Tourists eye another big win over Zimbabwe today

HARARE: Pakistan are expected to bring in a couple of youngsters in their line-up as they look to complete a 3-0 clean sweep by winning the third and final One-day International against Zimbabwe on Wednesday (today).

The tourists have created a chance to introduce a few more youngsters into the team and test different combinations, which was one of the major aims of their journey. Although they were pushed hard in the first match, they regrouped strongly to put on a sterling all-round performance in the second.

Mohammad Hafeez has underlined his role as a premier allrounder but some of the other members of the squad will also want to use the opportunity to make an impression — particularly the youngsters and players making their comebacks. Sohail Tanvir has made a convincing comeback while Imran Farhat also put his hand up. It will be up to the other fringe members of the squad to capitalise on the chances they may get, especially against opponents struggling to stay above water.

Pakistan have given themselves an ideal opportunity to experiment, but will have to juggle cleverly to include their fringe players. Rameez Raja and Yasir Shah could be brought into the side although it will be harsh to drop Imran Farhat after his impressive showing in the second match. One of Junaid Khan, who injured his ankle during that match but returned to complete his spell, or Aizaz Cheema may have to make way for Sohail Khan, and Asad Shafiq could to slot in at No 3 although Pakistan are unlikely to leave Younis Khan out.

Zimbabwe will want to stop their series against Pakistan from spiralling into a failure and the final ODI is their last chance to do so before the Twenty20s start. So far, they have dramatically swung from a team that can compete fiercely, to one that can be comprehensively outplayed by the same opposition.

On a good batting surface, they will have to apply themselves with less inhibition than they have done so far. Importantly, Zimbabwe will have to show more energy and purpose in the field to back up the performances of their bowlers. Harare does not offer much for either the seamers or the spinners but if they can maintain accuracy and discipline, they should be rewarded.

Zimbabwe’s idea of playing two frontline seamers and two spinners backfired on them on Sunday and they may choose to return to a three-pronged pace attack with Kyle Jarvis returning in place of Prosper Utseya. The No 6 position is still a contentious one and Malcolm Waller had not been able to make it his own in two attempts. Craig Ervine, Forster Mutizwa and Regis Chakabva are all part of the squad and one of the three could be given the opportunity to make a case for themselves there.

Despite Zimbabwe’s tentative approach to batting in the first innings on Sunday, the Harare pitch remains batsmen-friendly. Any advantage for the seamers will dissipate after the first hour of play and chances are the team that wins the toss will bowl first to exploit that. Another perfect summer’s day in Africa is expected to close off the ODI series.(The News Pk)

Four types of dengue reported in Pakistan

KARACHI: The recent outbreak of dengue fever confirmed the presence of all four types of dengue viral infections in Pakistan. Experts also warned that dengue could spread severely throughout the country as it has in the province of Punjab.

This was stated by Dr. Javed Akram, the Head of Jinnah Hospital Lahore and chairman of dengue expert committee.
Until date, officially more than 3,500 people have been infected and over a dozen have died from the recent dengue outbreak in Pakistan.

“These are the official figures but I think the number of unreported dengue patients is more than 500, 000,”Akram told Dawn.com.

Akram said that in the past they had warned the authorities about the worst possible outbreak of dengue fever in Pakistan but this time they seemed to have been too late. Next year, the epidemic will be even more catastrophic than it has been now, he added.

Akram, along with others contributed a research paper about the 2008 dengue outbreak study in two hospitals of Lahore. The paper was published in 2009 in the International Journal of Infectious Disease.

An estimated 100 million persons worldwide get infected with dengue annually, a resurging viral infection spread by the mosquito Aedes aegyptii. In Pakistan Aedes aegyptii is mainly responsible for this disease.

Several hundred thousands of patients develop dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) — a more severe, usually fatal form in which bleeding and shock occurs.

A study of two outbreaks in Lahore in 2008, conducted on 110 patients from two hospitals, showed more than half of them had developed the more severe form which is now confirmed by the current dengue outbreak in Punjab.

Malik Asif Humayoun, then the head of the department of medicine at Allama Iqbal Medical College and the Jinnah Hospital, and his colleagues describe this increase in the more severe form as compared to previous years as alarming.

Four strains of the dengue virus circulate worldwide, including South Asia, and the fatal DHF form occurs when a previously infected and cured dengue patient gets re-infected again, usually with a different strain of the virus.

Two of these were reported in previous outbreaks in Karachi city, while a third has been reported in the Lahore outbreak of 2008. Now all four types of dengue serotypes have been confirmed in Punjab.

“There is urgent need to have a countrywide epidemiological survey for multiple dengue serotypes (strains),” said Humayoun.

There is also a need for larger clinical studies in Pakistan and other South Asian countries to better understand the range of infections, endemic patterns and genetic susceptibility of different populations to the dengue virus, the researchers concluded.Read more at Dawn.com

PESHAWAR: Four children killed in Peshawar school bus attack

Express Tribune: Four schoolchildren and a van driver were killed in an ambush by militants in the Mattani area of Peshawar on Tuesday.

The school van was carrying the children back home to Kala Khel when it came under attack in Ghaziabad. The attack killed four on the spot and 17 others sustained injuries.

Police immediately cordoned off the area and the injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

All the school children belong to Kala Khel village, an area where locals have formed a peace militia against militants.

Speaking to the media, police official Sahibzada Sajjad said the attack was an act of revenge against the residents of Kala Khel as they were committed to rooting out militancy from the area.

“Yes, I am sure, Kala Khel people are being targeted due to the Lashkar they have formed against militants”, Sajjad added.

Shoeb, a 10th grade student, said the students were on their way back home when they came under attack.

“We were hardly 15 miles away from our home when we heard a blast and then they started firing upon our vehicle. I received bullet injuries but I don’t know remember anything after that”, Shoeb added.

The vehicle belonged to the private Khyber School, a police official told AFP.

The school told AFP it had taken some precautions but that it had never been openly threatened by militants who have a presence in the area.

“We received no threatening letter,” said deputy head Salman Ahmed.

“We ourselves adopted measures for the safety of the children. We stopped singing classes and the school band playing music during the morning assembly because we know militants are active in the area,” he said.

This is not the first time Kala Khel residents have come under attack.

Earlier, a Kala Khel bound passenger vehicle was blown up at a bus stand in Mattani, killing 8 persons including women and children. The attack was followed by an IED explosion 15 days later, which claimed four lives.

Blast in lower Dir kills local ANP leader

LOWER DIR: A remote-controlled bomb blast in the Maidan area of Lower Dir on Tuesday killed a local leader belonging to a political party, DawnNews reported.

Sources told DawnNews that the bomb, believed to be detonated through a remote-controlled device, killed the Awami National Party’s (ANP) district president. The blast also injured three other people.(Dawn.com)

Starved dogs eat owner

JAKARTA: Seven dogs starved of food and water for two weeks are suspected of eating their Indonesian owner after he returned to his hometown in Manado from a holiday, local media reported.

A neighborhood guard was curious when he saw luggage lined up at the front of Andre Lumboga's house, days after the 50-year old arrived back home. He approached the house, smelled something foul and called the police, according to a report.

"His skull was found in the kitchen, and his body was found in the front of his house," Eriyana, a local police chief in Batam, an island off Sumatra, told VIVAnews website.

Lumboga arrived home last Wednesday, but his body was just discovered on Monday.

"We suspect that the dogs were hungry, so they attacked Andre, because they had not been fed for 14 days," he said. Police also found bones of two other dogs, believed to have also been eaten by the hungry canines.

Lumboga was from northern Sulawesi island, a predominantly Christian area, where the local spicy diet is famous in Indonesia for including dogs, bats and forest rats. (Reuters)

Stosur stuns Williams to win US Open title

NEW YORK: Australia’s Sam Stosur upset American Serena Williams 6-2 6-3 on Sunday to win an ill-tempered US Open women’s final.
Stosur played the match of her life to defeat the most formidable player of her generation and capture her first grand slam title, spoiling American hopes of a home-bred champion on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Williams, bidding for a fourth US Open crown, failed to reproduce her best after sailing to the final without dropping a set and let her frustrations boil over.

Throughout the second set she repeatedly argued with the chair umpire in a petulant display that rekindled memories of her exit from the 2009 US Open.

“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way because you’re out of control,” Williams said.

While Williams berated the official, Stosur remained a model of composure. The 27-year-old dominated the match from the outset and fully deserved her win, played in front of a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

She put Williams under pressure from the start with some thunderbolt returns that pinned Williams behind the baseline and attacked her backhand, forcing her to make errors.

Stosur broke Williams’s serve twice in the first set then three times in the second and only lost her own serve once.

Stosur, seeded ninth, became the first Australian woman to win the US Open title since Margaret Court in 1973. The last Australian woman to win any grand slam was Evonne Goolagong-Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980.

Stosur, who was better known as a doubles player, emerged as Australia’s best prospect in years when she made the final at the French Open last year but lost to Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.(Dawn.com)

LIVE VIDEO: 9/11 Ground Zero memorial ceremony

New York City's ceremony to mark the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The event also serves as the official opening for the September 11 Memorial, located at the World Trade Center site.

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Reese Witherspoon hit by car

Actress Reese Witherspoon was treated in hospital in the US on Wednesday for minor injuries after she was involved in a traffic accident

Santa Monica police officer Richard Lewis says the Oscar-winning actress was hit by a car driven by an 84-year-old woman.

Witherspoon was jogging in an unmarked crosswalk in Santa Monica when the driver struck her at about 32km/h. The 35-year-old actress was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Witherspoon's representative told People.com that the actress was not seriously hurt and following her release from hospital, she was "resting comfortably at home".
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Witherspoon is the mother of two children, Ava, 12, and Deacon, 8, from her marriage to Ryan Phillippe.

The couple were divorced in 2007 and she married Hollywood agent Jim Toth this year.

Meanwhile, she has revealed her difficulties with single motherhood in an interview with Marie Claire magazine.

She said she found the break-up of her first marriage "really traumatic" and was concerned about how the split would affect her young children.

"I was hard on myself when I got divorced," she told Marie Claire.

"And until I got remarried, I don't think I realised how stressed I was. I don't think I recognised how anxious I was about being a single parent."

But life with her new husband is much more relaxed, says the actress, with Toth proving a "wonderful" step-father to her children.

In her single days, Witherspoon feared she'd never partner who would love her children as well, the actress admitted.

"Somebody close to me once said, 'Oh no man will ever accept your children.' And I just thought it was the most horrifying thing someone has every said to me in my entire life," she said.

"Now I feel a great sense of relief and an incredible amount of support from my husband. I got very lucky and he's wonderful. And so wonderful with my children. I'm very blessed."

Witherspoon won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter in the 2005 film Walk The Line.

Source: Smh.com

Quetta: 16 including FC personnel killed in twin blasts

QUETTA: Twin suicide blasts in Civil Lines area of Quetta near commissioner office killed sixteen people including three FC personnel while over 30 got injured on Wednesday, Geo News reported.

According to police sources, one of the attackers rammed a car carrying explosives into an FC vehicle standing outside DIG FC house while the other entered the house and started firing who later blew himself up.

Both the blasts killed three FC personnel and 13 locals while more than 30 persons got hurt.

KEEP READING AT THE NEWS PK

Madonna recording a new album due out in spring 2012

Madonna at the 'W.E.' premiere in Venice, Italy

In an interview at the 68th annual Venice Film Festival, where she is promoting her new film "W.E.", pop superstar Madonna confirmed in an interview with Sweden's Sveriges Television network that she is indeed hard at work on a new as-yet-untitled album.

Though it was the first time Madonna has spoken about the project publicly, the news wasn't exactly a surprise; her longtime manager Guy Oseary sent out a tweet way back on the 4th of July stating it was her first day in the studio.

The singer said that she would be heading back to New York directly after Venice to continue production on the album, which is slated for a spring release. The first single should be dropping sometime in February or March.

Given that Madonna's latest directorial effort (her second after 2008's poorly-received "Filth and Wisdom") hasn't exactly won over critics at Venice, it's probably a good thing the Material Girl isn't giving up music anytime soon. After all, her last album "Hard Candy" sold nearly 4 million copies worldwide, with the ensuing "Sticky & Sweet" tour breaking records to become the highest-grossing ever by a solo artist.



Source : Hitfix

Actress Paltrow learns of 9/11 "Sliding Doors" moment

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Gwyneth Paltrow has received a letter from a woman who believes the actress may have inadvertently saved her life on the day of the attacks on New York nearly 10 years ago.

As the United States prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Paltrow told Reuters she was more closely involved in the events than she had known at the time.

"Basically, what happened was I had gone to a yoga class very early," the Hollywood star said in an interview in Venice to discuss her latest movie "Contagion."

The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, also features Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, and tells the story of a deadly disease that quickly spreads around the world causing panic.

Particularly in its examination of how governments react to a crisis, some of its themes echo the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers.

"I was on the way home and it was the morning of September 11 -- not that I knew at the time what that meant -- and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time and waited a really long time," said Paltrow.

She said she and the woman did "this stop-start thing" for a time and began to laugh before the woman finally went on her way.

"Ten years later I got a letter from her saying that she had been late for work and we had that thing and she went down to the Christopher Street station to catch her train to go down to the World Trade Center where she worked on the 77th floor of the South Tower and the train was just pulling out.

"So had we not had that interaction she feels like her life would've taken a much different course. She called it her 'Sliding Doors moment'," Paltrow added, referring to one of her movies in which the plot follows different paths based on whether or not she catches a subway train.

"It was an extraordinary story and all I could think about is all of the people who had experiences like that that day, but aren't able to reach out because it wasn't a recognizable person," said the 38-year-old Oscar winner.

"She saw it was me so she was able to get me a message, but I think a lot of fates were changed that day obviously and I am very humbly happy to be a part in her story."

Contagion, which is not in the main competition at the Venice film festival, opens in theatres on September 9 and has been well received in early reviews.

Source : Yahoo entertainment

Linkin Park 'Getting The Wheels Rolling' On Next Album

MTV: Earlier this summer, when Linkin Park took over Moscow's Red Square for a historic — and decidedly Michael Bay-size — performance, they also spoke to MTV News about the follow-up to A Thousand Suns, which, at the time, was just beginning to take shape ("Right now, it sounds like blips and bleeps and pieces," frontman Chester Bennington described).

Get More: Music News

So, earlier this week, when Linkin Park took over Los Angeles' Mayan Theater for an equally historic — yet decidedly more personal — benefit concert for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief, we got the chance to once again ask them about the new album. And, as Bennington explained, things have progressed — albeit just slightly.

"We just kind of began. We like to keep the creative juices flowing, so we try to keep that going all the time," he said. "We don't know when the next record is going to be done. We are in the beginning phases of that. We're still winding down A Thousand Suns and touring for that, so I can tell you we are working and we're excited, and we like the direction that we're going in."

Bennington added that the band has been working closely with producer Rick Rubin, who will once again helm the sessions for the yet-untitled disc. And though it's still early, Linkin Park are already pleased with the results.

"[Rick's] involved all the way, all the time, from the very beginning. You know, we ask him, 'What do you think of these ideas?' " he said. "And we're kind of getting the wheels rolling. ... It's so hard to talk about something that hasn't been created yet, but, like I said, we definitely like the way things are going already."

Source: Mtv

DreamWorks Animation, Chinese Online Video Site Youku Strike Deal for 'Kung Fu Panda' Films

It is the first time that DWA titles will be made available through an online platform in China.

NEW YORK -- DreamWorks Animation and Chinese online video site Youku.com said Monday that they have reached a first-of-its-kind online distribution agreement for rights to the Kung Fu Panda franchise films in China.

It is the first time that DreamWorks Animation titles, currently distributed by Paramount Pictures, will be made available through an online platform in China. The companies didn't disclose financial details.

Both Kung Fu Panda titles are available for on-demand viewing on Youku Premium and will later debut on Youku's Hollywood Movie Channel after the paid viewing window closes, the companies said.

"As technology matures and Chinese Internet users increasingly turn to the web for entertainment, Youku has been able to expand on the traditional movie release roadmap through agreements for studio films such as Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2," said Victor Koo, chairman and CEO of Youku. "Both titles have a proven track record of success with Chinese audiences, and we look forward to expanding our alignment with Hollywood studios in the future to offer even more compelling content."

Said Kelley Avery, head of worldwide franchise strategy and distribution for DWA: "Youku is an innovative company with extraordinary reach in China, and we are thrilled that the Kung Fu Panda features will now be offered through their platform, which presents high-quality content to consumers online."

Youku has made recently released films available for on-demand viewing for a certain period of time before becoming available on a subscription basis, followed by free-on-demand viewing.

Read More on Hollywood Reporter

World's Richest Bride Petra Ecclestone Weds!

The 22-year-old daughter of billionaire Formula 1 racing CEO Bernie Ecclestone said I-do to Stunt at the castle where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes tied the knot in 2006 (Castello Orsini-Odescalchi), with the bride reportedly walking down the aisle in a custom $130,000 Vera Wang gown.
And then there was the reception, where Andrea Bocelli, Eric Clapton and the Black Eyed Peas put on a show for guests like Paris and Nicky Hilton, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Sarah Ferguson as they sipped Chateau Petrus wine (which retails for $6,500 a bottle).
A source tells E! that after the Black Eyed Peas performed, Fergie pulled bride Petra, Paris and Nicky Hilton up on stage to dance. After that, David Guetta deejayed for two hours, and the Hilton girls were reportedly loving all the attention from the billionaire dudes in attendance.
"No one had ever seen anything like it. Everything was done to perfection with no expense spared," a source gushed to E! Online. "It was the wedding of the century fit for a princess!"
Prior to the big day, guests were treated to a pre-wedding dinner at uber-posh hotel Villa Aurelia, where they dined on caviar, calamari, spinach ravioli and lamb chops, sipped Cristal champagne and enjoyed a performance by Alicia Keys, according to the Daily Mirror.
"It was the most fantastic setting," a party attendee told the Mirror. "Our menus were customized mirrors with our names etched into them. It was easily the most ­decadent pre-wedding dinner any of us had been to. Then Alicia came on and sang all of her hits. She began with 'Empire State of Mind' and everybody was singing along. We couldn't believe it–it was magical."
So, what was the price tag for this over-the-top affair?
More than $5 million, according to TMZ.
Not too shabby for a billionaire daughter's big day. Read more on Eonline

World's Richest Bride Petra Ecclestone Weds!

The 22-year-old daughter of billionaire Formula 1 racing CEO Bernie Ecclestone said I-do to Stunt at the castle where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes tied the knot in 2006 (Castello Orsini-Odescalchi), with the bride reportedly walking down the aisle in a custom $130,000 Vera Wang gown.
And then there was the reception, where Andrea Bocelli, Eric Clapton and the Black Eyed Peas put on a show for guests like Paris and Nicky Hilton, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Sarah Ferguson as they sipped Chateau Petrus wine (which retails for $6,500 a bottle).
A source tells E! that after the Black Eyed Peas performed, Fergie pulled bride Petra, Paris and Nicky Hilton up on stage to dance. After that, David Guetta deejayed for two hours, and the Hilton girls were reportedly loving all the attention from the billionaire dudes in attendance.
"No one had ever seen anything like it. Everything was done to perfection with no expense spared," a source gushed to E! Online. "It was the wedding of the century fit for a princess!"
Prior to the big day, guests were treated to a pre-wedding dinner at uber-posh hotel Villa Aurelia, where they dined on caviar, calamari, spinach ravioli and lamb chops, sipped Cristal champagne and enjoyed a performance by Alicia Keys, according to the Daily Mirror.
"It was the most fantastic setting," a party attendee told the Mirror. "Our menus were customized mirrors with our names etched into them. It was easily the most ­decadent pre-wedding dinner any of us had been to. Then Alicia came on and sang all of her hits. She began with 'Empire State of Mind' and everybody was singing along. We couldn't believe it–it was magical."
So, what was the price tag for this over-the-top affair?
More than $5 million, according to TMZ.
Not too shabby for a billionaire daughter's big day. Read more on Eonline

Michael Jackson Tribute Concert's Organizers, Fans and Family in Dispute

"Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert" organizers have been forced to go on the defensive after being hit with criticisms from fans and Jackson's family members.

NEW YORK -- As preparations continue for the upcoming Michael Jackson tribute concert, the show's organizers have been forced to go on the defensive after numerous Jackson fan clubs and two of the singer's brothers have publicly condemned the tribute.

Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert, set to take place Oct. 8 in Wales' 75,000-capacity Millennium Stadium, will feature performances by Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Smokey Robinson and Ne-Yo, though its proximity to the Sept. 20 manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray has troubled some of Jackson's fans and family. Read More at Hollywood Reporter

Govt wants to limit PAC role, says Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan accused the government on Friday of planning to limit the role of the Public Accounts Committee in order to hide its corruption.

Talking to reporters, he said the government had appointed an auditor general of its choice and ridiculed directives of the PAC indicating that it wanted to avoid accountability.

He said audit reports relating to the PPP government’s performance in the past two years were about to come before the PAC which contained irregularities. He said the prime minister was wrongly claiming credit for the recovery of Rs115 billion by the PAC as the government had played no role in it.

He said Mr Gilani should talk about the performance of his government, instead of PAC.

He said most of the decisions taken by the prime minister were controversial.

Jurassic Park Is Back On The Big Screen

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'I Don't Know How She Does It'

Olivia Wilde On For Chemistry

Looks like Jennifer Garner’s loss is Olivia Wilde’s gain, as the Cowboys & Aliens actress is replacing the Arthur co-star in the cast of indie comedy drama Better Living Through Chemistry.

Garner’s got a good excuse, though – she’s just announced that she’s pregnant with her third child, which will put a bump in her schedule.

Now Wilde will feature as a trophy wife who lures a weak-willed, small-town chemist (Sam Rockwell) from his loveless marriage with nights of passion and the pleasures of prescription drugs. But things go haywire when they start to plan to kill Wilde’s husband.

Michelle Monaghan is also in the cast, playing Rockwell’s wife, which makes us question quite why he’d be cheating on her in the first place. Oh, and Judi Dench is the movie’s narrator.

Geoff Moore and David Posamentier, who wrote the script and saw it land squarely on the 2010 Black List, are stepping up to direct. Given the changes in casting (Rockwell is taking over for Jeremy Renner), the shoot has been pushed back slightly, though the idea is to start work this autumn in Maryland.(Empire Online)