Suspense over; Pakistan become Asian Champions

 

Pakistan regained the Asia Cup title after a gap of 12 years as they pulled off a nail-biting two run victory against Bangladesh who came agonisingly close to a historic triumph but ran out of steam in the dying moments to go past the target here today.

Pakistan were restricted to a modest 236 for nine but held their nerve to stop the spirited hosts at 234 for eight, shattering Bangladeshi hopes of notching up their maiden Asia Cup title.
It was a case of so near and yet so far the Bangladeshis who reached the final for the first time and very nearly upstaged their fancied opponents in a tournament in which they upset world champions India and Sri Lanka.

DHAKA: Pakistan recorded a dramatic two-run victory over Bangladesh in a sensational final to win the Asia Cup one-day tournament for second time here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.

Earlier, they had become the Asia Cup champions in 2000.

It was looking that Bangladesh, playing the final for the first time in Asia Cup history, would win the title. They played extremely well – first restricting Pakistan to 236-9 in 50 overs with their accurate bowling and alert fielding and then batted with determination to reach very close to the winning target but lost the match just three runs short.

Chasing 237, the hosts needing nine runs in the last over, finished at 234-8 in 50 overs.

Pakistan won its second Asia Cup cricket title when it beat Bangladesh by two runs in a thrilling final on Thursday.
In a match which riveted fans to the final ball, Pakistan tallied 236-9 in its 50 overs, then stalled Bangladesh on 234-8 in a raucous Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
In a dramatic final over, Bangladesh needed 9 to win. Pakistan messed up when it conceded three runs off the third-to-last ball with a wayward throw and an overthrow. That left 4 to win off 2 balls.
But then Abdur Razzak played a slower ball off fast bowler Aizaz Cheema onto his stumps, stranding the in-form Mahmadullah at the non-striker's end. New batsman Shahadat Hossain had to hit four runs off the last ball to give Bangladesh its maiden Asia Cup title, but he managed a yorker on leg stump with only a leg bye, causing the Pakistanis to jump around in joy.
Their only other triumph in the 28-year Asia Cup was in 2000, also on Bangladesh soil.


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/world/pakistan-wins-asia-cup-by-runs/article_4c3aea76-d68b-56ce-88bd-0a8e3beb1794.html#ixzz1psa4SyxZ

How crucial was that performance from Sarfraz Ahmed? That's made the difference, and well done to Cheema for keeping his nerve in that final over. Quiet, silent, sombre faces in the Bangladesh dressing room but this has been some tournament for them. Just short by three runs in the end, they walk out to shake hands with the Pakistan team. Will this mark the turning point for Bangladesh in all cricket? They have won the respect of the cricketing world, beating India and Sri Lanka on their way here and giving Pakistan a run for their money twice. Tears in the eyes of Mushfiqur Rahim, the captain and there's Shakib consoling him. Pakistan have won this tournament for the second time.

An excellent tournament this, close matches for the most part and most importantly, an excellent reception from a cricket-mad Bangladeshi crowd. The Pakistan spinners did a splendid job to restrict the hosts, and the wickets of Shakib and Mushfiqur in fairly quick succession giving their team the edge towards the end. The game was very much on till the end; Mashrafe struck some good blows, Razzak tried hard but Pakistan won out the battle of nerves in the end.

The tears are still rolling down the cheeks of the Bangladeshi players, and the fans. Jamshaid says this: "It really makes me sad to watch mushfiq cry but he has no reason to cry, he should look at the bigger picture bangladesh have finally evolved into an amazing and formidable team that are capable of defeating bigger teams." The other key moments were the loss of Tamim and Jahrul in quick succession, and it took a while for Nasir to get going. The spinners did superbly at those stages. It's taking a while for everyone to get themselves under some control, we'll get you the presentation details in just a bit.

Tamim Iqbal gets an award for four fifties on the trot for the man, big cheers from the crowd.

Pakistan cricket fans miss India revenge   

Still disappointed at missing a final against archrival India, Pakistan fans had nothing but praise for Bangladesh's performance in a thrilling Asia Cup cricket final. 

While most still wished the victory came against India, they were filled with admiration for theBangladesh team that came agonizingly close to winning the title. 

Fast bowler Aizaz Cheema conceded six runs in a tense last over as Bangladesh fell just three runs short of its 237-run target, finishing at 234-8. 

India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in a high-scoring league match, but Bangladesh qualified for the final after beating both India and Sri Lanka. 

"I was praying for an India-Pakistan rematch, but Bangladesh played like a real contender for the title," said Juzer Mustafa, a university student. "I missed India a lot in the final because it would have given us a chance to beat the current world champions." 

Despite India's absence from the final, people in Pakistan -- especially youngsters -- had made special arrangements to watch the final on big screens. 

The fans were tense when Bangladesh made a late charge through Mashrafe Mortaza and Mamudullah as the target was reduced to nine runs in the last over. 

The moment Cheema bowled the last delivery, the silence broke into jubilation with fans waving national flags while riding their motorbikes and cars on the main streets of the cities. 

"Until the last over we were thinking Bangladesh can win the match, but thanks God Pakistan won," said Sonia Abbasi, a student who came to watch the match with her friends on a giant screen in a food street in Karachi. 

The Bangladesh players couldn't hide their emotions after losing a tense final as captainMushfiqur Rahim and former skipper Shakibul Hasan were seen to burst into tears on the field during the trophy presentation. 

Pakistan last won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh 12 years ago -- the same year when Bangladesh was awarded Test status. 

Bangladesh was never rated close to the other three Asian teams -- India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- before this year's tournament. But Bangladesh proved that it won't be just making up the numbers in the tournament after fighting back from an opening 21-run loss to Pakistan. 

"Bangladesh deserved to win yesterday because they played really well -- not only in the final but also against India and Sri Lanka in the league matches," said Naseer Ahmad, computer operator. 

"I would have enjoyed more had we defeated India in the final." 

"I don't like Pakistan losing to India, and after they defeated us in the league match, I had hoped we would take revenge from them in the final."

India eyes Pakistan for access to Afghan mine bonanza
India will explor­e a route throug­h rival Pakist­an to transp­ort iron ore from Afghan­istan.

March 21, 2012
 

 India will explore a route through rival Pakistan to transport iron ore from Afghanistan, the head of a consortium involved in the $11 billion project said, hoping that economic benefits will outweigh political hostility.  

  
Despite a spike in tension in Afghanistan and uncertainty over the future once foreign combat forces leave in 2014, India was committed to developing the Hajigak mines and a 6 million ton steel plant alongside, CS Verma, chairman of Steel Authority of India, told Reuters in an interview.

A contract is to be signed in two months in what will be the biggest foreign investment in Afghanistan’s resources sector, larger than the $4.4 billion the Chinese are investing in the Aynak copper mine.

Mining work is expected to begin in late 2014 just when Afghan security forces take over security responsibilities and it remains a big concern whether they will be able to tackle a Taliban insurgency at its worst.

For the Indians, the challenge of transporting the ore out of the landlocked country is an additional issue given they have no direct access.

Pakistan is the obvious route and the alternative is a longer way westwards to Iran and then shipping it through the port of Chabahar that India has promoted to reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan.
But Verma told Reuters that the consortium made up of seven state and private firms was looking to move the ore along Pakistani roads crossing over to India, believing the benefits far outweighed political hostility between the two countries.“What we have here is a gold mine, more than just an iron mine. I believe this is what everyone else will eventually realise. Ultimately the economic interests of everyone in the region including Pakistan will take precedence.”

The Hajigak deposit contains an estimated 1.8 billion tons of ore, with an iron concentration of anything between 61 percent to 64 percent. “Where will you find such high grade ore? People have invested in mines elsewhere in the world with much less ferrous content,” Verma said.India, he said, would pursue the Pakistani option both as a way to truck the ore out and a route to build a slurry pipeline. “We are very bullish and believe that over the longer term this will be a productive investment. Not just for us, but others in the region including Pakistan. There are license fees, logistics, etc.”

Loggerheads     
Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads over Afghanistan for years with Pakistan suspicious of India’s extensive aid and reconstruction efforts there, and fearing a loss of influence.
But as India has powered its way into one of the world’s fastest growing economies and added political heft, Pakistan’s economy has slipped further back and is unable to match the scale of its investment in Afghanistan.
Pakistani businessmen have urged the country’s military and political leaders to open up trade with India, arguing that they only way the economy can climb out of a low growth path is to do business with its giant neighbour to the east.Pakistan has agreed to grant India Most Favoured Nation to promote trade and the two sides while still poles apart on political issues, are taking steps to expand the trade basket. Later this week, officials will hold talks on trade in petroleum products.

More crucially for Afghanistan, Pakistan has begun implementing a trade and transit treaty that allows Afghan exporters to send goods to the giant markets of India.

“Pakistan has been very clear that its red lines are security issues, things like training of forces etc,” an Indian diplomat said in New Delhi.“On other fronts, there is less of resistance. They are allowing goods from Afghanistan to go through, it’s a start.”

He recalled how apples from Afghanistan’s Wardak province were flown in the hold of state-carrier Air India in 2009 because Pakistan wouldn’t allow the farmers to truck them to the Indian market.

Verma said seven of India’s biggest companies in the steel sector were involved in the Afghan venture. “We know its difficult terrain, we have never done anything like this before, but we are bringing all our resources.”
The other members of the consortium are: state-run miner NMDC Ltd and steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), and private sector steelmakers JSW Steel Ltd, JSW Ispat Steel Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd.

Alcohol should be as easily available as Pepsi or Coke: Sindh MPA

PPP MPA says this should be done to stop reinfo­rcing that alcoho­l is only for minori­ty faith member­s to consum­e.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Saleem Khursheed Khokhar has suggested that alcohol should be as easily available as Pepsi or Coke.

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Saleem Khursheed Khokhar has suggested that alcohol should be as easily available as Pepsi or Coke, in order to stop reinforcing that it is only for minority faith members to consume.
Khokhar, who is also the chairman of the Standing Committee on Minority Affairs, brought up the idea as the Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Chawla was answering questions in the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday.
While another MPA, Anwar Khan Mahar, had clarified that alcohol was not allowed in minority faiths either, the minster told the assembly that according to the 1979 Act regarding the sale of alcohol, only non-Muslims were allowed to sell or consume alcohol.
Khokhar’s point was that reinforcing that non-Muslims drink alcohol created further divisions and it should just be made open for all.

Made in the USA?

Made in the USA?

What does that really mean?  If all the parts and components are made overseas, shipped here, and idiots screw them toghether, does that mean the product is "made in USA?"  If it does, then we have a problem. We're not more productive, we're falling to lower levels of manufacturing.  Here's a piece to think about--Economists offer more pessimistic view on manufacturing in upcoming report

Does anyone know of any products that are 100% really made in America?

Think About It

"A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker."

Badly dressed celebrities
The two leading sisters of Bollywood take the cake! We can't believe that this is the same Karisma Kapoor who endorses a popular anti-ageing product. And Kareena Kapoor looks haggered at the film screening of her latest Agent Vinod. Sleepless nights, Bebo?

India out of Asia Cup, Bangladesh to meet Pakistan in final

Bangladesh's victory - only their third over Sri Lanka in 30 one-day internationals - puts them through to meet Pakistan in the final on Thursday.
Pakistan topped the league with nine points from three matches, followed by Bangladesh (8/3), India (8/3) and Sri Lanka (0/3).
The hosts made it to the final as they beat India in their league match.

India were knocked out of the Asia Cup after minnows Bangladesh continued their giant-killing act by upsetting Sri Lanka by five wickets in the last league match.

Chasing a revised target of 212 after a rain interruption, the spirited hosts held their nerve to make their maiden entry into the summit showdown of the tournament where they will meet Pakistan on Thursday.
Put into bat, Sri Lanka were all out for 232 in 49.5 overs. But the target was reduced to 212 in 40 overs after a heavy downpour during the innings break, which lasted for a little more than an hour.

India needed a Sri Lankan victory to qualify for the final but now will have to pack their bags and return home. They had to pay the price for the shock defeat against Bangladesh.

Prior to Tuesday's match, Bangladesh were on four points and India on eight. But the hosts' win shut the door on India as they had defeated the Men in Blue earlier in the meet.

As per the rules of the tournament, if two teams are tied on points, head-to-head record is considered.

Sri Lanka had a chance as Bangladesh were off to a bad start, losing three wickets with just 40 runs on the board. Earlier Bangladesh kept their hopes alive for a place in the final by restricting Sri Lanka to a modest total.

Pakistan stops 'Agent Vinod' on track

MUMBAI: Saif Ali Khan's Agent Vinod has been banned in Pakistan. The film will be released this Friday, but not in Pakistan. Abdul Rashid, a distributor in that country, told TOI, "I was to release the film, but have decided against it after watching it. Any film that shows my country or religion in bad light will be thrown out."

Defending the film, director Sriram Raghavan said, "We were cautious about not hurting sentiments. In fact, Kareena plays a Pakistani in the film. There are good people shown in the film except for one. Pakistan has not been shown in a bad light and this will be known to people on Friday. My film deals with today's India and Pakistan, so ISI's mention is bound to be there."

But Rashid said, "I spoke to Eros International as the promos did indicate an anti-Pakistan stance. But they denied it. The film scared us as names of Pakistani officers have been used. Also, the filmmaker has used shots of Karachi and its airport without permission."

Rashid feels entertainment should facilitate the peace process between the two countries and not jeopardize it. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, a proponent of Indo-Pak cultural ties, said the ban proved the sensitive nature of Indo-Pak relationship. "Agent Vinod was much anticipated by fans in Pakistan. I am told that the ban has left many Pakistani cine goers disappointed. My colleagues across the border who have worked very hard to 'normalize' relationships between the two countries suggest that any Indian film to be released in the future should not hurt either the religious or national sentiments of Pakistanis and decelerate the Indo-P ak peace building process."

Pakistan is an important business territory for India, equivalent to Australia. A film like Agent Vinod would have fetched Rs 3-5 crore easily. Rashid said, "I have spent $20,000 on publicity and promotion and the producer is not going to reimburse me for the losses I have incurred." He said the film was bound to upset Pakistanis across the globe.

Pakistani distributor H Rehmati said, "It is unfortunate that this is the second Saif-K areena film that has been banned in Pakistan."

Religion or science: That is not the question

 

It is high time for us to have a society that does not intertwine science and religion, as both these subjects deal with different aspects of life and must be approached separately. PHOTO: AFP

The argument begins with this question: why should science and religion be kept separate? The answer depends on what you believe; however, let me present my case in favour of the separation of science and religion.
Science is the study of nature and how it functions. The beauty of science is that when a theory is presented, scientists of that field do not immediately agree with the theoretical claims. Rather, they put the theory to intensive criticism and tests. In many cases, the theories are disproved on the basis of counter evidence or errors that are deduced. If the scientists are unable to produce counter evidence or sufficient flaws in the theory, then supportive evidence is analysed, keeping in mind that the plausibility of a theory depends on the number of supportive empirical evidences provided by researchers.
In contrast, religion is entirely based on dogmas, which in most cases cannot be denied, questioned, critiqued or revoked.
The real problem arises when religious scholars start claiming new scientific discoveries as something that had been ‘revealed’ to them thousands of years ago. However, this claim takes place only when the scientific discoveries are compatible with their held beliefs. If the new discoveries, regardless of their significance, are contradictory to their beliefs, the theory is out rightly opposed and most of the time its researchers are persecuted, banished, and shunned. For example, when Galileo supported the Copernican theory through his research and study, he was charged with heresy and was persecuted.  He was later forced to withdraw his support for the theory in exchange of a less harsh prison sentence.
From the time of Galileo’s death in 1641, it took the Catholic Church some 350 years until 1992 to acknowledge that Galileo was indeed correct in supporting the Copernican theory. For those 350 years, several generations were deliberately misinformed and their chances of researching and building on Galileo’s findings were greatly affected.
However, Islam in this case, does not seem to overtly counter science since the history of scientific advancements in medieval Arabia is evident of this. It was more of the religious followers; the clerics, the leaders who were at certain times against scientific and rational thought. This notion is also supported by many modern historians, such as E G Browne, George Sarton, Sayili, and scientists such as Dr. Neil deGrass Tyson. They have made this case by blaming famous medieval Muslim theologians, Al-Ghazali and Al-Ashari, for causing the decline of rational thought in Arabia.
However, the historians’ blame on theologians is not unjustified; al Ghazali in his book “The Decisive Criterion for Distinguishing Islam from Clandestine Unbelief” implied that in case of conflict between reason and revealed text, priority should be given to the former over the latter (al Ghazâlî 1961,195 = 2002, 112). Furthermore, while disputing with some of Avicenna’s (Bu Ali Sina) teachings, he added a fatwa at the end of another of his books, “Incoherence of the Philosophers”, declaring that everybody who teaches parts of Avicenna’s more controversial topics is an apostate and can be sentenced to death (al Ghazâlî 1997, 230).
Although it is true that al Ghazali’s fatwa was not the only cause of scientific decline in medieval Arabia, there were political and economical factors, as well. However, when it comes to following a fatwa, the followers take it seriously, especially if the fatwa is coming from an authoritative figure such as, Imam al Ghazali.
If anyone thinks that these things don’t happen in today’s day and age, they would be wrong, as more recently, there was a case of a British Imam’s attempt to reconcile the theory of evolution with Islam. The result of his attempt was catastrophic for him. He was stripped off of his Imamat, received death threats, was shunned from the community and, worst of all, he was called an apostate. All this happened because he claimed that the theory of evolution could be compatible with religion, but sadly he was not given a chance to explain his standpoint.
As we are aware, overwhelming evidence supports the theory of evolution; however, since it is deemed contradictory to religious beliefs, it is outrightly opposed. Another example would be the opposition to stem cell research, details of which cannot be elaborated in this small space.
I have only presented a few examples to show how religious arguments have interfered with scientific progress. History, however, is filled with instances which are detrimental to the progress of reason and rationality.
Can you imagine where we would be if there were no religious interferences in scientific progress?
It is high time for us to have a society that does not intertwine science and religion, as both these subjects deal with different aspects of life and must be approached separately.