logo
Pakistan won't send hockey teams to India: govt sources

Pakistan won't send hockey teams to India: govt sources

France 243 days ago
The nuclear-armed neighbours traded the worst violence in decades during a four-day conflict in May that killed 70 people.
Pakistan was due to participate in the Men's Asia Cup for field hockey to be hosted by India in August and September, for which the federation had sought the government's clearance.
"After the recent war the security and safety of our hockey players will be at risk," said a sports ministry source, who asked not to be identified.
Pakistan will also not participate in the Junior World Cup in India in November, the source said.
Once a force in international hockey, with three Olympic gold medals and four world titles, Pakistan has slumped to 15th in the rankings.
Not featuring in the Asia Cup will likely cost Pakistan a place in next year's senior World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium.
A second government source also confirmed the decision to AFP.
Pakistan's foreign office has not responded to AFP's request for comment.
India stalled all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which it blamed on militants based across the border.
Cricket has been the most affected sport, with the two countries only meeting each other in multinational events abroad.
India refused to visit Pakistan this year when it hosted the Champions Trophy, forcing the final to be staged on neutral ground in Dubai.
In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan will also not send its women's cricket team to India for the 50-over World Cup later this year and the T20 World Cup in 2026.
They agreed instead to play their matches in Sri Lanka.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Cuban president addresses anger over 'there are no beggars' claim
Cuban president addresses anger over 'there are no beggars' claim

France 24

time16 minutes ago

  • France 24

Cuban president addresses anger over 'there are no beggars' claim

Labor Minister Marta Elena Feito on Monday told a parliamentary committee meeting about measures to address poverty that people rummaging for food in garbage bins are in fact "disguised as beggars." "When you look at their hands, when you look at the clothes those people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars, they are not beggars. In Cuba, there are no beggars," she said in statements broadcast live on state television. Social media users in the communist nation reacted with outrage, posting photos of people eating out of trash cans, while economist Pedro Monreal commented on X that there are "people disguised as 'ministers'" in Cuba. President Miguel Diaz-Canel entered the fray on X Tuesday to lambast Feito's "lack of sensitivity." He later told a parliamentary session that "none of us can act with arrogance, act with pretense, disconnected from the realities we live in." Beggars, added Diaz-Canel, are "concrete expressions of social inequalities and the problems" Cuba faces. Poverty levels have increased sharply as the Caribbean country reckons with its worst economic crisis in three decades, marked by shortages of food, medicine and fuel and daily power blackouts. Observers blame a combination of US sanctions, domestic mismanagement of the economy, and the Covid-19 pandemic tanking the nation's vital tourist industry. Last year, the government said there were 189,000 families and 350,000 individuals out of a population of 9.7 million living in "vulnerable" conditions and benefiting from social assistance programs. AFP has observed a marked increase in the last two years of homeless people and beggars on the streets of a country where the average monthly salary is less than $20 at the unofficial exchange rate. Cuba's economy shrunk for the second consecutive year in 2024, contracting 1.1 percent compared to 1.9 percent in 2023.

Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage
Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage

France 24

time3 hours ago

  • France 24

Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage

Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. "Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices," said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. "There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures," he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defence minister had declared a "complete ceasefire" in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. "I'm in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting," one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. "One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it," added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes "looting shops and setting fire to them". "They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house," he said, adding that he regretted "not leaving before they arrived". Civilians killed It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December. In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued. The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria's Mediterranean coast -- most of them members of the ousted president's Alawite community -- in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. Statues destroyed The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque. © 2025 AFP

Tour de France 2025: The first 10 days of racing, in photos
Tour de France 2025: The first 10 days of racing, in photos

LeMonde

time8 hours ago

  • LeMonde

Tour de France 2025: The first 10 days of racing, in photos

Following the inaugural stage in Lille on Saturday, July 5, the peloton of the 112th Tour de France spent three days in the northern Hauts-de-France region. Then, they headed to Brittany, concluding on July 11 in Mûr-de-Bretagne with a dramatic win by reigning champion and favorite Tadej Pogacar. After passing through the Loire Valley, the riders tackled the heights of the Massif Central, including Le Mont-Dore, on Monday, July 14, for the first mountain stage of the 2025 edition. After this spectacular day, it was time for a break. The peloton transferred to Toulouse, from where they would set off to conquer the Pyrenean passes in the coming days. In the overall standings, the top French rider, Kévin Vauquelin, occupies sixth place, 2 minutes and 26 seconds behind the race leader, Irishman Ben Healy. Healy took the yellow jersey from Pogacar during the stage in the Massif Central, leading him by 29 seconds in the general classification. The riders set off through the streets of Lille during the first stage of the Tour de France, July 5, 2025. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP The peloton makes its way through the countryside of the Nord during the first stage of the Tour de France, July 5, 2025. MOSA'AB ELSHAMY / AP Spectators at the Tour de France in Boulogne-sur-Mer, July 6, 2025. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP The riders climb a hill in the final kilometers of stage two of the Tour de France, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, July 6, 2025. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP The riders climb a hill in the final kilometers of stage two of the Tour de France, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, July 6, 2025. LOIC VENANCE/AFP Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, the race favorite, rides through the rain during stage two between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer, July 6, 2025. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP French rider Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), accompanied by his son Nino, before the start of stage three of the Tour de France in Valenciennes, July 7, 2025. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS A spectator with a net to collect water bottles discarded by the riders during stage three of the Tour de France between Valenciennes and Dunkerque, July 7, 2025. LOIC VENANCE / AFP The peloton passes through Aire-sur-la-Lys during stage three of the Tour de France, between Valenciennes and Dunkerque, July 7, 2025. MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP French rider Emilien Jeannière crosses the finish line, injured after crashing just a few dozen meters before the end of the stage in Dunkerque, July 7, 2025. MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP Racing bikes on the roof of a support car, July 7, 2025 in Valenciennes. LOIC VENANCE / AFP A breakaway of four riders during stage four of the Tour de France, between Amiens and Rouen, July 8, 2025. THIBAULT CAMUS/AP French rider Kévin Vauquelin, wearing the white jersey for best young rider, at the finish of stage four of the Tour de France, July 8, 2025 in Rouen. THIBAULT CAMUS/AP Tadej Pogacar followed by Jonas Vingegaard, at the finish of stage four of the Tour de France on the Saint-Hilaire ramp in Rouen, July 8, 2025. BERNARD PAPON / AFP Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel races toward victory during the individual time trial near Caen, July 9, 2025. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS German rider Maximilian Schachmann passes spectators during the individual time trial around Caen, July 9, 2025. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP Italian rider Edoardo Affini in full effort during the individual time trial around Caen, July 9, 2025. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS Irishman Ben Healy after winning stage six of the Tour de France in Vire, Normandy, July 10, 2025. MARTIN DIVISEK / AP The peloton rides along the seaside in Pléneuf-Val-André during stage seven of the Tour de France, between Saint-Malo and Mûr-de-Bretagne, July 11, 2025. MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP The number 13 bib of Belgian rider Tiesj Benoot, which he pinned upside down out of superstition, before the start of stage seven of the Tour de France in Saint-Malo, July 11, 2025. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS French rider Mattéo Vercher during stage eight between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Laval, July 12, 2025. SARAH MEYSSONNIER/REUTERS Teammates Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu Van der Poel during their long breakaway in stage nine between Chinon and Châteauroux, July 13, 2025. MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP Spectators in an improvised pool greet the peloton as it passes during stage nine between Chinon and Châteauroux, July 13, 2025. MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP Britain's Simon Yates in a group of breakaway riders during stage ten between Ennezat and Le Mont-Dore, in the Puy-de-Dôme, July 14, 2025. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP The stretched-out peloton descending the Col de la Croix-Morand during stage 10 of the Tour de France, July 14, 2025. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store