Street Cricket; Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
I have never really thought about what I miss most about my childhood – but I do remember the cricket matches I had with my brother. We used to play test matches – he would have the Aussie cricket team and I’d have the Windies. Good fun that.
The NRL Final Series in Australian Rugby League is now down to only four teams in the race for the 2010 premiership. The four teams remaining are St George Illawarra Dragons, The Gold Coast Titans, West Tigers and the Sydney City Roosters.
This weekend has seen the West Tigers defeat the Canberra Raiders and the Sydney City Roosters defeat the Penrith Panthers.
Next weekend will see the Sydney City Roosters against the Gold Coast Titans and the West Tigers against Saint George Illawarra Dragons. The winners of these two matches go through to the Grand Final decider.
The first weekend of the NRL final series has seen both the Manly Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors eliminated from the competition. Remaining in the competition are St. George Dragons, Gold Coast Titans, Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers and the West Tigers.
In week 2 of the final series St. George and the Gold Coast Titans get the weekend off.
Next weeks elimination matches will be between the Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers, and the Canberra Raiders and the West Tigers.
Local Christians sense authorities, extremists and society in collusion against them.
RABAT, Morocco, June 17 (CDN) — Moroccan Christians say Muslim extremists in the country are aiding and encouraging the government to pursue them by exposing and vilifying them on social networking site Facebook.
Facebook user Gardes Maroc Maroc has posted 32 image collages featuring dozens of Christian converts, calling them “hyena evangelists” or “wolves in lamb’s skins” who are trying to “shake the faith of Muslims.” That terminology on the website, which is in Arabic, matches that of Morocco’s anti-proselytizing law, which outlaws efforts to “shake the faith of Muslims.”
The online images depict Christian converts and their families from across the country and include details about their roles and activities in churches, their personal addresses and anecdotal stories attempting to malign them.
“These are some pics of Moroccan convert hyenas,” reads one image.
Since March, the Moroccan government has expelled more than 100 foreign Christians for alleged “proselytizing.” Authorities failed to give Christians deportation orders or enough time to settle their affairs before they left.
Observers have called this a calculated effort to purge the historically moderate Muslim country, known for its progressive policies, of all Christian elements – both foreign and national.
Amid a national media campaign to vilify Christians in Morocco, more than 7,000 Muslim clerics signed a statement denouncing all Christian activities and calling foreign Christians’ aid work “religious terrorism.”
On the Facebook page, Gardes Maroc Maroc makes a particularly strident call to Moroccan authorities to investigate adoptive parents of children from the village of Ain Leuh, 50 miles south of Fez. The user claims that local Christians under orders of “foreign missionaries” were attempting to adopt the children so missionary efforts would not “go in vain.”
On March 8, the Moroccan government expelled 26 Christian foreign staff members and parents working at Village of Hope in Ain Leuh.
Now efforts against national Christians have gained momentum. One image on the Facebook page challenged the Islamic Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, saying, “Evangelist hyenas are deriding your Ministry.” The page with the images claimed that Christians had rented out an apartment belonging to that government ministry.
An entire page was dedicated to a well-known Christian TV personality in the Middle East, Rashid Hmami, and his family. The user also inserted pictures of hyenas next to those of Christians, presumably to indicate their danger to the nation.
National Christians Threatened
Moroccan Christians told Compass that authorities had begun harassing them even before the forced deportations of foreigners, and that pressure from officials only intensified in March and April.
Since the deportations started in early March, it seems that authorities, extremists and society as a whole have colluded against them, local Christians said. Dozens of Christians have been called to police stations for interrogation. Many of them have been threatened and verbally abused.
“They mocked our faith,” said one Moroccan Christian who requested anonymity. “They didn’t talk nicely.”
Authorities interrogated the convert for eight hours and followed him for three weeks in March and April, he said. During interrogation, he added, local police told him they were prepared to throw him in jail and kill him.
Another Moroccan Christian reported that a Muslim had taken him to court because of his Christian activities. Most Moroccan Christians that spoke to Compass said the attitudes of their Muslim relatives had shifted, and many have been kicked out of their homes or chosen to leave “to not create problems” for their families.
Moroccan converts meet in house churches. Some of them have stopped meeting until the pressure subsides.
“The government is testing the reactions,” said Moroccan lawyer Abdel Adghirni of the recent pressure on Christians.
The lawyer, known as one of the strongest defenders of Berber rights in Morocco, said that although the government’s recent reactions seem regressive, they are part of the nation’s societal transformation process.
“The government is trying to dominate,” said Adghirni. “They are defending themselves. They feel the wind of change. All of this is normal for me – like a complex chemistry that activates as different elements come into contact. Things are moving.”
Congressional Hearing
In an effort to alert U.S. Congress to the sudden turn against religious tolerance in Morocco, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission is holding congressional hearings today on the deportations of foreign Christians from the country.
Earlier today, the National Clergy Council held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to congratulate the Moroccan government on religious tolerance. Organizers of the congressional hearings said they view the council’s press conference as an effort to counter the hearings.
The Rev. Rob Schenck, who heads the council, has had numerous exchanges with Moroccan Islamic leaders and in early April met with the Moroccan ambassador to the United States.
“I have enjoyed a close friendship of several years with the ambassador,” Schenck stated on his website.
Organizers of the congressional hearings have said they are baffled that the National Clergy Council, and in particular Schenck, would speak so highly of the Moroccan government at a time when it is in such blatant violation of human rights.
“There’s good and bad in every country, but what Morocco has done on the whole to advance religious liberty in that region of the world is extraordinary,” Schenck said in a media statement yesterday on Christian Newswire. “We hope to present a fair and balanced picture of this unusual country.”
Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said that the Moroccan government has deported nearly 50 U.S. citizens.
“In spite of this, the U.S. government has pledged $697.5 million to Morocco over the next five years through the Millennium Challenge Corporation,” he said. Wolf is advocating that the United States withhold the nearly $697.5 million in aid that it has pledged to Morocco.
“It is inappropriate for American taxpayer money to go to a nation which disregards the rights of American citizens residing in Morocco and forcibly expels Americans without due process of law,” he said.
Among those appearing at the hearing today is Dutch citizen Herman Boonstra, leader of Village of Hope, who was expelled in March. Boonstra and his wife were forced to leave eight adopted children in Morocco. Moroccan authorities have refused re-entry for the couple, as they have for all deported Christian foreigners.
Lawyer Adghirni said he believes Morocco cannot survive and develop economically – and democratically – without national diversity.
“We can’t be free without Christians,” Adghirni said. “The existence of Christians among us is the proof of liberty.”
England have bounced back following their shock loss to the Netherlands by winning their match against Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. England won by 48 runs, having scored 5/185 (Kevin Pieterson 58 from 38 balls & Luke Wright 34 from 16 balls). Pakistan could only manage 7/137 in reply (Younus Khan 46 not out from 31 balls).
In the other match played, South Africa scored 5/211 (AB De Villiers 79 not out from 34 balls and Jacques Kallis 48 from 31 balls), defeating Scotland by 130 runs. Scotland scored 10/81 (Kyle Coetzer 42 from 32 balls faced) in 15.4 overs. Scotland have now lost both their opening matches and will almost certainly be eliminated from the competition for the Super 8 round.
Australia must win their upcoming match against Sri Lanka if they are to have any hope of making it through to the round of 8. The pressure is now on the Australian team following the exile of Andrew Symonds following his breaking of team rules and return to Australia.
Congratulations are in order for the Netherlands Twenty20 cricket team at the Twenty20 World Cup in England. The Netherlands have defeated hosts England in a boilover. The World Cup of Twenty20 cricket kicked off at Lords between the lowly regarded Netherlands and hosts of the World Cup, England.
The English side batted first, scoring 5/162. After a 102 run opening partnership between Ravi Bopara (46 from 34 balls) and Luke Wright (71 from 49 balls), England slumped to 5/162 from their allotted 20 overs.
The Netherlands reached the required total of 163 for a win on the final ball of the match, with four wickets in hand. Top scorer for the Netherlands was Tom de Grooth with 49 from 30 balls faced.
In the match between Australia and the West Indies, Australia managed 7/169, with David Warner top scoring with 63 from 53 balls faced. The West Indies easily chased this total down, scoring 3/172, with Chris Gayle (88 from 50 balls) and Andre Fletcher (53 from 32 balls faced) setting up the win in the 16th of their 20 allotted overs.
In other matches, New Zealand defeated Scotland and India defeated Bangladesh.
See also:
http://cricket.yahoo.com/
http://www.cricket20.com/
The West Indies have humiliated England in the test match at Sabina Park by an innings and 23 runs. England was all out for 51 in their second innings. Jerome Taylor took 5 for 11, as he destroyed the English batting line up. West Indian skipper Chris Gayle scored 104 in the West Indian innings.
The West Indies have a 1 – 0 lead in the test series with 3 matches still to play.
ABOVE: A report on the match
The Indian cricket team has comprehensively defeated the Australian cricket team. Australia were outplayed in three of the four test matches, loosing the series 2 – 0 to India.
Well done India – the better team won the series.
BELOW: The Second Innings – Australian wickets
Random Thoughts 