Friday, January 30, 2015
Civil War ship being pulled from river
The deepening of the shipping channel in Savannah, Georgia, won't be dredging up just mud and sand.
Child mummy may solve ancient mysteries
Doctors perform X-ray scans on a more than 500-year-old Peruvian child mummy. WLWT has the story.
Paris terrorist took 7-minute video
Amedy Coulibaly, who gunned down four people at a kosher grocery in eastern Paris earlier this month, recorded the attack on camera, a U.S. intelligence official tells CNN.
Whale versus giant dinosaur Dippy: Who won?
After 35 years of service, the huge skeleton of a Diplodocus is being retired from its leading role at London's Natural History Museum,.
Coalition contractors killed at Kabul airport
Three coalition contractors and an Afghanistan national were killed during a shooting Thursday night in Kabul's airport, a U.S. military official said.
For peace in Karachi: PM asks MQM, PPP to bury their differences
KARACHI:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday urged the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to bury their mutual misgivings for the sake of peace in the provincial metropolis.
“It is important that besides the two major political parties any other party having any stake in the city join hands to help address the situation,” he said while chairing a high-level meeting on Karachi’s security situation at the Governor House.
The prime minister flew into Karachi in the wake of Thursday’s shutter-down strike by the MQM against the ‘extrajudicial killing’ of its worker, Sohail Ahmed.
He stressed that the law and order situation in Karachi had an impact on the entire country. In this context, he said sincerity of purpose was needed to achieve results desired for peace and tranquility. National challenges could be overcome with political unity, he said. “I want to serve this nation and my services for all the provinces are always available.”
The prime minister directed the authorities, including IGP Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali, to thoroughly investigate the killing of three MQM workers and bring the culprits to justice. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure justice in the society.” Sources said IGP Jamali was also directed to meet families of the deceased MQM workers.
Later in the night Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, on the instructions of the prime minister, constituted a judicial commission to probe into the alleged extrajudicial killings of the MQM workers. The commission, led by Justice (retd) Ghulam Sarwar Korai, has been directed to submit its report within 10 days.
MQM delegation meets PM
The prime minister also met an MQM delegation, comprising Qamar Mansoor, Dr Farooq Sattar, Babar Ghauri and Haider Abbas Rizvi as well as families of slain MQM workers Sohail Ahmed and Faraz Alam, which complained against the role of law enforcement agencies in the ongoing Karachi operation.
The delegation also shared details of the missing MQM workers. According to sources, the premier assured the MQM delegation that the federal government would not support anyone involved in such killings. Rizvi said the prime minister assured the delegation that no law enforcer would make any arrests in plainclothes. “The prime minister has assured us that no arrests will be made by officers in plainclothes,” he added. “If that continues, it will be a violation.”
NAP implementation in Sindh
Discussing the National Action Plan (NAP) against counter terrorism, the Sindh chief minister informed Premier Nawaz that the anti-terror plan was being implemented in the province. “The provincial authorities are discussing all terrorism cases to be sent to the military courts for trial,” he added.
The prime minister was informed that 40 religious seminaries in the city were being run by foreigners, including Afghan citizens as well as Bengali and Burmese nationals. He was told that students in these seminaries were not taught in Pakistani language. The premier ordered an investigation into the sources of funding of these seminaries. The Sindh chief minister also raised the issue of Rs3 billion budgeted for the Karachi operation. The provincial government has not received the amount from the federal government, he said. The prime minister directed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to resolve the issue immediately.
He also expressed ‘satisfaction’ over the security situation in Sindh, particularly in Karachi city, saying the credit goes to the head of the operation – Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
Nawaz at KSE
Nawaz showed his satisfaction over the performance of the Karachi Stock Exchange, which he also visited. He said the situation was better as compared to last year.
“Pakistan’s economy is improving and heading towards success,” he said, while speaking to media persons. He suggested that an all parties’ conference should be convened over economy. He also indicated that the prices of petroleum will go down further next month.
Shikarpur blast condemned
The prime minister strongly condemned the bomb blast at the Shikarpur Imambargah and offered condolences to the bereaved families. He sought a report into the incident and said his government was committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism and extremism from the country. He also said steps were being taken to improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
Deepak Perwani showcases designs in Bulgaria
Pakistani fashion designer Deepak Perwani showcased his collection at Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia on Friday ahead of receiving the International Bulgarian Fashion Council award.
Perwani had been selected from amongst 285 nominees from nine continental regions for the award, and his House of Deepak Perwani will become the first Pakistani design house to receive the award.
Pictures from Perwani’s companion, photographer Tapu Javeri, showed that Pakistan’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Jamshaid Iftikhar also attended the show.
The non-governmental organisation which is authorised to represent the EU in fashion and fashion design worldwide, recognised Perwani as the sixth most innovative designer in the world.
He is also expected to bag the “Fan’s Favorite Award”,“Unique Guinness Acknowledgement”, and “Charitable Initiatives”.
#FashionPakistan council congratulates @DPerwani #bulgaria #europeanfashioncouncil pic.twitter.com/P1XHukYAos
— Fashion Pakistan (@FashionPakistan) January 28, 2015
It is expected that he will also be a part of the diplomatic fashion reception for Pakistan as part of the European Fashion Capital initiative.
It is not clear whether Perwani will be part of the ‘Ones to Watch’ exhibition curated by On Off as part of a designer support programme facilitated by London College of Fashion in the International Fashion Showcase. Apart from Pakistan, the exhibition will feature countries such as the Netherlands, Morocco, and Thailand.
Militants target police HQ
ISIS fighters attack a hotel building that local police use as their headquarters in central Kirkuk -- a key, oil-rich city in northern Iraq.
Gaza war pushed Palestinian economy into recession: IMF
WASHINGTON: The war between Israel and Gaza drove the Palestinian economy of Gaza and the West Bank into its first contraction since 2006, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.
While the West Bank managed a 4.5 percent expansion last year, Gaza’s economic activity declined by about 15 percent, the IMF said, linking it to Israel’s harsh bombing and shelling of the Gaza enclave and slow progress on rebuilding.
Overall, the contraction amounted to about one percent of gross domestic product.
“Economic activity contracted in 2014, following the war in Gaza in the summer and mounting political tensions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the IMF said.
After a mission to assess the state of the economy, IMF said a strong recovery this year was also in doubt due to Israel’s continued refusal to hand over some $ 127 million worth of clearance revenues due to the Palestinian Authority on goods imported into the West Bank and Gaza.
“These represent about two-thirds of net revenues and are essential to the PA’s budget and to the Palestinian economy,” it said.
“Reduced wage payments and other public spending cuts necessitated by the suspension of clearance revenues in the presence of financing constraints will likely cause a sharp reduction in private consumption and investment.”
Moreover, it added, reconstruction in Gaza is moving slowly, partly due to a lack of real reconciliation among factions in Palestinian politics, and partly due to donors not following through on their pledges to support rebuilding.
“Real GDP in 2015 is therefore set to rise only modestly, with a pickup in Gaza from a low base and a drop of nearly two percent in the West Bank, although the sharp fall in oil prices provides some relief to energy consumers.”
The turmoil has left unemployment very high in both areas, 19 percent in the West Bank and 41 percent in Gaza.
Israel’s withholding the revenues will force the government to cut back spending and investment, keeping the medium-term growth picture only modest, the IMF said.
The IMF praised the Palestinian Authority for keeping its fiscal deficit under control, but said that even assuming that Israel releases the funds, a large fiscal shortfall is expected.
“In this volatile environment, safeguarding financial stability will remain a priority….. Strong efforts by the PA can only go so far to contain the crisis for a few months. The situation could become untenable, with a growing risk of social unrest and strikes that could lead to political instability.”
“These serious risks could be mitigated if Israel quickly resumed transfers of clearance revenue and donors front-loaded their aid.”
‘Thorn Birds’ novelist dies at 77
The Australian author of the bestselling novel "The Thorn Birds" has died.
Football: Bayern suffer shock 4-1 hammering at Wolfsburg
BERLIN: Wolfsburg breathed life into the Bundesliga’s title race on Friday with a shock 4-1 hammering of leaders Bayern Munich, who suffered their heaviest German league defeat for six years.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern also lost their first league game of the season as second-placed Wolfsburg trimmed their lead to eight points.
Bayern leaked as many goals in Wolfsburg as in the entire first half of the season as the home side ruthlessly exploited Bayern’s numerous errors.
“We put in a huge performance,” beamed Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking.
“When you want to beat Bayern, you need a day like that.
“The team did everything we talked about and it went 100 percent according to plan.”
Netherlands striker Bas Dost gave the hosts a deserved 2-0 lead at the break as his thunderbolt volley crashed into off the post just before the half-time whistle following an earlier goal.
Belgium international Kevin de Bruyne made sure of the three points with two second half goals while defender Juan Bernat scored Bayern’s consolation goal.
“We made a lot of mistakes and let them hit us on the counter-attack,” admitted Bayern’s stand-in captain Bastian Schweinsteiger with Philipp Lahm injured.
“We lost our shape and we lost too many balls, it wasn’t our day.
“We have to analyse the performance and do better.”
For the first time in three years, Bayern found themselves 2-0 down at half-time on their way to their heaviest league defeat since losing 5-1 at Wolfsburg in April 2009 — when Wolves won the Bundesliga title.
“They were better in the key moments. After losing too many balls, we couldn’t control Wolfsburg’s counter-attacks,” admitted Guardiola.
There were emotional scenes before kick-off at the Volkswagen Arena with a minute’s applause for Belgium Under-21 international Junior Malanda, who was killed in a car crash earlier this month.
The hosts went ahead on their first venture into the Bayern half.
Daniel Caligiuri’s long-range cross from the sidelines was squared by De Bruyne and Dost drove his shot past the diving Manuel Neuer with four minutes on the clock.
Wolfsburg’s Maximillion Arnold tried to knock Xabi Alonso off the ball from a free-kick on 43 minutes and both players were booked.
The hosts doubled their lead when Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski headed a Wolfsburg free-kick into space. Dost latched onto the loose ball and volleyed home in spectacular fashion from the edge of the area.
Wolves went 3-0 up just after the break when Arnold’s pass put De Bruyne in behind the Bayern defence and he rifled his shot home.
Bernat gave Bayern some hope when he stabbed his shot past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio with 35 minutes left.
The Swiss shot-stopper protected Wolfsburg’s lead when he palmed Arjen Robben’s shot over the bar with 70 minutes gone as the hosts held on for a deserved victory over Bayern, who are bidding for a third straight league title.
Escapist retreat for Abu Dhabi’s rich
CNN's John Defterios reports on a luxurious island development just 30 minutes from Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
Tiger Woods shoots career-worst 82
SCOTTSDALE: Former world number one Tiger Woods fired his worst score as a professional, an 11-over par 82, to miss the cut at the US PGA Phoenix Open on Friday.
Woods stood last at 13-over 155 for the tournament, his first tour event since last August after recovering from a back injury.
Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, will miss the cut for only the 13th time in his pro career.
He will have missed the cut at least once in each year since 2008, when he won his most recent major title at the US Open.
COAS Hockey Cup: PIA, NBP make their way into final
KARACHI: PIA and NBP made their way into the final of the first Chief of the Army Staff Challenge Hockey Cup, winning their respective semi-final matches at the Army Hockey Stadium in Rawalpindi yesterday.
In the first match, PIA faced little resistance from SSGC as they outclassed them 4-1 in the first semi-final. Nohaiz Malik started the scoring with a sixth-minute goal to give PIA the lead, which Kashif Ali doubled in the 22nd minute.
Atif Mushtaq and Zubair Mehmood scored two more goals, in the 35th and 47th minutes, to put the tie beyond SSGC. Shakeel Abbasi then scored a consolation six minutes from time.
In the second semi-final, NBP fought hard in a nerve-wracking match to book their place in the final after defeating Army Seniors 2-1. The Bankers scored their first goal in the 11th minute of the match through Ali Shan’s field goal.
Then a superb flowing move resulted in Bilal Qadir beating the goalkeeper in the 29th minute to make it 2-0. Army skipper Muhammad Imran got one back in the 51st minute with a penalty corner but there was to be no comeback as NBP held on to reach the final.
The final between PIA and NBP will be played tomorrow, while Army and SSGC will fight it out for third place today.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Asian squash event: Pakistan juniors through to semis
KARACHI:
Defending champions Pakistan moved into the semi-finals of the 17th Asian Junior Team Championship after beating seventh seed Kuwait 2-0 yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Pakistan’s top seed Tayyab Aslam thrashed Khaled Aljenadel in straight games by scores of 11-2, 11-8 and 11-1, while former Asian junior champion Ali Bokhari followed suit by winning with an 11-2, 11-7 and 11-5 scoreline. Muhammad Asim and Israrullah were not required to step up to the court as Pakistan decided against playing the dead rubber.
Former national coach Jamshed Gul, who has returned to Pakistan after coaching clinics in Canada and the US, believes Pakistan can defend their title with ease. “Pakistan have the strongest side so they’ll win easily,” Jamshed told The Express Tribune. “However, I think the federation should have sent some youngsters, instead of once again sticking to Tayyab and Bokhari, because it would’ve helped in future junior events.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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‘Dragon’ dinosaur unearthed
Paleontologists discovered a "dragon" dinosaur species in China that may have roamed the earth 160 million years ago.
Cuba to build first new Catholic church since revolution
A neglected, weed-strewn field in a small Cuban town where there are more horses than cars seems an unlikely setting for a major shift in government policy.
President’s Cup Gold League: NBP book final date with SBP in high-scoring clash
KARACHI: Ziaul Haq’s four-wicket haul and a trio of half-centuries guided NBP into the final of the President’s Cup Gold League as they defeated KRL by 48 runs in the second semi-final at the National Stadium of Karachi yesterday to set up a final meeting with SBP tomorrow.
Batting first, NBP started off well with an opening partnership off 76 between Nasir Jamshed and Sami Aslam. However, Jamshed was bowled on 32 by Muhammad Yasin in the 15th over.
Aslam’s 59 off 62 helped him overtake Babar Azam as the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 464. Aslam and Kamran Akmal then added 50 before the 19-year-old was sent back to the pavilion by Nauman Ali. Fawad Alam came onto the crease and the experienced duo added a brilliant 97 at better than a-run-a-ball.
Kamran made 90 runs in his 75-ball innings before being dismissed by Rahat Ali. Alam also impressed with 68 off 62 balls.
Sadaf Hussain, the top wicket-taker in the tournament, added two more to his list as he dismissed Alam and Muhammad Nawaz, on 38, off consecutive balls. However, that did not stop NBP from reaching a massive total of 340.
Chasing 341, KRL never quite got going despite Imamul Haq and Saeed Anwar Junior making 105 off 114 balls for the third wicket.
Anwar was sent packing by Muhammad Asghar while Imam was dismissed by Zia. KRL then lost their last five wickets for 33 in the final six overs as Zia dismissed two more and Raza Hassan took three to end the KRL innings on 292.
“KRL is a good side but we played well with both bat and ball,” said Kamran, while talking to The Express Tribune. “We will play a positive game against SBP in the final but will have to fight hard to win the title.”
On the other hand, the Anwar-led KRL, who had not lost any of their group matches, failed to keep their winning streak going. “We were confident of making it to the final due to our previous performances, but our side was not up to the mark today.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Wrong number
I am no fan of Indian cinema. Simply put, one doesn’t find in oneself the patience to sit through a never-ending formulaic film. But that is not to say I am oblivious to the profundity of a good message. The sub-continental parallel cinema was once known for its good quality. In our immediate neighbourhood, this trait has shifted to the ancient land of Persia. So beautiful are some of the stories told by Iranian movies that they make you reflect on the deeper meaning of life and death every now and then.
Iran’s film industry often reminds me of the golden age of our very own PTV dramas. Given that the best plays were made during the times of dictators makes me wonder if the people of this region actually produce their best work in the time of repression. Today’s Pakistan is considerably freer but, boy, hardly is this reflected in our entertainment industry. Recently, I was forced to watch a few episodes of a rather successful television series whose name reminds one of a local brand of contraceptive. Amazing as it may seem, the producers put a real effort in salvaging a toxic relationship. See the formula again, and a sad one, too.
Back to Indian cinema. I was telling you I don’t have much of an appetite for Bollywood. But for a few years, I have developed a liking for Rajkumar Hirani’s movies. A Chinese friend asked me to watch one of his movies and I am ever so grateful for this recommendation. It is very close to my own observation and experience that the love for knowledge always pays.
Mr Hirani, who has a striking resemblance to our own Tauqir Nasir, has recently made another film, which has easily become the most successful film at the Indian box office. It is called PK. When I initially heard that it is about an alien life form’s arrival on planet earth, I was reluctant to watch it. We South Asians have the eerie belief that whatever comes from above has to reinforce our faith in religion. However, I am glad that I did manage to overcome my reluctance to watch PK. The message in it is of moderation and the alien in it is shown not to have hailed from any distant city of gods.
PK’s role in the story, played by the brilliant Amir Khan, is of an alien who lands on our blue-green planet and is robbed of a device that would have helped him return to his planet. In a very interesting quest to return to his planet, he has to confront the movers and shakers of all major religions in India. Seeing the high claims of being in touch with God himself by a Hindu god-man, PK accuses him of calling a wrong number. This, perhaps, is the strongest metaphor for our times. How many religious scholars of every faith claim to have access to God every day? How can all these claims be true?
The message in the film is important not only for India whose recent developments like the homecoming (ghar wapsi) ceremonies are giving India watchers a headache after the rise and rise of Narendra Modi’s closest allies in the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Sangh Pariwar. The film’s commercial success in India is proof of the redeeming quality of ordinary Indians and South Asians, who reject radicalism every day. But the message is also vital for societies like Pakistan and Afghanistan that have paid an arm and a leg for having placated extremists at some juncture in their history. Imagine how many wrong numbers are dialled every single day in both these countries. After thanking the maker of the film, I think I will use the metaphor of the wrong number at every chance I get.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Taliban claim responsibility for Kabul attack
The Afghan Taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed 3 American contractors at a military base attached to the Kabul airport.
A worrisome ‘alliance’
President Barack Obama is fond of making history. He made history in 2008 when he became the first non-white occupant of the White House. He now makes history again as he became the first US president ever to attend India’s Republic Day parade, a Soviet-style jamboree, an annual show of military might long associated with the anti-Americanism of the Cold War. He was on a highly symbolic three-day visit to India, his second in less than two years, again unprecedented in history, where his host, Narendra Modi, was also making history in meeting Obama for the fourth time in just eight months after his election.
The two leaders met in Washington, DC last September and then again at a G-20 Summit in Australia and at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar, both in November 2014. Obama’s visit also comes less than a year since Washington effectively ended its blacklisting of Modi, who became a persona non grata in the US and the European Union for his role in the killing of more than 2,000 Muslims following deadly communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 while he was its chief minister. The two leaders with distinct history on their side and inspired by their common ‘humble’ roots, seem to have bonded well, developing a personal equation which was overly visible in Obama’s unprecedented reception on arrival, by Modi, with an exuberant hug, and in the mutual bonhomie one saw when they talked and walked together in the elegant garden at the Hyderabad House where Modi poured a special cup of tea for Obama. No wonder, according to reports, their talks were cordial and productive covering a whole range of bilateral as well as regional and global issues.
Topping the agenda reportedly were “enhanced military cooperation, bilateral trade, climate change and investments in India’s civilian nuclear sector” on which a deal was struck to break a longstanding impasse over a local law on the liability issue that has long kept foreign nuclear companies from getting involved in the Indian market. Apparently, Modi’s ‘special cup of tea’ worked in extracting Obama’s nod on the deal. Other than a hotline that will now connect Prime Minister Modi and President Obama, one doesn’t see any new groundbreaking outcomes from the Obama-Modi talks. They just agreed to restart negotiations on a pending investment treaty and renewed the 10-year defence treaty signed in 2005. Whatever the worth of these decisions, the two sides were optimistic of their relations moving to “a whole new level”. Obama described the outcome as “powerful symbolism backed by substance”. Elated as they were on their mediocre origins, both Modi, son of a tea-seller and Obama, grandson of a cook, had reason to be euphoric over the outcome of their talks, which they believe will lead to one of the “defining partnerships of the 21st century”.
What an irony that the world’s two largest democracies are starting a ‘strategic partnership’ under a man of Modi’s controversial credentials and a Nobel Laureate US president, who has been justifying wars to make peace. In a glow of bonhomie, the two partners announced plans to unlock billions of dollars in military and nuclear trade as the bedrock of their alliance. Their Defence Trade Technological Initiative involves massive collaboration in terms of joint ‘pathfinder’ projects, including joint production of drone aircraft and equipment for C-130 military planes, cooperation on aircraft carriers and jet-engine technology and increasing upgrading of their joint military and naval exercises.
What a solid foundation for global peace and harmony! Obviously, in building up this new alliance, the US has its own priorities as part of its larger China-driven Asian agenda in pursuit of maintaining its worldwide political and economic power. India on its part is seeking to use this partnership for its own ambitions of gaining a global power status. Based on their respective expediencies, both sides are playing on Kautilya’s game plan to cope with what they both see as the spectre of Rising China. The future of this partnership will depend not on the avowed interests of its signatories, but on how other countries in the region, affected by this worrisome alliance, feel compelled to respond.
Indeed, it is the beginning of another Cold War. The only difference is that this time, India stands on the other side of the pole. The politics of alliances and alignments is back with dangerous implications for peace and security of this region. Actions are bound to provoke reactions. If the turbulent political history of this region had any lessons, the US engagement in this nuclearised region should have been aimed at promoting strategic balance rather than disturbing it. Washington should have been eschewing discriminatory policies in dealing with the India-Pakistan nuclear equation, the only one in the world that grew up in history totally unrelated to the Cold War. But this never happened.
Instead, the US gave India a country-specific nuclear deal with a carte blanche in the Nuclear Suppliers Group for access to nuclear technology. Any measure that contributes to lowering of the nuclear threshold and fuelling of an arms race between two nuclear-armed neighbours provides no service to the people of this region. A stable nuclear security order is what we need in South Asia. Only non-discriminatory, criteria-based approaches would be sustainable. Preferential treatment to India in terms of nuclear technology not only widens existing security imbalances in the region, but also seriously undermines the prospects of India-Pakistan restraint and stabilisation.
Unfortunately, principles of equity and justice today are globally non-existent. Of course, Americans are a pragmatic nation. They understand the worth of obliging India on its nuclear ambitions and quest for ‘great power’ status, and will continue to exploit it for their own ends. We in Pakistan have a long history of lessons learnt from similar alliances. We know such alliances never endure and keep changing as the world and its dynamics do by the inevitable process of change inherent in the rise and fall of power. For now, however, there are ominous security implications for this region.
The international community has an obligation, not only to eschew discriminatory policies in their dealing with the India-Pakistan nuclear equation, but also to take steps that facilitate the prospects of durable peace in this region. Peace in South Asia will remain elusive as long as Kashmir remains under Indian occupation. The world must know that there is but one fair, just, legal and moral solution to Kashmir, which was provided by the UN, and which both India and Pakistan mutually accepted in UN Security Council resolutions.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Bodies litter streets of Donetsk
Twelve people are reportedly killed in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, as the conflict between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels escalates.
Ceiling collapse kills one on Martin Scorsese set
One person was killed and two were injured on Thursday when a ceiling collapsed on the set in Taiwan of Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film Silence, a spokeswoman for the production said, reported Reuters. The three were working as contractors to reinforce a building on the CMPC Studios lot that had been deemed unsafe for production when the accident occured, spokeswoman Leslee Dart said in a statement.
“Everyone is in shock and sorrow and expresses their deepest concern and sympathy to the families of the individual who died and those who were injured,” the statement added. It did not detail the severity of the injuries. It is unknown as to whether Scorsese was at the site of the incident, but no filming was believed be taking place, reported Daily Mail.
Silence, which is still in pre-production, is the Oscar-winning director’s first theatrical film since his 2013 tale of greed and excess The Wolf of Wall Street. Adapted from Japanese author Shusaku Endo’s novel of the same name, Silence tells the story of 17th century Portuguese Jesuit missionaries who face violence and persecution in Japan. The movie will star Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Mums and kids give me the stink eye: Klum
Model Heidi Klum is many things – supermodel, Project Runway host and executive producer, entrepreneur and a mother of four, according to Daily Mail. The 41-year-old models lingerie and swimwear better than anyone half her age. So, it is no surprise that Klum would attract jealous stares from public on the street or at school when she goes to pick up her children.
In a recent interview, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel talked about motherhood, building confidence and her modelling preferences. Klum has a daughter Leni with former beau Flavio Briatore, and sons Henry and Johan, and daughter Lou with her ex-husband of almost seven-years Seal. When asked whether the paparazzi made it tough for her and her four children, Klum admitted that her children were immune to the shutterbugs and that “it’s mainly other mums and kids that give [her] the stink eye a little bit.”
After having been part of the fashion industry since 1997, the German model said she particularly enjoys lingerie modelling. “‘I’ve been a lingerie model for many, many years and I’ve had so much fun shooting lingerie, being in front of the camera, doing the runway for lingerie… I’ve honestly always preferred that,” she stated.
Klum recently became the creative director and ad campaign model for Bendon intimates and visited Australia to launch the line. She said she wasn’t afraid to pay tribute to the Australian icon Elle Macpherson, who first fronted Bendon’s intimates range. “I was really excited to launch in Australia because it was known in the country. This is where it all began,” Heidi shared. “Elle had been doing the line for 25 years and I was excited that I was asked to take over the reins and march along with it,” she added. Acknowledging that she had big shoes to fill, she commented, “25 years [since Elle did the line] is a huge success story.,”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Bollywood may get stumped by World Cup fever
KARACHI: There is no gainsaying that people in India are most passionate about two things – cinema and cricket. But Indian audiences will be spoilt for choice when cinema and cricket face off in the coming weeks, with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 set to begin on February 14, reported Roznama Express.
The World Cup, which will be contested in Australia and New Zealand, is likely to impact the Bollywood films that are slated to release in India during the course of the 43-day event. Commenting on whether the major sporting event can impact the box-office collections, Indian trade analyst and film journalist Amod Mehra said, “No major film company would want to release their film during this window.” He added, “But there are only 52 weeks [in a year] to release a film, and many producers are hopeful their movies would benefit from lack of competition from other films during this period.”
Bollywood films Roy and Dirty Siasat are scheduled to release on February 13, a day ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Arjun Rampal, who stars in the film Roy, quipped, “I am praying that it rains in Australia and New Zealand because I know that releasing a film during this time may prove to be costly. Plus, Pakistan and India will also play each other two days after the release of the film.” Among other films, which are slated to release during the World Cup window, are Varun Dhawan’s Badlapur and Anushka Sharma’s NH 10, reported Hindustan Times.
Filmmaker Farah Khan shared similar sentiments and said, “Whenever there is a world cup happening, cinema is bound to suffer.” Contrarily, Mallika Sherawat, who will be seen in Dirty Siasat, stated, “There are so many people in India that these films will eventually find an audience. I am not interested in cricket at all and there will be more people like me who will come watch our films.”
According to Mehra, the only way these films stand to benefit is if the Indian team is eliminated from the World Cup in the early stages, as people will turn to cinema to “reduce the sorrow of defeat.” “Main Tera Hero (2014) released on the day India played South Africa (during the T20 World Cup). The film still did well. I am a big cricket-lover myself and I want India to do well in the World Cup, but I strongly believe that film lovers will continue to watch the films that they want to,” said Dhawan.
Bhushan Kumar who has produced Roy, said he was ‘confident’ that his film would do well at the box office. “We had discussed the World Cup before deciding the release date [of Roy], but then we realised that cricket fever isn’t as high as it used to be. Plus, India isn’t playing every day, and not all the people are going to be interested in cricket,” he commented.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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‘Stolen artefacts funding ISIS military operations’
A British parliamentarian recently stated that militants are stealing artifacts in Iraq and Syria to finance their terror campaign. Some of the artefacts to have been stolen included the early Bronze Age tables with cuneiform writing, reported Al-Arabiya News.
“We live in a time of the most tragic and outrageous assault on our shared heritage that any of us have seen since the end of the Second World War,” MP Robert Jenrick stated in an article he wrote for The Art Newspaper.
He added, “Ancient treasures in Iraq and Syria have become the casualties of continuing warfare and looting.”
Jenrick stated that no other group has done more to put their heritage at risk than the Islamic State (IS). He noted that not only was the group “taking lives, but tearing at the fabric of civilization, looting and purposefully destroying the culture and collective memory of millions.”
With reports emerging that the money generated from the sale of the artwork is being used to fund terrorist activities MP Robert Jenrick has gone on to say that the illegal sale of these artworks is “no longer just an issue for people with an interest in the art world or cultural heritage.”
Jenrick noted that Isis has been employing contractors with bulldozers to harvest the stolen antiquities on an “industrial scale.”
According to the MP, in the United States alone there has been a 133% increase in Syrian artwork being imported in the country over the past year. Some of the more notable artworks have been discovered by auction houses, whereas other artwork has also been seen on online on websites like eBay.
“There are reports of works being offered privately in the Gulf at one end of the scale and appearing on eBay at the other,” said Jenrick.
The MP however, also spoke of a positive attitude being displayed by the markets which are not accepting the “looted material”.
These reports of Isis selling artefacts have not emerged for the first time as the UN cultural agency, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) had issued a warning in late 2014 that Isis was selling ancient Iraqi artefacts in an attempt to finance their military operations in the region.
“Overall there hasn’t been a significant uptake in works coming to market so it’s likely that vast quantities of looted materials are being stored by middlemen until ‘the dust has settled,’” Jenrick said, adding, “That suggests that when these works do come to market, they will do so having passed through many hands, including sophisticated, organised criminals.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2015.
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Kenji Goto sought ‘story of ISIS’
Kenji Goto had every reason to stay home in Japan. A successful career. An adoring mother. A loving wife. A pair of young daughters, one of them just two-weeks old.
Djokovic silences Stan
Novak Djokovic beat Stan Wawrinka in another five-set classic to reach a record fifth Australian Open final. He'll face Andy Murray on Sunday.
Djokovic silences Stan
For the third straight year at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka played a classic five setter. This time Djokovic won to make a record fifth final.
Heavyweights collide in blockbuster Asian final
SYDNEY: Top-scorers Australia will try to unlock the Asian Cup’s stingiest defence on Saturday when they meet South Korea in a blockbuster final between two of the region’s heavyweights.
The Socceroos are desperate to win a first Asian title on home soil, but to do so they will have to find a way through a Korean rearguard which has not conceded all tournament.
It could be a case of who blinks first as Australia look to be crowned kings of Asia, after defecting from Oceania in 2006, and South Korea try to end a hoodoo stretching back a staggering 55 years.
Runners-up to Japan in 2011, Australia have hit 12 goals in five games and they will start as slight favourites, despite losing 1-0 to South Korea in the group phase.
Coach Ange Postecoglou opted to rest talisman Tim Cahill for that game in Brisbane and he was robbed of captain Mile Jedinak through injury, but he insisted the result would count for little with the stakes now so high.
“Previous records go out the window,” he told reporters on Friday. “It will be the team able to deal with whatever may happen who wins, because finals never run to script.”
Cahill has netted three times so far, including a venomous overhead kick in the quarter-final win over China, and is likely to be central to the plot in one of the biggest games in Australia’s history.
“It just takes one second for someone to switch off,” said the former Everton forward. “Hopefully I can be on point to make it count.”
Both teams possess players capable of delivering a knockout blow, with South Korea hoping golden boy Son Heung-Min can weave his magic as they seek to win a first Asian Cup since 1960 having already defied the odds by reaching the final.
Their title drought is a curious anomaly for a nation who stormed to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002, but they have reached the final – their first in 27 years – despite an injury crisis and a flu bug which swept through the squad, forcing medical staff to work overtime.
“It’s been too long for Korea to be champions,” said captain Ki Sung-yueng, who has been a calming influence on South Korea after losing the dynamic pairing of Lee Chung-Yong and Koo Ja-Cheol in the group stages.
“We don’t have anything to lose in this game, maybe Australia have more pressure than us. I told the players it’s a great opportunity, maybe once in a lifetime, to become Asian Cup champions so everyone is ready for tomorrow.”
South Korea are the first team to reach the final without conceding a goal since Iran in 1976, but their resilience will be severely tested by Australia’s firepower in front of a sell-out crowd of nearly 80,000 in Sydney and an estimated global audience of 80 million.
The players were pelted with toffee – a traditional insult in South Korea – on their return from last year’s World Cup, but German coach Uli Stielike has performed wonders since taking over as they look to emulate the under-23 side’s Asian Games gold medal in October.
As many as 30,000 Korean “Red Devils” fans are expected to add spice to the atmosphere but Stielike confessed his young team could freeze.
“I don’t know what their reaction will be,” shrugged the German. “If we can control our nerves we have every possibility to win.”
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Afghans prepare for ‘dream’ World Cup debut
KABUL: At an indoor academy in Kabul, Afghanistan’s cricketers are training hard for their debut in the upcoming World Cup tournament in Australia and New Zealand next month.
Shuttle runs and lifting weights help keep out the bitter chill of the Afghan winter as the players tune up for the tournament on warmer antipodean shores.
The Afghans’ opening match against Bangladesh in Canberra on February 18 will mark the culmination of a fairy-tale journey for a team born in the ashes of decades of war.
Afghanistan qualified for the last two World Twenty20 tournaments in 2010 and 2012 but lost all their matches, however this will be their first time in the 50-over tournament.
“It really means so much to play in a mega event like the World Cup,” Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, the team’s 30-year-old captain, wearing a thick jersey and winter hat inside the chilly training facility, told AFP.
Cricket came to Afghanistan through refugee camps in Pakistan, where countless Afghans fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland.
After learning it in exile, young Afghans brought cricket back with them when the Taliban fell in 2001 and the game has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Afghanistan face a tough fight to get out of their group, which includes Test powerhouses Australia, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. Only the top four in each group go through to the knockout stages.
But the side are buoyant after beating Bangladesh in the Asia Cup last year and know the big-name sides will be wary of a possible giant-killing.
“We have a chance, if we play to our potential, to qualify for the quarter-finals,” said Nabi, an off-spinning all-rounder with 43 one-day internationals under his belt.
“This is a game that can bring Afghanistan together and be a very good tool for peace and stability.”
The Taliban are gone from power in Afghanistan but their resilient insurgency still exacts a bloody toll, particularly on civilians.
The country’s cricket board chairman Nasimullah Danish agreed with his captain that the game is a good way to inspire the country — and spread a more positive image abroad.
“We will rock the World Cup, all the boys are in confidence,” said Danish.
“We will show to the world that we are cricketers, and we are the people of peace, and we are the people of sports.”
A lack of facilities and security issues have been major challenges for the cricket team, but the Afghans’ wholehearted approach – not to mention their fairy-tale rise – won over many neutrals in their World Twenty20 appearances.
The team’s English head coach Andy Moles, a solid opening batsman for Warwickshire in his playing days, said part of his role was to channel and focus their fearsome competitiveness.
“The overriding factor for my team is their passion and their excitement for the game,” said Moles, who has previously coached Scotland and New Zealand.
“They play very instinctive cricket, and a big point for me is the challenge to get them to stay calm under pressure.”
Moles is realistic about the team’s chances, targeting a win over Bangladesh and saying qualifying for the quarter-finals would be like winning the whole tournament.
For players like Hamid Hassan, the chance to compete in his country’s royal blue shirt at famous stadiums such as Sydney Cricket Ground and the Gabba in Brisbane is an achievement in itself.
“If we (look) back 10 years we had nothing. We are thinking this is like a dream and we feel so proud,” said the 27-year-old bowler, who like many Afghan players picked up the game on the streets of Pakistan.
“We have waited 10 years for this moment,” Hamid added. “I dreamed of playing on the biggest stage and now the time has come to do our best in the tournament.”
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A bitter romance? Old Firm rivals reunite
Glasgow's biggest football clubs will meet this weekend for the first time in three years and tensions in the football-mad city.
Shooting of Scorsese new film delayed after accident
TAIPEI: Hollywood director Martin Scorsese has postponed shooting his new film Silence in Taipei after an accident at the set killed one worker and injured three others, a producer said Friday.
Scorsese, who is currently in Taiwan, has yet to decided when Silence will start shooting after the original Friday start date was pushed back, said producer David Lee, who is working on the film.
“Director Scorsese felt terribly sorry about the tragedy. Some crew members and I expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and visited the wounded at the hospital yesterday on his behalf,” Lee told AFP.
One man was killed and three others were wounded on Thursday when a ceiling collapsed on construction workers who were reinforcing an old brick-and-wood house during pre-production.
A worker was pronounced dead at the hospital while two were hospitalised for injuries to their legs and heads, according to the Taipei city fire department.
A fourth worker was also slightly wounded, but did not seek hospital treatment.
Silence, based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, tells the story of Portuguese Jesuits in the 17th Century who suffered persecution while working in isolated parts of Japan.
It will star Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver and will be released in cinemas in 2016.
Scorsese, the award-winning director of such movies as The Departed and Wolf of Wall Street, is the latest Hollywood heavyweight to film in Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwan-born, US-based director Ang Lee filmed his Oscar-winning 3D adventure Life of Pi on the island, and French director Luc Besson shot some of his sci-fi thriller Lucy in Taipei
Olson on why preserving Pakistan’s cultural heritage should matter to US
In a blog for The Huffington Post, United States Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson argues that the US can demonstrate support for tolerance and respect for diversity in Pakistan through the preservation of the country’s cultural heritage.
“Preserving the cultural heritage sites of Pakistan goes hand in hand with preserving Pakistan’s pluralistic identity and traditions,” he wrote following his visit to the necropolis of Makli Hills to announce that the US government was helping Pakistan conserve two of its most magnificent monuments.
On his visit, Olson was accompanied by conservation architect Yasmeen Lari, during which they walked along the River Indus — “now a dusty wash”.
“As the US Ambassador to Pakistan, I live in a country facing political, military, and humanitarian challenges on many fronts. One front that has not received sufficient attention in Western media is the war on cultural heritage and how this matters to the people of Pakistan,” Olson said.
According to the ambassador, groups like the Islamic State (IS) are threatened by the existing rich cultural heritage, which they merely seek to destroy. “One of the ways in which ISIL has consolidated a reign of terror in Iraq and Syria is by erasing any heritage of religious diversity.”
Commenting on the Sindh invasion led by Muhammad bin Qasim which led in the introduction of Islam to Sindh, Olson said that the oldest stone tombs at Makli Hills are prevalent with Hindu influence.
“These ancient monuments enrich and inform today’s Pakistan and connect us to our cultural origins,” said Olson, adding that the weather and environment have taken a toll on the monuments and has also been accompanied by vandalism and looting.
Pakistan has been subjected to terrorism ,which could be the reason treasures of Moghul artistry lie scattered and broken on the ground while some of the elaborate sepulchers have lost their foundations and are splitting apart.
Even the large tombs that are structurally intact have lost their turquoise tiled roofs and cladding and now reveal their baked brick skeletons, Olson went on to explain.
The US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is a programme that enables ambassadors to identify cultural monuments around the world which are at risk and since its inception since 2001, the fund has supported the preservation of cultural sites, objects and cultural expression across the world. Makli Hills is one such cultural site.
“The fund has allowed me to support projects that help the conservation of the tombs of Sultan Ibrahim and Amir Sultan Muhammad at Makli Hills,” the ambassador wrote.
The Heritage Foundation of Pakistan will be conducting surveys to assess the structural and environmental damages to both tombs. A programme would then be implemented to conserve the decorative features of the tombs and establish skills training and capacity-building workshops for students, artisans and conservation personnel.
Concluding, Olson added that the preservation of cultural heritage plays an important role in protecting a country’s identity and maintaining its economic vitality.
“Through the preservation of cultural heritage sites in Pakistan and other countries, the US can demonstrate our support for the principles of tolerance and respect for diversity that residents of this region have lived by for centuries.”
Ancient skull find in Israel ‘amazing’
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‘Positive’ Clarke to test fitness on road to World Cup
SYDNEY: Australia captain Michael Clarke will bat in a local game this weekend as he embarks on a gradual return to competitive cricket in a bid to be fully fit for the World Cup after hamstring surgery.
Cricket Australia said the 33-year-old, who also suffers from a chronic degenerative back condition, would turn out for Sydney’s Western Suburbs on Saturday and Sunday.
Then, if all goes well, for a Cricket Australia XI against a Bangladesh XI on February 5, adding a limited fielding capacity to his batting.
“He remains on track for a return in Australia’s second ICC Cricket World Cup match on 21 February,” a statement said Friday.
“Michael is making good progress following his injury and the subsequent surgery six weeks ago,” said physiotherapist Alex Kountouris.
Clarke had surgery in December after badly tearing his right hamstring during the first Test against India.
That ruled him out of the following three Tests and threatened his involvement in the world one-day tournament which begins on February 14 in Australia and New Zealand.
Kountouris said Clarke was on track to play the second match of Australia’s World Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Brisbane on February 21.
Clarke said the weekend knock was “a positive step on my road to a return to full fitness.
“It is exciting to be at this stage where I can consider walking onto a cricket field again … the signs are positive.
“I know I need to take things one step and one day at a time and so, for now, all I am doing is focusing on things day by day and with a belief in a positive outcome.”
The news came after a week of headlines suggesting Clarke was on a collision course with Cricket Australia over World Cup selection if he failed to regain fitness in time.
Fairfax Media has also reported that the team are very settled and successful under laid-back young stand-in captain Steve Smith, raising questions about whether the more aggressive Clarke would get his place back.
A Cricket Australia XI will also play against the Bangladeshis on February 3 as part of the tourists’ build up to the World Cup.
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