The 2011 Razzie Awards

Awards season is hitting its peak tonight with the oscars being announced any minute. But we can’t forget about the all important Razzie Awards. Just in-case you don’t know what a Razzie Award is, they were created by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to celebrate the worst films and the most terrible performances of the past year.

This year Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba all took home Razzies. Sex in the City was a big winner, Sarah Jessica Parker took home the worst actress award. The film also won worst screen ensemble, worst screen couple and it was also named Worst Sequel.

Not surprisingly none of this year’s winners actually showed up to collect their awards. It’s a shame they couldn’t learn a lesson in humor from Sandra Bullock, she famously showed up at last years Razzie Awards to collect hers.

Rice Yield May go Down by 3pc

Rice prices may go up by 3 percent for the rice generation may decline in the next one and a half year owing to the worst flooding that hit the country this year.

Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand are the only countries that produce good rice catering to around 3billion people around the globe.
The massive destruction wrought by the floods affected countrys yield hugely.

US worried about new WikiLeaks’ release

WASHINGTON: The United States is concerned about a big dumping of classified documents by WikiLeaks which is expected to include diplomatic cables, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

“We are gearing up for the worst-case scenario, that leaked cables will touch on a wide range of issues and countries,” Crowley told AFP.

The spokesman added that “we’ve known all along that WikiLeaks has in its possession State Department cables.”

“We are prepared if this upcoming tranche of documents includes State Department cables. We are in touch with our posts around the world. They have begun the process of informing governments that a release of documents is possible in the near future,” Crowley said.

He said that diplomatic cables, messages between US posts around the world, “involve discussions that we had with government officials, with private

Terrorists failed to achieve their target: Qaim

Staff Report

KARACHI: The number of deaths from yesterday’s suicide bombing on CID building in Karachi rose to 16 while another 168 people are injured.

Three dead bodies were found in the rubble of the gutted building on Friday.

The deadly attack is being described as the worst terrorist strike in the history of the country’s commercial capital.

Sindh’s Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah visited the devastated CID building along with Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza.

The Chief Minister said that terrorists had failed to achieve their targets.

“The attackers wanted to rescue their detained accomplices, who were not present inside the targeted building,” he said.

To a question, he denied that security lapse had led to the worst terror attack. Trend Pk

Madhavan calls on KFC chief to stop abuse of chickens

R. Madhavan has been associated with PETA for a while now. For the uninitiated, the actor has been fighting for the cause of protecting animals for a long time. That explains the reason why he sent a letter on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to David Novak, CEO of KFC parent company ‘Yum! Brands’, urging him to adopt PETA’s recommendations to stop the worst abuses of chickens that are killed for KFC.

Madhavan, in his letter to David, wrote “I am sure you’re a compassionate person who agrees that animals – whether they are dogs, cats or chickens – should not be abused and that working to stop this unnecessary cruelty should be a top priority. Please use your unique position to stop the worst abuses of these sensitive birds by making the improvements suggested by PETA and KFC’s own former animal welfare advisors.”

In the same letter, Madhavan also recounted the findings of a PETA undercover investigation into KFC’s main Indian supplier, Venky’s. PETA’s investigator documented birds who suffered broken limbs and organ failure because of the animals’ unnaturally large size. In the US and elsewhere, birds are bred and drugged to grow much faster than nature intended, and their bodies can’t keep up. The remains of dead birds littered the floor, and survivors were forced to live amidst the corpses. Madhavan also urged Novak to follow the example of KFC Canada, which has become a leader in animal welfare reforms.

Madhavan, apparently, has also appeared in a PETA ad to promote a compassionate vegetarian diet.

‘Very large’ Hurricane Igor pounds tiny Bermuda

HAMILTON: Hurricane Igor battered Bermuda with ferocious winds, waves and rain on Sunday, felling trees and power lines in the Atlantic island chain in one of the worst storms to hit the British overseas territory.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the core of the “very large” hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds near 75 miles per hour (120 kph), was passing just west of Bermuda, a popular tourist destination and wealthy global insurance center more than 600 miles (1,000 km) east of the U.S. East Coast.

Residents reported uprooted trees, flying debris, widespread power outages, some flooding of streets and homes and boats torn free from moorings by pounding waves battering the coast. But there were no immediate reports of casualties.

At 11 p.m. EDT/0300 GMT, Igor’s center was about 40 miles (65 km) west of Bermuda, moving north northeast at 14

India seeks solutions to Kashmir unrest

NEW DELHI: India’s leading political parties will come together on Wednesday to try to forge a consensus on how to defuse escalating tension in Kashmir after the worst violence in three months of protests.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who admitted last week that he was “groping” for a response, will chair the all-party meeting at his residence, with the government under pressure to show leadership in the worsening crisis.

One measure under consideration is the partial withdrawal of a tough military law in the region, which grants the armed forces immunity and is seen as fuelling a sense of injustice for Kashmiris.

The cabinet discussed this at a meeting on Monday, but decided against taking a decision on a day that saw the worst violence since mass street protests began in June.

Seventeen protesters were killed in police shootings and one police

Floods likely to delay anti-Taliban moves

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan’s devastating floods are likely to delay army offensives against Taliban insurgents, the US defense secretary said on Friday, possibly giving militants chances to intensify attacks.

The US-backed government, overwhelmed by one of the worst natural disasters in Pakistan’s history, already faces renewed Taliban violence.

The al Qaeda-linked Taliban took responsibility for triple bombings at a mourning procession in the city of Lahore this week, challenging the civilian government further.

“Unfortunately the flooding in Pakistan is probably going to delay any operations by the Pakistani army in North Waziristan for some period of time,” US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Afghanistan where he is visiting US troops.

Aside from its struggles against homegrown Taliban, Pakistan is under intense American pressure to tackle

”Triple threat” stalks flood-hit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The World Food Programme on Tuesday warned that flood-ravaged Pakistan faced a “triple threat” after the worst disaster in the country”s history left eight million people dependent on aid to survive.

Torrential monsoon rains triggered massive floods that have moved steadily from north to south over the past month, engulfing a fifth of the volatile country and affecting 17 million of Pakistan”s 167 million people.

The floods have washed away huge swathes of the rich farmland on which the country”s struggling economy depends.

“There is a triple threat unfolding as this crisis widens and deepens,” World Food Programme chief Josette Sheeran said at a press conference with other United Nations officials in Islamabad, after visiting flooded areas.

“People have lost seeds, crops and their incomes, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, homelessness and desperation — the situation is extremely critical,” she said.

Anthony Lake, chief of the UN children”s fund Unicef, said that the disaster had affected nearly 8.6 million children.

“In many ways it is a children”s emergency,” Lake said.

“There is also a potential second wave of death from waterborne diseases. This is likely to get much worse if we can”t reach people with clean water, adequate nutrition, sanitation and vaccination,” he said.

Meanwhile floodwaters swept towards two small southern towns as authorities managed finally to plug a breach in defences across the Indus river at nearby Thatta city.

Pakistani troops and city workers had been battling over the weekend to save Thatta, with most of the population of 300,000 fleeing the advancing waters.

“Thatta city has been declared safe after a breach in the river caused by floods at nearby Faqir Jo Goth village was fully plugged,” senior city official
Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro said.

But he said the fast-moving waters that left the low-lying town of Sujawal submerged on Sunday were now threatening the towns of Jati and Choohar Jamali, where official warnings have been issued to residents to evacuate.

“We are making efforts to save the two towns which have a combined population of more than 100,000,” Kalhoro said.

Most people had already returned to Thatta, he said, on the western bank of the swollen Indus.

But inundated Sujawal was mostly empty on Tuesday, as water flowed down its streets and troops offloaded rubber boats from their vehicles to rescue the remaining few, a witness said.

Sindh government spokesman Jameel Soomro said that 147 people had been killed in the province, mostly as a result of disease triggered by the floods, and most of them women and children.

Southern Sindh is the worst-affected province, with 19 of its 23 districts ravaged as floodwaters have swollen the raging Indus river to 40 times its usual volume.

One million people have been displaced over the past few days alone.

Pakistan”s government has confirmed 1,645 people dead and 2,479 injured but officials warn that millions are at risk from food shortages and disease.

Khan urges nation to help flood victims

Staff Report

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on Sunday called on the nation to come forward in helping the million of flood victims.

Interacting with media persons at Karachi airport, he said the government doesn’t appear to lead the people in dealing with the worst natural catastrophe of this magnitude.

He lashed out at President Zardari for touring Europe at a time when the country was facing the worst floods of its history.

Talking about the flood victims, Khan urged the people to constitute teams and leave for affected areas.

To a question, the PTI chief said that law and order situation would remain fragile in Karachi unless the city was cleansed of weapons. SAMAA

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