India says UN has no role to play in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The Narendra Modi government thinks the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) has no longer any role to play between Pakistan and India and has ordered it to vacate the government premises where they have been located free of charge for 40 years.

The free lunch is over, the UN has been told. Indian media reports say that the UN has been clearly told that “the UNMOGIP’s role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. New Delhi is of the view that the UNMOGIP has no relevance or role to play whatsoever.”

The Foreign Office did not want to comment on media reports but the spokesperson told The News: “Even if true, such moves do not change the reality.”Meanwhile, an Indian official was quoted as saying: “They should stay in Srinagar and do what they want. In case they want to be stationed in Delhi, they should hire premises in a private property and not occupy the government property.”

It is only Pakistan that has time and again proposed to India to involve the UNMOGIP over disputes at the LoC as they are neutral observers and the ongoing blame game that follows skirmishes could come to an end.

But a strange philosophy governs New Delhi, where officially the UNMOGIP has offices in New Delhi and Srinagar with their mandate well known, but India refuses to involve them in any manner in disputes with Pakistan saying they do not want the third party involvement.

In keeping with the hawkish line that Modi has taken on Kashmir, it will not be long before the UNMOGIP office in Srinagar is also wrapped up.INP adds: According to Indian Express, the South Block has asked the UNMOGIP to vacate the bungalow — 1AB, Purana Qila Road — which has been serving as its office for the last four decades. The government accommodation — a Type VII bungalow, about 7,000 square feet — was allotted to the UN mission “free of charge”.

The UNMOGIP, established under a UN Security Council Resolution, was meant to supervise the ceasefire line established under the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.

When contacted, UNMOGIP’s Military Information Officer Major Tomas Malm, who is based in Srinagar, confirmed that the government has asked them to vacate the premises. “UNMOGIP’s response is to relocate to another location in Delhi,” he said. Asked if they have been told the reason for this directive, he said, “The Indian authorities’ reason is unknown to UNMOGIP.”Asked if the move reflected New Delhi’s stand towards the UNMOGIP, he said, “You have to ask the Indian government regarding their attitude towards us.”

New Zealand bat, West Indies play five bowlers

BRIDGETOWN: West Indies rejigged their bowling again, this time opting for three quicks and two spinners. They will get first use of the pitch at Kensington Oval after New Zealand elected to bat.

Fast bowler Jason Holder was handed a Test debut, with the impressive Jermaine Blackwood making way. Blackwood had made 63 on debut at Port-of-Spain. Offspinner Shane Shillingford returned to the XI in place of fast bowler Shannon Gabriel. New Zealand had already broadcasted their one change on the eve of the match - Neil Wagner coming in for Ish Sodhi.

Barbados churned out a dry pitch for its 50th Test and with the series level at 1-1, both teams had a lot to play for. New Zealand's away record is a source of much scrutiny and their captain Brendon McCullum believed his side had the chance to do something special. Their last series win away from home against a top-eight nation came in the Caribbean in 2002.

A spirited rally in Port-of-Spain placed West Indies in a good position to secure their first series win against a top-eight opponent since their 2-0 drubbing of New Zealand in 2012.

Teams:
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin (captain & wk), Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor, Shane Shillingford, Sulieman Benn

New Zealand: Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (captain), Jimmy Neesham, BJ Watling (wk), Tim Southee, Mark Craig, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult

Rain stops play in Bangladesh-India ODI

DHAKA: India were 100-1 off 16.4 overs when rain stopped play in the first one-day cricket international against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday.

After opener Robin Uthappa was dismissed for 50, leg before wicket off Shakib Al Hasan, heavy rain forced players off the ground in the day-night encounter.

Earlier, Bangladesh posted 272-9 off 50 overs with captain Mushfiqur Rahim top-scoring with 59 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Paceman Umesh Yadav was the most successful bowler with 3-48 while spinners Amit Mishra and Pervez Rasool grabbed two wickets each.

Sunday´s game is the first of a three-match series with the second and third games to be played on Tuesday and Thursday. (AFP)

Nadal to play Djokovic in French Open final

PARIS: The world´s top two players, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will contest Sunday´s French Open final following the Spaniard´s 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 centre court demolition of Andy Murray on Friday.

Earlier Djokovic had won through his semi-final with a 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ernests Gulbis Of Latvia.

Top seed and eight-time winner Nadal now stands just one win away from becoming the first man to take the French Open title five times in a row, surpassing Bjorn Borg.

He also is on the cusp of a 14th Grand Slam title, which would put him level at second best on the all-time list with Pete Sampras and three behind Roger Federer.

Murray failed in his bid to become the first British player to contest the French Open final since Bunny Austin 77 years ago and will now turn his attention to defending his Wimbledon crown.

It was his worst loss to Nadal in nine Grand Slam match-ups between the two, surpassing the nine games he managed in the 2008 Wimbledon quarter-finals. "I think that today I played my best tennis at Roland Garros this year," said Nadal. "After 10 years of coming here and to be back in the final for the ninth time - it´s something I never believed would happen in my life. "He (Djokovic) is an unbelievable opponent. He is always a big challenge and I need to play at my very best. He beat me the last few times we played."

Nadal was aware that the last time he played Murray -- on clay in Rome last month -- the Scot won the first set 6-1, before losing in three.This time it was a very different scenario as the Spaniard, who turned 28 on Tuesday, hit the deck running, winning the first three games in just 10 minutes and for the loss of just three points.

Murray finally opened his account, but the one break of serve was enough for Nadal to take the first set 6-3.

It was another storming start to the second set from Nadal who bludgeoned two big forehand winners past Murray to set up breakpoint which he took when the seventh seed weakly hit a high forehand wide.

Murray was failing to make any impression on the Nadal serve with not a single break point offering him any hope, and it became an even steeper mountain to climb for him when he dropped serve for the third time to put Nadal 5-2 up.

The Majorcan duly pocketed the set by serving out to love and such was the one-sided nature of the contest that there was no sign of Murray´s habitual angry outbursts aimed at getting himself going.

The outcome looked a formality and when Nadal broke the Murray serve for the fourth time to lead 2-1 in the third the end was in sight for the 27-year-old Scot.

It came 18 minutes later when a dispirited Murray lost serve for the fifth and final time.

The win brought Nadal´s formidable record on the claycourts at Roland Garros, since making his debut in 2005, to 65 wins against the one loss, conceded to Robin Soderling of Sweden in a fourth round tie in 2009.

And it meant that he has now won 20 of the 23 Grand Slam semi-finals he has contested in his career, the last time he lost in the last four being against Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open. (AFP)

Pakistan to play cricket series against New Zealand

LAHORE: Pakistan will play a series of three Tests, five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 match during the month of November against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Before this series, Pakistan will play one Twenty20 International, three One-day Internationals and two Test matches against Australia in October at same venue.

According to sources that schedule would be finalized soon between Pakistan and New Zealand.

On other side, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is trying to hold series in Australia and New Zealand.

Green Shirts will likely to play their two ODIs before taking part in the World Cup 2015 in New Zealand.

Necessary to support Big 3 to play international cricket: Sethi

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Najam Sethi said it was necessary to support the ‘Big 3’ to play international cricket.
 
Najam Sethi added that next year Pakistan would nominate the ICC president.

Sethi held a news conference here on Friday after spending the previous day taking part in the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai.

Najam Sethi told reporters that Pakistan would support the ‘Big 3’ after its conditions would be met.

The PCB chairman said he was first informed of the ‘Big 3’ issue on January 8. Sethi told reporters that he discovered on February 8 that Bangladesh was onboard with the proposal while Pakistan and Sri Lanka remained opposed to the ‘Big 3.’


Informing the media about the need to support the ‘Big 3,’ the PCB Chairman said he had held detailed meetings with all countries including India. “We have signed MoUs with all boards for tours over the course of the next eight years.”

According to Sethi some boards had cancelled tours to play against Pakistan. The PCB chairman said after signing the deal Rs30 billion revenue would be generated for Pakistan. The PCB Chairman further said that a series against India had been decided.

Najam Sethi added that the next meeting of the Asian Cricket Council will be held under his chair in Lahore.


When asked about Mohammed Amir, Sethi replied that talks were ongoing with the ICC and the former bowler would play cricket soon. “A decision regarding Amir’s punishment will be taken during the next ICC meeting in June.” Sethi said it was his understanding that Amir’s punishment would be reduced by one year.

 

New play 'Camp David' retraces 1978 peace accord

WASHINGTON: Thirty-six years after President Jimmy Carter made peace between Egypt and Israel, "Camp David" is now both history and theater.

Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, returned to Washington on Thursday night to open a new play at Arena Stage about one of their greatest achievements in the White House. "Camp David" retraces 13 days of tense negotiations in 1978 at the presidential retreat in Maryland that produced an unlikely but lasting peace agreement.

By the time the lights came up, the former U.S. president had tears in his eyes and was hugging actor Richard Thomas who played him on stage. The Carters cooperated in making the play, providing their diaries and sitting for interviews, but did not review or edit on the script.

While a story of the remarkable peace accord may at first sound like theater for political wonks, the drama of the negotiations and characters involved make for a compelling story that's real, raw with emotion and ever relevant to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Before the show, Carter said the 13 days he spent secluded with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat were among the most dramatic of his life.

"We were three men of faith," Carter said. "I think that our common faith worshipping the same God in different ways was a factor that broke the barriers that did exist between us."

Sadat's widow, Jehan Sadat, also attended the opening in Washington and joined the cast on stage at the end.

Carter said he felt a higher calling to make peace his top priority as president. The Georgia farmer-turned-governor and president had taught Sunday school all his life. The lesson from Camp David, he said, is that "peace is possible."

The prospects were grim, though, considering Sadat was a former Nazi collaborator and Begin had been considered a terrorist. After just three days, Carter had to separate them to prevent a collapse in the talks.

It was those characters that convinced former White House communications director Gerald Rafshoon decades ago that the story could be a great movie, though he couldn't sell it to Hollywood. Rafshoon eventually resurrected the idea and made his pitch to Arena Stage for the story an orthodox Jew, devout Muslim and born-again Christian going behind closed doors and coming out with an enduring peace treaty.

"There's so much emotion. There's so much risk. And I saw that as ultimate drama," Rafshoon said. "It is not a negotiation. It is a personal story."

Each man put everything on the line, he said. In the aftermath of the Camp David Accords, Carter lost his bid for re-election, Sadat lost his life to an assassin, and Begin fell into political obscurity.

But could diplomatic talks be entertaining theater?

For Molly Smith, the artistic director at Arena Stage who is directing the play, it was a no brainer. The theater has made it a priority to commission new works about U.S. presidents.

"If it was just political wonks talking, I don't think it would be so interesting," she said. "But when it is three leaders who clearly put their lives and their careers and their countries on the line to create this agreement, that's great theater."

Arena commissioned journalist Lawrence Wright as playwright and would send him to Georgia to interview the Carters and to Israel and Egypt to talk with surviving members of their delegations.

Still, Wright had reservations about the project at first. The hardest thing was trying to figure out who would be in the play and who would be left out from the more than 100 who were at Camp David.

"It was the addition of Rosalynn Carter that really made it into a play," Wright said. "She made peace among the peacemakers."

In the production, Thomas plays President Carter, Ron Rifkin plays Begin and Egyptian actor Khaled Nabawy plays Sadat. Hallie Foote plays Rosalynn Carter, relieving some of the tension with laughs and practical advice.

In Carter, Thomas said he found an interesting mix of idealism and pragmatism.

"Here you have a man whose idealism, I think, is very genuine," he said. "So there is this warmth but there is also steel underneath it, so getting those two things together is one of the challenges and one of the pleasures of playing the part."

"Camp David" runs through May 4 in Washington.

Pakistan play like children, crash out of World T20

DHAKA: Pakistan played like children as defending champions West Indies easily defeated them by 84 runs in a key Super-10 match of the World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Tuesday and sailed into the semi-finals.

The West Indies recovered from a top-order meltdown to post 166-6 after electing to take first strike, before three wickets each by spin twins Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine skittled Pakistan for 82 in 17.5 overs.

The West Indies, who finished second behind unbeaten India in group two, will clash with group one champions Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Dhaka tomorrow (Thursday).India, who won all their four league matches, meet South Africa at the same venue on Friday. The final will take place in Dhaka on Sunday.

It was the first time Pakistan, finalists in the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and champions in 2009, failed to reach the knock-out rounds in the five editions of the tournament.

Why did Sunny Deol agree to play a Haryanvi character in Dishkiyaoon?

This will be the first time that the dhai kilo ka haath wala actor is playing such a character

Actor Sunny Deol, who plays gangster Lakwa in Dishkiyaoon, says he fully enjoyed his first Haryanvi character in the movie. ”It’s (Dishkiyaoon) a good film…has a good story and I loved my character in the film,” Sunny said on Tuesday at the press conference of the film.

“This is the first time I am playing a Haryanvi character in a film. I really loved doing this character,” he added. Dishkiyaoon, produced by Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, will also see Harman Baweja and newcomer Ayesha Khanna. It will release this Friday.

PC to Play Politician

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, who is working on the dates for his next film Madamji, starring Priyanka Chopra, laments that post the 2008 Fashion, he couldn't work with her because of a lack of a "great subject".

Priyanka won the National Award for the best actress for her performance in Fashion, which also starred Kangna Ranaut. "Priyanka (Chopra) and I have been discussing the script. Priyanka is very excited about the subject of Madamji. The film's subject is extraordinary. We always wanted to work together post Fashion, unfortunately we never came across a great subject," the filmmaker told reporters here in an interview on Wednesday.

"Now we are working out on dates and logistics and if everything falls in place, then we will definitely make the film with her," he added. Madamji is rumoured to be based on an item girl who turns politician. Bhandarkar's last film Heroine starred Kareena Kapoor.

Nargis Fakhri to play a secret agent in debut Hollywood film

Nargis Fakhri will be playing the role of a secret agent in her debut Hollywood film to be directed by Paul Feig.

Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri will be playing the role of a secret agent in her debut Hollywood film to be directed by Paul Feig.
“She (Nargis) will be seen as a sexy agent in a Fox production starring Jason Statham of ‘Transporter’ fame and Melissa McCarthy who was last seen ‘The Heat’,” sources said. The length of Nargis’s role in the film and when she will begin shooting is yet to be known.
Also Read: Nargis Fakhri walks out of ‘Shaukeen’ remake
Nargis made her debut in Bollywood with Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Rockstar’. She was then seen in Shoojit Sircar’s critically acclaimed ‘Madras Cafe’. The model-actress also did a special song in Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’.
Also Read: Shraddha Kapoor to replace Nargis Fakhri in ‘Shaukeen’ remake?
The 34-year-old actress will be next seen in David Dhawan’s ‘Main Tera Hero’ which is slated to hit cinema houses next month.
Paul Feig helmed the Oscar nominated film ‘Bridesmaids’.

Don’t know who will play my role in ‘Fantastic Four’: Jessica Alba

Alba, 32, played the role of the invisible woman in last two films but will not be seen in the upcoming reboot. She has been replaced by Kate Mara, reported Contactmusic. (Still)

Actress Jessica Alba says she does not care who plays her character of Sue Storm in the next installment of ‘Fantastic Four’.
Alba, 32, played the role of the invisible woman in last two films but will not be seen in the upcoming reboot. She has been replaced by Kate Mara, reported Contactmusic.
“I don’t have any sort of real attachment to anything like that. I’m like, the more the better, I don’t really have any idea. It’s not like I created the comic book. I think Stan Lee (the co-creator of ‘Fantastic Four’) should have a say in who plays Sue,” said Alba.
“I don’t read entertainment news so I’m not aware of it, but I love that comic book and it’s such a great story about family and staying together,” she said.
‘Fantastic Four’ is scheduled for release in June.

Juhi Chawla on why she chose to play a ‘mean’ character in ‘Gulaab Gang’

Juhi Chawla in Gulaab Gang

‘Mean’ingful suggestions
Juhi Chawla has always been seen in fun-filled and positive roles. Ask the bubbly actress as to what made her take on a negative role in Gulaab Gang, and she bursts out laughing, giving the clichéd line of having loved the script of the film, when director Soumik Sen read it out to her. At the end of it, she exclaims of her character, “She is just mean!”
It was on her insistence that the character was rewritten, adding some softness to it. “But the film kind of died. I told them to retain the original as that had a spark to it,” reveals the actress, who is awaiting the release of her first ever negative role in a 30-year old film career.
Another hurdle for Chawla, when signing the film was that being the ‘hero’ of the film, Madhuri Dixit Nene would have all the punch lines, along with a longer role, songs, dance and fights. “I thought if Madhuri gets to do everything, what am I doing besides being mean? But later I began looking at it differently. I thought if ‘I’ play this character, there will be a different spark to the entire film. It would also be a challenge for me. So putting aside my ego, I started enjoying my work,” said the actress, who was taught by Sen the art of being mean. In the film, she said, being mean is not about snarling into the camera, but about smiling or sometimes just cutting the person with sweet talk. “It was very refreshing for me, to give different expressions to those little twisted lines,” she laughs.
Breaking the ice
Chawla was working with Dixit for the first time in their 30-year film career. Except for exchanging pleasantries in the passing, they had never really interacted at length, she says. When the director realised that the duo had never really met, he put them in a room when they visited his office and left them. “We spoke, shared our thoughts and that meeting broke the ice. When I went for the shoot, there was a much warmer feeling,” beams the actress, recalling that the first six-day schedule of the film was with only these two actresses.
Empowerment of the women
Gulaab Gang has a strong message, that of women empowerment. Chawla, who till a few years was a carefree person, began realising the problems plaguing the society and has done been doing her bit for it. “I have supported social causes. I saw disease and death up close in my family and realised what it is like when people need your help. So I start helping them. When I had my own children, I realised how much I love them and how protective I am of them. Yet there are kids growing on the streets. Since the last ten years I have been feeding these children who I never noticed earlier. It is your experiences that teaches you. I don’t think I ever thought of anyone else apart from myself earlier. When I felt the pain and hurt, I realised other’s pain and hurt. However, when the opportunity arises I would like to do something for such people,” says the actress getting misty-eyed.
Gulaab Gang vs Gulabi Gang
A smile comes to her lips when she is asked about the similarity between her film and Gulabi Gang, the documentary on Sampat Pal’s group that works against domestic abuse and violence against women. While justifying, Chawla says, “The title of our film and the gulaabi (pink) sarees are inspired from them, but our story is commercial, larger-than-life and entertaining whereas the documentary is based on the real gang and its achievements. Keeping aside our film, I look up at them with admiration and respect. Those women come from smaller homes, they have so little yet they have the courage to take the time out and help other women. We have so much today, yet how much of our time do we devote to others. Hence I say, aap (Pal and her gang) humse bahut aage hain.”
The chain of violence targeting women of late is exactly why Chawla is all out to endorse the importance of education for women. “Education is important, especially for little girls because that is one of the most important ways of empowering women. This gives them a chance to grow up to be a better person,” states the actress, who will be seen next in a special appearance in Manjeet and Gurdas Maan’s Punjabi film slated to release in May. Juhi will also be seen in a Steven Spielberg production, her first Hollywood film. Directed by Lasse Hallström, The Hundred-Foot Journey will see Om Puri play her husband.

Sonam Kapoor to play a politician in Battle For Bittora adaptation

Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor can be expected to turn a politician, for the adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s book, Battle For Bittora, whose rights have been bought by Anil Kapoor Productions.
When asked, Sonam said, “We’ve just bought the rights of the book, but haven’t begun work on the script. So, nothing has been finalised yet. Hopefully, I’m going to start shooting for that film by the end of the year.” Rhea Kapoor has also confirmed that they would be producing the film under Anil Kapoor Productions. Battle For Bittora is a humourous account of young India. It’s about a girl who lives in Mumbai and works in a animation studio, perfectly happy with her carefree, independent existence. That’s when her grandmother shows up and tells her to contest the upcoming elections from their hometown Bittora. She soon starts wearing cotton saris and frumpy blouses, battling accusations from
other politicians.
And while there’s still time for Kapoor to begin shooting for this film, she already seems to have begun the prep work for Arbaaz Khan’s Dolly Ki Doli where she’ll be seen opposite Pulkit Samrat and Rajkummar Rao. The actress has been speaking a lot more Hindi, and using words like ‘hum’ instead of ‘main’. “I already seem to be in the Dolly Ki Doli mode,” laughs Kapoor who is playing a Punjabi girl in the film. And about Sooraj Barjatya’s film opposite Salman Khan, she clarifies, “We’re still in discussions and it’s too early to talk about that film.”
Apart from these films, she’ll also be seen in Khubsoorat remake, the shooting of which has been wrapped up already.

Aditya Roy Kapur in Shuddhi?
After Hrithik Roshan’s exit from Shuddhi, there has been a lot of speculation about who will replace him. Though Ranveer Singh’s name had cropped up as a likely contender for the role, the actor denied that he is part of the film. Now, we hear that Aditya Roy Kapur is being considered to play the main lead in the Karan Malhotra helmed project. Though producer Karan Johar said that the final cast will be announced soon, the film is slated to release on Christmas 2015. The grapevine also suggests that Deepika Padukone has been finalised to play the female lead. Meanwhile, Johar also confirmed that the film will roll in a few months.  When we messaged Karan Johar, he did not revert.

RANBIR WANTS TO PLAY A CHARACTER LIKE ‘QUEEN’

Everyone praising Vikas Bahl's 'Queen' has become a trend now a days and now the heartthrob of Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor has also joined the league.

Kangana Ranaut has carried the role of Rani very well and Ranbir hopes that he gets a character like ‘Queen’ to play onscreen.

Ranbir says, “I wish I get to play a character as strong and entertaining as Queen. I couldn't think of one thing to change and totally loved the film.”

‘Queen’ is hitting the screens today.