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Shahrukh Jatoi (R) gestures while his accomplice Siraj Talpur looks on from a court lockup before being convicted for murder in the Karachi on June 7, 2013.—File Photo/AFP KARACHI: The parents of university student Shahzeb Khan, whose death sparked outrage against the abuse of power by the wealthy and landed in Pakistan, have decided to pardon the culprits responsible for the murder of their son, their lawyer said Monday. The family filed an affidavit with the court several days ago pardoning the men accused of killing their only son, lawyer Mehmood Alam Rizvi said. The victim’s parents – father Deputy Superintendent of Police Aurangzeb Khan and mother Ambreen Aurangzeb – have also requested for the release of the four perpetrators involved. Speaking to DawnNews, the victim’s mother Ambreen Aurangzeb said the death of Shahzeb’s killers will not bring back her son. “We may not have forgiven them in our hearts, but we have pardoned our son’s killers in the nam...

There was no shortage of drama over race weekend at Phillip Island and I have never experienced anything like it before. I feel very sorry for Marc Marquez and the penalty he incurred was bigger than the crime. He did everything almost right but missed the pit window by one lap so  for him to be penalised and disqualified from the race  was way too much. It is the rules - but the rules for this grand prix were cobbled together because of the tyre issues, which triggered all the changes in the race. In motorbike racing, you normally only pit because of dramatic changes in the weather conditions - and in that case all you do is put on new tyres. Play media MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo savours 'emotional' Australian GP win It is unprecedented to have to pit and change for a bike with the same tyres because they have worn out too quickly, and also unprecedented to have a pit window of two laps. MotoGP riders are not in radio contact with the pits so th...

Brazil produces so many players, who end up making a living in so many countries, it is inevitable that some end up representing other national teams. It has never been a problem. Until now. The Diego Costa case breaks the mould.  The Atletico Madrid striker  is at the centre of a tug of war between the national teams of Spain and Brazil - making this the first time, at least in my recollection, that a Brazilian with real possibilities of playing for the land of his birth is seriously tempted to defect. This changes the whole tone. Until now, when Brazilians have represented other countries there has even been a quiet sense of pride back home. It is proof of the depth of their own footballing culture if they can produce players for the likes of Croatia, Poland, Tunisia and Portugal. It helped, of course, that none of these players were remotely in contention for a place in the Brazil squad. One who got away, perhaps, was  Deco,  whose range of m...

Baseball's World Series, which is the culmination of an intense six-month season during which each team plays more than 160 games, begins at Boston's historic Fenway Park on Wednesday. And it has thrown up a classic match-up with the potential for a fairytale ending. The presumption of calling the championship decider the World Series has always jarred with non-US baseball fans. After all, there are thriving leagues throughout Latin America, not to mention Japan. But there is no doubt this year's Fall Classic between the Boston Red Sox and the St Louis Cardinals pits the best the US has to offer head to head. For the first time since 1999 the teams with the best records in the American and National leagues will slug it out. There was a time when this was the annual way of things, but first the two leagues split into divisions, and then - rather like the UK's Football League play-offs - teams finishing in second, or even third, spot got a shot at ...

The Andros Townsend bandwagon is gathering momentum at a pace that is securing his place firmly in the priorities of Tottenham and England. Townsend came out of left field - or in a strictly football context right-field - as a resounding selection success for England manager Roy Hodgson with two outstanding performances in the World Cup qualifying wins against  Montenegro  and  Poland  that secured their place in Brazil next summer. And when he returned to club duties for  Spurs at rain-soaked Villa Park  on Sunday, he demonstrated the same verve and desire to take the direct route to goal that marks him out as England's man of the moment. Play media Townsend fears for first-team place The 22-year-old's current status at Tottenham was confirmed when fit-again Aaron Lennon entered as a substitute after 66 minutes. Spurs were leading Aston Villa 1-0, thanks to Townsend's fortunate goal, and looking to close out a win that would t...

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for his behaviour  in the win against Cardiff  on Saturday. Mourinho was ordered from the technical area by referee Anthony Taylor after protesting about apparent time-wasting, and sat with supporters in the stand. "I don't know why the referee stopped me doing my work," the Portuguese said before the charge was announced. Play media Cardiff 'time-wasting' angers Chelsea The 50-year-old has until 18:00 BST on 24 October to respond to the charge. Mourinho spent the last 20 minutes sitting among supporters behind the Chelsea dugout after his dismissal. "To be with the fans was not funny," Mourinho said in Dusseldorf airport ahead of Tuesday's Champions League group match with Schalke. "You want to communicate with the players and you couldn't do it." Mourinho's dismissal was not the only moment of controve...

Former world champions France have been drawn against Ukraine in the European play-offs for the 2014 World Cup. Portugal face Sweden, which means either Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not take part in next summer's tournament in Brazil. The two-legged ties will be played on 15 November and 19 November. Iceland, the lowest-ranked team in the play-offs, must beat Croatia to reach their first ever major tournament, while Greece meet Romania. The eight nations all finished second in the qualifying groups, with 1998 World Cup winners France runners-up to current holders Spain in Group I. "We were not seeded and could have played Portugal or Croatia who have a long history, but Ukraine is not a simple draw either," said France coach Didier Deschamps, who captained them to their 1998 triumph, told  Eurosport.    "They are on a run of seven matches without defeat and they concede very few goals as well as a long trip over there, but it...