London: Construction of Olympic stadium for 2012 complete
Construction work at the London 2012 Olympic Stadium came to an end on Tuesday as the last piece of turf was laid in the pitch. The venue, which seats 80,000 spectators, took just under three years to build from start to finish at a cost of £486 million. More than 5,250 people have worked on the project.
The final touch will be applied later this year when the running track s top surface will be put on. London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe laid the final piece of turf along with Namibian sprinting great Frankie Fredericks. Some 360 rolls of turf were needed to cover the 9,000-square meter infield area. The two-tier bowl in Stratford, east London, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics track and field events. After the Games have finished, English Premier League football side West Ham United will take it over, moving from their Upton Park home.
Four candidates for Faisalabad police faint while taking running test
October 20, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Staff Report
FAISALABAD: At least four young candidates fainted on the second day during the police’s recruitment running test on Wednesday.
According to sources, more than 4,000 candidates took part in the running test on the second day of recruitment for Punjab and patrolling police in Faisalabad.
On the first day of the test (Tuesday), a candidate Hafizullah passed his running test, but fainted after losing breathing control. He expired later. Six other candidates also fainted during the test.
Due to the candidate’s death and others fainting, rescue teams were on alert today. They immediately provided first aid to the four candidates who fainted today. SAMAA
Faisalabad: Recruitment for constables, 1 died in running test
Six young men fell unconscious while appearing in a running test for the post of police constables while one of them died on his way to hospital.
At least 35,000 candidates submitted their application for 260 posts of constables in which 11,000 candidates were short listed for physical test. Six candidates fell unconscious during the running test in which they had to complete distance of 1 mile in one minute. A candidate Hafeezullah, a resident of Jaranwala, died before reaching hospital. Candidates were of the view that proper facilities were not provided to them due to which they faced difficulties.
Swann in race for top ICC award after earlier snub
September 20, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
DUBAI: Initially overlooked, England off-spinner Graeme Swann on Monday made it to the shortlist for this year’s top International Cricket Council (ICC) award.
The Indian duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and South African batsman Hashim Amla are also in the running for the Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year trophy, the ICC said in a statement.
Swann was included in the long-list only after the Clive Lloyd-headed selection committee admitted to a “genuine oversight”.
Tendulkar, Sehwag and Amla have also been shortlisted for the Test Player of the Year award, alongside South African pacer Dale Steyn.
Tendulkar is in the fray for the one-day international Cricketer of the Year award as well, along with the Australian duo of Ryan Harris and Shane Watson and South African AB de Villiers.
Katherine Brunt of England, West Indian
India charts out new plan to crush Kashmiris
The Indian forces are out with another dreadful plan to crush the voices of innocent Kashmiris and restore peace in the valley, a foreign news agency reports.
The army, police and paramilitary forces said Wednesday they had formulated a joint strategy to restore peace in the valley where scores of anti-India protesters have been shot dead.
Along with the hundreds of thousand of Kashmiris, the global community is also strongly reacting against the brutalities of the Indian forces. The violent demonstrations, dubbed the Kashmiri intifada by some observers, was triggered in early June by the killing of Tufail Ahmad Matoo, a 17-year-old student, in a stone-pelting clash with policemen in its summer capital, Srinagar. But the protests soon turned into a larger expression of anger, disillusionment and hopelessness over Kashmirs decades-old territorial dispute.
After Mondays incident, a round-the-lock curfew has been clamped on the entire Kashmir valley, crippling normal life. Srinagars streets have the appearance of a war zone. Barbed wire fences have been erected around the city and its deserted roads are littered with the stones and the detritus from the running battles between agitators and policemen. Pockets of gun-wielding security personnel, gathered around small bonfires, are the only visible sign of life.
Spanish-American singer Charo requests Zoya to edit out bull-running sequence
Click above for more stills
Portrayal of animals in poor form or display of any form of harm towards them in movies has surely become an issue of major concern globally. And now it seems like Zoya Akhtar is also pulling some attention from animal lovers for the same reason.
Zoya, who is busy filming the multi starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (starring Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol), seems to be in the eye of a controversy now. Reason? Well, she shot the bull-running matches in Spain alongwith the starcast, as a requisite of the script.
After learning from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India that the upcoming motion picture Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is set to include a scene showing the running of the bulls, the talented Spanish-American singer, actor, comedian and guitarist Charo sent a letter to the film’s director, Zoya Akhtar. The letter urges Akhtar to open her heart and cut out any scenes glorifying the running of the bulls. For the uninitiated, Charo, who is beloved in the US and Spain, is also a vocal opponent of bullfighting and recently starred in a video public service announcement for PETA US to speak out against it.
Here’s a sneak peek at the letter that Charo wrote to Zoya:
Dear Ms Akhtar,
I have spent my career entertaining people, but there is nothing remotely entertaining about sending panicked bulls into a stampede and then stabbing them to death in the bullfighting arena, which is what happens at the end of the Running of the Bulls. As a proud Spaniard and member of PETA, I am writing to ask that any scenes that glamorise the Running of the Bulls be cut from your upcoming film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
The Running of the Bulls cannot be dismissed as a harmless tradition. These animals run because they are terrified. During the run, the bulls are taunted, and many lose their footing, fall and break their bones. In the end, the exhausted bulls are released into the arena and stabbed to death. The growing movement in Spain against the Running of the Bulls and the bullfights that follow exemplify the good hearts of so many Spaniards who rightfully condemn this sadistic blood sport. You may be aware that the Spanish region of Catalonia recently banned bullfights.
Spain is known for everything I hold dear: flamenco dancing, fabulous guitar work and a rich cultural diversity. But deriving any pleasure from abusing bulls is something we should all be ashamed of and certainly nothing that should be promoted in a feature film.
Yours truly,
Charo
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.
Euro gives ground and Asian stocks weak
TOKYO: The euro struggled to hold on to gains on Monday as investors sold into its latest bounce, while Asian stocks recouped ground from last week”s eight-month lows on fears the euro zone debt crisis will hit world economic growth.
Market volatility remained high following the euro”s decline to a four-year low last week, however, and investors further cut risk in their books to wait for things to calm down, traders said.
Losses in the Australian dollar deepened after miner Rio Tinto said a mining tax had damaged Australia”s investment reputation. The currency bounced back from its lows as stocks in China, with which Australia has close trade ties, rose 3 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan rose 1.2 percent after a weaker start, moving up from the lowest level since September 2009.
“Today”s gains were merely a technical rebound as the slides last week were too much, too fast,” said Eddy Chen, a manager at the fund business at Taiwan”s First Financial.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 3.1 percent, buoyed by a surge in property shares after a media report quoted a government official as saying a new property tax recently under discussion would not come within the next three years.
Investors sold Japanese exporters” shares to pull the benchmark Nikkei average down to its lowest level in more than five months, taking the view that a strong yen undermines future profits. The Nikkei fell 6.5 percent last week, its worst weekly drop in more than a year.
The euro fell to around $1.2500 in Asian trade from around $1.2570 in late New York dealings on Friday. The currency had posted its first weekly gain against the dollar in six weeks last week as investors bought it after a long slide.
Dealers said the health of the Europe”s banks weighed on the euro. At the weekend, the Bank of Spain said it was taking over the running of savings bank CajaSur after its planned merger with another small Spanish lender failed.
“The currency market focus is still the euro zone”s fiscal trouble, but weariness about its impact on the global economy seems to be spreading, making investors increasingly risk averse,” said Jun Kato, senior manager for investment at Shinkin Asset Management.
The Australian dollar fell as investors, fearful of slower world economic growth, unwound carry trades funded in the euro.
The euro rebounded sharply against the high-yielding Aussie last week, hitting three-month highs of A$1.5456, on the back of a huge sell-off by hedge funds.
On Monday, the pair was trading at A$1.5108, just above late levels in New York on Friday. The Australian dollar fell 0.5 percent against the yen to 74.61 yen.
The Aussie dollar extended its broad slide after Rio Tinto said it is reviewing all capital spending plans in light of the government”s proposed resource super profits tax.
Australian stocks rose, buoyed by bargain hunters picking up banks and miners, following a slight recovery on Wall Street. The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index gained 1.4 percent to 4,364.2, moving away from 10-month lows on Friday.
Oil prices snapped three straight sessions of decline and rose slightly to hover above $70 a barrel, though analysts said sentiment remain fragile and prices could be again be hit by macroeconomic pessimism.
An oil price of $65 per barrel is still reasonable for all producers, but a price below that will be a “disadvantage,” the chief executive of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said on Sunday.
Cannes festival readies for awards night
May 23, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
CANNES: Three past winners of the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Abbas Kiarostami are in the running for the same award again as 19 films compete at the world’s premier cinema showcase.
Read the original post:
Cannes festival readies for awards night
picasso
May 20, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
$600M worth of paintings by Picasso, Matisse stolen from Paris museum
A thief, apparently acting alone, broke into the Paris Museum of Modern Art overnight and stole five paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani and others worth more than $600 million, Radio France International reports.
The Paris prosecutor’s office says a single masked intruder was caught on a video surveillance camera carting off the art work, the Associated Press reports. The intruder apparently got into the museum by cutting a padlock on a gate and breaking a window.
The paintings were reported missing early Thursday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower, according to Paris police. Investigators have cordoned off the museum, in one of the French capital’s most tourist-frequented neighborhoods.
A single masked intruder was caught on a video surveillance camera taking the paintings away, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The intruder entered by cutting a padlock on a gate and breaking a museum window, it said.
Their collective worth is estimated at as much as $613 million, the prosecutor’s office said.
The stolen works were Le pigeon aux petits-pois (The Pigeon with the Peas) an ochre and brown Cubist oil painting by Pablo Picasso; La Pastorale (Pastoral), an oil painting of nudes on hillside by Henri Matisse; L’olivier pres de l’Estaque (Olive Tree near Estaque) by Georges Braque; La femme a l’eventail (Woman with a Fan) by Amedeo Modigliani; and Nature-mort aux chandeliers (Still Life with Chandeliers) by Fernand Leger.
Police sealed off the museum where the five paintings, Le Pigeon aux Petits Pois by Picasso; La Pastorale by Matisse; L’Olivier Pres de l’Estaque by Braque; La Femme a l’Eventail by Modigliani, and Nature Morte aux Chandeliers by Leger, were stolen. The museum is just across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower.
The burglary was discovered just before 7 a.m. and is being investigated by detectives from France’s elite Investi Brigade de Répression du Banditisme. Paintings by Picasso are among the most-frequently stolen, in part because he was so prolific and so many of them exist.
The paintings are so famous that it’s unlikely they could be sold on the open market, Le Monde reported. Sometimes, such well-known paintings are stolen on command for private collectors, the newspaper said.
