The Insider: PSG to resist Premier League interest in Cavani

The French club want the Uruguay international to stay in Paris, while Everton are winning the race to sign Gareth Barry despite potential competition from Newcastle
Edinson Cavani is a high-profile target of a number of leading Premier League clubs this summer.

But Paris Saint-Germain are privately adamant they will resist any offers for the prolific striker, who cost £53 million when he joined from Napoli last July.

The Uruguay international, 27, is believed to be unhappy at playing second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the French champions despite publicly claiming he is settled in France after early teething problems.

The Insider understands that Cavani's representatives met intermediaries of Manchester United and Chelsea in January, and Arsenal are also monitoring the player's situation ahead of the summer transfer window.

However, PSG's mega-rich Qatari owners do not need to cash in on the forward and want him to stay and build on what has been a promising debut season in the French capital.

Cavani has scored 22 goals in 25 matches in all competitions, including 14 in 22 in the French league. He began the season alongside Ibrahimovic in a 4-4-2 formation, but has also spent large periods playing wide in a 4-3-3 formation, as he has done at the San Paolo and for Uruguay.

Cavani, who scored on his comeback last weekend after three weeks out with a hamstring injury, has been in Uruguay this week to finalise the terms of his divorce.

The striker's camp know he would have to push strongly to get a move this summer, as the likelihood grows that he will remain in Paris for another season at least.

Woman dead for six years, discovered in car’s backseat

- MICHIGAN, USA

For six years the bills were paid, the grass was cut and no one noticed the body of the dead woman sitting in the back seat of a car in a garage of a residential Pontiac, Michigan USA neighbourhood.

Her mummified body was finally found this week by someone dispatched to check on the property that fell into foreclosure after the money ran out of her account and the mortgage payments stopped, police said on Friday.

“It is kind of the perfect storm for a mysterious set of circumstance and a challenge because of the extreme degradation of the body,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a telephone interview.

The woman has not yet been positively identified, but it is thought she is a person who stopped working in 2008 and had set up all of her bills to be paid automatically from her bank account.

She is also thought to have worked as a contractor in the financial department for a major automobile company.

A neighbour cut her lawn, her mail was sent to the post office and there was no family living nearby, Bouchard said.

“The last withdrawal from her account was in March 2013,” he added.

Neighbors said the woman had family in Germany and would be gone for days or weeks at a time. When she was back home, she kept to herself.

“Nobody came over there to check on the lady. It’s weird. And it’s actually scary,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told the local TV station.

A cause of death was under investigation.

I have Kushal and I can’t be happier: Bigg Boss 7 winner Gauahar -

Actor Gauahar Khan, who ­started dating TV actor Kushal Tandon ­during their stint in reality show Bigg Boss 7, says that their relationship has grown stronger ever since the show got over.

"Bahut log the jinho ne kaha tha ki humara ­relationship jaldi hi khatam ho jayega ya sirf TRP ke liye hai. But the fact is that Kushal is just as wonderful in the outside world as he was while we were in the house. Kuch toh log kahange, logo ka kaam hai kehna. The fact remains that we are a ­support system for each other. Bigg Boss gave me Kushal and I can’t be happier," says Gauahar, who is gearing up for her debut as a leading lady opposite actor Rajeev Khandelwal in ­filmmaker Rajeev Jhaveri’s film, Fever.

Gauahar Khan and Kushal Tandon pose for the camera.

Interestingly, the two love birds will soon be seen together for the upcoming season of an adventure-based reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. Ask her about the same and she says, "This show is completely different from Bigg Boss. I have achieved exactly what I came here to achieve which was to overcome my fear. I am a bag of fears. I have every fear ­possible including fear of height and fear of water. I am doing the stunts for myself and no one else," says Gauahar, adding, "May be I would not have done the show if Kushal was not there."

Lastly, when asked about her reaction on seeing actor Ajaz Khan, who had a public spat with Kushal and her ­during Bigg Boss 7, come as a wild card entry on Khatron Ke Khiladi, she says, "He got his five seconds of fame by claiming that Kushal quit the show seeing him. God bless him. But the fact is that he doesn’t exist for me. He is just milking ­publicity in our name."

Read: I love Kushal, won't lie about it: Gauhar after winning Bigg Boss 7

- See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/television/i-have-kushal-and-i-can-t-be-happier-bigg-boss-7-winner-gauahar/article1-1192755.aspx#sthash.eFAg0O6i.dpuf

Unblocking YouTube only way to end proxy war: Nawaz Sharif

Islamabad – Staff Report: Pakistan Prime Minister Dr Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif believes that unblocking YouTube is the only way Pakistan can stop being a part of the ongoing proxy war. Nawaz was addressing a press conference where he was supposed to discuss the Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s visit to Pakistan and the changing foreign policy in Syria.

“His highness the crown prince told me that they are planning on continuing to use us for the proxy war, and I told him clearly that we are having none of it. We are sick of fighting over which proxy to use to unblock YouTube, and we want to put an end to this proxy war,” the prime minister said.

Further discussing Pakistan’s defiance against the Saudis, Nawaz said, “I mean sure we’ll send troops to Syria. We know it for a fact that our war in North Waziristan is America’s war, while Saudi’s war in Syria is ours. But that doesn’t mean I will compromise on YouTube.”

Nawaz then elaborated how despite the ban on YouTube Pakistan continues to be one of the top countries as far as YouTube visits are concerned but the ranking was continuously affected owing to the proxy war. “Clearly our youth’s quest of making Pakistan the number one country as far as visits to YouTube are concerned, is being affected by the proxy war. I know Pakistan has for long been the hub of proxy wars, but I’m planning to change that,” Nawaz said, adding, “I will work on it as soon as our troops are delivered to Syria and Saudis get their 100,000 acres near FATA.”

The prime minister was visibly upbeat about what he dubbed a “new sense of sovereignty in Pakistan” and believed that by setting its priorities right and putting itself ahead of the interests of global powers, Pakistan would finally find its feet in the international arena. “If anyone believes they can tell me when and how I can watch Lady Gaga’s latest videos on YouTube, they’re in for a rude awakening,” Nawaz concluded.

TTP wins best non-state actor award at Oscars

Los Angeles – Taliban & Hollywood Correspondents: Pakistani star Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) won the best non-state actor Oscar for their brilliant portrayal of Islamists who want to take over Pakistan in “The Wolf of Food Street”. The actor, who previously won an Oscar for playing the role of freedom fighters in “The American Duty” was the outright favourite to pocket the golden statuette this year by vanquishing all awards in the lead-up to the Academy Awards – SAG, the Critics Choice and of course the prestigious Golden Globes awards.

There were apprehensions that the pendulum that the ongoing talks between Pakistani government and the TTP are may hurt the actor at the Oscars but TTP successfully managed to overcome the odds. There also happened to be mystery shrouding TTP’s acceptance speech since many were speculating that it might steer clear of mentioning their godfathers in the acceptance speech, but Mullah Fazlullah, accepting the award on the behalf of the TTP was pretty clear about who needed to be thanked.

“We would like to thank the government of Pakistan for the opportunity to manifest our skills and for always believing in us. We are not sure if anyone else would have given us the chance… Definitely not the number of chances this government has given us,” Fazlullah said.

He also thanked Nawaz Sharif and Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for their moral support and Imran Khan for bringing their exploits into the mainstream and helping them garner popularity. “Thank you, Immi! You’ve made Islamist fundamentalism sexy. We owe you one,” Fazlullah concluded.

Misbah deserves a plot in Bahria Town as well: Moin Khan

Dhaka – Sports Correspondent: Following Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz’s announcement that Shahid Afridi would be given a plot for his match winning performance against India, national team’s coach Moin Khan has stated that captain Misbahul Haq deserves one as well. Talking to Khabaristan Today on Wednesday as the team practised for the Asia Cup final, Moin said that two mistimed slogs shouldn’t be the criteria for awarding a plot.

“Shahid is definitely a match winner. He normally wins us the match he bothers to perform in, which happens biannually. And of course his performance at the death against India was the differential, but is that really the criterion for awarding plots in Bahria? A couple of mistimed slogs, really?” Moin asked.

He further questioned Riaz’s judgment by saying, “How about those that perform regularly, and have been crucial in the team’s rebuilding process? Why don’t they get any plots? Why does a man who shouldn’t have been in the team in the first place gets one, and the man who works day in, day out for the betterment of Pakistan cricket, gets nothing?”

“Misbah should have been awarded a plot in Bahria Town long ago. He deserves it,” Moin concluded.

Regular Twitter user continues to believe he’s expert on Ukraine

Twitteristan – Ukraine Correspondent: Pakistani Twitter user with thousands of followers continues to believe that he knows exactly what is happening in Ukraine and why it is happening, condescending sources told Khabaristan Today. The said man, with 5,671 Twitter followers at the time of writing, thinks that by retweeting a few tweets about Ukraine, and skimming through a couple of articles he can now form an opinion on the crisis and give suggestions on how to solve the problem.

Despite constant self-reminders that he might not be qualified enough to give verdicts, the man’s self-belief remains unwavering. “Well, you don’t really know what you’re talking about, but this tweet will get RTed, baby,” the man told himself during his tweetfest as he upped the ante on #Ukraine and #Twitter hashtags.

“Oh yes, it will,” the man replied to himse

Mystery Premier League club fail in big-money Sergio Ramos bid

The Spain international has two years left on his current contract and an unnamed English club recently tried to take advantage by approaching his agent with a mammoth offer

An unnamed Premier League club recently failed with a big-money move for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, according to the player's agent.

Ramos has two years left on his current contract at the Santiago Bernabeu and, as yet, there have been no talks over a renewel.

And Rene Ramos, the centre-back's brother and representative, says that he rejected an approach from England in recent months.

"Out of respect to the club I will only say that they are English,"he told Marca. 

"The offers are very, very big in economical terms, but we are at the club we want to be at. The best in the world. 

"So, more than once, I had to say “Thanks very much for your interest, but no”. I reiterate, right now, leaving Real Madrid is a non-starter."

Rene Ramos is also calm about the prospect of a new deal for his brother, saying the Madrid president will make an offer when he sees fit: "I don’t decide that, it’s not my decision," he added.

"Florentino Perez would have to answer that. They are two years left, [Perez] will call when the time is right and when that happens I’ll be there, like before. But I’ve never asked for a renewal."

Sidhhart dating with Virat kholi ex-GF??

She was first 'spotted' with cricketer Virat Kohli, sparking rumours of a romance. 

Then, Brazilian model Izabelle Leite was linked to her upcoming film's co-star, Tanuj Virwani (Rati Agnihotri's son).

On Wednesday (March 5), HT Cafe's shutterbug spotted Izabelle again, with Sidharth Malhotra, leaving a Bandra restaurant.

Apparently, Izabelle tried hard to hide her face from the photographers gathered there. "It was a surprise to see so many photographers. I wasn't expecting it," says the model-turned-actor, who made her acting debut in Sixteen (2013).

Although there are rumours that Sidharth and Izabelle have been dating for three months now, she remains non-committal. "I have known Sidharth for some time, but we are just good friends," she says.

And what about rumours that she might join him in Mauritius, where he is shooting for his new film? "I am not going. I have my next film (Purani Jeans) to promote. So there's no question of that," she says. Sidharth, on the other hand, remained unavailable for comment.

Trade figures: China posts unexpected trade deficit

Exports fell 18.1% to $114.10 billion, while imports were up 10.1% to $137.08 billion. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

BEIJING: 

China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of $22.98 billion in February, official figures showed Saturday, with authorities blaming the country’s holiday season for the weak performance. The figure compared with a surplus of $14.8 billion in the same month last year, and a median forecast of an $11.9 billion surplus in a poll of 13 economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

Exports fell 18.1% to $114.10 billion, while imports were up 10.1% to $137.08 billion during the month, which included most of the Lunar New Year holiday, the General Administration of Customs said.

“The Spring Festival factor caused sharp fluctuations in the monthly growth rate as well as the monthly deficit,” Customs said in a statement accompanying the data. Chinese traders followed their “business habit” of bringing forward exports ahead of the holiday, and focusing on imports immediately afterwards, it added.

Analysts played down the deficit − China’s first in 11 months − saying improving foreign demand bodes well for the country’s trade this year. “Generally we are rather optimistic about this year’s trade outlook,” Zhou Hao, a Shanghai-based economist with ANZ said.

The surprise deficit was probably a result of government efforts to curb speculative capital inflows aiming to profit from the appreciation of China’s yuan currency, he said.

Early last year unusual swings in trade figures were seen as driven by over-invoicing by exporters and importers in a bid to disguise capital flows, a practice the government is believed to have cracked down on later