Guardiola: Bayern Munich need Javi Martinez replacement

With the versatile Spain international having been sidelined with knee ligament damage, the Catalan coach wants a new centre-half

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Bayern Munich will try to sign a replacement for the injured Javi Martinezbefore the close of the summer transfer window.

The Spain international suffered knee ligament damage in Wednesday's DFL-Supercup loss to Borussia Dortmund and is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Given the versatile Javi Martinez was set to be used predominantly at the back this season, Guardiola believes it imperative that Bayern now attempt to sign a new centre-half by the end of the month.

"He was in outstanding form," the Catalan coach told Bild. "We will miss him very much.

"We certainly need a new player. We still have 15 days and will respond."

Guardiola confirmed that he has identified several possible replacements but he refused to name names.

"We are looking for a young player," he stated. "He shall have to be big, at least 1.95 meters tall, fast, strong in the air.

"He should also be good with both his right and left foot, and flexible ... And cost little!

"But we are perhaps a little late."

Bayern have already been linked with Roma defender Mehdi Benatia, Liverpool's Daniel Agger and Diego Godin of Atletico Madrid.

Mourinho: I'm not thinking about Cech's Chelsea future

The Blues boss says there have been no offers for the Czech and he welcomes the selection headache Thibaut Courtois's return has triggered

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has rubbished suggestions there have already been bids for Petr Cech but admits he has yet to tell the squad who the first-choice goalkeeper will be this season.

Cech, who has been the Blues' first-choice shot-stopper for a decade, faces fresh competition for a starting berth from Thibaut Courtois, who has at last returned from his three season-long loan spell at Atletico Madrid.

The Belgian's presence has thrown Cech's future into doubt, with Goal understanding he will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, and Mourinho is not ready to consider the prospect of the Czech leaving until a bid has been made.

"In this moment I don't want to think about it because there is no offer, there is no possibility," said the Chelsea boss when asked if Cech's time at Stamford Bridge could be over.

"I'm working with them and I told them as a group today that every one of my players in the squad I'm happy to have. I'm not waiting for anything. It's not good to analyse something that is not on the table."

On the subject of who his No.1 will be against Burnley, he added: "I don't tell you because they don't know. The keepers don't know and the team doesn't know and they will know at the same time, all of them. 

"In my opinion Chelsea has two of the three best goalkeepers in the world. This is unique. Is this [choosing between them] a problem for me? A great problem. 

"They are both fantastic goalkeepers, even [Mark] Schwarzer, obviously in a different age and a different level at this moment. To have Cech and Courtois is a good problem."

Reus has never been on Atletico's agenda'

The club´s CEO says the Spanish champions are pursuing a different type of player following reports linking them with a bid for the German

Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus has never been a transfer target for Atletico Madrid, according to the Spanish champions' CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin.

Reports emerged in Spain this week claiming Atleti had lodged a bid for the Germany winger as they look to bolster their forward line following the sale of Diego Costa and injury to Arda Turan.

However, Gil Marin has made it clear the club are pursuing very different targets to the 25-year-old.

"Reus has never been on Atletico's agenda and his profile does not fit with what the team currently need," he told TVE.

Reus has been the centre of transfer speculation this summer, with reports over a possible bid from Bayern Munich causing friction between the two clubs, despite Pep Guardiola's insistence that he did not deem the player a necessary signing for the German champions.

The attacker has also been linked with a possible switch to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Manchester United credited with an interest.

Reus' current contract with Dortmund expires in 2017.

The power behind Shahid Kapoor’s throne

MUMBAI: 

“This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.” These are the opening words of Lawrence Olivier’s 1948 film adaptation of Hamlet. Not only are we reminded of these words because Shahid Kapoor will soon be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s depiction of the Shakespearean tragedy, but also because, interestingly, they seem to epitomise the actor’s career trajectory.

With a diverse palette of films that ranges from the coming-of-age love story Ishq Vishk(2003) to caper thriller Kaminey (2009) to masala film R… Rajkumar (2013), Kapoor has been swaying back and forth in terms of his film choices. But, with his upcoming film Haider(an adaptation of Hamlet), he might just be able to find his strong suit in the industry.

Kapoor feels, “An actor works with all kinds of directors. When he (Bhardwaj) wrote the script of Haider, he called me and said ‘You are very lucky. Whenever I cast you in any film, your role is written really well.’” He added, “I guess, he is really lucky for me. I have never received this kind of response for myself.”

The actor’s look in the trailer of Haider has aroused curiosity among both the critics and audience as it is being touted as his most refined performance to date. Accompanied by co-star Shraddha Kapoor and Bhardwaj at a promotion event for Haider, Kapoor spoke about the magic that Haider seems to be spinning for him already.

“It happened with Kaminey. People reacted to the look and the vibe. Nothing happened for four years and now, after five years, it is happening again. I owe a lot of my career to Bhardwaj,” he shared. Kapoor was scared to go bald for the film and that, too, for just one day of shoot, but his passion for making Haider possible made him do it. “It’s the most difficult role I have done in my career, I would say. It’s definitely a very intense character.”

“But this is the kind of film that you do from your heart and for your heart, and there are others that you do for box-office numbers,” he commented. Haider is all set hit the theatres on October 2 this year.

LNG supplies: SSGC to consider paying Rs10b capacity charges

ISLAMABAD: 

The management of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) may face a hard time in winning the board’s seal of approval for payment of Rs10 billion per annum capacity charges to Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (ETPL) for handling liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, a burden which will eventually be borne by consumers.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources is pressing SSGC’s management to get approval of the capacity charges and even the company’s board of directors has come under pressure to give its nod, officials say.

ETPL is constructing an LNG terminal at an estimated cost of $150 million and will receive $100 million per annum as capacity charges even if there is no LNG supply.

ETPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Engro Corporation, had won the bid for LNG terminal services and quoted a tolling fee of 60 US cents per million British thermal units (mmbtu).

The SSGC’s board of directors is expected to meet on August 23 to consider giving approval to payment of capacity charges.

However, officials said, the management may face resistance as some board members had decided to oppose such high capacity charges. The board will consider providing around $50 million worth of standby letter of credit in favour of ETPL to cover six months of capacity charges.

According to the LNG terminal services agreement between ETPL and SSGC, the latter has to arrange around $50 million to cover capacity charges for six months. However, banks have indicated that the letter of credit will depend on signing of the heads of agreement – a non-binding document outlining main issues relevant to a partnership – between PSO and LNG suppliers before August 28.

According to officials, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) – the state-run oil marketing company –has provided a comfort letter to SSGC against capacity charges, but it is not acceptable without signing a deal with the LNG suppliers.

Talking to The Express Tribune, ETPL Chief Executive Officer Imran Sheikh said SSGC had not yet provided the standby letter of credit and clarified that the $50 million amount was not true as the gas utility would be paying less than that.

SSGC would pay in line with import of 200 million cubic feet of LNG per day (mmcfd) in the first year and 400 mmcfd next year, he said.

However, the capacity charges had sparked concern among economic decision-makers, who asked PSO to carry out due diligence before issuing the letter of comfort for gas import.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in a meeting on February 28, was upset to know that PSO would issue the letter and pay millions of dollars in capacity charges even it was unable to import LNG from Qatar.

It was of the view that this would put a big burden on taxpayers. “The federal government controls PSO, so the letter of comfort would have a bearing on taxpayer’s money. Therefore, before issuing the letter, PSO should carry out due diligence,” the ECC noted.

However, ECC members stressed that the LNG services agreement was a commercial contract between two entities – SSGC and ETPL – and their boards of directors were fully competent to grant approval in respect of the accord.

They termed the project important keeping in view a significant decline in natural gas production in the country because of fast
depleting reserves.

Misplaced priorities: $23 million Kerry-Lugar funds going to waste

ISLAMABAD: 

Alleged misplaced priorities of Pakistani policymakers are leading to the wastage of $23 million in funds provided by the US under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act. Differences over the allocation of resources for research to promote pro-poor economic growth are likely to deny the country any long-term sustainable benefits.

An audit report of the four-year Pakistan Strategy Support Programme, carried out by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the US, and background discussions with policymakers involved in designing the programme revealed how the foreign funds are being wasted.

The audit findings, in this case at least, contradict the belief that the US was forcing its will on Pakistan when it comes to using resources allocated under the five-year $7.5 billion Kerry-Lugar-Berman civilian assistance package.

In 2011, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $22.7 million contract to the US-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). USAID has already committed $16.2 million and disbursed $12.4 million till the end of April.

The programme was aimed at improving agriculture production, water management and irrigation, macroeconomics, markets, trade and poverty reduction with the core goal of contributing to pro-poor economic growth and enhanced food security in the country.  The project was initiated at request of the then Planning Commission (PC) deputy chairman, Dr Nadeemul Haque, the OIG report said.

However, Dr Haque, who is currently in Abuja, Nigeria, says that he never sought funds for the agriculture sector.

“I had requested funds for supporting the Framework of Economic Growth (FEG),” Dr Haque said, adding that while IFPRI and USAID had asked him to sign the agreement for agriculture purposes, the funds were supposed to be given to support the FEG.”

“IFPRI and USAID deceived me as they did not provide funds to support the FEG,” he toldThe Express Tribune. Dr Haque said he had no role in this and the money was used according to the wish of the Americans. He added that he was against any further research in the agriculture sector.

What Dr Haque said is not supported by the project agreement, however. The former PC deputy chairman, as head of the project’s National Advisory Committee (NAC), did not approve the formulation of provincial subcommittees in the panel, the OIG report said.

Due to differences over the use of resources, funds were provided for agriculture without the involvement of the provinces, which had the ownership of the sector under the 18th constitutional amendment.

The OIG audit did find that the programme was making progress. Through two competitive rounds of applications, USAID awarded 37 research grants to Pakistani researchers – amounting to $808,091 – which helped improve their skills. The programme also financed 33 studies with $3.3 million, which will help formulate educated policies in the agriculture sector, according to the OIG report. As many as 32 workshops, conferences and seminars were held for discussions on policy research.

But insiders say the original idea was to set up a state of the art agriculture research institute. The idea was overturned by former NAC deputy chairman Haque, who supported giving grants to the youth for research.

The programme is still suffering, this time in the hands of Dr Haque’s successor, PC Deputy Chairman and Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal.

Auditors found out that Iqbal was not giving due time to the NAC meetings. He was not providing the programme the required time as well. As of April 2014, he has not approved the NAC’s work plan. According to the OIG report, although the programme was making progress, implementation weaknesses may threaten its sustainability.

One champion represents another

MUMBAI: Omung Kumar, who is making his directorial debut with Mary Kom, which stars Priyanka Chopra as Olympic bronze medalist boxer MC Mary Kom, says the National Award-winning actor will add “commercial value” to the film.

“This film should work commercially as well. Had I cast any newcomer for it, people would have ignored the posters,” said Kumar. The film’s trailer shows Priyanka in a state of unconditional surrender as the Olympian boxer. The Manipuri accent is not overdone and neither are those pugilistic postures where she boxes like an untamed cat in the ring with her immediate adversaries and other far less definable enemies outside the boxing ring.

“People are talking about the poster and the trailer, which means people like it and it’s all thanks to Priyanka. Priyanka will add commercial value to Mary Kom,” he added. While there were reports that the director and the film’s co-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali are not on talking terms because of creative differences, Omung said, “These are all rumours. There is absolutely no issue between both of us.”

The only doubt raised by the trailer is that Priyanka does not physically resemble the realMary Kom. Responding to the audience’s concern, Bhansali earlier said he agreed that Priyanka doesn’t resemble the Olympic bronze medallist boxer, but that she captured the star athlete’s “soul” for the role. “I don’t think the physical resemblance is as important as capturing the soul of the person that the actor is portraying.”

He further said, “How much did Robert Downey Jr look like Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin? Did Meryl Steep resemble Nora Ephron in Heartburn? Did Robert De Niro actually look like Al Capone in the The Untouchables or Van Kilmer like Jim Morrison in The Doors? No.”

Bhansali shared how thrilled he is to filming the life of the star. “We wanted to tell Mary Kom’s story. Her life has everything — drama, passion, valour, warmth and humour. Her story was waiting to be told on screen. I am honoured that we are doing it,” he said.

“This is already a historic film. Never earlier has a world champion in one arena (Priyanka Miss World 2000) portrayed world championship (five times world champion) in another arena on screen,” said Ajit Andhare, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18 Motion Pictures.