Regrouped Pakistan target win over South Africa

ABU DHABI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi hoped his beleaguered side is focused enough to counter a spirited South African team in the back-to-back Twenty20 matches starting here on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s recent tour to England was rocked by spot-fixing allegations which prompted a Scotland Yard investigation and the suspension of three of their players by the International Cricket Council.

Test captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were charged for violating various code of conduct during the Lord’s Test against England in August, a controversy which Afridi said is a thing of the past.

“My players are professional and have put all the controversy behind them,” Afridi said at the launching ceremony of the series in which Pakistan will also play five one-day internationals and two Tests.

The series is Pakistan’s home series shifted to

Many years needed to recover from flood devastation: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari warned his beleaguered nation could take years to recover from devastating floods as global pledges topped 700 million dollars and waters refused to relent.

The near month-long floods have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million nationwide in the country’s worst ever natural disaster, with the threat of disease ever present in the camps sheltering desperate survivors.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but three years is a minimum,” Zardari told reporters on Monday when asked how long it would take Pakistan to go through relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation after the floods.

“I don’t think Pakistan will ever fully recover but we will move on,” the President said, adding the government — under fire for its slow relief response — was working to protect people from similar disasters in

Mild Tremors Jolt Haiti

Mild Tremors Jolt Haiti, Haiti is rattled by aftershocks measuring 4.9 once again triggering fear among the beleaguered citizens.
The epic centre of the recent tremor was 44kms away from Jackmal city while its depth was around 10kms. Meanwhile, Hollywood star John Travolta arrived in Haiti with 6 tones aid for the affectees. Travolta arrived on his personal 707 Boeing Plane; doctors, nurses and representatives of Church of Scientology accompanied the actor to the devastated state. Meanwhile, a 35-year-old man was retrieved alive from under debris after a lapse of two weeks.

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Mild Tremors Jolt Haiti was first posted on January 27, 2010 at 3:52 pm.

44th Birthday Of Bollywood’s Shahrukh Khan

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan the superstar enters a make-or-break year on Monday — and 375 of his die-hard fans in Calcutta are seeking divine intervention to beat his 44th birthday blues. “SRK has been facing some personal and professional problems recently, so we thought of beginning the day with puja and rituals for him. We want him to emerge as the number one hero again,” said Arnab Roy, secretary of the 12-year-old Shah Rukh Khan Fan Club, at the thermocol-and-plywood shrine built for their screen god in Rajarhat

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan the superstar enters a make-or-break year on Monday — and 375 of his die-hard fans in Calcutta are seeking divine intervention to beat his 44th birthday blues.

“SRK has been facing some personal and professional problems recently, so we thought of beginning the day with puja and rituals for him.

We want him to emerge as the number one hero again,” said Arnab Roy, secretary of the 12-year-old Shah Rukh Khan Fan Club, at the thermocol-and-plywood shrine built for their screen god in Rajarhat.

As he steps into his 45th year, the beleaguered badshah of Bollywood is battling a below-par box office, two Khans gunning for him, a Kumar packing a punch, a Roshan going strong, a host of young actors flexing their muscles, his endorsement count dropping and his Kolkata Knight Riders on a losing streak.

Reason enough for his fan club in KKR country to pray for his success, on screens big and small and on the cricket pitch.

“It took regular meetings every Sunday to plan it and one week to put together this 6ft-by-4ft temple created by pandal artisans from Girish Park. This is our gift to SRK and the puja is for his continued reign at the top, his family’s well being and for KKR to emerge champions at IPL 2010,” said Roy.

There will be a daylong puja at the Rajarhat address complete with a yagna at an altar painted in KKR’s black-and-gold colours.

The post-puja party will see actress Pallavie cutting the three-tier birthday cake.