Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Behind bars, Drew Peterson charged with hiring hit man
Drew Peterson, the imprisoned former Chicago-area police sergeant found guilty of murdering his ex-wife, was charged Monday on two counts of murder solicitation.
Americans urged to leave Yemen
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is asking Americans in the country to leave and has moved staffers out of the country, citing a deteriorating security situation.
Abused maid: ‘Stop treating us like slaves’
As a Hong Kong housewife is found guilty for imprisoning and abusing a young Indonesian maid, her victim calls on governments to do more to protect migrant workers.
Can Minsk talks end violence in Ukraine?
CNN's Erin McLaughlin looks at the violence that has engulfed Ukraine in the months leading up to the Minsk peace talks.
Friend: Cops question Bobbi Kristina Brown’s boyfriend
A friend of Bobbi Kristina Brown said police have questioned Brown's boyfriend about bruises on the young woman's chest after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub January 31.
Russia to help build Egypt’s first nuclear plant: Sisi
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said Tuesday that Russia had agreed to jointly build his country’s first nuclear power plant.
A memorandum of understanding was signed Tuesday in the presence of Sisi and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At a joint press conference with Putin, Sisi said the nuclear power plant would be built in Dabaa in northwest Egypt on the Mediterranean coast.
Egypt had laid the foundation for such a facility in Dabaa during the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, but work was halted due to disputes with local residents.
Dramatic end to high-speed chase
Two men trying to evade police in Australia jump out of a stolen car and run across a highway, and one is hit by a car.
American ISIS hostage dead
The family of Kayla Mueller, an American woman held captive by the Islamist terror group ISIS, said Tuesday it has received confirmation that she is dead.
We are terrible at dealing with trolls and abuse, admits Twitter CEO
In a leaked internal memo, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo admitted that despite a stream of updates intended to address the problem, Twitter is still terrible at dealing with abuse on its network, Times of India reported.
“We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day,” he said. “I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd.”
In a follow-up message, Costolo made it clear that he takes “personal responsibility” for the prevalence of abuse on the network.
He added that the site was going to “start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them.”
Twitter has for long admitted it has not done enough to stop trolling and online abuse.
Last year in December it had released an update, which included features intended to reduce online abuse. It improved the blocking function, which allows users to stop others from contacting them, and made its harassment reporting tools quicker and easier to use.
When it introduced those, Twitter admitted in a blog post that it had not done enough to protect its users.
“We are nowhere near being done making changes in this area,” wrote Shreyas Doshi, director of product management and user safety at the site.
In the coming months the site would release “additional user controls, further improvements to reporting and new enforcement procedures for abusive accounts,” he added.
Jon Stewart to leave The Daily Show ‘later this year’
LOS ANGELES: He has hosted presidents, dictators, and to top stars and asked them the hard questions. No, not Stephen Sackur, or Brian Williams, it is Jon Stewart, who hosts the satirical and pioneering “The Daily Show.” And later this year, he will be hanging up his coat.
Called a “comic geniuses” by his bosses at Comedy Central, the 52-year-old, who made his silver-screen directorial debut with Rosewater — a film based on an Iranian-Canadian journalist’s nightmare in a Tehran jail, has worked for Comedy Central for over 16 years.
“His comedic brilliance is second to none,” said a statement on the channel’s Twitter feed.
Thank you Jon. pic.twitter.com/yPdxjnkuLw
— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) February 10, 2015
The Daily Show, which airs four nights a week in the United States, offers Stewart’s trademark sideways take on the news. The show has been running to acclaim since 1999.
“Jon has been at the heart of Comedy Central, championing and nurturing the best talent in the industry, in front of and behind the camera,” said the channel.
It added: “Through his unique voice and vision, The Daily Show has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparallelled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come.
“Jon will remain at the helm of The Daily Show until later this year. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family.”
The statement gave no indication of what Stewart plans to do after leaving the show or who will replace him.
In 2011, Nielson data showed that every episode of Stewart’s show was watched by 2.3 million people — mostly in the 25-54 bracket, a rating higher than some of the major news networks, particularly Fox News. A 2012 study found that people who watched The Daily Show were better informed than people who watched Fox News.
Stewart is leaving #TheDailyShow, here's his audience by ideological placement @pewresearch http://t.co/Jo9AK8QrFb pic.twitter.com/5qvTUwpGHW
— Monica Anderson (@MonicaRAnders) February 11, 2015
Apple becomes first company worth over $700 bn
NEW YORK: Apple became the first company to reach a market value of $ 700 billion Tuesday as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tech giant’s gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive smartwatch.
Shares rose 1.9 percent to close at $ 122.02, lifting Apple’s market value to $ 710 billion, and making it the first company to hit the $ 700 billion milestone.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, said Apple was hitting its stride.
“We’ve taken (the mobile operating system) iOS and extended it into your car, into your home, into your health. All of these are really critical parts of your life,” Cook said.
“We want one seamless kind of life. And so, I think that is huge for our future…We also did a lot of things to further our global footprint. And so, if you look at what we’ve done in China, we’ve opened more stores there. We’ve opened a lot more distribution there. Through the world, we’ve opened almost 20,000 new points of sale. We’ve opened 27 new Apple Stores, lot of flagship stores.”
Cook said Apple took some $ 50 billion in revenue in emerging markets over the past calendar year.
Brian White, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said the leading tech company has even more room to grow.
“Given Apple’s powerful iPhone cycle, a big 4G ramp in China and the upcoming launch of Apple Watch in April, we believe there is still plenty to look forward to at Apple during this transformational cycle,” he said in a note to clients.
“At the same time, we believe Apple’s valuation has room to expand from depressed levels.”
Apple shares remain valued at reasonable levels, according to analysts, because of the whopping $ 18 billion quarterly profit reported recently by the iPhone and iPad maker.
Using the price-earnings ratio favored by Wall Street, Apple is valued at around 16 times its annual earnings, but Fitzgerald said the value was only around 10 times the projected earnings for the next fiscal year.
Apple is far ahead in market value from the number two company, oil giant Exxon Mobil, worth some $ 382 billion at the market close.
The record Apple quarterly profit — on unprecedented revenue of $ 74.6 billion — was driven by the sale of 74.5 million iPhones, well ahead of most analysts’ expectations.
Analysts are also seeing expanded adoption of the Apple Pay system that enables customers to purchase items with a tap of their iPhone, and many predict strong demand for the Apple Watch set for release in April.
Separately, Apple agreed to commit $ 848 million for solar energy to power its data centers, according to a statement from First Solar, Inc.
Cook called the effort “our biggest, boldest, and most ambitious project ever” and said it was part of Apple’s commitment on clean energy and corporate responsibility.
Apple will receive electricity from 130 megawatts under a 25-year power purchase agreement, “the largest agreement in the industry to provide clean energy to a commercial end user,” the solar firm said.
The 2,900-acre California Flats Solar Project occupies part of a property owned by Hearst Corporation in Cholame, California, with construction set to start this year.
Apple unveiled plans earlier this month to pump $ 2 billion over the coming decade into a solar-powered data center “global command” facility in the southwest state of Arizona.
French back hosting 2024 Games in Paris
PARIS: The majority of French people are behind Paris lodging a bid to stage the 2024 Olympic Games, revealed a poll published on Tuesday.
Almost three-quarters of those questioned in a survey for newspaper Direct Matin support the French capital in their attempt to secure the Games.
The poll found that a total of 73% would like to see the Games return to Paris for the third time after 1900 and 1924.
There is already a long list of potential candidates for the 2024 Games ahead of a September 15 deadline.
In Europe, Berlin and Hamburg in Germany and Italian capital Rome are considering throwing their hats into the Olympic ring, while the American city of Boston is also a candidate.
Durban in South Africa could press to become the first African host of the Games. Istanbul – who were runners-up for the 2020 Games – is also considering a new bid.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Tamim satisfied with recovery
SYDNEY:
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal says he was delighted with his recovery from knee surgery after hitting 81 in the narrow World Cup warm-up loss to Pakistan.
The 25-year-old left-hander showed no ill effects from last month’s operation during a 168-run stand for the third wicket with Mohammad Mahmudullah (83) on Monday.
“It’s quite satisfying to be back after knee surgery and perform well,” said Iqbal. “My goal is to help Bangladesh win as many games as possible.”
“I am quite happy that I could start well on my return. I needed this confidence ahead of a major tournament,” he added.
Despite Iqbal’s efforts, Pakistan surpassed Bangladesh’s total of 246 in the penultimate over and the Tigers will now target a win in Friday’s final warm-up against Ireland.
They will then turn their attention to their February 18 World Cup opener against Afghanistan, a chance for revenge after their shock defeat at last year’s Asia Cup.
“We could take a lot of positives from this practice match. If we can win the next one, everyone will enter the tournament with much confidence,” Iqbal said.
“We have been preparing well and have learnt our lessons of the defeat against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Copa del Rey: Spotlight on the frontline as Barca eye Cup final
MADRID:
Barcelona will be targeting a 10th consecutive victory to take a big step towards the Copa del Rey final when they host Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final clash on Wednesday.
The Catalans have clicked into form ever since the club seemed on the brink of an institutional crisis following a dressing room bust-up after a shock 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad to start the year.
Even more judicial activity against the club and its president Josep Maria Bartomeu for tax irregularities in the signing of Neymar has not disrupted Barca’s rhythm.
The Brazilian forward has played a starring role in the run alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. All three were on target in Sunday’s 5-2 win at Athletic Bilbao as Barca closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, taking Luis Enrique’s men’s tally to 34 goals in their last nine games.
“We are getting better every day, but we need to continue working hard to improve,” said Neymar, who has scored 23 times in 27 appearances this season. “More than just the goals, the most important thing is to help my teammates. We can’t stop now, we need to keep going.”
Captain Xavi Hernandez returned to the side for Barca’s first league victory in the Basque country since 2010 and the veteran is determined to keep their momentum going on all fronts, with a return to Champions League action against Manchester City also to come at the end of the month.
“We can’t slip up. We already did that at Anoeta [against Sociedad] and now we feel great and depend on ourselves in the league. We need to make the most of our form,” said Xavi.
Villarreal will be rotating players: Marcelino
Villarreal have already suffered at the hands of Messi and Neymar in recent weeks, but they gave Barca a scare as the hosts had to come from behind twice to win 3-2 at the Camp Nou on February 1.
That was the Yellow Submarine’s only defeat in their last 20 games, but coach Marcelino has warned that he will make changes from his side’s 2-0 win over Granada with a top-four finish in La Liga still their priority.
“We are in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and still in the Europa League, therefore we have to rotate players,” he said. “The key to this Villarreal side is the squad, it is our biggest strength.”
In the other semi-final, Espanyol travel to face Athletic Bilbao later on Wednesday.
Both sides are in mid-table in La Liga and know their only realistic chance of European football next season comes from them winning the cup.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Hackers target social media accounts of news magazine, airline
WASHINGTON / SAN FRANCISCO: Hackers struck at a number of social media accounts on Tuesday, infiltrating and posting unauthorised content on the twitter accounts of Newsweek magazine and Twitter’s chief financial officer and embarrassing posts on Delta Airline’s Facebook page.
Pro-IS hacker hijacks Newsweek’s Twitter feed
Newsweek’s Twitter feed was briefly hijacked by hackers who displayed messages supporting the Islamic State group.
The feed showed images similar to those from the hacking of the social media feed of the US Central Command last month.
The account showed a picture of a hooded figure and the words “Cyber Caliphate” along with the message “Je Suis IS,” a response to the “Je Suis Charlie” messages following the deadly attacks at French weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Newsweek, a publication now owned by IBT Media, said the account was taken over for about 14 minutes before Twitter returned control to the news organisation.
“We can confirm that Newsweek’s Twitter account was hacked this morning, and have since regained control of the account,” Newsweek managing editor Kira Bindrim said in a statement.
“We apologise to our readers for anything offensive that might have been sent from our account during that period, and are working to strengthen our newsroom security measures going forward.”
Twitter users noticed the anomaly, and saw the account appeared to have been restored a short time later, with an empty “egg” image in place of its customary logo.
Later, the White House said the FBI was probing the hack. Hackers had posted tweets containing threats to President Barack Obama’s family.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that “this particular intrusion is one that is already being investigated by the FBI,” without elaborating.
Delta Airline’s facebook page hacked for obscene content on
While Newsweek’s Twitter account was hacked to post pro-IS tweets, Delta’s Facebook page was seemingly hacked to post objectionable content, Business Insider reported.
About an hour after the initial post, a second obscene link was posted. Shortly thereafter, though, Delta removed both the links and posted an apology via its Twitter account, saying its page was compromised.
The @Delta Facebook page was compromised. We sincerely apologize for the unauthorized, objectionable content that was posted.
— Delta Air Lines News (@DeltaNewsroom) February 10, 2015
The offensive content posted on the @Delta Facebook page has been removed. We apologize and are investigating.
— Delta Air Lines News (@DeltaNewsroom) February 10, 2015
Twitter exec’s account fires off spam posts
An official Twitter account for the company’s chief financial officer unleashed a barrage of spam posts on Tuesday in what may have been either a hack or a glitch.
Anthony Noto’s account @anthonynoto for a brief time fired off terse, slangy missives inviting people to click on a link that promised funny video or other reward, depending on the post.
The posts were quickly removed by Twitter.
“His account was sending spam Tweets,” a Twitter spokesperson told AFP. “We’ve locked the account down and deleted the Tweets.”
There was no indication any of Noto’s account information was accessed, according to the spokesperson.
Rogue posts in Twitter accounts could be the work of hackers, but they could also be caused by bugs in third-party applications intended to work with the one-to-many messaging service, according to the San Francisco-based company.
The account compromises came the same day the US administration announced the launch of a new cyber intelligence center which aims to integrate information about threats to critical computer networks.
Crunch time for Pakistan in final warm-up
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s warm-up match against England serves as the final opportunity for the men in green to find the right balance going into their World Cup opener against arch-rivals India.
Late replacements – opener Nasir Jamshed and left-arm pacer Rahat Ali – are unlikely to be drafted for the warm-up, even if they are available. The management, however, can still decide upon the majority of the team’s composition and whether either Jamshed or Rahat should be brought in.
Pakistan’s preparations for the premier event have been marred by injuries, while the results have also not been going for them.
The team’s preparatory matches, with one remaining, have all been played in New Zealand. They lost their two-match ODI series 2-0 against the Kiwis, while they were given a tough time in the first warm-up by Bangladesh, and it took an unbeaten 93 from Sohaib Maqsood to steer Pakistan to a three-wicket win.
Next up is their match against England, who pose a big challenge as their bowling attack is dangerous on the pitches of New Zealand, which was evident from the way they bamboozled the West Indies in their sole warm-up match on Monday.
Former cricketer Shoaib Muhammad believes that the match against England could be used to restore their confidence. “Pakistan need to get their confidence back so that they can do well in both New Zealand and Australia,” Shoaib told The Express Tribune. “We were on the verge of losing to Bangladesh, only to be saved by Maqsood’s match-winning knock. If Pakistan can do well against England then the players can be more poised against teams who pose a threat with their bowling attacks.”
Shoaib added that the match against England was a good opportunity for the management to find the right click in their line-up as that would be key going into the match against India. “If we can find the best possible playing eleven, it will make the job of beating India much easier,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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White House requesting military action
President Barack Obama's administration is finalizing the text of its request for Congress to authorize the use of military force against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
A closed system
Democracy and authoritarianism are two opposite political orders. Democracy is open, while authoritarianism is closed, unfree and oppressive when it faces resistance, challenge and fierce opposition. However, these two extremes have many shades of colours from very pale to a very solid bright. Pakistan’s struggling democracy has democratic features and a strong mix of authoritarian elements. When it comes to freedom of expression, right of association, political participation and fundamental rights, our democracy has come to acquire some strengths. Overall, compared with the barren political landscape of Muslim societies, Pakistan is the most free. That is of course good, but that is not all that matters in the democratic development of a society. At best, you may take it as meeting basic requirements, but then we have stuck at fundamentals for a long time.
The authoritarian, closed bit of Pakistan’s political order remains very dominant and casts a very heavy shadow over the democratic future of the country. It will be a partial view to associate authoritarianism with military rule alone. There is no doubt that it has played a consequential role in fostering an authoritarian political culture. The social roots of authoritarianism in Pakistan are deep in landownership patterns, the feudal dynamics of the country, in the caste system and in the tribal structures and religious world view. These elements have played an equally big role in assisting and sustaining military rule in the country. Pakistan has been in democratic transition for quite some time now. Its power, widely defined as economic, political and social, remains confined to a narrow band of elite.
It is owing to elite politics and power that Pakistan’s democratic transition remains incomplete and its consolidation quite uncertain and shaky. However, authoritarianism, narrowly defined here as a closed system of decision-making within the party organisations, is very much exercised without any qualm or question by non-elite parties — regional, ethnic and religious. The ‘great’ leader speaks for all, his is the most certain voice, and he controls the distribution of political goods within his power and privilege. The people surrounding the ‘great’ party bosses are either close family members or trusted friends that have served their ends of stealing public monies. The rest, even the elected members of legislatures, otherwise very respectable and from elite families, are kept at some distance.
In a closed system like ours, economic and political power circulates within a limited section of society. The fledging market system that we have, when compared with the stale political order, is robust and has many windows open for ambitious entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. What keeps them shackled, and largely our economy, too, is the heavy shadow of narrow political interests of the dominant political families.
The system is essentially closed in terms of recruitment of new political elite, as politics, since independence, has circulated within the elite family with the exception of some ethnic and religious parties. Even they have adopted a closed-door policy, only of their own kind and only with the blessings of the ‘great’ leader can they make an entry to the ranks of the party and may survive and flourish as long as the leader is pleased.
The rising middle class that has skills, education and ideas to move Pakistan forward cannot get space in the party system that we have, with a very undemocratic, authoritarian culture. The PTI does represent this class, but we have yet to see whether or not its middle class ranks will make the transition from waving flags to becoming electoral candidates.
Being closed, the system remains exclusive, outdated and devoid of any vision — politics circulating within iron rings.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Nearly $8B for English football rights
The English Premier League (EPL) will gross nearly $ 8 billion from its latest domestic rights deal, with Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB retaining the largest proportion of live televised matches, it was announced Tuesday.
Princess Anne and golfing greats admitted to R&A
Britain's Princess Anne and 10-time major winner Annika Sorenstam are among the first women members to be admitted to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, it was announced Tuesday.
Pakistan’s unique relations with China
The news that the president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, will be the chief guest at the March parade this year has been warmly received in Pakistan. President Barack Obama’s presence in New Delhi on India’s Republic Day parade and the heavy tilt of Narendra Modi towards aligning his country’s policies with Washington created unease both in China and Pakistan. President Xi’s visit will be reassuring and will provide good optics reflecting the strong bonds that exist between the two countries who have stood the vagaries of time. More recently, the extreme warm reception that General Raheel Sharif was accorded in Beijing and the strong statements made by the Chinese military leadership reiterating full support to Pakistan were also expressions of the same policy.
Sino-Pakistan relations, since the early 1950s, have been consistent, multi-faceted and span strategic defence, political, economic and diplomatic ties. China considers Pakistan useful in countering India, values its geostrategic position and considers it an important ally in the Muslim world.
In the field of defence, China has extended invaluable cooperation that extends to all three services. It has not only provided weapons and equipment but has also assisted Pakistan in developing a strong a defence industrial capability. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Heavy Industries Taxila, several factories and production lines in the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, maritime projects for the navy and missile factories have been set up with Chinese assistance. In the 1970s and the 1980s, China set up major industrial units like the Heavy Mechanical Complex and the Heavy Forge Factory that helped build Pakistan’s intrinsic technological and industrial base.
The proposed $ 45 billion Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, which has strategic connotations when implemented, should provide a huge boost in transforming Pakistan’s economic landscape by linking south, central and western Asia. Development of the economic corridor and the Gwadar port as an energy hub by China are mutually beneficial projects. It will provide China access to the Straits of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The economic corridor will link Kashgar in China with Gwadar and open up enormous economic opportunities for both countries.
China today is clearly Pakistan’s top arms supplier, a position until recently held by the US. Chinese and Pakistani militaries carry out joint exercises and there is continuous exchange of high-level visits demonstrating that relations are robust. The PLA’s training establishments are major destinations for the Pakistan military. In September 2014, a flotilla of the PLA Navy ships made a friendly visit to Karachi. These were followed by several other visits of naval ships. At the diplomatic level, both countries cooperate closely at the bilateral and multilateral levels, and take common positions on global and regional issues.
China has, however, genuine concerns regarding growing radicalism in Pakistan. First, for its impact on Pakistan’s own stability and more importantly, its influence on the restive northwestern autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang that has a significant majority of Muslim Uighurs and other minorities. While Pakistan is undertaking serious measures to ensure that dissident Chinese groups do not find sanctuaries in the tribal region, it remains a constant challenge to prevent their infiltration due to the porous nature of the border and the support they receive from different militant groups. If militants were to make major gains in Pakistan, Beijing would be very concerned of the impact and could review its policy.
While assessing Pakistan-China relations, one has to factor the latter’s current global interests and how these will play out in the long-term. Beijing’s economic and commercial links with the US are so closely intertwined that it is difficult for either country to disassociate itself from the other. China owes much of its phenomenal economic rise to the opportunity that the American market offered. No other country’s consumer market could absorb China’s huge manufacturing base. Moreover, China realises American power and its economic and political clout, and would like to retain a cooperative relationship.
Despite the border dispute and current tensions arising out of the US-Indian strategic alliance, China’s leadership has opted for maintaining good working relations with India. It has a growing economic and commercial relationship and trade between the two countries has reached $ 70 billion and is fast growing. Beijing understands the fallout of an adversarial relation with India on its economy. Its primary focus is on domestic development. China has always taken a position that time is on its side and it has shown extraordinary foresight in handling foreign relations with regional and global powers.
Pakistan will have to factor in China’s global perspective while formulating its future policy and expectations. There is also a lot that our leaders need to learn from the sophistication of China’s foreign policy. Despite US strategic convergence and growing support to India’s role at the regional and global level, China remains unruffled and poised. As President Obama stated, the “scope of our cooperation with China is unprecedented, even as we remain alert to China’s military modernization” while unveiling the US national security strategy of 2015.
Because of the very complex nature of its relations with India, Beijing is uncomfortable when India- Pakistan tensions aggravate. Clearly, China would remain supportive of Pakistan but would like it to manage relations with its adversary more subtly to retain an environment whereby it is not forced to take sides, especially when the two countries have growing economic and commercial interests, despite their strategic incongruence. Surely, the age of zero-sum diplomacy is over and China, like other world powers, would want to be on the winning side so as not to create problems for itself. On Kashmir, it would like Islamabad to take a more pragmatic attitude in its expectations. It has demonstrated great patience and maturity in dealing with the question of Taiwan and when it comes to the border dispute with India. Most striking in China’s foreign policy conduct is the balancing between economic, political and strategic interests.
China-Pakistan relations that are based on mutuality of interests seem destined to grow. Pakistan should, however, remain sensitive to the complexities that surround this relationship and factor these in.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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‘Pakistan needs private sponsors for rugby’
KARACHI: International Rugby Board Senior Educator Dilroy Fernando emphasised the importance of encouraging corporate sponsors to promote rugby in Pakistan.
Fernando, who was on his sixth trip to Pakistan, trained 20 local referees in two days in an event organised by the Pakistan Rugby Union in Lahore.
The official believes that it is time for Pakistan’s youth to focus on sports other than cricket. “My question is: how many players feature in the national cricket team?” asked Fernando while talking to The Express Tribune. “Only 11, so the youth is bound to go towards other sports, other options.
“Pakistan has a huge population and in order to promote rugby, private sponsors need to come forward.”
Fernando added that rugby’s reach is growing every day, with active participation observed in 125 countries in the world and 26 in Asia.
Comparing Sri Lanka to Pakistan, the official said that in terms of popularity, rugby is almost at par with cricket in his country. “Everyone watches cricket when the national team plays it, but club rugby is also very popular in Sri Lanka,” he said.
He added that the Pearl Island is fortunate to have private sponsors who are always willing to promote the sport one way or the other.
“In Sri Lanka, LKR40 million goes into funding the top division competitions and LKR25-30 million is invested in the school events.
“However, it isn’t necessary for sponsors to help only in monetary terms; they can also help by arranging a venue or giving away the rugby ball.”
Commenting on his visit to Pakistan, Fernando praised the local referees’ eagerness to learn and absorb knowledge regarding the sport on the international level.
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Putin, el-Sisi agree on nuclear power deal
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a preliminary agreement to cooperate on building a nuclear power plant after meeting Tuesday in Cairo.
Quaid-e-Azam Hockey Gold Cup: PIA, NBP register wins to enter semis
KARACHI: PIA and NBP moved into the semi-finals of the 5th Customs Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup hockey tournament after defeating their respective opponents in the last-eight round at the Customs Preventive Service Club and Sports Complex in Karachi on Tuesday.
PIA thrashed Railways 10-1 as captain Kashif Ali scored five goals in the fifth, 15th, 45th, 50th and 55th minutes to complete his second hat-trick of the tournament. The remaining goals were scored by Muhammad Zubair, Azfar Yaqoob, Ammad Butt and Nohaiz Malik, while Muhammad Rizwan was the only one to score a goal for Railways.
In the other match, NBP knocked down Customs 6-2 as Arslan Qadir scored two goals in the 20th and 38th minutes of the match.
Mubashar Ali, Syed Kashif Shah, Dilber Hussain and Atiq Arshad strikes accounted for the rest of NBP’s goals and Customs captain Hassem Khan hit a brace for his side.
Despite losing, Railways and Customs also moved into the semi-finals by virtue of their two earlier wins in the tournament.
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Did he hate himself and want to die?
BERLIN: A raw documentary about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain wowed the audience at its international premiere in Berlin, giving rare insight into the life of a man, who, despite or because of his success, felt alienated until his suicide.
Eight years in the making, Cobain: Montage of Heck is a 135-minute multimedia roller-coaster ride of unseen home movies, audio recordings, journal entries, drawings and notebook scrawlings, blended with interview excerpts and concert clips. The Cobain family granted access to “everything, with no restrictions,” filmmaker Brett Morgen told the audience Saturday evening, thanking Cobain’s wife Courtney Love, who attended the screening, for her trust and courage.
“Nobody asked for a single cut, nobody asked for a change, which is essentially unheard of, in dealing with such an icon,” Morgen said. Cobain’s heavily distorted brand of guitar music sparked the grunge rock movement of the 1990s, earning him an unwanted label as the voice of Generation X.
The title of the documentary, co-produced by Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean, derives from the name of a mix tape Cobain recorded in the late 1980s. The film shows Super 8 footage of Kurt as a toddler, blowing out candles on a birthday cake and posing with a toy guitar, as a lullaby version of Nirvana’s smash hit Smells Like Teen Spirit plays in the background.
His parents describe their child as an angel, but also a whirlwind, whose activity they tried to control with Ritalin. They speak about their divorce and how Cobain was pushed between different homes as a teenager. Video scenes show Cobain as a sullen youth, with his own voiceover describing how discovering marijuana and punk music helped him cope with a profound feeling of isolation.
The second half of the film gives an intimate peek into Cobain’s life with Love. There is Cobain on a bed, singing the Beatles song And I Love Her, which was written by Paul McCartney. “And that kind of blows the myth, I mean, you would think Cobain would have done a Lennon song,” Morgen said. Later, Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke is heard asking Cobain about the outtake I Hate Myself and Want to Die from his latest album. “Either you’re being really satirical, or you’re going to a real dark place here,” he said. Cobain’s only response is a chilling laugh. In April 1994, he committed suicide aged 27.
Filmmaker Brett Morgen lauded the Cobain family for granting access to “everything, with no restrictions” for the documentary
The final shot of the film, however, shows Cobain at the end of the MTV Unplugged session, simply thanking the audience. “I don’t really care about the last days of Kurt Cobain,” Morgen explained his decision in an interview. “I was trying to make a movie that celebrated life, not death.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Making ripples of her own
ISLAMABAD:
Sarah Khan is an aspiring filmmaker, who came into the limelight after bagging the second prize at an international film festival at Harvard University last year. The 16-year-old is also among five Pakistani women featured in BBC’s 2014 list of 100 Women. Khan, who recently released her second film The Ripple Effect, spoke to The Express Tribune about the process of filming in rural areas and the power of film to lend impetus to social change.
The Ripple Effect portrays how access to potable water has transformed the lives of rural women in the country. When seasonal patterns began to change and rain became scarce, these women adopted methods of conserving rainwater in Chakwal. Sarah said that not only do the girls featured in the film, such as Deeba, no longer have to make a back-breaking journey to fetch water every day, but they also have the freedom to pursue new opportunities. This has also paved the way for them to earn an income they can invest in their children’s future.
“They continue to inspire the next generation of girls to conserve resources and use innovative methods to tackle an issue that affects over two billion people every day,” stated Sarah. The young filmmaker received positive feedback for the film, which has nearly 400 shares on social media already. “It got positive reviews, especially because it shows rural Pakistani women and girls in such a positive light,” she explained. “It shows how they are using simple, innovative methods to prevent a global crisis and how they are taking the lead and telling other people to follow them.”
Sarah’s first film, Harvesting Hope, won a distinction at the Girls Impact The World Film Festival, where actor-philanthropist Ian Somerhalder was among the judges. PHOTOS: SARAH KHAN
As a student of O Levels, Sarah had Development Studies and Environment Management as her subjects last year. “I came across the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, which inspired me to make my first film (Harvesting Hope),” said Sarah, who profiled cotton-picking girls and women in Multan in the movie. Recalling her favourite quote from the book, she shared that man is part of nature and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.
Harvesting Hope underlines the hazards women cotton-pickers are exposed to in cotton fields due to excessive use of pesticides and virtually no protection. The film also highlights the effect of pesticides on the environment and the vital role played by women organic farmers in protecting the environment and health of their families.
Sarah said she was most interested in exploring the relationship between girls, women and the environment, and filmmaking was just the right means to do that. Both her films highlight issues rural women are faced with in their communities in Multan and Chakwal respectively. “I saw that women are so intimately connected to the environment in Pakistan, whether through picking cotton or fetching water from eight kilometres away,” she said, adding, “They are the most affected by environmental issues but also have the most knowledge on how to conserve resources.”
Harvesting Hope won a distinction at the Girls Impact The World Film Festival and scholarship programme. It was by following the tweets of Mohammad Yunus, an economist and one of Sarah’s inspirations, that she came to know about the festival. To her surprise, he also happened to be on the judges’ panel along with Ian Somerhalder, actor and founder of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which works for environmental protection.
Following the film’s release, Khan was invited to speak at a conference in Colombo by the Asian Development Bank. “It was an intimidating audience because [it was attended by] chief justices from all across Asia, professors and the president of Sri Lanka. A judge from the Lahore High Court came up to me after my presentation and said it had brought him to tears.”
Sarah’s first film, Harvesting Hope, won a distinction at the Girls Impact The World Film Festival, where actor-philanthropist Ian Somerhalder was among the judges. PHOTOS: SARAH KHAN
Later, she was invited at the Pailey Centre for Media in New York to talk about creative social change through storytelling. Sarah, who is the daughter of activist and documentary filmmaker Samar Minallah, said her mother has been a major inspiration for her. “I’ve grown up in this environment, so it never seemed unattainable to me,” said Sarah, who will share her experiences as an alumnus of the programme at Harvard University next month.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2015.
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Mahendra’s last World Cup: Singh for the laughter, Singh for the tears
KARACHI: No cricket player has ever experienced the extremes of triumph and disaster as often and as frequently as MS Dhoni. From looking foolish as he got run out on nought on his first ball in international cricket to leading India to the hallowed World Cup trophy just seven years later, Dhoni has experienced all that cricket has to offer. It is then no surprise that the once shy man from Ranchi seems to ‘treat those two imposters just the same’, to quote Rudyard Kipling.
His first five matches offer a good cross-section of his career; 0, 12, 7* and 3 in his first four matches and then 148, off 123 balls, against Pakistan of all teams.
Dhoni belongs to the rare breed of men that are born leaders and under him, the men in blue reached new heights. The World T20, the number one spot in Tests for nearly 18 months, the World Cup and the Champions Trophy; India won all there was to win, achieved all there was to achieve. And calmly behind it all, wearing either the keeper’s gloves or the batsman’s, stood Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
It was not only the team that excelled under Dhoni but also the man himself. His ODI average for India before he was handed the captaincy was 42.65; since then it has been 56.71. A man of few words on the field, Dhoni often leads by example, and his charges – young and experienced alike – respond.
This excellence with the bat as captain means Dhoni’s average stands at 52.29 is the third-best of any player from all Test-playing nations in ODI history, behind Hashim Amla and Michael Bevan, and the highest of any player with 8,000 runs or more.
The 33-year-old – calm and collected as he is when all fail around him – is a man for crisis and the numbers show. He has scored only three centuries in a losing cause; twice his bowlers failed to defend totals in excess of 300, and the other time he came out onto the middle with India 29-5 against Pakistan, making an unbeaten 113 to single-handedly take his side to 227 but ultimately to no avail.
Many a time, he has dragged India from the jaws of defeats and more often than not, he contributes in their wins. Often it is the simple case of ‘if Dhoni doesn’t perform, neither do India’. In the 139 matches he has won, he averages 73.96. In the matches he has lost, 96 of them, he averages 33.88. Less than half and a difference of more than 40 runs; rarely do these figures reflect such dichotomy.
He has seldom shone in World Cup matches and before the 2011 final, his average in 11 matches stood at 22.4, having failed to get past the 30s in those 11 matches. But in typical Dhoni fashion, he delivered in the final. 91 runs off 79 balls later, he was lifting the trophy; to forever etch his name in the game’s history.
But on his shoulder Dhoni carries the biggest burden there is in international cricket; the fickle love of one billion cricket-obsessed fans. With one unconventional helicopter-shot, he can send them all into jubilant frenzy, and with one wrong decision, he can earn their ire in equal measure.
It is burden that Dhoni — grounded, modest and passionate about the game — appears to carry with surprising ease. And that in itself has attracted criticism. He stands calmly, way too calmly for the fans, as his bowlers are dispatched all over the ground. He stands and watches behind the stumps, often betraying no emotion, as the game slips away from India. The fact that he can do little about it is often not good enough. They demand a reaction, any reaction, no matter how trivial or futile; often it is not forthcoming. They want him to share their frustration. They want him to scream and shout in anguish and anger; instead he stands still with a blank stare on his face.
But the burden of it all has visibly taken its toll. Slowly but surely, Dhoni has lost the exuberance and vitality he possessed in his early days. Gone are the long, slick black locks that made him an instant darling in India. In their stead is a crispy, military-style crew cut — grey and unassuming. Mahendra has aged past his time, such is the nature of his job.
Hence his time draws to a close quicker than any cricket fan would have liked. He will never again don the whites of Tests, and while the blue remains, it will surely not last till the time the next World Cup comes around.
And so Dhoni, the most unromantic of captains, will have to say goodbye to ODI cricket’s most romantic of tournaments.
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Over 2,000 clerics arrested for misusing loudspeakers
ISLAMABAD: The government arrested more than 2,065 clerics were arrested for misuse of loudspeakers during recent crackdown across country as part of National Action Plan (NAP).
During a meeting to review progress on NAP, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was told that there were 3,265 cases of misuse of loudspeakers has been registered while equipment has been seized in 1,281 instances. He was further told that 547 cases had been registered for hate speech.
In total, as many as 218,220 suspects had been picked up in 16,344 operations by law enforcers. Of these, 12,462 people had been arrested. Despite the haul, officials found that only 140 of them had links with terrorists.
On this occasion the interior minister directed that the review meeting should be held on weekly basis so as to effectively monitor the progress.
The meeting was further informed that there were 60 organisations were banned while one organisation was on the watch list. The minister directed the interior secretary to coordinate with the ministry of foreign affairs and reconcile the national list with that of UN.
On enforcement of proscription regime, Nisar directed the interior ministry to further fine-tune the procedure of proscription and ensure that any proscribed organisations must not be able re-emerge with new names and nomenclatures.
The meeting was informed that a bill has been tabled in National Assembly which, if passed, would make possession of illegal mobile SIMs a cognizable offence. The bill has already been passed on to the concerned sub-committee. A process was also under way to enable Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block any unwanted activity on social media related to extremism.
In a bid to clamp down on terror funding, Nisar was told that a total of 26 cases have been registered and 32 people have been arrested for hawala, hundi.
Shedding light on the development of a nation counter-terrorism narrative, the participants were informed that a draft narrative has already been prepared and would be finalised once it is approve by the prime minister.
Commenting on the security of media houses in the country, the meeting was informed that the process was underway in the process while Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has established a Panic Button system which has already been installed in 10 media houses.
Security in ICT
During the meeting, the interior minister was informed that ICT had conducted a security audit of 76 important buildings. These buildings were then divided into yellow, green and red category vis-à-vis their security arrangements.
While reviewing positioning of Quick Response Force (QRF) in Islamabad, Nisar directed to put in place robust communication system at all important places in the federal capital to enable QRF to meet any emergent situation in a shortest possible time.
The meeting was informed that work on developing a comprehensive plan on relocation and repatriation of Afghan refugees was also underway and the provinces have been requested to identify new camps and requisite infrastructure.
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Vidya Balan maintains silence on Benazir Bhutto biopic
MUMBAI: Actress Vidya Balan chose to maintain her silence following reports that she was set to portray former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in an upcoming biopic, The Times of India reported.
Asked about the reported project, Vidya said she has been offered many biopics but has not decided anything yet.
“I would not like to say anything about any biopic right now,” added Balan.
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