Seven killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: US drone strike killed at least seven people in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, Geo News reported. According to sources, the unmanned aircraft hit a house in Sokhel area in Mir Ali, killing at least seven people and destroying the house and a vehicle completely.

Pakistan cricket squad leaves for Sri Lanka

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team left for Sri Lanka via Dubai on late Sunday night, Geo News reported. The squad included Muhamamd Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Umer Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Khalid Lateef, Muhammad Sami, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hassan, Saeed Ajmal, Shakeel, Shoaib Malik, Tanveer Sohail, Yasir and Umer Gul. Pakistan will play five one-day, three Test and two T20 matches in Sri Lanka from June 01 to July 12, 2012.

PTI to file petition against NA speaker's ruling: Imran

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan Sunday said his party was going to file a petition tomorrow in the Supreme Court against National Assembly Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza's ruling on Prime Minister Gilani's conviction by the apex court. Addressing a massive public meeting here, Imran Khan said Gilani was no longer a prime minister of the country on moral grounds and that people would come out on streets against the those who were trying to destroy the Supreme Court for protecting their corruption. "PTI will install a system of justice in the country just the way our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the greatest leader of Muslims, did as a first step to bring an end to atrocities," Imran Khan promised the charged crowd waving PTI flags. The PTI chief during his speech punctuated with briefly played party songs, said the days of cruelties were numbered as his party was on its way to rebuilding a new corruption-free Pakistan where law and justice would prevail. He said no investment was not flowing to Pakistan because of bad governance, rampant corruption and theft and promised that PTI would get the overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country. "PTI will improve governance to pave way for investment to come to the country," Imran Khan said. He regretted that people of Pakistan had to pay for power theft by buying expensive electricity and promised to end price hike after coming to power

FB deflates any thought of new T bubble

NEW YORK: The horrendous stock market debut for Facebook suggests investors are not ready to jump in and create another tech bubble despite big expectations for social media, analysts say.

Facebook closed out its first full week of trade with a loss of 16 percent from its offering price of $38, in a huge disappointment after a much-hyped initial public offering worth $16 billion, the biggest for a tech firm.

The stock failed to live up to the anticipation of some who thought investors would be stampeding to get a piece of the network which has 900 million users.

"When you see Facebook share prices tank, it does get people back on to a more foundational basis, in terms of real revenues, real profits," said Nick Landell-Mills at Indigo Equity Research.

Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said investors are being more cautious than during the tech bubble of the late 1990s.

"This is by no means the end of social media. It is going to continue to grow and expand," he said.

But he said that during the tech bubble, "venture capitalists invested $150 billion in two years. In the last two years we invested about $60 billion. There is much, much less money in the system right now. That's critically important."

Gerard Hoberg, professor of finance at the University of Maryland, said he does not expect a new bubble, given today's market sentiment.

"I think it's very healthy and I think people learned the lessons from the 1990s," he said. "It's preventing a bubble from forming."

Facebook appeared to be the driving force in a surge into social media. But some of its social media brethren are also being watched cautiously.

Zynga, the social gaming website which has strong ties with Facebook, has lost some 35 percent, and the online deals firm Groupon has slid nearly 40 percent. But the professional social network LinkedIn has doubled in a year since its IPO.

Heesen said the mixed reaction to these IPOs has taken some of the froth out of the market.

"If Facebook languishes, that does send a signal to others (tech firms) that maybe going public is not the best option -- maybe getting acquired or trying to wait out this volatile period is better," he said.

"The whole social media arena is still ripe for investment," he added, but cautioned there will be "bumps along the road."

Landell-Mills said that even though investors appear unwilling to chase share prices, they will flock to a company that makes real profits, like Apple, up 67 percent in the past year.

"I'd never call Apple a bubble," he said.

The analyst said that Facebook still has a lofty valuation when measured by earnings, unlike some firms such as Google.

"When Google went to its IPO there were some very clear data points which suggested that it added value," he said. "With Facebook, we don't know."

But Hoberg said the market does not have the exuberance of the 1990s.

"People are not going to let a frothy stock keep going, they're pushing back," he said.

He maintained that any new IPO will have to take into account the Facebook fiasco.

"This reaction is so negative, and the underwriters are getting so much bad press that they really cannot afford to have that happen again, so they're going to take steps to underprice the next one even more just to make it so that the investment machine returns to health," he said.

'Love' conquers all in Cannes

 

CANNES: "Love", the wrenching tale of an elderly man caring for his dying wife, scooped top prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, handing a second Palme d'Or to Austria's Michael Haneke.

The jury headed by Italian director Nanni Moretti announced the winner among the 22 films in the awards race at a star-studded gala in the French Riviera city that wrapped up a 12-day world cinema marathon.

Haneke's duo of octogenarian French actors, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, bowled Cannes over in the tale of two retired music teachers whose adoring relationship is tested when she suffers a stroke.

Both actors climbed on stage to accept the award with Haneke, who dedicated it to the many people involved in the film -- and to his wife of 30 years.

"This film is an illustration of the promise we made to each other, if either one of us finds ourselves in the situation that is described in the film," the 70-year-old director told the audience.

Hands-down favourite to win, the French-language "Love" marked a journey into tender, intimate territory for a director better known for exposing the chilling secrets of the soul.

The Austrian took the Palme d'Or three years ago for a very different work, "The White Ribbon" a black-and-white study of malice in a German village on the eve of World War I, which some saw as a parable on the roots of Nazi savagery.

He joins a highly select club of two-time laureates, including US director Francis Ford Coppola, Denmark's Bille August, Serbia's Emir Kusturica, Japan's Shohei Imamura and the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.

Cannes' best actor award went to Danish heart-throb Mads Mikkelsen, searing as a man falsely accused of molesting a child in the psychological thriller "The Hunt".

Best known to international audiences as Le Chiffre in 2006's the James Bond sequel "Casino Royale", Mikkelsen dedicated his prize to director Thomas Vinterberg, back in Cannes 14 years after the incest drama "Festen."

Two Romanian actresses, Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, shared the best actress prize for their roles in Cristian Mungiu's "Beyond the Hills", about a young nun and her friend who falls victim to deadly "exorcism".

Mungiu, who also won this year's screenplay prize, captured the Palme d'Or in 2007 for the Communist-era abortion drama "4 Years, 3 Months and 2 Days".

Mexican Carlos Reygadas took best director prize for the baffling family drama "Post Tenebras Lux", whose Latin title means "after darkness, light" and derives from the biblical Book of Job.

The festival's runner-up prize went to "Reality", an Italian tragicomedy starring a jailed former mafia hitman as a man driven mad by a quest to become a reality TV star, directed by Matteo Garrone.

And Cannes veteran Ken Loach took the third place Jury Prize for his bittersweet comedy "The Angel's Share", about a young offender who discovers a talent for whisky-tasting.

The 75-year-old, who took the Palme in 2006 for "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" about Ireland's independence struggle, was back in Cannes this year with a film in competition for a record 11th time.

The Cannes race was wide open until the last moment of the festival, which saw A-listers from Nicole Kidman to "Twilight" heart-throb Robert Pattinson and his on- and off-screen partner Kristen Stewart stride its famed red carpet.

US director Jeff Nichols made a last-minute splash with his Mississippi-set coming-of-age drama "Mud", about two young boys and a fugitive searching for true love, which premiered to rapturous applause on Saturday.

French director Leos Carax got tongues wagging with the mind-bendingly experimental "Holy Motors" about a man who slips actor-like from one identity to another.

And Frenchman Jacques Audiard made a powerful impression with "Rust and Bone", starring Marion Cotillard as a killer-whale trainer who loses both legs to a tragic accident.

From Australian Andrew Dominik, "Killing Them Softly" told of a mob syndicate up against economic hard times, with a humane hitman played by Brad Pitt, star of last year's Palme winner "The Tree of Life" by Terrence Malick. (AFP)

Kolkata win IPL title for first time

CHENNAI: Kolkata Knight Riders defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets with two balls to spare to win become the Indian Premier League champions for the first time.here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.on Sunday.

Chasing a big target of 191 runs, the Knight Riders achieved their victory in 19.4 overs after a hard contest in the final of the fifth IPL tournament.

Opener Manvinder Bisla top scored with 89 after Kolkata lost their captain Gautam Gambhir for two. He smashed five sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball innings.

He was followed by South African allrounder Jacques Kallis, who made 69 from 49 balls with seven fours and a six.

For Chennai, Australian pacer Ben Hilfenhaus claimed two wickets for 25

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first.

His team piled up 190 for only three wickets in the allotted 20 overs with Suresh Raina (73) and Michael Hussey (54) and Murali Vijay (42) being the main scorers.

Pakistan’s premier sports tv channel Geo Super showed all the matches of this tournament including the final live from the venues in India.

Siachen: Bodies of 2 soldiers found

SIACHEN: The body of two soldiers were recovered from the site of the avalanche in the Gayari sector. Earlier the body of Mohammad Hussain had been recovered late Saturday night.
According to the ISPR, the search operation for soldiers and civilians buried underneath the avalanche continues. The identity of the second soldier has not been established; however his body was discovered at the same spot as Mohammad Hussain’s.

Mohammad Hussain’s funeral prayers were offered on Sunday and he was laid to rest in his hometown.

The search operation which has been underway for almost two months has seen more than 450 rescuers including foreign teams work around the clock despite harsh weather conditions. It was on April 7 that 127 soldiers and 11 civilians were trapped underneath an avalanche in the Gayari sector of Siachen.

Keira engaged to British rocker

  LONDON: British actress Keira Knightley is to marry the singer with rock band the Klaxons, James Righton, the couple announced Friday.
The 27-year-old "Pirates of the Caribbean" star has been dating Righton, who also plays keyboards in the band, since early last year.

"I can confirm that Keira is engaged to be married to James Righton," Knightley's spokeswoman said, declining to give any further details.

Knightley, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for her performance in "Pride and Prejudice", had previously dated her co-star in the film Rupert Friend for several years.

She and Righton, who is currently working on a third album with the Klaxons, have kept a low profile during their 15-month romance, rarely attending celebrity events together.

CSK beat DD to storm into IPL final

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings beat the Delhi Daredevils by 86 runs in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012. With this win, they have qualified for their third straight final.

Delhi captain won the toss and put Chennai in to bat - a move that back-fired terribly. Murali Vijay's sparkling ton mauled the Delhi attack which was without Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan.

Bravo, Raina and Dhoni played cameos to support Vijay and extended Chennai's total to 222 for five.

Chasing 223, Delhi tweaked their opening combination as Mahela Jayawardene walked in with David Warner.

Delhi were jolted early when David Warner was caught at mid-off when he tried to play an extravagant stroke of his countryman Ben Hilfenhaus in the third over.

The move to demote Sehwag to number three didn't work as he was dismissed for one off the bowling of Albie Morkel.

Ross Taylor walked out to partner Jayawardene and they tried to ressurect the innings. They were involved in a 52 run partnership.

Taylor fell Dwayne Bravo in the ninth over when he was dismissed for 24 off 14 balls.

Meanwhile Jayawardene continued to fight and he brought up his fifty with a six off Ravichandran Ashwin. The slide continued at the other end as Andre Russell and Naman Ojha fell after brief outings.

The Sri Lankan skipper's fight came to an end when he was bowled by Ashwin for 55. That wicket effectively ended the Delhi challenge as they slipped to an 86-run defeat.

Mom copped after son's eyes gouged out

MEXICO CITY: A mother in Mexico has been arrested on suspicion of gouging out the eyes of her 5-year-old son during a ceremony.

Police said on Thursday they had arrested seven people, including the boy's parents, after his eyeballs were pulled out during the ritual in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class neighborhood on the eastern flank of Mexico City.

"There was some kind of ceremony inside a house," said Laura Uribe, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors in the State of Mexico, a populous region that borders much of the capital.

She did not give details of what the ritual involved.

The mother is believed to have removed the eyes with her bare hands because the boy refused to close them during the ceremony, police told a news conference.

Officers found the mutilated boy in the house on Thursday morning, before rushing him to a hospital in Mexico City for treatment. (Reuters)

Italy quake destroys 250mn euros cheese

ROME: Sunday's quake in northeastern Italy destroyed more than 300,000 wheels of Parmesan and Grana Padano, a similar cheese, with an estimated value of more than 250 million euros, an industry official said.
"The earthquake was very strong and heavily damaged the structures of many warehouses as well as thousands of tonnes" of the two cheeses, said Stefano Berni, head of a consortium that protects the Grana Padano designation.

"It's a very heavy loss, but there have been no casualties, which is a great relief at this worrying time," he told the ANSA news agency.

An initial estimate of 250 million euros ($320 million) is "very conservative," Berni said, adding that he hoped no further tremors would "further aggravate the state of the already highly damaged and fragile structures."

A wheel of the cheese can weigh up to 40 kilogrammes (90 pounds). (AFP)

Eclipse 'ring of fire' wows Asia, US

LOS ANGELES: Millions turned their eyes to the sky on both sides of the Pacific as a solar eclipse created a "ring of fire" from Asia to the western United States, where it was greeted with whoops in California.

The annular eclipse was visible from parts of China early Monday before moving westwards across Taiwan and Japan, and was continuing across the Pacific on a 13,600-kilometre (8,500-mile) arc ending in Texas late Sunday local time.

"That's was totally awesome," said Geoff Reid, 28, from Santa Cruz, at a huge "viewing party" on a terrace overlooking Los Angeles, after a New Year's Eve-style countdown climaxed with huge cheers at the eclipse's peak.

In Asia, clouds across much of southeastern China prevented a clear view, with some early risers in Hong Kong able to see only a small sliver of the "annular" eclipse and others coming away disappointed.

An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, but is too far from the Earth to block it out completely, leaving the "ring of fire" visible.

However, many in Tokyo got a spectacular sight as the sprawling Japanese capital of 30 million people received its first glimpse of the phenomenon in 173 years.

Commuters from businessmen to schoolchildren stopped on the streets of Tokyo to watch as the eclipse developed, cheering when it became visible.

Japan's major television stations cut live to the once-in-a-lifetime event, which has generated a mini-boom in spending on special tour packages and viewing glasses. Japan Airlines laid on a sold-out observation flight.

Electronics giant Panasonic sent an expedition to the top of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 metres (12,388 feet), to film the phenomenon using solar-powered equipment.

In Hong Kong, a few thousand optimistic early birds gathered on the Victoria Harbour waterfront hoping to catch a glimpse of the spectacle, but heavy cloud cover gave them only a brief window of less than a minute.

Others higher up in Hong Kong got a marginally better view through the clouds, and many of the viewers on the harbourfront resorted to taking photos of each other holding up their protective filters.

Thousands in the western United States were banking on clearer skies as they ventured out at sunset on Sunday.

One of the best spots in North America to see the full ring of fire effect was the tiny town of Kanarraville, Utah, where the local population of 350 was invaded by thousands of eclipse-watchers.

Further west in Los Angeles, thousands were gathered for the viewing party at the Griffith Observatory. Roads were gridlocked and many people hiked up through the Hollywood hills to reach the event.

In the cloudless skies over densely populated southern California, the eclipse peaked at 86 percent of the solar diameter, still blinding to the naked eye, but like a reverse crescent moon when viewed through a solar filter.

The observatory ran out of $2.99 eclipse glasses two days before the event, and on Sunday was only selling larger "solarama" shields, limited to two per family to see the eclipse, the most spectacular in LA for 20 years. (AFP)

12,500 cops to police London Olympics

LONDON: Some 12,500 officers will be deployed daily during the Olympic Games in the country's largest ever pre-planned policing operation, according to the Metropolitan force.

With 67 days to go until the event begins, police revealed that 52 forces from around Britain will provide officers for the operation, which will run from June 4 until September 16, after the close of the Paralympic Games.

There will be around 12,500 officers on duty during peak days with 9,500 operating in London, according to a statement released by police.

Specialist officers trained in search techniques, marine, public order and firearms will be on call along with the mounted sections, dog units and motorcycle escorts.

"Every force is playing its part in delivering a fantastic summer of celebration," said National Olympic Security Coordinator Chris Allison.

"The summer of 2012 will be a busy and challenging time for the British police service, but with confidence and pride I can say we have the officers we need to keep the Games and our wider communities safe and secure," he added.

A security force of more than 40,000 people, backed by a huge intelligence operation, is to guard the Games -- which start on July 27 -- at a cost of £553 million ($877 million, 662 million euros).

Some 13,500 of the security personnel will be from the Ministry of Defence and armed forces, working alongside police and more than 16,000 private security guards and unpaid volunteers.

Security chiefs are believed to be preparing for a range of threats including a "lone wolf" terrorist, riots or cyber-attacks.

In February thousands of emergency personnel held a two-day exercise simulating a terror attack on the Underground train network during the Olympics. (AFP)

Need permanent solution to drone strikes

CHICAGO: President Asif Ali Zardari pressed the United States during a NATO meeting on Sunday to help find a "permanent solution" to US drone strikes that have fueled tensions between the two uneasy allies.

"The president said that Pakistan wanted to find a permanent solution to the drone issue as it not only violated our sovereignty but also inflamed public sentiments," Zardari spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement after the Pakistani leader met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the summit.

The statement did not specify what such a solution might entail.

The tempo of drone strikes, the centerpiece of US strategy to fight militants based in Pakistan, has increased substantially since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.

Zardari also called for the United States to do more to make amends for the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers killed in November by US aircraft along the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan has demanded a high-level apology for that incident, which the White House has resisted so far.

President Zardari accepted a last-minute invitation to attend the NATO summit, focused on outlining a NATO path out of the long Afghan war. There, he is likely to be pressed by Western leaders to crack down on militants attacking Karzai's government and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan defends its record against militants and points out that many of its own soldiers have died in that fight.

Zardari's talks with NATO leaders may be overshadowed by NATO demands that Pakistan reopen ground routes used to supply alliance soldiers in Afghanistan. Pakistan closed those routes after the November border deaths.

It's unclear whether a deal reopening those roads will occur this weekend as US officials had hoped earlier in the week.

Zardari also voiced support for efforts to broker a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban, whose leaders are believed to live in Pakistan.

"The president said that Pakistan strongly supports an intra-Afghan and Afghan-led reconciliation process and believes that no military solution alone can find a permanent resolution to the problem of militancy and extremism," Babar said.

The Obama administration had hoped to make progress by the Chicago meeting in its effort to broker a peace deal. Initial talks were put on hold in March when the Taliban suspended its participation.

Zardari, who arrived in Chicago on Saturday, also met on Sunday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. (Reuters)

Protesters, police clash at NATO summit

CHICAGO: Protesters clashed with riot police Sunday as an anti-NATO protest turned ugly in Chicago when a few hundred demonstrators demanding an end to war ignored orders to clear the streets.

As NATO leaders held talks focused on Afghanistan, officials said up to 2,200 people had marched in the city, but later some protesters faced off with baton-wielding police.

More than a dozen protesters roughly shoved to the street, handcuffed and hauled away as the angry crowd threw water bottles, wooden sticks and anything else to hand at police clad in riot gear.

News crews captured images of protesters bleeding from head wounds, but officials would not provide information about the number of prostesters injured.

Police said 45 people were arrested as of 9:00 pm (0200 GMT) and four police officers suffered minor injuries.

A tight security blanket has been thrown over Chicago, the hometown of US President Barack Obama, which is hosting more than 50 world leaders for the two-day summit.

While police were able to eventually disperse the protesters gathered near the summit, the crowd simply shifted to the central business district where noisy scuffles continued as darkness fell.

The hours-long standoff began after an otherwise peaceful march led by a group of veterans who spoke passionately about their opposition to the war before tossing their medals into the street.

One man marched with a guitar and sang "give peace a chance" while others around him chanted "this is what democracy looks like" and "the people yes! NATO no!"

Police began to move in to clear the streets after the speakers wrapped up, but a core group of several hundred protesters refused to leave.

Tensions grew after several black-clad youth were dragged away by police.

Then officers in riot gear with masks lowered began to march slowly down the streets as a loudspeaker boomed in English and Spanish "Attention! This is the Chicago Police Department. You must disperse to the west."

Five protesters hooked arms and kicked up their feet in a can-can singing "you're sexy, you're cute, take off your riot suit" to no avail.

Fears of violent demonstrations have put Chicago on edge, with some downtown businesses boarding up their windows and others telling office workers to ditch their suits and ties to avoid being hassled.

Four protesters were arrested prior to the march on terrorism charges and accused of plotting to toss Molotov cocktails and attack Obama's campaign office, police stations, banks and the home of Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel.

The city's website was also hit by a cyber attack, police said.

Police and protest organizers had vowed that there will be no repeat of the trouble that erupted at G20 summits in London and Toronto or the riots that scarred Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. (AFP)

Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies at 62

LONDON: Robin Gibb, singer with the legendary British band the Bee Gees, died on Sunday aged 62 after a lengthy battle against cancer, his family said.

"The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said a family statement.

Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb scaled the heights of the pop world in the 1970s with disco hits including "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", and "Night Fever".

The band notched up record sales of more than 200 million since their first hits in the 1960s.

Gibb underwent bowel surgery 18 months ago for an unrelated condition but a tumour was found and he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and the liver.

Back in February, Gibb said he had made a "spectacular" recovery from his treatment, sparking hopes that his cancer was in remission, but recently experienced a sharp deterioration.

The singer fell into a coma last month after contracting pneumonia, but had raised hopes of survival after making another recovery.

Gibb was born on December 22, 1949 on the Isle of Man, the British crown dependency, about half an hour before Maurice.

Soon after the twins were born, the Gibb family moved to Manchester, northwest England, and then to Brisbane in Australia in 1958.

The Bee Gees soon became child stars and had their first hit in 1963, "The Battle of the Blue and Grey", performed on national television.

Gibb's twin brother Maurice died of a heart attack in 2003 following
intestinal surgery.

DJ Paul Gambaccini on Sunday called Gibb "talented beyond even his own understanding".

"Everyone should be aware that the Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music," he said.
"Their accomplishments have been monumental. Not only have they written their own number one hits, but they wrote huge hit records for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Celine Dion, Destiny's Child, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, the list goes on and on."

Gibb was married twice, to Molly Hullis from 1968 to 1980, and to author/artist Dwina Murphy-Gibb and is survived by three children; Spencer, Melissa and Robin-John.

He was made a CBE in the 2002 New Year's Honours List, along with his brothers. (AFP)

Govt. loans from banks amount Rs1000b

KARACHI: The government during the current fiscal year until now has borrowed a whopping amount of over Rs1000 billion from the banking system, Geo News reported.

The date released by the Central Bank stated that the government during the current fiscal year from July to April 2012 has already borrowed an astronomical amount of Rs1059 billion from the banking sector, which as compared to the previous year higher by 74 percent.

The government borrowed from the Central Bank alone more than Rs400 billion due to fall in revenue, losses of the state-run institutions, subsidy on the power generated at high cost and payment of the installment of debts.

The provincial governments reduced their burdens of loans besides the plummeting foreign investments were making the task difficult for the government.

Nato chief will not meet Zardari

CHICAGO: Planned talks between NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and President Asif Ali Zardari were canceled at the last-minute Saturday after the Pakistan leader's plane was delayed.

"This cancelation is due to a scheduling problem," said NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero, on the eve of a two-day NATO summit being held in Chicago.

"Mr Zardari's plane was delayed" which meant the talks with the NATO secretary general could not go ahead as planned, she said.

She added that a bilateral meeting could still be held between the two men before the summit ends on Monday.

Earlier Saturday, the NATO chief urged Islamabad to back efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

Zardari was invited to the summit in Chicago amid expectations that Pakistan will lift a six-month blockade against NATO supply trucks imposed after US air strikes killed 26 Pakistani troops in November.

NATO has also pressed Islamabad to do more to prevent insurgents from taking advantage of the porous Afghan-Pakistani border region to take sanctuary inside Pakistan.

"We can't solve the problems in Afghanistan without the positive engagement of Pakistan," Rasmussen told a policy forum here.

"We have to solve these problems," he said, referring to the safe havens used by insurgents in Pakistan to launch attacks on NATO troops across the border. (AFP)

Black coats stand up against Gilani

RAWALPINDI: Lawyers from across the country on Saturday pledged to back the Supreme Court and jointly passed a resolution to launch a movement to bring down the government of “convicted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani”.


The legal community took the decision in the All Pakistan Lawyers’ Convention (APLC) held under the auspices of the District Bar Association (DBA) Rawalpindi attended by lawyers from all over the country.


Lawyers raised slogans against President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and demanded the immediate resignation of the prime minister, adding that if he did not step down then the legal fraternity would take to the streets to force him out of the office.


In his address, PBC member and former President SCBA Hamid Khan declared a war by lawyers against President Zardari and the convicted Prime Minister Gilani. He appreciated the bold step taken by the country’s lawyers to hold a convention to show the power and unity of the legal community: “[The] legal community is fully united to backthe Supreme Court because the present government is continuously violating the apex court’s orders,” he maintained. He said that Gilani was not only committing contempt of court but was being abetted by Speaker National Assembly Fehmida Mirza who was also violating the apex court orders. “The speaker is not an institution higher than the Supreme Court.


The speaker cannot give any judgment after the apex court decision. She has so far not sent a reference to the Election Commission and she should also be held accountable,” he argued.

During his address, Senator Zafar Ali Shah said that President Asif Ali Zardari should obey the orders of the apex court to set a precedent for others. He said that the president — with the consultation of all parties — should select another prime minister.


In his address, former President SCBA Qazi Anwar said that lawyers throughout the country would show their street power. He claimed that the PPP government had openly violated Supreme Court orders and was continuously ridiculing them.

He said that both the president and convict prime minister had never been faithful to the judiciary, and that they had never wanted to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry along with the other judges because they all knew that the chief justice would prove to be corruption’s worst enemy. “Now we will get the orders of the apex court implemented with our power,” he vowed.

Mirpur Azad Kashmir Bar Association President Arshad Mehmood Malik said that it was a conspiracy to attack the chief justice of Azad Kashmir. He held that the present government did not want decisions to be taken on merit, and therefore it was continuously violating rules and regulations.

President LHCBA (Rawalpindi Bench) Shaikh Ahsan-ud-Din said that the present government had failed miserably to respect the judiciary: “A convict prime minister has no right to go on an official tour nor attend the National Assembly session but he is continuously taking all unconstitutional steps,” he said, further maintaining that lawyers across the country would take part in a ‘long march’ against the convicted prime minister.

Sanghar Bar Association (SBA) President Anwar Nazamani held that Asma Jahangir was a ‘traitor’ who was responsible for letting Husain Haqqani flee from the country. He added that some black sheep were present within the ranks of the legal fraternity, but would fail miserably in their nefarious attempts to denigrate a free judiciary.

President DBA Sajid Ilyas Bhatti said that a revolutionary movement had been launched against President Musharraf from Rawalpindi and now a similar movement would be started against Gilani from here. “The Rawalpindi Bar Association is the GHQ of all bar associations in the country; we will not rest till the removal of a convict prime minister,” he warned.

Similarly, office-bearers of all bar associations of the country spoke on the occasion and promised to begin a revolutionary movement against the government and vowed to oust the guilty prime minister.

Office bearers of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Punjab Bar Council (PBC), Sindh Bar Council (SBC), Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), Multan Bar Association (MBA), Balochistan Bar Association (BBA), KPK Bar Association (KBA), Hyderabad Bar Association (HBA), Karachi Bar Association (KBA), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), Azad Kashmir Bar Association (AKBA), Mianwali Bar Association (MBA), Sanghar Bar Association (SBA) and several other bar associations also took part in the convention.

Once bitten, almost twice voted

FRANKENMUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich: A woman running for the Michigan Legislature was bitten by a dog while going door to door. The dog's distressed owner has made amends: Ann Doyle can put a campaign sign on his property.

Doyle says she didn't see the dog until it was too late Wednesday. She was campaigning in Saginaw County's Frankenmuth Township when the dog bit her three times. The Saginaw News (http://bit.ly/L1LdgC) says the owner heard the commotion and called off the animal.

Doyle says she was bleeding and blacked out but is doing much better. She won't identify the dog's owner but says he agreed to take a campaign sign. Doyle calls it a "sympathy vote."

UAE aerospace dream blooms in the desert

AL AIN, UAE: Ross Bradley welcomes a delegation of aerospace suppliers in from the blistering heat of the Arabian desert and cools them down with some refreshingly candid advice.

"You are too expensive. Please take this message back. We will not put up with prices we are paying today. Unaffordable."

The welcome speech may not always be soothing to the ear but industry visitors keep flocking to the remote oasis town of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates to see one of the world's newest and best-equipped aerospace factories.

They are drawn by the dramatic rise of an ambitious and increasingly powerful player in the fast-growing aerospace industry, which is investing to make jets cheaper to fly.

Flanked by dunes on an ancient Frankincense route from Yemen to Mesopotamia, the factory is designed to help make lightweight carbon jets that will open up the trade lanes of the future.

It sprang from the desert in record time to spearhead Abu Dhabi's ambitions to diversify its oil-dependent economy and produce high-tech jobs for the company's mainly female local workforce.

"We put the first spade into the sand in September 2009 and when we started you couldn't get here in a vehicle; you had to drive by 4x4 and then walk," says Bradley, chief executive of Strata, the aerostructures business funded by Abu Dhabi.

The project is part of efforts by the UAE's main exporting emirate to boost the non-oil economy to 56 percent of GDP by 2020 and 64 percent in 2030, up from 41 percent in 2005-07.

It is trying to do what many have long considered impossible - to challenge the biggest parts industry players from Asia to the United States in a short time and at even lower cost, while developing a previously unproven workforce.

The steady pilgrimage of industry visitors and a rapid build-up in contracts from the world's largest planemakers suggest the $250 million factory project is starting to pay off.

Eighteen months after the first parts were produced, the Strata factory has a backlog of $3 billion in orders.

In an open-plan "clean room," young white-coated women in headscarves work at large tables laying out carbon material.

The resinous black material will be molded into aircraft parts and baked in a high-pressure autoclave oven. The resulting structure is lighter and stronger than traditional aluminum, allowing airlines to save weight and burn less fuel. Each piece is tested with giant ultrasound scanners for invisible flaws.

The result of their work is a row of gleaming white "flap track fairings" - canoe-shaped pods that stick out from under a jetliner's wings to house the mechanism for deploying the flaps. They will end up on Airbus (EAD.PA) A330s and soon on A380s.

Last month Strata signed a $1 billion deal to make composites for Boeing (BA.N), with an aim to be sole supplier of vertical tailfins for the 787 Dreamliner by the end of the decade.

Strata and others are now chasing a possible future contract for flaps on the Airbus A320 that could net another $1 billion.

BLACK GOLD

Carbon is the black gold for aerospace.

Its potential for creating jobs and technology has been grabbed by many, but few with more impatience and upfront investment than the UAE, whose airlines have already redrawn the map for air travel.

Fuel-sipping aircraft like the recently introduced Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the future Airbus A350 make it possible to fly further for less cost than metal aircraft of the same size, opening up new direct routes and saving time on connections.

The use of carbon composites in aerospace is expected to double in the next decade, marking the biggest single technological upheaval since the arrival of the jet engine.

Competition from South Korea, Japan, Europe and North America is intense but Strata's parent group Mubadala Aerospace, owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign investment fund, is determined to leapfrog rivals and claim a top-three spot in the industry by 2020.

"Our objective is within a decade to be a global leader in composite airframes and a leader in wings and empennage (tail sections)," said Mubadala Aerospace executive director Homaid Al Shemmari, a former senior military officer who leads the expansion drive.

Ten years is not long in an industry with long lead times and heavy capital costs. It is how long most suppliers believe they need to prepare for the next installment of innovations.

Even as Airbus and Boeing notch up record sales by prolonging the life of their smallest and best-selling models, Strata is plotting the moves needed to grab contracts to build part of the next generation which is expected next decade.

Among the challenges it faces are recruiting enough local workers to meet the country's development targets, and keeping its costs down by driving efficiency down to its suppliers through constant pep talks like Bradley's supplier speech.

They are likely to listen because Mubadala's financial staying power is likely to generate plenty of contracts for companies further down the food chain.

Strata says it has promised to start earning a return for its shareholder Mubadala by 2014, which is why Bradley is so insistent his suppliers must pull their weight in keeping costs down.

"They have simply got to look at driving efficiencies into their own facilities," says Bradley, the former head of the Eurofigher Typhoon fighter program, who worked his way up from an apprentice in British Aerospace.

LOCAL RECRUITMENT

A bigger unknown is whether Strata can tap the workforce it needs while meeting targets to boost national employment.

Two hours east of Abu Dhabi, conservative Al Ain is home to the UAE university and a fledgling aerospace community.

As the town where the UAE's founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was raised, its development is seen as symbolically important and creating local skilled jobs is a priority.

Fifty years after the first oil shipments led to staggering wealth and a high level of voluntary unemployment, Abu Dhabi wants to motivate more local people to join the active economy.

It aims to cut unemployment among citizens to 5 percent in 2020 from 12 percent in 2005-07, while raising the economically active proportion of its citizens to 41 percent from 25 percent.

Strata has 500 employees, about 30 percent of whom are UAE nationals, mainly women. It aims to lift this figure to 50 percent by 2014. But it may also double its total workforce over time, suggesting local recruitment must go at a faster rate.

"When I first came here I thought that would be a risk," Bradley says, asked about the risk of staff shortages.

"We are recruiting and training Emiratis and at the last intake we needed 40 people and got 200 applications. I get CVs, telephone calls, people walking off the street. People are not the issue for us; the supply chain is."

Strata's sweeping ambitions leave little margin for error.

To leap into the industry's top league alongside rivals led by U.S.-based Spirit Aero Systems (SPR.N) it needs to develop its own design shops and have a global portfolio by end-decade.

Planemakers now prefer to outsource complex sections to a top tier of suppliers complete with the systems they contain.

"In order to become one the five major actors in aerostructures, Strata must develop the expertise to support several new programs … and manage the production ramp-up," said Thierry Duvette, a supply expert at consultants Alix Partners.

If all goes to plan it could be a "risk-sharing partner" on the next generation of narrowbody programs, which means putting up money in return for a slice of profits from a jet market whose catalogue value is estimated at $1 trillion per decade - a tidy jackpot even by the standards of Gulf oil exporters.

If the gamble comes off, Bradley claims Al Ain could be mentioned in the same breath as the world's aerospace capitals Seattle and Toulouse. If it fails, the vision of a futuristic aerospace city in the desert could be little more than a mirage.

At the pace at which Strata is determined to grow, it will not take long to find out. "Korea entered the market and took 30 years to develop. We don't have that time," Bradley said. (Reuters)

Football: Chelsea win Champions League

MUNICH: Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties to win the Champions League on Saturday after the two sides had been locked at 1-1 at the end of extra-time.

German international Thomas Mueller had headed Bayern into a deserved lead in the 83rd minute from a left wing cross before Didier Drogba levelled with a bullet header with just two minutes remaining of normal time.

Drogba conceded a penalty in the third minute of extra-time for a clumsy foul on Franck Ribery, but former Chelsea player Arjen Robben saw his penalty saved by Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal.

In the shootout, Drogba was the hero when he buried the winning penalty. (AFP)

Penn opens wallets for Haiti at Cannes

CANNES: The Cannes film festival took time out from the movies to raise money for Haiti on Friday night, with Sean Penn at the helm pleading the humanitarian cause at a celebrity gala.

"Okay, room. Haiti is watching us tonight like you cannot believe," Penn told the black-tie crowd who had paid up to $100,000 for a table at the "Carnival in Cannes", just steps from the famous red carpet.

Three people paid $100,000 each in an auction to accompany Penn on a three-day trip to Haiti where the actor, a two-time Academy Award winner, has been active since the country's devastating 2010 earthquake.

In an expletive-laden yet impassioned speech, Penn exhorted guests to give generously and not turn their backs on Haiti. Celebrities included members of the Cannes jury - actors Ewan McGregor and Diane Kruger and designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, voice stars of animation blockbuster "Madagascar 3" also attended, and designer Giorgio Armani, an event sponsor, made an appearance at the event co-hosted by model Petra Nemcova and "Crash" director and screenwriter Paul Haggis.

President of the Cannes jury four years ago, Penn was named "Ambassador at Large for Haiti" by new President Michel Martelly this year. In the days following the earthquake, Penn started the J/P Haitian Relief Organization with a goal of getting displaced people back into permanent homes.

"There's this very tangible success story that Haiti can be that could be a domino effect throughout the world," Penn told a news conference on Friday.

It was only the third time in its 65-year history that Cannes has lent its name to a fundraising cause, but this time the gala for Haitian relief was not tied to any festival film. In the 1980s it helped raise funds for the Pasteur Institute and in the 1990s for a Venice opera house destroyed by fire.

Penn said the event came together after Thierry Fremaux, the festival's general delegate, "called and asked how he could help".

Rebuilding Haiti will depend on private funding and collaboration between donors, Penn said, citing the non-profit groups of Nemcova and Haggis - the Happy Hearts Fund and Artists for Peace and Justice - both of which have focused on schools.

WINNING BID

Penn lashed out at the media, however, for parachuting into Haiti but then not following through to keep reporting on the zone during its rebuilding.

"It's not only celebrities that just went for the day. It's the whole ... world. It's the entire media. It's all of you," he told the press. "The reason people get Haiti fatigue is because they never committed in the first place."

Singer Lyle Lovett gave a short concert before Haitian band RAM performed and waved the country's blue and red colors on what was Haitian Flag Day.

Martelly, elected president in 2011, appeared on pre-recorded video from Port au Prince, playing the piano, singing and calling Penn "a friend and an inspiration for our country."

Haggis, who took his first trip to Haiti two years before the quake, tried to incite higher bidding on the auction items, announcing a "Golden Globes Weekend" package would also include a date with the Scottish actor Gerard Butler, whom he pulled up on to the stage, to the actor's embarrassment.

A man suddenly leapt up, yelling: "100,000 euros without Gerard Butler!" to seize the winning bid.

Speaking at the news conference, Haggis said the world had largely washed its hands of Haiti throughout its troubled history.

"Honestly, until the quake, no one really gave a damn about Haiti," said Haggis, adding: "Like Sean said, 'Give these people a shot that they've never had'." (Reuters)

'Avengers' smashes $1 billion mark

LOS ANGELES: "The Avengers" has smashed through the $1 billion mark in global box office earnings, officials figures showed Monday, after the record-breaking movie slain its rivals again on its second weekend.

The comic book superhero blockbuster made $103.1 million over the weekend in North America, following its $207 million opening weekend, the highest-earning debut on record, said box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Globally the high-thrills Disney action adventure movie, directed by cult favorite Joss Whedon in collaboration with Marvel Comics, has made $1,002,082,000, according to industry website IMDb.

The success of the movie -- made for an estimated $220 million -- will help mitigate Disney's huge $200 million loss on sci-fi fantasy film "John Carter" in March, which prompted the departure of Walt Disney Studios boss Rich Ross.

The "Avengers," a superhero band including Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor, pounded Tim Burton's new Johnny Depp vampire flick "Dark Shadows," which earned about $29.7 million in its debut weekend.

Romantic comedy "Think Like A Man" slipped into third place earning $5.8 million.

Smash action hit "The Hunger Games" was in the fourth spot in its eighth week on the big screen. The movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence, earned $4.5 million and has raked in more than $387 million since its opening.

In fifth place was tearjerker drama "The Lucky One," an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks book starring Zac Efron of "High School Musical" fame as a US soldier back from Iraq. The movie made $4.1 million in its fourth weekend.

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel feature "The Five-Year Engagement" stayed in sixth place, with $3.3 million.

"The Pirates! Band of Misfits," a children's animation film from the studio that produced the "Wallace and Gromit" series was in the number seven spot earning $3.1 million.

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," a comedic drama about British retirees in India, was in the number eight spot for the week with $2.7 million.

"Chimpanzee," a true-life, child-friendly adventure about a special chimp in the jungles of Ivory Coast also from the Walt Disney stable, was in ninth, with $1.8 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was "Safe," an action thriller about a girl pursued by the Triads, Russian mobsters and corrupt police for priceless information only she knows, which netted $1.4 million. (AFP)

Man needs $20k to get dog back from ex

NEW YORK: A recently split-up US man is so desperate to get his dog back from his ex that he's gone online to ask for $20,000 to pay the legal fees on top of the $30,000 he's already blown.

"Knuckles was kidnapped by my ex-girlfriend and the legal fees to retrieve him are going to bankrupt me," New Yorker Craig Dershowitz said on the crowd-funding site indiegogo.com.

Mr Dershowitz accuses his former companion of absconding to California with a dog he loves so much he considers it a "son."

"The bond is as strong as between a child and parent," he said in his plea for help.

He said he's already spent $30,000, but because his ex "is filing frivolous motion after frivolous motion," he's no closer to getting custody.

To attract donors on the site, he offers rewards ranging from a "virtual smooch" for those giving $10, to free entry at a nightclub where he is a doorman for those paying $100, and a graffiti mural for those ready to give $10,000.

The fund raising drive has a month to go. In the last seven days, he's raised $881.

Facebook to close IPO books 2 days early

NEW YORK: Facebook Inc will close the books on its $10.6 billion initial public offering on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule and a signal that Silicon Valley's largest IPO is drumming up strong demand, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The No. 1 social network is scheduled on Thursday to price its shares, then begin trading on Friday. The IPO is already "well oversubscribed," which is why the social network is closing its books earlier than anticipated, the source said.

No decision has been made about raising the proposed offer price for Facebook shares, which are being offered at $28 to $35 each, said the source, who asked not to be identified because discussions with the company are private.

If the price range is increased, it will likely be done after final orders come in Tuesday. Given the size of the IPO, the deal's underwriters are likely to be very cautious about raising the price range, the source said.

If Facebook's underwriters choose to raise the deal's price range more than 20 percent, the company will need to file an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company spokesman Jonny Thaw declined to comment on Monday.

Facebook will continue with its roadshow for the rest of the week, said a second source familiar with the deal, and investors who haven't yet attended a roadshow presentation will still be able to place orders.

Company executives met with prospective investors in Chicago on Monday and are slated to travel to Kansas City and Denver, before returning to Menlo Park, California, where Facebook is headquartered.

The IPO comes amid concerns from some investors that Facebook hasn't yet figured out a way to make money from an increasing number of users who access the social network on mobile devices such as smartphones.

A host of Wall Street banks are underwriting Facebook's offering, with Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs serving as leads. Facebook will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol FB. (Reuters)

Adobe appoints three new board members

NEW YORK: Adobe Systems Inc, maker of Photoshop and Acrobat software, has appointed three new members from technology and media companies to its board of directors.

The company said that it added Cisco Systems Inc chief financial officer Frank Calderoni, Comcast Venture's managing director, Amy Banse, and Laura Desmond, global head of the Starcom MediaVest Group, to the board.

That raises the number of board members to 12 from 9, the company said.

"Amy Banse, Frank Calderoni and Laura Desmond bring deep expertise in media and technology to our board, which are critical to our mission of being the category leader in digital media and digital marketing," John Warnock and Chuck Geschke, co-chairmen of the Adobe board said in a statement.

Adobe, the biggest maker of design software, reported slower first quarter revenue growth in March as sales of its widely used Creative Suite software fell, missing its forecasts, ahead of widely anticipated product launches.

Analysts are increasingly concerned the Web-based subscription service, known as Creative Cloud, will hurt Adobe's financial growth over at least the short term.

In November, Adobe said it planned to lay off more than 7 percent of its workforce and take a charge of up to $94 million as part of a restructuring to focus on core businesses such as digital media and marketing. (Reuters)

Pakistan to move on over NATO supply: FM

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Monday it was time to "move on" and repair relations with the United States and NATO, in a further sign it could reopen supply routes into Afghanistan closed for nearly six months.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made the remarks one day before Pakistani leaders are to discuss ending the blockade on NATO supplies in time to attend a NATO summit in Chicago.

Islamabad shut its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies after US air strikes killed 24 soldiers on November 26, provoking a major crisis in Pakistani-US relations still reeling from the raid that killed Osama bin Laden the previous May.

"It was important to make a point, Pakistan has made a point and we now need to move on and go into a positive zone and try to conduct our relations," Khar said. Asked whether Pakistan would allow a resumption of NATO supplies, Information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said a decision would be made in the coming days.

"There are a lot of sensitivities," he told reporters. "How we can share things with you which are under discussion? We will share it in the next three to four days." On Monday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani briefed President Asif Ali Zardari, army chief of staff General Ashfaq Kayani and senior ministers after a recent visit to Britain, the second largest contributor to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

The presidency said the talks discussed "regional security" but did not refer explicitly to NATO. Officials have declined to say publicly when the supply route could reopen but reports suggest Pakistan and the United States are on the verge of a breakthrough.

The defence committee of the cabinet is to meet on Tuesday, followed by the cabinet on Wednesday. One of Pakistan's major complaints is US drone strikes on Al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives, to which the parliament has demanded a halt but which American officials consider a vital weapon in the war on militants.

Analysts believe Islamabad has no choice but to reopen the border when US back-payments for fighting Taliban in the northwest are needed to help boost state coffers ahead of the next budget. (AFP)

Ki-moon fractures hand in diplomacy game

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon fell while playing football against diplomats and fractured his hand, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday.

The sprightly 67-year-old UN secretary general will have his arm in a cast for six weeks, Nesirky told reporters.

Ban "has a minor fracture in his left hand from a tumble while playing in the UN-diplomats spring soccer tournament over the weekend," Nesirky said, adding that Ban was "otherwise absolutely fine and in great spirits."

The UN leader apologized for his appearance when he met Panama's Foreign Minister Roberto Henriquez in his only public appointment on Monday. He joked that the fracture would not stop him writing or shaking hands.

The globe-trotting UN leader regularly takes part in UN diplomatic sports events. Ban went to see an orthopedic specialist on Saturday night after the fall in the tournament at the Bel Aire Farm estate in New York state. (AFP)

Britain celebrates 350 years of anarchic puppet show LONDON: Dozens of puppeteers gathered in London on Sunday to celebrate 350 years of the Punch and Judy show, an anarchic English seaside entertainment known for its slapstick and casual violence. On the second of two days of festivities, Punch and Judy men and women -- known as "professors" -- took their hand puppets on a procession in London's Covent Garden, staged shows for hundreds of children and held a church service with the red-nosed Mr Punch in the pulpit. "Punch and Judy pokes fun at all the establishment, but it's got a lot of heart," said Maggie Pinhorn, organiser of Sunday's events, which commemorate the first recorded mention of Punch and Judy by diarist Samuel Pepys. The show, performed by a single puppeteer in a striped booth, features the outrageous Mr Punch, who initially appears happy with his wife Judy and their baby before things go downhill when he is asked to babysit. He fails terribly, sometimes even feeding the baby into a sausage machine, before getting into a fight with his returning wife, then a policeman, plus usually a crocodile and a ghost. Punch fights off his opponents -- who can also include a devil, a doctor and a hangman -- using a stick, the original "slapstick", in a story descended from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte and its long-nosed character Pulcinella. Children screamed with delight Sunday as they watched a series of shows in different booths dotted around the central London venue, each with its own special features, including French, Japanese, US and Australian versions. Puppeteers insert a "swazzle", or two pieces of metal bound with fabric, into the roof of their mouths to produce the show's trademark squeaky voices. "It's pantomime, it's a live cartoon," said Katey Wilde, 40, who performs in the seaside town of Brighton as Professor Peanut, having learned the art from her father when she was 17. She mainly performs in schools, where about half of the children have never heard of Punch and Judy before, she said -- "but the reaction is always the same -- they love it. They can shout at the characters, they can change allegiances, they love it." Punch and Judy's popularity waned in the 1980s and 1990s as critics objected to what they saw as a ruthless portrayal of domestic violence, but Wilde said Punch had "weathered the storm". (AFP)

FB founder says mobile first priority

PALO ALTO, California: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose limited role in promoting the No. 1 social network's market debut has drawn criticism, laid out its growth strategy to investors on Friday, saying that transforming its mobile and advertising experience are top priorities in 2012.

Integrating online apps more strongly into Facebook is also a major goal, he told hundreds of investors at an event that capped the first week of Facebook's cross-country "roadshow" to pitch its highly anticipated initial public offering.

Facebook aims to raise about $10.6 billion, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google Inc and valuing it at up to $96 billion - rivaling Amazon.com Inc's.

Zuckerberg, 27, who started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room 8 years ago, said Facebook's key priorities in 2012 were to improve its mobile application, to build stronger ties incorporating its social network with other online apps and to create a "transformative" advertising experience.

The company is "just getting started" with its mobile app, said Zuckerberg, who appeared on stage in a grey T-shirt and dark trousers at Palo Alto's Crowne Plaza, flanked by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and finance chief David Ebersman.

With 900 million users, Facebook is the world's dominant social network. Zuckerberg was Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2010 and was depicted in the fictionalized 2010 movie "The Social Network".

"Over the next 10 years or so, every consumer category should be transformed to be built around people," Zuckerberg told fund managers and Silicon Valley glitterati such as Netscape co-founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

"People will listen to music and watch TV with other people" through Facebook.

"We only recently reached this tipping point," Zuckerberg said as the audience consumed a lunch of curried chicken salad and chocolate-chip cookies.

"It is a bit of a celebrity event," said Alice Evans with London-based F & C Asset Management. "You're not expecting to learn that much but it's as close as you can get to kicking the tires."

NO STOPPING IT?

Wall Street had been concerned about the company's ability to wring revenue from mobile users, considered crucial for long-term growth, as well as slowing growth in Facebook's main advertising business.

But that may not dampen demand for shares of the high-flying Web company, which is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a business success story. On Thursday, a source close to the process told Reuters its IPO was already oversubscribed, a week before final pricing.

Facebook has indicated an IPO price range of $28 to $35 a share on Thursday, which would value the company at $77 billion to $96 billion.

Zuckerberg - sans his trademark "hoodie" sweatshirt - made brief introductory comments at the event, which took place 8 miles from Facebook's new Menlo Park headquarters at One Hacker Way, before opening the session up to questions.

The company had provoked some grumbles from investors earlier this week, when it took limited questions from the audience at an event in New York. And Zuckerberg skipped other stops on the roadshow this week, such Boston.

Investors managed to get in more than 10 questions at Friday's event, ranging from capital spending to regulation, even as Facebook maintained tight control over the proceedings, forbidding follow-up questions.

Zuckerberg and Sandberg said Facebook's overall advertising business was gaining steam, with increased spending by most of its marketers. The two executives highlighted social ads as an important tool for Facebook to tackle its mobile challenge.

The ads, which incorporate information about Facebook users' friends who "like" certain products, are better suited to the smaller screens of smartphones, from which more than half of Facebook's users access the service, executives said.

As Facebook collects more user data, such as location, it will be able to offer more relevant mobile ads, executives said.

Asked about Facebook's $1 billion purchase of mobile app maker Instagram, its largest acquisition, Zuckerberg said the deal was under consideration for one to two months before it occurred. Media reports had said it was forged over a weekend.

The number of Instagram users has already grown from 30 million to 50 million since the deal was announced in early April, he noted.

Facebook's offering marks a watershed moment for the new generation of Web companies that are challenging established players such as Google and Yahoo for consumers' online time and for advertising dollars.

The company's shares, which will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol FB, could begin trading as soon as May 18.

"They did a good job of addressing the tough questions. They have a clear vision," said one investor who attended the event but did not want to be named. (Reuters)

UK girl saves 8 lives by organ donation

LONDON: A young British schoolgirl, who had died just at the age of 13 has saved eight people's lives by opting to donate her vital organs. Jemima Layzell, who died due to a brain haemorrhage, had always wished to donate organs and save precious lives.

Five children and three adults have received life-saving transplants and Jemima's eye tissue has helped restore the vision of two other needy people.

In addition, two adults aged 19 and 24 received her kidneys and a 40 year old man has now her pancreas.

"She has left a lasting legacy and example," Her photographer father Harvey and mother Sophy told The Sun. "She had spoken of her wish to be an organ donor when she died. It is so sad and we all miss her terribly," they said.

The little budding author Jemima had collapsed at home in Somerset, while preparing for the celebrations of her mother's birthday.

Jemima died in hospital four days later due to excessive bleeding in her brain, leaving behind many poems, songs, stories and also serious thoughts about her life and the world's problems and delights.

Her parents describe Jemima as a clever, funny, compassionate and creative girl who thought about and discussed death

‘Afghans to take more control from NATO’

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday announced a new transfer of security control from NATO that will see local forces take responsibility for 75 percent of Afghanistan's population.

Kapisa province, where French troops are based, will be among 11 provinces to come under Afghan control, a statement from the president's office said.

It is the third phase of the transition of military control in the war-torn country and another step towards the withdrawal of 130,000 US-led NATO troops by the end of 2014.

The statement did not say when the transfer phase would start or finish, but Kapisa's inclusion was significant as French president-elect Francois Hollande has pledged to pull out France's troops this year.

"In today's national security council meeting it was decided 11 provinces will be transitioned in the handover, including Kapisa, Uruzgan and Parwan," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told a news conference.

Australian forces currently have the lead in Uruzgan province.

"Seventy-five percent of the population will come under local security control," by the end of the phase, said Faizi.

The first two tranches -- the first in July last year -- have already put 50 percent of the population under Afghan control. (AFP)

'Dark Shadows' premiere in Tokyo

TOKYO: The premiere of Hollywood movie Dark Shadow was held on Saturday in Tokyo.

Johnny Depp ran into his Japanese look alike as he signed autographs at the Tokyo premiere for his latest collaborative effort with Tim Burton, Dark Shadows.

Impersonator Ken Shimizu bore an uncanny resemblance to his idol as he waited to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood actor while he mingled with fans and posed for photos after touching down in Japan.

Dark Shadows is Depp's eighth collaborative effort with director Burton.

The actor plays womaniser Barnabas Collins, who has an affair with a housemaid called Angelique played by Eva Green. (Monitoring Desk)

Trilateral forum discusses border issues

RAWALPINDI: The 35th meeting of Tri Partite Commission was held between military authorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and ISAF, today.

The Commission provides a forum to raise and hold deliberations on contentious issues and facilitates settlement.

According to an ISPR statement, talks focused on border control measures, and mechanisms put in place to avoid untoward incidents on both sides of Pak-Afghan Border.

Pakistan Army contingent was led by COAS, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. General John Allen, Commander ISAF and General Sher Muhammad Karimi, Chief of General Staff Afghan National Army headed their respective delegations.

Punjab's last-ball win against Deccan

By Mushtaq A Subhani MOHALI: Kings XI Punjab recorded a thrilling six-wicket win against Deccan Chargers in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League here at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a difficult target of 191, Punjab completed their well-paced chase as Gurkeerat Singh hit a boundary off the final ball of the match delivered by Manpreet Gony.

Australian batsman David Hussey was declared the man-of-the-Match for his brilliant unbeaten innings of 65 in just 35 balls. He struck five sixes and four fours.

South Africa’s fast bowler Dale Steyn and Australia’s fast-medium bowler Daniel Christian took two wickets each.

Earlier, Deccan Chargers batted first on an easy wicket after captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss.

Deccan amassed 190 runs for four wickets in the allotted 20 overs as Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White were the prominent scorers with 71 and 67, respectively.

For Punjab, Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood captured two wickets for 39 runs.

Geo Super showed this high-scoring match live from Mohali, Chandigarh.

Ishaqzaade review

  Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra   Directed by Habib Faisal
 We’ve all seen love stories featuring inter-caste couples, ‘Bombay’ being one of the finest in that league. So we know exactly what to expect when ‘Ishaqzaade’ shows sparks of ending up like one. Basic elements in such films: cultural differences are brushed aside for a healthy tolerance if not acceptance of each other’s religious beliefs, fierce parental opposition leading to arms being pulled out of the holster and so on. But this film makes a very simple yet crucial point: the story doesn’t need to be radically different to throw you off your feet. It is the treatment and the finer nuances of presentation which qualify as laudable differentiators. For one- the filmic reality is done away with and how situations pan out are way more believable than in most films. So if they’re in love and you’re happy to see them like that doesn’t mean that the director will indulge in your candy floss fantasy. So hypothetically speaking, if the situation demands for them to be skinned alive, they would be and if it just so happens that they manage to work it out, then they will. And that is what keeps you at the edge of your seat, knowing that what you want may or may not happen. In the meanwhile, enjoy the show.

Set in a fictional small-town of Alnor, we’re introduced to two warring political families who’re perennially looking for an excuse to slice each other. The Chauhans and the Qureshis. Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) and Param (Arjun Kapoor) belong to each of these camps. Zoya is a college student with aspirations of becoming an MP some day, just like her Papa-Aftab Qureshi. Param is a rowdy Chauhan who’s mostly seen buffooning around unless he’s put to task by his politician grandpa- the senior-most Chauhan.

It’s obvious that Param and Zoya despise each other to the extent of infinity. If you’ve heard the song- ‘I hate you like I love you’, you know that hate is after all an equally strong emotion as love. So it’s only a matter of time before Param and Zoya tweak their intense feelings to brew positivity. What is also clear in a film like this is that it isn’t going to be simple ‘happily ever after’ and their declaration of love would make Alnor crumble (metaphorically speaking). And it does. A clever twist makes it a trickier plot as Zoya learns that her own parents who’ve always served her every whim are fierce and emotionally bankrupt when it comes her relationship with a Hindi boy. Where this relationship leads to- is the story of this film and saying anymore would actually be a spoiler.

The best scene in ‘Ishaqzaade’ is the one where Zoya comes home after planning to secretly get married to Param the next day. While the sequence would seem unremarkable to most, the beautiful silence as she enters her home and passes each member of the house is magical. Everyone in her family greets her like they always do, they’re busy doing the things that they always do but Zoya’s inner guilt is beautifully captured as she tries to hold a poker face till she reaches her room where she reveals her glorious smile to the mirror. And it is her smile that mirrors her inner thoughts and feelings.