Twenty-two wickets fall in one day in Kenya

 

Twenty-two wickets fell in just one day on Sunday as Kenya and Ireland clashed in a four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup game.

 

Ireland were dismissed in their first innings for 75 before the home side were bowled out for 109.

 

The Irish then steadied the ship by reaching 81 for two by stumps in their second knock.

 

Left-arm spinners Hiren Varaiya took a career-best 6 for 22 and Shem Ngoche   claimed 3 for 11 as Ireland were bowled out first time around in the 34th over.

 

In reply, Kenya were undone by Irish slow bowlers Albert van der Merwe and George Dockrell who took five wickets each.

 

In Ireland s second innings, Varaiya and Ngoche claimed a scalp each but experienced opener Ed Joyce finished the day on 51 not out to give the batsmen hope of avoiding further embarrassment.
 

Oscars: Could Glenn Close’s Irish win boost her Oscar profile? – AWARDS ALLEY

By Sean O’Connell
TrendPK.com: Best Actress nominee Glenn Close could be in for a big Oscar telecast IF there are a large number of Irish voters in the Academy.

The Irish certainly took to Close’s performance as a Dublin manservant in “Albert Nobbs,” rewarding the actress with the Irish Film And Television Academy’s best international actress award Saturday evening. THR reports that she topped fellow Oscar nominee Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”) as well as Tilda Swinton (“We Need To Talk About Kevin”) and Kirsten Wiig (“Bridesmaids”) for the top prize.

In addition to Close, the Irish recognized Ryan Gosling (“Drive”) for best international actor; Michael Fassbender (“Shame”) for leading actor; Chris O’Down (“Bridesmaids” for best supporting actor; Saoirse Ronan (“Hanna”) for lead performance in film; “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” for best international film; and “The Guard” for virtually every other prize, including Best Director (John Michael McDonagh), best screenwriter and the Irish Film Board Rising Star.

But given that Close is the one with Oscar dreams, lets’ focus on her for a minute as the Oscars fast approach.

Close first played the character of Albert Nobbs in an off-Broadway production in 1982. Ever since, she has been fighting to bring the sympathetically tragic character to the silver screen.

I caught up with the film at the Toronto International Film Festival and found it to be a wonderful story of self-discovery, of finding love and loving oneself. I want to repost a portion of a lengthy discussion I had with Close at TIFF, as well as the actress’s acceptance speech from the Hollywood Film Awards, where we honored Close with the Hollywood Career Achievement Award.

Close hasn’t won the Best Actress Oscar … yet. Could this be her year?

TrendPK.com: You first played Albert on stage decades ago. How had your thought process changed over the years in terms of approaching her as a character?

I think the essence of the character is probably them same. It’s me! I’ve aged 30 years. And that’s bound to make for a deeper impact. And also, on film, film is such a much more intimate medium than the stage. It was very difficult. There were some scenes where I didn’t know how much to show in my face. I was always going to Rodrigo, “Am I saying too much?” The first time she really looks somebody in the eye is after telling Hubert her story. That’s kind of her release. Before that … servants were not supposed to look people in the eye. She was an invisible person doing an invisible job.

TrendPK.com: How common was this practice of pretending to be a different gender to maintain a job?

It was much more common than people expect. You can find many, many stories about people who had to do this. Some of them were rich women, and this was a way for them to get out of the house. Today, in Afghanistan, little girls are dressed as boys in order to get out of the house. It’s not an uncommon thing right now. In a repressive society, where women have no rights, it happens.

TrendPK.com: I also think it’s interesting that in films where characters play a different gender, it’s often to deceive, to reach another end. But for Albert, she does it to survive.

Exactly. She’s not going, “Hey! Ho! Look at me!” in a deep and masculine voice. She’s not like putting on a mustache and a beard. She’s just disappeared into that disguise.

TrendPK.com: She almost forgets how to be a woman. Speaking to that, on a surface level, when did you feel comfortable enough that the make up, the hair and the surface elements were convincing enough that you wouldn’t distract the audience with a woman playing a man?

Oh, well, the voice was challenging because I often concentrated in scenes about how much was showing on my face. So I did re-voice some of the dialogue. My voice was too high in some of the takes, and we had to lower it later. I was probably distracted by five other things. And that was very useful, to be able to do that. As for the look, when it became evident that we really were going to go for it, and that it might be a possible, I said to my contacts that I’ve got to convince myself that I can actually do this. I’m 20 years older. So I went out and I did a screen test. Rodrigo got a studio and I went and got Matthew Mungle, who went on to do our makeup on the film, and he helped. It wasn’t the final work that you see on screen. But I had to convince myself. I didn’t want it to be a movie where the audience thinks, “Oh, how do they not know? She’s a woman! Everybody in the hotel must be stupid!” I also felt that my face being highly recognizable would be a burden, and that really was a concern. But we did a screen test, and they did a couple of things to my face, and I looked up … and it wasn’t me. And I started crying. Because it was possible. Because we could do this.

TrendPK.com: That’s fantastic. Rodrigo has done some impressive television work on films like “Six Feet Under” and “Big Love.”

He has a great sensitivity toward women. He likes women. He writes beautiful parts for women. And also, he comes from that tradition of magic realism, which initially the script had much more of her imagining what her bedroom would be like. So you saw hr arranging things. We just couldn’t afford all of that.

TrendPK.com: But the scenes where we see her looking in on the broken down space and seeing her dream shop are wonderful.

Initially, in the script, when she imagined something, you’d see it appear. But the piece of equipment that we needed to do that was 80,000 Euros laughs and we had to say, “OK, we’ll do it without it!” laughs But this story has a real delicate touch because it’s funny and sad, and I just though Rodrigo came from this tradition. He just gets it.

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
– Harvey Weinstein
– The cast of “The Artist.”
– Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
– Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
– Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
– Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
– Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
– David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
– Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
– Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
– Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
– Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
– Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
– Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
– Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
– Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
– Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
– Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

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UK Army defuses bomb in N Ireland

This was the second time in three months the Spanish bank has been targeted by suspected Irish nationalists opposed to a 1998 peace deal.

Two masked men carried the bomb into the bank branch in the city of Newry, on the border with the Irish Republic, on Monday morning, shouted a warning that the device would go off within 45 minutes and then escaped on foot, police said.

Terrified staff and customers fled the bank in the city centre and police hastily sealed off the area and evacuated nearby businesses.

“This was a viable device which was capable of causing death, serious injury and substantial damage to the area,” said area commander, Chief Inspector Davy Beck.

Dissident pro-Irish paramilitaries have increased their activities in the past few years, bombing businesses and target police officers, in a bid to derail a power-sharing government created as a result of a 1998 peace deal between groups that want Northern Ireland to remain part of Britain and those that want it to re-unite with the Irish Republic.

EU/IMF Ireland package to total €85 billion: report

LONDON: The European Union and IMF bailout package for Ireland will total 85 billion euros ($114 billion) over three years to fund the government deficit and recapitalize banks, public broadcaster RTE said.

The Irish Finance Ministry dismissed the report as premature and said the package was still under negotiation.

RTE’s figure, which would amount to roughly 20,000 euros per Irish citizen, is in line with figures estimated by economists, although some have said that even more could be needed to keep the country afloat.

RTE said the package from the EU and the International Monetary Fund would provide 48 billion euros to help fund the Irish government’s deficit over the next three years and 15-20 billion to recapitalize its banks, with a contingency fund of 20 billion euros for the banks.

“The package would see the level of capital in the Irish banks

EU exec says Irish 2011 budget key to EU/IMF aid plan

BRUSSELS: The adoption of the Irish 4-year austerity programme and the 2011 budget in particular is key for the EU/IMF financial support programme for Dublin now under negotiations, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

“The 4-year plan and the 2011 budget are fundamental elements in the current discussions,” Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a regular news briefing. “It is very important that this budget is passed in parliament.”

Ireland’s government was on a knife-edge on Tuesday with Prime Minister Brian Cowen challenging the opposition to let an austerity budget pass and trigger an EU/IMF bailout before early elections.

Amid public fury over the way he handled the rescue, Irish media said Cowen may face calls to resign immediately or turn over leadership of his Fianna Fail party before the next election at a meeting of party lawmakers later on

Cricket: South African Van Jaarsveld tests positive

JOHANNESBURG: South African batsman Vaughn van Jaarsveld has tested positive for banned stimulant sibutramine, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) said on Wednesday.

The hard-hitting left-hander, 25, has played two one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals for South Africa.

“It does not appear to be his fault because it was present in dieting tablets he was prescribed by his doctor called Ciplatrim. Because it is a specified substance, it means it can be taken inadvertently because it is commonly found in medicines, for instance,” SACA chief executive Tony Irish told Reuters.

“We don’t believe it is his fault, but we have to go through the process and we have waived his right to have the B-sample tested. In the circumstances, we hope the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport will be pretty lenient.”

Sibutramine, an appetite

Israel unwilling for establishing peace in region, says Bashar Ul Asad

Members of the Elders’ Group delegation on Tuesday demanded that Israel should lift its unjust siege on Gaza Strip, stressing the necessity of achieving the Palestinian reconciliation and engaging all the Palestinian factions in peace efforts.
The remarks came during President al-Assad’s meeting with the Group of Elders delegation headed by Former Irish President Mary Robinson with the participation of Former US President Jimmy Carter, Former UN Assistant Secretary General Al-Akhdar al-Ibrahimi and Indian activist Ila Bat.
President al-Assad also warned against the serious impacts of the racist so-called citizenship law.The President explained Syria’s vision to solve the problems of the region, and was briefed by the delegation on their visit to Gaza Strip and tour of the region where they witnessed the tragic situation of the Palestinian People due to the inhuman Israeli siege imposed on them.
In a press conference following her meeting with President Bashar al-Assad held at the Four Seasons Hotel, former Irish President Mary Robinson described the meeting as very fruitful, pointing out that the main goal of the delegation’s visit is to help in achieving just and comprehensive peace in the region.
She made clear that focus should be placed not only on the peace process in itself but on the results in order for the people to feel them, describing what they saw in Gaza as a shock.

SA ‘reluctant’ to play with Pakistan: report

Rattled by the match-fixing allegations against Pakistani cricketers, the South African team is reportedly reluctant to play against them in a series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai next month.
According to a report in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, senior South African cricketers are considering making themselves unavailable for the series. The Proteas are due to play five ODIs, three Tests a couple of Twenty20s against Pakistan next month. To say we are reluctant is an understatement, one senior player told the newspaper. Nobody knows what the hell is going in Pakistani cricket and we feel that playing such a high profile series right now – especially in the middle east – is asking for trouble. Maybe it’s time for the ICC to step in, or for Pakistan to withdraw from the international game for a year until the mess can be cleaned up and people can start to believe in the game and develop a bit of trust, the player said. The South African Cricketers Association chief executive Tony Irish also conceded that many players have reservations but didn’t say whether there had been talk of pullouts. The fact that there are now further incidents under investigation is not good news. This all needs to be dealt with urgently in order to ensure that a heavy cloud of suspicion and doubt doesn’t hang over our series against Pakistan, Irish said. Asked whether senior players were considering not participating in the tour, Irish said: Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Pakistan have been rocked by a series of corruption allegations, the latest of which came on Saturday when the ICC launched an investigation into the team’s third ODI against England after a tip-off from a British tabloid revealed suspicious scoring patterns in the match.

SA ‘reluctant’ to play with Pakistan: report

Rattled by the match-fixing allegations against Pakistani cricketers, the South African team is reportedly reluctant to play against them in a series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai next month.
According to a report in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, senior South African cricketers are considering making themselves unavailable for the series. The Proteas are due to play five ODIs, three Tests a couple of Twenty20s against Pakistan next month. To say we are reluctant is an understatement, one senior player told the newspaper. Nobody knows what the hell is going in Pakistani cricket and we feel that playing such a high profile series right now – especially in the middle east – is asking for trouble. Maybe it’s time for the ICC to step in, or for Pakistan to withdraw from the international game for a year until the mess can be cleaned up and people can start to believe in the game and develop a bit of trust, the player said. The South African Cricketers Association chief executive Tony Irish also conceded that many players have reservations but didn’t say whether there had been talk of pullouts. The fact that there are now further incidents under investigation is not good news. This all needs to be dealt with urgently in order to ensure that a heavy cloud of suspicion and doubt doesn’t hang over our series against Pakistan, Irish said. Asked whether senior players were considering not participating in the tour, Irish said: Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Pakistan have been rocked by a series of corruption allegations, the latest of which came on Saturday when the ICC launched an investigation into the team’s third ODI against England after a tip-off from a British tabloid revealed suspicious scoring patterns in the match.

SA ‘reluctant’ to play with Pakistan: report

Rattled by the match-fixing allegations against Pakistani cricketers, the South African team is reportedly reluctant to play against them in a series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai next month.
According to a report in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, senior South African cricketers are considering making themselves unavailable for the series. The Proteas are due to play five ODIs, three Tests a couple of Twenty20s against Pakistan next month. To say we are reluctant is an understatement, one senior player told the newspaper. Nobody knows what the hell is going in Pakistani cricket and we feel that playing such a high profile series right now – especially in the middle east – is asking for trouble. Maybe it’s time for the ICC to step in, or for Pakistan to withdraw from the international game for a year until the mess can be cleaned up and people can start to believe in the game and develop a bit of trust, the player said. The South African Cricketers Association chief executive Tony Irish also conceded that many players have reservations but didn’t say whether there had been talk of pullouts. The fact that there are now further incidents under investigation is not good news. This all needs to be dealt with urgently in order to ensure that a heavy cloud of suspicion and doubt doesn’t hang over our series against Pakistan, Irish said. Asked whether senior players were considering not participating in the tour, Irish said: Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Pakistan have been rocked by a series of corruption allegations, the latest of which came on Saturday when the ICC launched an investigation into the team’s third ODI against England after a tip-off from a British tabloid revealed suspicious scoring patterns in the match.

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