Shakil Afridi talks with people outside a building at an unknown location in Pakistan.—Reuters Photo

PESHAWAR: Mindful of the threat to the life of Dr Shakil Afridi, the CIA spy convicted and jailed for 33 years on treason charges, KPK authorities are considering shifting Afridi to a safer place away from Central Prison Peshawar.

An official source told dawn.com that an important meeting consisting of jail authorities, home department and other law enforcement agencies is being convened tomorrow to  discuss the possibility of shifting Afridi, outside KPK for security reasons.

The Attock and Balahisar Fort are also being considered as possible jail cells for him. A high-ranking government official said that Afiridi had already informed jail authorities about a potential threat from Taliban prisoners inside Central Prison Peshawar where the medic is being jailed after punishment by the APA Bara under 40-FCR.

Afiridi is being kept in barrack 16 and around 40 elite force commandos are guarding his cell to counter both internal and external threats.

Besides suggestions of moving Afridi to Balhisar or Attock Fort, proposals to shift him somewhere in Sindh or Punjab are also under consideration, official sources said.

For security purposes, only IG Jails or Superintendent of the Peshawar Jail are authorised to meet Afridi who is reportedly in poor health. A team of senior doctors have been assigned to take care of him inside the prison.

—File photo by AFP

QUETTA: At least two people were killed and five were injured in a blast on Sariab Road in Quetta on Sunday, DawnNews reported.

A remote-controlled bomb was planted inside a car and a police van was targeted, sources said.

The bomb was detonated when the police van came within the proximity of the bomb.

Two people lost their lives while five policemen, including Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station, were injured after the blast.

The injured were shifted to the civil hospital.

Earlier on Saturday, two men were killed and 20 others, two women among them, injured in two rocket attacks on  Kandahari Bazaar in Quetta.

Negredo effectively fills the void of Spain’s record goalscorer David Villa. -Photo by AFP

SCHRUNS: Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo edged Roberto Soldado for the final striker’s spot in defending champions Spain’s squad for Euro 2012 announced by coach Vicent del Bosque here on Sunday.

Negredo effectively fills the void of Spain’s record goalscorer David Villa – who failed to recover from a broken tibia in time – after scoring 14 goals in La Liga in the season just finished.

Soldado misses out despite scoring 17 league goals as his form dipped dramatically in the latter stages of the season.

Barcelona’s Pedro was rewarded for doing exactly the opposite as his rich vein of form in the latter part of the season – including a double in Barca’s Spanish Cup final win over Athletic Bilbao on Friday – saw him make the squad.

“Pedro had an inconsistent season like others did,” said Del Bosque.

“But we took into account certain aspects of his season. We looked at his season in its entirety.

“And also we need players out wide, wingers who are effective,” added del Bosque of the 20102 World Cup winner.

Negredo will compete for places up front with Fernando Torres, who showed glimpses of a return to form for Champions League winners Chelsea at the end of the season, and Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente.

There are just four members of the 2008 squad missing, with Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevila no longer in favour and talismanic defender Carles Puyol and Villa out because of injuries.

The midfield is dominated by Barcelona with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta definite starters while Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets are also included.

However, Barcelona informed del Bosque that former Arsenal captain Fabregas will need up to 10 days to recuperate from the pulled right thigh muscle he suffered in the Spanish Cup final.

“The doctors are optimistic in his case,” said Del Bosque.

“It is an injury from which he should recover pretty quickly, although it did give me pause for thought when I came to select the definitive squad.”

In defence Del Bosque named Atletico Madrid right-back Juanfran in place of the injured Andoni Iraola, who had an outstanding season for Athletic Bilbao.

“Juanfran had a good season for Atletico and for that reason gets to replace the injured Iraola,” said Del Bosque.

Spain will remain at their training camp here and have two more warm-up matches – they beat Serbia 2-0 on Saturday – against South Korea and China before moving to their base for the championship in Gniewino on June 5.

They begin their title defence on June 10 against Italy, before other group games against the Republic of Ireland and Croatia.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool/ENG), Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa, Raul Albiol, Sergio Ramos (all Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao).
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Santi Cazorla (Malaga), Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets (all Barcelona).
Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City/ENG), Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo (both Sevilla), Fernando Torres, Juan Mata (both Chelsea/ENG), Pedro (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao).

JUI-F Chief Fazlur Rehman. – File Photo

KALAT: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Sunday that their party will not allow Pakistan’s slavery to the United States. Kashmir and Afghanistan issues are denting the country, DawnNews reported.

The JUI-F chief said that Pakistan’s military will have to distance itself from politics and governance of the country.

Addressing a public meeting in Kalat, Fazl said that Pakistan will have to cut down its defence budget.

He said ‘In the illusion of a free society, our youth is being led towards moral degradation. But we will not allow Pakistan’s submission towards the west, he added.

Reiterating the JUI-F’s stance, he said “those in government will have to make sure that Sharia laws are followed in the country.”

West Indies’ Darren Sammy, left, celebrates with Marlon Samuels after the TV replay gave England’s Ian Bell out. -Photo by AP

NOTTINGHAM: West Indies fought back well to take four wickets on the third morning of the second Test at Trent Bridge here on Sunday as they checked England’s progress .

At lunch, England were 340 for six in reply to West Indies’ 370 – still 30 runs behind after resuming on 259 for two in ideal, sunny, batting conditions.

England captain Andrew Strauss was 125 not out, having started the day unbeaten on 102 – his second hundred in as many matches after his 123 in the five-wicket first Test win over the Windies at Lord’s.

Tim Bresnan was unbeaten on four.

This was the first time in his 21 Test hundreds – one shy of the England record of 22 held jointly by Walter Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Geoffrey Boycott – that Strauss had added more than six runs when not out overnight on a century.

But the fact he’d scored just 23 runs in the session was testament to the accuracy of West Indies’ attack, with fast bowlers Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach doing the damage.

Kevin Pietersen had looked in excellent touch while making 72 on Saturday.

But he’d added just eight runs to his overnight score when he was leg before to a Rampaul inswinger.

Despite his challenge, Pietersen had to go for 80 to end a stand worth 144.

At that stage, Rampaul had taken three for 43 and the rest of the attack none for 210.

The West Indies took the new ball as soon as possible with England 299 for three off 80 overs.

And it brought rewards with Roach, who’d sent down eight no-balls Saturday, getting back into his stride with two wickets for six runs in 16 balls to reduce England to 308 for five.

Fourth delivery with the new ball, Roach had Ian Bell aiming across the line, lbw for 22 although the tourists had to challenge umpire Aleem Dar’s original not out verdict.

Jonathan Bairstow, in just his second Test, never looked comfortable against the short ball and, trying to turn a rising Roach delivery legside, got a leading edge to mid-on and was caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy, who scored his maiden Test hundred on Saturday, then got in on the act when the medium-pacer bowled Matt Prior off the inside edge.

Stosur, who also kicked-off the 2011 tournament, said she was getting used to the French Open Sunday starts which were introduced in 2006. -Photo by AFP

PARIS: US Open champion Samantha Stosur had the honour of being the first player into the French Open second round at a sweltering Roland Garros on Sunday, brushing aside Britain’s Elena Baltacha.

Australian sixth seed Stosur, the 2010 runner-up to Francesca Schiavone, took just over an hour to see off the 68th-ranked Baltacha 6-4, 6-0 on Philippe Chatrier court.

The 26-year-old from the Gold Coast, who hammered 23 winners to Baltacha’s eight, next faces Irina Falconi of the United States.

Stosur, who also kicked-off the 2011 tournament, said she was getting used to the French Open Sunday starts which were introduced in 2006.

“The first year they had it, there were only a few matches and it didn’t feel like the tournament had really started, it didn’t feel like it was happenening with fewer players around,” she said.

“But now with a full schedule, it really feels like the first day of the event.”

Joining Stosur in the next round was Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The 2009 champion, seeded 26 this year, marked her 40th Grand Slam appearance with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Croatian world number 117 Mirjana Lucic.

The 26-year-old Russian, who was also runner-up in 2006, brushed aside the 30-year-old Florida-based Lucic in just 61 minutes.

Kuznetsova tackles either Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine or Taiwan qualifier Chan Yung-Jan for a place in the last 32.

Despite Baltacha’s defeat to Stosur, British hopes were boosted when Laura Robson, who had lost in qualifying, was handed a spot in the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’ after Spains’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa pulled out with an injury.

Former Wimbledon junior champion Robson will face Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Robson joined fellow qualifier Heather Watson, Baltacha and Anne Keothavong in the main draw, making it the most British women in the first round in Paris for 21 years.

Later Sunday, Venus Williams and Juan Martin Del Potro, whose careers have seen Grand Slam highs as well as injury-hit lows, will take centre-stage.

With top drawcards such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams all being spared opening day duty at Roland Garros, the likes of Williams and Del Potro get an early chance to impress.

Williams, now ranked 53 in the world after battling energy-sapping Sjogren’s Syndrome, was runner-up in Paris in 2002, losing the final to sister Serena.

The 31-year-old begins her 15th Roland Garros against Argentina’s Paula Ormaechea.
Del Potro, the only man to have won a Grand Slam title outside of the ‘big three’ in the last seven years, begins against Spanish veteran Albert Montanes.

Ninth-seed Del Potro was a semi-finalist in 2009 before going on to win the US Open that year.

But a wrist injury saw him sidelined for nine months before his ranking slumped to 485.
Del Potro won the claycourt title in Estoril this year and could face Federer in the quarter-finals at the French Open.

Two other former champions are also in action on Sunday.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 men’s winner, faces France’s Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy while Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 women’s champion, plays Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino of Spain.

Army soldiers display flags of the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group, at a position recaptured from thr group near the southern Yemeni city of Zinjibar May 26. — Photo Reuters

ADEN: At least 22 militants were killed in overnight clashes and an air strike in southern Yemen, where government troops are fighting rebels linked to al Qaeda, a local official and residents said on Sunday.

Around 15 of the dead were killed in fighting north of the militant stronghold of Jaar, a town in Abyan province that has been controlled by the militants since last year.

The al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) exploited last year’s popular protests against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to capture swathes of territory in Abyan, including the provincial capital Zinjibar.

The expansion of the militants’ area of control has unsettled the United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of failed attacks by Yemen’s al Qaeda wing (AQAP), which this week claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital Sanaa that killed more than 100 soldiers.

This month the government began a counter-offensive against Ansar al-Sharia with US help.

A military official said the army had managed to recapture key positions in Zinjibar, where at least 63 militants were killed on Saturday in heavy fighting, many of them Somalis.

The bodies of seven militants were seen on Sunday being carried away from a factory located west of Jaar, which is used by Ansar al-Sharia as a base, after it was attacked by a Yemeni warplane on Saturday night.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have been pushing Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who took over after Saleh stepped down in February, to unite the army and roll back the militants’ gains.

Washington considers al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group’s Yemeni wing which has attracted fighters from Somalia and Saudi Arabia, as its most active cell.

American intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say their ability to conduct operations against AQAP inside Yemen, notably with drone strikes, has improved significantly since Hadi took office.

The Dutch were booed off in Amsterdam after surrendering a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 against Bulgaria. -Photo by Reuters

PARIS: Germany and the Netherlands, two of the sides widely-tipped as potential Euro 2012 winners, suffered worrying friendly international defeats on Saturday.

Germany slumped to a shock 5-3 defeat in Switzerland while the Dutch were booed off in Amsterdam after surrendering a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 against Bulgaria.

Defending European and world champions Spain, however, showed off their impressive strength in depth when a second-string side defeated Serbia 2-0.

England, meanwhile, gave Roy Hodgson a winning start as new national coach with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Norway in Oslo.

Germany, who rested their eight-strong Bayern Munich contingent, suffered their first loss to Switzerland, who failed to qualify for Euro 2012, since 1956.

Joachim Loew’s Germany qualified for Euro 2012 without losing a match, but they have now lost two friendlies in succession having been defeated 2-1 by France in February.

Their last friendly will be against Israel on May 31 before embarking on their Euro campaign against Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark in Group B.

Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok, who has just left Bayer Leverkusen for fellow German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, grabbed a hat-trick in Basel with Andre Lichtsteiner and Admir Mehmedi also on target.

Mats Hummels, Andre Schuerrle and Marco Reus hit back for the Germans.

“We didn’t expect a result like this and we cannot be satisfied by it,”said Loew.

“After a lot of intensive training sessions, it’s clear that we didn’t concentrate enough and made a lot of mistakes. The team didn’t function, we weren’t good today.”

Netherlands’ 2-1 loss to Bulgaria came just four days after they were beaten 3-2 by Bayern Munich.

Robin van Persie had given the Dutch a 45th-minute lead but Bulgaria levelled four minutes into the second half with an Ivelin Popov penalty after a handball by Rafael van der Vaart.

Striker Ilijan Mizanski hit the winner in the second minute of injury time on a counter-attack.

Dutch fans were so frustrated that Bert van Marwijk’s team were jeered off at the final whistle.

“The result is disappointing,” admitted the coach. “We took a lot of risks at the end of the game and were caught on the counter-attack.

“But that’s football and we need to learn the lessons.”

Roy Hodgson made a winning start to his reign as England manager after an Ashley Young goal in the ninth minute gave his side a 1-0 victory over Norway in Oslo.

Hodgson, who only took over as the successor to Fabio Capello earlier this month, saw his experimental England side record their first win over Norway for 32 years.

With only four or five of Saturday’s starting England XI likely to feature in their opening Euro 2012 game against France on June 11, Hodgson was given the opportunity to run the rule over several fringe members of his squad.

However despite an encouraging opening spell from striker Andy Carroll and another goal-scoring contribution from Young, there were few major English success stories in a low-key contest.

“It’s a great start. I was concerned about fatigue creeping in and some players were feeling their muscles,” said Hodgson.

“They worked hard in training trying to impress me.”

With Euro 2012 starting on June 8, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque fielded a host of fringe players with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao stars having played in Friday’s Spanish Cup final.

That left the door open for the likes of Atletico Madrid’s Adrian Lopez to state his case, and he didn’t disappoint, heading the world champions into a 64th-minute lead.

Adrian was also instrumental in Spain’s second goal 11 minutes later when he earned a penalty after being felled by Serbia captain Branislav Ivanovic, with the spot kick converted by Santi Cazorla.

Spain kick off their Group C campaign against Italy on June 10, followed by the Republic of Ireland on June 14 and wrapping up with Croatia on June 18.

Ireland saw off Bosnia 1-0 in Dublin while Portugal were held 0-0 in Leiria by Macedonia.

Denmark lost 3-1 to a young Brazil side, who are preparing for the London Olympics, in a friendly in Hamburg with Hulk scoring two of the Brazilians’ goals.

Elsewhere Saturday, there were wins for tournament co-hosts Poland who beat Slovakia 1-0.

Croatia beat Estonia 3-1, the Czech Republic edged Israel 2-1 while 2004 champions Greece were held 1-1 by Slovenia.

— Photo by ONLINE

ORAKZAI: In a clash between militants and security forces, at least four militants were killed in Orakzai agency on Sunday, DawnNews reported.

The clash took place when the security forces advanced in to Gandital area of Orakzai agency, government sources said.

A key militant commander was also among four casualties.

Syian foreign ministry spokesman, Jihad al-Makdissi. — Photo AP

DAMASCUS: The Syrian government denied Sunday its troops were behind an attack on a string of villages that left more than 90 people dead, blaming the killings on ”hundreds of heavily-armed gunmen” who also attacked soldiers in the area.

Friday’s assault on Houla, an area northwest of the central city ofHoms, was one of the bloodiest single events inSyria’s 15-month-old uprising. The UN says 32 children under 10 were among the dead. The international body and others have issued statements appearing to hold the Syrian regime responsible.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told reporters inDamascusat a news conference thatSyriais being subjected to a ”tsunami of lies” on Houla. ”We categorically deny the responsibility of government forces for the massacre,” Makdissi said.

Makdissi said a committee was set up to investigate the incident and results should be out within three days. He added that UN envoy Kofi Annan will be inSyriaon Monday.

The attacks sparked outrage from American and other international leaders, and renewed concerns about the relevance of a month-old international peace plan that has not stopped almost daily violence.

UN observers, among more than 250 who were dispatched in recent weeks to salvage the cease-fire plan, found spent artillery and tank shells at the site Saturday — a finding which would point toward the government’s heavily-armed mechanized units.

“Those who use violence for their own agenda will create more instability, more unpredictability and may lead the country to civil war,” warned the observers’ chief Maj. Gen. Robert Mood in a statement.

Makdissi however said ”hundreds of heavily-armed gunmen carrying machineguns, mortars and anti-tank missiles” launched the attack that started at about 2 p.m. and lasted nine hours, simultaneously from several locations. He added that five army positions in the area came under attack at the same time leaving three soldiers dead and 16 wounded.

”There were no Syrian tanks or artillery in the vicinity” of Houla, Makdissi said. He added that gunmen used anti-tank missiles and ”Syrian troops retaliated in defense of their positions.”

Kuwait, which currently heads the 22-member Cairo-based Arab League, announced it is calling for an Arab ministerial meeting that aims to ”take steps to put an end to the oppressive practices against the Syrian people.”