Archives for May 2008

French skydiver Michel Fournier's bid for a record-breaking parachute jump from Earth's stratosphere was aborted Tuesday when the balloon that was to carry him into the far reaches of the sky slipped away from his flight crew.

The former paratrooper had hoped to set new records for the highest jump, fastest free fall, longest free fall and the highest altitude reached by a man in a balloon. But those hopes drifted away over the plains of Saskatchewan when the balloon escaped.

Still clad in his bright yellow pressure suit, the visibly frustrated Fournier waved away cameras after his ride slipped away shortly after 5 a.m. (7 a.m. ET). There was no immediate word on how the effort was botched, but his flight crew was attempting to recover the balloon, according to his official Web site.

Fournier, 64, planned to start his "Big Jump" at 40 kilometers (25 miles) above the Earth's surface and land safely -- a risky proposition that French authorities already had barred on their territory.

He later got the approval of Canadian authorities to make the attempt over sparsely populated Saskatchewan.
The safety of the mission has been questioned by some scientists. At around 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) there is not enough oxygen to breathe and he could suffer a fatal blood clot.

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Bush is told increases come at behest of buyers

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia's leaders said Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President George W. Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.
It was Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and the world's largest oil exporter.

Saudi officials maintained their position that they'll only pump more oil when asked to by buyers, something they say isn't happening now, the president's national security adviser said.

"Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy," Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices rose above $127 a barrel, a record high.

The Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, did say the kingdom had decided May 10 to raise production by 300,000 barrels at the request of customers. He said that increase to 9.45 million barrels a day by June is sufficient.

The increase followed a decline in April from the 13 members of OPEC by about 390,000 barrels a day, according to a report this week from OPEC, which pumps more than 40% of the world's oil.

"Supply and demand are in balance today," al-Naimi said Friday.

Analysts called the increase a token move.

"It's just a token increase but it shows that the Saudis realize just how important it is for the president to not come back empty-handed," said Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Conn.

"This is about a lot more than oil. The special relationship between the countries is at stake."

When Bush ran for president in 2000, he criticized the Clinton administration for high fuel prices and said the president must "jawbone" oil-producing nations and persuade them to drop rates. At that time, oil was less than a quarter what it is now.

But Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said the latest discussion with Bush about oil was friendly. "He didn't punch any tables," the minister said.

Osama bin Laden vowed in an audio tape to mark Israel's 60th anniversary to continue to fight the Jewish state and its allies in the West.

The al Qaeda leader, who has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said it was at the heart of the Muslim battle with the West and an inspiration to the 19 bombers who carried out the attacks on U.S. cities on September 11, 2001.

"We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies ... and will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth," he said in the message, posted on an Islamist website on Friday.

Bin Laden said Israel's anniversary celebrations were a reminder that it did not exist 60 years ago, and had been established on land seized from Palestinians by force.

"This is evidence that Palestine is our land, and the Israelis are invaders and occupiers who should be fought," he said.

The Saudi-born militant also said that decades of peace initiatives had failed to establish a Palestinian state, and the West had proved time and again that it sided with Israel.

"The participation of Western leaders with the Jews in this celebration confirms that the West backs this Jewish occupation of our land, and that they stand in the Israeli corner against us," he said. "They proved this in practice by sending their forces to southern Lebanon."

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Rannvijay Singh Sangha is best known as the suave host of MTV's popular reality show Roadies, but now the VJ has ventured into films with Toss.

However, this popular VJ says he won't cut down on veejaying.

"Now that I will be in movies, they will earn me my butter. But MTV would always remain my bread," Rannvijay said.

Rannvijay rose to popularity after he won the first season of MTV's hit reality show Roadies. Later, he got an opportunity to host the subsequent instalments of the show, which is now in its fifth season.

He gives the entire credit for his success and fame to Roadies, saying: "When I was a participant, the show gave me a platform through which people started knowing me. When I started hosting the show, people started coming for autographs and today if people recognise me in the industry, it is all thanks to Roadies."

In the film Toss, he plays the role of Ryan, a firm believer in God.

"For the role, the filmmakers wanted a charming and good-looking boy. I don't know to what extent I fulfil those criteria, but I really like the role," he said.

Apart from Toss, the VJ-turned-actor, who had earlier planned to join the armed forces, would also be seen in Mumbai Cutting... A City Unfolds.

For the film, 11 prominent Indian directors Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap, Rahul Dholakia, Ruchi Narain, Kundan Shah, Revathy, Shashank Ghosh, Jahnu Barua, Manish Jha, Rituparno Ghosh and Ayush Raina were assigned to make 10-minute shorts about Mumbai.

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Never mind that much of the audience has seen it thanks to friends or Internet downloads. The local premiere of the live-action "Death Note" movie at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Livonia and Ann Arbor is expected to draw a large crowd.
The story of a college student who vanquishes evildoers by placing their names and images in a supernatural notebook began as a popular Japanese comic book (or manga) created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata in 2003. The animated series it spawned was dubbed into English and shows regularly on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programming block.

Fans have been buzzing about it, says Greg Borders, owner of Wizzywig Collectibles, a downtown Ann Arbor shop that sells "Death Note" keychains, plush figures and T-shirts among its Japanese pop culture collectibles. "It appeals to my more goth clientele," he says of the "Death Note" concept that pits its vigilante hero against a brilliant young police detective named L.

"Death Note" consciously blurs the lines between good and evil and not everybody loves it. School officials in Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama disciplined kids recently for having suspicious notebooks. Such controversy only fuels the popularity.

The live-action movie topped the Japanese box office charts for two weeks when it opened in June 2006; a more successful sequel followed that fall. Roughly subtitled copies have been circulating fan to fan, but the dubbed version showing next week uses voices from the animated series.

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Pakistan's ruling coalition will face a defining moment for its possible breakup on Monday after the three-day talks on the judges' issue in London ended in deadlock.

    After the talks, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) failed to reach a deal on restoring the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf last year under a state of emergency.

    Earlier, the two coalition parties had held talks on the issue in Dubai and failed to bridge their differences.

    The PML-N pledged unconditional reinstatement of the judges through a single resolution, while the PPP maintained that the reinstatement of the judges should be part of a package of constitutional amendments.

    The PPP and PML-N won the Feb. 18 elections and formed a coalition government, putting the judges' issue top on the agenda.

    The PML-N, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, set May 12 as the deadline for reinstating the judges after the two sides failed to meet the first deadline set on April 30.

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Pakistan Cricket Board`s (PCB) decision to ban Shoaib Akhtar for five years and then open a month-long window for the controversial quickie to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has amused several former cricketers. Fast bowling great Wasim Akram says that the drama surrounding Akhtar would make a good script for a Bollywood comedy. We at Zeecric.com bring to you the views of fiery pacer of yesteryears on the pugnacious Rawalpindi Express.

The former Pakistan captain says the PCB`s decisions on Akhtar were `baffling` and would make a `good Bollywood comedy.`

“First you ban him and then you suspend it to facilitate something. After that, Naseemsaab (Naseem Ashraf, PCB chairman) and Shoaib are on TV, a politician mediates to sort out the matter and then, Naseemsaab drops his case. I think a good Bollywood director can make a hit comedy film.”

“And Shoaib should eventually join politics. He will really do well there,” he added.

Akram says the publicity-hungry Akhtar will be all fired up while playing in IPL.

“Once Shoaib sees the crowd and, of course, the babes around, I think he`ll be able to perform. It will take him just a couple of games to get fit and since he has to bowl just four overs in a match, he doesn’t need much fitness,” he said

Akram said the PCB`s ways and means were ridiculous, and slammed Akhtar for using political help to weave his way out of the mess he had landed himself in.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, said fourth-quarter profit dropped more than analysts estimated and forecast earnings this year will fall 27 percent due to a stronger yen and U.S. sales slump.

Net income fell 28 percent to 316.8 billion yen ($3 billion) in the three months ended March from 440 billion yen a year earlier, Toyota said in Tokyo today. That was lower than the 375.2 billion yen median of six analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 3.8 percent to 6.57 trillion yen.

Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. all predict profit will drop this year as the yen's gains against the dollar erode the value of sales in North America. Chief Executive Officer Katsuaki Watanabe forecasts sales of Corollas, Avalons and other vehicles in the U.S. to drop 6.4 percent amid a ``severe business environment.''

``The slowdown in the U.S. really hit Toyota,'' said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo, which oversees $28 billion in assets. ``The market has yet to hit bottom.''

Profit Drop

The carmaker predicts annual net income to drop to 1.25 trillion yen in the year started April 1, from a record 1.72 trillion last year, it said today. The stronger Japanese currency will probably trim 690 billion yen from operating profit, it added.

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White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino says tensions between Russia and Georgia are high, and she makes clear the administration feels most of the fault lies with Moscow.

"The Russian government has taken what we would call provocative actions which have increased tensions with Georgia over its separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," she said.

Perino says Russia downed an unmanned Georgian spy plane last month in Georgian air space, a charge Moscow has denied.  She also points to an increased Russian military presence along the administrative border separating Georgia and Abkhazia.  And she points to Moscow's withdrawal from sanctions imposed on Abkhazia by a group of former Soviet republics.

Both of the Georgian separatist regions are considered pro-Russian.   Perino makes clear that instead of pushing their separatist ambitions, Moscow should act as a mediator between the separatists and the government in Tblisi.

"These steps have significantly and unnecessarily heightened tensions in the region and run counter to Russia's status as a facilitator of the UN friends process of Abkhazia," she added.

All this comes amid word of a possible increase in ties between Russia and the self-declared separatist government in Abkhazia.  A Russian newspaper quotes a leading separatist official as saying Moscow should take over security responsibilities in that breakaway region.

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Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who landed in New Delhi last evening, has expressed his gratitude to Bollywood star and Knight Riders' owner Shahrukh Khan for his support during the past few months when he faced an inquiry and subsequently suspended from international cricket.

Shoaib was hired by Shahrukh for "Knigh Riders", but wasn't able to play following his suspension by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). As per IPL rules, a cricketer can't play in the League if he is banned by his country's cricket board.

Only two days ago the PCB had temporarily lifted the five-year ban on Shoaib.

"I am grateful to the people of India for embracing me, especially (team owner) Shah Rukh Khan who supported me. Eden Gardens is like my home ground. I am looking ahead to be there soon," the Dawn quoted Shoaib as saying in New Delhi.

He added: "I am happy to be in India. I am looking forward to play in the IPL and play my role for my team."

Shoaib admitted that he would have to train hard and acclimatize with the conditions though he had visited the country late last year. "I have not played cricket for four months. I have to acclimatize with the conditions and train hard. I want to do my bit for my team,