7,000 kg whale shark docks in Karachi Fish Harbour

In what is believed to be one of the biggest catch in the high seas, Pakistani fishermen have caught a giant whale shark - about 36 foot long and weighing over 7,000 kg.
The fishermen bought the giant fish to the Karachi Fish Harbour and claimed to have found it dead in the open sea. Though some experts believed that the shark might have been killed after it got entangled in a net, The Dawn daily reported.


Pic/AFP
The whale shark was taken out of the channel with the help of two cranes amid rapturous applause by hundreds of onlookers.
"I have bought the fish, which usually has no significant commercial value, with the help of my friends just to appreciate the efforts of the fishermen who deserve some reward after spending an entire day in the open sea," Haji Qasim, who said he bought the fish for Rs 2 lakh, was quoted as saying by the daily.
The authorities, he said, had allowed him to keep the fish at the harbour for at least three days for public viewing. "Then I will sell the meat to the people running poultry meal business," he said.
The shark was spotted floating unconscious in the sea ten days ago, around 90 miles away from shore, another daily reported.
The Daily Mail of London reported that the largest confirmed whale shark was 41ft long but it is thought they can grow to considerably greater lengths. The shark is found in tropical waters and lives for around 70 years. They feed mainly on plankton, microscopic plants and sometimes small fish.
The whale shark, a gentle giant of the seas, does not pose a significant danger to humans - and in the past some have even allowed swimmers to hitch a ride on their fins, it reported.

Read more »

Andy Murray praises instant impact of new coach Ivan Lendl

 

Andy Murray believes new coach Ivan Lendl has improved his game already.

The British number one appointed Lendl, the winner of eight Grand Slam titles, in December.
Murray reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open before losing a five-set thriller to Novak Djokovic, but says Lendl has made a difference.
"I spent five days with him before the Australian Open and I feel like I improved just in those days," Murray told the BBC.
"I'll go and spend a lot more time with him and work harder, and that's really all that you can do."
World number four Murray has 22 ATP titles to his name but has yet to win a Grand Slam after losing three finals.

Ivan Lendl factfile

• Born March, 1960 in Ostrava, Czech Republic
• Won first professional title in 1980 in Houston
• Reached 19 Grand Slam finals, winning eight
• Won US Open three years in a row from 1985 to 1987
• Won £13.7m in prize money, ranking eighth in all-time men's earners

The Scot could benefit from the experience of Lendl, 51, who lost his first four Grand Slam finals.

But Murray, 24, admitted that he is inspired by Djokovic, who dominated 2011, losing just six matches all year.
"The turnaround was incredible and he was struggling at the end of the year before," Murray said.
"That's the thing. It is small margins of one break or one match and it doesn't have to be in a Slam - it could be any time.
"Sometimes things can just click and you can make big improvements, and I feel like I made a big improvement in Australia."
Murray has played in an era dominated by what many regard as three of the greatest players of all time in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.
He added: "Everything that's happened in the past, you would say Federer and Nadal are the greatest players ever and Djokovic, the last year, had probably the greatest year ever.
"This year's a new year; it's irrelevant what's happened in the past.
"I'm not saying I'm going to win 16 Grand Slams, but if I can get a few then you can be remembered in the same breath as those guys - you had those great matches; you won Slams in the same time as them."

Read more »

Graeme Swann rubbishes Andy Flower's claim England lost to Pakistan due to taking too long a winter break

Graeme Swann refuses to accept England coach Andy Flower's claim that the whitewash defeat to Pakistan was in large part due to the fact the side arrived in the UAE underprepared after taking an extended two month winter break.

In a spin: Graeme Swann says England's failure against spin rather than complacency or being underprepared cost England against Pakistan  Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Read more »

Two Indian ministers resign after being caught watching porn in assembly

Bangalore: Two Karnataka ministers, an Indian state, had to resign after being caught watching porn videos during assembly session, India media reported on Wednesday.

According to reports, television cameras caught two BJP ministers — Lakshman Savadi and CC Patil —watching pornography on their cellphones.

Reports said Savadi holds the cooperation portfolio while Patil is women and child development minister.

The ministers were caught in the act even as the House was in the middle of a heated debate, sparking country-wide furore..

Read more »

PTCL raises DSL usage cap before extra fee is charged

Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) last week began charging its DSL broadband users PKR 5,000 extra if they cross the 300 GB download limit in a given month, Pro Pakistani reported. Previously, it charged customers PKR 1,000 for overshooting 50 GB per month. PTCL said it is notifying its customers by callin g and e-mailing them. The extra charge and the 300 GB cap apply to the 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 4 Mbps, 6 Mbps and 8 Mbps DSL services. The 10 Mbps, 20 Mbps and 50 Mbps services will not incur this extra charge.

Read more »

Syrians thank Russia and China for opposing U.N. resolution

REPORTING FROM ALEPPO, SYRIA, AND BEIRUT -- As the United States and allied nations continued to criticize Russia and China for vetoing a United Nations resolution on Syria, hundreds of residents of the city of Aleppo came out in cold, windy and rainy weather Tuesday to thank the two countries.
The rally coincided with the visit to Damascus of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with President Bashar Assad and was greeted in the Syrian capital with all the pomp and circumstance of a visiting head of state.
Russia and China on Saturday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned the Syrian government’s crackdown on dissent and backed an Arab League plan calling on Assad to cede power.  The next day, a rally of thanks occurred outside the Russian Consulate in Aleppo.
In Aleppo’s Sadullah bin Jabri Square, not far from the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in Syria's second-largest city, some men and women waved Russian, Chinese and Syrian flags Tuesday. Others danced the dabke, a traditional Arab dance, to patriotic music.
One man on stage held up a photo of Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years.
"With our souls, with our blood, we sacrifice for you, Bashar," the crowd chanted.
Schoolchildren dressed in their uniforms and carrying backpacks weaved through the crowd. Residents streamed into the square throughout the morning. But many in the city didn't know about the rally;  drivers leaned out of car windows asking fellow motorists the reason for the traffic jam around the square.
Although Russia and China have been lauded in pro-Assad strongholds such as Aleppo, the reaction has been distinctly different in opposition enclaves, where demonstrators have called for Assad’s ouster.
As people celebrated in Aleppo, residents of the battlefield city of Homs, 100 miles to the south, were huddling in their homes amid heavy government shelling, opposition activists said.
The opposition has labeled the veto by Russia and China “a license to kill” for the Assad government.

Read more »