Preacher's doomsday forecast fizzles out ... again

Once again, the world failed to end, despite a high-profile prediction from a radio preacher in California.

Harold Camping, the 90-year-old leader of Family Radio International, stirred a global frenzy when he predicted that the Rapture would take 200 million Christians to heaven on May 21. When the Rapture didn't occur, Camping said he got his Bible-based calculations wrong and revised his prophecy to set the world's end on Friday, Oct. 21.

But as the day wore on around the world, there was no sign that doomsday had dawned.

Millions of dollars had been spent by Family Radio and its followers to get the world out about May's date with doomsday. Some quit their jobs, or donated retirement savings or college funds for the more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs that were plastered with Judgment Day messages.

This time around, Camping took a lower profile — perhaps because he was chastened by the mockery he suffered in May, or perhaps because of his health.

Camping suffered a mild stroke in June. His daily radio program, "Open Forum," is no longer aired on the Family Radio syndication network, which includes more than 60 U.S. radio stations.

Contacted by telephone on Thursday, Family spokesman Tom Evans declined to comment on Camping or his prophecies — except to say that he had "retired" as a radio host but remained chairman of the board of Family Stations Inc.

'Nothing to report'
Camping himself had little to say when he answered the door of his home in Alameda, wearing a bathrobe and leaning on a walker. "We're not having a conversation," he told a Reuters reporter, shaking his head with a chuckle. "There's nothing to report here."

Municipal records show that a Sunday prayer group led by Camping, the Alameda Bible Fellowship, has continued to meet on a weekly basis in a large ground-floor room of the Veterans Memorial Building leased by the city Recreation and Parks Department.

Marcia Tsang, a facilities coordinator for the department, said receipts show that Camping's group has been renting that space since at least 1996, paying the standard fee of $45 an hour. The room remains assigned to his fellowship under an evergreen reservation that extends beyond this week, she said.

Local American Legion officer Ron Parshall, 70, part of a veterans group that meets at the same building in an adjacent room one Sunday a month, said he has seen Camping leading his Bible services there regularly.........Read More

21 Very Helpful Resources For Graphic And Webdesign

In this category we want to give you an advice to other great sites, where you can get a lot of very useful information, inspirations and materials. Here is a collection of 21 great resources, which could help you at your next design process..........Read More

Facebook could face €100,000 excellent for holding information that users have deleted

Facebook could face a excellent of adult to €100,000 (£87,000) after an Austrian law tyro detected a social networking site hold 1,200 pages of personal information about him, most of that he had deleted.


Max Schrems, 24, motionless to ask Facebook for a duplicate of his information in Jun after attending a harangue by a Facebook executive while on an sell programme during Santa Clara University in California.


Schrems was repelled when he eventually perceived a CD from California containing messages and information he says he had deleted from his form in a 3 years given he assimilated a site.


After receiving a data, Schrems motionless to record a list of 22 apart complaints with a Irish data protection commissioner, that subsequent week is to lift out a initial review of Facebook. He wrote to Ireland after finding that European users are administered by a Irish Facebook subsidiary. A mouthpiece for a commissioner reliable a officers would be questioning purported breaches lifted by Schrems as partial of a audit. If a commissioner decides to prosecute and Facebook or any employees are found guilty of information insurance breaches, a limit chastisement is a excellent of €100,000.


Among a 1,2000 pages of information Schrems was sent were deserted crony requests, incidences where he “defriended” someone, as good as a record of all Facebook chats he had ever had. There was also a list of photos he had detagged of himself, a names of everybody he had ever “poked”, that events he had attended, that he hadn’t replied to, and most some-more besides.


The information was damaged down into 57 categories, including likes, log-ons (a list of when he logged on and that IP residence he used) and emails, that enclosed some


http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/20/facebook-fine-holding-data-deleted

Unverified footage of Gaddafi's body caught on camera phone - video

Footage obtained by Reuters news agency and shot on a camera phone appears to show the body of Muammar Gaddafi. Claims of his death came after NTC fighters overran Sirte, the ousted Libyan leader's home........Read More

What does the world - and Twitter - think of the death of Muammar Gaddafi? Visualised

Data specialists Infomous have taken the data from Appinions and Twitter to produce this stunning visualisation of the world's view on the death of the Libyan dictator.......Read More

Wayne Rooney could lead British team at London 2012 Olympic Games

The Football Association has opened the door for England players who make the Euro 2012 squad but do not play much, potentially including Wayne Rooney, to take part in the London Olympics........Read More

Google doodle celebrates influential Walt Disney artist Mary Blair

Google has honoured Mary Blair, an artist whose unusual style was immortalised in classic Walt Disney films of the 1940s and 50s, with its latest........Read More

The Chat Room: Live Discussion Today

s part of the ongoing partnership between Newsline and Teabreak.pk, our two media companies are combining resources to bring new forms of discourse and analysis to news-hungry audiences. Today, we are ready to launch the first session in a series of live discussions titled “The Chat Room.”


Session 1 is all about the floods of 2011 that have devastated Sindh. The scale of this flood has been bigger than the 2010 floods in terms of damage in Sindh. Unfortunately, despite everything that happened a year ago........Read More

GOOGLE WALLET INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Google Wallet is the latest product by the search giant to hit the market and make our lives a little easier using near field communication to transmit data between your phone and the receiver.

What is Google Wallet?

Google Wallet is a mobile app that will make your phone your wallet. It stores virtual versions of your existing plastic cards on your phone, .......Read More

Who Watches the Watchmen? on Drone Warfare

A though provoking post by Kulsom from Changing up Pakistan she writes … the issue of drones goes beyond the issue of legality. It touches on the progression of warfare as a whole. Arguably the foundation of international law, is really being compromised in favor of the arbitrarily defined “greater good.”.......Read More

Shoaib Akhtar and his Autobiography

As an international fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar believed in shock-and-awe tactics. Using his lightning pace, he bowled lethal bouncers and toe-crushing Yorkers and went on to become the scourge of batsmen all over the world. Even in retirement, the man who was once the fastest bowler in world cricket hasn’t changed his game plan.........Read More

KU students protest against Rehman Malik degree

Student protest after Rehman Malik received honorary degrfee........ Read More

Flash Isn’t Dead Yet!

It’s been really popular lately for many professionals to dismiss the use of Flash. Many designers and developers push the idea to discontinue use of the almost 20 year old technology. There are a range of what seems to be problems from the heaviness of Flash projects, the inability to frequently update without tearing everything apart and the difficulty in creating a Flash website with great search engine optimization........Read More

Source Article Directory!

my article directory, provide you best source articles, marketing, business, Adsense, finance, Entertianment, Health and fitness, Search Engines Optimization, bloggers....... Read More

Telenor Pakistan holds awards ceremony for Apportunity competition

An award/ prize distribution ceremony was held by Telenor Pakistan at Karachi for winners of its Apportunity competition. Prizes were given to recognize the developers whose applications were downloaded the most........Read More

Blackberry Service Update

RIM’s CIO, Robin Bienfait wrote a letter to Blackberry customers and offered an apology for service outage. The letter also included a region-wise service status, it divided BB service in the following regions

• Europe, Middle East, India and Africa
• Canada and Latin America:
• The U.S............ Read More

The novelist – chapter 1

The rain hit the windows with a sound like thousands of little hands beating upon them, threatening to fling them open, to break into the comfort they were protecting. The rain had been the same ever since they had arrived in this tropical paradise, two days had passed and without relent it had continued. It’s not like this was the first journey abroad for zarmina and her husband, as they often took off in the summers from the sticky heat and load shedding woes of Karachi. However even they had not expected this kind of weather when they made plans for Srilanka.

“Did I not tell you to check the weather channel man, this sucks Jalal what are we going to do now”

“I don’t mind spending more time with you in the bedroom”

“Oh shut it, its been a bit too long for even that”

“Awww c’mon its never too long for thaaat”

Jalal rolled over and grabbed his wife of 5 years smothering her in the bed with kisses and ardor brought on by the sound of falling water, his hands caressing away her hair to gaze into her eyes, he loved doing that as she had eyes the color of a raging sea one could drown into. In fact the first time he had met her he had been mesmerized by her eyes and had not slept for days afterwards wanting to talk to her to make some contact with her.

“oyee where the hell have you gone to” Zarmina smacked her husband on the back of his head, hating the fact that he was so lost at times, yet loving the dreamy look he had in his eyes at the moment.

“you thinking of her again?” hmmmm?..........Read More

Pakistani Firm To Add Value To India’s Low-cost Aakaash Tablet

LAHORE: A Pakistani software company FiveRivers and its mobile applications subsidiary Pepper.pk have announced to offer support to the low-cost PC tablet, ‘Aakash’, launched by India last week with the aim of promoting and strengthening regional cooperation in South Asia and providing affrodable and reliable tablets for educational purposes.

FiveRivers, the Lahore based multi-award winning company said in a video statement that they will begin porting a relevant subset of its over 150 applications to the new platform as soon as the tablet hits the market in November 2011.

Pepper.pk’s portfolio of applications includes three world No. 1 titles including the four-time AppWorld No. 1 app, Photo Editor. The company’s apps are available across several major mobile platforms including iPhone/iPad, BlackBerry phones and BlackBerry PlayBook, Windows Phone 7, Android and Nokia.

Congratulating “our friends in India” on the launch of the tablet, co-founder of Pepper.pk, Mahe Zehra Husain, said: “We are announcing our effort to add value to Aakash and enrich it with our leading software products. Information Technology is critical to both our countries as it can be a powerful force to reduce poverty and eliminate illiteracy.”........... Read More

Zardari breaks all records of keeping foreign gifts

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari has set a new record within a year by taking one-third of all the expensive gifts presented to all Pakistani presidents and prime ministers. Of the gifts totalling Rs160 million, Zardari has taken gifts worth Rs62 million during the first year of his presidency.

In his foreign visits so far, Zardari has been given 27 gifts worth Rs62 million,which is one-third of the accumulated cost of the 3,039 gifts, which were given to presidents and prime ministers in three decades. Zardari is said to have got two BMWs and two foreign manufactured Toyota Jeeps as gift by Libyan leader Colonel Qadafi during his visit to Libya, which he took to his home, after paying a sum of only Rs9.3 million as retention cost. These shocking figures were produced before the Senate standing committee on cabinet division by the cabinet secretary on Monday during a presentation to its members. Zardari is now richer by Rs50 million within one year in the presidency, without doing a single rupee irregularity as this all was done under the law as he paid 15 per cent of the total cost of two BMWs and two jeeps and retained them.

The other 13 Pakistani presidents and prime ministers, from Gen Ziaul Haq to Gen Musharraf and from Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo to Shaukat Aziz, quietly took 3,039 expensive gifts worth Rs160 million to their homes. The list shows three presidents and two prime ministers — Farooq Leghari, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Shaukat Aziz — took gifts worth Rs150 million out of Rs160 million but Asif Zardari took the largest share within a year of his presidency. Others including Gen Ziaul Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Rafiq Tarar, and PMs Mohammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto, Balakh Sher Mazari, Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain got gifts worth Rs10 million..........Read More

The Pakibots

We have become robots. Some of you may disagree, but I hold my ground and still proclaim that this nation of Pakistanis (or Pakibots as we shall henceforth be called) has turned into robots.
The logical question to ask obviously is why do I claim that an intense transition has happened suddenly to Pakibots? Well as intense as it is, it hasn't happened suddenly. It has taken years, but it has happened.
So, why?..........Read More

Some Sobering Lessons

Adecade after the ghastly attacks on the Twin Towers, the world has not changed. It is business as usual: imperial projects, ‘dangerous’ foes and millions of hapless, voiceless people. 9/11 was a reprehensible act perpetrated by a desperate and rogue network whose ideologues had hijacked a faith and its symbolism long before they started to assert their worldview by force.

While most 9/11 perpetrators belonged to the Middle East and its infamous Holy Kingdom, Pakistan emerged as the epicentre of terror in the global imagination and continues to occupy that exalted position. Its neighbourhood has been ransacked and occupied by the liberators and now the war on terror has turned into a contested, essential Pakistani experience. Nearly a million people in Iraq are dead or missing but never mind........Read More

View from US: Three women worlds apart

They say you’re the author of your own life. I met two such authors who live in two different worlds. Of the third I heard when her famous brother died last week. Let’s first begin with Mona Simpson who is the biological sister of Apple giant Steve Jobs, dead at age 56. The brother and sister were raised in different homes and found each other in their twenties. When Steve was born, his parents were college students and unmarried. They gave him up for adoption.

By the time Mona was born, the parents had married only to divorce when she was 10. Mona is a successful novelist whose book’s launch, Anywhere but here, in 1986 was attended by her brother and mother. “We’re family. She’s one of my best friends in the world. I call her and talk to her every couple of days,” Steve once said in an interview.

His reunion with his biological mother Joanne was equally touching. He forgave her for giving him away; but not his father, a Syrian-Muslim, currently a casino owner in Reno, Nevada. The 80-year-old never reconnected with his iconic son. A Regular Guy was the next book Mona won fame for. It’s about a Silicon Valley entrepreneur resembling Steve Jobs. When asked if Tom Owens, the book’s hero resembled him, Steve said “About 25 per cent of it is totally me, right down to the mannerisms.” But he wouldn’t say which part of the equation...........Read More

‘A policeman’s lot is not a happy one…’

It was over 2,300 years ago that Aristotle, in his Politics, recognised that power corrupts, that the desire of rulers to make their personal whims into a substitute for law brings about the degradation and collapse of the state.

This is highly apparent in this unfortunate republic. Sixty-four years ago, founder maker Mohammad Ali Jinnah proclaimed to his constituent assembly that the first duty of the state was the imposition of law and order, the protection of the life and property of its citizens, i.e. sovereignty of its laws. Good governance is heavily dependent on the state’s police force to combat crime, uphold the law and protect the citizens from militancy. Here it does not exist.

The Raj is generally blamed for the policing system established in the subcontinent after the so-called Indian mutiny of 1857.

The Police Act of 1861 was crafted to consolidate and perpetuate British rule in India, and was never meant to create a people-friendly law-enforcement system. The act gave the government superintendence over the police, but did not clarify the nature of such ‘superintendence’ or establish guidelines to restrict misuse of the police for partisan or unlawful purposes.........Read More

Why Cricket Needs Pakistan

Pakistan is a blessing to the game of cricket, no two ways about it. With already limited no. of countries playing the sport, it can’t afford to lose Pakistan at any point in time, even with Pakistan trying really hard to make it do so. With the situation getting worse for the Pakistan cricket and cricketers, we take a look why the sport can not do without them for much long.

The foremost of the reasons lies in the fact that over the years, experts have aptly coined a name for the Pakistan cricket team i.e, ‘the Unpredictables’. Given the very same nature of the game itself, who else could be the true ambassadors of the game, if not them?........ Read More

Communalism is a Bigger Issue for Muslims in India

Why didn’t Muslims come out openly in favour of Anna Hazare’s Jan Lokpal campaign?

Corruption is a secular issue that affects everyone. But if the movement has been hijacked by the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), then how can Muslims support it, knowing fully what the RSS and ........ Read More

Harry Potter studio to open for public tour

The magical world of Harry Potter is being meticulously reassembled at a former aerodrome near London.

The collection of sheds and sound stages is where the eight films were shot over the course of a decade, and soon they will be home to the official "Making of Harry Potter" studio tour.

With more than five months to go until the tour's March 31 opening stonemasons in hard hats are busy laying the (real) flagstone floor of the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even half-finished, its Gothic arches, gargoyles and huge fireplace are an impressive sight.

When it's completed, studio Warner Bros. hopes it will be, well, magic — though the spell was briefly broken when advance tickets went on sale Thursday. Many fans found an error prevented them from booking tickets the official website. Warner Bros. blamed heavy traffic for the problem...........Read More

No Aussies fixing matches: Clarke

Australian Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke said Friday he was "100 percent confident" that no Australian cricketers were involved in match-fixing.

His comments followed allegations made in a London court this week implicating Australian players during the corruption trial of ex-Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif.

"Me personally, I have never been approached by anyone," he said on his departure for South Africa for a three-match one-day series that kicks off on October 19 ahead of Tests in Cape Town and Johannesburg in November.

"The players I have played with, I'm 100 percent confident they would never be involved in that," he added on the Cricket Australia website.

"It is not the Australian way. Never in my time have I experienced a conversation with anybody about any such things.".........Read More

Banks to observe Saturday-Sunday off

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and commercial banks would be observing Saturday and Sunday as weekly holidays from October 15, while few branches located in the commercial centres would remain open on Saturday as well, Geo news reported.

SBP handout issued here said that the Central Bank and all commercial banks would remain open five days a week, following the federal government’s announcement of two weekly holidays in government and semi-government organizations under a vigorous energy saving campaign.........Read More

ENJOY THE LUXURY IN AIR

Travelling is a passion for many around the world. Most of the travelers foot the world, live off the land, stay in cheap hotels and take free rides between places to save on the meager money they have to see and travel more. But not all - a lot many people fly in extreme luxury when traveling. Ever wondered the extent of luxury they enjoy? See the photographs below - thats how!!........Read More

Will india accept Modi

In the mid-1980s when Indian television was bland, but less insulting to the intellect than it is now, and viewers were not spoilt for choice since the only channel broadcast was the state-run Doordarshan, many Indians came across this saying: “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.” It was like a statutory warning in a mini-series called Tamas(Darkness), created by one of the most accomplished art-house filmmakers of that time, Govind Nihalani.........Read More

La Liga Top Goal Scorer 2011-2012

Spanish league 2011-2012 session is a very interesting and plosive  season it is a very competitive session each team can try to win..........Read More

Keep your brain young with help from Anti-Aging Games and Tecca

All of us wish we could stay young and healthy forever, and none of us is looking forward to facing the negative changes that aging will eventually bring to our minds and bodies. Fortunately, research shows that there are actually a number of relatively simple things you can do to ward off some of the less desirable effects on our brains as we age. More fortunately still, there's a company providing research-backed relief against some of the more dire consequences of aging, particularly in the realm of memory loss......Read More

Problems of Pakistan

actual problems Pakistan facing. A reality checkup for people enjoying luxuries of life in Pakistan & abroad and usually do or contribute nothing to country. When time comes they go abroad being having multiple passports and when conditions are in their favors come back. Though from past few years residing abroad I can't even have the actual idea of what pain my brothers & sisters are going through each day in Pakistan (Just now had a talk with mom in Pakistan and she said, "beta, Payaz (onion) 100Rs. k ho gaye hain and so on ..." :S) but same time I’m hopeful & optimistic being there are some individuals (some new youth icons & youth teams can be seen helping out their bros & sis on their own) doing really good for Pakistan and I'm hopeful that one day these individuals efforts combine into a collective effort will rise a new dawn for people of Pakistan Insha'ALLAH

This World exist only because of some good people still in it otherwise … 

but there are some questions can any one wants to reply?

1.compared to population in different years how were those crime statistics compared?

2.People have chosen their leaders,why they are complaining? Larkana,Lyari never going to improve because people are responsible for their own misery?

3.No one follow traffic law,who stops people to not do right thing?

If we wants good change in our country Pakistan we need to change our thinking first. for positive change, think! being a nation not being an individual.

our small effortS can be a source of a biggest change as a first water drop.........:) aLWAYS HOPE FOR THE best ! AND BE POSITIVE ....:)

Horrible Bosses (2011)

A good comedy film.“Ronnie and Mischelle’s High School Reunion”........ Read More

PPA hides World Cup results

Pakistan Polo Association (PPA) hided the result of the World Cup match between Pakistan and Italy in which Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat.Pakistan lost to Italy by 17 goals to 5 goals in IX FIP Polo Championship being played in Argentina Unfortunately best player and captain of the Pakistan Polo team Hissam Ali Hyder was not able to participate in the match. Polo lovers were shocked to hear the defeat and were not happy with the selection as well. It was also learnt that one the player was suffering from dengue fever and left for the World Cup.........Read More

Apple wins Samsung tablet ban in Australian court

A court slapped a temporary ban on the sale of Samsung Electronics' latest computer tablet in Australia on Thursday, handing rival Apple another legal victory in the two firms' global patent war.

Resolution of the case could take months -- unless Samsung takes the potentially risky option of an expedited hearing -- which, in the fast-moving industry, could mean the new Galaxy tablet is never launched in Australia. The Galaxy is the hottest competitor to Apple's iPad, which dominates global tablet sales.

"The ruling could further extend Apple's dominance in the tablet market as it widens a sales ban of Samsung's latest product," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities in Seoul.

Whilst the ruling is a blow for Samsung, the Australian market is not large. A more important legal battle starts later on Thursday, when a Californian court begins hearing Apple's bid to ban sales of Galaxy products in the United States.

The two technology firms have been locked in an acrimonious battle in 10 countries involving smartphones and tablets since April, with the Australian dispute centering on touch-screen technology used in Samsung's new tablet.......Read More

FM Radio Shown link

FM Radio Shown link For online listeners the link is following........Read More

National U-16 Hockey Sindh-B & KP play 1-1 draw as Pb-C, FATA win

Sindh-B and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-B played 1-1 draw as Punjab-C and FATA secured victories against their respective rivals in the ongoing National Under-16 Hockey Championship being played here at Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium on Thursday.In the first match Sindh-B and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa played 1-1 draw. Sindh-B took the lead in the 3rd minute through Muhammad Zaheer on the penalty corner conversion while Khyber Pakhtukhwa tied the tally 1-1 in similar fashion through Sadam Khan.Punjab-C edge past strong Balochistan by 3-2 in the thrilling match, enjoyed by capacity crowd present on this occasion with both teams exhibited classic.......Read More

Blood Is The New Black, psychedelic and sexy

The fantastic brand Blood Is The New Black released a new collection ahere’s the poster and some pics......Read More

Quartet share lead in Malaysia

Brittany Lang, Maria Hjorth, Na Yeon Choi and Dewi Claire Schreefel each shot a five-under 66 to share the first-round lead at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.Paige Mackenzie and Azahara Munoz were one stroke behind at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, with several big names in close attendance. Solheim Cup quartet Michelle Wie, Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen and Christel Boeljon lie on three under alongside I.K. Kim and Shanshan....Read More

: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan remembered

Great king of qawwali and authority in classical singing Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was remembered on his 63rd birthday on Thursday.The legendary qawwali singer was born in Faisalabad in October 13, 1948 to a classical dynasty. He embarked on singing career with qawwali....Read More

IDEX Fellowship in Social Enterprise Now Accepting Applications for 2012 Cohort

Gray Matters Capital (GMC) is proud to announce IDEX Fellowship in Social Enterprise is now accepting applications for the 2012 cohort. IDEX is a 10-month fellowship that builds future social enterprise practitioners. The program launched by GMC in 2010, aligns with the Foundation's mission to empower social enterprises with access to financial and human capital enabling them to achieve greater scale and expanded social impact. This will be the third year that IDEX provides college graduates with a professional, cultural and social immersion into the field of social enterprise across India.   

Ideal IDEX Fellow
We are looking for passionate change-agents who are committed to support the development of enterprises that serve low-income populations while creating a positive social impact.  We seek individuals who have a proven track record of leadership and are enterprising and innovative in their approach to identify opportunities and implement market-based, sustainable solutions.  

Who can apply?  
Passionate college graduates and professionals who want to apply their skills to supporting social businesses. They have an academic background or have worked (usually but not required) in one the following areas - Strategic Planning, Finance and Accounting, Economics, Human Resources, Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Application process and selection process:
-         Apply online  www.idexfellowship.com 
-         Application deadline - January 15, 2012
-         Fellowship start date - July 2012

Apple Releases OSX 10.7.2 Including iCloud And Safari 5.1.1

As part of Apple's rollout of its iCloud service today, Apple has just released OS X 10.7.2. The new update includes support for iCloud and will ensure that users have full access to their iCloud-hosted data across all of their devices.....Read More 

Proteas, Aussies geared for battle

The Proteas last played a match over six months ago, on 25 March, when they bowed out of the Cricket World Cup in an upset, going down to New Zealand in the quarterfinals. Now, Australia are in South Africa on a tour that begins at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday.

The sides do battle in two T20 internationals and three one-day internationals before the Aussies take on South Africa A in a four-day game in Potchefstroom. That match is followed by two tests in November, which will wrap up the tour.

Gary Kirsten's charges go into the limited overs matches minus captain AB de Villiers, who is sidelined after undergoing surgery on the broken middle finger of his left hand. Star players Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis have also been omitted from the T20 line-up, with Hashim Amla taking over the captaincy from De Villiers.

Australia, after so many years of being the dominant team in world cricket, is rebuilding and is a side on the up. The absence of South Africa's top players in the T20 contests is something that concerns former Proteas' fast bowler Fanie de Villiers......Read More

Nepal bus crash kills 43

KATHMANDU, Nepal — At least 43 people were killed Thursday when a bus veered off a mountain road in eastern Nepal and plunged into a river, officials said.

The bus swerved off an unfinished stretch of road and plummeted 300 metres into the fast-flowing water below, said Lokendra Shrestha, a police officer in Sindhuli district, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Kathmandu.

"Forty-three dead bodies have already been recovered and the bus has been destroyed. It is likely that more bodies will be found near the crash site, which is very remote," said Shrestha.

A group of 11 passengers who had been on the roof jumped before the bus fell into the Sunkoshi river, said chief district officer Beni Madhav Gyawali.....Read More

Pakistan, US agree to continue strategical dialogue process

Pakistan and United States on Thursday agreed to continue their dialogue process and vowed to carry on strategic dialogue mechanism as it is in the interest of both the countries.

Addressing a joint press conference here at Foreign Office, US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar after holding talks, said that they have discussed bilateral relations and decided that the working groups of both the countries will continue to meet in future.

Both the leaders held discussion on Pak-US ties with special reference to Afghanistan and the current regional and international issues, and exchanged views on the forthcoming meetings in Istanbul on November 2 and in Bonn on December 5 on peace and security in the region.

They also agreed to pursue bilateral cooperation in different fields for which working groups had been formed.

Foreign Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khan while addressing the press conference said, “Pakistan and US relations are very important at bilateral level and now due to war against terrorism, these ties are more important at global level.”
She said these relations are important for both the countries and are in their interests.....Read More

Pakistan will not tolerate cross-border attacks, says Kayani

ISLAMABAD: US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman on Thursday arrived in Pakistan for talks with the country’s top political and military leadership.

Grossman held an important meeting with Pakistan’s army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. The two discussed US concerns about the Haqqani network and other security issues, DawnNews reported.

During the meeting, Kayani told Grossman that Afghanistan’s soil was being used against Pakistan. He made it clear to the US envoy that Pakistan would not tolerate cross-border attacks from Afghanistan any longer.

The army chief also laid stress on better bilateral ties based on mutual cooperation.

The general said Pakistan was taking steps to halt the movement of terrorists in the Pak-Afghan border area.

He also urged a stepped up role for the trilateral commission. The commission should be provided with more intelligence sharing to curb terrorism, he added....Read More

Steve Jobs’ Cause Of Death Revealed

A report from Bloomberg states that according to the Steve Jobs’ death certificate, the cause of death was respiratory arrest and a pancreatic tumor. As you already know that Steve Jobs, Apple’s co founder, died last Wednesday at approximately 3:00 PM Pacific Time....Read More

Malik Riaz, son yet to be arrested in 1,401-kanal land scam, SC told

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz were yet to be arrested over fake and illegal transfer of 1,401 kanals of land despite being nominated by the Rawalpindi Anti-Corruption Establishment. Appearing on notice, Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab Director General Abid Javed told a three-member Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez that during the investigation, 16 people were found involved in the fake and illegal transfer of land, of which seven had been arrested. To a court query, he said Malik Riaz and his son Ali had not been arrested so far. The court was hearing a bail application filed by one of the arrested accused, Tanveer Hussain. Meanwhile, the court disposed of the case after Raza Pasha, counsel for estate agent Tanveer Hussain told the court that he wished to withdraw his bail application from the Supreme Court and wanted to contest his case in a trial court.
He contended that during the transfer of hundreds of kanals of land to Bahria Town, his client did not get any benefit. The court accepted his request and disposed of the plea as dismissed. To a court query, Pasha told the court that the benefit of fake and illegal transfer of land went to Malik Riaz and his son. Earlier on October 6, the Rawalpindi ACE had submitted in the Supreme Court a re-investigation report on acquisition of hundreds of kanals of land on the outskirts of Rawalpindi through bogus documents. ACE had found the role of four revenue department officials and two senior officials of Bahria Town in the land scam.
Tehsildar Adnan Bashir Kiani, Patwari Muhammad Rizwan, Tanveer Hussain Shah and Muhammad Hussain of the Revenue Department and Colonel (r) Saeed Akhtar and Muhammad Iqbal of Bahria Town have already been arrested by ACE in addition to an estate agent, Tanveer Hussain......Read More

India successfully launches monsoon research satellite

India has successfully launched a new satellite, the Megha-Tropiques, to study the patterns of the monsoon.

The one-tonne satellite was one of four spacecraft fired into orbit on Wednesday from Sriharikota, about 80km from Madras.

The Megha-Tropiques satellite is a joint venture with France....Read More

Dancing With the Stars' Week Four Elimination (Video)

In between all those sightings of Cher there was a dance competition going on Monday night on'Dancing With the Stars' (Tue., 9PM ET on ABC). And it was a nail-biter, with the incredibly entertaining Carson Kressley coming in dead last with the judges, while Ricki Lake earned the season's first perfect 10s.

Early front-runner Chynna Phillips had a very rough night, reflected in her low scores from the judges, tying her with Chaz Bono and Nancy Grace at one point ahead of Kressley.

Everyone knows Phillips is a stronger dancer than both of them; she just had a very bad night. Would America forgive her?.....Read More

GOP Debate: Republican Presidential Candidates Face Off In New Hampshire (LIVE UPDATES)

Eight Republican candidates competing for their party's presidential nomination will go head-to-head in a primary debate in New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

The Bloomberg/Washington Post forum begins at 8 p.m. ET. GOP contenders participating in the event include: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.....Read More

Classic Movie Review: Charade

A Parisian Treat

Stanley Donen’s stylishly elegant, charming comedy-romance-thriller Charade teams Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, for the first and only time in their careers – a shame since both of them had the most wonderful chemistry. For some, the movie, intelligently scripted by Peter Stone, is Donen’s homage to Alfred Hitchcock. But it also represents Hollywood at its most entertaining — and it is the last great movie that Cary Grant made before retiring three years later.

Regina Lampert aka Reggie (Audrey Hepburn) returns to Paris after a ski trip to the Alps, to find her house ransacked and her husband Charles murdered. His funeral is attended by three curious oddballs – played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass – each of whom makes sure that the corpse is indeed dead. A mysterious stranger, originally going by the name Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), who she had met earlier on her skiing holiday, offers his assistance to Reggie, as does CIA man Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau), who informs her that her husband was part of a gang that, during WW2, stole and stashed a quarter of a million dollars. Naturally, everyone mistakenly assumes that Reggie knows the whereabouts of the money.

What ensues is a riotous take on the spy thriller. Peter Joshua develops a romantic attraction to Regina, but he is a figure whose job and intentions shift on the hour. He may also have an unknown stake in the $250,000. The three thugs from the funeral may be her ‘dead’ husband’s accomplices; they too demand that Reggie give them the missing money since she must know where it is. The five figures run rings around each other and lie endlessly to determine where Charles has hid the stash, while they attempt to appease and dodge CIA big-shot Hamilton.

Shot by Charles Lan, one of Hollywood’s greatest cinematographers, Charade is wonderful entertainment, a glittering and witty feature with a ’60s sensibility. Decked out in a Givenchy wardrobe, Hepburn is a treat, and the film is given a deeper shade of humour by Henry Mancini’s playful score. The radiant Hepburn’s romance with the suave Grant....Read More

PakiUM.com: Strings now become Official Brand Ambassador of Gillette

Pakistani Pop Band Strings has now officially become the brand ambassador of Gillette Razors, a brand of multinational company Procter & Gamble.

The duo of the band, Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood attended a news conference recently and announced this news to the media. Faisal and Bilal who are mostly seen in a very casual look, wearing Jeans and keeping grown beard, were seen in a “Men in Black” style and with “clean-shaved” look. It won’t be unfair to say here that Gillete has made the duo back into life. 

Earlier, Strings band has also become a Brand Ambassador of Levi’s clothing line and Emirates Airline. The band which is now committed to release only Singles and that too for Free, is finalizing its deals with corporate sponsors,......Read More

U.S. open to Afghan peace deal including Haqqani

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday signaled the United States remains open to exploring a peace deal including the Haqqani network, the militant group that U.S. officials blame for a campaign of high-profile violence that could jeopardize Washington’s plans for withdrawing smoothly from Afghanistan.
“Where we are right now is that we view the Haqqanis and other of their ilk as, you know, being adversaries and being very dangerous to Americans, Afghans and coalition members inside Afghanistan, but we are not shutting the door on trying to determine whether there is some path forward,” Clinton said when asked whether she believed members of the Haqqani network might reconcile with the Afghan government.
“It’s too soon to tell whether any of these groups or any individuals within them are serious,” she said in an interview with Reuters.
Inclusion of the Haqqani network in a hoped-for peace deal — now a chief objective in the Obama administration’s Afghanistan policy after a decade of war is a controversial idea in Washington.
Officials blame the group for last month’s attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul and a truck bombing that injured scores of American soldiers.
The State Department is facing heat from Capitol Hill for refraining, at least so far, from officially designating the Haqqani group, which U.S. officials say is based in western Pakistan, as a terrorist organization.
The White House has backed away from assertions from Admiral Mike Mullen, who was the top U.S. military officer until he retired last month, that Pakistani intelligence supported the Haqqani network in the September 13 embassy attack.
But President Barack Obama and others have put their sometimes-ally Pakistan on notice that it must crack down on militants or risk severing a key relationship.
According to media reports, U.S. officials have held meetings with Haqqani network representatives as part of their efforts — which have not yet yielded any visible results — to strike a peace deal, but the State Department declines to discuss details of the reconciliation process.
In recent months reconciliation has become a more prominent feature of Obama’s Afghan strategy even as U.S. and NATO soldiers continued to battle the Taliban and Haqqani militants in Afghanistan’s volatile south and east.
Earlier this year, Clinton advanced a peace deal as a key plank of regional policy for the first time, saying Washington would support a settlement between the Afghan government and those militant groups that meet certain requirements, including renouncing violence and supporting the Afghan constitution.
FIGHTING, TALKING
Despite the conciliatory signals, Clinton said the United States would stick to its military campaign that the White House hopes will make militants more likely to enter serious negotiations.......Read More

Maseeha Shafi Appear in a Hollywood movie

Pakistani fashion model Meesha Shafi is to star in a Hollywood movie “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”. This movie is directed by Mira Nair.
The movie is based on Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling novel ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’. Pakistani fashion model Meesha Shafi will perform alongside Hollywood actors Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber and Kiefer Sutherland. Rest of the cast, of ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, includes Bollywood icons Shabana Azmi, Om Puri and the international project star Riz Ahmed along with Nelsan Ellis, Martin Donovan and Haluk Bilginer.....Read More

The burka debate

IT is a debate that is unending and can go on ad infinitum. The object of this global controversy is the contentious hijab that has had as many supporters as detractors. The arguments draw references from religion, culture, social norms, human rights and, above all, feminism.
Last week, Canada’s largest circulated newspaper, had a catchy headline for its lead story: ‘Hijab or dejab?’ Women who defended the hijab asserted they were not coerced by their male relatives. To cover their hair was purely their own choice — an act of defiance, a political statement or a spiritual awakening.
Those who had let go of the hijab said they had felt suffocated by it. Others said after wearing it for some time they had found their identity being defined by the little piece of cloth and they found that unacceptable. Others found nothing to defy because no one ever looked at them “strangely” when they covered their head. One said her school friend had described it as an “interesting fashion”.
So why does the brouhaha go on? It is not clear what Tariq Ali, the author and activist, was referring to when he said at the annual Marxism festival in London, “I’ve spoken to many young women who wear the hijab and aren’t even religious — they do it because they’re told they can’t do it. In France particularly this is the case.”
To the best of my knowledge, no one has been stopped selectively from wearing a hijab in public places in any country — if we follow the finer definition of the term. The hijab, the most popularly worn by Muslims in the West, just covers the head and neck. Since 2004, French public schools have prohibited the use of all religious symbols — the hijab, the crucifix and the Jewish yarmulka — on their premises.
They militate against the constitutional secular traditions, the French claimed. What has, however, been the subject of a ban in France is the niqab that veils the entire face with a small area around the eyes left uncovered and the “most concealing” burka that “covers the entire face and body leaving a mesh screen to see through”.
The law that came into effect in April 2011 in France does not target the wearing of a headscarf, hijab or sunglasses “as long as the accessories do not prevent the person from being identified”, the French interior ministry said in a statement. It is the all-concealing head coverings, the niqab and the burka, that are the focus of the law.
Critics have interpreted the law as an expression of Islamophobia and are now waging a battle against it. Those so shrouded — and I had seen quite a few in the pre-ban years in France — have virtually disappeared from public view. There have been a few protests but they have not created more than a few ripples. I chanced to see one burka-clad woman being booked in a metro station in Lyon. Her face was fully concealed and obviously she could not be identified. She was probably testing the waters. The police requested her to step aside and she was probably fined.
What is intriguing about the spirited defence of this act of defiance is that this adolescent behaviour has no takers back home among those professing progressive views. Many of us hardly see it as a human rights issue.
For us, security is more vital and today an individual shrouded in a burka can be an unsettling sight even though women in all-concealing garbs have been a part of our cultural environment for ages. That tolerance has melted away ever since Maulana Abdul Aziz tried to escape disguised as a woman in a burka from the besieged Lal Masjid in 2007. Masked men committing crimes have also contributed to the fear of the burka.
Security concerns should require everyone to be identifiable. Of what use will the cameras installed on street corners be if all they can film — when they are working — are hooded women (presumably) in niqabs? If you can have laws prohibiting people from riding in vehicles with tinted glass, how can masked people not be considered a security risk?
For many years now, .....Read More