nadal and fedral knocked out in azarenka

nadal and federal knocked out in azarenka 

The 12-times grand slam champion found Darcis in inspired form as he lost in the first round of a grand slam for the first time in his career. -Photo by Reuters

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Updated 2013-06-25 01:17:07

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LONDON: Twice former champion Rafa Nadal was knocked out in the first round of Wimbledon by 135th-ranked Belgian Steve Darcis on Monday, the Spaniard losing 7-6(4) 7-6(8) 6-4.

The 12-times grand slam champion found Darcis in inspired form as he lost in the first round of a grand slam for the first time in his career.

It was the second year in succession that French Open champion Nadal has suffered a shock Wimbledon exit after his second-round loss to Lukas Rosol a year ago.

Defending champion Roger Federer began his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon title with a 69-minute demolition of Victor Hanescu Monday as Victoria Azarenka overcame a horrific fall to also progress.

Federer, 31, swept to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win on Centre Court to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his first triumph at the All England Club with an impressive triumph.

The seven-time champion Swiss fired 32 winners and just six unforced errors as he clinched a sixth career victory over the 47th-ranked Hanescu.

“It's the most special thing to be back on Centre Court,” said Federer, playing in his 55th straight Grand Slam and seeking an 18th major.

“I still enjoy it out there. It was a pleasure to play and I'm very happy to get the first round out of the way.

“I am not sure how much better I could have played. It was good to get it done quickly as it was cold and it released some of the pressure.”

Federer came into Wimbledon on the back of his first title of 2013 in Halle, the grasscourt win taking him level with John McEnroe on 77 career titles.

“Halle came at the right time. It shows I am peaking in time for Wimbledon,” said third-seeded Federer who next plays Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine for a place in the last 32.

Women's second seed Azarenka, a semi-finalist in 2011 and 2012, moved into second round, beating Portugal's world numbr 106 Maria Joao Koehler 6-1, 6-2.

The 23-year-old Belarusian, the reigning Australian Open champion, broke down in tears after suffering a worrying fall in the second game of the second set on Court One as her right leg gave way in her service action.

Azarenka collapsed in crippling pain before her first round match was delayed by 10 minutes for her to have her right knee heavily strapped.

“It was such a shock. I felt my whole body collapse,” said Azarenka, who eventually regained her composure to book a second round match-up with experienced Italian, Flavia Pennetta.

Italian fifth seed Sara Errani became the first major casualty of this year's Wimbledon when she slumped to a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig.

Errani, a semi-finalist at the French Open earlier this month and runner-up in Paris to Maria Sharapova in 2012, had gone into her first round clash carrying a groin injury which forced her out of Eastbourne last week.

Puig, 19, the world number 65, who is playing a grasscourt tournament for the first time as a professional, goes on to face Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain.

Puig, who became the first Puerto Rican woman to reach the third round of a major at Roland Garros, took victory on a seventh match point.

Her latest success was celebrated by Puerto Rican popstar Ricky Martin, who tweeted his congratulations.

Asked if she is now a national hero, Puig said: “Yeah, basically. The big sports over there are boxing, baseball and basketball.

“Now that I've been doing well, tennis is starting to become bigger as well. Everybody was watching the match. Everybody woke up really early.”

Last year's runner-up Andy Murray faces Germany's Benjamin Becker on Centre Court as he looks to end Britain's 77-year wait for a homegrown male winner at Wimbledon.

Women's third seed Maria Sharapova, the 2004 winner and involved in a bitter spat with defending champion Serena Williams, starts against France's Katrina Mladenovic.

10 killing in nangaparbat

Once-vibrant mountaineering industry staggers from killing of 10 climbers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's once thriving mountaineering industry is reeling from the killing by militants of 10 foreign climbers, a massacre likely to drive away all but the hardiest adventurers from some of the world's tallest and most pristine peaks.

A tour company present during the attack said gunmen dressed as police ordered tourists out of tents at the 4,200-meter (13,860-foot) base camp of Nanga Parbat, the country's second highest peak, late on Saturday night, then shot them and a Pakistani guide.

The attack on the last peak over 8,000 meters (26,400 feet) in the western Himalayas has been claimed by both the Pakistani Taliban and a smaller radical group.

The foreign victims included two citizens from China, one from Lithuania, one from Nepal, two from Slovakia, three Ukrainians, and one person with joint US-Chinese citizenship.

Manzoor Hussain, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said at least 40 foreigners including citizens from Serbia, Italy, Ireland, Denmark and the United States, among several other nationalities, were evacuated from a higher camp.

A group of Romanians is believed to be scaling the mountain from another side. Some other groups booked for climbs this summer have already cancelled, one company said.

Hussain said the attack was a “fatal blow” for his efforts to attract more climbers to the Hindu Khush, Karakoram and western Himalayan ranges, home to many unexplored summits.

“We are still in shock, we've had to apologise to so many mountaineers across the world,” said Hussain, who described the attack as appalling and said he was devastated.

Geographically, Pakistan is a climbers paradise. It rivals Nepal for the number of peaks over 7,000 meters and is home to the world's second tallest mountain, K2, and three more that are among the world's 14 summits higher than 8,000 meters.

In more peaceful times, northern Pakistan's unspoilt beauty would be a major tourist draw, bringing sorely needed dollars to a nation that suffers repeated balance of payments crises.

Mountaineers, many from China, Russia and Eastern Europe, are among the last foreigners who regularly visit Pakistan for leisure. Tourism has been devastated since 2007 by militant attacks and fighting between the Taliban and the army in once popular tribal valleys such as Swat in the northwest.

The number of expeditions had also dwindled, but before the attack some 50 groups were expected this year in the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region, a stop over on the historic Silk Road.

That has changed following Sunday's massacre, which sparked protests on Monday in Chilas, the closest town to the base camp, which depends on climbing for income in the summer.

“I haven't slept since yesterday, it's a very sad situation,” said Ghulam Muhammed, whose company Blue Sky Treks and Tours guided five of the climbers killed at the base camp.

Blue Sky is based in the town of Skardu, which is heavily reliant on the income brought by outsiders.

“I am very worried, now business is finished, today two or three have cancelled, it is difficult now,” said Muhammed, who was in the capital Islamabad to speak to embassies and family members of the victims. “In Gilgit-Baltistan, a lot of the economy is from tourism - the money goes to transporters, hotels, markets, porters guides and cooks.”

HIPPY TRAIL

In reality, the tourist industry last thrived in the 1970s, when the “hippy trail” brought Western travellers through the apricot and walnut orchards of the Swat Valley and Kashmir on their way to India and Nepal.

Years of war in Afghanistan helped end the overland route to Asia, and Pakistan's tourism never really recovered.

While the attack on foreign climbers was a first, it did not come entirely out of the blue. Gilgit-Baltistan's Shia population has suffered a number of sectarian killings by radical Sunni groups over the past year, including one that claimed responsibility for killing the climbers.

“We have been warning the government,” Hussain said. “Security was beefed up, and there were checks on the road, but we wanted security parties for the mountaineers as well.”

musharraf case 2013

BB murder case: Challan submitteded against Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) on Tuesday listed former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf as the main accused in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and submitted a challan against him in Rawalpindi’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), DawnNews reported.

The FIA presented a four-point charge sheet against Musharraf in the ATC, accusing him for hatching a conspiracy, in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Dec 27, 2007. She was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the city.

The charge sheet submitted today contained the statements of four witnesses, including two American reporters, as well as Benazir’s own statement.

Moreover, the charge sheet also leveled terrorism accusations against the former president.

The challan stated that the statement of the American established Musharraf as the prime accused in Benazir’s murder.

The court subsequently ordered Musharraf to be present in the next hearing scheduled for July 2.

FIA’s special prosecutor, who wasn’t present at the court today, was also summoned to appear at the July 2 hearing.

ipone 5 notch fhotografhy

Izzi Orbit for the iPhone 5 delivers top notch photography

The iPhone 5 is an iconic smartphone to say the least, and we already know that it has sold millions upon millions of units. Not only that, there are already whispers of a sequel to the iPhone 5 floating around for the past few months already, where some folks have even speculated that it will arrive in a shade of gold. Yes sir, gold! Still, no iPhone 5 successor was announced at the recently concluded WWDC 2013, but this does not mean the production of accessories for this handset should cease. No sir, and here we are with an accessory for shutterbugs who cannot live without their iPhone 5 – the  which will arrive in black, blue, purple, red and silver shades.

The Izzi Orbit has been machine tooled from aircraft grade aluminium, which is obviously reflected in its price, while delivering superior protection and first rate photography options. Thanks to its patented Peripheral Motion Lock Technology, the iZZi Orbit for iPhone 5 would enable users to obtain instantaneous access to a trio of different high-grade lenses with but a the flick of a switch. You will also be able to ensure your photos look a whole lot better with upgrades such as a 180° Fish Eye, a 67x Wide Angle and a 2x Telephoto lens. Not only that, a Sure Hand Stabilizing Grip will help minimize shakes and bumps, never mind that you are tracking moving objects.

amazing rainser brush

Toothbrush and Water Fountain, in One

  

Toothbrushing, the necessary evil. I remember my parents riding me to brush my teeth, the horror stories they told about plaque and cavities. The graphic descriptions of the dentists drill and blackened teeth. I never did get a cavity, but to this day, I’m still scared to death of the dentist. I take a less dramatic approach with my kid, I try to make tooth brushing fun, and hope she keeps her teeth and her sanity.

Check out the nifty RinserBrush, a novel approach to the mundane brush and rinse, the RinserBrush affords you a fabulous cleansing, followed by a water fountain rinse. Forget the dirty glass, cartoon laden disposable Dixie Cup, or the head in the sink hand to mouth maneuver, the RinserBrush gives you a geyser-like stream, perfect for a robust after brush swish.
It’s handy, it’s fun and it’s certainly more earth friendly than paper cups, or disposable toothbrushes. The RinserBrush allows you to simply change out the bristles when you’ve worn the old ones out letting you enjoy your new toothbrush for years to come. The fountain is directional so you can control the stream by the way you hold the brush and you no longer have to worry about getting that filthy rinse cup to the dishwasher. Yeah, I know how long its been.

NAWAZ SHRIF MEETING TODAY WITH NEC

Meeting today: NEC may raise PSDP to Rs1.1tr

ISLAMABAD: The newly reconstituted National Economic Council (NEC) is likely to approve on Monday a record Rs1.13 trillion Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for next fiscal year (2013-14), about Rs262 billion or 30 per cent higher than current year’s allocation of Rs873bn.
To be presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a hurriedly called meeting of the country’s highest economic decision-making body is also expected to set an economic growth target of 4.4 per cent against current year’s estimated real GDP growth rate of 3.6 per cent.
The budget strategy paper finalised in March this year had put the next year’s growth rate at 4.5 per cent which has been revised downwards slightly because of lower than expected growth rate during the current year.
A notification for the reconstitution of the NEC was issued on Sunday evening, but provincial leaderships had already been called to Islamabad to attend the meeting for mandatory approval of the next year’s development programme and the macroeconomic framework before their inclusion in the federal budget to be announced on June 12.
The NEC reconstituted by the president on the advice of the prime minister includes three federal ministers from Punjab and one from Sindh. The four federal members nominated by the prime minister include three of his close aides from Punjab (Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif and Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal) and Minister for Industries and Production Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi, who belongs to Sindh.
The prime minister did not nominate NEC members from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa contrary to the tradition under which four federal members are nominated to the NEC from the four provinces.
Article 156(1) of the constitution says the NEC shall be constituted by the president and will comprise the prime minister as the chairman of the council, the chief ministers and one member from each province, to be nominated by chief ministers, and four other members as the prime minister may nominate from time to time.
As required under article 156(1) of the constitution, the four chief ministers are members of the NEC. Provincial members of the NEC nominated by the four chief ministers include Punjab’s finance minister (yet to be nominated), Sindh Chief Minister’s Adviser on Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, KP’s Senior Minister for Finance Siraj-ul-Haq and Balochistan MPA Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal.
According to the notification, the KP governor, AJK prime minister, Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and federal secretaries of the finance, economic affairs and planning departments will attend the NEC meeting on special invitation.
Of the total development programme of Rs1.13tr, allocations for the federal PSDP have been proposed at Rs540bn against the current year’s Rs360bn, according to a summary sent to the NEC.
An official said the prime minister could enhance the overall allocation by Rs15-20bn to accommodate some special programmes for Balochistan.
The provincial annual development plans (ADPs) for next year have been estimated at Rs595bn against Rs513bn allocated for the current year, showing an increase of 16 per cent or Rs82bn.
The NEC will also approve rebasing of national accounts from 1999-2000 to 2005-06.
The sources said the Planning Commission and the finance ministry had earlier finalised a federal development programme of about Rs450bn. A block allocation of about Rs115bn has been included in the PSDP to accommodate some unapproved projects — like Metro Bus Services for Islamabad and Karachi — on the desire of the new government.
An official said that under the development plan the emphasis would continue to be on completion of the schemes already at advanced stages of implementation while some of the new government’s projects would also be given priority.
The target for the next year’s inflation rate has been set at 8 per cent. The target for the year’s national savings rate has been set at 13 per cent, up from the current year’s 12 per cent. The national investment rate has been estimated at 13.6 per cent against 12.6 per cent this year.

old boy 2013

weekly classics   Oldboy

 

No country does psychological thrillers like South Korea. With zero sense of remorse, zilch spot of rationality, zot tinge of humanity…

With absolutely nothing, Oldboy begins (See trailer here).
Oh Dae-su (played by Choi Min-sik), a family man in his thirties, wakes up to solitary confinement in a motel-like prison, oblivious to how and why he had ended up in there.

For endless cold and bitter nights, he sees only the corny geometric wallpapers adorned with a ghastly portrait of a waning old man which forewarns too much of his looming predicament than it should; he hears only the doomed melody that impends the gas which raids his consciousness; he smells only this vapour, specifically Valium, made by the Russians to sedate their Chechen adversaries but now used on him; he tastes only the saltiness in the dumplings with a glut of spring onions that numbs his tongue with their cyclic flavour; he feels only the ghastly loneliness and hysterias that are slowly eating into his heart, invading what’s left of his sane mind. Most of all, he asks only the simplest question, which was never answered... 

...For the past 15 years, Oh Dae-su lived a living hell without knowing why he was put in there. What unforgivable mistake had he committed to incur this unexplained imprisonment of more than a decade? Was it someone he had offended?
WHY?
“You can't find the right answers if you ask the wrong questions.”
After a span of eternity, or so it seems for Oh Dae-su, he was suddenly released on a rooftop, with no explanation. Nil. Naught. Nada.
In fact there was no sign of his previous captivity except for a tattoo of 15 stitches that he has sewed onto his hand as a painful reminder of the years stolen from him for a reason he had yet to discover.
No doubt, he became obsessive about finding his captors. Recalling the dumplings he ate daily while he was confined, he tracked down the restaurant and eventually found the “prison” which was in fact a building filled with room cubicles where the rich would pay to have others incarcerated.
There was no way these minions would know the mastermind, but they did provide him with one piece of valuable information before he fought his way out of the building with a hammer in one hand and a knife stuck in his back.
Maybe it was because of the giant live moving octopus (actor Choi Min-sik completed the scene without any computer-generated imagery) that he swallowed in front of her while her jaw dropped, because that is definitely not the kind of courage you can find in any lucid being. But as it happens, Mi-do was the only one who believed Dae-su’s encounter, and very soon became his only source of comfort in this heedless seek for vengeance. 

Lee Woo-jin (played by Yoo Ji-tae) finally revealed himself as Dae-su's kidnapper, a billionaire and undoubtedly a sadist. With every taunt and goad, he maneuvered Oh Dae-su like a seasoned puppeteer, but of course, he had 15 long years to contrive a way to deal with him.
Woo-jin gave Dae-su an ultimatum of five days to discover his “evil deed” for himself or else Mi-do would not live past the fifth night. Innately (inaptly) curious, Dae-su started to seek his connection with Woo-jin and found their association in a place long forgone.