Troubled Pakistan cheers World Cup victory

Troubled but cricket-crazy Pakistan celebrated on June 22 victory in the Twenty20 World Cup 3-½ months after an attack on the Sri Lankan team appeared to drive a nail into the coffin of Pakistani cricket

"It's time to cheer," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at stock brokers Arif Habib Ltd in Karachi.

His comments were echoed by the market, with the benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100shared index up 0.66 percent.

"We've had bad news all around for quite some time now and this victory has definitely resulted in a feel-good effect," said Bhanji.

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Pakistan woman, 26, among 13 shooting rampage victims

A 26-year-old woman from Pakistan was among those who died in a shooting rampage when a lone gunman barricaded a rear exit at an immigration services center in Binghamton, NY, and then entered the building and killed 13 people before fatally shooting himself on April 3, authorities said.

The shooter, Jiverly Voong, 41, had been laid off from IBM in nearby Johnson City, according to reports. He entered the center, which holds classes for new immigrants and prospective citizens, and might have picked his victims at random, police said.

The death of Parveen Ali, of Binghamton, who had come to the U.S. eight years ago from the Swat area of northern Pakistan, which is heavily under siege from the Taliban, has devastated the family, a prominent member of the Muslim community in Binghamton told Desi Talk.

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Don't compare India to Pakistan, says Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi

The chairman of India's popular Twenty20 league has dismissed security fears ahead of the second edition of the tournament, insisting it was wrong to compare the situation in India to Pakistan.

"We are a very safe country. You are sitting here, I am sitting here, we all are sitting here...

We are not Pakistan. I really see no concern," Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi told reporters on March 10.

Security concerns around a tournament that attracts a large number of leading international players had intensified following the recent attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, which left six players and a coach wounded and eight people dead.

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International Cricket Council chief says security is key to 2011 World Cup games

Security advice will be key when matches are allotted for the 2011 World Cup to be jointly staged in the Indian sub-continent, International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan said on December 21.

There have been concerns over the World Cup, to be jointly staged by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, due to the refusal of major teams to tour Pakistan over player safety fears. The bilateral relations between India and Pakistan have also strained following last month's militant attacks in Mumbai. The Indian government this week refused permission for the cricket tour of Pakistan which was due to start next month.

"Of course, there has to be some concern about the next ICC World Cup to be played in those four countries," Morgan told a news conference. But I'm confident between the four countries we will have a very good World Cup.

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New York City Bar's honorary degree for former Pakistan Chief Justice

The New York City Bar Association presented an honorary degree to Iftikhar Muham mad Chaudhry, Pakistan's ousted Chief Justice at the association's office in Manhattan on November 17.

The award was bestowed in absentia last January, as Chaudhry was under house arrest after his ouster and the suspension of the Pakistani Constitution by President Musharraf a year ago.

On November 14, 2007, the City and State Bars, along with several other organizations, held a rally of approximately 700 lawyers on the steps of the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan in support of Chief Justice Chaudhry and the Pakistan Lawyers Movement, a press release said.

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Shoaib Akhtar banned in Pakistan until he pays fine

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will not be allowed to take part in the domestic season unless he pays a fine of seven million Pakistan rupees ($91,455).

The legal counsel for the Pakistan Cricket Board said Akhtar would not be eligible to start the season on October 4 with the highly popular Twenty20 national championship until he had cleared the fine.

"He has to pay the fine first or get a stay order from the court against it. Otherwise he can't play for Pakistan or anywhere in Pakistan at any level," Tafazzul Rizvi told Reuters.

The Board's appellate tribunal reduced in June a five year ban imposed on the fast bowler to 18 months. But it asked him to pay the hefty fine as punishment.

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Pakistan film to make history, show in India same day

Pakistani film about a boy who inadvertently strays into Indian territory will be the first ever to premiere simultaneously in India and Pakistan, the film's Pakistani producer said.

‘Ramchand Pakistani', inspired by a real-life incident, examines the emotional turmoil of an 8-year-old boy and his father after they cross into India and are jailed, while the mother in Pakistan is left waiting to see their fate.

The film's release in India and Pakistan on August 1 will be a rare event considering political rivalry has limited cultural interaction between the two nuclear-armed nations.

"It is a very rare example of creative constructive collaboration between both countries," producer Javed Jabbar said at a press conference on July 13, a day after the film was screened at the Osian's Cinefan film festival in New Delhi.

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Harbhajan banned for five one-dayers over slap

The Indian cricket board banned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals on May 14 for a slapping incident involving Shanthakumaran Sreesanth during a domestic Twenty20 league match last month.

A statement from the board said the disciplinary committee, which met on May 14, had decided to invoke Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI regulations wherein the maximum punishment is 'a ban up to a maximum of five ODIs and/or three test matches'.

"The committee accordingly decided to ban Mr. Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals, starting today (May 14), and observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life ban," the statement said.

The ban meant the 27-year-old off-spinner will miss the forthcoming tri-series in Bangladesh in June and the start of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.

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