Shoaib could get one last tilt at glory

KARACHI: Pakistan are considering playing their controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against India after his international career appeared to be over.

Shoaib, 35, who will retire after the tournament, has not played since Pakistan’s loss to New Zealand in the group stages.

Media reports said he had fallen out of favour after an argument with wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who dropped Ross Taylor twice in one over. Taylor went on to score a match-winning century.

“I would like to see him play but we just want to make sure he is match fit and ready for such a big game. We will test him out in the final nets,” said captain Shahid Afridi on Monday

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has been urging Afridi and coach Waqar Younis to take a chance with Shoaib.

“I don’t know how fit he is but if he is available I would definitely play him even if he can bowl just five or six overs because he is a shock bowler and a wicket-taker and you need such a bowler in such a big match,” Imran told the media.

Hints that Shoaib might get a final fling at the World Cup emerged during news conferences with vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq and pace bowler Umar Gul this week.

Gul, who has spearheaded the Pakistan pace attack in Shoaib’s absence, said he would feel comfortable and confident if the veteran were to bowl at the other end against India.

Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam also did not rule out the possiblity of a return.

“Shoaib has been fully involved in match practice and is available for selection. He’s very much part of the squad and there is no question about his motivation or enthusiasm to play in this important game.Akhtar is ready for the semi-final,” Intikhab said on the Pakpassion.net website.

The former test captain dismissed reports that Shoaib was no longer taking an interest in training or focused on cricket after announcing his retirement.

“The rumours about Shoaib no longer focusing on cricket after announcing his retirement are false. Shoaib has been training hard with his team mates throughout the tournament and it’s been no different since he announced his retirement,” he said.

Former Pakistan captain, Zaheer Abbas also urged the management to play Shoaib if he is fit.

“It is a high pressure game and the team needs someone of Shoaib’s experience and pace. His pace will matter against the strong Indian batting and we have backup bowlers if the gamble does not work,” Zaheer told Reuters. AGENCIES

US soldier-WikiLeaks link not found

WASHINGTON: US military investigators have been unable to find a direct link between jailed Army PFC Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks, however, the alleged source of the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables did download files illegally maintain military investigators, US website said.

The officials say that while investigators have determined that Manning had allegedly unlawfully downloaded tens of thousands of documents onto his own computer and passed them to an unauthorized person, there is apparently no evidence he passed the files directly to Assange, or had any direct contact with the controversial WikiLeaks figure.

WikiLeaks founder Assange has repeatedly stated that he had no contact with Manning prior to “reading his name in a magazine.” WikiLeaks has, however, provided $15,000 towards Manning”s legal fees, and Assange has referred to him as a “political prisoner.”

Eminem circling movie role in “Random Acts of Violence”

Eminem continues to build momentum heading into 2011.

Days after it was announced that the controversial rapper led Billboard’s album-sales charts for last year’s “Recovery” record – topping such musical heavy hitters as Taylor Swift and Susan Boyle — we’re learning that Eminem is plotting his return to the silver screen.

Eminem, who showed off additional talents by opening up and acting in Curtis Hanson’s “8 Mile,” is eyeing a role in a new crime thriller at 20th Century Fox titled “Random Acts of Violence,” according to Vulture.

Says Vulture: “A few years back, the script was essentially a poor man’s version of video game Grand Theft Auto. … The script more or less read like a video game, so Fox shifted gears. … The result, say people familiar with ‘Random’s’ current draft, is a thriller more akin to ‘The Town’ or ‘The Departed.’”

The site goes on to say that the script needs another pass, but Eminem and his crew are interested in coming on board to produce.

What do you think? Does Eminem still have the pull to be a crossover media star? Do you want him to get distracted by movies, or would you rather see him go back into the studio and record more award-winning music?

The project sounds like something Eminem certainly could pull off. Much like “8 Mile,” the plot for “Random” sounds like it could pull elements from Eminem’s actual past. We’ll find out if it actually happens.

US starts human blindness trial using stem cells

WASHINGTON: Human embryonic stem cells will be tested as a treatment for blindness, a US company announced Monday in the second such clinical trial to examine how the controversial process works in people.

Just 12 adult patients will take part in the trial to see how the treatment using retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells affects patients with a common form of juvenile vision loss that can take hold in children as young as six.

The process has been tested on rats and mice and has been found to halt the progressive disease without causing tumors or other side effects, said chief scientific officer Bob Lanza at the biotech company Advanced Cell Technology.

“These cells have been really performing quite spectacularly in the animals. If we can see that in the human patients we will hit a home run here,” said Lanza.

The trial, run and

US Military Contracts Bankrolling Taliban

Heavy US reliance on private security in Afghanistan has helped to line the pockets of the Taliban, a US Senate report issued on Thursday.
The investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee found that the government had failed to vet or manage those hired to provide security under contracts worth billions of dollars, with disastrous results.

Our reliance on private security contractors in Afghanistan has too often empowered local warlords and powerbrokers who operate outside the Afghan governments control and act against coalition interests, Carl Levin, chairman of the committee.

This situation threatens the security of our troops and puts the success of our mission at risk. Under one US Air Force subcontract for an Afghan air base, ArmorGroup a subsidiary of the British-based firm G4S used Afghan warlords to recruit security guards. The warlords included Taliban supporters, the report said. While the contract was in force, one of the warlords was killed in a US-Afghan military raid on a Taliban meeting being held at his house, it alleged. In a review of more than 125 Pentagon security contracts from 2007 to 2009, the committee found systemic failures, including security contractors failures to vet personnel or to ensure that their armed personnel received adequate training, it said. The report endorsed efforts by the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who has ordered a reform of security contracting and warned that spending large amounts of money without enough oversight could unintentionally feed corruption and the insurgency. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has acknowledged the problem and in a letter to Levin, said the Pentagon had dramatically expanded oversight of contracts and had created task forces to overhaul contract work. The Senate report is yet another wake-up call for the Pentagon, and I think they will have to address the problem, said Richard Fontaine, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.But he said the military faced a difficult dilemma.In some cases, it appears that the choice is stark allow subcontractors to pay the Taliban protection money and essentially fund the enemy with taxpayer dollars or bar protection payments and absorb a higher degree of risk of attack, he told the foreign news agency in an email. This choice is made even more difficult given that we rely on contractors and not military personnel to carry out a variety of security tasks, including convoy protection.
The Afghan government has condemned the role of private security contractors and this week formally banned eight foreign firms, including the controversial company formerly called Blackwater. Kabul announced in August that it was giving security firms working in Afghanistan four months to cease operations, which could present a major headache for Nato-led troops and international organizations which rely on the contractors employing tens of thousands.

PCB appoints Intikhab Alam as manager

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has brought back former test captain, Intikhab Alam as the manager of the national team after the troubled tour to England.

“Intikhab Alam has been appointed manager only for the South Africa series,” PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar told Reuters.

“The board will take decisions on future series later on.”

Alam, who was coach of the national team until early this year, replaces Yawar Saeed who stepped down as manager after the controversial England tour.

Alam was coach between October 2008 to the shambolic tour to Australia early this year after which he was replaced as coach by Waqar Younis. AGENCIES

Punjab Assembly adopts pro-Kalabagh Dam resolution

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution in favour of the controversial Kalabagh Dam.

Opposition Leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin tabled the resolution which was unanimously passed by the house.

The resolution urged the federal government to develop a consensus among provinces for the construction of Kalabagh Dam.

It further said that the government takes steps to ensure repatriation of jailed scientist, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, from the United States.

Also, the resolution demanded of the government to reconsider its ties with the US and other western nations.

In another resolution, the Punjab Assembly condemned Indian human rights abuse in occupied Kashmir. SAMAA

Govt. flip-flop on judiciary continues

Staff Report

KARACHI: The federal government on Wednesday withdrew the controversial remarks made by Federal Manpower Minister Khursheed Shah against the top judiciary.

Shah’s statement came days after the government ousted State Minister Qayyum Jatoi for his outburst against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the army.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Khursheed Shah alleged the Supreme Court is overstepping its mandate by interfering with administrative matters.

Nearly an hour after Shah’s statement, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told media that the government has withdrawn the controversial remarks.

Meanwhile, Khursheed Shah is yet to comment on the issue.

Shah said that removal of the democratic government through court would be tantamount to insulting the public mandate and urged the judiciary to

India criticizes Pakistan for bringing Kashmir issue at UN

Indias External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has criticized Pakistan for making unsolicited remarks in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the controversial Kashmir issue.
Reacting to the statement of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the UNGA, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday said he was genuinely disappointed over the unacceptable reference made by his Pakistani counterpart at his address at the UNGA. Pakistan is a country that has enormous internal challenges confronting it, such unsolicited remarks cannot divert attention from the internal problems they are having, Krishna said, according to media reports here. Pakistan on Tuesday appealed to the international community at the United Nations to persuade India to end its repression in Kashmir. Urging an end to the dispute in keeping with UN resolutions, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the human rights of the Kashmiri people must be respected, and their voices heard to create an enabling environment for a peaceful solution of the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

SC accepts government’s plea to adjourn NRO implementation case

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: After accepting the government’s plea, the Supreme Court (SC) has adjourned the NRO implementation case.

A three member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, resumed hearing of the case on Monday.

It was widely hoped that the controversial summary of Swiss cases will be presented in court today, but the government made a new move and asked for more time to prepare before proceeding ahead.

The SC accepted the government’s petition and adjourned the hearing of NRO’s implementation case till October 13.

Prior to the start of the hearing on Monday, Attorney General (AG) Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haque submitted an appeal to the SC to postpone the NRO hearing on behalf of the government.

In his appeal, the AG argued that the Prime Minister is very busy with internal and external affairs, especially

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