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England survive Afghan scare to win by 15 runs in World T20
England nearly slipped on a potential banana skin but pulled their act together in time to notch up their second win of the World T20 beating Afghanistan by 15 runs in a group phase clash here on Wednesday.
England survived a batting collapse to post a respectable 142/7, chiefly due to Moeen Ali’s (41 not out) heroics down the batting order, pulling them from an abyss at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.
David Willey (20 not out) helped in rebuilding the innings, but only after a massive slump that saw them lose three wickets in an over.
Afghanistan came close to the target, but England always had the upper hand, ultimately restricting them to 127/9.
England jumped to the second spot in Group 1 with the win, behind the West Indies. Afghanistan exited the tournament after their third successive defeat.
Afghanistan needed their lynchpin Mohammad Shahzad to fire in the run chase after an impressive bowling effort in their Super 10 contest.
He began by edging the first ball he faced, an in-swinger from left-arm quick David Willey, to the third man boundary. A ball later, he went back to the pavilion, playing across a swinging delivery to be plumb in front of the stumps.
His early dismissal dispirited the Afghans who lost two more wickets inside the third over, skipper Asghar Stanikzai (1) and Gulbadin Naib (0).
England’s new-ball partners David Willey (2/23) and Chris Jordan (1/27) swung the ball intelligently to reduce the Afghans to 13/3.
They limped to 50 in the 11th over, losing half their side in the process and were in desperate need of an innings like Moeen Ali’s. But, sadly, no one rose to the task, though Shafiqullah (35) did bring them close.
Earlier, England exhibited aggression after winning the toss and taking first strike. But skipper Eoin Morgan’s decision proved to be hollow as opener Jason Roy (5) danced down the track to be castled by left-arm spinner Amir Hamza.
That brought the in-form man Joe Root in and he began to build a decent partnership with James Vince.
But a collapse in the last three balls of the sixth over pushed them on the backfoot. Vince (22) succumbed to the charms of off-spinner Mohammad Nabi, offering a simple caught and bowled opportunity.
Morgan (0) followed Vince back in the very next ball, shouldering arms to a bowl that came in. The slump turned into a crisis (12) when Root departed after an ugly mix-up with Ben Stokes to reduce the Englishmen from 41/1 to 42/4.
They reached 50 in the eight over but never quite recovered from the shock and lost two more wickets soon. The relatively grassy pitch didn’t have any voodoo but England were simply not able to apply themselves.
Jos Butler’s (6) strong drive was superbly caught by a pumped-up Nabi, diving at extra cover. Stokes (7) inside-edged a quicker flat-trajectoried delivery onto his stumps and in the process landed on his bum, summing up England’s poor effort with the bat.
At 85/7 in 14.3 overs, the picture looked bleak, Ali (41 not out) gave England a fighting total, pulling them past the 100-run mark in the 18th over, launching into some big shots in the penultimate over, scoring 25 off it.
He and fellow left-hander Willey (20 not out) stitched a 57-run stand in 5.3 overs , plundering 55 of the last 30 deliveries to give England a fighting chance.
Brief scores: England: 142/7 (Moeen Ali 41, James Vince 22; Mohammad Nabi 2/17, Rashid Khan 2/17). Afghanistan: 127/9 (Shafiqullah 35, Samiullah Shinwari 22; David Willey 2/23, Adil Rashid 2/18).
Published by : www.vcricket.com
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EU provides 5 million euros to enhance food security and livelihoods in three Afghan provinces
The European Union announced Tuesday it provides close to 5 million euros to Action Against Hunger to enhance food security and livelihoods in Afghanistan’s Ghor, Daykundi and Badakhshan provinces.
The European Union and Action Against Hunger (ACF) will support over 26 000 people and empower local communities for the three coming years, EU said in a statement.
The EU-funded project focuses on enhancing agricultural production, cattle and poultry farming and support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The project will also enhance knowledge and skills transfer on farming activities, with a special view to include women and youth, the statement said.
“I very much welcome our new partnership with Action Against Hunger for making a real difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Afghans living in rural areas,” EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, Raffaella Iodice, said. “Enhancing farming skills and practices helps Afghan women and men to be better prepared to face climate-related hazards, generate sustainable income and reduce poverty.”
Vijay Raghavan, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Afghanistan, said that the project targets three of the most affected provinces Daykundi and Badakhshan, both of which have 40% of the population suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity, and Ghor with 45%.
One in two Afghans are said to live in poverty, and around 15.8 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity.
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1402: Afghanistan fails to gain international recognition
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) spent this past solar year – 1402 – trying to gain international recognition and take up its seat in the United Nations.
Due to certain policies, and restrictions against Afghan women and girls, the international community has not only imposed sanctions on the government but has also worked to isolate the IEA.
Western consensus has been that the IEA needs to revise some policies including those relating to human and women’s rights.
But in addition to these problems, the Islamic Emirate made progress in diplomatic relations with some countries in 1402 – China being the first to send an official ambassador to Kabul. In turn, Beijing followed suit by welcoming the IEA’s ambassador.
Some Afghan embassies, however, that are still run by diplomats appointed by the previous government, slowly started forging ties with the IEA – including the Netherlands and Spain.
Over the past year, diplomats aligned with the Islamic Emirate also took control of the Afghan embassy and consulates in India.
In 1402, Turkmenistan removed the name of the Islamic Emirate from the list of sanctions and terrorist groups in that country.
In the meantime, Iran, Afghanistan’s western neighbor, became embroiled in a spat with the IEA over the issue of water rights from the Helmand River.
Relations with Pakistan also soured somewhat, as Islamabad has accused the IEA of letting Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) hideout in the country.
These tensions came to a head when Islamabad implemented the process of forced deportation of more than one million Afghan immigrants.
But analysts believe that the neighboring countries and the region have not been able to agree on a specific policy for interaction with the Islamic Emirate.
According to them, the realization of this agreement requires the implementation of conditions set by these countries and the international community, including the formation of an inclusive government, and respect for the rights of women and girls; and ethnic and religious minorities by the Islamic Emirate.
This year, the IEA’s cabinet remained a caretaker government, although dozens of former former government officials and politicians continued to return home.
However, the Islamic Emirate considers the year 1402 as full of achievements and emphasizes that in this year, progress has been made in all fields, especially in terms of expanding relations with other countries.
However, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate considers the lack of global legitimacy to be driven by a few countries – countries which influence the UN.
The Islamic Emirate currently has 38 active diplomatic missions in countries. In addition, Azerbaijan recently said it wants to open an embassy in Kabul.
Experts say however, 1403 will be a telling year, in terms of whether the IEA is recognized as the legitimate government or not.
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Dozens of needy families in west Kabul receive Bayat’s Ramadan aid
Dozens of needy families in the western suburbs of Kabul have been given much needed food aid for Ramadan by Bayat Foundation.
Foundation officials said the campaign is conducted during the holy month of Ramadan in order to help those in need.
The aid packages include essential food items such as flour and oil.
Residents in the west of Kabul, who received the packages, welcomed Bayat Foundation’s initiative but appealed for more assistance from other organizations.
Bayat Foundation is considered to be a key charitable organization in the country and has done valuable work in the past twenty years. The foundation has assisted victims of natural disasters, implemented public benefit projects, and helped the needy in different seasons.
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