The Royal Wedding drives record traffic to Yahoo!

SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo! on Monday said that online interest in the royal wedding led to record high traffic at its websites.

Preliminary figures released by the California-based Internet pioneer indicated that it handled a record-setting 50,000 requests per second for wedding-related content.

Requests-per-second peaked at 33,000 after the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan and topped out at approximately 40,000 after word broke of US military forces killing 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on Sunday.

Yahoo! served up 400 million page views on Friday, when Prince William married his bride Catherine.

There were reportedly 27 million video streams and 2.6 million live video streams at Yahoo! web pages on Friday.

Skyrocketing online interest in Prince William's wedding had prompted Yahoo! to launch websites spotlighting the April 29 ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

Versions of Royalwedding.yahoo.com websites were tailored for 10 countries, including Britain, France, and the United States.

Yahoo! released the figures on the same day it announced that it hired Jai Singh away from the Huffington Post to be editor-in-chief of its Media Network.

Singh was considered a top editor at news website Huffington Post.

"Jai's appointment comes on the heels of one of the most event-filled news weeks in Yahoo! history, which underscores the importance of our editorial operations," said Media Network head Mickie Rosen.

Singh was in charge of day-to-day news management at the Huffington Post.
He is to begin at Yahoo! at the end of May.

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo! has been reinventing itself as a digital media company after being eclipsed by Google in the online search market. (AFP)

The Butt Of All Problems!

He has been labeled a buffoon by former ICC President Malcolm Speed. His compatriots consider him the biggest threat to the game. Yet Pakistan Cricket Board’s ‘retired and retarded’ Chairman Ijaz Butt continues to grow strong, despite his buffoonery and threatening attitude. The latest ‘adventure’ he enjoyed was the sacking of perhaps the only ‘sane’ person in Pakistan cricket – one day skipper Shahid Afridi. Yes Shahid Afridi has had his bad days but he single handedly led the side into the semi final of the World Cup. He would have won the match had Misbah ul Haq not batted the way he did, had the fielders held onto their catches and had Tendulkar not been given as many as 5 lives. But since we are talking about Pakistan cricket, Misbah ul Haq has been rewarded with the captaincy and Shahid Afridi is now an ordinary player of the squad. Everyone knows that when it comes to Ijaz Butt, you are either with him, or against him. But the issue is that there are more people against him than those with him. The day he was appointed the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, nearly three years back, Salahuddin Ahmed resigned as the Chairman of the Selection Committee. Ijaz Butt brought in Abdul Qadir who resigned within a year, despite selecting the team that went onto win the World Twenty20. In came Iqbal Qasim who quit after he became convinced that Ijaz Butt was the butt of all problems. Sacking of Shahid Afridi as skipper of the one day side shouldn’t come as a surprise. When he was appointed as Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Ijaz Butt had no issues except minor problems. Yet he managed to steer Pakistan cricket into one trouble after another, and today it has reached a point of no return due to his indecisiveness. He has destroyed the careers of all those who have defied him, and Shahid Afridi is now one such individual. Ijaz Butt also has changed as many as 3 coaches during his tenure – Geoff Lawson, Intikhab Alam and current coach Waqar Younis – while has tested Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdur Razzaq, Salman Butt and Shahid Afridi as captain of the national side in either tests or one dayers. He continues to listen to his aged colleagues Yawar Saeed (who never played Test cricket for Pakistan), Intikhab Alam (who played before most of the current players were born), Mohammad Illyas (who doesn’t even remember when he last played cricket) and many others who had undistinguished career before joining the current set up. One hopes that someone gets the message and removed the ‘Butt’ of all issues before Pakistan cricket reaches rock bottom!

Afridi has been prevented from joining Hampshire

Afridi banned from T20

PCB retaliates for former skipper's 'disparaging' remarks

Afridi has been prevented from joining Hampshire

One-day sensation Shahid Afridi has been banned from playing for Hampshire after voicing his opinion of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The explosive all-rounder had been due to join Hampshire to play in the English county Twenty20 tournament
But the PCB revoked Afridi's no objection certificates on Tuesday for 'passing disparaging remarks about the board and its officials'.
The move has come in retaliation to the former Pakistan skipper's public criticism of his treatment at the hands of its officials.
"Revoking all the NOCs naturally means that we don't want him to be selected in any team," said PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwa.
Afridi, one of the world's greatest limited-overs players, announced his conditional international retirement on Monday in protest at the PCB leadership.

Enigmatic

Much of his frustration has stemmed from the PCB's refusal to commit to his captaincy of the side, beginning with its delay in naming him captain for the away series against New Zealand.
Although he led the team to victory, Afridi was left in limbo as the board waited until just two weeks before the World Cup to confirm he would again skipper the side.
Despite the confusion however, the enigmatic captain still managed to take his country into the semi-finals, also becoming the tournament's leading wicket-taker in the process.
He followed that up by captaining an ODI series win in West Indies, but was sacked on his return this month after criticising team management.
Announcing his protest in an emotional interview on Monday, Afridi said he had been 'humiliated' by a board of 'dishonourable people' and he would only return in the event of a change of leadership.

Contract

The PCB's reaction also included the suspension of his central contract, with chairman Ijaz Butt saying 'He is welcome if he does not want to play under the present (PCB) set-up.'
Afridi is one of the great natural talents of the game and remains a hugely popular figure in his native country.
He rose to prominence in just his second ODI when he slammed the world's fastest ODI century - off 37 balls - against Sri Lanka at Nairobi.
His aggression suited the shorter versions of the game and he is ranked third in Pakistan history for ODIs played (320) and wickets (313).
He is also ranked sixth in runs (6,658) with 289 sixes - the most hit by any batsman in the world.
Afridi played 27 Tests before retiring from the longer version of the game last year during the series against Australia, after scoring 1,716 runs that included five centuries.

Bollywood sequels: a recipe for success?

Bollywood studios are increasingly desperate for a money-spinner, with box office takings in the Indian film industry as a whole down for the last two years and the lack of original, quality script-writing a common complaint. - AFP (File Photo)

MUMBAI: A glut of Bollywood sequels are due out in the coming months, prompting questions about whether the industry has run out of ideas or is just milking a successful formula in troubled times.
More than a dozen follow-ups are in the pipeline, including “Bheja Fry 2”(Brain Fry), a second “Dabangg” (Fearless), a third in the “Dhoom” franchise and another installment of the “Golmaal” series.
Shah Rukh Khan is also getting in on the act, with a sequel due out by the end of the year of his hit “Don”. The action film, in which the actor reportedly does his own stunts, is currently in post-production.
Bollywood studios are increasingly desperate for a money-spinner, with box office takings in the Indian film industry as a whole down for the last two years and the lack of original, quality script-writing a common complaint.
But “Bheja Fry 2” director Sagar Ballary rejected the notion that follow-ups are an easy option – and said success was not guaranteed.
“I didn’t rush to make the sequel immediately after the first film came out in 2007. We waited for the right script to make this part two,” he said.
“Every film stands on its own. Whether it’s a sequel or not, the film has to be good to work.” “Bheja Fry,”, starring comedian Vinay Pathak, is based on the popular 1998 French comedy “Le Diner de Cons” (The Dinner Game), which was also made into a Hollywood movie, “Dinner for Schmucks”.
Follow-ups are an established part of Hollywood. Some films, like those in the “Godfather” trilogy, are arguably better than the original. Others, like the Star Wars prequels, fail to find favour with fans or critics.
Bollywood, which is increasingly following Hollywood trends in filmmaking and marketing, has not been averse to sequels in the past.
Notable franchises include the crime comedy “Munnabhai” series, starring Sanjay Dutt.
The “Golmaal” series, which came out in 2006, 2008 and 2010, were all popular.
Director Rohit Shetty will be hoping the fourth, starring Kareena Kapoor and Ajay Devgn, will be just as successful and has no qualms about doing another follow-up.
“If I have created a brand, why should I be apologetic about making money on it? You reap what you sow, right?” Shetty was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times newspaper recently.
The “Dhoom” series has equally been a box office winner throughout the last decade.
Bollywood producer Arbaaz Khan, who will direct “Dabangg 2”, said the film was at the scripting stage and hopes that it will live up to audiences’ expectations.
“Dabangg”, a corrupt cop romp starring Salman Khan, was one of the few hits last year, winning a host of awards including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at last week’s National Film Awards.
Arbaaz Khan said a sequel is justified given the film’s following.
“It was the biggest mass entertaining film of the last year that did extremely well at the box office. So, the sequel, too, will hopefully work like the first one,” he said.
For all their insistence on artistic integrity, Khan, Ballary and other filmmakers admit that financial factors are important.
With the “brand” already known, less has to be spent on marketing and success is more likely, the argument goes.
“Producers are demanding because for them it’s good business,” said Ballary. “They know sequels will surely recover the cost of the box office because of the success of part one and there’s not much to lose.”
“There are many scripts and good story ideas in the market but producers don’t want to risk new ideas and they feel it’s safe to work with a sequel because audiences like it.”
Khan added: “The pressure to deliver a hit is bigger because people will surely have greater expectations.”

Iran closes airspace to Merkel plane

In this photograph taken on May 26, 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel disembarks from a plane after landing at Deauville-Normandie airport, western France. Iran briefly closed its airspace to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane as she flew overnight May 30-31, 2011 to India, her spokesman said. – AFP Photo

BERLIN: Iran briefly closed its airspace to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plane as she flew overnight Monday to Tuesday to India, her spokesman said.
“Strange start to Indian trip – Iran temporarily denies over flight to chancellor’s plane. Delayed landing in Delhi,” Steffen Seibert said in a message sent on Twitter.
The reason for the over flight denial was not immediately known.
Media reports said the plane carrying Merkel and a high-level delegation had to circle for two hours over Turkey before receiving permission to cross Iranian airspace.
Meanwhile, Germany on Tuesday summoned the Iranian ambassador after the incident took place, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.
“Hindering the German chancellor’s passage over Iran is absolutely unacceptable. It shows a lack of respect towards Germany that we will not accept,” Westerwelle said in a statement.
“That is why I have summoned the Iranian ambassador. We shall make it very plain that such a breach of international conventions will in no way be tolerated by Germany,” he added.
A second plane with four of Merkel’s ministers and other delegation members was not delayed.
Merkel has been highly critical of Iran’s human rights’ record and its alleged plans to develop nuclear weapons.
Merkel, who is seeking improved trade between Europe’s biggest economy and booming South Asia, was to meet Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil during a one-day stop in the Indian capital as part of an Asian tour that will also take her to Singapore.

Russian diplomats inspect bodies of Kharotabad victims

 

QUETTA: Russian diplomats arrived in Quetta and inspected the bodies of victims of Kharotabad incident, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

They collected photos and data of the victims, killed in allegedly fake encounter, for their identification.

Talking to media, the Russian diplomats said that they were waiting for the identification of the bodies, adding that it is premature to say anything till investigation is completed.

They further said they would decide in two days about their burial.

Body of missing journalist Saleem Shahzad found

 

ISLAMABAD: Body of missing journalist Saleem Shahzad has been found from Hear Rasool area in Mandi-Bahauddin, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

Saleem Shahzad, working for the Asia Times Online, went missing three days back. Shahzad left his house in Islamabad to take part in a television programme but never arrived at the station.

PCB suspends Shahid Afridi's contract, revoke NoCs

 

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday suspended the central contract of former one-day captain Shahid Afridi, who had announced his retirement from international cricket, a board statement said.

At the same time it revoked all no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the player, meaning he will not be officially permitted to play abroad, the PCB said.

Afridi, a hugely popular big-hitting all-rounder, had been expected to play for Hampshire in the Twenty20 league in England next month, and also in the Sri Lanka Premier League a month later.

"PCB has initiated action against Afridi in response to the multiple breaches he has committed under the central contract signed with PCB," the statement said.

The PCB said Afridi must explain within seven days why he levelled allegations against the Board. (AFP)