Munna Bhai in America

Circuit: Bhai America mein address puchega tho kya bolne ka
Munna: Dhobhi Ghaat
Circuit: Bhai English mein bolneka tho?
Munna: Washington

Circuit: Bhai yeh kaisa bolne ka - chale hat hawa aane de
Munna: simple hain yaar - Hey u move sideways let the air force come in.

Circuit: Bhai tum tho pass ho gela bhai
Munna: Yes bro i have just passed away

Munna: Abhi tu bol eh mamu bheja mat phira
Circuit: Mother’s brother dont rotate my brain

Munna: Yeh bol idhar aa khajhur detha hun karcha pani {kajhur yaane date}
circiut: Come with me for a date i will pay u

Munna: Ab yeh bol apun ko bahut sardi ho gayi hai
Circuit: I got big winter in small nose.

Tendulkar should consider quitting,

Tendulkar should consider quitting

Look into that mirror, Sachin

Ian Chappell

Time to retire for Sachin Tendulkar? Ian Chappell thinks so © Getty Images

In the fallout from India's early demise at the World Cup one of the major decisions will concern the future of Sachin Tendulkar.

Before anybody else makes a decision on what will happen to Tendulkar the player himself has to have a good long look in the mirror and decide what he's trying to achieve in the game. At the moment he looks like a player trying to eke out a career; build on a glittering array of statistics. If he really is playing for that reason and not to help win as many matches as he can for India then he is wasting his time and should retire immediately.

When you think that for a decade Brian Lara and Tendulkar went head to head in a wonderful battle of stroke play to establish who was the best batsman in the world, they are now worlds apart in effectiveness.

Lara's quick-footed tip toe through a terrific innings against a good Australian bowling attack when the rest of the West Indies top order succumbed easily was in direct contrast to Tendulkar's stumbling effort in the crucial Sri Lanka match. The amazing thing about Lara's brilliant career is the fact that he hasn't changed his style at all over seventeen years. This is a credit to his technique and mental strength, as the aging process generally makes a player more progressively conservative.

Tendulkar hasn't worn as well; his last three or four years have been a shadow of his former self. His double century at the SCG in January 2004 was a classic case of a great player really struggling. He came to the crease out of form and despite amassing all those runs and batting for in excess of ten hours he was no closer to recapturing his best touch than he was when he started out. It was a tribute to his determination but it was a sad sight to see; there are enough average players around that you don't won't to see a class one reduced to that level.

Tendulkar hasn't been as lucky as Lara; the Indian batsman has suffered a lot of injuries in this period where his play has deteriorated and there is nothing that melts your mental approach quicker than physical handicaps. Lara has been relatively free from injury and he certainly doesn't have the weight of numbers riding on his shoulders that Tendulkar does.

However, the population of the Caribbean might be small but they are extremely demanding. Despite all the fuss and the odd controversy that has surrounded Lara's career he has remained himself; this is my game and that is how I play. For whatever reason Tendulkar hasn't been able to maintain his extremely high standards for the last few years and unless he can find a way to recapture this mental approach he's not doing his team or himself any favours.

If Tendulkar had found an honest mirror three years ago and asked the question; "Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the best batsman of all?" It would've answered; "Brian Charles Lara." If he asked that same mirror right now; "Mirror, mirror on the wall should I retire?" The answer would be; "Yes."

Source

© Cricinfo

Abrar Ul Haq's "Parveen" Causing Trouble

This news appears in the daily Nawaiwaqt Lahore, and it talks about how singer Abrar-ul-Haq’s song titled ‘Parveen’ caused a verbal and physical brawl between two groups of people in the town of Pattoki. One group was playing this song loud and the other group didn’t like it too much as they had three women named Parveen living in their households.

Click Here to download this Song.


Song From : Apniisp

Jamia Hafsa’s Offensive on a Divided Society

The pictures coming out of Islamabad are not good. Not good at all.

Here is yet more evidence - as if we needed more evidence - of a society at war with itself.

The hostage-taking by women students from Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad of the residents of a house that they allege is a brothel is not just another act of vigilantism and a breakdown of governance; it is also a manifestation of a nation divided against itself. Coming at a time when the legitimacy of the government is at its lowest after the recent fiasco of the Chief Justice’s removal, the powers in Islamabad seem to have little ability and even less stomach to address the criminality of this act given their own . What we are seeing now are the signs of a society without direction, a state without control, a government without legitimacy.

The result seems to be laathi raaj; quite literally. If one believes that the violent and coerced imposition of any one view - conservative or liberal; secular or religious - is wrong, then one has to reject all laathis. One has to be as opposed and as appalled at the laathis (sticks) being wielded by the burqa-clad women on Jamia Hafsa as one was a few weeks ago to the laathis wielded by the police at lawyers and media offices a few weeks ago.

Don't Support South Africa in The World Cup

Herschelle gibbs, a South African player did thison day 4 of test 1.He got banned for some matches after doing this. overheard on the stumps microphone shouting that the Pakistani supporters were behaving “like bloody animals” and something should be done about the “f Pakistanis”.

SED displays: A possible LCD/Plasma display successor

This article is about a new type of display technology revealed relatively recently. I have been hearing about it (rather reading about it) a lot and I thought with all the flashy LCDs and plasma screens out there, there has to be something that is a cut above the rest. Don't bother to check out availability, there is still some time until it becomes affordable and widely available.

Over the last three to four years, the computing world has witnessed a dramatic shift from the traditional CRTs to LCDs. This occurred in part due to the sleek design, low weight, less bulk and low power requirement achieved with the latter which hits snags in CRTs. Also LCD shows much greater potential to build larger and larger panels (Samsung actually introduced a 82'' panel in March 2005) without any drop in clarity.

One might think with all this LCD/plasma buzz, CRT tech is obsolete. Not really; just imagine if you had a CRT with the same dimensions of LCD, with clarity and brightness of CRT or beyond it. This thing is called a SED display with SED standing for Surface Conducting Electron Emitter Display and was first introduced by Canon Inc.

Let's first check out how this thing works. First it is important to note that in a traditional CRT you have got three electron beams of different energy scanning a phosphorescent screen at a rate of say 60 Hz. These beams are emitted by a hot CRT cathode and they pass straight through a perforated anode to the screen. When the electrons in these three beams hit a certain pixel in the screen containing the red, green and yellow phosphors, light is emitted. The electron beams are moved around from row to row top to bottom and continuously either in interlaced or progressive mode depending upon the signal. These glowing points are interpreted by our brain as an image.

In a SED monitor you have not one electron beam but millions! And that implies not one but million picture tubes! No, this is not achieved by making millions of picture tubes but by making millions of microscopic structures, called SCEs (Surface Conduction Emitters). A SCE is a microscopic structure consisting of a layer of carbon with a gap in the middle. One half is given a positive voltage, the other a negative. When the SED circuitry delivers a voltage of about 10 V to the SCE, electrons jump from the cathode of the SCE to its anode. A SED monitor is composed of millions of SCEs arranged in a matrix and a phosphorescent screen with vacuum in between. Here you have got a set of three SCEs for every pixel for each of red, green and blue phosphor. This is analogous to the three beams in a color CRT only that here, you have got millions of SCEs for each phosphor for a certain pixel.

So how do we get the image here? What happens is that in the SCE, the electrons that have jumped (actually tunneled) to anode are picked up by the phosphorescent screen that is charged positively. The electrons go straight for the phosphorescent screen after passing through a very thin aluminum sheet. They strike the phosphors and these glowing dots create the perception of picture.

It is also interesting to note that as opposed to CRT which creates illusion of picture by scanning the screen either in progressive or interlaced mode and building up the picture row by row, SED monitor builds up the entire picture instantaneously at once. This is due to the obvious lack of the old way of scanning the screen via the three beams which build the picture on the screen in a raster pattern. All the SCEs are activated at once to create a complete image.

Interestingly any part of the screen that should appear black does so exactly as the SCE corresponding to that pixel is not activated. So what are the specifications? Well, the specifications that I have been able to glean from the internet for a 36" prototype display are:

Resolution: 1280x720 pixels (a aspect ratio of 16:9)
Response time: < 1 millisecond,
Contrast: 10,000:1
Peak brightness: 450 nits (candela/metre squared)
Power consumption: ~80-100 W

So how do these specs compare with a LCD display? Well one obvious difference is response time which in LCDs is typically 8-16 milliseconds. Such a long response time in LCDs is responsible for blurring or ghosting of the image, in case of rapidly moving images while there is no blur in a SED like that of a LCD. Contrast here even exceeds that of a plasma display which in case of plasma is some thing like 5000:1. Brightness of a LCD or plasma display is of the order of 300 nits so here also SED beats them. The power consumption is really great when ompared to plasma and LCD displays. That’s almost one-fourth of what some 42-inch plasma monitors draw and less than half the power demand of same-size LCD monitors using CCFLs.

Canon introduced the concept and began working on it in 1986. Since then, it has taken 20 years for it to come out of the labs. Inspite of the technical expertise that Canon has, the project is of such a nature that mass producing and marketing this product would have been a nightmare. They therefore formed SED Inc, a joint venture with Toshiba in 2004. Since then various prototypes have been shown at several large trade shows such as the CES 2005, CEATAC 2005 and CES 2006.

The technology was first revealed in 2005 and expected to be released to the consumer market in spring 2006. However, it still hasn't made it to the marketplace. With such an innovative technology in place, why are we not hearing about it any more? Why would that be so? The problem lies in its price. At present, a 55" display is rumoured to cost at least US$10,000! Canon and Toshiba have now moved the release date to this year.

Due to such a high price, there is some scepticism about the commercial viability of this technology. It has to fight against the well established LCD and plasma display giants like Matsushita, Sharp, LG and Samsung who roll out thousands of LCD and plasma panels every month. The odds here are that unless another big player comes in the SED business, this technology would be further delayed. And with LCD and plasma industry booming, who indeed will come in the SED display business? The prospects seem tough.

Want to try Winzip 11?

Here's your chance to have a try at Winzip 11. I don't know why they keep releasing new versions. I still haven't moved on from Winzip 9 which is more than enough for my needs.

Anyway, for those interested, the list of new features in Winzip 11 can be found here. For downloading Winzip 11, click here.

Remember that this is a beta release and beta release risks are still there with this software. You can read more about this and the beta license on the download page linked above.

I hope you enjoy it. Share your comments, likes and dislikes about it here. Will you buy it when it is properly released or keep using an older version (or another compression software)? I think I will keep using version 9 for some more time.

Woolmer's body kept in Caribbean

Bob Woolmer had coached Pakistan since 2004 A coroner in Jamaica has ordered that the body of the murdered Pakistan cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, should remain there until an inquest is held. The former England player was strangled in his hotel room hours after Pakistan was eliminated from the World Cup. Pakistan's cricket squad are returning home but two officials will stay, after promising Mr Woolmer's family to remain until everything was sorted...

A Tribute to Bob Woolmer

I Have made this video to Pay tribute to the Greatest coach ever.

Haroon - Jua khela

Haroon's Latest video from his Album "Haroon Ka Nasha"

And now...Munna-Circuit comic books

Director Raj Kumar Hirani and his co-writer Abhijat Joshi have decided not to restrict their two endearing creations - Munna and Circuit - to the large screen. They'll soon be seen as part of a comic book series.

Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi tickled the funny bone of audiences as Munna and Circuit respectively in the hit movies 'Munnabhai M.B.B.S.' and 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai'.

"And why just comic books? We've a large number of offers to turn Munna and Circuit's adventures into animation films, cartoon strips, you name it," Hirani told IANS.

In fact, the blueprint for the comic strips has already been made.

"We've drawn some sketches for Munna and Circuit which would hopefully serve as illustrations in a series of adventures, and we like what we see. If things go well we'll soon be putting out Circuit-Munna comic books for public consumption," said Hirani.

The comic books and the proposed animation films will be marketed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions, which had produced the two films as well.

Arshad is delighted by the idea. "Wow! To actually feature in comic books, like Superman or Spiderman! Imagine what my son Zeke will have to tell his friends in school. 'My father the superhero!'

"But seriously, I've worked very hard on making my character of Circuit as Munna's funny yet poignant right hand man. So, yes, I'd love to be part of the comic books."

I am running out of watches: Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood superstar ShahRukh Khan says that gifting his personal watches to KBC contestants who do not do well was not a marketing gimmick of Tag Heuer.

''It is genuine personal and spontaneous decision. Actually, I am running out of watches,'' SRK quipped, replying to questions during a press conference organised by Tag Heuer, a leading luxury watch brand of which he is a brand ambassador in Mumbai on Sunday.

SRK was gifted a limited edition of SLR Mercedes watch, specially designed on the occasion of Formula One (F1) season which began in Melbourne on Sunday.

Speaking about Tag Heuer's association with F1, SRK said, ''I am delighted that Tag Heuer has created a new watch for this exciting sport. Apart from owning this fantastic watch, I hope to get an opportunity to drive F1 some day.''

Recalling that he had driven a F3 car during the shooting of ‘Baazigar’, SRK revealed his sporty side when he said he follows the sport, which his children were interested in playing.

''We play hockey and soccer in our garden in the evenings. As they are growing older, the game is also getting serious,’’ he said adding that he feels India is assured of a semi-final berth at the cricket world cup and has a huge chance of winning the tournament.

Woolmer's death 'suspicious' - police

Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner, addresses the media regarding the death of Bob Woolmer © Getty Images

Police are now treating Bob Woolmer's death as suspicious, Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner of police, told a news conference in Jamaica. A full-scale investigation has been ordered.

"We have already informed the Woolmer family of these developments," Shields said. "Having met with the pathologists, our medical personnel and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious."

However, unconfirmed reports suggested Woolmer might have been murdered because marks were found around his neck.

Shields said the police had been in close contact with the Pakistan team management, the Cricket World Cup committee and the ICC, but he would not speculate on the cause of Woolmer's death. "It would be inappropriate for me to make any comment at this stage as we have still not got the final official report from the pathologists," he said.

Talat Ali, the Pakistan team manager, told Geo TV they had not been given full details by the police. "They have not made any reference to poisoning or anything yet, as some reports are suggesting," Ali said. "There is no information at all that this poison could be involved. Investigations will carry on so we cannot come to any conclusions right now."

Ali denied Pakistan were not allowed to travel. "There are no police restrictions on the team," he said. "As planned for now, we are flying back on Saturday."

Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room on Sunday and pronounced dead shortly after at a Jamaica hospital. Woolmer's family said after speaking to doctors they expected his death came from a stress-related heart attack.

His wife Gill told CNN-IBN, an Indian news channel, he did not complain of any chest pain after the match. An autopsy completed on Tuesday was inconclusive, but investigators were waiting for the results of toxicology tests to see if they helped determine the cause.

Source

© Cricinfo

World Cup: Pakistan captain Inzamam quits one-day cricket

Inzamam-ul-Haq announces his retirement from one-day cricket at a press conference, Kingston, Jamaica, March 18, 2007

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Inzamam-ul-Haq will quit one-day cricket and stand down as captain after the World Cup, citing Pakistan's first-round exit and the sudden death of coach Bob Woolmer as his main reasons.

Playing at his fifth World Cup, the Pakistan captain scored 36 in the opening loss to host West Indies and 1 in the shocking upset to Ireland.

The 37-year-old batsman said the upcoming match against Zimbabwe will be his last one-day international, although he plans to keep playing test cricket.

"This is the last one-day international I'm playing," he told a news conference Sunday, hours after Woolmer was pronounced dead in hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel room.

Ireland upset 1992 champion Pakistan by three wickets on Saturday, prompting immediate calls for both Inzamam and Woolmer to resign.

"I apologize to the people of Pakistan because I disappointed them," Inzamam said, speaking in Urdu. "The players tried our best and worked very hard in this World Cup.

"I just offer my apologies to the Pakistani nation and to my family because they were with me all the time, helping."

Inzamam said he had wanted to speak to Woolmer in the wake of the loss to discuss his future, but the pair agreed the discussion could wait a little while.

"That talk never came," he said. Woolmer's death, "is a big shock for me."

Inzamam has compiled 8,813 in 119 test matches at an average of 50.07 and a high score of 329. In 377 limited-overs internationals, he has amassed 11,702 runs at an average of just under 40.

The rest of the players in the Pakistan squad were standing on the fringes of the news conference when Inzamam made the announcement, all looking dejected.

Woolmer, 58, had been coaching Pakistan since 2004. He led South Africa to the semifinals of the 1999 World Cup and played 19 test matches for England.

Pakistan officials said Woolmer was diabetic and had mentioned he was having trouble breathing at night before he left for the World Cup.

Jamaica police said a post mortem would be conducted to investigate the cause of death.

Pakistani Team reacts over Bob Woolmer's Death

Mushtaq Ahmed gets emotional on hearing of Bob Woolmer's death, Kingston, Jamaica, March 18, 2007

Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq are in shock after hearing of Bob Woolmer's death, Kingston, Jamaica, March 18, 2007

An ambulance is parked the Pakistan team hotel where Bob Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room, Kingston, Jamaica, March 18, 2007

Talat Ali, the Pakistan team manager, leaves the hospital after announcing the death of Bob Woolmer, Kingston, Jamaica, March 18, 2007

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer dies during World Cup

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer died in hospital on Sunday soon after being found unconscious in his hotel room.

Woolmer, 58, played 19 test matches for England and also coached South Africa.

Pakistan team spokesman Pervez Jamil Mir said Woolmer was pronounced dead within an hour of being taken to hospital after being found on the floor of his room at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

Woolmer was survived by his wife, Gill, and two sons.

The cause of death was not immediately released.

Pakistan lost in an upset to Ireland at the Cricket World Cup on Saturday, ending its chances of advancing in the tournament.

After the loss, Woolmer that he would reassess his future in international cricket, but would like to continue coaching in some capacity.

International Cricket Council chief executive said Woolmer would be missed by "thousands and thousands of friends within cricket."

"We are greatly saddened by Bob Woolmer's passing," Speed said. "He was a great cricket man. His life was devoted to cricket. He played, coached and commentated on the game all of his life."

Speed said the ICC was working in conjunction with the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan government on a tribute to Woolmer

Mir said the Pakistan Cricket Board was waiting for Woolmer's relatives to arrive before making any arrangements.

"The Pakistan team and management are shocked and saddened by his passing," Mir said. "His next of kin have been informed and we extend our deepest condolences to his family."

Woolmer worked as a coach on three continents, including a stint for the ICC helping developing cricket nations.

Clive Lloyd, who led the West Indies to the first World Cup title in 1975 and is manager of the current team, said Woolmer "was a great guy and a really great coach."

"It's sad that such a tragedy should take place in the World Cup — I feel sad for his family."

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier said Woolmer would be remembered fondly as a player for his 149 against Australia in 1975.

"The passing of Bob Woolmer in Jamaica today casts a sad shadow over the 2007 Cricket World Cup," he said. "Bob was one of the world's greatest coaches and as a player his innings of 149 lasting more than 8 hours against (Dennis) Lillee and (Jeff) Thomson demonstrated not only how talented a player Bob was but also his pride in wearing the England sweater."

But is impact as a coach was more immense, Collier said.

"Bob will be best remembered as one of the world's leading coaches," he said. "He embraced innovation and was at the forefront of many new developments in the game."

Lowest point in Pakistan cricket, say former players

Pakistan's cricket fraternity reacted with shock and anger to the team's three-wicket loss to Ireland in their group stage match in Jamaica with Intikhab Alam, the former player and coach of Pakistan, calling it the "lowest point in Pakistan cricket". Ireland bowled out Pakistan for 132 and then chased the score with 32 balls remaining to send Pakistan crashing out of the World Cup.

"Irish players rose to the occasion, they meant business and looked more motivated than us,'' Alam told Associated Press. With Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan's key fast bowlers, not making the squad due to injuries, the side had been considerably weak going into the opening match of the World Cup. But Alam refused to put down injuries as an excuse for the loss. "No matter who was playing for us and who was not [playing], the bottom line is that still we had more experienced players in our ranks than Ireland,'' he insisted.

Rashid Latif said that as a former Test captain he felt ashamed by Pakistan's defeat. "It's [the defeat] a crime with cricket, what else do they want? It's better they should leave,'' Latif said. "All the [Pakistan] former Test cricketers kept pointing toward the weaknesses in our team for months before the World Cup but nobody listened. I was not expecting such a shameful performance. I have no words to describe it.''

Sarfraz Nawaz, the former Paksitan fast bowler, said that if the team couldn't beat Ireland then Pakistan cricket was in the wrong hands. "It's better that all who are responsible for this should be shown the door.," said Nawaz. "The wicket was suitable for seamers and Ireland won the crucial toss, but we lost fair and square without putting up a fight.''

The chief selector, Wasim Bari, agreed that the loss was disappointing but refused to comment any further on the matter. Meanwhile Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan board, expressed deep disappointment over Pakistan's loss to Ireland in their group stage match in Jamaica. Ashraf said that having taken over as chairman of the ad-hoc committee less than six months ago, he and the board had decided to maintain continuity in order to strengthen the team. He added that a comprehensive new plan for the development of cricket in Pakistan would be launched after the World Cup.

The ad-hoc committee is scheduled to meet on March 31, after the team returns, in Lahore to discuss a future plan to build a strong cricket setup.

Wikkid - Pakistan’s First Channel for Children

Salman Taseer, Daily Times publisher and World Call Group chairman, announced launching of ‘Wikkid’, the first satellite TV channel in Pakistan for children that would start transmission in May.

Explaining the contents and programmes of the channel, he said it would be a first entertainment, informative and educative channel of the country to inculcate progressive and liberal ideas in the young generation so that they could fight extremist tendencies in society.

The channel will air these programmes: Cricket Crazy, a 50-minute show on cricket skills; Chooti Duniya, a puppet show; Natty’s Style School, a half-hour show offering tips on how to keep personal looks perfect with interviews of fashion designers; Meet Sangeet, a half-hour music show in which children would participate; Quiz Show; Kitchen Clash, a fun, chilled-out cooking show on the lines of BBC’s “Ready Steady Cook!”; Quran Stories, a half-hour show scripted and hosted by Sami Muzaffar; Street Smart, a half-hour reality show, following the trail of two spirited 13 years olds; Snake Pit, a thrilling 50-minute fun show originated from a novel The Snake Pit; Travel Bug, a half-hour entertaining and informative show; Sindbad Adventures on the Seven Seas, detailing conquests and encounters of Sindbad the Sailor; Haaye School, offering a hilarious look at school life; Aflatoon, a story of a character Sunny, who always finds himself in trouble; Gup Shup with Laila, a half-hour talk show; Adventure Foundation Pakistan Diaries, covering various trips of kids all over the world; Kahani Corner, a half-hour show in which Sumbul Ansari assumes the persona of a loving Dadi, grandma; Bachon ki Adaalat, presenting trial of a pop celebrity in a court with judges and lawyers and Morning Show, which would have top-ten lists of latest films and music, video game reviews, tips on various topics, all interspersed with interesting chit chat.

Lawyers Mobbed by Punjab Police

The All Pakistan Lawyers Convention was held under the auspices of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), attended by approximately 3,000 lawyers, some political leaders, NGOs and even some students and faculty members from LUMS.

The Convention commenced at 10:00 a.m. at the Karachi Shuhada Hall of the LHCBA and the LHCBA Courtyard, both packed to capacity. The plan was that, after the convention, the lawyers would take out a peaceful procession to the Punjab Assembly and back. At about 11:00 a.m., lawyers started to march out from the LHCBA courtyard and towards the GPO Gate of the Lahore High Court (LHC). They were still in the precincts of the LHC parking lot when the police, without provocation, started teargassing the lawyers. Teargass shells were fired indiscriminately into the crowds, injuring dozens of people and temporarily incapacitating hundreds. Teargas cannisters were falling even inside the courtyard of the LHCBA.






Apparently, the entire Lahore High Court had been encircled by hundreds of riot police in full riot gear and with special riot control armoured cars with mounted teargas launchers. All the gates had been chained and barbed wire placed on all the gates. The 3,000 or so lawyers were trapped inside the Lahore High Court complex.

The lawyers, then attempted to leave from the other end, the Fane Road Gate of the Lahore High Court. This too was blocked. Then suddenly all hell broke loose with teargas cannister being launched into the LHC complex from all sides. For 3 long hours, the siege continued with teargas cannisters being fired into the LHC Complex at regular intervals. Each time the lawyers attempted to approach any gate, they were teargassed indiscriminately. One police cannister hit a lawyer’s car parked in the LHC parking area, and completely set fire to it.

The lawyers then started grabbing the still smoking teargass cannisters and throwing them back into the riot police from where they came. It looked less like the Lahore High Court and more like the Gaza Strip. Some lawyers and police also began exchanging bricks. A group of labourers working on the new LHC extension across Fane Road, not wanting to miss the action, also started throwing bricks at the Police from atop under-construction building. A group of policemen then went up and thrashed the labourers. Police also entered into nearby lawyers’ offices on Turner Road and ransacked the offices.

The Lahore High Court was under siege and under attack for 3 hours. The police indiscriminately fired teargas cannisters into the LHC, which also damaged some parts of the LHC Building. The police had no regard for the sanctity of the Lahore High Court and its over 100-year old building, which is a provincial high court, a part of the superior judiciary and a part of Pakistan’s heritage.

At around 2:00 p.m., after getting orders from above (reportedly on the intervention of some High Court judges), the police backed off. The lawyers then marched out of the LHC complex and had a peaceful sit-in on GPO Chowk, which lasted about an hour. This proved that the lawyers were no threat to the peace and would have peacefully protested had they been allowed to go out in the first place.

Once again, the Punjab Police has shown its high-handedness and needless and excessive use of force to prevent lawyers from exercising their right to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest, a right which is guaranteed to all citizens of Pakistan by the Constitution.

Inquiry after Pakistan police raid TV office

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani authorities ordered an inquiry on Friday after policemen smashed up the offices of a television and newspaper group during protests over the sacking of the country’s chief justice.

Television footage showed riot police in helmets entering the office of private Geo Television in Islamabad and breaking windows. The channel said police also “manhandled” its staff.

“We have ordered an inquiry into this very unfortunate incident,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told AFP. “The government believes in the freedom of the press.”

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao however said activists from an Islamic group grabbed a policeman and took him into the Geo building.

“The police chased those miscreants in order to recover the police constable,” Sherpao told AFP. “It was not an attack on Geo, it was not an attack on the media.”

The incident came a day after Geo said Pakistani regulators had ordered it to stop airing its flagship daily news programme “Today with Kamran Khan” until further orders.

“The police damaged our infrastructure. This attack on the freedom of the press is unprecedented in the 60-year history of this country,” Khan, who presents the programme, said after the police incident on Friday.

The offices of The News, an English language-daily, and the Urdu-language Jang, which are both part of the same media group as Geo, were also damaged, sources at the group said.

Another channel and an international watchdog accused the government of fresh attempts to censor their coverage of the row over Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was sacked by President Pervez Musharraf on March 16.

“We have been told not to make Chaudhry a hero and to avoid undue coverage of lawyers’ protests,” said Talat Hussain, head of the news section of Aaj television, another private station.

“We are working under tremendous pressure. We are being threatened with being taken off air or even with the cancellation of our licence if we give undue coverage to the chief justice trial,” Hussain said.

Irfan Ahmed, a cable operator in the southern port city of Karachi, said he had been told to “cut off news channels which violate the instructions.”

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders this week slammed Pakistan for allegedly suspending broadcasts by Geo and Aaj after they screened footage on Monday of clashes between police and lawyers.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced the government’s moves.

“We call on President Musharraf to live up to his stated commitment to freedom of the press and stop what appears to be retaliation against Geo TV for critical coverage,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator.

Shilpa Shetty to meet the Queen

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who gained much renown in Britain after a racism row during her participation in the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ reality show, is all set to meet Queen Elizabeth.

The event is a service at the Westminster Abbey marking Commonwealth Day, and includes a speech by Shetty. She will be presented to the Queen, who will also address the gathering.

She is one of five representatives chosen to share their experiences of respect and understanding. The other four are - a former child soldier from Biafra, a nurse from Northern Ireland, a human rights activist from Fiji and a women’s rights activist from Jamaica.

The multi-faith event is expected to be attended by over 2,000 people including the Commonwealth secretary-general, foreign dignitaries and about 1,000 young people from Britain.

The ceremony is an annual event to mark Commonwealth Day, which is always celebrated on the second Monday in March.

Police raid Geo News office in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Police entered in Geo News office building, shattered glasses and started shelling within office premises.

Large number of policemen entered in the office manhandled newsmen and other staff members of Geo News.

Policemen shoved senior journalist Hamid Mir. They baton-charged and injured several staff members. Policemen also damaged vehicles of Geo News.

Police officials also demanded closing camera coverage of protests in Islamabad.

Staff members offered resistance to police aggression to save the premises.

Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani rushed to Geo News office soon after incident.

While talking in a Geo News programme ‘Kamran Khan Ke Saath,’ Durrani termed the incident as ‘unnecessary.’

He said that the incident by the police force was totally irrational and vowed stern action against the Islamabad police.

Anything is possible in China

Anything is possible in China!

.

.

.

.

.

Narrow habitation

Can you actually stay in a house with 1 meter WIDE by 10 meters TALL?

A house calls attention in Madre de Deus, Brazil; it have three floors and even the builder had faith in what he built. Helenita, the designer and the owner of the house who is now living happily inside.

.

.

At first, the municipality refused, but in the end with the plan allowed the construction, that became a touristic spot of the small town of 12 thousand people.

There are benches in front of the house where the tourists can spent some time watching the unusual building. Some, more curious, ask to go inside and take pictures, in which Helenita (woman in yellow) allows. The couple now have plans to build a 4th floor, “open, for leisure, with barbecue and everything”.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Pakistan ban English at news conferences

Pakistan have been banned from speaking in English at World Cup news conferences to prevent players from being misquoted, a team spokesman has said.

Pervez Mir, a former Pakistan international and the team's press liaison officer during the World Cup, confirmed that players would only speak in Urdu, an attempt to also promote tourism in Pakistan.

"This decision was taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board because it is our national language and because 2007 is our National Tourist Year so we are promoting Pakistan as well," Mir was quoted as saying by Reuters. "This is the perfect platform to promote and expose our national language, so there's nothing more to it."

Mir said that Danish Kaneria had been misquoted in Trinidad after the Pakistan team were evacuated from their hotel following a gas leak. "A journalist spoke to Danish Kaneria and asked him what he thought about the gas leak and he tried to play the incident down and said 'It happens'.

"But when the report came out the journalist quoted him saying 'It happens at home as well'. So we would rather avoid these kinds of incidents and speak in Urdu at official times, as well as for reasons of promoting Pakistan."

Britney Spears Rehab Trouble

Britney Spears seems to be seeing more of Kevin Federline now than she did when they were living under the same roof. On Wednesday, K. Fed once again dropped by to see his fuzzyheaded estranged wife at Promises, the Malibu, Calif., rehab facility where she's been holed up -- apparently quite unhappily -- for the last couple of weeks.

According to Us Weekly, the meltdown-suffering mom of Sean Preston, 18 months, and Jayden James, 6 months, is "miserable" at the spalike center, with an insider claiming she "has been getting in tons of trouble."

Among her alleged infractions: making too many phone calls and venturing out to pick up some new togs (she reportedly spent $3,000 at Los Angeles boutique Intuition during an online retail-therapy session).

Despite Promises' nontough love approach, Brit still seems to be having a tough time working through the first of the 12 steps.

"She's convinced she's suffering from postpartum depression and does not think she has an alcohol or drug problem," tattles the snitch. "She's angry at her family and her manager for pressuring her to enter the program. She feels she was ambushed."

Adds another source to the mag, "She's going crazy because she feels like she has no control," with another revealing that her doctors are "in shock at what bad shape she's in."

Meanwhile, when not visiting his spiraling spouse and looking after their tots, Federline has been taking care of business (no, really, he has business).

The New York Post reports K. Fed has approached several weekly magazines to offer the "exclusive" on his upcoming 29th birthday bash at a Los Angeles hot spot for a mere $25,000, which would maybe cover a month's maintenance on the Ferrari he was spotted tooling around town in a few days ago.

"The celebrity magazine will get its logo on the red carpet and exclusive coverage inside the club," a mole tells the paper. "But who cares? Everyone will have access to the red carpet. And there aren't even any big celebs confirmed for inside the party."

No word on whether Britney's mom, Lynne, has scored an invite to the party, but People reports she and her son-in-law have bonded over the pop starlet's problems.

"Everyone is making comments how sad it is that it took this to get everyone together," says a K. Fed source. "There was a lot of distance between the families, but it seems now they all have a common goal, which is to help Britney get better."

And finally, because no Britney item is complete without allegations of questionable parenting decisions and public flashing, a report has emerged of a supposed shopping spree Spears went on before to her first attempt at rehab.

TMZ.com says that during the singer's stopover in Miami last month, she looked "out of it" while browsing the reasonably priced fashions at a local BeBe outlet.

A spywitness alleges that Britney not only "handed over" Sean and Jayden to staffers while she shopped, but she nixed a dressing room in favor of doffing her duds in the "middle of the store," where she also "tried out some new dance moves for her shocked audience." (None of whom apparently had a camera phone on hand.)

Two successive warm-up wins boost Pakistan’s morale for World Cup

ST. AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD: After winning both of their warm-up matches, Pakistan have gained sufficient confidence to enter the World Cup, the mega event of cricket.

Pakistan will play against the West Indies, the hosts of the tournament, in the inaugural match of the World Cup on next Tuesday. The match will be played in Bridge Town, Barbados.

“I am delighted that all my batsmen and bowlers have got some good practice,” Inzamam-ul-Haq, captain of the Pakistan cricket team said.

“This is an ideal time to enter the main competition,” he added.

Younis eases Pakistan past South Africa

Younis Khan's 79 guided Pakistan to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over South Africa on a difficult pitch in Trinidad. The match was stopped during South Africa's innings when the batsmen complained about the surface, but Pakistan did not have any difficulty in reaching their total of 200 for 3 with 5.3 overs remaining.

"It was a tale of two pitches," Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, told AFP. "When we batted it was wet and difficult, but later the pitch dried up and became easier."

Pakistan's reply started poorly, Imran Nazir falling for 0, before Younis and Mohammad Hafeez eased towards the target. Hafeez was caught behind off Charl Langeveldt one short of a half-century, but Younis did not let the slip-up affect him and he managed the proceedings until departing lbw to Graeme Smith's offspin at 157 for 3. He hit nine fours and a six during his 98-ball innings.

Mohammad Yousuf (48) and Shoaib Malik (16) made sure of the victory to continue Pakistan's strong preparation. After winning both of their warm-ups, the side is ideally placed before the tournament-opening match against West Indies on Tuesday. "I am delighted that all my batsmen and bowlers have got some good practice," Inzamam-ul-Haq said. "This is an ideal time to enter the main competition."

South Africa have some problems after their batting also struggled in the match against Ireland, but Arthur said there was no panic from the No. 1-ranked side. "These are just practice games," he said, "and I hope we do well when the main competition starts."

Loots Bosman provided the glue with a battling half-century to lift South Africa to a modest total after they had earlier come unstuck on the tricky pitch. Pakistan had them 27 for 3 before a Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince rescue act added 66 for the fourth wicket.

They both fell on 93, leaving South Africa in some difficulty, before Bosman's bashing helped them to 199. Pakistan's bowlers kept plugging away, though, and removed them inside their 50 overs. However, Pakistan would have fancied their chances of containing them for even fewer after Mohammad Sami started by removing the opener AB de Villiers lbw and finding Herschelle Gibbs' edge, while Umar Gul clean bowled Smith for 1.

The match at St Augustine, Trinidad, was held up for nearly ten minutes owing to poor pitch conditions. South Africa were 56 for 3, with Kallis and Prince at the crease, after being put in when the game was stopped following complaints from the batsmen. Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, and Smith, South Africa's captain, came on to the pitch and were involved in discussions with the umpires Peter Parker and Ian Gould.

"The batsmen were not happy with the way the ball was bouncing," an ICC official said, "but the umpires asked them to continue." The interruption was the latest incident in Trinidad to hamper both sides' preparations for the tournament. Earlier in the week the teams were evacuated because of a gas leak at their Hilton hotel, while Pakistan's match against Canada was reduced to a 48-over affair because of a fallen sightscreen.

'I am going through hell' - Shoaib

Shoaib Akhtar is "going through hell" after failing to make it to the World Cup in the Caribbean. He was withdrawn from Pakistan's squad on fitness grounds a week ago, after failing to recover from knee and hamstring injuries.

"I can't describe it in words what it means to miss an event like the World Cup," Akhtar, the pace bowler, told AFP. "I am going through hell. I have been waiting for this event for two years and to play in a cricket-loving region like the Caribbean was my dream. Not being able to play in the World Cup is like taking all my dreams away."

Akhtar said he had played only one match in the West Indies in 2000 and was anxious to play because every paceman wanted to do well in the Caribbean, which is known as a fast bowlers' paradise. Already 31, this is also likely to be his last World Cup, a fact he appeared to confirm. "I wanted to be in the Caribbean and I wanted to help my team win but unfortunately my injury forced me to miss the big event and the chance will never come again."

His new-ball partner Mohammad Asif was also pulled out of the 15-man squad due to an elbow injury, badly hitting Pakistan's chances in the World Cup. Though injuries remain the official reasons for their withdrawal it is understood that continuing doping-related concerns clinched the issue. The pair tested positive last year for Nandrolone in internal dope tests conducted just before the Champions Trophy got underway, but their bans were eventually overturned, much to the chagrin of the global cricket community.

But Akhtar said it was not new that people doubted his injury. "I have always played to the best of my abilities but people have doubted my integrity. My injuries are always doubted as if I am feigning it and I always had to prove that I am unfit. People don't understand. Why would I not the play the game I love?"

He has plans to start training again in two weeks, once the knee injury has healed. "My next target is the Twenty20 World Cup and then we have two good home series against South Africa and Australia, so I will gear up for them."

World Cup trophy damaged in India

The World Cup trophy has been damaged while on display in India, organisers said on Friday.

A gold ring below the coins depicting previous winners of the tournament got detached from the wooden base of the 11-kilogram (24-pound) trophy, made in England at an estimated cost of US$80,000.

The damage was discovered when the trophy, brought to India by one of the global sponsors of the International Cricket Council (ICC), was displayed in Kolkata on Thursday. The trophy was immediately removed from public gaze and is being shipped for repairs to England before being taken to the Caribbean where the World Cup opens on Sunday.

A statement from the sponsors claimed the gold ring came unstuck when the trophy was handed over by the ICC earlier this week. "The lower gold ring of the World Cup was detached from the wooden base when the trophy was received from the ICC," the statement said. "ICC policy does not allow anyone except the official trophy makers to repair/polish the trophy. "Therefore, LG (sponsors) received the trophy with the lower ring detached from the wooden base."

There was no immediate reaction from the ICC. The trophy had been displayed in New Delhi on Wednesday before being taken to Kolkata. The trophy will be presented to the winner of the World Cup final in Bridgetown, Barbados on April 28.

Ganguly likely to miss warm-up match

Sourav Ganguly is likely to miss India's warm-up match against West Indies after injuring his ankle at net practice the day before.

The team management may not wish to take a risk and play a half-fit Ganguly when India is scheduled to play its first match of World Cup - against Bangladesh in Trinidad - in less than ten days time.

India play West Indies in their second warm-up match today at the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica.

Meanwhile India's other opener, Virender Sehwag, has said that the backing he received from Rahul Dravid to be included in the World Cup squad was a huge morale booster and he would like to repay the captain's faith in him by scoring plenty of runs in the tournament.

"I now want to justify the faith in me and live up to the expectations," Sehwag was reported as saying in AFP. "I was confident of staging a comeback and the time I spent away from international cricket helped me get my focus back."

Earlier Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, had said that Sehwag had been selected on Dravid's insistence. "When I was leading India, I never got the team I wanted and I didn't want Rahul to go through the same," Vengsarkar had said. "He insisted on having Sehwag and that made the difference."

Sehwag was included despite scoring just 273 runs in 15 one-day games, including an unimpressive 19 off 23 balls against Sri Lanka a day before the squad was picked on February 12.

However he appeared to regain form with an aggressive 46 in the final match against Sri Lanka five days later. "I'm quite happy with my form now. It's getting better and better with every session in the nets. I want to stay longer at the crease."

Eklavya director gifts Amitabh Bachan Rolls Royce worth Rs. 3.5 Crore

Amitabh Bachchan who has played a royal guard in the film Eklavya directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Vidhu Vinod Chopra got so impressed with Amitabh's brilliant performance in the film that he has decided to gift him a 3.5 crore Rs. Rolls Royce car.

Eklavya is a modern day drama in an old fort in Rajasthan which has Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen & more.

Microsoft chief Bill Gates to visit Pakistan

Microsoft chief Bill Gates has assured that he would visit Pakistan soon. “I have heard and read a lot about Pakistan and I am keen to be there at an early opportunity,” he said in a chat with an English daily. He was in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting.

Responding to a question, Gates said he had received an invitation from Pakistani leaders and he has already accepted it. As soon the schedule is finalised, he would undertake the trip. Gates said that the developing countries should devote their attention to education, alleviation of poverty and eradication of diseases. This could greatly help them to keep pace with the developed world.

“Conflicts and clashes have harmed humanity, while harmony and respect for one another is the way to achieve success and make progress,” he said. Gates said Pakistan is among those countries which are emerging on the information technology map rapidly and it will have its due place in this world soon.

Terming the ongoing reform process and development which Pakistan is making “remarkable,” he said, it would certainly pave the way for Pakistan to reach a place in the world that has been visualised by its leaders.

Gates hoped Pakistan would get it rightful position in the world of IT but it must not overlook its basic strength of agriculture and manpower. By applying modern technology in agriculture, Pakistan can bring about a revolution in its agro-economy. It must give due attention equally to industrialisation and agriculture growth.

[Via]

Aishwarya Rai under fire for ‘marrying’ a tree

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Patna High Court against Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai for marrying trees to overcome astrological differences with her fiancé Abhishek Bachchan.

Lawyer Shruti Singh, who filed the PIL earlier this week, says the ritual promotes untouchability.

“I filed a PIL to stop such practices as reportedly conducted by actor Amitabh Bachchan for his future daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai. It is in violation of Article 17 of the Constitution, which prohibits untouchability. It also violates fundamental human rights,” said Shruti.

Aishwarya is a Manglik (astrologically Mars-bearing), which is believed to have negative consequences for her impending marriage. The actress is said to have married a peepal tree at Benaras, a banana tree at a Bangalore temple and a god’s idol in Ayodhya.

According to Shruti, the fact that Aishwarya had to marry the trees and the idol before marrying Abhishek, who is a non-Manglik, amounts to untouchability.

“The rituals performed by Aishwarya, Amitabh and Abhishek would only promote superstitions and blind faith among common people,” Shruti, who is also a women’s rights activist, said.

Her PIL requests the court to issue a directive to the state government and the Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB) to stop the practice of marrying a Manglik-born bride first with a tree, god or animal prior to her marrying a non- Manglik man.

She has sought a ban on the performance of such marriages at temples in Bihar including Shitla temple in Patna, Baikatpur temple near Fatuha and the Shiva temple at Deoghar.

The activist has also demanded a public apology from the Bachchan family for asking Aishwarya to enter into such false marriages.

“An FIR should be filed against Bachchan, his wife Jaya and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh for encouraging such practices,” Shruti said.

[Via]

United ride their luck closer to title finishing line

LONDON AFP) - Manchester United have taken a huge step towards reclaiming the Premiership title after an unlikely stoppage-time winner over Liverpool allowed them to preserve their nine-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table. Chelsea minimised the impact of United's win by beating Portsmouth 2-0 on Saturday evening. But even though the champions have a game in hand, time is rapidly running out for them to close the gap.

United's 1-0 win was secured when John O'Shea smashed in a rebound after Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina had spilled a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick at the end of a match in which the visitors were, for long periods, on the back foot.

After Ronaldo's late winner at Fulham last weekend, Sir Alex Ferguson's side have now secured two wins from contests in which - even their own manager admits - they deserved to drop points.

"You need that bit of luck to win a championship and that is what we have had in the last two weeks," said Ferguson.

"Without question this is a massive result for us. We were very lucky. Liverpool upset our rhythm a bit and we had a lot of narrow escapes."

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho however declined to repeat the assertion he made last week that United had enjoyed a huge amount of luck this season -- a claim that provoked Ferguson to tell him to "button his lip".

Mourinho admitted: "Of course it is not just luck that they have won so many points. The manager and the players deserve big respect."

Didier Drogba's 29th goal of the season gave Chelsea a first-half lead at Portsmouth.

But they had reason to be grateful to goalkeeper Petr Cech, who produced two superb saves to deny Pompey an equaliser before Salomon Kalou made the points safe, prompting Mourinho to suggest that the head injury Cech suffered earlier this season could end up costing his side a third straight title.

"How many points would Chelsea have if Petr had not been out for four months?" he said.

Arsenal, who must overturn a 1-0 deficit against PSV Eindhoven to stay in the Champions League%2