LONDON: Former International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan has been appointed the next president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owners of London´s Lord´s Cricket Ground, it was announced Wednesday.

Morgan, who also served as a chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), will take over on October 1 after being nominated by current MCC president Mike Gatting.

"David Morgan has been and remains one of the most influential voices in the world game, and I´m sure he will do an excellent job in leading MCC through a very important time in its history," said Gatting.

"He is ambitious, creative and efficient and will be a fantastic leader for this wonderful club.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as MCC president so far, and I am looking forward to seeing the club through the Lord´s (ground) bicentenary celebrations in my final few months," former England captain Gatting added."David is the ideal person to succeed me and I´m delighted he accepted my invitation."

Morgan, is currently the president of Welsh county Glamorgan, where he made his name as a cricket administrator, and will continue in that post alongside his MCC duties.

Morgan´s appointment came during MCC´s annual general meeting on Wednesday when Gatting confirmed that will be no redevelopment of the Nursery End until work at the Pavilion End of the ground is complete.

As part of the Lord´s Masterplan, MCC have planning permission for the redevelopment of the Warner Stand with work scheduled to commence, subject to members´ approval, in September 2015.(AFP)

LAHORE: Newly appointed head coach of the Pakistan cricket team, Waqar Younis said that he has been appointed coach through the system and did not commit any mistake.

He said that if anybody criticizes him he is ready to face it.

The former fast bowler said that he wants to do something for the team with an open heart.

Waqar said that he has no complaint against any player and has learnt from mistakes of his past.

He said that he had given suggestions to the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the appointment of support staff.

The head coach said that Pakistan team would be benefited by playing cricket series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia before the World Cup 2015.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Javed Hashmi on Thursday telephoned Geo News senior anchorperson Hamid Mir and inquired about his health.

In a telephonic conversation, Javed Hashmi said he was against the ban on Geo, adding if anyone has complaints about Geo he should move the court.

Hashmi told Hamid Mir during their telephone conversation: “Mir! the attack on you is an assault on democracy. ”He further said: “I always fight for the democracy, and you also do so.”

TOKYO: A Japanese man suspected of possessing guns made with a 3-D printer has been arrested, reports said Thursday, in what was said to be the country´s first such detention.

Officers who raided the home of Yoshitomo Imura, a 27-year-old college employee, confiscated five weapons, two of which had the potential to fire lethal bullets, broadcaster NHK said.

They also recovered a 3-D printer from the home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, but did not find any ammunition for the guns, Jiji Press reported.

It is the first time Japan´s firearm control law has been applied to the possession of guns produced by 3-D printers, Jiji reported.

The police investigation began after the suspect allegedly posted video footage on the Internet showing him shooting the guns, the Mainichi Shimbun said on its website.

Officers suspect that he downloaded blueprints for making the guns with 3-D printers from websites hosted overseas, the newspaper said.

The daily said the suspect largely admitted the allegations, saying: "It is true that I made them, but I did not think it was illegal."

The police refused to confirm the reports, although broadcasters showed footage of Imura being taken in for questioning.

The rapid development of 3-D printing technology, which allows relatively cheap machines to construct complex physical objects by building up layers of polymer, has proved a challenge for legislators around the world.

Weapons assembled from parts produced by the printers are not detectable with regular security equipment, like that found at airports, leading to fears that they may be used in hijackings.

The debate about home-made guns took off last year in the United States when a Texas-based group, Defense Distributed, posted blueprints for a fully functional, 3-D-printed firearm, a single-shot pistol made almost entirely out of hard polymer plastic.

In December the US Congress renewed a ban on guns that contain no metal.

While Japanese police are armed, Japan has very strict firearms control laws and few people possess guns or have ever come into contact with them. (AFP)

MULTAN: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has strongly criticized Imran Khan, saying that Khan had never carried out any serious work in his life.

Speaking to media at Jamia Qasim-ul-Uloom Multan here Wednesday, Fazl said Imran Khan is a needless element and he had been wasting time from the very beginning.

JUI-F leader further said poll rigging was carried out across the country, adding the people who came into power via rigging were crying about it.

Commenting on peace talks, Fazl said he was not part of Taliban-government dialogues, however, he wanted the process to succeed and bring peace in the country.

Fazl added that the government had not adopted a serious path for success of dialogue process.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced four more deaths from the MERS coronavirus and 18 new infections, as it battles to contain the mystery disease which has now killed 121 people in the kingdom.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) after a five-day mission to Jeddah pinpointed breaches in its "recommended infection prevention and control measures" as being partly responsible for an increase in infections in the Red Sea city.

The disease, which first appeared in the kingdom in September 2012, has now infected a total number 449 Saudis, accounting for the bulk of cases registered across the globe.

Two of the latest deaths reported late on Wednesday -- of a 65-year-old woman suffering from several illnesses and a 45-year-old woman -- occurred in the capital Riyadh. Both died on Tuesday.

In Jeddah, the commercial capital, a 70-year-old woman died on Monday and a 60-year-old man died on Tuesday, the health authorities said.

Among the 18 people newly infected is a 10-year-old boy who was taken to a government hospital in Jeddah following an accident on April 29. After he was discharged from the hospital on May 2, MERS symptoms began to appear and he was rushed to intensive care.

Saudi Arabia´s acting health minister Adel Fakieh announced Tuesday the sacking of the head of Jeddah´s King Fahd Hospital where a spike in MERS infections among medical staff sparked panic among the public. The WHO said the recent increase in numbers of infections does not suggest a "significant change in the transmissibility of the virus".

"The majority of human-to-human infections occurred in health care facilities," it said, adding that "one quarter of all cases have been health care workers". The team urged health care workers to improve their "knowledge and attitudes" about the disease.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some researchers think it may originate in camels.

Fakieh on Wednesday announced an awareness campaign to help stop the disease´s spread, urging people not only to follow strict measures of hygiene, but specifically to avoid sick camels and refrain from eating raw camel meat or drinking unboiled camel milk. (AFP)

MIRANSHAH: A roadside bomb martyred at least eight soldiers and wounded several others in North Waziristan on Thursday, the military said.

The bomb exploded as a military convoy passed in the village of Ghulamkhan in North Waziristan. "At least eight security forces personnel embraced martyrdom in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast which had been planted by terrorists on Miranshah-Ghulamkhan road," the military said in a statement.

"Several security forces personnel are critically injured."

Local military officials confirmed the incident and said troops called in air support and launched a search operation in the area after the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the area is a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court resumed hearing of the high treason case against former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Thursday and ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to provide the investigation report to former president by May 14, Geo News reported.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab and consisting of Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali Khan heard the case against the former dictator and accepted Musharraf’s counsel Barrister Farogh Naseem’s request for the provision of FIA’s inquiry report.

The Special Court had reserved its verdict over the Defence Counsel's demand on April 28.

During today’s proceedings, the court ordered the FIA to provide the relevant inquiry report to Musharraf and said that it is the legal responsibility of the prosecution to provide the investigation report and other relevant record to the defence lawyers.

The court will also hear the petitions related to hearing of the case on daily basis along with fixing the date to present witnesses in the court today.

During the last hearing, counsel for Pervez Musharraf, Barrister Farogh Nasim withdrew the two petitions relating to section 6-A of the Special Court Act-1976. He submitted that section 6-A of Special Court Act-1976 has expired and his petitions in this regard may kindly be returned and added he would be presenting his reservations verbally.

At his moment, prosecutor Akram Sheikh on objection said that the defence counsel on the one hand was taking back the petitions and on the other continuing his arguments.

Barrister Farogh Nasim prayed to the court not to further proceed in the case until the ruling on the handing over to him a copy of the FIA report announced. He said he would finalize his future strategy in the light of the court’s decision and hastily added that it should not be perceived that the trial proceeding being delayed because of him.

Later, the court approved the withdrawal of petitions that stated the law under which the accused indicted was superseded by 1981 Ordinance.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Thursday as investors digested an unexpected drop in US crude stockpiles and fresh Chinese trade data, analysts said. The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, was up 10 cents to $100.87 in late-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for June eased 11 cents to $108.02 per barrel.

Oil prices were well-supported in the market "due to an unexpected drop in US inventories," said Sanjeev Gupta, the head of the Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at consultancy firm EY. The US Department of Energy on Wednesday said crude reserves sank by 1.8 million barrels in the week to May 2, confounding market expectations for a gain of 1.2 million barrels. The fall in US crude reserves indicates resurgent demand in the world´s top crude consumer ahead of the busy summer holiday driving season.

Investors meanwhile were also digesting Chinese official data released Thursday that showed the country´s exports and imports rose marginally in April, rebounding from sharp declines the month before. The figures showed an overall trade surplus of $18.45 billion, the second straight trade surplus amid complaints by analysts over the continued impact of fake reporting of exports seen in early 2013.

"China´s trade data show signs of recovery but continue to understate the true health of the export sector," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist for Capital Economics. Crude investors closely monitor economic data from China for an indication of demand in the world top crude consumer.

MADRID: Austrian qualifier Dominic Thiem scored the biggest victory of his young career on Tuesday when he rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over third-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka at the Madrid Open.

The 20-year-old Thiem showed composure beyond his years in knocking the Australian Open champion out of the clay court event to reach the third round.Thiem called on a thunderous array of baseline strokes and soft net touches to oust the third-seeded Wawrinka, who reached the final at Madrid´s Magic Box tennis center last year.

Thiem looked out of his depth as he struggled to find his rhythm early on Manolo Santana center court.

Wawrinka may have dropped his guard after the easy opening as Thiem pulled even after bombarding his opponent with powerful backhanders.Wawrinka, coming off a clay court win in Monte Carlo, gathered himself for the final set — with both players holding serve until the 10th game when Thiem slapped another strong backhand across Wawrinka and down the line for 30-15.

A gentle drop shot from Thiem following a long rally of groundstrokes set up match point on Wawrinka´s serve.

The top-ranked Spaniard opens on Wednesday against Juan Monaco of Argentina.The Spanish capital´s elevated altitude proved to be a problem for fifth-ranked David Ferrer, who needed almost three hours to dispatch Spanish countryman Albert Ramos 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-3.

On the women´s side, Maria Sharapova avoided an early exit after rallying to beat 56th-ranked American Christina McHale 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 while Li Na continued her dominance of Zheng Jie with a 6-2, 6-3 win.

Second-ranked Li hasn´t lost to her Chinese countrywoman since 2006.Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command, eventually firing an ace down the middle to eliminate McHale for the second year running.

Sharapova goes on to play Samantha Stosur and No. 2 seed Li faces Sloane Stephens in the third round.

Former champion Petra Kvitova also advanced with a win on Tuesday.

Also, Fabio Fognini´s recent struggles on Spanish clay continued as the 13th-seeded Italian lost 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to Ukraine´s Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Fognini failed to get out of the second round at Barcelona last month.Nicolas Almagro won on his 11th match point play to set up a date Andy Murray, while seeded players Milos Raonic of Canada and Kei Nishikori of Japan also reached the third round.(AP)

NAIROBI: At least 63 people have died in Kenya this week and dozens more are sick after consuming toxic alcohol, police and hospitals said Wednesday.

"So far, we have 63 dead," police spokesman Masood Mwinyi told AFP. Hospital sources said dozens more were receiving treatment.

"What we are trying to establish is the origin of this brew. Investigations are under way and samples will be taken to ascertain where and how it was prepared," said police spokeswoman, Zipporah Mboroki.

The towns worst affected are close to the capital Nairobi and elsewhere in the centre and the east of the country. In some areas the alcohol was bought from licensed bars and in others it was sold on the street in the slums, officials said.

Deaths from toxic alcohol are relatively common in Kenya, with similar cases making the headlines every year. (AFP)

FAISALABAD: Additional District and Session Judge Faisalabad Manzar Ali Gul has rejected petition filed to lodge case against Geo News management and Amir Mir, Geo News reported.

A local lawyer of Faisalabad had submitted a plea in the court on April 29 for lodging case against Geo News management and journalist Amir Mir.

Judge Ali Gul issued written verdict and rejected the plea of the lawyer.

In the verdict, it said the matter was in judicial commission, therefore, the court could not hear the case.

ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers staged a walk out from the National Assembly on Wednesday against killing of party workers in Karachi, Geo News reported.

MQM MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali said his party activists were being killed and they had protested against it. He demanded to set up a committee over the Karachi issue.

Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Pirzada said speaker lower house had written a letter to the interior minister over reservations of MQM. He added that law and order was provincial matter and MQM was part of Sindh government.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United unearthed a potential star of the future and perhaps had one last glimpse of a great of its recent past in a 3-1 win over Hull on Tuesday that kept alive the team´s chances of European football next season.

Highly rated striker James Wilson, 18, marked his senior debut for United with predatory strikes in either half, setting the deposed champions on their way to a victory in their final home game of a forgettable Premier League campaign.

Ryan Giggs — at the other end of the age spectrum at 40 — came on for his 963rd, and possibly final, appearance for United in the second half and set up fellow substitute Robin van Persie for the clinching third goal in the 86th.Giggs, taking charge of his third game as United´s interim manager following the firing of David Moyes last month, has not decided whether to take his distinguished playing career into a 24th year next season.

And his future as a coach at United is uncertain while the club searches for Moyes´ replacement, which is likely to be current Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal.An emotional Old Trafford also bade farewell to defender Nemanja Vidic, who is joining Inter Milan in the summer after more than eight years at United, on a night that had an end-of-era feel to it.Wilson, though, offered positive signs for the future as part of a youthful lineup that included another debutant in 20-year-old forward Tom Lawrence.

United last failed to qualify for Europe in 1990.Vidic began on the bench after accepting a memento from United great Bobby Charlton before kickoff but was a 22nd-minute substitute for Phil Jones, who came off with a shoulder injury sustained in an aerial collision.

Wilson has played for England Under-16s and Under-19s and has scored 19 goals for United´s Under-21 team this season. And he showed his striker´s instincts just in the 31st, reacting quickly to Marouane Fellaini´s nod-down from a free kick to slam a left-foot shot low into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.

When he slotted in a rebound from a similar distance after Fellaini´s shot was parried out by goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic in the 61st, Wilson was on course to emulate Wayne Rooney´s feat from 2004 of scoring a hat trick on his debut.

He was substituted three minutes later, however, but the Old Trafford crowd will surely be seeing more of him.Giggs entered to rousing applause in the 70th and showed flashes of the brilliance that has illuminated Old Trafford since 1991.

With the home fans chanting "Keeper, let it in," Giggs had a long-range free kick tipped over by Jakupovic in injury time — perhaps bringing to an end his run of scoring in every Premier League season since its inception in 1992.Hull, which is safe from relegation, halved the deficit in the 63rd minute through Matty Fryatt but the match ended on a sour note with David Meyler appearing to stamp on United winger Adnan Januzaj.

The incident was not seen by the referee and any retrospective punishment could lead to Meyler missing the FA Cup final against Arsenal on May 17. (AP)

LAHORE: The situation turned ugly at the Lahore High Court (LHC) when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) workers accompanying party chairman Imran Khan stormed into a courtroom breaking the door and flowerpots.

PTI chairman Imran Khan had arrived at the LHC to provide his stance in a case pertaining to checking of the election record in NA-122. National Assembly speaker and PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq had been declared the winner in this constituency. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on a petition by the PTI had ordered recounting of votes in this constituency which was challenged by Sadiq in LHC.

The PTI workers started chanting slogans outside the courtroom and tried to force their way into the courtroom which led to the door and flowerpots being broken.

Additional police were summoned to control the situation. The LHC Chief Justice Umar Bandial expressing his strong annoyance over the ugly incident in his observations said that such an environment was contrary to the dignity of the court, which would not be tolerated and thereafter in utter disgust left the courtroom.

Imran Khan on his return from the court when approached by Geo correspondent refused to talk, saying his party has already declared a boycott of Geo News.

BANGKOK: Thailand´s Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office, ruling that she abused her power, deepening the kingdom´s political uncertainty.

"The judges unanimously rule that Yingluck abused her prime minister status and interfered in transferring (Thawil Pliensri) for her own benefit," president of the nine-member court, Charoon Intachan, said in a televised ruling.

"Therefore her prime minister status has ended... Yingluck can no longer stay in her position acting as caretaker prime minister. "Several cabinet ministers who endorsed the decision to transfer the security chief will also be stripped of their status.

It was not immediately clear whether the ruling would create a political vacuum or if one of Yingluck´s ministers nominated after Thawil´s transfer would be able to step into her shoes, pending a future election.

Bangkok has been rocked by six months of sometimes violent demonstrations to unseat Yingluck, whose family draws widespread support from the northern portion of the country but is reviled by the establishment in the capital and royalist southerners.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will set up mandatory polio immunisation points at its international airports in response to recommendations by the World Health Organisation, the health ministry said Tuesday.

The WHO warned Monday that the crippling disease has re-emerged as a public health emergency, with the virus currently affecting 10 countries worldwide and endemic in three including Pakistan.

"Special measures will include establishing mandatory immunisation counters on all airports, border crossings and seaports for all travellers," said ministry spokesman Sajid Ali Shah.

The WHO had called on Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria, seen as posing the greatest risk of exporting wild poliovirus, to ensure all residents and long-term visitors receive a polio vaccine between four weeks and a year before travelling abroad. For urgent travel, at least one vaccine dose should be given before departure, according to the emergency committee, which also called for all travellers to be given certificates proving they have been immunised.

Shah could not confirm whether long-term non-Pakistani residents would also be subject to immunisation under the new initiative. "That will be decided in a meeting scheduled soon," he said.

According to the WHO, Pakistan recorded 91 cases of polio last year, up from 58 in 2012. It has also recorded 59 of the world´s 74 cases this year.

The disease has re-emerged in Pakistan because the Taliban and other militants violently oppose inoculation campaigns and because of public fears that the vaccine leads to infertility.

Militants see the polio campaign as a cover for foreign spying and regularly attack immunisation teams, killing some 56 people since December 2012.Their opposition has increased since a Pakistani doctor helped track down terror chief Osama bin Laden in 2011 using a fake vaccine project.

Last month officials announced they would begin administering polio drops to children at security checkpoints in the country´s lawless tribal belt.

India, which recently celebrated the eradication of the disease, announced in December it would require Pakistanis to obtain vaccination certificates six weeks before cross-border travel.