Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Spain explodes with joy
Spain's press exploded with joy over a high-suspense penalty
shoot-out victory over Portugal that swept Spain into the Euro 2012
finals.
The front pages were splashed with celebratory headlines:
"Proud to be Spanish", "Our heroes", and "We're off to the finals".
"To
the final and to legend," boasted the front page of best-selling sports
daily La Marca after Spain beat Portugal 4-2 on penalties in the first
Euro 2012 semifinal in Donetsk on Wednesday.
After an attritional
game finished 0-0 following extra time at Donbass Arena, Cesc Fabregas
swept home the winning spot-kick.
"There is no path without
thorns," Marca said.
"That was shown again in this Euro and
especially in the tense duel with Portugal, who were up to expectations:
a team of fine players on every line with Cristiano Ronaldo in the
background," it said.
"Spain had to work the game centimetre by
centimetre," the paper said.
Now there remains: "Just one metre to
glory."
Conservative daily El Mundo said the team showed their
mental strength by adapting to a tough match.
"Spain is beginning
to get comfortable with the tedium and the agony, displaying a strong
psychology," it added. see more actress pictures click me
Spice Girls reunite to launch musical
The Spice Girls are looking to spice up your life once again - this
time, with a musical based on their songs.
Victoria Beckham, Emma
Bunton, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Gerri Halliwell (also known
as Posh Spice, Baby Spice, Scary Spice, Sporty Spice and Ginger Spice,
respectively) reunited Tuesday to announce details of "Viva Forever" - a
tale of fame and female friendship that will open in London in the
fall.
The music of the 1990s "Girl Power" group is being revived
for the show, which tells the story of four friends whose bond is tested
when their band enters a TV talent show.
The Spice Girls said
they were delighted with the show, which is produced by Judy Craymer,
the woman behind the hit ABBA musical "Mamma Mia," and written by
comedian Jennifer Saunders, who co-created TV sitcom "Absolutely
Fabulous."
The group stepped out for the media launch at London's
St. Pancras Hotel - the same location where the music video for their
1996 No. 1 hit "Wannabe" was filmed.
Each of the Spice Girls took
to Twitter to talk about the reunion and launch on Tuesday.
The
band's outsized personalities and Halliwell's Union Jack dress made them
icons of 1990s "Cool Britannia," and they sold 75 million records
around the world.
Halliwell left the group acrimoniously in 1998
and the Spice Girls effectively split a decade ago. The five members
have not appeared together since a 2007-2008 reunion tour.
"Viva
Forever" previews from Nov 27 and opens Dec. 11 at London's Piccadilly
Theatre.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Journey to stardom
Mehazabien Chowdhury from Chittagong is the new Lux Channel i
Superstar. The graceful young woman was declared winner on January 22 at
the grand finale of 'Lux Channel i Superstar 2009', held at Bangabandhu
International Convention Centre.
The journey to stardom has been
arduous for Mehazabien. "Constant challenges and difficulties, where
each and every contestant was tested to the ultimate," is how she
describes it.
"When my name was announced as the winner, I went
completely blank for two/three seconds as I simply couldn't believe what
I was hearing; it took me a few seconds to get over it," said
Mehazabien, recalling her crowing moment.
Though born in
Bangladesh, Mehazabien was raised in Muscat, Oman. "Because of my
father's work my parents had to move to Muscat when I was about one year
old," said Mehazabien.
"As I grew up, I discovered a fascination
towards acting. I used to take part in the cultural programmes at
school. Teachers inspired and encouraged me to attend the school
programmes regularly.
"The biggest support came from my family,
which was very important in those formative years. As I grew up, my
parents' support helped me to become more confident in my approach.
"From
the age of 13, I started working as a model for the Times of Oman and
continued till I moved to Bangladesh in 2007.
"When I first heard
of the Lux Channel i Superstar contest I was fascinated to learn that a
pageant of such calibre is held in our country. I wanted to take part at
the contest immediately but as one has to be at least 18 years old to
enter the contest, I did not qualify.
"As I turned 18 in 2009, I
was able to take part in the contest. On October 13, 2009, while I was
going to my tutor, I changed my mind and went straight to the
auditions," said Mehazabien, who is currently doing her A- Levels. ( see more hot pictures click me)
Dilip Kumar autobiography in the pipeline
A book chronicling the life of Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar and his
rise to stardom is to be launched soon coinciding with the 100-year
celebrations of Indian cinema.
The 89-year-old actor has narrated
his life story to veteran film journalist Uday Tarra Nayar, who has
penned it in the form of a coffee table book being prepared under the
care and supervision of the thespian's wife Saira Banu.
In the
book, Kumar traces his journey more than eight decades ago as Yusuf Khan
from Peshawar, Pakistan, his acting career in Mumbai and his stature in
Hindi cinema.
The book recreates the Pathan neighbourhood of the
actor's childhood with illustrations and offers rare photographs of his
family, the celebrated couple Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, their friends
and his many memorable films.
“So many writers have approached
Dilip Sahab and me for writing this book. We chose Uday Tarra because
she is a family member and Dilip Sahab has known her for a very long
time as a film journalist... Tarra writes well and with a feeling of
deep respect which can only come from someone who loves us not for who
we are but for what we are,” Saira said in a statement.
The book
will be published jointly by Saira's entertainment enterprise Sharp
Focus and New Media, India's largest bilateral trade magazine publishing
house.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Preity Zinta gets pricey for Yamla Pagla Deewana 2
Preity, who is already working with Sunny Deol in his next film Bhaiyyaji Superhit, is negotiating the remuneration offered by the Deols. “Since YPD was a superhit, Preity asked for a very high price when she was offered the role,” says a source.
This is the second hitch in the project as the Deols have also replaced Samir Karnik, the director of the first film, with Sangeeth Sivan for the sequel. When Sivan was asked if Preity is doing the movie, he refused to divulge details saying, “They have kept it absolutely open; nothing is clear right now. I don’t want to comment on it.”
Yamla Pagla Deewana was a comedy about an older son, who lives with his mother in Canada, visiting India in search of his father and younger brother. The family is finally united after several hilarious incidents.
Our source reveals that the script is locked and the sequel is not a continuation of the first film. “It’s a comedy again but a completely new story with a different characterisation of the main characters,” say the makers. The Deols are planning to take the movie on the floors by September.
Aamir keeps his date with cab driver Shanno
Aamir Khan is a man of his word. The current king of small screen chat
shows may be a superstar but one that keeps a promise. (Read:Aamir Khan,
not your average superstar)
On a recent episode of his popular TV show Satyamev Jayate, Aamir had promised Shanno - a female cab driver and victim of domestic violence - that whenever he visited Delhi next, he would hire her vehicle. And that is exactly what he did.
Aamir Khan, who was in New Delhi to present his research on medical malpractices to a Parliamentary panel, travelled around the city in Shanno's cab for the entire length of his visit.
Aamir has previously proved himself to be a star with the common touch. In April this year, he visited Varanasi to attend the wedding of a friend's son. The friend was Ram Lakhan, an auto driver who Aamir befriended while travelling incognito in Uttar Pradesh, and who went all the way to Mumbai to personally deliver the wedding invitation to his illustrious friend.
On a recent episode of his popular TV show Satyamev Jayate, Aamir had promised Shanno - a female cab driver and victim of domestic violence - that whenever he visited Delhi next, he would hire her vehicle. And that is exactly what he did.
Aamir Khan, who was in New Delhi to present his research on medical malpractices to a Parliamentary panel, travelled around the city in Shanno's cab for the entire length of his visit.
Aamir has previously proved himself to be a star with the common touch. In April this year, he visited Varanasi to attend the wedding of a friend's son. The friend was Ram Lakhan, an auto driver who Aamir befriended while travelling incognito in Uttar Pradesh, and who went all the way to Mumbai to personally deliver the wedding invitation to his illustrious friend.
Rafa, Petra battle thru'
Defending champion Petra Kvitova overcame early nerves to reach the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday.
Kvitova pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 win over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, but the 22-year-old did it the hard way.
In
the men's single's, former champion Rafael Nadal also survived an early
scare to kick off his bid for a third Wimbledon title with a 7-6 (7/0),
6-2, 6-3 victory over Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci in the first round.
The
winner in 2008 and 2010 was 4-0 down in the first set before rallying
back against the spirited young Brazilian. Nadal will face Ivan Dodig or
Lukas Rosol for a place in the last 32.
Earlier, Kvitova fought
back from 3-0 and 4-1 down in the first set before seeing off
Amanmuradova, who has now lost all her five first round appearances at
the tournament.
Once Kvitova had reeled off seven successive games
to take the first set and lead 2-0 in the second, she was comfortably
in control, managing to shrug off a brief rain delay 5-3 and deuce in
the second set.
Meanwhile, American hopes, which were so badly
bruised by the opening day exits of five-time champion Venus Williams
and big-serving John Isner, were boosted by Serena Williams, Mardy Fish
and Bryan Baker.
Serena Williams reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic.
Fish made a winning return to tennis in his first match following a procedure to address a frightening heart scare.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Italy advanced to the Semifinals of Euro 2012
England's penalty curse struck again here Sunday as Italy advanced to
the semifinals of Euro 2012 with victory in a shoot-out after a tense
quarterfinal duel finished 0-0 following extra-time.
The Italians
will face Germany in the semifinals in Warsaw on Thursday after
England's campaign came to a bitterly familiar end with their sixth
defeat in a penalty shoot-out in seven attempts since 1990.
Italy
clinched a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win after Ashley Young sent his
spot-kick against the bar and Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon saved from
Ashley Cole to seal England's fate.
The winning penalty was struck by substitute Alessandro Diamanti to leave England desolate once more at Kiev's Olympic Stadium.
England
had taken a 2-1 lead in the shoot-out after Riccardo Montolivo hit his
spot-kick wide but Young ceded England's advantage when he crashed his
penalty off the bar.
Antonio Nocerino scored to restore Italy's advantage and when Buffon saved from Cole, Diamanti stepped up to clinch victory.
The
defeat extended England's poor record of never having won a knockout
game on foreign soil against a top-level football nation.
But
England could have few complaints after being comprehensively outplayed
over the 120 minutes of normal and extra-time, Italy with 35 attempts to
England's 9 while enjoying 64 percent of possession.
The tone for
a surprisingly open first half had been set after only three minutes,
when Daniele De Rossi rattled the woodwork with a thumping shot from 25
yards that had Joe Hart beaten.
England responded immediately and
squandered a golden chance to take the lead when Glen Johnson's effort
was superbly saved by Buffon.
With their confidence lifted England
enjoyed their best spell of the match and a curling Johnson cross saw
Wayne Rooney's diving header fly over with the Manchester United striker
under pressure from Ignazio Abate. (see more hot pictures click me)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Hafeez sounds upbeat
Pakistan's stand-in captain Mohammad Hafeez is confident his young
side will regroup after the one-day defeats to challenge Sri Lanka in
the Test series starting on Friday.
Hafeez, 31, was thrown into
the deep end when regular captain Misbahul Haq was banned from the first
Test in Galle due to Pakistan's slow over-rate in the final one-dayer
in Colombo on Monday.
Misbah was penalised for his team falling
three overs short, which International Cricket Council match referee
Chris Broad said was a "serious over-rate offence" in one-day
internationals.
Hafeez, who was made his country's Twenty20
skipper ahead of the current tour, has played only 26 Tests and never
captained Pakistan before in the five-day format.
But the
all-rounder brushed aside the 3-1 loss in the one-dayers, saying
Pakistan were determined to do their best in the three Tests.
"Misbah's
calm influence will be missed, but it is a great honour to lead my
country in Test cricket and I am ready for the challenge," Hafeez said
on Thursday.
"Test cricket demands discipline. Everyone plays a
role in it, not just the captain. We will be inspired by the good work
we have done in the longer format over the past few years."
Pakistan
have won seven of their last nine Tests, including a brilliant 3-0
whitewash of top-ranked England in the United Arab Emirates earlier this
year. (See more hot model pictures)
'Spain are favourites'
French football legend Zinedine Zidane said on Thursday there was
nothing wrong with the tactics deployed by Spanish coach Vicente del
Bosque at Euro 2012 despite growing criticism back in Spain.
Zidane,
an advisor to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, said the
criticism was ill-founded and that Spain, who topped Group C after
coming through it unbeaten, remained favourites going into Sunday's
quarterfinal with France.
Del Bosque's tactic of not starting with
a recognised striker, which he did in the opening 1-1 draw with Italy,
has attracted criticism in some quarters but Zidane, who turns 40 on
Saturday, was having none of it.
"One hears a lot said that Spain
are not playing well or that they are playing without a straight No.9 or
any other number of things, but they know very well where they are
going and where they want to go," Zidane told Spanish radio station
Cope.
Zidane, who played under del Bosque at Real Madrid and
scored a stunning goal in their Champions League final win over Bayer
Leverkusen in 2002, said the world champions were clear favourites for
the game.
France slipped up in their final match losing 2-0 to
already eliminated Sweden which saw them end up second in the group to
England and the intimidating prospect of playing the Spanish.
"For
me, the favourite is Spain, but at the same time, a one-off match such
as this anything can happen, that is the beauty of football," said
Zidane, who defied Spanish media predictions of being sent into early
retirement by Spain in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals by scoring in
the 3-1 victory over them.
"We all known that Spain are the favourites, not just for this match, but also for the Euro."
Zidane,
a Euro winner in 2000 having won the World Cup in 1998, said he
believed the outcome of the match would be decided in midfield.( See more hot model photos Click me)
Greece ready to fight
Greece are in fighting mood ahead of their crunch Euro 2012
quarterfinal on Friday against tournament favourites Germany, aiming to
conjure up the spirit that helped them win the trophy eight years ago.
Panathinaikos
midfielder Kostas Katsouranis said they were giving no thought to the
inevitable underdog image Greece have against powerhouses Germany.
"We're
going to play Germany. What do you think we are thinking? That we're
going to lose? That's why they are going to have a tough time," the
33-year-old veteran told reporters at Greece's training ground in
Legionowo near the Polish capital Warsaw.
"What do they think?
That we're just going to stand there and look at them? We're going to
play them. We have proven that through the games so far."
POAK striker Dimitris Salpingidis was similarly gung-ho.
"If you come to the dressing room, you will see 22 fighters, ready to fight. It doesn't matter to us what anyone says," he said. (See more hot pictures Click me)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Kristen Stewart bumps Jolie as highest-paid actress
Kristen Stewart, who shot to fame as Bella Swan in "The Twilight
Saga" films and has a starring role in "Snow White and the Huntsman",
jumped to the top of Forbes.com's annual list of highest-paid actresses
on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old earned an estimated $34.5 million from May 2011 to May 2012 and pushed Angelina Jolie into fourth place.
Cameron Diaz, who had a surprise hit with "Bad Teacher", came in second with $34 million.
"She
(Stewart) is an up-and-coming star. She is earning a lot of money from
one of the most successful franchises of all time. This is who you would
expect to see right now," said Dorothy Pomerantz, Forbes Los Angeles
bureau chief.
Forbes.com compiled the list and estimated salaries
by talking to agents, managers and lawyers and based earnings on pay,
profits, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.
Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock, who largely took a break from filming after 2009's "The Blind Side", came third with $25 million. (See more hot pictures Click me)
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