Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Pakistan surrenders first ODI by one run

South African bowler Wayne Parnell (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after taking a wicket of Pakistan's captain Misbah ul Haq (unseen) during the first one-day in Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on October 30, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
South African bowler Wayne Parnell (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after taking a wicket of Pakistan's captain Misbah ul Haq (unseen) during the first one-day in Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on October 30, 2013. PHOTO: AFPPakistan's wicket keeper Umar Akmal (C) celebrates after taking a catch of South African player CA Ingram (R) during the first one-day in Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on October 30, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
SHARJAH: South Africa beat Pakistan by one run in the first One Day International (ODI) between the two countries in Sharjah.
Chasing a target of 184, Pakistan fell one run short as they were bowled out for 182. Ahmad Shehzad was the highest scorer from Pakistan as he made 58 runs off 92 balls, while captain Misbahul Haq scored 31 off 49 balls.
Imran Tahir and Wayne Parnell took 3 wickets each.
An impressive bowling performance by Pakistan saw South Africa back in the pavilion within 49.5 overs for a small score of 183 in the first One Day International between the two countries in Sharjah on Wednesday, according to Espncricinfo.
The Proteas got off to a bad start right after AB de Villers won the toss and elected to bat first.
Mohammad Irfan generated extra bounce to get Colin Ingram caught behind on the second ball of the innings.
JP Duminy looked in fine touch and appeared to rebuild the innings with Smith after the early loss, but ended up pulling one straight to square leg off Sohail Tanvir in the tenth over.
From there on, a regular series of wickets ensured South Africa never quite got back into the game, but they did well to stretch their total to 183 despite having been 129 for eight at the end of 35 overs.
Saeed Ajmal got Smith stumped for 20, trapped du Plessis lbw for 12 and claimed the precious wicket of AB de Villiers for a score of just four in a caught-and-bowled dismissal with South Africa standing at 63 for five.
Ajmal took four wickets in all, taking his ODI tally to 150 by the end of the innings. Afridi grabbed three wickets, with two and one going to Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Irfan respectively.
For the Proteas, Wayne Parnell top scored with 56 before being caught by Shehzad at long-on off Ajmal.
Pakistan played three seamers. Umar Akmal is back and so is Umar Amin, in place of Asad Shafiq.
The Proteas are resting Dale Steyn while Amla, who went home for the birth of his child, is not back either.
Pakistan
Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal†, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan.
South Africa
CA Ingram, GC Smith, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers*†, F du Plessis, DA Miller, R McLaren, WD Parnell, M Morkel,Imran Tahir, LL Tsotsobe

US spy chiefs hit back in Europe row

US National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington. PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON: US espionage chiefs turned the tables on European allies in the transatlantic spat over intercepted phone records, saying in many cases it was European agencies- not the NSA – that gathered and shared them with America.
They dismissed as “completely false” allegations that American spy agencies had swept up data on millions of phone calls, and said European newspapers that had made those claims did not understand the data they were using to make the allegations.
The assertion came as a senior official said President Barack Obama was considering banning US spies from tapping the telephones of allied leaders, in the wake of German outrage over alleged snooping on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s communications.
America’s European allies have spent days angrily protesting after newspaper reports, based on leaks from fugitive analyst Edward Snowden, that Washington collected tens of millions of telephone calls and online communications in Europe as part of a vast anti-terror sweep.
General Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency, and the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified to Congress that the reports were based on a misunderstanding of information passed by Snowden to European newspapers.
“The assertions by reporters in France, Spain, Italy that NSA collected tens of millions of phone calls are completely false,” Alexander told the House Intelligence Committee.
“To be perfectly clear, this is not information that we collected on European citizens,” he said.
Hours earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that electronic spying was carried out by the intelligence agencies of France and Spain outside their own borders and sometimes in war zones and was then passed onto the NSA.
The claims, if true, could embarrass European governments which have vehemently protested to the United States about alleged overreaching and infringements on the privacy of their citizens by the NSA.
Alexander said journalists had misinterpreted leaked data about the alleged spying operations.
“They cite as evidence screen shots of the results of a web tool used for data management purposes, but both they and the person who stole the classified data did not understand what they were looking at,” he said.
Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, backed up claims that the European media reports were wrong.
“This was not the United States collecting on France and Germany. This was France and Germany collecting. And it had nothing to do with their citizens, it had to do with collecting in Nato areas of war, like Afghanistan,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from the spy agencies in the European countries mentioned.
A senior official meanwhile said that Obama was considering whether to bar US spy agencies from eavesdropping on allied leaders in the wake of the Merkel row.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence matters, said the step was under consideration, but that no policy decisions had yet been finalized, as Obama awaits results of several already announced reviews into US surveillance practices.
In apparently orchestrated exchanges in the House hearing, Alexander and Clapper, told lawmakers that foreign nations were also spying on US leaders.
“Do you believe that the allies have conducted or at any time, any type of espionage activity against the United States of America, our intelligence services, our leaders or otherwise?” said Mike Rogers, chairman of the House committee.
“Absolutely,” said Clapper, adding that spying on foreign leaders was at the heart of the international espionage game.
“It’s one of the first things I learned in intel school in 1963, that this is the fundamental given in the intelligence business is leadership intentions, no matter what level you’re talking about,” Clapper said.
The United States took a new battering in Europe Tuesday when Spain’s public prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into its reported mass eavesdropping on millions of telephone calls to determine if a crime was committed.
The move came a day after the US ambassador to Madrid was summoned to the foreign ministry to hear a demand for explanations.
Spain became involved after the El Mundo daily published a classified document purportedly showing that US intelligence services tracked 60.5 million Spanish telephone calls in one month.
The NSA recorded the origin and destination of the calls and their duration but not the content, said El Mundo, which printed a classified graph showing 30 days of call tracing up to January 8 this year.
Washington stands accused of similar mass sweeps of online and telephonic data across the globe as part of its anti-terrorism surveillance.
The new revelations about NSA programs came with a delegation of European lawmakers in Washington to complain at America’s espionage activity against its allies.
German MEP Elmar Brok, a member of the delegation, argued that reports of mass spying were different from the uproar of alleged snooping on Merkel.
“It’s very clear that the telephone number of Mrs Merkel was found in American files, espionage files,” Brok said

Pakistani films need to be shown in India: Zinda Bhaag makers

Makers of Zinda Bhaag are hopeful that the film will be welcomed with open arms in India. PHOTO: FILE
ABU DHABI: A shared culture and matching sensibility make India a promising destination for screening films from across the border, say Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, co-directors of highly-acclaimed Pakistani film Zinda Bhaag.
Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Zinda Bhaag is the first Pakistani movie to be sent for the Oscars in the last 50 years. In 2008, Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye was released commercially in India, making it the first Pakistani film to release across the border after 43 years. It was followed by Mehreen Jabbar’s Ramchand Pakistani. In 2011, Indian audiences were treated to Mansoor’s Bol.
Now, the makers of Zinda Bhaag are hoping that the film, based on illegal immigration, will be welcomed with open arms in India. “I really think Pakistani films need to be [regularly] shown in India. That needs to happen,” Gaur, who was in the city with Nabi for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), told IANS.
Zinda Bhaag was screened at the ADFF. It was appreciated for its local Lahori flavour, punchy dialogues and natural acting and for showcasing an issue as sensitive as the clamour of the youth to settle in a foreign land by hook or by crook, in a light-hearted but convincing manner.
Gaur believes the film, which took over “two years and roughly $500,000 to make”, has the ability to strike a chord with Indian audiences for more reasons than one. “If there is any country that this film transcends seamlessly in, it is India. In India’s Punjab, too, illegal immigration is as prevalent as it is in Pakistan’s Punjab. So it is a story that will easily appeal [to the Indian audience]. We are very excited about a possible release in India,” said the film-maker, an Indian married to Zinda Bhaag producer Imran Zaidi.
Nabi, who is happy that his film has been able to make it to various screens in Pakistan and the US said, “We are in our fifth week in Pakistani theatres. In the US, it’s in the second week. It has released in around 10 cities. It will be followed by Canada, and hopefully India soon.”
He revealed that a recent limited screening of Zinda Bhaag in Delhi evoked a positive sentiment. “The people said this can be any mohalla of Delhi and a lot of people said subtitles are not needed. There is an instant connect in Delhi with the story and characters, which are based in Lahore,” Nabi added.
Cultural exchange lies at the heart of their film, for which they used around five crew members from India. It has a pivotal role essayed by veteran Indian actor Naseer, who even held a week’s workshop for the first-time actors who play protagonists in the film.
“When we decided to have some crew members from India for ‘Zinda Bhaag’, we took a very deliberate decision. The practice in Pakistan is to get crews from cities like Bangkok but we chose India and the reason was clear.

Priyanka Chopra: The first desi Guess Girl

Priyanka sports a glamorous look and an infectious smile in the Guess photo shoot. PHOTO: FILE
Bollywood actor-singer Priyanka Chopra has become the first Indian to be signed by the international fashion brand Guess. “I’m their first brown model,” Chopra toldWomen’s Wear Daily, according to buzzfeed.com.
The former Miss World, who considers herself as “quintessential Guess” will represent the brand in its Holiday 2013 campaign, reports the Indian Express.
Chopra tweeted: “I’m so proud to be the next #GuessGirl. It’s a legacy of beauty for 30 years.”
Having been selected as the brand’s international face, Chopra said, “For a global fashion brand, for them to move their campaign into a global space, for me it’s an honour.”
“I’m not too American and I’m not too Indian, but I’m a global citizen. I don’t want to have to change who I am to try and fit in or cater to a certain audience,” she added.
The Indian beauty reportedly sealed the deal with the brand after meeting with Guess president Paul Marciano. In what was a signature Guess, classic and retro-inspired photo shoot done by singer Bryan Adams, Chopra sported feminine attire, big hair, cat eyeliner and an infectious smile. Dubbed as a ‘classic’, the shoot is reminiscent of the ad campaigns of Chopra’s predecessors Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith, reports the Huffington Post.
The 30-year-old actor epitomises femininity and class in the ad campaign. “I really do believe that women should always be feminine and beautiful and not skinny, but rounded,” she remarked. As the ethereal beauty representing South Asia, she has done her fans proud.
Way to go, Piggy Chops!

Bieber behind Miranda and Orlando’s split?

Miranda claims to be a fan of Justin Bieber’s music. PHOTO: FILE
Australian Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr and Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom were a match made in heaven and probably just too good to be true. They started dating almost seven years ago, tied the knot in 2010 and have now announced their break-up. They even have a two-year-old son named Flynn. What’s interesting to note is that the gorgeous Miranda was seen flirting and getting cozy with a special someone at a party last year! Was he the cause of the break-up?
And this isn’t the worst part. The ‘man of her dreams’ (possibly) was none other than teenage pop star Justin Bieber. Why Miranda, why?
The 30-year-old model is said to have spent time with Bieber, 19, at a party in New York nearly a year ago, reports dailymail.co.uk. The two were seen cuddling and photographed; Miranda was in an eye-popping gem-encrusted green corset after a Victoria’s fashion show. According to reports, her husband Bloom was not happy about this episode.
“Orlando heard that there had been some flirting going on and he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it,” said a source. “Miranda had always claimed that she was a fan of Justin’s music. She has taught her son how to say Bieber fever but it is supposed to have caused an issue,” the source added.
Orlando and Miranda had (unofficially) separated a few months ago but despite their rocky relationship, Miranda publicly praised Orlando’s performance in the November issue ofCosmopolitan. “For someone to be able to learn all that and hold the energy to do it every day, six days a week — I have so much respect for him,” she said, according to mirror.co.uk.

Amitabh Bachchan sings Ali Zafar’s praises

Ali Zafar is on cloud nine after meeting Big B. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Actor-singer Ali Zafar recently met Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan along with director of Kill Dil Shaad Ali and actor Ranveer Singh. According to Ali’s publicist, Big B commended him for his acting and singing skills.
“My wish of meeting Mr Amitabh Bachchan has come true. I always wanted to meet him and today, I got the amazing opportunity to meet him in person,” said an excited Ali.
“I am thrilled to have been appreciated for my work by as legendary an actor as him. Since childhood, I have had immense respect for him and his words matter a lot to me. I am and always will be a big fan of Mr Bachchan,” he added.
This isn’t the first time that the veteran actor has expressed appreciation of Ali’s work. Last year, he posted a tweet commending Ali for his soulful song Yar Daddi from Coke Studioseason 2.

Rihanna set to travel to space

Rihanna set to travel to space. PHOTO: FILE
LOS ANGELES: Singer Rihanna will reportedly get herself tickets in Richard Branson’s much awaited Virgin Galactic spaceship, which will travel to space next year.
The singer will splash a whopping 500,000 pounds for three seats. She plans to take her brother Rorrey and a bodyguard on the trip, reports dailystar.co.uk.
“Rihanna has already put down a deposit for the flight. She has been obsessed with space since she was a child so it would be a dream come true for her,” said a source.
She is also known to be obsessed with the idea of aliens existing. She will share the flight with other celebrities like Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt.