Robert Pattinson Reveales:''I am a confused romantic''

Robert Pattinson has revealed that he tries to be romantic.

Pattinson, who recently confirmed that he is dating his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart, admitted that it is hard to have relationships in the public eye.

"It's difficult either way," he told OK. "Everyone always tells you, 'Just accept having people taking photos and stuff is part of your life. Don't let it rule your life'.

"But I always just thought it's not life if people are photographing you all the time, unless you want that."

When asked if it was "difficult being caught with your famous girlfriend in public", Pattinson replied: "No comment."

However, he explained that he is romantic "in a kind of confused way", adding: "I mean, I think I try to be. I guess the way to be romantic is to be sort of un-cynical and innocent about the way you see relationships. I guess I am pretty innocent about that."

Sandra Bullock's Absence Canceled Blind Side's German Premiere

The Berlin premiere of The Blind Side was canceled after Sandra Bullock pulled out of the event, People reports.

Report: Sandra Bullock moves out amid model's claim of infidelity by Jesse James

The premiere, which was scheduled for Monday, is the second one Bullock, 45, has backed out of in less than a week. Last Wednesday, the Oscar winner abruptly withdrew from the film's London premiere amid accusations from tattoo model Michelle "Bombshell" McGee that Bullock's husband, Jesse James, had an affair with her.

"Obviously that included everything that was scheduled for the European tour which included press and two premieres," Bullock's rep told People.

Jesse James apologizes to Sandra Bullock: "I deserve everything bad coming my way"

Bullock reportedly has moved out of the home she shares with James, 40, who publicly apologized to his wife last week and called a majority of the reports of infidelity "untrue and unfounded."

Scientists discovered a new specie of dinosaur

Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that was closely related to the Velociraptor.

The 1.8m-long predator was a dromaeosaurid - a family of theropod dinosaurs from which modern birds descended.

The researchers discovered its exquisitely well preserved skeleton in sediments dating from the Upper Cretaceous period in Inner Mongolia.

They describe the find in the journal Zootaxa.

The fossilised skeleton was in almost perfect condition - with complete claws and teeth - despite being between 145 and 65 million years old.

Its examination was led by Xing Xu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

He and his colleagues described several distinguishing features, particularly of its jaw and feet, that enabled them to identify it as a dromaeosaurid - a name that means "running lizard".

It had, for example, what the researchers described as "raptorial claws" on its feet.

The highly evolved predator, which has been named Linheraptor exquisitus represents an entirely new genus within that family.

"Linheraptor is similar to Velociraptor in many features," wrote the scientists.

They pointed out, however, that it was not Velociraptor's closest relative within the dromaeosaurid family.

Sandra Bullock husband apologizes over affair accusation

Sandra Bullock's husband Jesse James has apologised to his wife and children following accusations he had an affair.

In a statement, the reality TV star said: "I am truly very sorry for the grief I have caused them."

He added that "the vast majority" of the allegations reported were "untrue and unfounded".

The UK premiere of The Blind Side, due to be held next week, was scrapped after Oscar-winner Bullock pulled out citing "unforeseen personal reasons".

"There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me," James, 40, said.

"This has caused my wife and kids pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension and I am extremely saddened to have brought this on them. I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

He added: "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment."

Allegations of an affair surfaced earlier in this week after In Touch magazine published an interview with tattoo model Michelle McGee who claimed to have had an 11-month relationship with James while Bullock was filming The Blind Side - a role which earned her best actress at the Oscars.

A spokesman for the actress would not comment on Miss McGee's claims.

Bullock, 45, and James met in 2003 before marrying in 2005.

Interesting History of Pi

Everybody knows that the value of pi is 3.14…er, something, but how many people know where the ratio came from? Actually, the ratio came from nature--it's the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter, and it was always there, just waiting to be discovered. But who discovered it? In honor of pi day, here's a brief (sort of) history of how pi came to be known as 3.14(1592653589793238462643383279502884197169…etc).

It's hard to pinpoint who, exactly, first became conscious of the constant ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter, as human civilizations seem to have been aware of it as early as 2550 BC. The Great Pyramid at Giza, which was built between 2550 and 2500 BC, has a perimeter of 1760 cubits (one cubit is about 18 inches, though it was measured by a person's forearm length and thus varied) and a height of 280 cubits, which gives it a ratio of 1760/280 or approximately 2 times pi. Egyptologists believe these proportions were chosen for symbolic reasons, but, of course, we can never be too sure.

The earliest textual evidence of pi dates back to 1900 BC; both the Babylonians and the Egyptians had a rough idea of the value. The Babylonians estimated pi to be about 25/8, while the Egyptians estimated it to be about 256/81.

The Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse (287-212 BC) is largely considered to be the first to calculate an accurate estimation of the value of pi. He accomplished this by finding the areas of two polygons: the polygon that was inscribed inside the circle, and the polygon in which the circle was circumscribed (see fig. 1). Archimedes didn't calculate the exact value of pi, but rather came up with a very close approximation--he used 96-sided polygons to find an average value of 3.1485.

Figure 1: Archimedes' Polygons

Chinese mathematician Zhu Chongzhi (AD 429-500) used a similar method to approximate the value of pi, using a 12,288-sided polygon. His best approximation was 355/113.

Pi, or, at least, the approximate ratio, also appears in the Bible:

"And he made a molten sea, ten cubit from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about." --1 Kings 7:23

(It should be noted that the Biblical ratio for pi could be more accurate than one might think, since cubits changed depending on a person's forearm length. So, assuming the Bible isn't quoting cubits from the same person each time…)

In the 15th century, Indian mathematician Madhavan of Sangamagramam discovered what is now known as the Madhava-Leibniz series (named after German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, who rediscovered the series in the 17th century), an infinite series that converges to four, and was subsequently able to calculate pi to 11 decimal places.

The Greek letter pi (p) was first used to denote the constant ratio in 1707, by Welsh mathematician William Jones, though the use of the symbol was not popularized until 1737 by Swiss mathematician and physicist, Leonhard Euler. Pi was taken from the Greek word for perimeter.

The most accurate calculation of pi before the advent of the computer was by D. F. Ferguson, who calculated pi to 620 digits in 1945 (previously, William Shanks had calculated pi to 707 digits in 1874, but only 527 of said digits were correct).

Of course, then computers entered the picture and calculating pi knew no bounds--beginning with D. F. Ferguson's calculation of pi to 710 digits in 1947 with a desk calculator to Takahashi Kanada's calculation of pi to 206,158,430,000 digits in 1999 with a Hitachi SR8000. The longest calculation of pi to date was performed in 2002 by a team at the University of Tokyo--1,241,100,000,000 digits, with the help of Hitachi.

So there you have it--Egyptians calculated pi using pyramids (or did they calculate pyramids using pi?), Archimedes busted out the 96-gon, Zhu Chongzhi one-upped him with a 12,288-gon (or is that 12,192-upped him?), Ferguson calculated 620 digits by hand, and the University of Tokyo used a Japanese super-machine to calculate a mere 1,241,100,000,000 digits.

Aren't you glad they did all that work for you, and that all you have to do on pi day is troll geek havens in search of free pie?

Doctors team formed for conjoined twins surgery

The Ministry of Health has constituted a three-member doctors team from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to examine the conjoined twins of Sahiwal.

The team members headed by Neurosurgeon Professor Khaleeq-ul-Zaman with members included Paediatric Surgeon Dr. Zaheer Abbasi and Plastic Surgeon Hameed-ud-din have been given task to investigate the case for successful surgery.

“We will first check the status of brain of these children besides other tests to be conducted in the hospital. After thorough investigation we will be able to make decision of operation in suitable time,” Prof. Khaleeq said talking to journalists here on Monday.

Meanwhile, Managing Director Pakistan Bait ul Maal (PBM) Zamurd Khan handed over a cheque of Rs. 600,000 to PIMS administration for bearing the treatment expenses of conjoined twins.

He also provided Rs. 50,000 to the parents of twins from Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal to bear expenses of lodging and food for attendants in the hospital.

Robert Pattinson broods again in "Remember Me"

Starring Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper and Lena Olin. 109 minutes. Directed by Allen Coulter. At major theatres.
f Remember Me is remembered for anything at all, other than being yet another Robert Pattinson vehicle, it will be for its over-the-top ending, which ranks high amongst the most shameless jerkers of tears ever unleashed upon lachrymose teens.

The fact that it likely will succeed in causing flash pubescent floods in theatres should not be taken as proof of the picture's general excellence. The reverse is true: Any movie that requires something this maudlin and exploitive to unblock the tear ducts prior to rolling the credits has failed in the intervening two hours or so to do anything worthy of emotion.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that the curse which afflicts Pattinson isn't the immortal vampire lust that his character Edgar profitably summons in the Twilight franchise.

No, it's the requirement made of him by every director that he brood all over the place. Pattinson isn't allowed to live a normal life like the rest of us. He is a more than capable actor, yet he is doomed for all eternity to sit in a corner and brood about the girl/fish/life that got away. Even when he has good reason to brood – the suicide of his character Tyler's older brother in Remember Me would certainly qualify – he seems excessively brood-y about it.

The fact that Pattinson is a championship brooder doesn't change the picture. I'm not the first, nor will I be the last, to compare him to James Dean in that furrow of his brow and that concentrated suck on the ciggie.

The real problem is that he's stuck with scripts that revolve around the intensity of his brooding. I would venture to say that 99 per cent of the problems his various characters endure is the result of excessive brooding, with the exception of that unfortunate vampire curse in Twilight – probably the result of another vampire having grown bored of his constant moping about.

In Remember Me, Pattinson's Tyler is brooding over having won the genetic lottery. He is a New York University student with a fabulously wealthy dad (Pierce Brosnan), a gorgeous mom (Lena Olin) and enough free cash that he can drink and smoke to abandon without causing the slightest ill effect to his rakishly slender body. Is he happy? Of course not.

Earlier we saw what happens when Tyler foolishly takes his brooding off the leash. He gets involved in a fight with thugs in an alleyway. He bravely attempts to be the Good Samaritan, but his actions are judged by the cops to be suspicious. Angered by their lack of mind-reading ability, Tyler begins to pummel Sgt. Neil Craig (Chris Cooper), who – lawdy! – will later turn out to be the dad of Ally. (Don't brood; this isn't a spoiler.)

While attempting to brood his way into Ally's heart, Tyler will also have to brood his way out of dad's doghouse – and dad bites. Tyler could try using sex to break the ice, with Ally at least. But based on the evidence in Remember Me, that only leads to more brooding.

It is another curious fact about Pattinson that 99 per cent of the scrapes his characters get into (with the exception once again of that vampire thing) could be solved if he were just to pop open a beer, or brew a pot of tea, and just explain to the aggrieved other party what it is that he's brooding about.

But then there wouldn't be much reason for a movie in the first place, would there? Now that's really something worth brooding over.

Two powerful blasts in Lahore, killed 39

LAHORE: Two powerful blasts went off near a crowded mosque within the heavily-guarded cantonment in Lahore on Friday, killing at least 39 people and injuring almost 100 others in the latest in a slew of terror attacks across Pakistan.

"Thirty-nine people were killed and 95 wounded in the attacks," Punjab provincial police chief Tariq Saleem Dogar told reporters on live TV.

"We have collected concrete technical evidence, which will help identify the attackers. Both the attackers were on foot," he added.

The blasts occurred in R A Bazar area at 12.48 pm local time, when a large number of people had gathered for Friday prayers in the mosque. Many army personnel were in the gathering, local residents said.

The wounded were taken to nearby military and civilian hospitals.

There were reports that the blasts were preceded by firing but this could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Army soldiers and military police cordoned off the area and barred people and media from going to the site of the blasts.

Footage on television showed ambulances removing bodies and the injured from the area.

All roads and entry points in the cantonment are guarded by the army and it could not be immediately ascertained how the attackers managed to evade the security dragnet.

An emergency was declared in hospitals across Lahore.

No group has, so far, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lahore has witnessed several terrorist assaults since last year, with most of the attacks targeting government installations and offices of sensitive organisations like the Inter-Services Intelligence and Federal Investigation Agency.

Today's attack was similar to another terrorist assault last year on a mosque frequented by army personnel in Rawalpindi. Several senior army officials were killed in that attack.

Other parts of the country have also been rocked by such attacks since the military launched a massive operation against the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan in October last year. Hundreds of people have died in these attacks.

Six girl students die in hostel blaze

At least six students were burnt to death as fire broke out at a girl’s hostel at Lal Kurti area here Monday. According to private TV, intense efforts were carried out for hours by the firefighters to extinguish the blaze erupted at a private girls hostel, home to near 155 working women and students, situated in downtown city.
Many female students were evacuated by the emergency relief workers as they were caught inside their dormitories and went unconscious due to suffocation. At least six female students were burnt to death in the fire cause of which was not immediately known.
At least four females, including students, were also severely burnt by the blaze and were rushed to local hospital where condition of them is said to be critical, the channel added.
Six female student die, several injured as fire broke out at girls hostel in Rawalpin At least six female students died and several others injured on Monday after fire erupted at a National Girls Hostel located in cantonment area of Rawalpindi , police and hospital sources said.
The hostel was filled with smoke as the fire which caused suffocation, stirred stampede, falling many to unconscious, police added. The fire brigade team and rescue 1122 rushed towards the scene and initiated the rescue operation.
Two bodies of girls among the three died were shifted to down town District Headquarter Hospital , where one was moved to Military Hospital . Identity of three deceased could not be ascertained as yet. Couple of girls also went missing as a result of fire, says the hostel management.
The rescue workers had to break the window panes to rescue girls out of the hostel as the stairs were engulfed with inferno and smoke causing suffocation and hindering the rescue work. The fire was extinguished after one hour struggle by the fire-fighters.
The hostel usually houses around 150 students but only 60 to 70 were present at the time when the fire broke out. The hostel building is owned by Fauji Foundation but currently handed over a private company on contract.

Earthquake in eastern Turkey, killed at least 57

A strong earthquake killed 57 villagers in a remote part of eastern Turkey before dawn on Monday, officials said, and aftershocks continued for hours after while rescuers searched for trapped survivors.

People were sleeping in their mud-brick houses when the 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 4:32 am local time (0232 GMT) in a sparsely-populated area of high steppe in Eastern Anatolia.

"There was a lot of fear and panic among the people. It lasted about a minute," Nursel Sengezer, a Dogan News Agency correspondent in Elazig province, told broadcaster CNN Turk.

"We felt it very strongly and everyone tried to get out onto the street."

Turkey is criss-crossed with faultlines and frequently suffers earthquakes. A large earthquake measuring 7.4 killed about 18,000 people in August 1999.

On Monday, families huddled in the open around fires lit to keep them warm, as the ground shook with more than 40 aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.5.

The quake toppled the minarets of three mosques in stricken villages in the Basyurt region of Elazig, according to provincial governor Muammer Erol.

Television images from the area showed women crying and embracing amid the ruins of their one-storey houses, and cars and ambulances ferrying injured to a hospital in the nearby town of Kovancilar.

"I ask my citizens in the region not to go into damaged houses because earthquakes and aftershocks are continuing," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party.

Erdogan lamented the loss of life due to the vulnerability of the traditional mud-brick village homes, and pledged to rebuild houses using stronger materials.

Para-military and police directed operations on the outskirts of affected villages, where crowds had gathered, and a Red Crescent team had reached the area and set up a crisis centre.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers travelled to the quake zone, state-run Anatolian news agency reported. Cicek said the death toll had risen to 57, confirming estimates given by local officials to broadcasters.

There were no reports of any damage to the strategic hydroelectric Keban Dam, further west in Elazig. The Keban Dam was the first and most upstream dam built by Turkey on the Euphrates River as part of the Southeast Anatolia Project.

Powerful suicide blast rocks Lahore, at least 7 killed

LAHORE, Pakistan — A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into the main gate of a safe house used for interrogation by the Pakistani military in the city of Lahore early Monday. The explosion killed at least seven people, including guards, the police said, and flattened the building.

More than 30 people were wounded in the explosion, according to early reports from a nearby hospital where the victims were taken.

The blast was heard across the city, witnesses said. Rescue workers dug through the rubble of the destroyed building looking for people trapped in the debris.

A number of schools and religious institutions, including the Quran Academy, are located in the neighborhood known as Model Town. A number of prominent politicians, including a former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, live in Model Town.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which came after a lull of several months in attacks on military and security targets in Pakistan’s main cities by militants from Al Qaeda and their affiliates in the Pakistani Taliban.

Installations of the security forces in Lahore, the cultural heart of Pakistan and a cosmopolitan city of more than six million, have been a particular target of the militants.

Last year, a large complex owned by the Federal Intelligence Agency, as well as several safe houses, were blown up by suicide bombers in Lahore.

The attack on Monday came as the Pakistani military announced it had completed an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, the major base of the militants in the remote tribal area.

UN warns HIV/Aids leading cause of death in women

HIV has become the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age worldwide, the UN programme on HIV/Aids says.

At the start of a 10-day conference in New York, UNAids launched a five-year action plan addressing the gender issues which put women at risk.

One of the key issues, it says, is that up to 70% of women worldwide have been forced to have unprotected sex.

UNAids says such violence against women must not be tolerated.

"By robbing them of their dignity, we are losing the opportunity to tap half the potential of mankind to achieve the Millennium Development Goals," said Executive Director Michel Sidibe.

"Women and girls are not victims, they are the driving force that brings about social transformation," he said.

The agency says that experiencing violence hampers women's ability to negotiate safe sex.

It warns that, nearly 30 years from the beginning of the epidemic, HIV services do not respond to the specific needs of women and girls.

Women, it says, continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/Aids.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of those living with HIV are women and in Southern Africa, for example, young women are about three times as likely to be infected with HIV than young men of the same age.

The programme - which will include improving data collection and analysis of how the epidemic affects women, and ensuring the issue of violence against women is integrated into HIV prevention programmes - will be rolled out in countries including Liberia.

Switzerland referendum on providing lawyers for animals

A nationwide referendum is taking place in Switzerland on a proposal to give animals the constitutional right to be represented in court.

Animal rights groups say appointing state-funded animal lawyers would ensure animal welfare laws are upheld, and help prevent cases of cruelty.

Opponents say Switzerland does not need more legislation regarding animal protection.

The Swiss government has recommended that voters reject the idea.

There is already one animal lawyer in Switzerland.

Zurich has made legal representation for animals in cruelty cases compulsory since 1992.

The current incumbent is Antoine Goetschel. He has gone to court on behalf dogs, cats, cows, sheep, and even a fish.

Animal 'minority'

He believes speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves is the essence of justice.

"For me the animals are one of the weakest parts in society and they need to be better protected.

"So, it's kind of a fight for a minority that needs to be supported. And to make legislation more respectful towards humans and animals as a whole."

But Switzerland has very strict animal welfare laws, and the Swiss government, conscious that the taxpayer would have to pay the fees for a nationwide system of animal lawyers, has recommended voters reject the idea.

And there is opposition from Switzerland's powerful farming lobby.

Struggling with reduced subsidies and falling milk prices, Swiss farmers say animal lawyers would simply add another layer of bureaucracy to a system already overburdened with animal protection legislation.

Hurt Locker is in the final race to win the Oscar race

The final countdown to the 2010 Oscars has begun, with The Hurt Locker and Avatar going head-to-head for the coveted best picture award.

James Cameron's 3D sci-fi juggernaut, which has taken more than $2bn (£1.32bn) at the box office, had looked like a favourite in early 2010.

But his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq bomb disposal drama is now being tipped in Tinseltown to take the prize.

Both lead the way at Sunday's Academy Awards with nine nominations each.

If the Hurt Locker wins, it will be the lowest-grossing best picture winner in Oscars history with earnings of around $15m (£9.9m).

But with 10 films in the running for best picture and a change in the voting system, the way is still open for a major Oscar upset.

Quentin Tarantino's eight times nominated World War II fantasy Inglourious Basterds could benefit from a split vote.

British hopes

Cameron and Bigelow also go against each other in the best director category with Bigelow heavily tipped to win.

Industry paper The Hollywood Reporter on Friday predicted wins for Bigelow for both best picture and director.

If Bigelow is named best director she would be first female to win - only four women have ever been nominated.

Jeff Bridges is widely expected to take best actor for Crazy Heart.

British hopes in the acting categories include Colin Firth, Dame Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan.

Firth, up against Bridges for his Bafta-winning performance in A Single Man told the BBC he did not expect to be making an Oscar speech.

"I'm not sure I'll get the chance. I think I might have peaked," he admitted at the Independent Spirit Awards on Friday.

Likewise, Sandra Bullock is expected to win best actress for American football drama The Blind Side.

But she has close competition from Meryl Streep, whose role in Julie and Julia has earned her a record 16th Oscar nomination.

She is also up against Carey Mulligan, whose Bafta win for An Education raised her profile in the final few days of voting.

'Christmas for movies'

Meanwhile Dame Helen Mirren, nominated for The Last Station, told the BBC she was not too nervous ahead of the big night.

"The first time is so frightening and intimidating, but once you've done it once you know the nature of the beast," she said. "But they do it incredibly well here in America. It is the great celebration of film - it's like Christmas for movies."

The best supporting actor and actress awards seem to be already in the bag for Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) and Mo'Nique (Precious).

All of which leaves stop motion animation heroes Wallace and Gromit as one of Britain's best hopes of taking home an Oscar.

Nick Park, nominated in the short animated film category for A Matter Of Loaf And Death, is in line to win his fifth golden statuette.

He said: "What's really difficult is I've read that Wallace and Gomit is favourite but you can't afford in yourself to get too confident, and you've got to imagine things not working out so you enjoy the evening.

"But obviously with four already, I won't be that disappointed."

Baby born with rare genetic skin disorder

GILGIT: A woman in Gilgit gave birth to an unusual baby, resembling somewhat a cub in features, with his hands similar to the paws and red parallel lines running all over his abdomen.

Well over three kilograms in weight, the baby boy was born late Friday in the DHQ at Gilgit.

The couple hailing from NWFP apparently worried over the ‘incident’ looked all day at each and every visitor coming to see the ‘wonder’ of the nature and replied their queries patiently. “Yes we have four other children and all are normal,” said the couple. By mid-day, the hospital administration finally decided to stop any more visitors.

Dr Iftikhar Ahmed, a child specialist, currently treating the abnormal child had another story to tell. “The baby is simply affected by a skin disease medically known as Harlequin-type ichthyosis, nothing so unusual,” said the doctor, adding that he himself treated similar four such cases while he was in the PIMS. “Yes the chance of survival in such cases is very minimal, maximum up to a month,” he said. He said that for sheer lack of medical knowledge, people and media made a mountain out of a molehill by comparing the child with tiger and other wild animals.

He said that in such patients, the skin contains massive, diamond-shaped scales, and tends to have a reddish colour.

Dr Iftikhar said that this mutation makes the skin hard with thick scales. He said eyes, nose, mouth and ears are affected, often pulling the baby’s mouth wide open as in the case of the child admitted to the hospital in Gilgit. This hard skin, he added, does not keep moisture in, causing dehydration and disrupts the body’s ability to regulate temperature. It can also make chest movement and breathing difficult. In addition, the eyes, ears, mouth, and other appendages may be abnormally contracted.

Pakistan officers sacked over response to UK boy kidnap

Four police officers in Pakistan have been sacked over their handling of the kidnap of a five-year-old British boy.

Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, was snatched by armed robbers on Wednesday while visiting relatives with his father.

But the police did not initially respond to the family's emergency call to "Rescue 15", the Pakistani equivalent of 999.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik met Sahil's father and said he planned to "make an example of" the captors.

Sahil was taken from his grandmother's home in the Punjab city of Jhelum as he prepared to take a taxi to the airport for his return flight to the UK.

The attackers are said to have demanded a £100,000 ransom for his return.

'Pray for him'

On Saturday, Sahil's mother Akila Naqqas leaded for his safe return, saying she would forgive his son's captors if they released him.

She also said Sahil had never been apart from either herself or her husband.

"It's just a nightmare. I'm not sleeping at all," she said. "It's worse at night when I have no-one to comfort me.

"All we can do is just pray for him."

It is understood several men, including a taxi driver, have been arrested in Pakistan.

The interior minister visited Sahil 's father Raja Saeed in Jhelum on Sunday.

Mr Malik told him the police believed the kidnappers were people close to the family, and that they were closing in on the culprits.

"We have certain leads that I would not like to discuss," he said. "But a warning to those abductors - leave the boy because we are very near to you."

He also said the kidnap was "humiliating" for Pakistan and the captors would be made an "example off".

'Heart risk' at football stadiums

Too many football grounds in Europe do not have the right equipment and plans to save the lives of fans who have heart attacks, a study has found.

The poll of 187 stadiums found over a quarter did not have defibrillators and many did not have emergency plans.

The Sweden-led study, carried out by a group of club doctors, stressed more had to be done as it was not always easy to get ill fans to hospital.

Researchers said there should be mandatory rules covering the issue.

At the moment, it is simply considered good practice to have defibrillators at sports grounds.

But in recent years many governments - including the authorities in the UK - have been doing more to increase the availability of the life-saving equipment in public spaces.

Defibrillators work by delivering a controlled electric shock through the chest wall to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.

Emotional

Professor Mats Borjesson, the official medic for Swedish club GAIS and a member of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, said every ground should have access to a supply of the machines.

"It is known that viewing and being emotionally engaged in a soccer game increases the likelihood of people suffering a heart attack so we think this should be a formal requirement."

He also warned facilities at sporting arenas elsewhere in the world may be even worse.

"As football is the biggest and best resourced sport in Europe, the situation may be even worse elsewhere."

And he said it was important to have the proper procedures and planning in place too.

But only 64% had a written medical action plan, covering issues such as medical staffing and communications with hospital.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, gathered data from 10 countries, including England, France and Spain.

It did not name the grounds that took part, although the researchers said most of them were from the top divisions, and over the previous season there had been 77 heart attacks - one for every 589,000 spectators at these stadiums.

The 37 English grounds that were included were among the better performers, the study showed.

Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said it was important the issue was being highlighted.

"Early access to a defibrillator increases the chance of survival so it's reassuring to know that so many stadiums in England had one."

Obama declares,Time to act on health care

President Barack Obama urged Congress Wednesday to enact his signature health care legislation swiftly. He said it now contains the best ideas from both political parties.

"This is where we've ended up. It's an approach that has been debated and changed and I believe improved over the last year," Obama said in excerpts released in advance of an early afternoon appearance at the White House.

The president was also expected to endorse a plan by Democrats to try and enact the legislation by majority vote — using a Senate procedure that would deny Republicans the right to filibuster.

His appeal came several days after the president convened a bipartisan summit with lawmakers of both parties, then released a revised plan that he said incorporated several GOP suggestions.

Even so, Republicans are solidly opposed to the legislation, demanding instead that Obama and Congress start over again.

At its core, Obama's proposal would extend health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, while cracking down on insurance company practices such as denying coverage on the basis of a pre-existing medical condition.

Obama and congressional Democrats are working to mount a party-line rescue mission for the health care legislation that appeared on the cusp of passage late last year, only to be derailed when Republicans won a Massachusetts Senate seat that gave them the ability to stop it.

There is still no certainty about the outcome — or even that Democrats will agree to the series of changes that Obama said represented Republican contributions.

Whatever the final outcome, the issue is certain to reverberate in this fall's congressional elections, a fact that both Obama and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell referred to.

"I don't know how this plays politically, but I know it's right. And so I ask Congress to finish its work, and I look forward to signing this reform into law," the president said in the excerpts.

McConnell said that a decision by Democrats to invoke rules that bar a filibuster would be "met with outrage" by voters, and he said Obama was pushing a sweeping bill that the public doesn't want.

"They've had enough of this yearlong effort to get a win for the Democratic Party at any price to the American people," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Even if Obama's maneuvering draws no Republican support, the White House and Democratic congressional leaders hope it will give comfort to moderate to conservative members of their own rank and file whose votes will be essential to passage.

"I like the idea that the president is working with Republicans and trying to find common ground," said Sen. Mark Pryor, a centrist Democrat from Arkansas. "I think that's a good place to be for him; I think that's what the American people want to see."

The Democrats' strategy includes several steps. The House would be required to pass the legislation the Senate passed late last year, and then both houses would be called on to enact a companion bill making changes in the first one.

Democrats talked confidently of the outcome.

If Republicans "want to run a campaign of bring back the day of kicking people off because of pre-existing conditions, I relish it," the Democratic chairman, Tim Kaine, said on the NBC-TV's "Today" show.

Obama has already made the basics of his plan clear. He would extend health coverage to about 30 million uninsured Americans, leash the insurance industry by banning practices like denying coverage for the ill, expand drug benefits for the elderly and give lower-income people subsidies to help them afford coverage. It would be paid for by raising taxes on upper-income Americans and culling savings from Medicare.

In a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday, Obama went further. He said he was exploring GOP proposals for cracking down on fraudulent medical charges, revamping ways to resolve malpractice disputes, boosting doctors' Medicaid reimbursements and offering tax incentives to curb patients' visits to doctors.

The ideas included an experiment that would establish special courts in which judges with medical expertise would decide malpractice allegations. The idea has been criticized by the Center for Justice & Democracy, a consumer group that prefers the current system of awarding damages. It said health courts would be "anti-patient."

To round up votes, Democratic leaders have been citing polls showing that many voters dislike the overall idea of a health overhaul but favor specific proposals. One presentation by the Democratic firm Lake Research Partners suggests that lawmakers emphasize benefits that would take effect this year, like preventing insurers from denying coverage to those already sick and beginning to improve seniors' pharmaceutical coverage.

Hockey World Cup: Germany, S Korea, Netherlands winners of 4th day

The Netherlands took a clear lead in Group A of the men's field hockey World Cup with a 3-1 win over New Zealand on Wednesday.

All four goals came in the first half after New Zealand captain Phillip Burrows had put his team ahead in the opening minute of the game.

Ronald Brouwer drew level immediately in the second minute, Taeke Taekema scored a penalty corner in the seventh, before Jeroen Hertzberger completed the tally in the 27th.

The Dutch moved to six points from two matches as defending champions Germany and Asia's number one South Korea went to second place with four points each following their first wins in the tournament.

New Zealand, who had defeated Canada in their opening match, are on three points.

The Germans, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles, came back strongly after a 2-2 draw against the Koreans to trounce Canada 6-0.

It was their biggest World Cup win since the 7-0 romp over India in the 1978 edition in Argentina while playing as the West German team.

South Korea clinched a 2-1 win over Argentina with Nam Hyun-Woo converting a last-minute penalty corner.

Germany, the reigning Olympic champions, pumped in four goals in the first half, three of them with penalty corners after Benjamin Wess had put them ahead in the 3rd minute with a field goal.

Jan-Marco Montag, Max Muller and Martin Haner fired in set-piece goals, before man-of-the-match Florian Fuchs sealed the emphatic win by striking twice in the second session.

Germany won the last two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 before underlining their supremacy with a gold at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.

The 11th-ranked Canada remain without a point.

"We analysed our first game to draw up a things-to-do list," said German coach Markus Weise. "I am glad some of those negatives have been ticked off.

"We you are not playing a top side, you look to score five to six goals, and we were able to achieve that today."

South Korea and Argentina produced a barren first half as both sides wasted scoring opportunities, including two penalty corners by the Asian team.

Argentina took the lead in the 53rd minute through Facundo Callioni after the Koreans were reduced to 10 men following a green card to Kyung Min-Jun.

Lee Nam Yong drew level eight minutes later and Nam Hyun-Woo slammed the last-minute winner when South Korea were awarded a penalty corner by the video umpire.

Argentina have lost both matches so far.

Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel said the win over New Zealand was satisfying.

"We are on the right path," he said. "We played better than in the last game and it was nice to see the boys fighting back after the early goal.

"The whole team is taking turns to make a mark and that augurs well for the rest of the tournament."

In the next round of group A matches on Friday, South Korea take on New Zealand, the Netherlands meet Canada and Germany clashes with Argentina.

Iran arrested film director Jafar Panahi

Plainclothes police broke into Mr Panahi's family home and arrested him, his wife and daughter and 15 other guests, his son Panah told reporters.

The director, known for his social realism, has made several films critical of Iran's regime.

The Tehran prosecutor's office has confirmed the arrest to reporters but denied it was connected to politics.

"At about 10 on Monday evening several plainclothes agents broke into the house," Panah Panahi told an opposition website.

They arrested everyone who was there and searched the house taking away computers and other personal belongings, he said.

Crime allegations

But Tehran's prosecutor said the arrests were not connected to politics.

"The arrest of Jafar Panahi is not because he is an artist or for political reason," prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

"He is accused of some crimes and was arrested with another person following an order by a judge."

Last year a travel ban was imposed on Mr Panahi by the authorities after he appeared wearing green - the colour of opposition supporters - at the Montreal film festival.

He was also briefly arrested after attending a memorial to student Neda Agha Soltan, killed at an opposition rally last June.

Film awards

Mr Panahi is a past winner of the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion award.

His most recent film is Offside, which won the 2006 Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear award.

It tells the story of a group of female football fans who try to sneak into Iran's World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain but are arrested.

In Iran, women are banned from attending men's sporting events.

At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes since last year's disputed elections, although the opposition says more than 70 have died. Thousands have been detained and some 200 activists remain behind bars.

At least nine have been sentenced to death, and two have been executed already.

Some of those arrested include former ministers and the sister of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Bachelet calls for the survivors of the earthquake to remain calm Chile

Chile's president has appealed for calm in the earthquake-ravaged city of Concepcion, vowing a stern response to any renewal of looting and violence.

Michelle Bachelet says 14,000 troops are now in the region, after dozens of people were arrested on Monday.

A BBC reporter in Concepcion says police are now posted on street corners in the city centre, but says that aid convoys are yet to reach the needy.

The death toll from the 8.8-magnitude quake now stands at 795, officials say.

Emergency workers also say 19 people are still unaccounted for.

'Necessary measure'

A special air route is being set up to deliver aid from the capital, Santiago, to Concepcion, 430km (270 miles) away.

But security in the city remains a key concern after shops and homes were looted on Monday and police made large numbers of arrests.

The deteriorating security situation in Concepcion comes despite the influx of thousands of troops to reinforce local police.

"We can say that, according what we've been told from the area, the situation in Concepcion is under control today," President Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday.

But, she added, authorities would take any "necessary measure" to stop renewed looting.

"Our principle objective is to go and help people tackle the emergency in the disaster zone.

"I want them [looters] to understand this and that they'll receive rigorous legal action. We will not tolerate such actions."

Many of the city's 500,000 inhabitants are short of food and have seen their water and electricity supplies cut off.

Aid agencies have yet to reach Concepcion, reports the BBC's Andy Gallacher, who has reached the city, and many people are still awaiting water, food and mattresses.

However, at least two police officers appear to be posted on every corner in the city centre, our correspondent says.

Some residents quoted by Reuters news agency said they were organising groups to defend their property.

Coastal destruction

Reports are also beginning to emerge of the scale of the devastation in other areas.

Up to 90% of the mud-and-wood buildings in the historic centre of Curico had been destroyed or damaged, and a hospital badly damaged, BBC reporters said.

Some coastal towns and villages were also hit by giant waves after the earthquake, with some reported to have been completely destroyed.

Reports from the town of Pelluhue suggested that a series of tsunamis swept through what was a tranquil seaside resort, destroying houses and claiming many lives.

The government admits that its attempts to provide aid swiftly have been hampered by damaged roads and power cuts.

The air supply route between Santiago and Concepcion will help the authorities send more than 300 tonnes of aid, including 120 tonnes of food, to the worst-affected area of the country.

Communication problems

International aid has begun arriving. Neighbouring Argentina is flying a field hospital over the Andes to Chile and has pledged half a million litres of much-needed drinking water.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew to Santiago and offered his nation's support, as did US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Clinton took a consignment of satellite phones with her to Santiago after the Chilean government requested communications equipment alongside field hospitals and water purification units.

"We stand ready to help in any way that the government of Chile asks us to," said Mrs Clinton, adding: "The United States will be there to help when others leave.

After touring the disaster zone, Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera - who takes office on 11 March - said the situation was worse than he had expected.

"When we have a catastrophe of this magnitude, when there is no electricity and no water, the population... starts losing the sense of public order," he said.

About two million Chileans are believed to have been affected by Saturday's earthquake, the seventh most powerful on record and the worst disaster to befall Chile in 50 years.

The epicentre of the quake was 115km (70 miles) north-east of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital Santiago.

About 1.5 million homes in Chile have been damaged. Most of the collapsed buildings were of older design - including many historic structures.

One US risk assessor, Eqecat, has put the cost of repairing the damage at between $15bn and $30bn (£9.8bn - £19.6bn) or 10-20% of the country's gross domestic product.

Clinton promises and solidarity, and supplies for earthquake damaged Chile

U. S. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Tuesday morning in Chile, and make it more than dozens of satellite phones and a promise from the United States involvement in the earthquake affected States.

"The United States is prepared to respond to requests from the Government of Chile has made, so we can provide solidarity not only to the specific supplies, but there is a need to help you recover from the earthquake," Clinton said during a brief press conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

"The people of Chile to respond with flexibility and strength," said Clinton.

Secretary said that she brought with 25 satellite phones, one of which it submitted to the Bachelet in a press conference. Eight water treatment plants are on their way to Chile, said Clinton, and the United States will be a mobile field hospital with the capacity of a unit for surgical operations.

The United States will also work with washing machines and independent power generators, medical supplies and portable bridges to provide, "said Clinton.

The Secretary also said that the Americans will be how they can contribute to the restoration efforts.

In addition to meeting with Bachelet in Santiago airport, also met with President-elect Clinton, Sebastian Pinera, who will be sworn in next week.

"I have visited the disaster site for more than 30 years ... [and] it is very clear to me that Chile is better prepared to respond much faster, and can do more than that," Clinton said during a press conference with President-elect.

It congratulates Piñera, a conservative billionaire businessman at his inauguration. Piñera at the invitation of President Obama to visit Chile.

Bachelet leaves office with high approval ratings to the fact that the country is governed by the global economic slowdown and promote progressive social reforms.

Clinton in the middle of a tour of six countries from Latin America, to be held in the quake.

On Monday attended the inauguration ceremony of President Jose Mojica in Uruguay, and then traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to meet with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Clinton next travel to Brazil, where he is expected to hold talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his planned trip to Iran. The United States and other countries believe that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, an allegation Iran denies building undertaken.

It will stop in Costa Rica for meetings with President Oscar Arias and President-elect Laura Chinchilla, who will assume office in May they will also provide paths to prosperity, and a meeting of the Western Hemisphere officials. This initiative includes things such as "loans" micro-credit and the ways in which women can be appointed, "said a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

Clinton's final stop will be Guatemala. She will meet with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and the leaders of other countries in Central America and the Dominican Republic before returning to Washington.
U.S. State Department "strongly" and urged U.S. citizens to tourism and non-essential travel to Chile to occur after the complete