Citing security concerns, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday withdraw the Champions Trophy from Pakistan, which was scheduled to host it in September.
The Champions Trophy was originally to be held in Pakistan last year but was postponed as several top teams expressed their reservation about touring the strife-torn country due to security issues.At its Board meeting at Perth, the ICC said the tournament will be relocated from Pakistan.'With several members expressing reservations about touring Pakistan, it would be prudent to relocate the event from that country,' ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.'It is unfortunate the ICC Champions Trophy will not take place in Pakistan due to circumstances completely beyond the control of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),' he added.ICC, however, said that PCB would retain the revenue due for hosting the tournament.'In view of the challenges facing the PCB, the Board agreed that, irrespective of the location of the event, Pakistan would retain the revenue due for hosting the tournament.'The Board will decide on the new location before its next meeting in April.'The board has accepted the need for certainty in planning for and delivering a world-class event and will now assess where the event should be held,' Lorgat said.An ICC task team will visit Pakistan and work with the PCB to find ways to ensure that international cricket is played in the country.
Protesters rally against World Economic Forum
undreds of people rallied in Geneva and Davos on Saturday to protest against the World Economic Forum, saying the elite gathered for it annual meeting are not qualified to fix the world's problems.Carrying banners reading 'You are the Crisis' and throwing snowballs, several hundred protesters marched to fences surrounding the heavily guarded Hotel Seehof in the Davos ski resort, where many world leaders and business people stay during the forum.Protester Alex Heideger, a member of the Davos Green Party, said these were the people to blame for the economic mess."It's the same people who came last year and said the world economic situation is fine, and now we're in a financial crisis. Now it's the taxpayer who has to solve the whole problem."It's people like you and me who have to pay for it with their tax money," he said.In Geneva, where the WEF has its headquarters, police in riot gear fired tear gas and water canon to disperse a crowd that had gathered in a square near the train station, sending people running in all directions. Witnesses said there did not appear to be any violence by the protesters.The rally in the city's normally staid streets was not formally permitted by local authorities.Geneva police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said that about 60 people were detained temporarily for checks but there have been no arrests. About 30 have been released and the rest are due to be released soon, he said."There are small groups of people who are clashing with police but there have not been any injuries on one side or the other," Brandt said, saying there were also no reports of damage to buildings or businesses so far.Florence Proton of ATTAC Suisse, one of the Geneva organisers, said it was important for outside voices to be heard in debates about how to resolve the crisis.
"The people meeting in Davos are the ones responsible for this economic crises that is becoming, and is now, global," she told Reuters, speaking in French.
"The people meeting in Davos are the ones responsible for this economic crises that is becoming, and is now, global," she told Reuters, speaking in French.
