Poet Jan Nisar Akhtar’s 34th death annivesary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Today marks the 34th death anniversary of popular and revolutionary poet, Jan Nisar Akhtar. He was an important 20th century Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood.

He died in Mumbai, India on August 19, 1976, while he was still working on Kamal Amrohi’s film, Razia Sultan (1983). He was nominated posthumously for the 1980 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for “Aaja Re Mere Dilbar” from the film, Noorie.

His career spanned over four decades during which he worked with distinguished music composers like C. Ramchandra, O.P. Nayyar, N. Dutta and Khayyam writing about 151 songs. Notable among them were songs from his breakthrough film AR Kardar’s Yasmin (1955), Aankhon hi Aankhon Mein in Guru Dutt’s C.I.D. (1956), Yeh Dil Aur Unki Nigahon Ke Saaye in Prem Parbat

Poet Jan Nisar Akhtar’s 34th annivesary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Today marks the 34th anniversary of a popular and revolutionary poet, Jan Nisar Akhtar. He was an important 20th century Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers’ Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood.

He died in Mumbai, India on 19 August 1976, while he was still working on Kamal Amrohi’s film, Razia Sultan (1983). He was nominated posthumously for 1980 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for “Aaja Re Mere Dilbar” from the film, Noorie.

In his career spanning four decade during which he worked with distinguished music composers like C. Ramchandra, O.P. Nayyar, N Dutta and Khayyam writing about 151 songs, notable among them were songs from his breakthrough film AR Kardar’s Yasmin (1955), Aankhon hi Aankhon Mein in Guru Dutt’s C.I.D. (1956), Yeh dil aur unki nigahon ke saaye in Prem Parbat (1974) and

Sehwag leads India fightback in final test

COLOMBO: Virender Sehwag led India”s bold reply to Sri Lanka”s first innings of 425 with an unbeaten 97 on the second day of the third and final test on Wednesday.

Sehwag cracked 17 fours, 11 of them off left-arm pacer Chanaka Welegadara, as India reached 180 for two. Sachin Tendulkar, making a record 169th test appearance, is unbeaten on 40.

Earlier, Thilan Samaraweera eased to a 12th test hundred and was unbeaten on 137 when Sri Lanka”s final wicket fell.

Lasith Malinga gave Sri Lanka the breakthrough in the 11th over when Murali Vijay lofted an easy catch to mid-on with his score on 14.

Angelo Mathews then got rid of Rahul Dravid for 23 trapping him leg before, but in his next over he put down a hot return catch offered by Sehwag with his score on 52. Sehwag and Tendulkar have so far added 88 for the third wicket.

Samaraweera had reached his century in the final over before lunch, moving from 99 to 104 courtesy of an overthrow as he pushed the ball for a single to square leg but the return to the bowler”s end ricocheted off the stumps and sped to the boundary.

Sri Lanka lost their last four wickets for 44 runs after lunch with Ishant Sharma ending the innings with the wickets of Ajantha Mendis and Chanaka Welagedara.

Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0.

Suarez fires Uruguay into quarter-finals

PORT ELIZABETH: Uruguay became the first country to make it into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea at a sodden Nelson Mandela Bay stadium here on Saturday.

Goals in either half from Luis Suarez earned Uruguay – who last made the quarter-finals in 1970 before finishing fourth – a last eight date with either the United States or Ghana – who meet later Saturday – in Johannesburg on July 2.

In a lively last 16 tie played out at a disappointingly only three quarter full venue South Korea almost caught Uruguay on the hop in the fifth minute.

A superbly taken freekick by Park Chu-Young from 25m curled past the Uruguayan wall only for the ball to ricochet off keeper Fernando Muslera”s right post.

Sloppy defending and poor goalkeeping by 2002 semi-finalists South Korea contributed to Uruguay taking control of the game three minutes later.

Edinson Cavani was the instigator of the move, the Palermo forward floating a high ball over to the left for Diego Forlan.

The in-form Atletico Madrid striker deftly slipped his marker to drill a sliderule pass across the Korean goalmouth.

Keeper Jung Sung-Ryong could have dealt with the danger but he seemed strangely lethargic in his reaction.

That was a pity for him as Suarez was lurking unattended to chip into an open goal from a tight angle by the right hand edge of the box.

Once the South Koreans regained their composure they put together a handful of sharp attacking moves, with Park Chu-Young for one forcing a dive out of Muslera.

They went into the break a goal down but encouraged by having been for the most part the better side.

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez made one change in defence after the interval, Mauricio Victorino coming on for Diego Godin.

Tabarez”s men had yet to concede a goal in South Africa but they were having their work cut out to keep their fourth consecutive clean sheet – Park Chu-Young missing the target with a close range volley on 55 minutes.

And Lazio”s Muslera did well to save captain Park Ji-Sung”s bullet header shortly after.

With the rain teeming down South Korea finally got the breakthrough they deserved in the 68th minute.

Ki Sung-Yueng sent in a high free kick from 30m into the area for Bolton”s Lee Chung-Yong to head home the failed clearance, Uruguay defender Jorge Vacile slithering after the ball into the netting.

But 12 minutes later Uruguay were back in front.

A corner taken from the right by Forlan found its circuitous way to Suarez who then unleashed a brilliant curling right-footed shot from the left hand edge of the area to leave Jung and his teammates stunned.

With three minutes to go South Korea almost sent the game into extra time when Muslera failed to hold on to substitute Lee Dong-Gook”s shot.

As the ball slowly made its way towards an empty goal Uruguay captain Diego Leguano appeared on the scene to save the day.

Italy”s title defence off to stuttering start

CAPE TOWN: Italy got their title defence off to a stuttering start on Monday when they needed to come from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Paraguay in their World Cup opener.

The four-time champions came into the match at Green Point Stadium under pressure after a underwhelming build-up and they had to dig deep to salvage a point.

On a cold and wet night, the South Americans stunned Marcello Lippi”s men by taking the lead on 39 minutes when Antolin Alcaraz outjumped ageing Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi to head home a cross.

De Rossi redeemed himself by grabbing the equaliser eight minutes into the second half, making the most of goalkeeper Justo Villar”s failure to clear a corner to put the Italians back into the game.

Italy, who are often slow to start at big tournaments, turned up the heat after their goal and they could have had more, but Paraguay clung on to share the Group F spoils.

Italy had the first sniff of goal after five minutes when the ball bounced kindly for Riccardo Montolivo who shot on the half-volley but it was charged down by Paraguayan defenders.

Lippi”s team were in charge early on, making all the running and looking dangerous on the break as the rain poured down.

Vincenzo Iaquinta sent in a teasing cross but Alberto Gilardino couldn”t get his head on the end of it as they ramped up the pressure.

Paraguay only started to come alive on 20 minutes, and some good build-up saw Torres have a punt from distance only to see the ball squirm well wide.

At the other end Montolivo, playing in place of injured AC Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo, broke free down the middle but could only deliver a weak shot that went straight at the Paraguay keeper.

Iaquinta was in the action again soon after and should have done better from inside the six yard box but was hounded off the ball before Alcaraz got the breakthrough by getting on the end of a Aureliano Torres cross.

Italy came out for the second-half without veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who apparently had a lower back problem.

Federico Marchetti replaced him and he was busy early on with Enrique Vera going close on 53 minutes.

Italy though started to take charge and Montolivo got a shot on target before they won the corner that led to the goal.

Simone Pepe curled the ball into the box and Villar failed to connect with his punch, leaving the unmarked Di Rossi to bury it in the back of the net.

The goal proved a tonic and they went close as they pressed for the winner, with Pepe having the best chance, only to see his powerful long range drive kept out by Villar.

Brown, Cameroon win as experts hint coalition govt

LONDON: Britain was plunged into political limbo on Friday as the opposition Conservatives came top in a knife-edge general election but failed to deliver an immediate knock-out blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Both former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition leader David Cameroon clinched success in their constituency.

While Conservative leader David Cameron insisted Brown had lost his mandate, key allies of the prime minister indicated his party would bid to cling to power in a deal with the third party, the centrist Liberal Democrats.

Brown”s de facto deputy Peter Mandelson said Labour would “obviously” be prepared to consider such an alliance while another senior cabinet minister, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, said the prime minister was entitled to have first shot at trying to form a government.

Brown himself also appeared to indicate he wanted to stay in power, raising the possibility of several uncertain days of horse-trading.

Exit polls showed the Conservatives were in line to win around 305 seats — 21 short of an overall majority of 326 in the 650-seat House of Commons — against 255 for the Labour party and 61 for the Liberal Democrats.

If confirmed, the forecast would leave Britain with a so-called “hung parliament”, where no one party has a clear majority, for the first time since 1974.

The Conservatives had won 147 seats, Labour 120 and the Liberal Democrats 23 — on target to be far short of the breakthrough predicted for Nick Clegg”s party during the election campaign.

More than 45 million voters were eligible to cast ballots, with observers predicting turnout could be as high as 70 percent after an unusual campaign transformed by the first televised leaders” debates in a British election.

Malcolm McLaren Impresario Music Manager Dead

Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren 22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010 was a British performer, impresario, self-publicist and former manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls.Malcolm McLaren, the impresario, promoter and self-promoter who once claimed to have invented punk rock, and who assembled and managed the youthful, unruly members of the Sex Pistols, the breakthrough British punk band, has died. He was 64.

His companion of many years, Young Kim, confirmed that Mr. McLaren died on Thursday, and said he died of mesothelioma at a hospital in Switzerland. As a solo artist, Mr. McLaren released genre-defying albums like “Duck Rock” in 1983 and “Waltz Darling” in 1989, and remained a perennial presence in the worlds of art and fashion.

Malcolm McLaren, the former Sex Pistols manager who is credited with helping form the legendary U.K. punk band, has died at the age of 64 after a battle with cancer. “He had been suffering from cancer for some time, but recently had been full of health, which then rapidly deteriorated,” McLaren’s spokesman Les Molloy told The Independent.

McLaren stood him in front of the jukebox, had him mouth Alice Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’ and declared him their new lead singer. Jones noticed the mung on Lydon’s never-brushed teeth, and christened him Johnny Rotten.” McLaren amped up the new band’s notoriety with a stunt that featured the Pistols performing “God Save the Queen” on a barge during the same week of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

In the 1970s, Mr. McLaren returned to his native London from New York, where he had briefly managed the New York Dolls in the waning days of that band’s initial flush of fame. McLaren set about putting together his own rock act of untested British youth, which became the Sex Pistols.

Sreesanth puts India on the brink of an innings win

Sreesanth captured six out of the 13 Sri Lankan wickets that fell on the third day’s play at Kanpur to put India on the brink of a big innings victory. Sri Lanka in reply to India’s 642 crashed to 229 all out in their first innings and have already lost four wickets after following on!

The Lankans had a bad first session with Sreesanth picking up three wickets – opener Paranavitana (chasing a wide away going delivery to get caught for 38), Sangakkara (dragging a big cover drive onto the stumps to get bowled for 44) and Samaraweera (dragging his cut onto the stumps). Sri Lanka lost one more wicket in Angelo Mathews before lunch to get reduced to 138 for 5.

In the afternoon session, India had to wait for a long time before getting their next scalp as Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene got a partnership going. It was again Sreesanth who provided the breakthrough by having Prasanna (39) caught behind playing a loose cut shot. Mahela Jayawardene (47) followed him back to the pavilion after a big shot off debutant spinner Pragyan Ojha failed to clear mid on. Sreesanth soon picked up his fifth wicket when he bowled left handed Rangana Herath with one that swung away from middle to hit the off stump. Sri Lanka went to Tea at 219 for 8.

The visitors got bowled out within no time after Tea and the follow on was enforced by Dhoni. Once again Sreesanth came good for India as he forced Dilshan to nick him behind. In a surprise move, Dhoni brought on Virender Sehwag in the 11th over and the part timer got rid of Paranavitana with an arm ball that had him lbw.

Sri Lanka got into horrible trouble moments later with Mahela Jayawardene getting run out due to a misjudgement of a single by Sangakkara. The Lankan Captain himself exited from the middle after dragging on a cut shot off Harbhajan onto the stumps. Sri Lanka finished the day’s play ar 57 for 4 in their second innings and know very well that nothing can save them from a big defeat tomorrow.

? 2009, CricketMove.Com. All rights reserved. Partner with APakistanNews.com

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Sreesanth puts India on the brink of an innings win was first posted on November 26, 2009 at 8:16 pm.

AMA Awards 2009 winners List

AMA Awards 2009 winners, American Music Awards 2009 has been announced yesterday. For music lovers that was the time they were waiting for. Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson were leading winners. Taylor won 5 and the late Pop King grabbed 4 awards.

Here’s a complete list of winners from Sunday night’s 2009 American Music Awards:

Complete list of winners at the American Music Awards:

-Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift

-Pop-Rock:

Male artist: Michael Jackson

Female artist: Taylor Swift

Band, duo or group: Black Eyed Peas

Album: Michael Jackson, “Number Ones”

-Soul-R&B:

Male artist: Michael Jackson

Female artist: Beyonce

Band, duo or group: Black Eyed Peas

Album: Michael Jackson, “Number Ones”

-Rap-Hip-Hop:

Artist: Jay-Z

Album: Jay-Z, “Blueprint 3?

-Country:

Male artist: Keith Urban

Female artist: Taylor Swift

Band, duo or group: Rascal Flatts

Album: Taylor Swift, “Fearless”

-Adult Contemporary: Taylor Swift

-Alternative Rock: Green Day

-Latin: Aventura

-Contemporary Inspirational: Mary Mary

-Soundtrack Album: “Twilight Soundtrack”

-T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist Award: Gloriana

-International Award of Excellence: Whitney Houston

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AMA Awards 2009 winners List was first posted on November 23, 2009 at 5:38 pm.

Srilanka Vs New Zealand Test Match, NZ On 137-3

GALLE: Tim McIntosh scored a patient half-century as New Zealand reached 137-3 at lunch on the third day of the first test Thursday.
WATCH LIVE CRICKET MATCH
The match started 90 minutes behind schedule for a third day because of morning rain at Galle International Stadium.

Resuming the day on 87-2 McIntosh and night watchman Jeetan Patel batted cautiously against Sri Lanka’s reputed spinners, putting on 49 runs for the third wicket as New Zealand set out to match the hosts’ first-innings score of 452.

Muttiah Muralitharan made the breakthrough when he trapped the stubborn Patel lbw for 26.

McIntosh remained unbeaten on 53, facing 161 balls and hitting six boundaries. Ross Taylor will resume the second session on 6.

New Zealand fought back over the final two sessions on the second day Wednesday, preventing Sri Lanka from getting the massive score they threatened.

Seamer Chris Martin and spinner Daniel Vettori took four wickets each as Sri Lanka, having approached 400 losing just four wickets, lost their last six wickets for 66 runs.

Thilan Samaraweera top-scored with 159 off 277 balls including 24 boundaries and a six. Mahela Jayawardene made 114 and Tillakaratne Dilshan set up the momentum for Sri Lanka’s batting with a quickfire 92 off 72 balls.

Martin Guptill (24) was the first Kiwi batsman to be dismissed Wednesday as he played a ball from seamer Thilan Thushara onto his stumps. Daniel Flynn (14) was bowled by spinner Ajantha Mendis approaching stumps.

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Srilanka Vs New Zealand Test Match, NZ On 137-3 was first posted on August 20, 2009 at 3:01 pm.