Military court formally indicts Brig Ali Khan

 

Brig Al Khan was taken into custody from the GHQ 6 months ago on charges of ties with defunct organization Hizb-ul-Tehreer.

 

A report said the military officer was indicted during the current week as summary of evidences was completed against him.

 

But on the other hand, ISPR has neither confirmed nor denied the news.

 

However a retired officer of Judge Advocate General (JAG) department of Pak Army and expert of court martial cases , Col(R) Muhammad Akram told foreign media organization that the family members of Brig Ali contacted him to plead his case in the military court.

 

According to the military law, after framing the charges against any official, the process of court martial is started within few days.

 

The court indicted Brig Ali Khan under the charges that he was in contact with Hizb-ul-Tahreer and he made pledges with the high command of the banned organization to help them in their designs.

 

According to charge sheet, he not only tried to implement their terms in GHQ but also made efforts to take several officers into confidence in this regard.

 

Sources said anyone found involved with Brig Ali Khan would also be tried in the military court. –Online
 

Karachi Ching-Chis rev up in protest

 

The drivers said that police were tormenting them under the garb of enforcing routes. The police on the other hand say that they are forcing routes as a number of motorcycle rickshaws were violating route restrictions. Police also say they received complaints to this effect from the Karachi Transport Ittehad.

 

Police have imposed heavy fines of rickshaw drivers found violating the routes. The rickshaw drivers took out a rally from Purani Numaish MA Jinnah Road.

 

All Karachi Motorcycle Rickshaw Welfare association leader Syed Safdar Shah Qadri said police have arrested many drivers in the name of crackdown. He also said police were trying to block their rally by saying there was VIP movement on MA Jinnah Ropad, but rickshaw drivers are determined to reach Tibet Centre.
 

Pakistan, Sri Lanka ink 3 MoU

 

Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister Prof G.L Peiris signed the agreement for cooperation in the information field.

 

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister Professor G. L Peiris signed the agreement for Pakistan s two hundred million dollars investment in Sri Lanka.

 

The third agreement was signed between National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and Sri Lankan Tertiary and Vocational Training Commission.

 

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa witnessed the signing ceremony.
 

Football: Australia, Japan hit by Olympic setbacks

SINGAPORE: Australia’s Olympic hopes were dealt a major blow with away defeat to Uzbekistan late on Sunday, while Japan were knocked off the top of Group C with an upset loss to Syria.

South Korea needed an injury-time equaliser to scrape a 1-1 draw against unfancied Saudi Arabia, while Southeast Asian Games champions Malaysia remained winless in four outings as they lost 2-1 to Bahrain.

But Aurelio Vidmar’s “Olyroos” were the biggest losers as they crashed to  the bottom of Group B with a 2-0 loss in freezing Tashkent, leaving them five  points off the lead with two games to play.

Only the top teams in each of three Asian groups gain automatic berths for  this year’s London Games, while three second-placed teams will compete for a  play-off spot.

Australia went down 2-0 through goals from Kenja Turaev and Oleg Zoteev  either side of half-time, meaning they are still yet to find the net in their  four qualifiers so far.

In temperatures of minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 Fahrenheit), Jason  Hoffman had a goal ruled out for offside while a Mitch Nicholls’s effort was  disallowed for a foul in the penalty area.

In Amman, Japan were rocked by an early Yuya Osako own-goal before Kensuke  Nagai got them back on terms just before half-time. But defender Ahmad Al-Salih  clinched it 2-1 for underdogs Syria with his winner on 90 minutes.

With the victory, Syria take over as Group C leaders due to their superior  tally of goals scored compared with Japan, who are also on nine points.

Meanwhile Kim Bo-Kyung spared South Korea’s blushes as he cancelled out  Omar Sultan Khudari’s opener for Saudi Arabia in the first minute of injury  time in Dammam.

The draw was enough to preserve South Korea’s slender one-point lead at the  top of Group A after Qatar and Oman drew 2-2 in Doha. AGENCIES

Smartphones power Samsung to record profit

SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics on Friday posted a record operating profit of 5.3 trillion won ($4.72 billion) in the fourth quarter, thanks largely to booming smartphone sales.

The company, the world’s largest technology firm by revenue, is battling US giant Apple for leadership of the global smartphone market.

It credited its flagship Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note brands for helping its telecoms businesses achieve a record quarterly operating profit of 2.64 trillion won.

“Despite intensified competition amid the global economic slowdown, our telecommunications businesses continued to post solid earnings with an enhanced line-up of high-end smartphones, resulting in higher average selling price,” said senior vice-president Robert Yi in a statement.

The overall quarterly operating profit figure, a 76 percent increase year-on-year, was largely in line with the earnings guidance issued early this month by the firm.

Revenue in October-December was 47.3 trillion won, a 13 percent rise year-on-year. Net profit of four trillion won was up 17 percent on a year earlier.

For the whole of last year the company logged a net profit of 13.7 trillion won, down 15 percent from the previous year. Revenue rose 6.7 percent to a record 165 trillion won and operating profit declined 6.05 percent to 16.2 trillion won.

Samsung overtook Apple in the third quarter of last year to become the world’s largest seller of smartphones, although it was unclear who held the lead in the fourth quarter.

The South Korean firm said its smartphone shipments rose about 30 percent in the fourth quarter compared with July-September but gave no number.

“For the global market outlook for this year, demand for entry-level smartphones and tablet PCs will increase significantly, while the growth momentum for feature phones is expected to stay static,” it said in a statement.

It tipped the overall smartphone market to grow by more than 30 percent this year.

Samsung, the world’s largest maker of flat panels, memory chips and flat-screen televisions, announced capital spending of 25 trillion won this year.

Some 15 trillion won of the total would be invested in chipmaking, to improve production lines and upgrade technology. Another 6.6 trillion won would be spent on the display panel division.

The firm also credited a stronger lineup of LED televisions for the improved quarter-on-quarter sales.

It said its chip business sustained profitability in the fourth quarter despite weak market demand, thanks to a mixture of high-margin products and strong demand for NAND flash memory chips used in smartphones and tablets. AGENCIES

US, S. Korea to hold joint military drill

 

The United States and South Korea said Friday they would start two major annual joint military exercises in February and March despite the sensitive power transition under way in North Korea.

 

The Key Resolve drill will start on February 27 and continue until March 9. Separately, a joint air, ground and naval field training exercise known as Foal Eagle will be held from March 1 to April 30.

 

Seoul and Washington, which bases 28,500 troops in the South, say the drills are defensive and routine but the North habitually terms them a rehearsal for invasion.

 

Key Resolve, a computerised command post exercise, involves about 200,000 South Korean troops and 2,100 US soldiers.

 

It is “routine and defence-oriented, designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula”, General James D. Thurman, commander of US troops in South Korea, said in a statement.

 

“It is based on realistic scenarios, using various assumed threats,” he said.

 

Foal Eagle will include about 11,000 US forces along with South Korean troops in division-sized or smaller units, US authorities said.

 

North Korea has denounced the exercises as warmongering.

 

The North has taken a hostile tone with the South since its leader Kim Jong-Il died on December 17 and was replaced by his youngest son Jong-Un.

 

The new leader has been appointed armed forces chief and has visited several units in an apparent attempt to burnish his military credentials.

 

Cross-border tensions have been high since the South accused the North of torpedoing a warship with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010.

 

The North denied involvement but eight months later shelled a border island and killed four South Koreans.

China’s first aircraft carrier starts sea trials

China s first aircraft carrier started sea trials on Wednesday, a step that will likely boost concerns about the country s naval ambitions amid ongoing disputes with its neighbors over territorial waters.

The carrier left Dalian port in northeast Liaoning province early on Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The test run had been expected.

Xinhua said the first sea trial was in line with the schedule to rebuild the carrier, with China spending the best part of a decade refurbishing the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag after it was towed from Ukraine in 1998. The report cited unnamed military sources.

China officially acknowledged a month ago that it is rebuilding the carrier and said the refurbished ship would be used for research and training a strong indication it plans to build carriers of its own.

China s carrier ambitions have sparked concern among neighbors amid heightened tensions over territorial disputes around Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

Over the past year, China has seen a flare-up in territorial spats with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam and seen its relations strained with South Korea all of which have turned to Washington, long the pre-eminent naval power in Asia, for support.

Xinhua said refitting and test work would continue on the carrier when it returns from its short sea trial.

The Varyag, yet to be officially renamed, was towed from Ukraine as an empty shell without engines, weapons systems or other crucial equipment. It has been under construction for the better part of a decade.

Defense experts say China plans up to four carriers in all, with preparations under way at a Shanghai shipyard.

No time period for the trial was given by Xinhua, but a statement posted on the website of the Liaoning Maritime Safety Authority said “all vessels will be barred from entering” a small section of the sea off Dalian on August 14.

There had been earlier online reports in China that the test was set to start last weekend, but it may have been delayed by a tropical storm that swept through the area.

 

64th Festival de Cannes Award Winners

TrendPK.com: The official Jury of this 64th Festival de Cannes, presided over by Robert De Niro, revealed this evening the prizes winners during the Closing Ceremony.

Mélanie Laurent hosted Jane Fonda on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière to award the Palme d’or to the best film among the 20 in Competition.

Christophe Honoré’s closing film Beloved starring Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Garrel and Milos Forman, was screened at the end of the ceremony in the presence of the crew.

FEATURE FILMS
Palme d’Or
THE TREE OF LIFE by Terrence MALICK

Grand Prix
BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (Once Upon A Time In Anatolia) by Nuri Bilge CEYLAN
THE KID WITH A BIKE by Jean-Pierre & Luc DARDENNE

Award for the Best Director
Nicolas WINDING REFN for DRIVE

Jury Prize
POLISS by MAÏWENN

Best Performance for an Actor
Jean DUJARDIN in THE ARTIST by Michel HAZANAVICIUS

Best Performance for an Actress
Kirsten DUNST in MELANCHOLIA by Lars von TRIER

Award for the Best Screenplay
Joseph CEDAR for FOOTNOTE

SHORT FILMS IN COMPETTION

Palme d’Or

CROSS-COUNTRY by Maryna VRODA

Jury Prize

BADPAKJE 46 (Swimsuit 46) by Wannes DESTOOP

CAMERA D’OR

LAS ACACIAS by Pablo GIORGELLI presented in the framework of the the CRITICS’ WEEK

UN CERTAIN REGARD

PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD Ex-æquo

ARIRANG by KIM Ki-Duk

HALT AUF FREIER STRECKE (Stopped on Track) by Andreas DRESEN

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

ELENA by Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV

DIRECTING PRIZE

BÉ OMID É DIDAR (Au revoir) by Mohammad RASOULOF

CINEFONDATION

First Cinéfondation Prize

DER BRIEF (The Letter) by Doroteya Droumeva
dffb, Germany

Second Cinéfondation Prize
DRARI by Kamal Lazraq
La Fémis, France

Third Cinéfondation Prize
YA-GAN-BI-HANG (Fly by Night) by Son Tae-gyum
Chung-Ang University, South Korea

Ultra Music Festival extends its global reach

MIAMI: Once a humble beach party, Miami’s mega-hip Ultra Music Festival is expanding to Asia after a sellout, three-day rave this past weekend that left revelers nursing a nasty hangover on Monday.

‘My Name Is Khan’ releases in South Korea

Fox Star Studios has planned the widest release ever for an Indian film in South Korea for MY NAME IS KHAN. The film will be released in 2 stages there. First, a platform release in 12 theaters of 8 major cities on March 24 and then expanded to 200 theaters on April 7. The list of cities is Seoul, Incheon, Suwon, Daejeon, Seongnam, Gwangju, Daegu and Busan.

The film is being aggressively promoted with a P&A spend of $ 1 million. This is the highest marketing spend for an Indian film. The film has been sub-titled in South Korean language.

The film has performed very well in test screenings and the distributors are very confident about the film and find the story and content to be exceptional for the South Korean audience.

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