23.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Two Chinese pop singers have fallen foul of a lip-synching ban, facing fines of up to $12,000 (£7,400) for allegedly miming at a concert.
The firm that put on their 2009 show insists Yin Youcan and Fang Ziyuan are dancers and says it cannot find them.
Miming was banned in China after a girl was revealed to have lip-synched at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
The actual singer, a seven-year old with crooked teeth, was not considered pretty enough to appear.
A miming controversy befell the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony
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Instead a nine-year-old girl who was deemed to look more suitable mouthed along to a recording, charming a worldwide audience and earning the title of China’s “smiling angel”.
China was embarrassed by the revelations and authorities in the Chinese province of Sichuan now say Yin Youcan and Fang Ziyuan must pay the fines.
In December 2008, China banned lip-synching from the nation’s biggest TV show, held to celebrate Chinese New Year.
The broadcasting regulator ordered organisers to pick “real” singers and songs with “healthy” lyrics.
The Ministry of Culture said in 2008 it would revoke the licences of professional performers who are caught lip-synching twice during a two-year period.
And at 2007′s year’s Spring Festival Gala, actress Zhang Ziyi was criticised for miming her way through her performance in the patriotic, star-studded TV extravaganza.
As a result, China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued an order on its website to “choose performers with real singing ability”.
23.01.10 / Cricket / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
KARACHI: Pakistan has offered to play
South Africa in three Tests, five One-dayers and two Twenty20 matches in the
United Arab Emirates later this year, an official said Saturday.
“South Africa were supposed to tour us but because of their security
fears they declined to come and that’s why we have offered them to play this
full series of Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20 at the neutral venue of the
Emirates,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt said.
Butt
said instead of coming to Pakistan, South Africa wanted to play the series on
their grounds, which was not cost effective.
“If we play the series
in South Africa, it would have incurred losses to us, so we have offered them to
play in the Emirates and we hope they will agree to our proposal,” said Butt.
The series would likely to be played in October-November this year.
Pakistan has been a no-go country for foreign teams since the 9-11
attacks on the United States in 2001 and the ensuing war on terror for which the
Washington counts Pakistan as an ally.
Although South Africa toured
Pakistan in 2003 and 2007, they refused to play a match in Karachi over security
fears.
Pakistan’s reputation as a “dangerous venue” was further hit
by a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March last year.
The attack, which left seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant
coach injured besides killing eight people, laid to rest any chances of Pakistan
staging international cricket in the near future.
The International
Cricket Council relocated Pakistan’s 14 matches in the 2011 World Cup to the
other host countries, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan was
also forced to play its three home series — against the West Indies, Australia
and New Zealand — in the UAE in the last two years after the three teams
refused to tour over security fears.
Pakistan are also scheduled to
play their home Test series against Australia in England later this year.
Australia have been refusing to tour Pakistan since 1998 over
security fears.
23.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
The main opposition candidate in Sri Lanka’s presidential election has accused the ruling party of planning violence to win Tuesday’s vote.
Gen Sarath Fonseka said the violence would deter voters and a low turnout would help the party of President Mahinda Rajapaksa rig the election.
Election clashes have so far left four dead and hundreds wounded.
The government denies it has been behind the unrest and says it is stepping up security for the poll.
Saturday is the final day of campaigning, with both of the main candidates holding their last election rallies.
‘Gravely concerned’
President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka are closely associated with the government’s defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but the pair fell out bitterly soon after.
Mr Rajapaksa’s party says security is being enhanced for the vote
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Gen Fonseka said on Saturday: “They are getting ready for violence. The violence will support the rigging basically. The violence will reduce the voter attendance, then the rigging will take place.”
The general said he was hoping the security forces would protect his candidacy, adding that he expected most of them to vote for him.
He added: “We can’t counter violence with violence. We have to abide by the law.”
Mr Rajapakse’s office said on Friday it was “gravely concerned” about the violence.
A ruling party statement said: “Instructions have been given to the authorities to bolster security at sensitive locations and all political events up to and on polling day to ensure that all Sri Lankans can participate safely in the electoral process.”
The election commissioner has urged both sides to work towards easing the violence.
The result of the election is expected on Wednesday.
23.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
The new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church has been enthroned at a ceremony in Belgrade, pledging to back Serbia’s claims to Kosovo.
Patriarch Irinej said the Church’s first duty was to help recover the breakaway province.
The 80-year-old is considered a moderate who is open to modernisation.
He has said he would not be opposed to Pope Benedict XVI visiting Serbia, suggesting a possible rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church.
The service in Belgrade was the first part of a two-stage induction process, with a second ceremony due at Pec in western Kosovo.
“Our first duty as a Church is to safeguard our Kosovo, a holy and martyred land, to help our state to defend it from those who wish to seize it,” Patriarch Irinej said in a speech after his enthronement on Saturday.
“Kosovo is our holy land, our Jerusalem,” he added. “We must go to Pec to complete this ceremony, but can we visit our relics?
“Without them, Serbia is not Serbia, without Kosovo it is deprived of its heart and soul.”
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has about 11 million members worldwide.
Most of Serbia’s seven million people are Orthodox Christians.
23.01.10 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
The 56th National Film Awards for year 2008 were announced today.
Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actress Award for her role in Fashion. The actress who is currently in New York shooting for her forth coming film Anjaana Anjaani posted an obvious thank you speech on Twitter saying, “Thank you Madhur, Ronnie, Kangna, Mugdha, Arjan, Arbaaz and the cast and crew!! A huge shout to my team and all of u!! God is kind!!! Yaaaaayyy!!”
Upendra Limaye is awarded the Best Actor award for the Marathi film Jogwa and Arjun Rampal the Best Supporting Actor award for Rock On.
Madhur Bhandarkar must surely be a happy man, as the Best Supporting Actress Award has gone to Kangna Ranaut, again for his film Fashion.
While the award for the Best Popular Film has gone to Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Rahul Bose-starrer Bengali film Antaheen is named as the Best Film and is also selected for Awards in Best Cinematography, Best Lyrics and Best Female Playback Singer categories.
Firaaq is selected for Best Editing and Best Art Direction categories; Little Zizou (English, Gujarati) is adjudged the Best Film on Family values. Neeta Lulla is selected for Best Costume Designer for Hindi film Jodhaa Akbar, while Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash have won the Best Choreography Award for ‘Azeem-o-Shaan Shaheshah’ for Jodhaa Akbar.
Best Feature Film in Hindi language has gone to Rock On, while Best Feature Film in Marathi language is bagged by Harishchandrachi Factory.
A Wednesday has won the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best First film Of A Director, while Road Side Romeo has won the Best Animation Film Award.
The Feature Film Jury which was headed by Shri Shaji N. Karun. Members – Shri Roshan Taneja, Shri H.M. Ramachandra, Ms Nagma, Shri Satyabrata Kalita, Shri Neelakanta, Shri Dilip Ghosh, Shri Swapan Mullick, Shri Sudesh Syal, Shri S.K. Srivastava, Ms Archana, Shri B. Shashi Kumar, Shri Subhash Sehgal, Shri Santosh Desai and Ms Sreelekha Mukherjee were involved in judging the 126 entries for feature film categories for the 56th National Film Awards.
However, the awards will be conferred by the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, in March 2010.
