England defeats Pakistan 5-2 in hockey World Cup and has virtually qualified to the semifinal stage of the tournament. Pakistan was in a deficit of 2-0 during the first half. India was defeated by Spain 5-2.
During the second half the Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt scored in a four-minute span to level the game. English strikers attacked the Pakistani several times and in the process managed to score three more goals. Barry Middleton and Jonty Clarke scored twice while Ashley Jackson scored one goal for England.
Sohail Abbas yet again failed to gain advantage of penalty corners. Pakistan was awarded four penalty strokes but Sohail managed to score on none. The goal keeper Ali Akbar failed to exhibit impressive performance.
Earlier, Australia achieved the biggest win in World Cup history by hammering South Africa 12-0. It was Australia’s second win in three matches.

New Zealand have won a thrilling T20 against Australia in Christchurch after the Super Over was required to split the two sides.
With both tied on 214 runs at the end of 40 fascinating overs the match headed for the sudden-death tie-break and Tim Southee, who bowled superbly at the death for the hosts, stepped up and delivered.
He restricted Australia, who used Cameron White, David Warner and Brad Haddin, to six for one off his six deliveries and then watched as the pressure got to visiting fast bowler Shaun Tait who fired down two wides as man-of-the-match Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill made nine for no loss in New Zealand’s over to give them the win to level the series 1-1.
McCullum was simply outstanding from start to finish at AMI Stadium. His unbeaten 116 spearheaded New Zealand’s innings as they looked to rebound from the disappointing display in Wellington two days ago.

Great teamwork and high penalty conversion rate script Indian win in their World Cup opener against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India dismissed Pakistan 4-1 and the scoreline could actually have been healthier. A double strike by Sandeep Singh after Shivendra Singh drew first blood gave India a rousing start on Day 1 of the world championship. Prabhjot Singh underlined his class, scoring India’s third goal after the hosts took the breather leading 2-0.
India put the Pakistani deep defence under tremendous pressure right from the start. Tushar Khandekar almost got the first goal in the eighth minute. An attack fashioned by Rajpal Singh and Vikram Pillai opened the face of the Pakistan goal, but Khandekar’s fierce finish met goalkeeper Salman Akbar’s chest. India won their third corner with seconds left for half-time, via the TV referral system. The result was goal No. 2, a classical drag flicker’s finish by the specialist, Sandeep. India could not have asked for a better opening session. Prabhjot carried on from where India left at half-time. Two minutes into the second session, the veteran capped yet another great teamwork in the scoring area. The fruit of Gurwinder Chandi’s alacrity was eaten by Prabhjot with a cool finish (3-1).
India put the game beyond Pakistan when Sandeep scored his second goal in the 55th minute.
Veteran defender and former skipper Sohail Abbas twice hit the crosspiece from penalty corners. In the 58th minute, he finally found the mark with a trademark finish that left goalie Sreejesh with no answer. Abbas’ goal was a much-needed consolation for a Pakistani team that lacked spark in such a needle game.

The CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, have a long and often tormented relationship. And even now, they are moving warily toward conflicting goals, with each maneuvering to protect its influence after the shooting stops in Afghanistan, reported New York Times.
Yet interviews in recent days show how they are working together on tactical operations, and how far the CIA has extended its extraordinary secret war beyond the mountainous tribal belt and deep into Pakistan’s sprawling cities.
Beyond the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, CIA operatives working with the ISI have carried out dozens of raids throughout Pakistan over the past year, working from bases in the cities of Quetta, Peshawar and elsewhere, according to Pakistani security officials.
The raids often come after electronic intercepts by American spy satellites, or tips from Pakistani informants — and the spies from the two countries then sometimes drive in the same car to pick up their quarry. Sometimes the teams go on lengthy reconnaissance missions, with the ISI operatives packing sunscreen and neon glow sticks that allow them to identify their positions at night.
The drone attack on Mehsud is part of a joint war against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where CIA drones pound militants from the air as Pakistani troops fight them on the ground. Even as the ISI breaks up a number of Taliban cells, officials in Islamabad, Washington and Kabul hint that the ISI’s goal seems to be to weaken the Taliban just enough to bring them to the negotiating table, but leaving them strong enough to represent Pakistani interests in a future Afghan government. Besides Mullah Baradar, several Taliban shadow governors and other senior leaders have been arrested inside Pakistan in recent weeks.

The CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, have a long and often tormented relationship. And even now, they are moving warily toward conflicting goals, with each maneuvering to protect its influence after the shooting stops in Afghanistan, reported New York Times.
Yet interviews in recent days show how they are working together on tactical operations, and how far the CIA has extended its extraordinary secret war beyond the mountainous tribal belt and deep into Pakistan’s sprawling cities.
Beyond the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, CIA operatives working with the ISI have carried out dozens of raids throughout Pakistan over the past year, working from bases in the cities of Quetta, Peshawar and elsewhere, according to Pakistani security officials.
The raids often come after electronic intercepts by American spy satellites, or tips from Pakistani informants — and the spies from the two countries then sometimes drive in the same car to pick up their quarry. Sometimes the teams go on lengthy reconnaissance missions, with the ISI operatives packing sunscreen and neon glow sticks that allow them to identify their positions at night.
The drone attack on Mehsud is part of a joint war against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where CIA drones pound militants from the air as Pakistani troops fight them on the ground. Even as the ISI breaks up a number of Taliban cells, officials in Islamabad, Washington and Kabul hint that the ISI’s goal seems to be to weaken the Taliban just enough to bring them to the negotiating table, but leaving them strong enough to represent Pakistani interests in a future Afghan government. Besides Mullah Baradar, several Taliban shadow governors and other senior leaders have been arrested inside Pakistan in recent weeks.

Aghanistan government officials say at least 19 civilians have been killed by a Nato air attack on a convoy of vehicles in Uruzgan, a province in the country’s south.

Nato confirmed that it fired on Sunday on a group of vehicles that it believed contained fighters, only to discover later that women and children were in the cars.

Isaf, Nato’s force in Afghanistan, did not provide a figure of how many died.

Amanullah Hothaki, the head of the provincial council for Uruzgan, said 19 people were killed in the attack, which hit three minibuses as they drove down a main road.

Zemeri Bashary, the Afghan interior ministry spokesman, said he had reports of 27 people killed.

He said there were 42 people in the vehicles, all of them civilians.

Indian President Pratibha Patil has said that India is ready for ‘meaningful’ talks with Pakistan, however urged the latter to seriously addresses terrorism issue.
In her address marking the beginning of the budget session of Parliament, Patil said: “India is ready to explore a meaningful relationship with Pakistan if Pakistan seriously addresses the threat of terrorism and takes effective steps to prevent terrorist activities against India.” She termed the Maoist rebels as biggest threat for the internal security, however, she offered the rebels to lay arms and initiate dialogue. She warned that cross border terrorism in the held Kashmir valley could harm her country greatly. It merits to mention that Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir are scheduled to meet on Feb 25.
Thanks for your comments

The governor of Afghan province Helmand, Gulab Mengal has said that Afghan forces are facing stiff resistance from Pakistani Taliban.

Many resident of the Helmand province have fled the fighting and they are facing enormous challenges.

Bollywood movie “My name is Khan” starring Shah Rukh Khan has been granted permission to be exhibited in cinemas across Pakistan. The film has faced difficulty in release across India due to threats from Shiv Sena however in Pakistan the full board recommended the exhibition of the movie since Shah Rukh Khan supported the Pakistani players inclusion in IPL3.
Hundreds of activist staged a protest outside Shiv Sena office in Mumbai. The protesters demanded for the release of the movie in Mumbai and across Maharashtra without any hurdles. The protest was held by NGO named “Awami Bahrat”. Protesters held placards and chanted slogans against Shiv Sena. Police arrested the protesters however they were released later on.
My name is Khan is being released across India today however Shiv Sena, has pledged to disrupt the premiere of the film. The local Police assured that at least 21,000 police officers would be deputed for the safety of the cinemas exhibiting the movie.

Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the the franchise representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League has been heavily criticised by by from the Shiv Sena political party over his recent comments in favor of Pakistani cricket players for not being included in third edition of lucarative Indian Premier League.

“Shah Rukh Khan must withdraw his comments if he wants his new film to be released in Mumbai,” Shiv Sena’s senior party leader Manohar Joshi, told reporters in Mumbai Wednesday. The Shiv Sena, one of the active party in the western state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital – protested against Khan’s statement and some of its members burned posters of the actor’s upcoming film, “My Name is Khan.”

Khan accepted that Pakistan players should have been chosen for the third edition of the lucrative tournament but he went on to say that since there were issues between India and Pakistan, the IPL should have handled the issue better. “I truly believe they (Pakistan players) should have been chosen,” said Khan a TV interview. “I wanted Abdul Razzaq and I think it was in newspapers much earlier than the auction started that I was very keen,” he added.

Khan said it was humiliating to him as a KKR owner that no one bid for the Pakistani players despite them being put up for auction. “I truly believe, Pakistani players are the best T20 players in the world they are the world champions they are wonderful.”

Read more here:
Shah Rukh Khan criticised for backing Pakistan player for IPL