Boxing: Amir Khan confirms Peterson rematch in Vegas

 

Amir Khan is to face Lamont Peterson in a re-match in Las Vegas in May, the British boxer announced via Twitter on Friday.

 

American Peterson deprived Khan of his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-welterweight titles as a result of a controversial split points decision in Washington on December 10.

 

That led the WBA to order a re-match last month and the second Khan-Peterson bout will now take places at Las Vegas s Mandalay Bay Hotel on May 19.

 

“Big announcement. KHAN. Vs PETERSON May 19th, Mandalay Bay Hotel Vegas. At last I git (get) the fight I deserve, Big,” Khan said on his Twitter account.

 

There was confusion at the end of the pair s first meeting in Washington, Peterson s home town, with an unusually long delay between the climax of the bout and the announcement of the judges  scorecards.

 

Referee Joe Cooper had previously deducted points from the 25-year-old Khan in the seventh and 12th rounds for pushing — an offence rarely punished at championship level — and did not credit Khan with what should have been a first round knockdown, according to the WBA.

 

Further controversy ensued when Khan s camp highlighted video footage of Mustafa Ameen, an IBF official who had no formal role at the bout, which they claimed showed him interfering with the judges  scorecards.

 

That led Ameen to threaten legal action against Khan last month.
 

Philippine quake toll 43

 

The powerful quake hit in a narrow strait between the heavily populated island provinces of Negros and Cebu, causing buildings to collapse, cracking roads and bridges, and shutting down the power supply.

 

In Cebu city, a popular tourist destination and city of 2.3 million, hotel guests scrambled to higher floors as unfounded rumours that a huge tsunami was bearing down spread by text message.

 

At least 29 were killed by landslides while 10 others were crushed by collapsing buildings in the mountainous town of of Guihulngan in Negros, said regional military official Colonel Francisco Patrimonio.

 

There was also an undetermined number of wounded, he added.

 

“Some private homes collapsed along with our court house and parts of the public market. We got people out of the buildings but we could not evacuate the homes,” police chief Senior Inspector Alvin Futalan told AFP.

 

Four other people were killed in other parts of Negros which also suffered widespread power outages and cracked roads and bridges, hampering rescue efforts, Patrimonio told reporters.

 

“Looting is now rampant in Guihulngan which forced us to commit (more troops) with the Philippine national police,” the colonel added.

 

Civil defence chief Benito Ramos said the violent shaking of buildings in Cebu city — 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the epicentre — led to broken windows and cracks on some walls even if no high rises sustained major damage.

 

Local residents said there was panic in the country s second-biggest city, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage there.

 

“There is news going around of tsunami waves, so we are doing our best to keep everybody calm,” Barbi Patino, a spokesman for the 17-story Parklane International Hotel in Cebu told AFP.

 

Pedro Baldomino, a student in Cebu, said he saw many office workers in downtown Cebu leaving their buildings after a public announcement on radio warned people to brace for expected aftershocks.

 

“I was having lunch when the ground shook. Water spilled from glasses and plates clanked. Some of the diners rushed outside, some of us stayed underneath the tables,” he said.

 

Philippine government seismologists earlier raised a precautionary tsunami alert over the quake, but lowered it two hours later.

 

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no danger of a widespread destructive tsunami.

 

Almost four hours after the quake struck, a strong 6.2-magnitude aftershock hit the central Philippines again, panicking rescuers once more.

 

The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — a belt around the Pacific Ocean where friction between shifting tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.–AFP

 

Imran to shoot edit EMAET promotional tour videos

Imran has been shooting the behind-the-scenes going-ons during the making of his new film with Kareena Kapoor Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. And we now hear he intends to shoot the activities at all the promotional events for the film in various cities in India and outside the country.

According to the film’s producers, Imran would be shooting his promotional activities in London, Dubai and New York and various Indian cities, and will upload the footage on Youtube so that his fans would be clued into all his activities across the world.

According to sources close to Imran, the footage that Imran intends to shoot would be “extremely candid.”

Says the source, “Imran has been catching Kareena unawares on the sets throughout the film’s making… Now as they travel together he will shoot during and in-between various promotional activities. He won’t skip the more casual moments such as when they retire to the hotel to relax between events, or when Kareena would be rehearsing her lines and movements for an event. The idea, we are told, is to capture couple behind the scenes in their most honest moments.”

Just how Imran intends to focus on the promotion and getting it all on camera every step along the way, is a mystery.

When asked about his plans to turn filmmaker during his film’s promotions, Imran said, “We got a phenomenal response to the footage that I shot during the making of our film and uploaded on our blogs. People have been asking for more. That’s when how we decided do more blogs.”

As for Imran directing a feature film, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu director Shakun Batra says, “Imran’s always had a love for camera and directing I’d love to see him in the director’s chair. I think he’s extremely sharp observant and very capable of making a good film.”

Watch ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’ promo:

A Minute With: Ayesha Takia

MUMBAI: She was hailed as one of Hindi cinema’s most promising faces but Ayesha Takia chose to walk away from it all and concentrate on other things in life.

The 26-year-old actor is back on the big screen for now but isn’t promising to stay on. Takia spoke to Reuters about her sabbatical, what acting means to her and her latest film “Mod”.

Q: It’s been a long time since you’ve been seen on screen and even longer since you’ve been in a Nagesh Kukunoor film.
A: “I know. For me it’s been two-and-half years. Nagesh and me wanted to do something after ‘Dor’. Of course, ‘Tasveer’ happened but that was not magical so we wanted to do something like ‘Dor’ again. We kept discussing it and one day he called me out of the blue and said ‘do you want to do a film now because I have a script’. We found someone who wanted to make it and suddenly, somehow it all worked out. It was worth it because it has turned out to be a really special film.”

Q: What have you been doing? What’s stopped you from working?
A: “(Laughs) I wanted to consciously step away from things for a year. I have been here for eleven years. I started out when I was fifteen so I definitely needed a break. Everyone needs to step away and see their life as it is. Also, I knew that I wanted to travel after marriage. That was a priority. Business is also important to me, I am still learning from Farhan (Azmi, her husband). He obviously knows this really well and we have some dream projects that we are working on. We have a ten-room boutique hotel in Goa that we are working on right now.”

Q: So what did you see when you stepped back and looked at your life.
A: “I think we evolve with each year. You cannot be in the same place doing the same thing, day after day for so many years. For me, I need to explore other areas of my life, understand myself as a person in different ways. I cannot be putting on make-up, going to my van …listening to someone say ‘action’ all the time. How many days can you do that. How can you not want to know aspects of your life?”

Q: Did you have people advising you not to go on this sabbatical?
A: “Almost everyone told me I was getting married too early, that everything would be ruined. But I was clear that I didn’t want to put everything else in my life on hold till the camera and films got tired of me. I decide when I will do a film or get into business or anything else. Films cannot decide what I do in my life. Or else, I would be concentrating on the number game or getting a PR for myself.”

Q: But does that kind of attitude work in an industry like this one?
A: “It doesn’t actually. But I have been really lucky, I have always said that. I don’t think it can continue to work like that. Even now, I keep getting offers and I consider myself fortunate, because even as an actor, I have so many dos and don’ts as an actor too. I don’t know if it can work for everyone.”

Q: What are your dos and don’ts as an actor?
A: “Well, nothing in particular. Just some things that I am not comfortable doing. It has to with my moral fibre and I not saying anyone else is right or wrong. It’s just what I want to do or not.”

Kim Kardashian checks out as Mrs. Humphries

TrendPK.com: The wedding events are officially over as Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries have checked out of their hotel in Santa Barbara.

The two left Sunday afternoon as their bags were packed into an SUV driven by a chauffeur, states RadarOnline.com. Both looked relaxed as they were dressed casually with Kim wearing her hair down.

Kim’s mom, Kris Jenner, left right behind the couple in her own SUV.

The wedding events reportedly went a little after midnight when officials shut down the party due to noise complaints from neighbors.

Players strike tarnishes Spanish game’s reputation

The first players strike in nearly three decades could damage Spain s status as world champions and risked alienating fans who lost the first La Liga round on Saturday (August 20).

Atletico Madrid fan, Jesus, said that he supports the strike called by the Spanish Football Players Union (AFE).

“It seems good to me that the players go on strike because they are workers, they have their contracts and they have to be fulfilled and if they are not paid they have to claim and well, they have to earn as the rest of the workers,” he said.

“Okay, there are privileges because they earn more than other workers but they have rights as any other worker. They have the right to go to the strike.”

Real Madrid fan Miguel travelled from Sevilla, in the South of Spain, to Madrid to watch his side first league match against Atletico Bilbao.

“I used to go to Real Madrid s first match of the league. I already booked the hotel and the train and everything but the strike has ruined it,” he said.

Talks between the players union (AFE), which last week called the strike for the first two rounds of matches in the top two divisions, and the professional football league (LFP), which represents the 42 clubs affected, failed to prevent the action.

European champions Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two richest clubs by revenue in the world, had been due to start their campaigns on Sunday night.

Talks are now centred on preventing the second round of matches being halted which would create serious problems in the sporting calendar.

At the heart of the dispute is the union s demand that an emergency fund be set up to cover wages that have not been paid to players at clubs that have gone into financial administration.

The union says around 50 million euros ($72 million) is owed to 200 footballers from the end of last season, and the league s proposed 40 million euro fund is not enough to cover a growing problem.

Joaquin, owner of a picturesque Real Madrid fan bar, said that the strike is harming his business.

Police taste the bite of cricketers food

Assistant Sub-Inspector Rakesh Rasella and Sub-Inspector Ramphal, have been eating three meals a day at Taj Hotel in Chandigarh to check for poisoning or other hygienic problems.

Rasella said that he had tasted more than 18 different dishes before they were consumed by the cricketers. Taj Hotel offers three restaurants, which include the ‘Black Lotus’, the Indian-theme ‘Dera’, and International cuisines at ‘Cafe 17’.

Hotel rooms have been inspected in the middle of the night to weed out suspicious visitors, with police squads demanding guests to allow them to scan their luggage.

Security is on high alert ahead of the game in Mohali, outside city in the Indian state of Punjab. At least 2,000 police and paramilitary forces are guarding around the venue armed with anti-aircraft guns and missiles.

Karachi: 4 persons including a girl killed

According to police, in Gulisatan Johr, a man came to a hotel with a girl. Meanwhile, unidentified armed men entered the hotel and opened the fire. Due to the firing, the boy died on the spot while the girl died in the hospital. On the other hand, a man was killed in Korangi area over a minor dispute, which was occurred during a cricket match. A man was killed in Landhi by unidentified persons firing.

Butt Faced Tough Cross-Examination In ICC Hearing

Pakistani players are in Doha to defend the allegation of fixing against them. During the hearing of ICC former Pakistani Captain Salman Butt was having tough time on third day. First his own lawyer examined him and clear things to tribunal. After that he was cross-examined by the lawyers of ICC. He was having tough time in the hearing due to tough cross-examination.

According to reports he was examined and questioned by the money found from his hotel room. Sources said that Butt has also presented an agreement with Shoe Company. Observers of the hearing said that it was tough examination of Salman Butt.

Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir Chances to have such tough examination also increase. It is also said that Butt spent whole third day in cross examination and it was really tough for him.

On Friday two Pakistani captains Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis has also recorded their statements to ICC. Butt was relaxed after the day’s hearing and came out with his lawyer more relaxed then previous day. It is still not confirm weather Butt’s cross-examination will continue tomorrow or it will be ended.

Fourth day will be important for Salman Butt and other two Pakistani players. The hearing will continue till 11th January and will decide the future of three Pakistani players.

Akshay and Katrina get mobbed by fans

There are always two sides to a coin. While being famous comes with its own perks, there is a flip side too, which is of being followed by millions of ardent fans wherever you go. Though it’s all for the love of the celeb, sometimes the fans can get into frenzy and create trouble for the star. Katrina Kaif recently had a first hand experience of this, while she was on a promotional tour for her upcoming film Tees Maar Khan.

It was in Dubai when Katrina was scheduled for a promotional event at a local mall where her fans gathered in thronging numbers. On seeing her car arrive, her fans mobbed the vehicle for a glimpse of the actress. The situation got so out of hand that Katrina’s make up man had to double up as her security to escort the harrowed star back to the hotel.

While closer to home, on a nationwide promotional campaign, both Akshay and Katrina were left confined to the hotel in Ludhiana, all thanks to the fans who had gathered outside. Maybe the fans took the ‘Catch me if you can’ bit from the TMK’s title track too seriously.

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