on the somewhat curious ground that none of the cases I cited came from the modern New York scene."


  11. Waqas Dar
    File Photo  NEW YORK: Sterling suffered its biggest fall in eight months, sliding more than 2 cents against the US dollar after an exit poll unexpectedly showed Prime Minister Theresa May falling short of an overall parliamentary majority in Britain's election.
    As the shock projection raised questions about how Britain will advance with its plan to leave the European Union, the pound sank by almost 2 percent against the euro before steadying at around 1.5 percent down on the day.
    "The market will be praying that this exit poll has got it wrong," said Lee Hardman, a currency analyst with Japanese financial giant MUFG in London.
    "Currency volatility is the best proxy for market fears. If the Conservative ship is sinking then the market will be looking for a life boat.
    "Analysts predicted more losses for the British currency if official results, which are set to be released gradually over the next few hours, confirm the poll´s prediction that May's Conservative Party would win just 314 of 650 seats.
    Before Thursday´s slide, the pound had fallen 2.5 percent in trade-weighted terms in less than four weeks as opinion polls showed the opposition Labour Party gaining ground on the Conservatives, raising the prospect of no party winning an overall majority.
    But financial investors´ traditional views of whether the Conservatives or Labour would be good or bad for the pound have been muddied in this election.
    Some banks have said a high-spending Labour government could spur economic growth and cause the Bank of England to raise interest rates more quickly.
    Some also argue that any Labour-led coalition might aim for a softer deal on Britain´s planned departure from the European Union than the "hard Brexit" that markets have worried May would deliver.
    By 2200 GMT, sterling was 1.7 percent lower on the day at $1.2739, having fallen as low as $1.2705 The pound also fell 1.6 percent to 87.90 pence per euro.
    "A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a market´s perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations," said Craig Erlam, a market analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.
    "Sterling looks very vulnerable to further downside. It could be another very bad night for the pound.
    "Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, said: "With initial exit polls pointing to the Tories losing seats and that Prime Minister May?s early election gamble is not paying off, markets are pricing in a more complex outlook for policy implementation, including Brexit.


  12. Waqas Dar
    File Photo  NEW YORK: The British pound fell sharply Thursday after an exit poll suggested Prime Minister Theresa May´s Conservatives could lose their majority after losing seats in the general elections.

    The British currency was trading at $1.2751, down 1.5 percent from the day-before level.
    An exit poll released shortly after the vote ended showed conservatives were set to win 314 seats -- a loss of 16 -- followed by Labour on 266 -- a gain of 32 -- the Scottish National Party on 34 and the Liberal Democrats on 14.


  13. Waqas Dar
    geo_embedgallery
    LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain´s snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested Thursday, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom.

    The poll showed May´s Conservatives on course to fall from 330 to 314 seats, short of an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two deadly terror attacks.
    The main opposition Labour party, led by leftist Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile is projected to increase its number of seats from 229 to 266, according to the joint exit poll by Sky, the BBC and ITV news.
    The pound immediately tumbled after the poll.
    The election came at a pivotal time in British history as it negotiates a complicated exit from the European Union, the first country to leave the six-decade-old bloc.
    The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second referendum that could keep Britain in the EU, were forecast to increase their seats from nine to 14.


    In Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for independence to avoid a "hard Brexit", her Scottish National Party was tipped to lose seats but still dominate.

    All parties urged caution at the shock poll, with the final results not likely until early on Friday morning.
    An exit poll gives an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

    In 2005 and 2010, the exit poll accurately forecast the number of seats won by the largest party. In 2015, it slightly underestimated the number of seats won by the victorious Conservatives but got the order of the parties right.

    Update from outside British Parliament
    The forecast Conservative victory is far smaller than suggested by opinion polls when she called the snap election at a time when her popularity was running high.

    Analysts had blamed the decline on May´s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which have led to scrutiny of her time as interior minister before becoming prime minister.
    Security for voting day was reviewed following the recent London attack, which left at least eight dead, with the city's Metropolitan Police force implementing a "specialist and highly flexible operation" which it said could be deployed as needed.

    geo_embedgallery
    Liberal Democrats say "very difficult" to join coalition 
    Britain´s Liberal Democrat party would find it very difficult to join a coalition again after suffering severe damage from its deal with the Conservatives after the 2010 election, former leader Menzies Campbell said on Thursday.
    "(Party leader) Tim Farron made it very clear. He said no pact, no deal, no coalition. We´ve had our fingers burnt by coalition, I don´t need to tell you that. I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he previously said," Campbell told the BBC.
    Exit polls suggest the Liberal Democrats will increase their number of seats in Britain´s 650-member parliament to 14. The results of the exit poll show that Prime Minister Theresa May´s Conservative Party looks short of an outright majority.
    HOUGHTON AND SUNDERLAND SOUTH, RESULT EXPECTED 2200 GMT
    Due to be the first result of the night. It was one of the first big Leave-voting areas to declare in last year's referendum on European Union membership, shocking markets by backing Brexit more strongly than expected.
    It is held by the opposition Labour Party, with a majority of nearly 13,000 votes, but will be closely watched for the fortunes of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), which came second here in 2015 with more than 8,000 votes.
    UKIP's poll share has collapsed since 2015, and this seat could give an indication of how far May's Conservatives are succeeding in mopping up former UKIP supporters.
    NUNEATON, RESULT EXPECTED MIDNIGHT GMT
    Considered a national bellwether seat, Nuneaton could provide an early clue of the possible swing between May's Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives increased their majority here in 2015, despite it being a Labour target, and it provided one of the first indications the Conservatives were on course for victory.
    DARLINGTON, RESULT EXPECTED 0030 GMT
    This Conservative target seat, which voted in favour of leaving the EU, is held by Labour with a majority of 3,158.
    A YouGov regional poll last month showed support for Conservatives had risen significantly in the northeast of England, and the Tees Valley region, in which Darlington sits, unexpectedly elected a Conservative mayor last month.
    A win for May's party here could mean she is on track for a landslide nationally, according to polling expert John Curtice.
    NORTHAMPTON NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0100 GMT
    This seat has elected a lawmaker from the winning party at every British national election since it was created in 1974. It is held by the Conservatives with a majority of 3,245.
    UKIP, which won more than 6,000 votes here in 2015, are not fielding a candidate so it should be a comfortable win for the Conservatives if they are to increase their national majority.
    BURY NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This is a Conservative-held marginal seat, with a majority of just 378 voters. It has been a bellwether seat so if the Conservatives lose it, despite facing no UKIP candidate, it could be a sign they are at risk of losing their majority.
    MORAY, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    The seat of the pro-independence Scottish National Party's leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson, who won it with a majority of just over 9,000 in 2015. At local elections in May the Conservatives won a greater vote share here than the SNP.
    If the swing seen then is repeated, Robertson would lose his seat. Moray, which voted in favour of Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom in 2014, was the closest Brexit result in Scotland, with "Remain" just 122 votes ahead of "Leave".
    WREXHAM, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This seat in Brexit-supporting Wales is held by Labour with a majority of 1,831 and has never been won by the Conservatives.
    UKIP, which won more than 5,000 votes here in 2015, is not fielding a candidate this time and Curtice points to it as one to watch for signs that May could substantially increase her majority nationally.
    HASTINGS AND RYE, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This is the seat of interior minister Amber Rudd, who has played a prominent role in the election campaign and is tipped as a possible successor to Chancellor Philip Hammond. She has held it since 2010, and won a majority of 4,796 in 2015.
    The Green Party, which won just under 2,000 votes there in 2015, has agreed not to field a candidate in a bid to help Labour try and unseat Rudd. Pollster YouGov's election model has predicted they could succeed in doing so.
    KINGSTON AND SURBITON, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This seat is being targeted by the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who lost it to the Conservatives in 2015.
    The area voted strongly to remain in the EU at last year's referendum. Whether the Liberal Democrats are able to overturn the Conservatives' majority of 2,834 will be a key test of how far remain supporters are willing to back May's Brexit plan.
    WESTMORLAND AND LONSDALE, RESULT EXPECTED 0300 GMT
    The seat of Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron. He won it with a majority of nearly 9,000 votes in 2015 but his party's expected surge in support due to its anti-Brexit stance has failed to materialise.
    Cumbria, where the seat sits, voted in favour of Brexit and the Conservatives are hoping to oust Farron. They are likely to be helped by the fact UKIP, which got just over 3,000 votes there in 2015, are not standing.
    BRIGHTON KEMPTOWN, RESULT EXPECTED 0400 GMT
    This marginal seat is held by the Conservative minister responsible for financial services, Simon Kirby, with a majority of just 690. It voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU.
    It has been a bellwether at national elections since 1979 and the Green Party, who won more than 3,000 votes here in 2015, are not standing. Labour need to win seats like this if they are to have any chance of being the largest party nationally.
    HALIFAX, RESULT EXPECTED 0430 GMT
    This is one of Labour's most marginal seats, with a majority of just 428. It voted in favour of Brexit. May's Conservatives launched their election policy document here and need to win seats like this if she is to win a comfortable majority.

    geo_embedgallery
    Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into power without a national vote last year after David Cameron´s resignation following the Brexit vote, called for a three-year-early election for June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.
    If May does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead. However, the lead has shrunk substantially since then.
    MAY, CORBYN CAST VOTES
    Earlier today, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at the Pakeman primary school in Holloway, North London.
    The politician appeared to be in an amiable mood as he smiled and waved to the media.
    Corbyn waved, smiled and posed for the media as he came to cast his vote. Photo: AP Speaking to the press, he said ?Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It?s a day of our democracy. I?ve just voted. I?m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.?
    On the other hand, clad in white-and-black May also cast her vote at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire.
    According to media reports, she just greeted the media with a simple ?hello? unlike her opponent.
    Theresa May casted her voted at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire. Photo: Reuters  She was also holding a polling card in her hand even though voters didn?t need to show up with one to vote. 
    THE OPTIONS
    The main parties across the whole of Britain are the Conservatives (centre-right), led by May, and Labour (left), led by Corbyn, followed by the Liberal Democrats (centre-left), the UK Independence Party (populist) and the Greens (left).
    The Scottish Nationalists (left), Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru (left) and four parties from Northern Ireland also won seats at the last general election in 2015.
    BRITISH-PAKISTANI CONTESTING POLLS 

    More than 40 men and women of Pakistani origin have taken part in the elections. Of these, around 31 are from the mainstream parties such as Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats while the rest are from smaller parties or contesting as independents.
    31 British Pakistanis contesting UK elections from mainstream parties
    13 Labour, 11 Lib Dems, 6 Conservatives, 1 SNP, 3 UKIP and several taking part as independent candidates
    Research by Geo News correspondents showed that the Labour Party has given tickets to 13 British Pakistanis; Liberal Democrats to 11 candidates; six candidates for the Conservative; one from Scottish National Party (SNP); three for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and one for the Green Party.
    Labour has given tickets to the highest number of candidates with a high chance of winning on safe Labour strongholds or relatively safe seats.
    LONDON STOCKS, POUND DIP 
    The London stock market and pound slid on Thursday, with investors nervous as Britons voted in the snap general election.
    Contributing to a news-heavy day was also an ECB meeting at which the central bank hinted at the end of its easy monetary policy, describing a rosier outlook for the eurozone and dropping a long-standing commitment to cutting interest rates yet further if necessary, and a crucial testimony by sacked FBI chief James Comey in the United States.
    "Super Thursday is finally here," said analyst Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities, referring to the key events on both sides of the Atlantic.
    The British capital´s FTSE 100 index, which initially rose and then eased back, ended the day with a loss of 0.4 percent. The pound also slid.
    Britain´s Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May is still set to beat main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite a recent narrowing in the opinion polls. Results are not due until early Friday.
    "The UK stock market would prefer a Tory victory as the party is more in favour of free market economics than Labour," said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets.
    "The ground lost by the Conservatives in the past couple of weeks has rattled some traders," he added.
    The election is May´s first since taking office in July last year, after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.
    The premier called the election three years early in a bid to strengthen her slender majority going into Brexit talks, which begin on June 19, but some polls have suggested she may end up with a hung parliament in which the Conservatives would fall short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.
    While the pound dipped on Thursday, it was still holding onto gains made after May called the early election.
    "The pound´s recent steady performance suggests a clear win for Theresa May is discounted," NFS Macro analyst Nick Stamenkovic told AFP.
    "Indeed, the pound is vulnerable to a hung parliament or the outside risk of a Labour victory."
    'LITTLE CONFIDENCE'
    It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.
    "I don´t think it has really been a campaign, we don´t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it´s been pointless really," said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.
    "I have little confidence in anybody," added voter Simon Bolton, 41. "I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited."
    The election is May´s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.
    ELECTORAL PROCESS 
    There are 650 constituencies across the UK, meaning 326 MPs are needed for an absolute majority in parliament´s lower House of Commons.
    Each constituency is won on a first-past-the-post basis, meaning the candidate with the most votes in that seat becomes its MP. Despite the focus on the party leaders, voters are not directly choosing their prime minister, only their local MP.
    A parliament is elected for a maximum of five years, meaning the next general election must be held by June 2022 at the latest. 


  14. Waqas Dar
    geo_embedgallery
    Polling closed at 10 pm (2100 GMT) on Thursday for Britain?s snap general election, which will shape the United Kingdom?s future as it leaves the European Union.
    Polls opened at 7 am (0600 GMT) and voting continued until 10 pm (2100 GMT), in which about 47 million residents registered to vote across the United Kingdom.
    Guide to UK election
    Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early election to be held on June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.
    Security for voting day was reviewed following the recent London attack, which left at least eight dead, with the city's Metropolitan Police force implementing a "specialist and highly flexible operation" which it said could be deployed as needed.
    EXIT POLL

    An exit poll is expected to be published simultaneously by BBC, ITV and Sky soon after polling concludes. It is conducted by pollsters GfK and Ipsos MORI, who spoke to thousands of voters at more than 140 polling stations around the country.
    An exit poll will give an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.
    In 2005 and 2010, the exit poll accurately forecast the number of seats won by the largest party. In 2015, it slightly underestimated the number of seats won by the victorious Conservatives but got the order of the parties right.
    HOUGHTON AND SUNDERLAND SOUTH, RESULT EXPECTED 2200 GMT
    Due to be the first result of the night. It was one of the first big Leave-voting areas to declare in last year's referendum on European Union membership, shocking markets by backing Brexit more strongly than expected.
    It is held by the opposition Labour Party, with a majority of nearly 13,000 votes, but will be closely watched for the fortunes of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), which came second here in 2015 with more than 8,000 votes.
    UKIP's poll share has collapsed since 2015, and this seat could give an indication of how far May's Conservatives are succeeding in mopping up former UKIP supporters.
    NUNEATON, RESULT EXPECTED MIDNIGHT GMT
    Considered a national bellwether seat, Nuneaton could provide an early clue of the possible swing between May's Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives increased their majority here in 2015, despite it being a Labour target, and it provided one of the first indications the Conservatives were on course for victory.
    DARLINGTON, RESULT EXPECTED 0030 GMT
    This Conservative target seat, which voted in favour of leaving the EU, is held by Labour with a majority of 3,158.
    A YouGov regional poll last month showed support for Conservatives had risen significantly in the northeast of England, and the Tees Valley region, in which Darlington sits, unexpectedly elected a Conservative mayor last month.
    A win for May's party here could mean she is on track for a landslide nationally, according to polling expert John Curtice.
    NORTHAMPTON NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0100 GMT
    This seat has elected a lawmaker from the winning party at every British national election since it was created in 1974. It is held by the Conservatives with a majority of 3,245.
    UKIP, which won more than 6,000 votes here in 2015, are not fielding a candidate so it should be a comfortable win for the Conservatives if they are to increase their national majority.
    BURY NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This is a Conservative-held marginal seat, with a majority of just 378 voters. It has been a bellwether seat so if the Conservatives lose it, despite facing no UKIP candidate, it could be a sign they are at risk of losing their majority.
    MORAY, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    The seat of the pro-independence Scottish National Party's leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson, who won it with a majority of just over 9,000 in 2015. At local elections in May the Conservatives won a greater vote share here than the SNP.
    If the swing seen then is repeated, Robertson would lose his seat. Moray, which voted in favour of Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom in 2014, was the closest Brexit result in Scotland, with "Remain" just 122 votes ahead of "Leave".
    WREXHAM, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This seat in Brexit-supporting Wales is held by Labour with a majority of 1,831 and has never been won by the Conservatives.
    UKIP, which won more than 5,000 votes here in 2015, is not fielding a candidate this time and Curtice points to it as one to watch for signs that May could substantially increase her majority nationally.
    HASTINGS AND RYE, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This is the seat of interior minister Amber Rudd, who has played a prominent role in the election campaign and is tipped as a possible successor to Chancellor Philip Hammond. She has held it since 2010, and won a majority of 4,796 in 2015.
    The Green Party, which won just under 2,000 votes there in 2015, has agreed not to field a candidate in a bid to help Labour try and unseat Rudd. Pollster YouGov's election model has predicted they could succeed in doing so.
    KINGSTON AND SURBITON, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT
    This seat is being targeted by the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who lost it to the Conservatives in 2015.
    The area voted strongly to remain in the EU at last year's referendum. Whether the Liberal Democrats are able to overturn the Conservatives' majority of 2,834 will be a key test of how far remain supporters are willing to back May's Brexit plan.
    WESTMORLAND AND LONSDALE, RESULT EXPECTED 0300 GMT
    The seat of Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron. He won it with a majority of nearly 9,000 votes in 2015 but his party's expected surge in support due to its anti-Brexit stance has failed to materialise.
    Cumbria, where the seat sits, voted in favour of Brexit and the Conservatives are hoping to oust Farron. They are likely to be helped by the fact UKIP, which got just over 3,000 votes there in 2015, are not standing.
    BRIGHTON KEMPTOWN, RESULT EXPECTED 0400 GMT
    This marginal seat is held by the Conservative minister responsible for financial services, Simon Kirby, with a majority of just 690. It voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU.
    It has been a bellwether at national elections since 1979 and the Green Party, who won more than 3,000 votes here in 2015, are not standing. Labour need to win seats like this if they are to have any chance of being the largest party nationally.
    HALIFAX, RESULT EXPECTED 0430 GMT
    This is one of Labour's most marginal seats, with a majority of just 428. It voted in favour of Brexit. May's Conservatives launched their election policy document here and need to win seats like this if she is to win a comfortable majority.

    geo_embedgallery
    Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into power without a national vote last year after David Cameron´s resignation following the Brexit vote, called for a three-year-early election for June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.
    If May does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead. However, the lead has shrunk substantially since then.

    MAY, CORBYN CAST VOTES
    Earlier today, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at the Pakeman primary school in Holloway, North London.
    The politician appeared to be in an amiable mood as he smiled and waved to the media.
    Corbyn waved, smiled and posed for the media as he came to cast his vote. Photo: AP Speaking to the press, he said ?Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It?s a day of our democracy. I?ve just voted. I?m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.?
    On the other hand, clad in white-and-black May also cast her vote at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire.
    According to media reports, she just greeted the media with a simple ?hello? unlike her opponent.
    Theresa May casted her voted at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire. Photo: Reuters  She was also holding a polling card in her hand even though voters didn?t need to show up with one to vote. 

    THE OPTIONS
    The main parties across the whole of Britain are the Conservatives (centre-right), led by May, and Labour (left), led by Corbyn, followed by the Liberal Democrats (centre-left), the UK Independence Party (populist) and the Greens (left).
    The Scottish Nationalists (left), Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru (left) and four parties from Northern Ireland also won seats at the last general election in 2015.


    BRITISH-PAKISTANI CONTESTING POLLS 

    More than 40 men and women of Pakistani origin have taken part in the elections. Of these, around 31 are from the mainstream parties such as Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats while the rest are from smaller parties or contesting as independents.
    31 British Pakistanis contesting UK elections from mainstream parties
    13 Labour, 11 Lib Dems, 6 Conservatives, 1 SNP, 3 UKIP and several taking part as independent candidates
    Research by Geo News correspondents showed that the Labour Party has given tickets to 13 British Pakistanis; Liberal Democrats to 11 candidates; six candidates for the Conservative; one from Scottish National Party (SNP); three for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and one for the Green Party.
    Labour has given tickets to the highest number of candidates with a high chance of winning on safe Labour strongholds or relatively safe seats.
    LONDON STOCKS, POUND DIP 
    The London stock market and pound slid on Thursday, with investors nervous as Britons voted in the snap general election.
    Contributing to a news-heavy day was also an ECB meeting at which the central bank hinted at the end of its easy monetary policy, describing a rosier outlook for the eurozone and dropping a long-standing commitment to cutting interest rates yet further if necessary, and a crucial testimony by sacked FBI chief James Comey in the United States.
    "Super Thursday is finally here," said analyst Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities, referring to the key events on both sides of the Atlantic.
    The British capital´s FTSE 100 index, which initially rose and then eased back, ended the day with a loss of 0.4 percent. The pound also slid.
    Britain´s Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May is still set to beat main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite a recent narrowing in the opinion polls. Results are not due until early Friday.
    "The UK stock market would prefer a Tory victory as the party is more in favour of free market economics than Labour," said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets.
    "The ground lost by the Conservatives in the past couple of weeks has rattled some traders," he added.
    The election is May´s first since taking office in July last year, after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.
    The premier called the election three years early in a bid to strengthen her slender majority going into Brexit talks, which begin on June 19, but some polls have suggested she may end up with a hung parliament in which the Conservatives would fall short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.
    While the pound dipped on Thursday, it was still holding onto gains made after May called the early election.
    "The pound´s recent steady performance suggests a clear win for Theresa May is discounted," NFS Macro analyst Nick Stamenkovic told AFP.
    "Indeed, the pound is vulnerable to a hung parliament or the outside risk of a Labour victory."
    'LITTILE CONFIDENCE'
    It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.
    "I don´t think it has really been a campaign, we don´t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it´s been pointless really," said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.
    "I have little confidence in anybody," added voter Simon Bolton, 41. "I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited."
    The election is May´s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.
    PREDICTIONS
    Opinion polls reveal the outcome could be a lot tighter than had been predicted when May announced the vote on April 18.
    Although surveys show the gap between the main two political parties narrowing, May´s position as prime minister seems secure.
    Polls initially supported her gamble, giving her Conservative Party a double-digit lead over its nearest rival, the main opposition Labour Party.
    However, the Conservatives´ advantage has eroded over the campaign, with pollster Survation giving the ruling party just a one point lead over Labour on June 4.
    Another poll, released a few days earlier by YouGov, even suggested the Conservatives could fall short of a majority, meaning they would need the support of another party to govern.
    ELECTORAL PROCESS 
    There are 650 constituencies across the UK, meaning 326 MPs are needed for an absolute majority in parliament´s lower House of Commons.
    Each constituency is won on a first-past-the-post basis, meaning the candidate with the most votes in that seat becomes its MP. Despite the focus on the party leaders, voters are not directly choosing their prime minister, only their local MP.
    A parliament is elected for a maximum of five years, meaning the next general election must be held by June 2022 at the latest. 


  15. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: Simona Halep set up a French Open final against Jelena Ostapenko on Thursday, taking her to within touching distance of a first Grand Slam title and the world number one spot.
    Romanian third seed Halep, the runner-up to Maria Sharapova in 2014, claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova, the second-seeded Czech.
    Unseeded Ostapenko downed Timea Bacsinszky 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3 on her 20th birthday to become the first Latvian finalist at a major.
    The eventual champion on Saturday will be a first-time major winner while victory for Halep would crown her as the new world number one, replacing Angelique Kerber.
    "It's an amazing feeling right now," said 25-year-old Halep after her fifth win in six meetings against Pliskova, the world number three.
    "It was extremely tough today as Karolina is a very tough opponent.
    "To be in the final again is great. I hope to win this time.
    "But I am facing a young opponent, it will be a big challenge."
    Pliskova ended the tie with 45 winners and a staggering 55 unforced errors.
    In contrast, Halep registered 14 in both columns.
    For Halep, the win came just a day after she saved a match point and came from a set and 1-5 to beat Elina Svitolina in the last eight.
    Pliskova, the 25-year-old Czech, would have taken the world top spot if she had made her second Slam final.
    In the end, she could at least reflect on progress in Paris -- before this year, she had never got beyond the second round in five attempts.
    Ostapenko presented herself with the perfect 20th birthday gift by reaching a first French Open final after blasting past 30th seed Bacsinszky, a semi-finalist also in 2015.
    "I'm really happy to be in the final, especially on my birthday. I think it's a nice gift," said Ostapenko, whose win was greeted by the crowd singing 'happy birthday'.
    The world number 47 is the first unseeded player to reach the final in Paris since Mima Jausovec in 1983.
    'Braver, more courage'

    Ostapenko is also the youngest woman to advance to the final of a major since a 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki finished runner-up at the 2009 US Open.
    "I was always playing aggressive and hitting the ball when I have a chance," said Ostapenko, who smacked 50 winners to Bacsinszky's 22.
    "It was a really tough match. I think it was a battle.
    "I think it was kind of important that I won the first set, even the second I lost, but in the third set I found my game again.
    "I felt a little bit tight because...I was very close to making the final and some thoughts were in my mind," added Ostapenko, whose previous best run at a Slam was reaching the third round at the Australian Open.
    "But then I was just trying to be calm and just to try to play my game and just enjoy every moment."
    For Bacsinszky it was a second semi-final defeat in Paris.
    "Of course I'm disappointed. I'm a competitor, and it really annoys me not to be in the final," said Bacsinszky, who was beaten on her 28th birthday.
    "I'm not ashamed to say that she played better. She was braver. She had more courage. She was more successful."
    Ostapenko fell in the first round on her main draw debut in Paris last year but is one win away from becoming the first player since Gustavo Kuerten in 1997 to win their maiden tour-level title at a Slam.
    Ostapenko fired 50 winners and 45 unforced errors in her victory.
    She has 245 winners from six rounds -- more than Andy Murray's 174 after five matches.


  16. Waqas Dar
    India´s Virat Kohli looks dejected after the match - Reuters   LONDON: India captain Virat Kohli said his team were not invincible after the defending champions allowed Sri Lanka to chase down a target of 322 to win a pulsating Champions Trophy match at The Oval on Thursday.
    India, inspired by Shikhar Dhawan's superb 125, racked up a healthy total of 321 for six but Sri Lanka knocked off the runs with eight balls left to leave Group B wide open.
    All four teams in the section have two points going into the last round of games in which India play top-ranked South Africa on Sunday and Sri Lanka meet Pakistan on Monday.
    "I think Sri Lanka played really well," Kohli told a news conference following his team's seven-wicket loss.
    "The other teams are also champions and that needs to be kept in mind. We are not invincible."
    India had beaten Sri Lanka in 14 of their last 17 one-day internationals, including the last five.
    India's bowlers struggled to contain the Sri Lankan batsmen, however, as Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis shared a second-wicket partnership of 159 before captain Angelo Mathews steered his team home with a composed unbeaten 52.
    "We all felt we had enough on the board at the halfway mark," Kohli said.
    We trusted our bowlers, but they (Sri Lanka) were pretty good on the day. Kept their momentum going and executed their shots really well. Our bowlers bowled decently, but they batted really well."
    Kohli blamed poor execution as India's bowlers took only one wicket, the other two Sri Lankan wickets coming from run-outs as they achieved the highest successful run chase in the tournament's history.
    "There is always hindsight when you don't win games. As I said we bowled decently well, but the execution wasn't quite there," added Kohli, who was out for a duck to complete a bad day for one of the world's leading batsmen.
    "Obviously, there is food for thought but you have got to give credit to other teams as well. You don't take any team lightly. It's going to be like this throughout the tournament and we don't expect anything less."


  17. Waqas Dar
    Sri Lanka's captain Angelo Mathews (L) and Asela Gunaratne celebrate victory at the end of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Sri Lanka at The Oval in London - AFP  LONDON: Angelo Mathews saluted Sri Lanka´s underdogs after they staged a brilliant run chase to stun Champions Trophy holders India by seven wickets on Thursday.

    Mathews' side were written off by many experts in the build-up to the crucial Group B clash at The Oval, but they ignored the doubters to keep alive their bid to qualify for the semi-finals.
    Tasked with chasing 322 to win, Sri Lanka knocked off the runs with eight balls to spare thanks to memorable contributions from Kusal Mendis (89), Danushka Gunathilaka (76) and captain Mathews (52).
    "It´s one of the top wins, to beat India. The bowlers did brilliantly to restrict India to 321. It was a very chaseable target," Mathews said.
    "Not many people expected us to win and that took a lot of pressure off us.
    "I thought the second-wicket partnership (between Gunathilaka and Mendis) was vital. They set us the platform.
    "It wasn´t easy for Gunathilaka to walk into the side and bat like how he did."
    It was an emotional return for Mathews, who hadn´t played an ODI since August following a calf injury.
    His calm innings steadied the ship just as India were trying to regain the momentum.
    "I tried to hit as many balls in the nets as possible, it makes you feel good and that helped me come back from injury," he said.
    Sri Lanka can qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Pakistan in their final group match in Cardiff on June 12, while India must beat South Africa on June 11 to avoid a humiliating exit.
    "It´s a must-win game for all of us in the group," Mathews added.
    India captain Virat Kholi admitted Sri Lanka deserved their famous win, but he was disappointed his bowlers didn´t follow the game-plan.
    "We felt we had enough on the board. We trusted out bowlers, but Sri Lanka were pretty good. They kept the momentum through the innings, they picked their areas to hit and executed really well," Kohli said.
    "There´s always hindsight. I thought we bowled decently, but when you don´t execute properly, there is always food for thought.
    "You have to give credit to the other team. In a tournament like this especially."


  18. Waqas Dar
    Prime Minister Modi inquired about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s health and that of his family ASTANA: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday exchanged pleasantries with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

    India media quoting sources said Prime Minister Modi inquired about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s health and that of his family. The Indian prime minister inquired about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s health as it was their first meeting after the latter?s heart surgery.
    While there has been speculation about a meeting between PM Sharif and Modi, India?s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has stated that there is no meeting scheduled from their side.
    Relations between the South Asian neighbours have deteriorated after India?s continued violations at the Line of Control. India has also raised the issue of RAW agent Kulbhusan Jadhav?s death sentence at the International Court of Justice. Jadhav was awarded the death sentence after he was found to be involved in terrorist activity in Pakistan.
    A group photo at the SCO summit in Russia in 2015. Photo: Reuters Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached Kazakhstan on Thursday to attend the two-day meeting of the Heads of State Council of SCO.
    Both Pakistan and India are expected to be granted full membership of the SCO.
    With the inclusion of Pakistan and India, the SCO will have a total of eight states as permanent members ? after China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Other observer states and governments and international organisations are also part of the group.
    The group will then represent nearly half of the world?s population after the inclusion of the subcontinental neighbours.  


  19. Waqas Dar
    Former FBI Director James Comey prepares to testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on 'Russian Federation Efforts to Interfere in the 2016 US Elections' on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg  WASHINGTON DC: Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday accused President Donald Trump of firing him to try to undermine the bureau's investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia.
    Comey also told senators in the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years that the Trump administration had told lies and defamed him and the FBI after the president dismissed him on May 9.
    The administration gave differing reasons for Comey's firing. Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 that he fired Comey because of the Russia probe.
    Asked at a U.S. congressional hearing why he was fired, Comey said he did not know for sure. But he added: "Again, I take the president's words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that."
    Comey earlier told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believed Trump had directed him to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president's former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the Russia investigation.
    But Comey would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.
    "I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," Comey told the committee.
    Trump critics say that any efforts by the president to hinder an FBI probe could amount to obstruction of justice. Such an offense potentially could lead to Trump being impeached by Congress, although the Republicans who control the Senate and House of Representatives have shown little appetite to make such a move against him.
    Dressed in a dark suit and giving short, deliberative answers, Comey painted a picture of an overbearing president who pressured him to stop the FBI looking into Flynn.
    In more than two hours of testimony, Comey did not make any major new revelations about alleged links between Trump or his associates and Russia, an issue that has dogged the president's first months in office and distracted from his policy goals such as overhauling the U.S. healthcare system and making tax cuts.
    Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst  'UNDER SIEGE'

    Trump, in a speech across town, told supporters their movement was "under siege" and vowed to fight on.
    "We're under siege ... but we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever," he said. "We will not back down from doing what is right."
    "We know how to fight and we will never give up," the president added.
    U.S. stocks were higher in early afternoon trading on Thursday after investors concluded Comey's testimony would not by itself bring down Trump's presidency.
    Comey's accusations could further mire Trump's administration in legal difficulties, as special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committees investigate alleged Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow.
    Russia has denied such interference and the White House as denied any collusion.
    The former FBI head said Trump's administration had defamed him in comments made after his firing by saying that the bureau was in disarray and that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. "Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said.
    LOYALTY?
    Comey said Trump did not attempt to get him to drop the overall Russia investigation, just the part of if that related to Flynn, who the president fired in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States.
    Republican Senator Marco Rubio asked Comey whether he perceived the president's request to let the Flynn matter go as an order given Trump's position as president, the setting and the circumstances surrounding the conversation.
    "Yes," Comey replied.
    As Comey was testifying, a White House source said Trump disputes two key points in Comey's testimony: that he asked the FBI director to let go of the Flynn probe, and that he asked for Comey's loyalty.
    Trump?s son Donald Trump Jr. fired off a series of tweets attacking Comey but the president himself stayed off social media while the drama played out in Congress.
    Comey said he felt he needed to get his account of his conversations with Trump in the public sphere in the hope that it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, which later occurred. Comey said he showed copies of his memo memorializing his talks with Trump to people outside the Justice Department and "asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter."
    Comey said he shared the memo with "a professor at Columbia Law School, a reference to Daniel Richman, who confirmed to Reuters he was the person Comey referred to in his testimony.
    Comey said he did not know if there are tapes of his conversations with Trump but said he hoped there were and that they should be made public.
    "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.


  20. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Sri Lanka staged a superb run chase to stun India and keep alive their Champions Trophy challenge as Kusal Mendis inspired a famous seven-wicket victory over the holders on Thursday.
    Needing 322 to avoid a second successive Group B defeat, Sri Lanka powered to a memorable triumph at The Oval thanks to key contributions from Mendis (89), Danushka Gunathilaka (76) and captain Angelo Mathews (52).
    Sri Lanka defied the odds to win with eight balls to spare and they can qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Pakistan in their final group match in Cardiff on June 12.
    Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan led the India charge with a blistering 125 as the holders piled up 321 for six against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy on Thursday.
    After scoring 68 in India´s 124-run victory against Pakistan in their Group B opener, Dhawan overpowered the Sri Lanka attack with another swaggering display at The Oval.

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/9b0295568dbc626a471b18e584d8d802.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9Ni84LzIwMTcgMzo0OTo0OCBQTSZoYXNoX3ZhbHVlPUlnQnpqQzJoNjNWZnFsVDIxKzRzL0E9PSZ2YWxpZG1pbnV0ZXM9NjAmaWQ9MQ== style=center]
    The 31-year-old hit 15 fours and one six in his 128-ball innings, receiving strong support from fellow opener Rohit Sharma (78) and MS Dhoni (63).

    India´s total was the highest of the tournament so far, surpassing the 319 for three they amassed against Pakistan.
    It was a typically muscular effort from India as they pursue an 11th win from their last 14 ODI matches, and a 15th victory in their last 18 meetings with Sri Lanka.
    Sri Lanka, beaten by 99 runs against South Africa in their first match, face a daunting task as they try to keep alive their hopes of making the semi-finals.
    Kohli walks off dejected after losing his wicket (Reuters) With plenty of cloud cover over south London, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
    Mathews must have wondered if that was such a wise move when Lasith Malinga served up a generous offering with the first ball, a short and wide delivery that Sharma caressed to the boundary.
    Dhawan was even more ruthless, contemptuously swiping Suranga Lakmal to the fence three times in four balls in the sixth over.
    Having put on 136 for the first wicket against Pakistan, India´s openers were back in the groove and Sri Lanka found it impossible to halt their momentum as the partnership passed 50 in the blink of an eye.
    Sharma brought up the 100 stand and his 50 in one blow as he smashed a six off Thisara Perera.
    Reaching his half-century in 58 balls was almost pedestrian by India´s standards, so Sharma stepped on the gas with another huge six to the delight of the vociferous Indians who made up the bulk of the large crowd.
    Dhawan celebrates on reaching his century with MS Dhoni  (Reuters)  Flamboyant
    Eventually, Sharma attempted one flamboyant shot too many and was caught at fine leg off Malinga, bringing an end to the 138-run opening partnership.
    Sharma´s 78 came off 79 balls, featuring six fours and three sixes, but his departure was the signal for a brief India wobble as Nuwan Pradeep had captain Virat Kohli caught behind for his first ODI duck since 2014.
    After Kohli´s shock dismissal, Yuvraj Singh struggled to find his rhythm.
    He made only seven before the flight of Asela Gunaratne´s looping delivery deceived him and trickled onto the stumps to leave India 179-3.
    Dhoni wrestled back the momentum for India as he got off the mark with a bludgeoned six, setting the stage for an awesome display of power hitting.
    Dhawan couldn´t be held in check for long either and he blasted a boundary to reach his ton in 102 balls before smashing Pradeep for a towering six.
    Dropped by Danushka Gunathilaka off Malinga, Dhawan helped Dhoni put on 82 runs in 66 balls before finally falling victim to a mistimed slog off Malinga.
    Dhoni was still blazing away down the other end and he reached his 62nd ODI half century in 46 balls.
    By the time Dhoni was dismissed, his team´s total was past 300 as they hit 51 runs in the last five overs to leave Sri Lanka in tatters.
    India captain Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has told his teammates not to get carried away by the praise that has come their way since they beat Pakistan.

    "Sometimes, starting with the tournament, creating momentum as a team, you can misfield, you can get overexcited," he said.
    "I don't think when you are playing good cricket, you should look too much into the praise factor.
    "At this moment we are playing some good cricket but that doesn't mean that we play with arrogance... In this sport, anyone can upset anyone on their given day... you certainly cannot even think of taking anyone lightly."
    India are currently at the top of the group due to their superior run rate.
    Squads




  21. Waqas Dar
    AB de Villiers needs a big score to get his form back on Sunday  BIRMINGHAM: AB de Villiers is "due" a big score against Champions Trophy title-holders India according to fellow South Africa batsman David Miller after the Proteas´ skipper suffered the first golden duck of his one-day international career.

    De Villiers´s maiden first-ball exit in 212 ODI innings came during South Africa´s shock 19-run loss to Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday -- a result that threw Group B wide open.
    Only the top two sides in each of the two pools will go through to the semi-finals of a tournament featuring the world´s top eight 50-over nations.
    That makes Sunday´s clash with India at the Oval potentially pivotal to a South Africa side who beat Sri Lanka in their group opener.
    Miller´s unbeaten 75 was the batting highlight of a below par total of 219 for eight against Pakistan, an innings where de Villiers sliced left-arm spinner Imad Wasim to backward point.
    Star batsman de Villiers, also nursing a hamstring problem, has now managed just four runs this tournament.
    But Miller is confident this is just a blip for the usually prolific 33-year-old right-hander.
    "He´s the best player in the world so it´s nice when he does perform 95 percent of the time," Miller told reporters at Edgbaston after Wednesday´s surprise day/night reverse.
    "But I haven´t seen him go out for nought too many times in his career. He´s human.
    "There´s enough good batsmen in the team to contribute at the same time. I don´t think it´s really a huge problem at all," Miller added.
    "We´ve done well over the last two, two-and-a-half years as a top six. All the batsmen we have can do a job.
    "AB didn´t come off but he´s definitely due (a big score) on Sunday."
    With de Villiers, for so long a key figure in all three international formats, opting out of Test cricket for the rest of the year because of the strain of his workload, questions have been raised about the course of his career.
    But Morne Morkel, a longstanding South Africa team-mate, said there was no doubting de Villiers´s desire to win a major limited-overs trophy with the Proteas.
    "It´s a big tournament for him as well," said Morkel. "For all of us.
    "We are hungry to take this trophy back home. It´s the first-ball duck in 200 games. He is only human.
    "Us as players or team-mates, we need to stand up as well and take responsibility. It´s not all on AB´s shoulders.
    "That´s just the truth of it," added the fast bowler, whose impressive haul of three for 18 on Wednesday could no prevent Pakistan winning a rain-marred match on the Duckworth/Lewis method.
    "AB has got all the energy and is still hungry to play," insisted Morkel.


  22. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni said on Thursday that ?Rawalpindi Express? Shoaib Akhtar is the toughest bowler he has faced, Times of India reported on Thursday.

    Dhoni faced off against Akhtar in five ODI and five Tests and picked the Pakistani seamer over other quicks such as Brett Lee, Dale Steyn and Stuart Broad.
    "All the fast bowlers are quite difficult, with the limited technique I had, it was very difficult to face the fast bowlers. Still, if I had to pick one, I would pick Shoaib Akhtar," Dhoni said.
    According to the former Indian skipper, Shoaib Akhtar was quick, fast, could bowl a yoker, a bouncer but a batsman never expected a beamer.
    "He was a bit unpredictable (but) he was fun to play against."
    Honoured by Dhoni?s praise
    Shoaib Akhtar said he was honoured by the Dhoni?s praise.
    ?Great captain. He has done everything and won all the titles. He was the finest ODI player India had ever produced along with Yuvraj Singh,? Akhtar said about Dhoni. 


  23. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: British police briefly evacuated Trafalgar Square in central London on Thursday following reports that a suspicious item had been found in a nearby street but said the incident was quickly stood down and not considered to be terrorism-related.

    British police are on heightened alert as millions vote in parliamentary elections just days after three attackers killed eight people by driving a van at pedestrians and then stabbing people in London Bridge on Saturday night.
    Specialist officers were sent to Trafalgar Square, and the nearby Charing Cross railway station was also closed as a precaution before the incident was stood down.


  24. Waqas Dar
    Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav ISLAMABAD: Delegations from Indian and Pakistan met with President of International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday.
    According to the statement from Attorney General of Pakistan's office, the court would soon release timetable for the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
    Earlier, a five-member legal team reached The Hague on Thursday in relation to the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

    According to sources, Pakistan will present the names of two former chief justices, Nasir-ul-Mulk and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, and one ex-attorney general, Makhdoom Ali, for the ad hoc judge position from its side in the ICJ.
    The ICJ will post one out of the three suggested people as the ad hoc judge from Pakistan's side, while that from India's side is already appointed at the court.
    ICJ stays execution of Indian spy Jadhav pending final decision
    Pakistan shall take all measures to ensure Jadhav isn't executed till court's final decision: ICJ
    As per the ICJ rules, if the citizen of a state party is not a judge in the court then they can get an ad hoc judge appointed on the panel hearing the case.
    The meeting will be held at around 3pm Pakistan time, where the Pakistani legal team, headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali, will meet ICJ President Ronny Abraham. The next date of hearing over the case will also be decided at the meeting. 
    The hearings over Jadhav's case were held in ICJ on May 15 and then on May 18 after India approached the court against Pakistan, accusing the country of violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The move came after Pakistan handed a death sentence to Jadhav in April and denied India consular access to him.


  25. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo remained atop Forbes magazine´s list of 100 highest-paid athletes, with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James moving up to second on a list heavy on NBA players.

    The 32-year-old Portugal forward is estimated to have earned a total of $93 million between his football salary of $58 million and $35 million in endorsement income.
    It´s the second straight year Ronaldo has topped the list, released Wednesday just days after he spearheaded a 4-1 victory over Juventus that made Real Madrid the first team to retain the UEFA Champions League title.

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/e1139ca0163802ffb6de15f014c2f231.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9Ni84LzIwMTcgMzoyMTowMSBQTSZoYXNoX3ZhbHVlPVlmeEJseVRxZWc1YTNvSmt6RnBNSGc9PSZ2YWxpZG1pbnV0ZXM9NjAmaWQ9MQ== style=center] James, with estimated earnings of $86.2 million, was one of 32 NBA players who made the top 100 -- up from 18 last year.

    He took over second place from the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, now third with $80 million.
    Swiss tennis great Roger Federer ($64 million) and Golden State Warriors guard Kevin Durant ($60.6 million) rounded out the top five -- just as they did last year.
    The Forbes figures include salaries, prize money and bonuses earned between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017. Endorsement incomes are an estimate of sponsorships, appearance fees and licensing incomes for the same 12-month period based on conversations with industry insiders.
    Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, was the lone woman on the list with an estimated income of $27 million -- $19 million of which came from endorsements -- to place her 51st overall.


  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...