CSA Terminates Gibbs’ National Contract
South African cricket board has terminated the national contract of Opening batsman H Gibbs after he was found violating the contract. The contract is terminated by mutual consent. The due date of completion of the contract was April, 2011. He violated the contract as it was stipulated in the contract that no employee should talk about the employer.
The termination was made after he publishes his autobiography which resulted in sale of 15,000 copies in five days. Cricket board has asked legal team to look into the matter and find out the exact reality of the allegation he made in his book.
Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive said that he has not read it and South African captain G Smith showed disappointment on this publication. There is an agreement between CSA and Gibbs so both parties are now bound not to comment on the issue.
According to information Gibbs will lose about R300,000 (US$ 42,857) from the cancellation of his contract. He was schedule to play n the Australian Big Bash and the New Zealand Twenty-Over competition.
CSA claimed the decision is by mutual consent but Gibbs’ lawyer, Peter Whelan said that it was not a result of mutual consent. He added that they are looking for contact from CSA lawyers to contact them.
Afghan war not hurt by supply route woes: NATO
October 7, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
KABUL: Pakistan’s closure of a key supply line for NATO-led troops fighting in Afghanistan, and militant attacks on tankers on a second route are not hurting the military effort in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said on Thursday.
Brigadier-General Josef Blotz, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said a return to normal operations along both routes could be “closer” after the publication of a joint probe into a cross-border attack by U.S. helicopters that led to the border closure.
“The ISAF operations here within Afghanistan, are not impeded at all by these incidents,” Blotz said. “We do expect that with the closure of the assessment…we are closer to a resolution of all the problems.” AGENCIES
Mullen: US trying to shield Afghans named in leak
August 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
WASHINGTON: The top US military officer says the Pentagon is trying to protect Afghans who may be at risk from Taliban retaliation following the publication of tens of thousands of secret war documents.
The rest is here:
Mullen: US trying to shield Afghans named in leak
Karzai asks why allies won”t hit Pakistan
July 29, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that Western allies had the ability to strike at Taliban bases in Pakistan, but questioned their willingness to do so.
“The war against terrorism is not in the villages or houses of Afghanistan …but in the sanctuaries, sources of funding and training (of terrorism) and they lie outside Afghanistan,” he told a news conference in the capital.
“It is a different question whether Afghanistan has the ability to tackle this,” he said in response to a question about Pakistan support for the Taliban and why the conflict was dragging on, “… but our allies have this capability the question now is ”why they are not taking action”?” Islamabad”s covert support for the Taliban resurfaced this week with the publication by the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents which point the finger at Pakistan”s spy agency.
Tuesday, in its first reaction to the leak, Afghanistan”s National Security Council said the United States had failed to attack the patrons and supporters of the Taliban hiding in Pakistan throughout the nine-year-old conflict.
The classified documents show current and former members of Pakistan”s spy agency were actively collaborating with the Taliban in plotting attacks in Afghanistan.
Violence in Afghanistan has soared since a troop surge brought to 150,000 the number of foreign forces confronting the Taliban and two other insurgent groups.
mercury
June 3, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The coolest Mercury we’ll never get to see?
That would certainly be the planned Mercury version of the next Ford Focus. Speculation has been — and we tend to believe it — that it would have revived the name Mercury Tracer. It would have been the first small Mercury in many years.
ALSO ON DRIVE ON:See our gallery of your Mercurys and of vintage Mercurys.
Ford executives told Lincoln Mercury dealers in February that they will be getting a new small car, an offshoot of the next Ford Focus. In 2009, Ford showed off the Lincoln Concept C at the Detroit auto show — and yesterday confirmed that it will go on sale. That is the Concept C in the photo above. We suspect that a variant of the C would have become that new Merc.n the fourth quarter of 2010, Ford will end production of Mercury vehicles to fully devote its financial, product development, production 
and marketing, sales and service resources toward further growing its core Ford brand while enhancing Lincoln. Existing Mercury owners will receive continued access to parts and service support at Ford and Lincoln dealers. Current Mercury warranties and Extended Service Plans will be honored. There will also be special offers available on new Mercury vehicles through the summer. Affected dealers to receive specialized support during the transition as the company continues its transformation to a more profitable dealer network.
peter marc jacobson
June 3, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Actress Fran Drescher has dropped a bombshell on Hollywood – her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson was gay. The beloved U.S. TV star split from Jacobson in 1999 but the couple has remained close and in 2008 co-hosted a now famous party to promote same-sex marriage in California.
Drescher now admits she is more than just a supporter of gay rights – she was married to a homosexual. She tells In Touch magazine that she never knew her ex was gay during their 20-year marriage, but he ‘came out’ to her after they divorced.
The “Nanny” star tells the publication, “(We are) the the best of friends. We love each other dearly. We have even fixed each other up! I more successfully than him, by the way. Peter and I feel so blessed to have met each other and to still have a caring, loving relationship. Love is what we’re all about… We went through a lot together.” The Nanny. The two were separated for several years before divorcing in 1999. Now Jacobson and Drescher are working on a sitcom together loosely based on their true life experience. It sounds positive and potentially fun, although given their past work it could easily veer into pure cornball territory: 
Facebook fuels American flag business in Pakistan
KARACHI: In Pakistan a row about Facebook, censorship and religious sacrilege means booming demand for replica American and Israeli flags to go up in flames at protest rallies.
That means one thing for 31-year-old Mamoon ur Rasheed — business — and he is working long into the night to churn out the paraphernalia beloved of Islamic activists taking to the streets.
“I have nothing to do with any political party, but it is really enjoyable when you see your work on TV screens,” a laughing Rasheed told media.
“I”m busy every day making banners and placards for different religious and political parties, but work gets a boost — especially when international controversy concerning Muslims breaks out,” he said.
When a Facebook user decided to organise an “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” competition to promote “freedom of expression”, it sparked a major backlash among Islamic activists in the South Asian country of 170 million.
Islam strictly prohibits the depiction of any prophet as blasphemous and the row sparked comparison with protests across the Muslim world over the publication of satirical cartoons of Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006.
Several thousand Pakistanis have taken to the streets at the behest of right-wing religious groups, who turn to Rasheed when they need flags to burn and banners to write.
“Generally, we receive orders for banners for a couple of demonstrations a day, but due to the blasphemous drawings issue, the number of orders for flags and banners has increased by 10 to 12 per day,” said Rasheed.
“Flags are made for burning. They symbolise what our clients want to express and we are paid for it, so I”m happy to see our work go up in flames.”
Rasheed owns a workshop where he employs four craftsmen to paint flags and write calligraphy, and a small printing press.
“We have received continuous orders for American and Israeli flags. Normally we paint them but when demand surges into the hundreds we print these flags to get them to our clients in time,” he said.
In the wake of the Prophet Mohammed controversy, Pakistan blocked hundreds of web pages to limit access to “blasphemous” material, banning access to US-based Facebook and YouTube — the two most popular websites in the country.
A court in the eastern city of Lahore ordered the block on Facebook until at least May 31, when it is scheduled to hear a petition from Islamic lawyers.
Swedish embassy closed amid security reasons
ISLAMABAD: Sweden’s Embassy in Islamabad has been closed due to some security reasons for an indefinite period.
According to sources, the embassy was closed last week in the wake of possible protest demonstrations against blasphemous caricatures.
It is unclear when it will be re-opened. However, sources say that embassy will remain closed for at least two more weeks.
Pakistan, US pledge to intensify cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and United States have agreed to continue frequent government-to-government contacts and further senior-level engagement to advance their common interests and provide a better and more secure future to their people.
Both the countries acknowledged the extreme challenge of thwarting each and every plot and terrorist action, and pledged to intensify efforts, increase cooperation, and do everything possible to protect their citizens.
President Asif Ali Zardari said militancy and terrorism were the common enemies of the United States and Pakistan and it was important that the existing robust cooperation between the two countries continues to fight the menace.
The president was talking to National Security Advisor General James L. Jones and Director of Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta here at the President House here on Wednesday.
General James Jones was accompanied by Director of Central Intelligence Leon Panetta, U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson, and other senior officials.
President was accompanied by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.
A statement issued by the President House said “the productive discussions covered U.S.-Pakistan relations, the security situation in the region, the shared terrorist threat and fight against extremists, and the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.”
General Jones reiterated the United States’ long-term commitment to the strategic partnership with Pakistan, including support for creating economic opportunity for the Pakistani people.
The talks provided an opportunity to review progress on many areas addressed in the recent strategic dialogue held in Washington.
Both sides expressed their commitment to strengthening ties across the broad spectrum of issues between the two countries, including trade, economic growth, and development.
General Jones and Director Panetta also provided an update on the ongoing investigation into the Times Square terrorist incident.
General Jones expressed appreciation for the excellent cooperation the United States was getting from Pakistan as well as the tremendous sacrifice of the Pakistani military, law enforcement and people in their efforts to combat extremists.
The talks covered measures that both countries are, and will be, taking to confront the common threat they face from extremists and prevent such potential attacks from occurring again.
President Zardari noted that Pakistan desires a long-term, multifaceted and durable relationship with the United States which no incident should be able to adversely impact.
Facebook blocked in Pakistan
LAHORE: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Facebook over a competition encouraging its users to post caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on the social networking site.
Earlier in the day, the LHC ordered authorities to block Facebook until May 31..
The depiction of any prophet is strictly prohibited in Islam as blasphemous and Muslims across the world staged angry protests over the publication of satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006.
Controversy erupted in the conservative Muslim country last month when a Facebook user set up a page called “Draw Mohammed Day”, inviting people to send in their caricatures of the Muslim prophet on May 20.
The move angered thousands of young people and Muslim faithful in Pakistan, unleashing an online campaign and isolated protests that grabbed the government”s attention and the controversial page was blocked on Tuesday.
But a group of lawyers went a step further Wednesday and petitioned the court to order a blanket ban on Facebook in Pakistan.
Justice Ejaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court directed the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to block Facebook until May 31, when the court will open a detailed hearing into the case.
The PTA Director told the court the government has already blocked the particular link. About complete ban, he said internet services could face problems if the complete website was banned.
However, the court ordered complete ban till May 31.
A large number of religious clerics, students and lawyers were present in the courtroom.
