Did you know?: The Mountain from GOT becomes Europe’s Strongest Man

‘The Mountain’ made his way through the competition by winning the first prize in three different events. PHOTO: STOCK IMAGE

‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones truly lives up to his name as he destroys his latest competition.

Hafthor Bjornsso, also known as Gregor Clegane or ‘The Mountain’ in Game of Thrones, officially became Europe’s Strongest Man, earlier this month.

Game of Thrones writer George RR Martin has filled the fantasy world with irredeemable characters and Hafthor who plays the abovesaid role may just be the worst — the murderous knight has been the one behind some of the most shocking moments in the hit TV series and the GOT novels.

If you get a chance to watch the video showing how he accepted the top prize, you’ll feel a little bit sorrier for the characters in the show. ‘The Mountain’ made his way through the competition by winning the first prize in three different events, according to the Huffington Post. However, the turning point was when he completed a stone-lifting challenge. He completely brushed his opponents aside in the Europe’s Strongest Man tournament and after placing the final stone, the 6’9 Icelander ripped off his shirt as he yelled out saying, “I am the future of strength as I am King of the Stones!”

Did you know?: Hollywood stars appeal for peace in the Middle East

The Creative Community For Peace’s document has been signed by Hollywood stars who want an end to the violent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian troops in Gaza. PHOTO: AFP

Los Angeles. Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Seth Rogen are among about 200 Hollywood stars who have signed a statement calling for peace in the Middle East.

The Creative Community For Peace’s document has been signed by Hollywood stars who want an end to the violent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian troops in Gaza, reports contactmusic.com.

In the statement, the stars urge politicians to find a resolution and end the fighting, while they also come out in support of Israel and criticise the Palestinian Hamas organisation.

The letter reads, “We, the undersigned, are saddened by the devastating loss of life endured by Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza.

“We are pained by the suffering on both sides of the conflict and hope for a solution that brings peace to the region…

“While we stand firm in our commitment to peace and justice, we must also stand firm against ideologies of hatred and genocide…

“We join together in support of the democratic values we all cherish and in the hope that the healing and transformative power of the arts can be used to build bridges of peace.”

Other stars to have signed the statement include Kelsey Grammer, Minnie Driver and Mayim Bialik.

Alia Bhatt: She can take a joke

MUMBAI: She became the butt of all jokes following her appearance on Karan Johar’sKoffee with Karan, but now actor Alia Bhatt has taken a potshot at herself via an entertaining video titled Alia Bhatt — Genius of the Year, which is gaining popularity on social media.

“So, after the ‘Alia Bhatt jokes’ thing… I decided to fix my brain!” Alia posted on Twitter Monday morning along with a YouTube link to the video. A brief description of the video uploaded by comedy collective All India Bakchod, reads: “What did Alia Bhatt do after the internet turned her into the butt of all jokes? A documentary crew found out…”

The video features Alia with appearances by her father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, as well as friends and colleagues including Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra. It begins with a message that reads: “In 2014, a documentary crew follows Alia Bhatt in the aftermath of her Koffee with Karan debacle.”

The video is a funny fictional take on what the 21-year-old went through after her general knowledge, rather lack of it, was jested at when she called Prithviraj Chauhan the president of India on KJo’s show. In the video, she is seen talking about how “hurt” she was when instead of searching for “Alia Bhatt hot pics” on Google, people started looking for “Alia Bhatt jokes.”

She then visits a “Dumb Belle Mental Gym,” which offers to take her from “Dolce & Gabbana to Smart like Shabana (Azmi).” At the gym, she reads newspapers, her diet is “three portions of newspapers in the morning” and she is instructed to “skip Page 3.” She is made to brush up her knowledge via music and lands on Koffee with Karan again, stunning the host Karan with her answers.

The video’s end is to watch out for. Directed by Shakun Batra, Alia Bhatt — Genius of the Yearis being loved by celebrities such as Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan as much as by Alia’s fans.

“Bravo @aliaa08 this is superb! And it’s also @karanjohar’s best performance ever,” tweeted Abhishek, while Hrithik posted: “Fell down laughing! Talent with a twist, @aliaa08 you are sensational.” Praising the video, Farhan Akhtar said: “Now, this is funny… Hahahaha… Love it. Full points to @aliaa08 @shakunbatra @karanjohar.” Hansal Mehta called the video “disarmingly cute” and her Student of the Year co-star Sidharth Malhotra tweeted: “Haha brilliant @aliaa08 so endearing and sporting. Kudos to you.” 

Negative impact: ‘Sit-ins disrupting government’s plans for the economy’

ISLAMABAD: The political impasse caused by the sit-ins of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek, have caused a loss of Rs800 billion to the economy – a figure that may further unnerve the investors – said a government official.

Imran Khan-led PTI and Tahirul Qadri’s PAT have staged sit-ins since Independence Day in hopes of getting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign. However, so far, talks have remained deadlocked between the opposition and the government.

“The current protests have paralysed our economy. Direct losses to the economy have reached up to Rs800 billion while indirect losses have amounted to several hundred billions,” according to a statement of Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir.

The Commerce Ministry has not attributed the estimates to any official source but said that these estimates were worked out by “experts”. Usually, the Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs is the responsible ministry to give such estimates.

The minister stated that the devaluation of rupee against the US dollar and the constantly fluctuating exchange rate have increased Pakistan’s external debt by Rs350 billion. Before the political crisis struck the country, the rupee-dollar parity was Rs98.7 to a dollar that has now gone over Rs 101 to a dollar.

As of end June, Pakistan’s external debt stood at Rs4.8 trillion or $48.6 billion, higher by Rs480 billion or 11.2% over the previous year’s Rs4.3 trillion. The rupee depreciated by Rs4.4 to a dollar. By this account, the country’s external debt in terms of rupee increased by Rs213 billion in the last two weeks –a figure that is Rs137 billion less than the official claim.

According to the commerce minister’s statement, the uncertainty caused by this political turmoil has made the investors skeptical.

Independent economists say that higher than the actual losses may further damage the economy. They feared further depreciation of the rupee and its adverse impact on the stock market.

The government is also responsible for causing indirect losses to the economy as it has positioned thousands of containers to seal Islamabad. This hampers the to-and-fro movement of goods from the country, say independent analysts.

The containers have been placed on roads and streets that connect various sectors of the federal capital. This is creating more problems for commuters. Supporters of both parties are already in the red zone –the nerve centre of the government.

Dastgir said the protestors’ unreasonable demands to assume power by hook or by crook have tarnished the image of the country.

He said the heads of states of China and Sri Lanka have already postponed their important visits due to the prevailing situation and the country could not hold important negotiations with these economic partners.

“The negative politics being played in the country is misleading the youth. The country will have to strive in erasing the harmful effects of this upheaval on the economy,” said the minister.

“Social stability and development issues are directly linked to the economic sustainability in the country,” he remarked.

Dollar gaining: Loss in rupee value continues, political gridlock continues

KARACHI: 

The rupee shed 70 paisa on Monday, closing at Rs101.20 to a dollar in the interbank market.

The decline in the rupee’s value was more pronounced in the open market where it lost Rs1 against the greenback.

According to Bloomberg, the rupee declined for the fifth consecutive day amid political gridlock in Islamabad, marking the biggest one-day fall since February 2009.

The rupee has faced volatility during the last one year partially because of varying levels of foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

They currently stand at $8.9 billion, up a massive 192% from November 28, 2013, when the rupee-dollar parity stood at Rs107.80. The subsequent rise in foreign exchange reserves was followed by 8.8% appreciation of the rupee against the dollar between December and July.

But calls for civil disobedience at a sit-in being staged by two opposition parties outside parliament has already resulted in the rupee’s depreciation of 2.8% in the interbank market since the beginning of August.

What the central bank had to say

Last week, SBP Director Dr Hamza Malik told a news briefing the movement in the exchange rate was because of political uncertainty. Noting that the underlying fundamentals of the economy were strong, Malik had expressed hope that the drop in the rupee’s value would be a ‘short-term blip’ followed by a return to a ‘relatively normal’ exchange rate.

KASB Securities research analyst Sarah Mazher seems to be in agreement with Malik. In a research note issued to her clients on Monday, she said the volatility in the rupee-dollar exchange rates should be short-lived.

“Expected contributors of foreign exchange build-up in 2014-15 are privatisation plan, launch of Eurobond/Sukuk bonds of $500 million each, and the 4G licence auction. Timely materialisation of these plans remains contingent on the resolution of the political turmoil,” she stated.

Mazher also highlighted the fact that the seasonal demand for dollars is expected to remain high in August, as travellers prepare for upcoming Hajj.

“The worst case scenario of a change in government, though unlikely, will affect US support and the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which will be seen negatively by international rating agencies,” she said, adding that her brokerage maintains its exchange rate forecast of 2% depreciation to Rs101 by June 2015.

Analysts believe the SBP is refraining from intervening in the foreign exchange market. They believe its refrain is a conscious attempt to let the dollar appreciate against the rupee.

The central bank had evidently played a role in strengthening the rupee against the dollar in March even though its foreign exchange reserves were only $5.3 billion. But it has shied away from injecting liquidity this time, giving rise to the speculation that policymakers are comfortable with the dip in the rupee’s value against the dollar.

Untapped reserves: Search for shale gas to start next year, says Abbasi

Minister for petroleum and natural resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (L) watches on as the agreement for exploration license and petroleum concession for Karak North Block is signed with Tallahassee Resources in Islamabad. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD: 

Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has announced that the government is working on a shale gas policy framework and drilling for this yet-to-be-explored energy source will start next year.

He was speaking at the signing of an exploration licence and petroleum concession agreement for the Karak North block with Tallahassee Resources Inc here on Monday.

Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Abid Saeed, Petroleum Concessions Director General Saeedullah Shah and Tallahassee Resources Director from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wasim Ahmad put their signatures on the licence and agreement.

Abbasi, while boasting that government’s policies had remained stable in the oil and gas sector, told the audience that some energy companies were interested in venturing into the exploration of shale gas, which is natural gas found trapped within shale formations.

“Our policies are stable and long marches (by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek) would not have serious implications for investment,” he said.

The government is also working on a policy for flare gas, which would be siphoned to the power plants. “Flare gas is likely to generate 300 to 500 megawatts of electricity,” Abbasi said.

Speaking about the Karak North block, he said it was located in Karak district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and covered an area of 99.14 square kilometres.

The company that has won the licence has made minimum work commitment of $3.07 million. Apart from this, it is required to spend a minimum of $30,000 per year in the block on social welfare schemes.

On the occasion, the minister asked the director general of petroleum concessions to facilitate exploration and production companies in accelerating the pace of work in order to boost oil and gas production in the country.

With growing focus on increasing the hydrocarbon output, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, after taking all provinces on board while finalising the model of petroleum concession agreement and exploration licence, awarded provisional exploration rights for 50 blocks to nine companies in January this year.

Of these, 21 blocks were in Balochistan, 15 in Punjab, seven in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, six in Sindh and one in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). The ministry has already signed 43 exploration licences and petroleum concession agreements this year.

Tallahassee Resources is an exploration and production company based in Calgary, Canada. Established in 2007, it has core assets with stakes in more than 100 producing wells in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

According to the company, they are primarily focused on conventional and Montney shale gas play in British Columbia, and conventional light oil and Duverney shale play development in Alberta.

Moreover, it has exploration plans in Pakistan with current focus on light oil development in Kohat/Potwar belt with the acquisition of Karak North block. It intends to expand in the near future into Pakistan’s tight gas and shale oil development by utilising its existing technical expertise and North American assets.

The government is giving high priority to tapping hydrocarbon resources to bridge the demand and supply gap. Since it took power in June last year, 120 wells have been drilled and 30 discoveries made.

Oil production in the country has crossed 98,980 barrels per day, the highest output level achieved so far.

Canadian firm awarded exploration licence in KP

ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday awarded a licence to Tallah­assee Resources Inc of Canada for exploration of oil and gas resources in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The exploration licence and petroleum concession agreement (PCA) was signed for Karak North Block by Secretary Petroleum Abid Saeed, Director General Petroleum Concessions Saeedullah Shah and the representatives of KP government and Tallahassee Resources.

Federal Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi witnessed the signing ceremony. He said the Karak North block spread over a total area of 99.14 sq km for which the Canadian firm had made a minimum firm work commitment of $3.07 million.

Apart from minimum work commitment, the company was also obligated to spend a minimum of $30,000 every year in the block on social welfare schemes. The minister directed the Director General Petroleum Concessions to facilitate exploration and production companies to expedite the exploration process to boost domestic oil and gas production.

The minister said that after taking all provinces on board, the federal government had been able to finalise a Model Petroleum Concession Agreement (MP­CA) and Model Exploration Licence.

As a result, it had awarded 50 blocks on provisional basis to nine exploration and production companies early this year.

These included 21 blocks in Balochistan, 15 in Punjab, six in Sindh and seven blocks in KP and one in Fata. The ministry has already signed 43 exploration licences and PCAs so far this year.

Tallahassee Resources Inc is a Calgary-Canada based exploration and production company that was established in 2007. It has its core assets with stakes in more than 100 producing wells in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

The company is primarily focused on conventional and Montney shale gas play in British Columbia, and conventional light oil and Duverney shale play development in Alberta.

The company said it has its international exploration plans in Pakistan with a current focus on light oil development in Kohat and Potwar belts and intends to expand in the near future into Pakistan’s tight gas and shale oil development by utilising its existing technical expertise and resources of North American assets.