world Mullah Omar is in Pakistan and everyone knows it: France

PARIS: Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar is based in Pakistan and everyone knows it, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday, calling on Islamabad to do more to help end the conflict.

“It's not a secret for anyone, everyone knows that Mullah Omar is in Quetta, if he's not now in Karachi,” Kouchner told French lawmakers, referring to two major Pakistani cities known to harbour militant cells.

Mullah Omar was the leader of the Taliban regime that was overthrown in Afghanistan by US-led forces in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and is now thought to be based in Quetta.

“Taliban leaders have been given shelter in Pakistan. I'm not revealing anything,” Kouchner said, telling parliament's foreign relations committee why Afghanistan has called on Pakistan to help negotiate a peace deal. MORE.....

Farhan loses out in Hong Kong Squash Open

‘Govt, army should cut expenses, help flood victims’

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's chief Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that the government and the military should cut down on their expenses and use that money for the assistance of the flood victims, DawnNews reported.

He further said that the flood affected people should be provided with financial assistance before they return to their villages and towns.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Nawaz said that it would not be right to play politics over the current flood crisis. He also criticised the government and said the government was slow to provide relief to the people.

"Even though we are the opposition...given the situation, we ourselves contacted the government but the Prime Minister did not accept our recommendations...political parties should work together in this time of great crisis," Nawaz said.MORE.....

Jolie donates 100,000 dollars to aid Pakistan

PARIS: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, in Europe to promote her spy thriller “Salt”, has handed 100,000 dollars (78,000 euros) to help refugees from Pakistan's floods, UN sources told AFP.

A crowd of 1,000 fans engulfed the 34-year-old actress, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, when she stepped out of a limousine in Paris on Tuesday evening clad in a short shiny number with plunging neckline for the French premiere of the movie.

A UNHCR source attending the gala screening said she had donated the sum to help relieve Pakistan, where aid has been short and slow in coming.

In the film Jolie plays captivating CIA officer Evelyn Salt, who is accused of being a Russian spy and must prove her innocence while on the run. -AFP.MORE.....

Pakistan stumble to tense win chasing 148

LONDON: Pakistan beat England by four wickets in the third test at the Oval on Saturday but not before some nervous moments as they lost three quick wickets in their pursuit of a modest winning target of 148.

The Pakistanis were earlier cruising at 124 for three after ending England’s second innings for 222 in the first over of the day.

But in a spell that revived English hopes, Azhar Ali ran himself out for five, Mohammad Yousuf was yorked by James Anderson for 33 and Kamran Akmal was dismissed lbw for a duck without playing a shot.

With rain in the air and a capacity crowd cheering England on, Pakistan eventually survived the assault to win with more than a day to spare.

After appearing down and out after heavy losses in the first two tests, Pakistan now have a chance to square the four-match series at Lord’s next week after drawing 1-1 with Australia earlier in the season.

Graeme Swann, who took four wickets in Pakistan’s first innings, was again the mainstay of the attack when he was asked to bowl from the Vauxhall end after five overs of the new ball.

He bowled unchanged to take three for 50 from 18.4 overs

Sensibly in view of an adverse weather forecast, Pakistan decided to attack from the start after Stuart Broad was dismissed for six in the opening over of the day.

Imran Farhat set the tone by slashing James Anderson’s second ball over the slips for four on his way to his highest score of the series. He struck six boundaries before he was lbw to Swann for 33.

BAMBOOZLED BATSMEN

Captain Salman Butt, also short of runs this series, took over from Farhat with 48 in 64 balls, before he became Swann’s second victim, 12 minutes before lunch.

Butt took three fours from a Broad over and two from Steven Finn, forcing Andrew Strauss to rotate his fast men from the Pavilion end.

Yousuf, playing his first test since he was banned indefinitely after leading Pakistan on a spectacularly unsuccessful tour of Australia this year, was again an assured and elegant presence.

Yousuf, who scored 56 in the first innings, showed his class with a square drive for four off Broad and an elegant late cut to the boundary off Swann.

The most unpredictable and possibly the most talented team in the world have been condemned to play all their internationals abroad since the deadly militant attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March last year.

Six players were banned or fined after the Australia tour and to compound their misery Pakistan’s fielding was abject in the first two tests against England.

The fielding was much improved at the Oval with wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who has been dropped twice this year, taking eight catches.

But the victory was set up on Friday by Pakistan’s two new talented international bowlers.

Left-armer Mohammad Amir, who finished on Saturday with his best test figures of five for 52, made the ball reverse swing at high pace from around the wicket.

At the other end Saeed Ajmal bamboozled the England batsmen, who was unable to distinguish his doosra, Urdu for “the other one” which leaves the right-hander, from his off-spinner.MORE.....

SC orders probe into Sialkot lynching of two brothers

ISLAMABAD: Horrified by a brutal incident of vigilante justice, the Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on law-enforcement personnel and their superior officers who stood by and watched as two young brothers were tortured and then hanged by a mob in Sialkot.


It ordered Anti-Corruption Director General Justice (retd) Kazim Malik to investigate the matter. No-one would dare to take law into his own hands if police had the courage and command to eradicate such brutal and inhuman practices from the society, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry observed while heading a bench which had taken a suo motu action on the matter.

On Aug 15, dozens of people publicly beat to death two young brothers, Hafiz Mughees, 15, and Hafiz Muneeb, 19, in the presence of Sialkot District Police Officer Waqar Chauhan and eight other police officers who watched the brutal act as silent spectators. The bodies were later hanged upside down on the chowk.

Litigants and counsel were shocked and the atmosphere became tense when the gruesome video footage aired by a private TV channel was shown in the courtroom. And it was too much to bear for the grief-stricken grandfather and father of the deceased who started wailing after watching it.

When DPO Chauhan informed the court that the SHO concerned had been arrested, but culprits were yet to be detained, the chief justice said he (Mr Chauhan) deserved to be suspended and sent to jail straightaway. The negligence shown by police could not be ignored, the CJ observed.

“What message have you given to the world about Pakistan,” he asked the DPO and said: “Nowhere in a civilised society such an incident takes place in the presence of police.”

He said the country was already facing disasters and crisis with people dying of hunger, but police were indulging in extra-judicial killings.

The chief justice deplored the apathy of top police officers and senior federal government officials who were aware of the incident.

“Not only it was the duty of police to stop those who were beating the two brothers, but the people in the mob should also have shown moral courage by preventing the beating,” the chief justice said.

Secretary establishment Ismail Qureshi, who had been urgently summoned, informed the court that there was no dearth of good and honest officers who could probe the matter independently.

The court ordered him to ask the Punjab government to take strict disciplinary action against Superintendent Police (investigations) Mohammad Afzal and DPO Chauhan.

The Inspector General of Punjab was directed to take strict action against the police officers who were present at the crime scene but did nothing to stop it. The case will be taken up again on Sept 1.

Our Sialkot Correspondent adds: District Police Officer Sialkot Waqar Ahmad Chauhan and SP investigation were made officer on special duty on Friday by the Inspector-General of Police, Punjab.

The police, meanwhile, registered a case against 14 policemen, including the suspended SHO, in the wake of the murder of two brothers on Aug 15. MORE DETAILS.....

Flooding submerges more towns in Sindh

SUKKUR: About 150,000 people were forced to move to higher ground as floodwaters from a freshly swollen Indus River submerged dozens more towns and villages in the south, a government spokesman said Saturday.

Officials expect the floodwaters will recede nationwide in the next few days as the last river torrents empty into the Arabian Sea. Survivors may find little left when they return home, however: The waters have washed away houses, roads, bridges and crops vital to livelihoods.

Already, 600,000 people are in relief camps set up in Sindh province during the flooding over the past month.

As the latest surge approached, ''we evacuated more than 150,000 people from interior parts of Sindh in the past 24 hours,'' said Jamil Soomro, a spokesman for the provincial government.

The floods submerged new areas in Thatta district.

At a relief camp in the Sukkur area, some victims said it was difficult to get food dropped off by relief trucks.

''I am a widow, and my children are too young to get food because of the chaos and rush,'' said Parveen Roshan. ''How can weak women win a fight with men to get food?''

Nearby, a doctor treated a boy whose back was injured after someone pushed him during a scramble for food at a truck.

The floods have affected about one-fifth of Pakistan's territory. At least six million people have been made homeless and 20 million affected overall. The economic cost is expected to run into billions of dollars.

The United Nations has appealed for $460 million in emergency assistance, and the US has promised $150 million.

The floods began in late July in the northwest of the country after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains, expanding rivers that have since swamped the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.MORE DETAILS.....

Bomb in Iraq shrine city kills three, injures 54

The blast occurred despite intense security measures put in place across Iraq in the lead up to Sunday's vote. –Photo by AP

NAJAF: A car bomb killed two Iranian pilgrims and an Iraqi and wounded 54 other people in the central Iraq city of Najaf Saturday, the eve of parliamentary elections, police and a hospital official said.

A local official said the bomb exploded about 500 metres from the shrine to Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed and one of Shia Islam's most revered figures, reports AFP.

The blast occurred despite intense security measures put in place across Iraq in the lead up to Sunday's vote, which has already been marked by violent attacks in Baghdad and the central city of Baquba.

Thousands of Shia Muslims visit the shrine to Imam Ali every month, many who make the pilgrimage from neighbouring Iran.

Incoming ICC chief Howard welcomes strong India

Howard, who is facing a challenge to win over Asian nations, according to Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan, said India’s growing power was positive for the sport. -Photo by AFP


SYDNEY: Former Australian prime minister John Howard has welcomed India’s new-found influence over world cricket as he prepares to become the sport’s governing body chief in 2012.


Howard, who is facing a challenge to win over Asian nations, according to Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan, said India’s growing power was positive for the sport.

“India is the second most populous country in the world, it’s cricket-mad, they are pluses,” Howard told state radio on Wednesday.

“I think it’s entirely wrong to look at the Indian involvement in cricket in a negative light.

“I think of those millions of people in India and the sub-continent... who play cricket. They play it with a passion and love it.”

Howard, a self-confessed “cricket tragic”, has been nominated for the rotating International Cricket Council presidency and will take over from India’s Sharad Pawar in 2012.

Muralitharan said he had forgiven Howard for labelling him a “chucker”, but added that it would not be easy for the conservative former leader to get South Asian nations on-side.

“It won’t be an easy job. He has to convince the subcontinent — that’s going to be a tough challenge for him,” Muralitharan told the Sydney Morning Herald.

India’s huge market has made it cricket’s most important powerbase, with its Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament handing out lucrative contracts to the world’s best players.

Howard also defended his suitability for the role despite having no experience of sports administration, unlike the New Zealand contender John Anderson.

“I think the fact I haven’t been involved in cricket administration is explained by the fact I had a day job which made that rather difficult,” he said in reference to his 30-year stint in politics.

Afridi threatens to quit Karachi team over captaincy

Dolphins are one of the two sides representing the metropolis in the tournament and Afridi has warned the local officials that he may opt to play for another region if they continue to treat him “badly.” —File Photo
KARACHI: Shahid Afridi has threatened to quit his regional side Karachi, after having been overlooked to captain the team in the domestic Twenty20 tournament.

“I think the KCCA officials need to rethink their attitude towards senior players,” Afridi told the media at National Stadium Karachi.

Fast bowler Mohammad Sami has been captaining the Karachi side this season in Afridi’s absence. While the all-rounder was unavailable during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Pentangular Cup, he will be representing Karachi Dolphins for the entire duration of the ongoing RBS Twenty20 Cup.

“I have no problems with the captaincy I am playing under Sami but senior players like me deserve better treatment from the association.”

Afridi said he should have been informed by the officials about their decision to replace him before the tournament began.

“I think the KCCA officials should have had the courtesy to at least tell me why they didn’t want me as captain. I am always prepared to play even as an ordinary player but there is a way you treat senior players and the KCCA is not doing that,” the all-rounder said.

Dolphins are one of the two sides representing the metropolis in the tournament and Afridi has warned the local officials that he may opt to play for another region if they continue to treat him “badly.”

“I have always taken a lot of pride in representing Karachi in domestic cricket but if the KCCA continue to treat senior players badly then I might be forced to play for some other region in coming events.”

KCCA secretary Siraj-ul-Islam Bukhari, who has held the post for more than three decades now, was quick to explain that Afridi had misunderstood the situation.

“The fact is that last season when we wanted him to lead the side he was not available and this year we also had to take into consideration the fact that Mohammad Sami had led Karachi to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title and deserved to continue as captain,” he said.

According to Afridi, however, he had been told last year by national coach Intikhab Alam that he could play in only two matches during the competition.MOREDETAILS.....

CJ takes suo motu notice of police torture in public

Justice Iftikhar has constituted committees in all the four provinces to submit the comprehensive report by March 11. — File Photo by APP
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary has ordered the IGPs, home secretaries, Advocates General of all four provinces, commissioner Islamabad and Attorney General of Pakistan to identify the cases of police torture occurred in the past.

Taking suo motu notice of police torturing in Punjab, the chief justice constituted committees in all the four provinces to submit the comprehensive report by March 11 to the Supreme Court.

The registrar of the high courts have also been directed to confirm from the magistrates hearing the cases of such police officials as to who ordered them to sent these officials to the judicial lock up before the investigating the matter by police.

The Supreme Court in its order directed the committees to let the SC know regarding the action taken not only against the subordinate officials involved in such practices but the high up of police in that area.

These committees would also inform the SC regarding details of trial of police officials carried out in different court as per order of the chief justice.

The Supreme Court order said that the media reports suggested as if there was no rule of law in some parts of the country rather it was law of jungle there.

It said that torturing the citizens was against the fundamental rights of the citizens and was violation of article 4, 9 and 14 of the constitution.

It said that taking actions against those appearing in footages was not sufficient senior officers should also be included in such investigations.MORE DETAILS.....

Hottest temperature ever heads science to Big Bang

Scientists used a giant atom smasher at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York to knock gold ions together to make the ultra-hot explosions - which lasted only for milliseconds.But that is enough to give physicists fodder for years of study that they hope will help them understand why and how the universe formed. –Reuters Photo
WASHINGTON: Scientists have created the hottest temperature ever in the lab - 4 trillion degrees Celsius - hot enough to break matter down into the kind of soup that existed microseconds after the birth of the universe.

They used a giant atom smasher at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York to knock gold ions together to make the ultra-hot explosions - which lasted only for milliseconds.

But that is enough to give physicists fodder for years of study that they hope will help them understand why and how the universe formed, reports Reuters.

“That temperature is hot enough to melt protons and neutrons,” Brookhaven's Steven Vigdor told a news conference at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Washington on Monday.

These particles make up atoms, but they are themselves made up of smaller components called quarks and gluons.

What the physicists are looking for are tiny irregularities that can explain why matter clumped out of the primeval hot soup.

They also hope to use their findings for more practical applications - such as in the field of “spintronics” that aims to make smaller, faster and more powerful computing devices.

They used the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC, pronounced “rick”), a particle accelerator and collider that is 2.4 mile (3.8 km) around and buried 12 feet (4 metres) underground in Upton, New York to collide gold ions billions of times.

“RHIC was designed to create matter at temperatures first encountered in the early universe,” Vigdor said. They calculate the 4 trillion degree temperature gets pretty close.

“How hot is it?” he asked.

In comparison, “The predicted melting temperature of protons and neutrons is 2 trillion degrees. The temperatures at the core of a typical type-2 supernova is 2 billion degrees,” he said.

The center of our sun is 50 million degrees, iron melts at 1,800 degrees and the average temperature of the universe is now 0.7 of a degree above absolute zero.

Birth of Matter

Vigdor's team believe they are looking at a recreation of the moment just before the quark-gluon soup condensed into hadrons - the particles of matter that make up most of our universe.

Something happened in the milliseconds after the Big Bang to create an imbalance in favor of matter over anti-matter. If there had not been this disparity, matter and anti-matter would have simply reacted to create a universe of pure energy.

Later this year, physicists using the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland hope to smash lead ions together to create even hotter temperatures that should replicate moments even earlier in the birth of the universe.

Brookhaven has also patented some potential commercial applications of the research, said theorist Dmitri Kharzeev.

“The goal here is to create a device that can operate not only on the current of an electric charge but also on the current of spin,” Kharzeev told the news conference.

Quarks spin in different directions and understanding how and why they do this can help scientists harness the power.

It may be possible to replicate a symmetrical spin in graphene, for example, said Kharzeev. Graphene is a so-called nanomaterial that scientists believe may replace silicon in super-fast and super-small devices.MORE DETAILS.....

Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in Hangu

Four vehicles were also destroyed in the Hangu attack. – (File Photo)
HANGU: A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of civilians guarded by security forces in Pakistan's northwest on Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 30, police said.

Suicide bombings have eased in recent weeks but it is not clear whether that is because security has improved after military gains against the Taliban, or if the insurgents are merely regrouping for more attacks.

“Our convoy was hit by a big explosion. It's all chaos here. I myself have seen four dead, two of them are children. I have seen four wounded women,” said witness Javed Hussain, who was in the convoy of vehicles carrying Shia Muslims to the city of Peshawar.

“We have now a confirmed figure of 10 dead, including four women. Thirty wounded have been admitted to hospitals,” Fazal Naeem, the regional police spokesman, said.

Eye witness accounts reveal that a boy blew himself up near the convoy when it reached a petrol pump in the Thall Tehsil of Hangu. Four vehicles were also destroyed in the attack.MORE DETAILD....

India wants cooperation to go “extra mile” on Pakistan

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia speaks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Riyadh.—AP
RIYADH: India will go the extra mile to improve relations with Pakistan if Islamabad acts decisively on terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh has close ties with Pakistan and has also been cited as a possible mediator in any eventual political settlement with the Taliban in Afghanistan where India and Pakistan have long battled for influence.

“If Pakistan cooperates with India, there is no problem that we cannot solve and we can walk the extra mile to open a new chapter in relations between our two countries,” said Singh, on the first visit to the kingdom by an Indian leader since 1982.

But Islamabad needed to act against Pakistan-based militant groups, Singh told Saudi Arabia's quasi-parliament, the Shura Council.

He also said that “no sanctuary should be given to those who promote terror, violence or instability” in Afghanistan, according to a text of his speech given to journalists.

India broke off talks with Pakistan after the November 2008 attack on Mumbai blamed on the Lashkar-e-Taiba.MORE DETAILS.....

Tsunami early warning must start at community level

‘We don't want to see panic, we don't want to see people taking the wrong action. So getting the words right, getting the message right and getting it delivered are key components,’ said Al Panico, head of the tsunami unit at the IFRC. –AFP/ File photo 

 

LONDON: Five years on from the Indian Ocean tsunami, the region has its own early warning system but experts say the new technology will not save lives unless local communities are more involved in planning how to respond.

 
The 230,000 people killed in Africa and Asia by the 2004 tsunami received no formal warning of the approaching waves.
Since then, millions of dollars have gone into building a vast network of seismic and tsunami information centres, setting up sea and coastal instruments and erecting warning towers.
But studies show that the closer the warning gets to those it is designed to help, the more it fades out, and much more needs to be done to connect the technology to the people.
‘The weakest link remains at the interface between the early warning system and the public, and in ensuring there's enough preparedness at the local level to react appropriately,’ said Bhupinder Tomar, senior officer for disaster preparedness at the International Federation for the Red Cross (IFRC) in Geneva.
In terms of technology, the region has made great strides since Dec. 26, 2004, and is much better prepared, experts say.
Warning centres in Japan and Hawaii receive seismological and tidal data and send out alerts to national agencies in Indian Ocean countries. These agencies then warn the population, via SMS, radio, television, watch towers and loud speakers.
By 2010, regional centres in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are set to take over primary responsibility from Hawaii and Japan for issuing the warnings.
START WITH COMMUNITIES
Many relief workers, however, believe the system's design is too top-down and that local communities should be the starting point, not the end point, in any early warning network.
Local people should be the 'first mile' in early warning, rather than the 'last mile' as they are often called, the workers say.
‘You need to start with the people and move outwards,’ said Ilan Kelman, a senior research fellow at CICERO, the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.
In a June 2009 report, the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction found community participation in the decision-making process was insufficient.
It said the emphasis must shift from international and national policy-making to policy execution on the ground.
Similarly, Oxfam found in a recent report, ‘Collaboration in Crises’, that disaster-affected communities wanted the chance to play a more decisive role in programmes designed to help them.
Evacuation routes and drills need to be integrated into communities' day-to-day activities, experts say.MORE DETAILS.....

8.8-magnitude earthquake hits Chile, 147 dead

A damaged new office building after a major earthquake struck in Concepcion is seen in this video grab. A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami. –Reuters Photo/TVN 

 SANTIAGO, Chile: A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 147 people, Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said. The quake triggered a tsunami, knocking down buildings in the capital Santiago.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a ''state of catastrophe'' in central Chile and added that more deaths were possible. She added that a tsunami could hit Chile's Easter Island and that coastal areas of the island were being evacuated.

Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick assessment of the damage difficult in the early morning darkness.

“Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world,” one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 am local time. Few hours later, two strong aftershocks of 6.9-magnitude and 5.5-magnitude shook the Chilean capital again. 

Chilean television and radio stations said several buildings collapsed in the city of Curico and that there was damage to buildings in the historic center of the capital Santiago, about 200 miles north of the epicenter.

The capital's international airport was forced to close, a highway bridge collapsed and chunks of buildings fell into the street.

In the moments after the quake, people streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying.

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago and communications were still down in the area closest to the epicenter.

Bachelet urged people to stay calm. “With a quake of this size we undoubtedly can't rule out more deaths and probably injuries,” she said.

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause “tremendous damage,” the USGS says. The quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 was rated magnitude 7.0.MORE DETAILS.....

 

Home is where the heart is for A. R. Rahman

A.R. Rahman holds the Oscars for best original score and for best original song "Jai Ho" for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire" during the 81st Academy Awards. – AP (File Photo) 

MUMBAI: With two Oscars and two Grammy awards in less than a year, Indian composer A.R. Rahman of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame is riding high on his international success, but his heart still remains at home.

Back in his hometown Chennai after more than a month in Los Angeles, where he now spends most of his time, Rahman spoke to Reuters about working on “We Are The World”, the charity single for quake-stricken Haiti, his experience in Hollywood and how India will never really lose its famous son.
Q: It's been almost a year since you won the Oscar. How has your life changed?
A: “I am living more in Los Angeles and meeting a completely different set of people; very nice people of course, and things which were impossible before, such as “We are the world” - going in that community and singing there, was fantastic. I have been commissioned to do some stuff for artists, which you will hear about shortly. There is a tour also. So much has happened in one year.”
Q: You also composed music for your first Hollywood movie, “Couples Retreat”. How is working in Hollywood different from working in India?
A: “In a situation like that, anything can happen. There are a lot of committees which scrutinise the music, they hear it again and again, changes happen. The music took almost three months. I was writing and re-writing. They have research groups to whom they play the music and movie to, and take their reactions, come back. You may even get fired. It is a studio film, so anything can happen.”
Q: Did that change the way you work?
A: “No, not really, but a composer told me that in Hollywood, if a composer doesn't get fired, he isn't a real composer. That is the agony of working on a score there, even the most senior composers get fired. It is the easiest thing to do, fire the composer, because they can't change the actors or the movie, but they can change the music. It's risky.”
Q: What is the one aspect that you wish the Indian film industry could borrow from the West?
A: “I think we should think about what we are leaving for future generations. After a while, when you have achieved everything, it is time to give back. Our people are so hardworking that we can excel anywhere in the world, but they just need to open up their imaginations. We need to be original and nurture creativity. We can't be slaves to mediocrity, and that can only happen when the right people put in the effort.”
Q: Are there any more international projects in the pipeline? There was talk of you collaborating with Celine Dion.A: “I can't really talk about anything at the moment, but you will hear something the minute it is finalised. Celine Dion is just a rumour.”
Q: Some rumours do turn out to be true.
A: “This could turn out to be true, but nothing like that is planned at the moment. I sang with her for “We are the World”, that is all.”
Q: Could you talk about that experience?
A: “It was great. I got a call from the organisers, asking if I was in town. I said yes, and went along for the recording. We recorded from 3 to 8, and it was an overwhelming experience,
singing with all these great artists under one roof.”
Q: A lot of people in India feel that even though you won for Slumdog, that isn't your best score. What do you think?
A: “I think it was the best score for the film. In a way it is naive for people to think like that. There is always a debate over which music is better, whether it is classical or pop, Western classical or Indian classical, and so on. But for a child, a nursery rhyme is equal to what may be classical music for us. It is the presence of mind and the eye of the beholder that matters. We got two Oscars and two Grammys for it, so it is more than enough.”
Q: Is international success something you coveted before you started out?
A: “In a naive way, yes. I wasn't too ambitious about it, but it was always in a corner of my mind, that what we do here should be appreciated by the rest of the world. We like their music, but we also have representation in the world stage, and that has come true, which is great. In a small way, there are many more miles to go, but it is a great start. It is not only a good start for me, but also anyone, whether you are in a village, and are making music, if it needs to be heard, it will be heard.MORE DETAILS.....
 

Ben Kingsley gambles on success in Bollywood debut

British actor Ben Kingsley (R) who played the role of Mohandas Gandhi in the film 'Gandhi', poses with his wife Daniela Lavender in front of the historic Taj Mahal monument in Agra.–AFP Photo. 

MUMBAI: British actor Ben Kingsley this week makes his debut in a Bollywood film, nearly 30 years after his Oscar-winning performance in “Gandhi” catapulted him to worldwide fame.

The 66-year-old plays a brilliant mathematician, Perci Trachtenberg, in the thriller “Teen Patti” (Three Cards) who meets a reclusive fellow academic, Venkat, at a London casino.

Venkat (Amitabh Bachchan) tells him of a discovery he has made that he believes could redefine ideas about probability and tests his theory on a tour of Mumbai's illegal gambling dens.

Director Leena Yadav's film has an all-star cast, including Irrfan Khan (“Slumdog Millionaire”, “A Mighty Heart”), Boman Irani and Tamil-language star R. Madhavan, who were both recently seen in the Aamir Khan hit “3 Idiots”.

India's first Miss Universe Sushmita Sen and action-comedy hero Ajay Devgan also star in the film, which hits screens on Friday.

Kingsley's role “is very crucial in the film and he is not playing a cameo,” said Yadav, who has described the movie as more about the risky decisions people make than actual gambling, which is illegal in most of India.

“I always wanted an international star to play the role of Perci in my film and I knew there was no one else who could give justice to the film except Sir Ben Kingsley. I am happy that I got him on board,” she added.

Kingsley, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, is a household name in India because of his depiction of the country's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, which won him the Best Actor award in the 1982 Oscars.

The film is played on Indian Independence Day every year.

Kingsley, whose huge body of work includes the Oscar-winning “Schindler's List”, has been back to India to promote the film, earning plaudits for his professionalism from co-stars.

Bachchan has called him a “wonderful human being,” a “considerate and well-prepared actor and also a gracious man”.

Kingsley - born Krishna Bhanji to a British mother and Indian-origin father - has said his love for India is “as strong as ever”.

“I am still connected to 'Gandhi'. It's a recognition. It's something indelible and extraordinary in my bones,” he told reporters at the International Film Festival of India last December.

Kingsley is set to play the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the film “Taj”, about his project to build the Taj Mahal mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz, with shooting scheduled to start later this year. MORE DETAILS.....

China welcomes Pak-India relations normalization

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. –Xinhua Photo 

 ISLAMABAD: In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that the improvement and development of Pak-India relations are not only conducive to the peace and development of South Asia but to the whole region of Asia on Thursday, reports DawnNews.

“China welcomes the steps for normalization of relations by Pakistan and India and expresses hope that the momentum of such dialogue and cooperation can be maintained, the statement said.”
“China hopes that dialogue and consultation between them can make substantive results.

Pak Army officers suspected in Mumbai attacks

The three dossiers were handed over during the Indo-Pak Foreign secretary level talks. –Photo by AP 

 ISLAMABAD: A serving Pakistani Army officer has been named in one of the three dossiers handed over by India to Pakistan for his suspected involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, reports DawnNews. 

The dossier has also named another retired Major and two other officers as 'Major Iqbal' and 'Major Samir Ali.

The three dossiers were handed over during the Indo-Pak Foreign secretary level talks.
The role of 'Major Iqbal' is believed to have emerged in the interrogation by the FBI of US terror suspect David Headley, arrested in Chicago in September last year in connection with the Mumbai attack.
India has named eight people, including 'Major Iqbal' and Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
India wants Pakistan to take action against these men and then hand them over to India.
One of the dossiers also demands the handing over of seven Khalistani militants, in which four of seven Khalsitani militants were named as Jagtar Singh Hawara alias Tara, Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta, Harminder Singh and Lakhvinder singh alias Rody. Seventeen Indian Mujahideen terrorists which includes five Pakistani nationals for their role in subversive activities.MORE DTEAILS.....
 

Govt to implement SC directives in Zardari’s cases”

However, Presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar maintained that President Zardari enjoyed immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution. –Photo by APP 

 ISLAMABAD: The government remains indecisive about whether or not to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to re-open the corruption cases against President Zardari, reports DawnNews.
In an interview with DawnNews, Presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar said the government will act upon the Supreme Court directives.
In a recent verdict, the apex court directed the government to write to the Swiss authorities to re-open the cases of corruption against President Zardari.
Babar said the government would implement the apex court’s judgement in letter and spirit. And that legal experts were looking into the matter.
However, he maintained that President Zardari enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.
He also told DawnNews that it was premature to talk about an extension of the tenure of Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.MORE DETAILS.....

NAB unable to reopen Swiss cases, SC told

NAB presented to the Supreme Court a report which said that the bureau cannot move without a clear interpretation of the law. -File Photo 

 

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Naveed Ahsan informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday about steps taken by the bureau to implement the NRO verdict, but expressed his helplessness in reopening money laundering cases against President Asif Zardari.  

The NAB presented in the court a report which reportedly says that the bureau cannot move without a clear interpretation of the law that authorises the bureau to seek international cooperation for reviving corruption cases against the president, who enjoys immunity under the Constitution.

Submission of the report preceded a meeting between Attorney General Anwar Mansoor and the NAB chairman, who later told reporters that revival of Swiss cases in compliance with the Supreme Court order was also discussed. At the last hearing on Friday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had upbraided NAB for sitting on the court order of reopening corruption cases closed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance. The court had also warned the NAB chairman that coercive measures would be taken against him, including attachment of his salary, and NAB representatives would be stopped from appearing before the court if compliance of the Dec 16 verdict was not done.

President Zardari and Benazir Bhutto have been accused of stashing $60 million in Swiss banks as kickbacks they had received for awarding pre-inspection contracts to SGS and Cotecna.

On Wednesday, the NAB chairman informed the court: “We will fully implement the (Supreme Court) verdict and have already sacked deputy prosecutor general Abdul Baseer Qureshi and a summary has been sent to the prime minister for removal of prosecutor general Dr Danishwar.”

Meanwhile, the attorney general remained tight-lipped and did not say anything except “no comments” when asked about speculations that he was considering tendering resignation than supporting government’s stance on the Swiss cases.

Initially, court staff raised some objections to the NAB report, but later accepted it when officials managed to produce documents supplementing the report.

The accountability bureau is reported to have stated in the report that although Section 21 of the NAB Ordinance allows the NAB chairman to request a foreign country to freeze assets or transfer custody of an accused to Pakistan and despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ordered reopening of Swiss cases, it has not interpreted Article 248 of the Constitution.

The article provides protection to the president from any criminal proceedings or process of arrest or imprisonment till he is at the President’s House. The report also contains record of the communication between NAB and the law ministry, which had on Tuesday barred the bureau from approaching the Swiss government for reopening money laundering cases.
The ministry said that since NAB acted as a prosecuting agency while pursuing cases in another country, it could not ask for reopening of such cases on its own or without permission of the government.MORE DETAILS.....

Justice Ramday not to draw salary

The respected judge wrote a letter to CJ saying that his salary cheques should be deposited in the account of Al-Mizan Foundation. — File Photo by AP 

  ISLAMABAD: Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday will not draw salary while serving as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court.

 Soon after taking the oath of office on Thursday, the respected judge, who retired last month but was recalled to serve on the bench for one more year, wrote a letter to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry saying that his salary cheques should be deposited in the account of Al-Mizan Foundation, maintained for the benefit and welfare of the serving and retired employees of the Supreme Court.

“Since I accepted this office of an ad hoc judge only as the compliance of a command of the chief justice under peculiar circumstances and as an honour being conferred upon me and not for any personal glory, any material gain or any worldly benefit, therefore, I have decided to serve this cause sans salary,” says the two-page letter, the copy of which is available with Dawn.

Justice Ramday, who reached the age of superannuation on Jan 12, was member of many benches that delivered landmark verdicts, including the one against the National Reconciliation Ordinance during the hearing of which he emerged as a key judge with probing questions on corruption. He had presided over the bench that reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry after his suspension by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on March 9, 2007.MORE DETAILS....

Judicial appointments

The lesson from the recent crisis over judicial appointments ought to be that clear rules are what’s needed. — File Photo 

 

The special parliamentary committee debating changes to the constitution has reached an agreement on the process for the appointment of judges to the superior judiciary. It appears that the process is essentially the one outlined in the Charter of Democracy: a judicial committee headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and consisting of members of the superior judiciary, the relevant bar associations and the government’s legal team will forward its recommendations to the prime minister who will in turn send a candidate’s name for approval to a parliamentary committee consisting of both government and opposition members.

First, the good news: the new process seeks to end the focus on individuals. Presently, the constitution puts the onus on the Supreme Court chief justice and the president for deciding who will be a member of the Supreme Court (the provincial governors and high court chief justices play a role in the appointment of high court justices).

As we have seen in the very recent past, the significant powers given to individuals can lead to a destabilising struggle when the political and judicial sides do not agree. The new process should go a long way in reducing the perception that disagreements are between individuals, a possibility that should be welcomed since it would mean a structural crease in the democratic system will have been ironed out.

Now for the bad news. First, approval by the special parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms doesn’t mean that the proposed amendments will automatically pass when placed before the two houses of parliament. There may yet be some ‘last minute’ changes that could scuttle a very good idea. Second, the numbers and process selected could lead to problems. For example, to approve or reject a judicial nominee, six out of eight votes are needed in the parliamentary committee.MORE DETAILS....

Pakistani passenger screening by TSA at JFK

Air travelers and their carry on luggage is screened by TSA employees before boarding aircraft – AP PHOTO 

 

 KARACHI: PIA has informed its passengers about the enhanced screening procedure for passengers travelling from USA to Pakistan implemented by Transport Security Administration (TSA) at JFK Airport in New York.

 

A PIA spokesman said that TSA has notified PIA about enhanced screening of Pakistani Passport Holders travelling from USA that the baggage of such passengers would go through a CTX machine, a x-ray machine for luggage that detect other unidentifiable objects as well, and the selected searches of passengers.
As of now, passengers are required to show a U.S Federal or State issued photo ID that contains Name, date of birth, gender, expiration date of ID and a tamper resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the check point and onto their flight.
If a Pakistani passport is produced, the passenger, irrespective of age and gender will have to undergo selectee screening.
He said often passengers carry baggage of different/ varying sizes which could not passed through the CTX scanning machines, resulting in manual checking of baggage by the authorities.
As the screening process consumes time, long queues are formed at the JFK airport.
PIA passengers were requested to carry baggage of the specified size/dimension with maximum length 39 inches, maximum height 19 inches, maximum width 25 inches and weight not exceeding 110 Ibs.
Any oversized baggage or carton will not be accepted by the airline i.e. PIA.
Passengers are advised further to reach JFK airport at least five hours prior to flight departure time as PIA check in counters will close 1 hour and 15 minutes before flight departure in order to maintain on time departures.MORE DETAILS.....
 

India focus on Mumbai 'unfair': Salman Bashir

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and visiting Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir address media prior to their meeting in New Delhi on February 25, 2010. – AFP 

 

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said Thursday that India's focus on the 2008 Mumbai attacks was “unfair” and was stalling efforts to get bilateral relations back on track.

 

 

“It is unfair and unrealistic and, in our view, counterproductive to...keep the focus on that (Mumbai) to stall the process of the broader relationship between the two countries,” Bashir said after talks in New Delhi with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao.

Urging India to move forward and resume full-fledged peace talks, Bashir warned that neither country could afford to remain disengaged.

“This is a nuclearised region. It is important that India and Pakistan engage on a whole range of issues,” he said.

He added, in an apparent reference to India's focus on Pakistan-based militancy during the talks, that “Pakistan does not believe that India should lecture us and demand Pakistan does this or that.”

He added: “That is not how interstate relations are conducted.”

Earlier, Rao had said the time was not yet ripe to revive the comprehensive dialogue, citing a continuing “trust deficit” following the Mumbai carnage.

“We are not desperate,” Bashir stressed. “If India takes more time to reflect on the modalities of engagement, they will find us ready,” he said.

Bashir also insisted that dealing with terrorism was his government's “number one priority” and argued that Pakistan was only too aware of the trauma and violence inflicted by terror attacks.

“We have suffered many, many hundreds of Mumbais. We have lost a great number of civilians,” he said.

“For anyone to think that Pakistan would be dismissive of this problem, he does not have his facts right,” he said.

During the talks with Rao, Bashir said he had stressed “the great importance” Pakistan attached to finding a peaceful solution to the issue of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

“From our side, we certainly don't discount the achievements made by the Composite Dialogue... but the time is not right as yet to resume it because we have to create a climate of trust and confidence,” Rao had said.MORE DETAILS.....