Champions Boca off to winning start in Argentina

Boca Juniors weathered a whirlwind start from Olimpo to open the defence of their Argentine league title with a 2-0 home win and extended their unbeaten run to 30 matches.

 

Olimpo attacked from kickoff and goalkeeper Agustin Orion had to go down sharply at his left-hand post to push away a shot from Martin Rolle and prevent Boca from going behind inside half a minute.

 

Urged on by a packed Bombonera bedecked in their blue and yellow colours, Boca found their feet after the opening 10-minute onslaught during which they were mostly forced into their own half.

 

Captain Juan Roman Riquelme was involved when Boca broke the deadlock four minutes from halftime. His chipped centre from the left edge of the box was headed down into the middle by winger Pablo Mouche, who looked marginally offside, for striker Dario Cvitanich to blast home.

 

Boca, who won the Apertura title by a 12 point margin from their closest challengers in the first half of the season, went further ahead when Riquelme delivered a well-weighted pass to Mouche, who found the net at the second attempt in the 66th minute.
 

NASA to hire space taxis

But NASA is well aware that American astronauts can’t keep hitching a ride on Russian spacecraft for the rest of the ISS s projected 9 year lifespan. In a draft solicitation issued by the government on Monday, NASA announced that the agency will be accepting bids from private companies to act as extraterrestrial taxis.

NASA is offering $1.6 billion in federal funding to help the company or companies develop a complete system, from mission control to launch structures to the vehicles themselves. Currently NASA funding helps support four privately-owned companies: Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corp, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos  company, Blue Origin.

At the moment, the Russian spaceflight program is a glaring single point of failure for the ISS, as highlighted last month when a cargo ship failed to reach orbit in a launch accident. Such incidents cause NASA s commercial spaceflight development director Phil McAlister to worry “Every year we do not have a commercial crew capability, the station is at risk.”

US special forces set up office at FC headquarters

The American special forces set up their office at the Frontier Corps headquarters in Peshawar and also wanted to set up offices in GHQ and Balochistan, claims a cable issued by WikiLeaks.

In her cable to the State Department in May 2009, former US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson wrote that the United States had created intelligence fusion cells on the request of Pakistan at the Frontier Corps headquarters where the US special forces were working with both Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps.

In April 2009, Anne Patterson wrote that the US cooperated with Pakistan military which had then launched an operation against insurgents in Lower Dir.

The US ambassador wrote that despite the blue-prints of a joint strategy, the Pakistan Army suspended a joint operation with US on April 29, 2009.

In October 2009, the ambassador wrote that Pakistan had been rejecting the deployment of the US troops in Pakistan, but now it had change its policy and the move would support US operations against terrorists.

Angelina, Brad at Paris film premiere

PARIS: It”s one of the most romantic cities in the world. And judging by tonight, Paris has rubbed off on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

The couple appeared smitten with each other as they appeared at the premiere of Brad”s latest film Megamind in the French capital.

The couple arrived warmly dressed in black to keep out the Parisian cold, with Angelina sporting a velvet trouser suit and sparkling top.

Brad, who provides the voice of Metroman in the animated film, wore leather trousers and a dark grey suit jacket.

They appeared smitten on the blue carpet, with Brad at one point planting a kiss on a delighted Angelina”s cheek and holding hands.

Brad also wrapped his arm around his partner as they chatted to the film”s star Will Ferrell.

Angelina also spent time with the waiting fans, signing autographs before she went inside.

The couple had spent the previous day with four of their six children as they celebrated their son Pax”s seventh birthday by having a hot air balloon ride and riverboat cruise.

”They were like any other family,” the balloon”s operator told People.”There was nothing out of the ordinary to tell you about them which made them any different from any other family.”

He added that the ”charming” couple had a 20 minute ride with the children who were ”excited but well-behaved. What I think they wanted was a little moment of peace.”

Is ‘Blue’ director making his next with Akshay?

Rumours doing the rounds of the industry claim the director of BLUE, Anthony D’Souza, is planning to make an action film next, with Akshay Kumar heading the star cast of this film. Reportedly titled TAK DHANA DHAN, the film in question will be produced by Fox. But Tony as Anthony is affectionately called denies the rumour outright.

“I haven’t signed with any production house yet,” Tony clarifies, “I have merely signed a letter of intent with Fox to work on a project. I am still scripting my next film and a long way off from completing the script and thinking of actors.” Tony also denies that the film is called TAK DHANA DHAN “haven’t thought of the title yet”, but he does confirm that the film will be an action fare.

Lahore: Lawyers storm Justice Kh Sharif’s office

Lawyers of the Lahore District Bar attacked office of the Chief Justice Lahore High Court to press their demand for the transfer of a Session Judge Zawar Ahmed from Lahore, Dunya News reported on Thursday.
Score of furious lawyers assailed and ransacked the office of Justice Khawaja Sharif when they were protesting appointment of Zawar Ahmed Sheikh in the session court. They barged into the room of CJ LHC; however, police foiled their attempt. They lawyers shattered windowpanes of the office and staged protest demonstration in the court premises afterwards. The legal fraternity chanted slogans against Zawar Ahmed Sheikh and set on effigy of Khawaja Sharif in the demonstration.

Blue eyed of Babar, Latif hold anti-judiciary demo: Qazi Anwar
Chairman Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Qazi Anwar condemned the incident and maintained that the elements resorting to the protest are the blue eyed of Babar Awan and Latif Khosa.
He asserted that such acts are aimed at harming the recently established rule of law in the country.
He called upon the concerned Bar to take action against the nasty elements.

Babar Awan, Latif Khosa behind lawyers protest: Hamid Khan
Senior lawyer Hamid Khan, while talking to Dunya TV, said that a specific group is resorting to such anti-judiciary acts.
Such incidents are meant to bring bad name to the lawyer fraternity, Hamid said.
He said that some black sheep wanted to harm the institutions. He also hinted at the alleged involvement of Federal Law Minister Babar Awan and Latif Khosa behind the incident.

Lawyers have no say in judges appointment: Justice Nasira
Talking to Dunya News on the issue, Justice (r) Nasira Iqbal deplored on the incident and said that it seemed as if everybody is taking law into his hands. She stated that the lawyers have no authority to decide about the appointments of judges, adding that Zawar Sheikhs repute is good and he has not been charged with anything.

Wishing Ranbir Kapoor a very happy Birthday

He is the blue blooded hunk, hailing from the legendary family of Kapoor’s. Ranbir Kapoor has the looks, the style, the attitude and the performance skills that make him a complete star material. His strike record at the box can surely vouch for that right from Bachna Ae Hasino, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani to Rajneeti. This Kapoor is climbing high and how.

Moving from strength to strength this birthday will only bring a lot more prosperity and success to him, leading him to the path of stardom. With his next release Anjaana Anjaani alongside Priyanka Chopra lined up, we wish this lad oodles of happiness on his birthday. May he do great work and keep the Kapoor flag flying high.

God did not create the universe, says Hawking

LONDON: God did not create the universe and the “Big Bang” was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

In “The Grand Design”, co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant, according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” Hawking writes.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

Hawking, 68, who won global recognition with his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, an account of the origins of the

Japan lose to Paraguay in shootout

PRETORIA: Japanese star Keisuke Honda led Japan”s attack but the Blue Samurai lost 5-3 to Paraguay on a penalty shootout in the World Cup last-16 match on Tuesday.

The CSKA Moscow midfielder, who scored two goals and set up another in the group stage, played as lone frontman for the fourth straight game with support from J-League forward Yoshito Okubo and Grenoble”s Daisuke Matsui.

As Paraguay controlled much of the first half, Honda was fouled in the 36th minute by Paulo Da Silva some 30 metres out but Gamba Osaka”s deadball wizard Yasuhito Endo shot the free kick wide.

Superb free-kicks by Honda and Endo powered Japan to a 3-1 group win over Denmark, sending the Blue Samurai into the World Cup second round for the first time on foreign soil.

Four minutes later, Honda attempted a shot on the break, trapping the ball in front of goal but shaving the left post without forcing Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar to make the save.

The stalemate continued after half-time despite Honda”s tireless runs up and down the pitch.

In the 71st minute, Honda fed a through pass to substitute forward Shinji Okazaki in the box. But the prolific Shimizu S-Pulse forward, who had scored against Denmark on a Honda cross, could only hit his effort into a Paraguay defender.

Honda received his first yellow card of his World Cup debut tournament in stoppage time for handling the ball in midfield before the game headed into extra-time at 0-0.

On 90 minutes, Honda took a 30-metre free kick with his trademark left foot but fired wide with Villar punching it further away.

The match thus stretched inexorably into the penalty shootout.

Yuichi Komano”s kick hit the bar as he went third for the Japanese.

And although Honda slotted in their fourth kick, Oscar Carodozo completed Paraguay”s clean sheet to give the South Americans a place in the last eight and deny Japan their own first appearance in the quarters.

‘No Problem’ & ‘Knock Out’ won’t clash on the same day

A majority of producers have realized that it’s not right to bring two films of the same actor on the same date. But there have been exceptions in the past. In Diwali last year, two Sanjay Dutt starrers — BLUE and ALL THE BEST — opened on the same day. Besides, the clash of three biggies on the same day [BLUE, ALL THE BEST, MAIN AUR MRS. KHANNA] did cut into each other’s business, the Diwali week notwithstanding.

Cut to the present! Till last week, the makers of NO PROBLEM and KNOCK OUT, both starring Sanjay Dutt, were adamant on bringing their films on 10th September, but the clash has been averted. While KNOCK OUT will arrive on the scheduled date, NO PROBLEM has been shifted ahead, to 3rd December. Which means, 10th September will see DABANGG and KNOCK OUT vying for public attention, while NO PROBLEM and KHELEIN HUM JEE JAAN SEY will clash on 3rd December.

Next Page »