World of Islam

The Spread of Islam

From the oasis cities of Makkah and Madinah in the Arabian desert, the message of Islam went forth with electrifying speed. Within half a century of the Prophet's death, Islam had spread to three continents. Islam is not, as some imagine in the West, a religion of the sword nor did it spread primarily by means of war. It was only within Arabia, where a crude form of idolatry was rampant, that Islam was propagated by warring against those tribes which did not accept the message of God--whereas Christians and Jews were not forced to convert. Outside of Arabia also the vast lands conquered by the Arab armies in a short period became Muslim not by force of the sword but by the appeal of the new religion. It was faith in One God and emphasis upon His Mercy that brought vast numbers of people into the fold of Islam. The new religion did not coerce people to convert. Many continued to remain Jews and Christians and to this day important communities of the followers of these faiths are found in Muslim lands. Moreover, the spread of Islam was not limited to its miraculous early expansion outside of Arabia. During later centuries the Turks embraced Islam peacefully as did a large number of the people of the Indian subcontinent and the Malay-speaking world. In Africa also, Islam has spread during the past two centuries even under the mighty power of European colonial rulers. Today Islam continues to grow not only in Africa but also in Europe and America where Muslims now comprise a notable minority.

General Characteristics of Islam

Islam was destined to become a world religion and to create a civilization which stretched from one end of the globe to the other. Already during the early Muslim caliphates, first the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to create classical Islamic civilization. Later, in the 13th century, both Africa and India became great centers of Islamic civilization and soon thereafter Muslim kingdoms were established in the Malay-Indonesian world while Chinese Muslims flourished throughout China.

Global Religion

Islam is a religion for all people from whatever race or background they might be. That is why Islamic civilization is based on a unity which stands completely against any racial or ethnic discrimination. Such major racial and ethnic groups as the Arabs, Persians, Turks, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Malays in addition to numerous smaller units embraced Islam and contributed to the building of Islamic civilization. Moreover, Islam was not opposed to learning from the earlier civilizations and incorporating their science, learning, and culture into its own world view, as long as they did not oppose the principles of Islam. Each ethnic and racial group which embraced Islam made its contribution to the one Islamic civilization to which everyone belonged. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood was so much emphasized that it overcame all local attachments to a particular tribe, race, or language--all of which became subservient to the universal brotherhood and sisterhood of Islam. The global civilization thus created by Islam permitted people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to work together in cultivating various arts and sciences. Although the civilization was profoundly Islamic, even non-Muslim "people of the book" participated in the intellectual activity whose fruits belonged to everyone. The scientific climate was reminiscent of the present situation in America where scientists and men and women of learning from all over the world are active in the advancement of knowledge which belongs to everyone.
The global civilization created by Islam also succeeded in activating the mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result of Islam, the nomadic Arabs became torch-bearers of science and learning. The Persians who had created a great civilization before the rise of Islam nevertheless produced much more science and learning in the Islamic period than before. The same can be said of the Turks and other peoples who embraced Islam. The religion of Islam was itself responsible not only for the creation of a world civilization in which people of many different ethnic backgrounds participated, but it played a central role in developing intellectual and cultural life on a scale not seen before. For some eight hundred years Arabic remained the major intellectual and scientific language of the world. During the centuries following the rise of Islam, Muslim dynasties ruling in various parts of the Islamic world bore witness to the flowering of Islamic culture and thought. In fact this tradition of intellectual activity was eclipsed only at the beginning of modern times as a result of the weakening of faith among Muslims combined with external domination. And today this activity has begun anew in many parts of the Islamic world now that the Muslims have regained their political independence.

A Brief History of Islam

The Rightly guided Caliphs

Upon the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, the friend of the Prophet and the first adult male to embrace Islam, became caliph. Abu Bakr ruled for two years to be succeeded by 'Umar who was caliph for a decade and during whose rule Islam spread extensively east and west conquering the Persian empire, Syria and Egypt. It was 'Umar who marched on foot at the end of the Muslim army into Jerusalem and ordered the protection of Christian sites. 'Umar also established the first public treasury and a sophisticated financial administration. He established many of the basic practices of Islamic government. 'Umar was succeeded by 'Uthman who ruled for some twelve years during which time the Islamic expansion continued. He is also known as the caliph who had the definitive text of the Noble Quran copied and sent to the four corners of the Islamic world. He was in turn succeeded by 'Ali who is known to this day for his eloquent sermons and letters, and also for his bravery. With his death the rule of the "rightly guided" caliphs, who hold a special place of respect in the hearts of Muslims, came to an end.

The Caliphate

Umayyad

The Umayyad caliphate established in 661 was to last for about a century. During this time Damascus became the capital of an Islamic world which stretched from the western borders of China to southern France. Not only did the Islamic conquests continue during this period through North Africa to Spain and France in the West and to Sind, Central Asia and Transoxiana in the East, but the basic social and legal institutions of the newly founded Islamic world were established.

Abbasids

The Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads, shifted the capital to Baghdad which soon developed into an incomparable center of learning and culture as well as the administrative and political heart of a vast world. They ruled for over 500 years but gradually their power waned and they remained only symbolic rulers bestowing legitimacy upon various sultans and princes who wielded actual military power. The Abbasid caliphate was finally abolished when Hulagu, the Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad in 1258, destroying much of the city including its incomparable libraries.
While the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad, a number of powerful dynasties such as the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks held power in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The most important event in this area as far as the relation between Islam and the Western world was concerned was the series of Crusades declared by the Pope and espoused by various European kings. The purpose, although political, was outwardly to recapture the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem for Christianity. Although there was at the beginning some success and local European rule was set up in parts of Syria and Palestine, Muslims finally prevailed and in 1187 Saladin, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem and defeated the Crusaders.

North Africa And Spain

When the Abbasids captured Damascus, one of the Umayyad princes escaped and made the long journey from there to Spain to found Umayyad rule there, thus beginning the golden age of Islam in Spain. Cordoba was established as the capital and soon became Europe's greatest city not only in population but from the point of view of its cultural and intellectual life. The Umayyads ruled over two centuries until they weakened and were replaced by local rulers. Meanwhile in North Africa, various local dynasties held sway until two powerful Berber dynasties succeeded in uniting much of North Africa and also Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. After them this area was ruled once again by local dynasties such as the Sharifids of Morocco who still rule in that country. As for Spain itself, Muslim power continued to wane until the last Muslim dynasty was defeated in Granada in 1492 thus bringing nearly eight hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain to an end.

After the Mangol Invasion

The Mongols devastated the eastern lands of Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India for a century. But they soon converted to Islam and became known as the Il-Khanids. They were in turn succeeded by Timur and his descendents who made Samarqand their capital and ruled from 1369 to 1500. The sudden rise of Timur delayed the formation and expansion of the Ottoman empire but soon the Ottomans became the dominant power in the Islamic world.

Ottoman Empire

From humble origins the Turks rose to dominate over the whole of Anatolia and even parts of Europe. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror captured Constantinople and put an end to the Byzantine empire. The Ottomans conquered much of eastem Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab world, only Morocco and Mauritania in the West and Yemen, Hadramaut and parts of the Arabian peninsula remaining beyond their control. They reached their zenith of power with Suleyman the Magnificent whose armies reached Hungary and Austria. From the 17th century onward with the rise of Westem European powers and later Russia, the power of the Ottomans began to wane. But they nevertheless remained a force to be reckoned with until the First World War when they were defeated by the Westem nations. Soon thereafter Kamal Ataturk gained power in Turkey and abolished the six centuries of rule of the Ottomans in 1924.

Persia

While the Ottomans were concerned mostly with the westem front of their empire, to the east in Persia a new dynasty called the Safavids came to power in 1502. The Safavids established a powerful state of their own which flourished for over two centuries and became known for the flowering of the arts. Their capital, Isfahan, became one of the most beautiful cities with its blue tiled mosques and exquisite houses. The Afghan invasion of 1736 put an end to Safavid rule and prepared the independence of Afghanistan which occured fommally in the 19th century. Persia itself fell into tummoil until Nader Shah, the last Oriental conqueror, reunited the country and even conquered India. But the rule of the dynasty established by him was short-lived. The Zand dynasty soon took over to be overthrown by the Qajars in 1779 who made Tehran their capital and ruled until 1921 when they were in turn replaced by the Pahlavis.

India

As for India, Islam entered into the land east of the Indus River peacefully. Gradually Muslims gained political power beginning in the early 13th century. But this period which marked the expansion of both Islam and Islamic culture came to an end with the conquest of much of India in 1526 by Babur, one of the Timurid princes. He established the powerful Mogul empire which produced such famous rulers as Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan and which lasted, despite the gradual rise of British power in India, until 1857 when it was officially abolished.

Malaysia And Indonesia

Farther east in the Malay world, Islam began to spread in the 12th century in northem Sumatra and soon Muslim kingdoms were establishd in Java, Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. Despite the colonization of the Malay world, Islam spread in that area covering present day Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Phililppines and southern Thailand, and is still continuing in islands farther east.

Africa

As far as Africa is concemed, Islam entered into East Africa at the very beginning of the Islamic period but remained confined to the coast for some time, only the Sudan and Somaliland becoming gradually both Arabized and Islamized. West Africa felt the presence of Islam through North African traders who travelled with their camel caravans south of the Sahara. By the 14th century there were already Muslim sultanates in such areas as Mali, and Timbuctu in West Africa and Harar in East Africa had become seats of Islamic leaming. Gradually Islam penetrated both inland and southward. There also appeared major charismatic figures who inspired intense resistance against European domination. The process of the Islamization of Africa did not cease during the colonial period and continues even today with the result that most Africans are now Muslims carrying on a tradition which has had practically as long a history in certain areas of sub-Saharan Africa as Islam itself.

Islam in the United States

It is almost impossible to generalize about American Muslims: converts, immigrants, factory workers, doctors; all are making their own contribution to America's future. This complex community is unified by a common faith, underpinned by a countrywide network of a thousand mosques. Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth century there were many thousands of them, working as slaves on plantations. These early communities, cut off from their heritage and families, inevitably lost their Islamic identity as time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an important role in the Islamic community.
The nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial centers where they worshipped in hired rooms. The early twentieth century witnessed the arrival of several hundred thousand Muslims from Eastem Europe: the first Albanian mosque was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group of Polish Muslims opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928.
In 1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term of President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were set up in the fifties. The same period saw the establishment of other communities whose lives were in many ways modelled after Islam. More recently, numerous members of these groups have entered the fold of Muslim orthodoxy. Today there are about five million Muslims in America.

Aftermath of the Colonial Period

At the height of European colonial expansion in the 19th century, most of the Islamic world was under colonial rule with the exception of a few regions such as the heart of the Ottoman empire, Persia, Afghanistan, Yemen and certain parts of Arabia. But even these areas were under foreign influence or, in the case of the Ottomans, under constant threat. After the First World War with the breakup of the Ottoman empire, a number of Arab states such as Iraq became independent, others like Jordan were created as a new entity and yet others like Palestine, Syria and Lebanon were either mandated or turned into French colonies. As for Arabia, it was at this time that Saudi Arabia became finally consolidated. As for other parts of the Islamic world, Egypt which had been ruled by the descendents of Muhammad Ali since the l9th century became more independent as a result of the fall of the Ottomans, Turkey was turned into a secular republic by Ataturk, and the Pahlavi dynasty began a new chapter in Persia where its name reverted to its eastern traditional form of Iran. But most of the rest of the Islamic world remained under colonial rule.

Arab

It was only after the Second World War and the dismemberment of the British, French, Dutch and Spanish empires that the rest of the Islamic world gained its independence. In the Arab world, Syria and Lebanon became independent at the end of the war as did Libya and the shaykdoms around the Gulf and the Arabian Sea by the 1960's. The North African countries of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria had to fight a difficult and, in the case of Algeria, long and protracted war to gain their freedom which did not come until a decade later for Tunisia and Morocco and two decades later for Algeria. Only Palestine did not become independent but was partitioned in 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel.

 India

In India Muslims participated in the freedom movement against British rule along with Hindus and when independence finally came in 1947, they were able to create their own homeland, Pakistan, which came into being for the sake of Islam and became the most populated Muslim state although many Muslims remained in India. In 1971, however, the two parts of the state broke up, East Pakistan becoming Bengladesh.

Far East

Farther east still, the Indonesians finally gained their independence from the Dutch and the Malays theirs from Britain. At first Singapore was part of Malaysia but it separated in 1963 to become an independent state. Small colonies still persisted in the area and continued to seek their independence, the kingdom of Brunei becoming independent as recently as 1984.

Africa

In Africa also major countries with large or majority Muslim populations such as Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania began to gain their independence in the 1950's and 1960's with the result that by the end of the decade of the 60's most parts of the Islamic world were formed into independent national states. There were, however, exceptions. The Muslim states in the Soviet Union failed to gain their autonomy or independence. The same holds true for Sinkiang (called Eastem Turkestan by Muslim geographers) while in Eritrea and the southern Philippines Muslim independence movements still continue.

National States

While the world of Islam has entered into the modern world in the form of national states, continuous attempts are made to create closer cooperation within the Islamic world as a whole and to bring about greater unity. This is seen not only in the meetings of the Muslim heads of state and the establishment of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) with its own secretariat, but also in the creation of institutions dealing with the whole of the Islamic world. Among the most important of these is the Muslim World League (Rabitat al-alam al-Islami ) with its headquarters in Makkah. Saudi Arabia has in fact played a pivotal role in the creation and maintenance of such organizations.

Revival and Reassertation of Islam

Muslims did not wish to gain only their political independence. They also wished to assert their own religious and cultural identity. From the 18th century onward Muslim reformers appeared upon the scene who sought to reassert the teachings of Islam and to reform society on the basis of Islamic teachings. One of the first among this group was Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, who hailed from the Arabian peninsula and died there in 1792. This reformer was supported by Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ud, the founder of the first Saudi state. With this support Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was able to spread his teachings not only in Arabia but even beyond its borders to other Islamic lands where his reforms continue to wield influence to this day. In the 19th century lslamic assertion took several different forms ranging from the Mahdi movement of the Sudan and the Sanusiyyah in North Africa which fought wars against European colonizers, to educational movements such as that of Aligarh in India aiming to reeducate Muslims. In Egypt which, because of al-Azhar University, remains to this day central to Islamic learning, a number of reformers appear, each addressing some aspect of Islamic thought. Some were concerned more with law, others economics, and yet others the challenges posed by Western civilization with its powerful science and technology. These included Jamal al-Din al-Afghani who hailed originally from Persia but settled in Cairo and who was the great champion of Pan-Islamism, that is the movement to unite the Islamic world politically as well as religiously. His student, Muhammad 'Abduh, who became the rector of al-Azhar. was also very influential in Islamic theology and thought. Also of considerable influence was his Syrian student, Rashid Rida, who held a position closer to that of 'Abd al-Wahhab and stood for the strict application of the Shari'ah. Among the most famous of these thinkers is Muhammad Iqbal, the outstanding poet and philosopher who is considered as the father of Pakistan.

Reform Organizations

Moreover, as Western influence began to penetrate more deeply into the fiber of Islamic society, organizations gradually grew up whose goal was to reform society in practice along Islamic lines and prevent its secularization. These included the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan al-muslimin) founded in Egypt and with branches in many Muslim countries, and the Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan founded by the influential Mawlana Mawdudi. These organizations have been usually peaceful and have sought to reestablish an Islamic order through education. During the last two decades, however, as a result of the frustration of many Muslims in the face of pressures coming from a secularized outside world, some have sought to reject the negative aspects of Western thought and culture and to return to an Islamic society based completely on the application of the Shari 'ah. Today in every Muslim country there are strong movements to preserve and propagate Islamic teachings. In countries such as Saudi Arabia Islamic Law is already being applied and in fact is the reason for the prosperity, development and stability of the country. In other countries where Islamic Law is not being applied, however, most of the effort of Islamic movements is spent in making possible the full application of the Shari'ah so that the nation can enjoy prosperity along with the fulfillment of the faith of its people. In any case the widespread desire for Muslims to have the religious law of Islam applied and to reassert their religious values and their own identity must not be equated with exceptional violent eruptions which do exist but which are usually treated sensationally and taken out of proportion by the mass media in the West.

Education and Science in the Islamic World

In seeking to live successfully in the modern world, in independence and according to Islamic principles, Muslim countries have been emphasizing a great deal the significance of the role of education and the importance of mastering Western science and technology. Already in the 19th century, certain Muslim countries such as Egypt, Ottoman Turkey and Persia established institutions of higher learning where the modem sciences and especially medicine were taught. During this century educational institutions at all levels have proliferated throughout the Islamic world. Nearly every science ranging from mathematics to biology as well as various fields of modern technology are taught in these institutions and some notable scientists have been produced by the Islamic world, men and women who have often combined education in these institutions with training in the West. In various parts of the Islamic world there is, however, a sense that educational institutions must be expanded and also have their standards improved to the level of the best institutions in the world in various fields of leaming especially science and technology. At the same time there is an awareness that the educational system must be based totally on Islamic principles and the influence of alien cultural and ethical values and norms, to the extent that they are negative, be diminished. To remedy this problem a number of international Islamic educational conferences have been held, the first one in Makkah in 1977, and the foremost thinkers of the Islamic world have been brought together to study and ponder over the question of the relation between Islam and modern science. This is an ongoing process which is at the center of attention in many parts of the Islamic world and which indicates the significance of educational questions in the Islamic world today.

Influence of Islamic Science and Learning Upon the West

The oldest university in the world which is still functioning is the eleven hundred-year-old Islamic university of Fez, Morocco, known as the Qarawiyyin. This old tradition of Islamic learning influenced the West greatly through Spain. In this land where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived for the most part peacefully for many centuries, translations began to be made in the 11th century mostly in Toledo of Islamic works into Latin often through the intermediary of Jewish scholars most of whom knew Arabic and often wrote in Arabic. As a result of these translations, Islamic thought and through it much of Greek thought became known to the West and Western schools of learning began to flourish. Even the Islamic educational system was emulated in Europe and to this day the term chair in a university reflects the Arabic kursi (literally seat) upon which a teacher would sit to teach his students in the madrasah (school of higher learning). As European civillization grew and reached the high Middle Ages, there was hardly a field of learning or form of art, whether it was literature or architecture, where there was not some influence of Islam present. Islamic learning became in this way part and parcel of Western civilization even if with the advent of the Renaissance, the West not only turned against its own medieval past but also sought to forget the long relation it had had with the Islamic world, one which was based on intellectual respect despite religious opposition.

Conclusion

The Islamic world remains today a vast land stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with an important presence in Europe and America, animated by the teachings of Islam and seeking to assert its own identity. Despite the presence of nationalism and various secular ideologies in their midst, Muslims wish to live in the modern world but without simply imitating blindly the ways followed by the West. The Islamic world wishes to live at peace with the West as well as the East but at the same time not to be dominated by them. It wishes to devote its resources and energies to building a better life for its people on the basis of the teachings of Islam and not to squander its resources in either internal or external conflicts. It seeks finally to create better understanding with the West and to be better understood by the West. The destinies of the Islamic world and the West cannot be totally separated and therefore it is only in understanding each other better that they can serve their own people more successfully and also contribute to a better life for the whole of humanity

Asia cup 2010 schedule, Asia cup 2010 fixtures, matches, venue

Asia cup 2010 is scheduled in June 2010. The Asia cup 2010 matches dates will be between June 15 - 25th, 2010. Asia cup 2010 venue is however yet to be decided.
Sri Lanka is defending champion of Asia cup. Sri Lanka won last Asia Cup in 2009 by defeating India in Pakistan. Asia cup 2010 will be the 10th Asia Cup tournament. Asia cup is conducted by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) every year.

Asia cup 2010 laying countries are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE, Hong Kong and Bangaldesh. Hongkong and UAE are the only non test playing nations in the Asia Cup teams. As per the rotation policy of Asia cup host nation, India is expected to

Facebook Banned In Bangladesh

The government of Bangladesh temporarily blocked access to Facebook on Saturday. The highly popular social network site was shut down at around 7:00 pm (local time) after the arrest of a youth in connection with uploading satiric images of some politicians including the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained Mahbub Alam Rodin (30) at Ranking Street in the Wari area of the capital, Dhaka early Saturday on charge of posting 'offensive' cartoons on government high-ups and making 'derogatory' comments about them on Facebook, the elite force said.
Even though the government did not offer any official statement, local media quoted the state-run Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) saying that the posting of some anti-religious and pornographic links by users across the globe are among the reasons for restricting the access.
"The access to facebook will resume when the data operators find a way to block such anti-social content," a high official of BTRC told the Daily Star, a local newspaper.
The BTRC earlier asked Mango Telecom and Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited, the two international Internet gateways, to find out a way to block anti-social contents posted by facebook users.
On Friday, three Islamic political parties--Islami Oikya Jote, Islami Andolan and Khelafat Andolan-- demanded immediate ban on Facebook for a recent campaign by some users inviting people to draw images of Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (SM).
Pakistan has recently banned facebook.
The social networking site has over 500 million users worldwide, with over 875,000 of them in Bangladesh.

Rahma Azhari Hot Picture

Jakarta , RETURNS artist picture Rahma Azhari spread over in internet. Non a naked photograph, but pictures showing middle Rahma posed for hot with US man.

There is seven photographs circulating in internet. The seven photographs consisted of to be assorted of style. At first photograph for example, Rahma seen will smooch with a woman. In the next photograph, mother a the chlid is embraced by two mans. First man having US face. An other man which seems to have having age more than 40 years seems to embrace the section artist from other side. Rahma also seen amicable bergelayut to him. In third photograph, pose Rahma really hot. He embraced from behind by a man which the face enough lookers.

Four photographs remained, only shows middle Rahma posed for with its(the sister Sarah Azhari. Rahma seen middle of party, synchronized of clothes leopard.

Comments Rahma about the section photographs is represented the power of attorney Secarpiandy. Lawyer is having moustache that assumes man who is propagating the photographs to internet means kills the client character.

Shahid Afridi was selected as Pakistan captain on Tuesday for the Asia Cup and test series against Australia and England.

Pakistan reached the World Twenty20 semi finals under Shahid Afridi's supervision. - Reuters Photo

ISLAMABAD: Shahid Afridi was selected as Pakistan captain on Tuesday for the Asia Cup and test series against Australia and England.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt made the announcement in Lahore confirming Afridi as the country's third test captain in 15 months after Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were indefinitely suspended by the PCB due to alleged infighting.
However, the selection committee also included Younis in a list of 35 probable players, subject to his pending appeal against the suspension.
After his indefinite ban, Yousuf retired from international cricket. Afridi said he tried unsuccessfully to persuade Yousuf to come out of retirement.
''I talked to him on telephone yesterday and requested him to reconsider his retirement, but he refused to do so,'' said Afridi, who added that Yousuf was now coaching in Canada. ''I still believe Yousuf can play international cricket for two to three more years.''
Afridi has not played a test since taking on England at Manchester in 2006, and is looking forward to making a contribution.
''I have taken up this as a challenge because I feel Pakistan is going through some tough times now and it needs the guidance of senior players,'' he said. ''If we play as a unit, I am hopeful of good results.
''Definitely, there will be the pressure of captaincy on me, but a player can only be judged when he competes under pressure.''
Pakistan is scheduled to play the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in June before playing two tests against Australia in England in July and four tests against England.
Former captain Shoaib Malik, who was also suspended for one year and fined two million rupees ($23,500) for ill discipline during the series in Australia, was included in the 35 players.
''Both Younis and Malik's inclusions are subject to their outcome of the appeals,'' Butt said.
Selectors picked injury-prone fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar among the 35, but chief selector Mohsin Khan said the players will all have to pass fitness tests before they are picked in the final squads.
The 15-member squad for the Asia Cup will be announcd in the first week of next month after a short training camp at Karachi.
Probables:
Shahid Afridi (captain), Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hasan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Azhar Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamir Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanveer Ahmed, Ejaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal, Zulqarnain Haider.

The Expendables (2010)

THE EXPENDABLES is a hard-hitting action/thriller about a group of mercenaries hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator. Once the mission begins, the men realize things aren�t quite as they appear, finding themselves caught in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. With their mission thwarted and an innocent life in danger, the men struggle with an even tougher challenge � one that threatens to destroy this band of brothers.

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is a man with nothing to lose. Fearless and void of emotion, he is the leader, the sage and the strategist of this tight-knit band of men who live on the fringe. His only attachment is to his pickup truck, his seaplane and his team of loyal modern-day warriors. His is a true cynic who describes what he does as �removing those hard to get at stains.� The team behind him is made up of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), former SAS and a savant with anything that has a blade; Yin Yang (Jet Li), a master at close-quarter combat; Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), who has known Barney for ten years and is a long-barrel weapons specialist; Toll Road (Randy Couture), a skilled demolitions expert and considered the intellect of the group; and Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), a combat veteran and an expert in precision sniping who struggles with his own demons.

When the mysterious Church offers Barney a job no one else would take, Barney and his team embark on what appears to be a routine mission: overthrow General Gaza (David Zayas), the murderous dictator of the small island country of Vilena and end the years of death and destruction inflicted on its people. On a reconnaissance mission to Vilena, Barney and Christmas meet their contact Sandra (Giselle Itie), a local freedom-fighter with a dark secret. They also come to learn who their true enemy is: rogue ex-CIA operative James Monroe (Eric Roberts) and his henchman Paine (Steve Austin). When things go terribly wrong, Barney and Christmas are forced to leave Sandra behind, essentially giving her a death sentence. Haunted by this failure, Barney convinces the team to return to Vilena to rescue the hostage and finish the job he started. And to perhaps save a soul: his own. --© Lionsgate

Facebook ban in Indonesia defied

JAKARTA – Mosques may outnumber Internet cafes in Muslim-majority Indonesia, but Islamic clerics out to take on social networking site Facebook may have met their match.
Media in the world's most populous Muslim country were abuzz after a May meeting of hundreds of clerics from Java and Bali islands urged top religious authorities to issue a fatwa, or edict, banning Facebook for Muslims.
The clerics have argued the site enables unregulated chatting between the sexes, opening the door for "obscenity," pornography, premarital sex and adultery.
Fatwas from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country's highest religious body, are in theory binding on Muslims but in practice they are often ignored.
"Facebook is like a magnet that attracts people to join," the cleric who headed the meeting, Abdul Muid Sohib, told Agence France-Presse.
"Many use it simply for chatting, but Islam restricts the relationship between men and women... not only for face-to-face contact but also for Facebook, since it too could lead to sexual intimacy.
"We all know that some Facebook users use it to offer themselves for prostitution," he said.
Clerics hoping their call could make an impact may be a little disappointed with the response.
Indonesia ranks fifth behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and France in terms of Facebook use, according to Internet tracking website Alexa.com, in spite of a patchy communications infrastructure and little computer access for many of its 234 million people.
Discussion groups ranging in topics from politics to Japanese animation and homosexuality in the national language Bahasa Indonesia dot the website.
Tens of thousands of Indonesians have signed up to Facebook groups condemning the clerics' call, including at least one prominent Muslim member of parliament.
Niken Valentina, a 19-year-old student who lists her religion on Facebook as Muslim and her interests as "eating, swimming, hanging out with my gurlz, my phone," is one of many who have reacted with derision to the ban.
"It all depends on the person using it," said Valentina, whose posted photos document a social life of meals, clubbing and pouty poses with girlfriends.
"If you want to flirt or find pornographic stuff you can use (search engine) Google too, not only Facebook," she said.
For 36-year-old Facebook user Intan Ruwaidah, the cleric's call is a sign that many in Indonesia's Islamic establishment are out of touch.
"If these clerics think Facebook is a venue for flirting, it shows they have no idea about what they want to ban," Ruwaidah said.
"I don't think Facebook users will listen to this. The clerics are turning into toothless tigers," she said.
Indonesians exasperated by the push to ban Facebook can point to a series of fatwas issued by the senior clerics of the MUI that have strained the body's credibility, said Ahmad Suaedy from the Wahid Institute Islamic think tank.
The MUI earlier this year issued one widely derided edict banning Muslims from practising yoga if they mix the exercises with elements of Hindu ritual.
The clerics also issued a fatwa banning public smoking -- a quixotic gesture in nicotine-mad Indonesia -- and ruled that abstaining from voting in national elections was haram, or forbidden to Muslims.
While clerics could have counted on a captive audience during the reign of dictator Suharto, the rise of democracy and the proliferation of media since his 1998 fall means many Indonesians today are too sophisticated, Suaedy said.
"Indonesian Muslims were very obedient to the MUI's edicts during Suharto's dictatorship," Suaedy said.
"But with all the freedom of expression now, they're just laughing at this."
There are signs however that the MUI has learnt from the criticism. The body has refused to say whether it will issue a formal fatwa banning Facebook.
Other senior Muslim leaders, such as the head of the 30-million strong Muhammadiyah Islamic group Din Syamsuddin, have said they oppose a ban.
Recent news in Indonesia has also shown that those who try to tame the Facebook juggernaught can end up getting hurt themselves.
A hospital on the outskirts of Jakarta recently suffered a public relations disaster when it took a mother-of-two to court on criminal defamation charges after emails she wrote to friends about poor treatment ended up on the website.
Prita Mulyasari, 32, was cleared by a court in June after spending three weeks in detention amid public outrage and a call from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the court to be lenient.
Facebook groups set up in support of her drew more than 100,000 members.

Pakistan: Thousands rally against Facebook because of Everybody Draw Muhammad Day

Pakistan: Thousands rally against Facebook 

 

because of Everybody Draw Muhammad Day

LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistan's government ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. The page on the social networking site has generated criticism in Pakistan and elsewhere because Islam prohibits any images of the prophet. The government took action after a group of Islamic lawyers won a court order Wednesday requiring officials to block Facebook until May 31.
By Wednesday evening, access to the site was sporadic, apparently because Internet providers were implementing the order.
The Facebook page at the center of the dispute -- "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" -- encourages users to post images of the prophet on May 20 to protest threats made by a radical Muslim group against the creators of "South Park" for depicting Muhammad in a bear suit during an episode earlier this year.
In the southern city of Karachi, some 2,000 female students rallied demanding that Facebook be banned for tolerating the controversial web page. Several dozen male students held a rally nearby, with some holding signs that urged Islamic holy war against those who blaspheme the prophet.
"We are not trying to slander the average Muslim," said the information section of the Facebook page, which was still accessible Wednesday morning. "We simply want to show the extremists that threaten to harm people because of their Mohammad depictions that we're not afraid of them. That they can't take away our right to freedom of speech by trying to scare us into silence."...

Sounds reasonable to me.
In an attempt to respond to public anger over the Facebook controversy, the Pakistani government ordered Internet service providers in the country to block the page Tuesday, said Khurram Ali, a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, which regulates the telecommunications network in the country. But the Islamic Lawyers Forum asked the Lahore High Court on Wednesday to order the government to fully block Facebook because the site had allowed the page to be posted in the first place, said the deputy attorney general of Punjab province, Naveed Inayat Malik.
The court complied with the request and ordered the government to block the site until the end of May, Malik said.
Lawyers outside the courtroom hailed the ruling, chanting "down with Facebook."..

Facebook and YouTube banned in Pakistan

Facebook, the largest social networking site in the world, has been banned in Pakistan till 31st May, 2010 due to the insult of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Islam following the order of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday 19th May, 2010.
The court directed the PTA (Pakistan Telecommunications Authority) to use all measures to ban this site in Pakistan. Following the court’s order, PTA instantly ordered all the Internet Service Providers in the country to immediately ban Facebook. PTA has also blocked the famous video sharing website ‘YouTube’ due to the blasphemous material being shown on the site.
An online competition on Facebook has been created and promoted under the title of ‘Draw Muhammad Day’ inviting people to send in caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on May 20th.

The sketches or caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and representation of any Prophet is deemed un-Islamic and blasphemous in Islam. The Muslims came out on the roads in protest all over the country and demanded the government to put a ban on the site. The court took notice and immediately ordered to block ‘Facebook’ in Pakistan on Wednesday. The government took serious and immediate action on the blocking ‘YouTube’ as well after some sacrilegious caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were transferred from Facebook to YouTube.
Earlier in 2005, the Danish newspapers had published the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The California-based social networking site, ‘Facebook’ has been set-up on the slogan of ‘Freedom of Speech’. But freedom of speech does not mean to hurt anybody’s feelings or insult anybody’s religion or religious personalities rather they must be respected.

Protest

Please join the Facebook site “Honour the Prophet Muhammad (s)”

It is noteworthy that Molly Norris who launched the “Draw Muhammad Day” in order to defend the First Amendment points out (in the video clip below) that she drew a cartoon of Muhammad (s), but would never draw a cartoon of the Holocaust. This is pure hypocrisy and double speak on her part. Which version of the First Amendment does she subscribe to: the Islamophobic one which says that the faith of Muslims is to be disrespected at will, or the one that says she would not be able to sell another cartoon in the world if she were to sully the memory of the millions who were exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust? I agree with her about respecting the Holocaust, but would like the same respect to be shown to our Prophet, Muhammad (s).
From: “HONOUR THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (S)” page in Facebook

A facebook page/event has been set up for May the 20th, and this event has been called draw Muhammad day. So as a response, this page has been created, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to come and defend the honour of Muhammad peace be upon him. The way we shall respond is not by violence, or threats, or insults. No, we shall respond back with wisdom, and with the most important tool we have, the truth.
The prophet Muhammad himself stated that the strong Muslim was the one who could control his anger, and control his emotions, therefore all Muslims should follow this example.
Responding with threats does not defend the prophet, rather it simply feeds the propaganda, and makes them say ‘look! You see , we are right, the Muslims are violent!’ Therefore as Muslims we should be better.
On May 20th we shall release our own video, a video which shall compile some of the greatest examples of the prophet Muhammad. You to can take part, by posting several Islamic narrations that showed the kindness, mercy, humbleness, generosity, and sincerity of the prophet Muhammad. If you choose to do more, and want to make your own video, then do so!
Let us show everyone what a great man Muhammad (S.A.W) was, and rather than mocking him, he should be praised and given the utmost respect. So join up, and forward this group to your friends, so they join as well.
So come, let us defend the honour of Muhammad. peace be upon him, and let us do this with dignity, respect, and wisdom.

Lets Kick Face Book

Pakistan Blocks Facebook

Pakistan blocked a section of Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social-networking service, citing plans for a “blasphemous” competition inviting users to draw caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.(PBUH)

The Lahore High Court imposed the ban until May 31 and asked Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry to protest to the international community over the competition, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said on its website yesterday.

Pakistan needs an effective plan to prevent anti-Islam elements “hurting the sentiments of Muslims,” APP cited religious affairs minister Saeed Kazmi, as saying in Islamabad. Protesters gathered in Karachi holding banners and shouting slogans against Facebook yesterday and people circulated text messages asking users of the site in Pakistan to support the ban.

Cartoons depicting Muhammad in a Danish newspaper in 2005, provoked protests by Muslim communities around the world including Pakistan, home to the world’s second-largest Muslim population after Indonesia. Depictions of the prophet are considered blasphemous by Muslims.

A Facebook user set up a page called “Draw Mohammed Day,” allegedly inviting people to send in their caricatures of the Muslim prophet by today, Agence France-Presse reported.

Kazmi called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to organize a meeting of Muslim countries and create a united policy for dealing with anti-Islamic moves, APP reported.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority imposed the ban after the high court ruling.

“We were instructed by the Ministry of Information Technology to block a link,” Khurram Mehran, spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, said by telephone from Islamabad yesterday.

The cartoons of the prophet printed in Danish newspapers in 2005 included one of him with a bomb in his turban and accompanied an article on freedom of speech and self-censorship in the media.

 

Movie review: 'Clash of the Titans'

It's doubtful that records are kept about this sort of thing, but consider the possibility that "Clash of the Titans" is the first film to actually be made worse by being in 3-D.
Not that this remake of the creaky 1981 original, best remembered for a slumming Laurence Olivier and Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation monsters, was ever going to be something to write home about. At least not for anyone older than 10.
For one thing, as directed by action junkie Louis Leterrier ("Transporter 2," "Unleashed") and written by Travis Beacham and Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, this "Clash" has dialogue so plodding that a halfway decent line like "you have insulted powers beyond your comprehension" sounds like something out of Noel Coward.
Obviously, no one comes to a movie like this for repartee, but even the action scenes, with ancient Greek hero Perseus ("Avatar's Sam Worthington) facing off against an entire menagerie of mythical monsters, come off as lethargic and clunky.
Possibly because this film was converted to 3-D late in the game, the third dimension, especially in those action scenes, is more of a distraction than an enhancement. While some creatures, especially Pegasus the flying horse, flourish, 3-D clutters the film's innumerable battles, making them harder to follow rather than exciting.
"Clash of the Titans" is also burdened by a numskull plot notion. The idea is that though those ancient Greeks lived in a world where the gods were quite real and unimaginably powerful, these idiots decide to declare war on them, which is the short-sighted equivalent of teasing your younger brother even though he has the power to snap his fingers and turn you to stone.
Though it's not clear why they agreed to participate, having top actors play the gods -- Liam Neeson is Zeus! Ralph Fiennes is Hades! -- doesn't help things. Neeson looks lost in the godly costumes, and Fiennes, perhaps hoping no one will notice it's him, speaks largely in sinister whispers.
While the gods are going through their paces and bemoaning the absence of human worship, Perseus, a demigod like his namesake Percy Jackson in the equally pedestrian "The Lightning Thief," is making his way in the world and discovering that he is the son of Zeus.
Perseus spends years with the adoptive fisherfolk parents Spyros and Marmara (the odd couple pairing of Pete Postlethwaite and Elizabeth McGovern) who found him floating in the sea. Spyros is one of those fed-up-with-the-gods folks who is fond of ominously saying, "One day, someone is going to have to take a stand." Guess who.
Back in the Greek city of Athos, the anti-gods movement is moving full steam ahead. Then Hades comes to town and puts a good scare into the populace, telling them that unless they sacrifice their beloved princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), he will unleash the dread Kraken -- not the most fearsome name for a monster but there you have it -- and Athos will be destroyed.
Because he is the only demigod in town and because he is irked beyond measure at the Olympians for their part in his parents' death, Perseus agrees to look for a way to kill the Kraken. He takes a crack team of warriors and adventurers with him, including the canny veteran soldier Draco, nicely played by Mads Mikkelsen.
Guided by the ageless but attractive Io (Gemma Arterton) and dogged by the horrific Calibos (Jason Flemyng), Perseus and his pals take on an entire Noah's ark of inhuman adversaries, including enormous scorpions on steroids called scorpiochs and the deadly Medusa, which turns out to be more or less a snake in a bikini top. Even the beloved mechanical owl from the 1981 version makes a cameo.
As played by Worthington, who's making a career of sullen heroes, Perseus insists he wants to defeat the Kraken as a man, not a god, which is a bit of wishful thinking that we all know can't be sustained forever. Neither, as it turns out, can our interest in this middling effort. When the most thrilling thing about a film turns out to be its title, even unleashing the Kraken won't be payoff enough.

Saskia

Saskia

Saskia … … …
Unfortunately trying to understand not only you who have been
Out with me Saskia… and you’re good and interesting but I
Must select the best … .. oohh .. oohh

Saskia

Sarah Azhari

Agnes Monica

Agnes Monica Matahariku began her career at the age of six years as a singer. Agnes Monica Bugil Sexy has released three albums of children, namely Si miao, Yess and Bala-bala. Agnes Monica Bugil Album was successfully unleash Agnes Monica Matahariku Bugil Agnes Monica Sexy shirt open at one night club a row Agnetha Faltskog into children’s most popular singers in the late 1990s. In addition. Agnes Monica Sexy is also a presenter on a children VAN (Video Children Anteve), Tralala-Trilili in RCTI and Diva Romeo in Trans TV. In 1999 Agnes Panasonic Awards honored as the most favorite children presenter.

The age of 15 years, Agnes began to plunge into the world of acting by starring in soap operas Early Marriage. This soap opera success catapulted the name of Agnes in the midst of the entertainment industry. Through these soap operas, Agnes had won four awards fruits, namely Drama Popular actress and favorite in the event of Panasonic Awards in 2001 and 2002. Early Marriage Success Agnes made a more calculated.

Agnes Monica Matahariku In 2006, Agnes was involved in filming the drama series called The Asian Hospital in Taiwan, where Agnes collided with Jerry Yan’s acting, one of the F4 personnel. Agnes also participated in filming the series Romance in the White House, where Agnes in this series have played only a few episodes. The second series has been aired on Indosiar. In the local version, the opening and ending edited in such a way to insert a scene involving Agnes. For some fans of Taiwanese drama, editing is considered to be pushy. In accordance with Agnes ambition to “go international”, at the end of 2006 Agnes decided to discontinue studies at the University of Pelita Harapan, Department of Law. In the near Agnes planning to move to the United States and its international debut in the country. In 2008 Agnes managed to win the 2008 Asia Song Festival in Seoul, South Korea, with the title “the best asian artist and the best performance. Agnes back in 2009 was also appointed as the representative of Indonesia for the second time in the 6th asian song festival in 2009 during an appearance this time singing agnes back singles that did not previously been diperdengarkannya in the homeland, Temperature

Dewi Persik

Dewi Perssik

Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil Hots Video Bugil is known for tembang Star Performance. Puting Susu Persik own name given by his manager, Mr. Yogi, that his career was shining like a peach in China is considered as the fruit of good luck. Soap opera starring Puting susu Dewi ever include Sweet Dreams and Legend eps. Nyi Ronggeng. But his career is not always smooth Goddess. The famous goddess with the rocking start gergajinya criticized the actions of seronok stage, and minimal clothes and tight. The climax is when the Goddess after filling a birthday event that was held in the TPI Istora, January 23, 2008.

Dewi Perssik

Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil suddenly touched by a man. Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil At that goddess wearing a white tank top with a black strip. Before the Goddess of the breast, the man stole idle breast images with the camera phone goddess at this busy section pedangdut interviewed. Incidence of breast goddess who became public consumption is not the first place. In the year 2005, thanks to sway too ‘hot’ in a show SCTV, goddess breasts protruding part. The incident lasted only a few seconds

Dewi Perssik

Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil Year 2008 also be the year “ban” for the Goddess. The first local government performance clutch is a goddess in the area of Tangerang City Government. Pecekalan was intended to avoid a social crisis and related to Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 8 of 2005 Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil concerning the prohibition of prostitution in the area. [2] Following Tangerang, Bandung Mayor also stated grabbed Dewi Persik and artists rocking too much (invite lust). [3] Then, a few other local governments to follow such as, Mayor of Depok, [4] South Sumatra MUI, [5] Regent Sukabumi, [6] Regent of Probolinggo, [7] and the Mayor of Balikpapan. [8]

Dewi Perssik

Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video Bugil Unfortunately, Goddess comments about it instead pencekalannya escalating atmosphere. Goddess consider these bans to curb his freedom and that is part of character assassination and slander against him. Even then Dewi Persik submit ‘challenge’ to sue the people who were on the table memfitnahnya law. [9] Not only that, the Goddess of the sentence gave even pitched ‘threat’ to the mayor of Tangerang. [10] Controversy ban that lasted for days and day in the media attention from Adhiyaksa Dault Affairs and Minister of Women Empowerment, Foto Sexy Dewi Perssik Hots Video BugilMeuthia Hatta. Even Menpora Goddess was called to ask her introspection. [11] [12] [13] Before long, Goddess plead guilty and make mistakes, although he still will not change the shake puting susu. [

Dewi Perssik

Sexy Women

sexy women

sexy women

sexy women

Julia Perez

There was a misunderstanding started when one of his campaign team that checks of diplomas at the College and Academy Interstudi. Jupe is a graduate of D1 secretary of the campus.

diplomas at the College and Academy Interstudi

“But people who come to check Interstudi Wijaya, whereas there were for majors PR (Public Relations-ed). If I was in Bulungan secretary,” he said when met after filming ‘Super Family’ in Cawang, East Jakarta, Monday (3 / 5 / 2005).

Still according to movie stars ‘Te (Record)’, the person should also seek a diploma on behalf of Yulia Rachmawati not Jupe. Yulia Rachmawati a female descendant of the original name the Sunda-Betawi.

Sports Trainers

Kathy Kaehler to Jennifer Aniston Sexy
Brad Pitt’s ex-wife was having a personal trainer named Kathy Kaehler Sexy. Kathy mode train is unique because it uses playing cards, so the woman who is now 41-year-old was not bored while practicing.

One of Kathy’s movement is described by a unique squats. When lowering the body, Jennifer had to take the cards that are below it and then move it to the right as far as four steps. Return to the squat position, he placed a card, then shuffle the cards are on the right. Then he returned to the starting position to take another card. This movement is carried out Jennifer as much as 10 times. The purpose of this movement is to train the muscles the inner and outer thighs.

Sports Trainers

For business eating patterns, he explained that if avoiding calories by not eating, then the metabolism will decrease. Eating well is to do it slowly. Count to 10, then before you swallow food. This will make your brain gives a sign that your stomach is full.

Haley Pasternak for Halle Berry
Although no longer young, but the beauty of the body still must remain on guard it well. This is done by Halle Berry who is now 43 years old. Harley Pasternak has its own way to train Halle. By making up-hill walking (uphill road), buttocks, thighs and lower legs more easily fastened. He also suggested to rely dumbbell while practicing. This is because the regulator does not have a dumbbell so that the body will move naturally. In addition, the dumbbell can also be used for a dozen of the other exercises.

Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell Journalist Because Diamond Boxing

Some time ago, a reporter asked him a question to supermodel Naomi Campbell is sensitive about blood diamond gift (a diamond that has not been cut) from the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Known for their bad temper, punched the journalist Naomi spontaneous and slammed his camera.

The first issue of giving a diamond is spoken by the actress Mia Farrow. “Naomi told me that a man who is representative of President Charles Taylor came to his house early in the morning. He gave her a big diamond to him and said he would provide those diamonds for the charity to the children of Nelson Mandela,” said actress Mia Farrow who claimed know exactly giving the gift.

Although Farrow testified, Naomi still denied. He claimed to have never received any diamonds from Charles.

Naomi Campbell

“I did not receive any blood diamonds and will not talk about it,” Campbell said in an interview backstage catwalk at Fashion For Haitians in New York on NYmag journalists.

Naomi was sensitive when the media discusses the proximity to the Charles. Because, the man who knew Naomi in a banquet at the house that Nelson Mandela is now entangled case of crimes against humanity.

The Hague Court of Charles the middle of processing cases has also been persuaded to join Naomi providing information. Supermodel who had opened the restaurant business is considered enough to know a lot about Charles gestures

Prince of Persia:The Forgotten Sands Review

“It’s not the game of the film,” we’re told of The Forgotten Sands, though you can see where the confusion begins. The game is released on the same day as Bruckheimer’s blockbuster, and while our digital hero doesn’t share Jake Gyllenhaal’s likeness, he has at least been ruffling through his wardrobe.

But no matter. Timing and aesthetic dalliances aside, Forgotten Sands is very much its own thing: yet another reboot of our lithe Prince. We were here just two years ago, the last time Ubisoft decided to give our royal hero a makeover. And with yet another image change, you start to wonder if the developers are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in order to placate ... well, I’m not sure who, exactly.
At least this time there is a goal: to turn back the clock seven years and recapture the magic of Sands of Time, widely regarded as the series high watermark. So all traces of 2008’s Prince Of Persia reboot has vanished; the pretty cel-shading, the roguish Prince, the instant restarts by the hand of the gorgeous Princess Elika. All gone, replaced with last generation’s time-reversal mechanic and a smattering of new ideas.
Ultimately, though, we’re on familiar ground - or walls - here. The Forgotten Sands goes old-school, relegating its story (the Prince’s brother, Malik, unwittingly unleashes a demonic sand army into his palace, you have to send it back) to brief interstitial cutscenes. Its only logic is to push you on, throwing up new challenges and granting you new powers at key points.
Otherwise it’s the same wall-running and pole-swinging that made the Prince such a hit. Though you perhaps wouldn’t guess it from the game’s opening, dropping you into a depressingly brown, war-torn castle. It’s a typically bombastic opening; swathes of soldiers smash into each other below the rampart you’re standing on, and in the middle distance, a horde of guys in armour come charging your position, spoiling for a rumble.
Prince of Persia has never been renowned for its combat and The Forgotten Sands isn’t about to challenge the perception. Swordplay isn’t terrible as such, but it is rather uninspiring. The Prince attempts to swing with elegance, pirouetting in between enemies before smacking them upside the head. But he moves as if cutting through treacle; slow and slightly laboured. In your hands it’s gluey and unresponsive. It has its moments; booting a skeleton off a ledge is always good for a laugh and the Prince can cheerfully jump on the heads of these ghouls, hopping between each one before flipping into the air and ramming his sword down an exposed gullet.
So the combat is gloopy and a little bland, but not entirely unpleasant –a bit like rice pudding. But, and not looking to labour an analogy, we need a juicy dollop of jam to sweeten things up. The Prince’s greatest strength has always been his heady, exhilarating form of parkour. Scuttling across and up walls, swinging from handy poles, defying gravity and death as he scoots over spinning razor blades sweeping across walls (Persia’s essential home defence accessory). Hurling the Prince across great chasms is as easy and approachable as ever, and it becomes clear where the focus in the game’s engine lies. While this could have gone someway to explain the rather disparate fighting, with the two disciplines never quite feeling part of the same whole, The Forgotten Sands uses the same engine as Assassin’s Creed II, a game in which the climbing and combat always felt connected. Quite what has been lost in translation is unclear, but it remains a regular blemish on the series.
The platforming is enjoyable and familiar enough. Maybe too familiar, The Sands of Time is seven years old, and throughout your first hours of The Forgotten Sands, the template can show its age. To pepper the clambering with some variation, the Prince is granted the power to solidify water which gushes out all over the place in Malik’s palace. Waterfalls become walls to run on and spurts become convenient swinging poles. It’s a neat trick, but quickly starts to feel like just another button to hold down as you negotiate the palace’s terrain. And it’s all rather charmless, as the Prince (a prissy twit, it has to be said), in his brown vest, runs across a brown wall up to a brown ledge where he fights some brown ghouls. It’s all a bit dull, frankly, and you start to wonder just what this new makeover brings to the Prince of Persia canon, aside from pounding old ground. And brown.
But then, the game blooms. Slowly, at first. A growing confidence in ideas begins to mould more elaborate playgrounds. The odd cinematic set-piece raises the pulse. That water mechanic starts to make a great deal more sense, as you flip across frozen poles, re-liquefying the water to leap through a tumbling waterfall, solidifying it again to grab the next spurt of water guiding your path. Giant, head-scratching clockwork puzzles break up the action. And before you know it, colour starts to creep into the environments; detailed baths, tiled in blue and gold mosaic; luscious green roof gardens, and an arresting scene as the Prince clambers up the outside of the palace, spires twisting below while the Persian sun glistens on the horizon. It’s a shame that the time-rewind isn’t used to more effect than just correcting mistakes and bringing you back from the dead, but further powers add kinks to the platforming. Even the combat starts to pick up, with a pleasant upgrade muddle of elemental powers to unleash on your ghastly enemies.
As the game reaches its zenith, you find yourself propelled forward, enjoying a new-found sense of pacing. That stodgy opening but a distant memory as all the powers you have gathered coalesce into a formidable arsenal, tackling huge vertical puzzles that get bigger and more intricate, with your fingers needing to be as nimble as the Prince on screen. By the end, the Prince is still the same twit, but the world he inhabits has developed a character, even if it can take a while to reveal itself.
So, yes, to an extent, The Forgotten Sands does capture some of that Sands of Time magic. That’s a credit to Ubisoft and the game’s greatest strength, but also its biggest flaw. That we have to go back to 2003 for inspiration says a lot about Prince of Persia, a video game series seemingly stuck in a cycle of identity crises. As a game in the here and now, The Forgotten Sands can feel dated, its hero outshone by glossy new kids on the block like Nathan Drake. The Forgotten Sands is certainly fun while it lasts, but you can’t help but wonder where next for our fair Prince of Persia. It’s a puzzle that cannot be solved by just another makeover.

Amazon staffs up to 'create iPad killer'

Amazon acquired Touchco, a US company specialising in touch-screen technology, in February, in a bid to create a new version of the Kindle to rival Apple's iPad.

Amazon Kindle.

Lab 126, which is the Amazon division responsible for building the Kindle, has posted dozens of job advertisements on its website, looking for people to test and prepare new products.

The company has remained tight-lipped about its plans to upgrade its e-reader since Apple unveiled the iPad, with its new iBookstore and reader tools, in January. The iPad also has a high-contrast colour touch screen, access to a web browser and offers games and applications.

However, instead of bowing out of the competition as some pundits predicted Amazon might, The New York Times thinks that the job adverts and rumours about meetings with publishers to discuss new games to be loaded onto a new version of the Kindle, point to the opposite conclusion: Amazon is fighting back with a new product.
“In addition to the job listings, In addition to the job listings, several people working with Amazon who are not authorized to speak publicly about products in development, said Amazon representatives had been meeting with publishers to discuss new games the company hoped to put on the new version of the Kindle. It is unclear, though, when consumers could expect a new product,” Nick Bilton reported.
The New York Times also revealed in February that Amazon had purchased Touchco, a New York start-up which specialised in touch-screen technology. This was a move the paper said “signalled that the company [Amazon] was going to stay the course with the Kindle.
When Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, revealed the iPad, he acknowledged the Kindle’s progress in the e-reader sector – but then pitched the iPad as the new best model, saying: ““Now Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle. And we’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further.”
Amazon was unavailable for comment.

England win T20 world cup 2010, beating arch rivals Australia.

Winning a world cup, of any sport, is a revolution..

England started cricket, played first official test match centuries ago in year 1877 but registered their first revolution only on 16 May 2010, claiming T20 world cup in West Indies. rather emphatically.

Finalists in 1975, 79 and 92, England beat arch rivals Australia neck and crop in the final today but before we get there, here's the story from the begining :-

Unlucky versus Windies
191 for 7 when invited in to bat on a rainy day was a match winning batting effort from boys in blue but home team Windies got lucky with Duckworth Lewis (D/L). a method that tends to favour teams with batting resources, West Indies were given a revised target of 60 from 6 overs which they reached 1 ball in hand. taking a silent revenge of 1 run rain interrupted win England had registered at the same venue a year ago, again thanks to D/L!

Lucky versus Irish
Disappointment of yesterday still haunted England and it continued through their batting innings, limited to only 120, against an inspired Irish attack. Minnows Ireland should have eliminated senior rival neighbours from here on but rain played the spoilsport yet again. match abandoned and England progressed to super 8s round for better net runrate.

Cruising past Pakistan
Championship now had shifted from Guyana to Barbados and with that, English luck changed. Michael Yardy and Stuart Broad restricted defending champions Pakistan to 147 after a good begining and then Kevin Pietersen cracked 70 unbeaten to touch victory banks with 9 balls to spare.

Shutting down South Africa
Craig Kieswetter had made his debut just 3 games ago but his confidence was evident. With in-form Kevin Pietersen, new English wicket keeper made century partnership to push his team's total to 168 batting first despite lower order collapse. Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann destroyed Proteas chase, sealing game by 39 runs, and with that the semifinal spot as well.

No non-sense against New Zealand
Winning is a habbit and Paul Collingwood & co. were determined to stick with it in this New Zealand encounter which they could afford to lose. Same pace trio of Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan & Broad along with spin twin of Yardy and Swann did the trick, cut desperate Kiwis short to 149 and then Eoin Morgan & Luke Wright finished the game off the last ball.

Superb in semifinal vs Sri Lanka
All three departments were well oiled for England in this tournament and yet again, pacers, spinners and fielders did a marvelous job to limit Sri Lanka to 128 who elected to bat. St Lucia pitch and outfield was fast slowing down but Kevin Pietersen played another match winning innings after solid opening stand to take England into their first world cup final in almost 2 decades.

England win T20 world cup 2010
beating Australia neck & crop. tactically electing to field first on a fresh Barbados pitch, Ryan Sidebottom ate up top 2 to go with a runout by Michael Lumb and Swann dismissing Michael Clarke caught by opposite number Collingwood, UK boys won the initiative early on and held onto it untill the end, chasing down 148 runs with 3 overs unbowled, thanks to 63 solid runs by Kieswetter and 47 by new dad Pietersen.

Twenty20 World Cup 2010: 10 reasons for England's success

Unfazed: Tim Bresnan now thinks he could be England's Test all-rounder Photo: REUTERS

Hair we go: Ryan Sidebottom's slower bounce baffled opposition batsmen Photo: PA

All smiles: Andy Flower has reinvigorated England's fitness and fielding techniques Photo: AP

Reversing the trend: Eoin Morgan's middle-order runs were vital for England Photo: PA

Man of the moment: Kevin Pietersen led England to a six-wicket win over Pakistan Photo: GETTY IMAGES

1. Who's the daddy?
A happy Kevin Pietersen is crucial to England's success and the traumas that plagued KP the last time he was in the Caribbean seem like a lifetime away. Fatherhood's working out pretty well so far.

2. Opening up
After 15 combinations in 25 Twenty20 internationals, England have finally cracked it. Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter were the best pair in the tournament. England's middle order had to maintain momentum, rather than create it.

3. Flower power
England's coach has to take most of the plaudits for this short-form transformation. The Zimbabwean has not only added a fitter XI, but he has transformed their mindset.
4. Ropes burns
All that 'range finding' paid off. Against South Africa in the group stages, Pietersen hit nine boundaries, as many as the entire Proteas line-up.
5. The Miracle of Morgan
How many times was Eoin Morgan compared to Michael Bevan in the Caribbean? Key for England in the run-chase, in rebuilding an innings and has extraordinarily innovative stroke play.
6. Reinventing the long hop
Opposition batsmen have been flummoxed by Ryan Sidebottom's slower bouncer, now seen as his stock delivery in Twenty20 cricket. His delivery to Chamara Kapugedara left the Sri Lankan completely mistiming a pull shot and his blade sailing to square leg.
7. Catches win matches
Have they dropped a thing? There was a skier that Broad failed to get under in the final, but England have never had a fielding side this sharp. Pietersen's run and jump to dismiss Umar Akmal was perhaps the best, but Collingwood and Kieswetter both took crackers in the final.
8. Punchline no more
Where does Tim Bresnan go from here? Abused on Twitter last summer, but now an absolutely central part of this England team. Could he balance the Test XI in Australia?
9. Fired-up England
The slightest mistake in the field and the England players were at each other's throats. It certainly upped their game but vilification is unlikely to be applied to the Test arena, you'd hope.
10. IPL experience
Pietersen, Lumb, Morgan, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara's sojourn to India prior to the Twenty20 World Cup gave England the 'no-fear' factor against the world's top bowlers. What price that England's XI will all play in next year's IPL?