Eat and Win ,,yahooo....Dubai Food Festival 2016: Dine and win gold worth up to Dh50,000

BoxPark to reward lucky diner solid gold gummy bear

This Dubai Food Festival, BoxPark will bring onboard a unusual gumball machine to reward diners with prizes daily as well as a chance to win a gold gummy bear worth up to Dh50,000.

From February 25 to March 12, diners can qualify for a raffle draw against spends of Dh200 at participating outlets at the offbeat outdoor destination by Meraas.

Upon filling a form to join the draw, guests will receive a BoxPark Gumball coin that can be used to redeem an instant prize at the BoxPark Gumball machines.

The grand prize winner - to be announced on March 15 - will receive the solid gold gummy bear.

Furthermore, visitors can join a cupcake workshop located near Bianca Mozzarella, along with a candy making demonstration and a candy cart.

Date:  25 February to 12 March, 2016
Time:  8:00am to 12:00midnight
Venue: Box Park, Al Wasl Road

BoxPark is Meraas's latest offering to Dubai's high street retail, outdoor dining and entertainment proposition.

The destination spanning 1.2 kilometers, is located on Al Wasl Road.

Sonam Kapoor's New Film 2016 ‘Neerja' banned in Pakistan

Film based on the real-life hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi in 1986

A week ahead of the UAE release of the Sonam Kapoor-starrer ‘Neerja’, it has been reported that Pakistan has banned the film from screening in the country.

The film is based on the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am flight 73 at Karachi Airport, where airline purser Neerja Bhanot was shot dead by terrorists while trying to save the lives of passengers on board.

While no official word has been given on the reason behind the ban, media reports suggests authorities in Pakistan objected to film showing the country in poor light.

Bhanot received Pakistan’s ‘Tamgha-e-Insaaniyat’ award posthumously for showing incredible human kindness, along with becoming the youngest recipient of India’s highest peacetime military award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra.

News wire PTI further reported the film was banned in Pakistan without even being submitted to the censor boards.

Mobasher Hasan, who heads the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC), said that the decision to not allow import of the film had come from the information and commerce ministry

IMGC Executive Director Abid Rasheed admitted that there were certain anti-Pakistan elements in Neerja and it showed Muslims in negative light.

"This might not have gone down well with local audiences," he speculated.

Pakistan had earlier banned big banner Indian films like Haider (2015), Phantom(2015) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012).

The Cost of Sending Remittances December 2015 Data According to World Bank

Key Report Findings

• The average global cost of sending remittances fell to 7.37% as of December 2015, from 7.52% in the previous quarter.
• In 80% of country corridors, it’s possible to send money for the average cost of 10% or less. At the end of 2009, only half of the corridors had the cost of 10% or less.

The Cost of Sending Money from and to G20 Countries

• The cost of sending money from G20 countries was recorded at 7.46%, remaining substantially stable compared to the last quarter
• At 16.59%, South Africa remains the most costly G20 country to send money from.
• Russia is the least expensive country at 1.95%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 5.05%.
• The cost to send money to G20 countries that are included in RPW as receiving markets, decreased to 7.10%.
• It’s most expensive to send money to China, 9.72%, and South Africa, 8.89%.
• Mexico and India are the cheapest receiving markets, at 4.75% and 5.95%, respectively.

The Cost of Sending Money to Different Regions

• The most meaningful change in Q4 2015 was a decline in the cost of sending remittances to the Middle East and North Africa region, which decreased from 8.37 to 7.42 percent.
• At 5.43%, South Asia is still the least costly region to send money to.
• Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send money to at 9.53%.
• In East Asia & the Pacific the cost was recorded at 7.97%.
• In East Europe and Central Asia the average cost exluding Russia is 7.51%. If Russia is included in the calculation, the cost is 6.48%.
• Latin America & the Caribbean experienced a slight decreased to 6.04%.

The Cost of Using Different Channels to Send Money

• Sending money through a post office remains the least expensive, while going through a commercial bank is still the most costly.
• Post offices’ remittance charges slightly declined to 5.88%.
• Using banks to send money remained most expensive at 11.12%.
• Sending money through Money Transfer Operators decreased to 6.24%

Types of Products

• Cash services remain the most widely available and one of the cheapest ways to send money at 6.54%.
• Online products are the cheapest product type at 5.57%.
• Account-to-account services remain the most expensive at 10.86%. However, the cost of transfer within the same bank or to a partner bank in the receiving country is significantly cheaper at 5.67%.

Dh2.55 million paid for UAE mobile number 052-1111111

Mobile number – 052-5000000 - was sold at Dh1.01 million

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, or Du, sold a special number – 052-1111111 – for Dh2.55 million at an auction held on Saturday.

Mobile number – 052-5000000 – was sold at Dh1.01 million, the company said in a statement.

Sources stated that number – 05212222222 – fetched Dh435,000.

Overall, the auction raised Dh7.114 million

The auction was organised by OnLine Auctions.

In an earlier statement, Du said that the 2016 edition follows the unprecedented success of last year’s auction and was in line with its continued efforts towards sustainability.

In April 2015, mobile number 052-2222222 sold for Dh8,010,000 to a UAE-based businessman.

Sharjah Coler Festival Attracts the Expats and Visitors

Dubai Tour is a professional cycle race and will take place in four stages and end at four different locations.

This is the third year for Dubai Tour and the event is only getting bigger and stronger with each and every race.

The four stages of the event are called Dubai Silicone Oasis Stage, Nakheel Stage, The Westin Stage and Burj Stage. All stages being at the Dubai International Marine Club and are each over 100kms long.

So what else is happening beyond Dubai? Our pick this week - Sharjah Light Festival. It's set to dazzle emirate's evenings with over 23 beautiful shows.

The 6th edition will be held from February 4 to 13, highlighting the architectural designs of landmark buildings and monuments across multiple locations in the emirate.

Festival will light up Al Qasimia University, Masjid Al Qasimia, University City Hall, Planetarium, Jubail New Market, Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, Cultural Palace, Kalba Corniche Park, Government Buildings Al Akd Al Fareed St. Dibba Al Hisn, and selected buildings at Buhairah Corniche.

You can also see other major buildings and tourist landmarks such as Al Qasba  (Internal Facades), Masjid Al Taqwa (Al Majaz Waterfront), Al Majaz Amphitheatre, Cultural Square, Masjid Al Noor, Sharjah University – Khorfakkan also glow at night.

Marriage of 7-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl: Pakistan arrest 6---Face six months imprisonment and/or a fine of 50,000 rupees ($500)

Police have arrested six people accused of arranging the marriage of a seven-year-old boy and six-year-old girl in eastern Pakistan, officials said Saturday.

The fathers of both children, the cleric performing the ceremony, and three witnesses were charged under the Child Marriage Restraint Act on Saturday after being arrested in Punjab province on Friday, senior police official Saifullah Khan told AFP.

They face six months imprisonment and/or a fine of 50,000 rupees ($500).

Local police chief Mehr Riaz Hussain said the accused have denied that the wedding took place, but police have it on video.

Pakistani lawmakers last month withdrew a proposal to impose harsher penalties on those who arrange child marriages after it was scuttled by a religious body which branded it "blasphemous" and against Islam.

The proposal, which would also have raised the legal age of marriages for females from 16 to 18, called for "rigorous" punishment of up to two years in prison for those who organise child marriages, still common in some parts of Pakistan.

The original law stipulates the age of marriage to be 16 for women and 18 for men but Pakistani religious scholars at the Council of Islamic Ideology, believe it is not in accordance with Islamic teachings.

They say there is no specific age limit for marriage in Sharia as an individual can marry when he or she reaches puberty and puberty cannot be defined by age. Rights activists strongly criticised the rejection of bill.

Upcoming Mega Event In Dubai

US President Barack Obama to keynote Dubai's World Government Summit

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the fourth edition of the World Government Summit will be held from February 8 to 10, 2016, in Dubai.

The summit, held under the title ‘Shaping Future Governments’, will be attended by more than 3,000 participants from 125 countries, including top dignitaries, leaders and experts from the government and private sectors across the world.

US President Barack Obama tops the list of speakers, and he will address the summit on its first day with a keynote speech via closed-circuit television. The US will participate as the annual guest of honor at this year’s event.

The World Government Summit will be attended by a number of heads of states, governments and international organisations. In his speech highlighting the ability of developing countries to advance, the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame will share the experience of his country in saving one million citizens from poverty.

Leading international organisations, including the United Nations, Gulf Cooperation Council, League of Arab States, World Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and World Economic Forum, will participate in the Summit.

The World Government Summit is a knowledge-oriented forum that convenes representatives of academic institutions and scientific research centers and university students, who are invited to share their future visions and aspirations. The summit presents and discusses more than 70 topics highlighted by top speakers at the main and interactive sessions attended by a number of leaders, decision-makers, ministers, CEOs, leaders of innovation, officials, experts and entrepreneurs.

Eight Main Themes

Over three days, the World Government Summit will discuss the future of eight vital sectors: education, healthcare, government action, science, innovation and technology, economy, labor market and human capital management, development and sustainability and the cities of the future.

The current edition of the summit will witness changes to the sessions by making them shorter and more focused, giving room for dialogues in a more interactive manner, and developing smart e-platforms as well as a special application for the summit. The events will feature a number of keynote speeches and dialogue sessions.

Further, the World Government Summit 2016 will witness the release of a number of specialised future-oriented reports as well as the opening of the Museum of the Future and the launch of the Edge of Governments exhibition.

It will honour the winners of the ‘Best Minister in the World’ award, ‘Best Mobile Government Service’ award, and ‘Innovative Teacher’ award. The summit will also see the hosting of several associated international meetings on the sidelines.

During the first day, a keynote address entitled ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ will be delivered by Professor Klaus Schwab, President and Founder of the World Economic Forum. Moreover, the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and the OECD Secretary-General Jose Angel Gurria will deliver keynote addresses.

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Interior, will speak in a main session titles “Doctrine of Integration” during which he will discuss the vision UAE adopted in unifying efforts and integrating capabilities to shape a better future.

Sessions, lectures and awards

The first day of the World Government Summit in Dubai will feature six panel discussions. In the first session entitled, ‘When the World Spoke Arabic: The Forgotten Scientific Heritage of the Arab Civilization’, Physics Professor Jim Al-khalili, Lecturer at the University of Surrey, will discuss the contribution of the Arab civilisation and the challenges facing the leaders of the Arab world today in providing opportunities and adequate conditions to motivate the youth to innovate and occupy advanced positions in the civilization of the future.

In the second panel discussion, Dr Neil Degrasse Tyson, lecturer, interlocutor and presenter of many scientific programs, will discuss how the sciences of today shapes the technology of tomorrow.

Peter Schwartz, futurist and Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning at Salesforce, will highlight how governments prepare for the unanticipated future.

The fourth panel discussion will feature a debate between Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens, and Saeed Mohammed Ahmed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), on clean energy innovation.

Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary- General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Dr Nabil Elaraby, Secretary-General of the Arab League, will participate in a special session entitled ‘Preparing for the Future: Five Things That Arab Governments Should Address Now’. This special session will be moderated by author and journalist Abdulrahman Al-Rashed.

The discussion panels will conclude with a debate involving experts in the field of technical sciences and history on the future effects of 3D Printing and how it will rewrite history.

Interactive lectures

The first day will also feature interactive lectures. In the first of these lectures features, Jennifer Pahlka, Founder and Executive Director of Code for America, will discuss computer programing as a language of the future and the importance of its inclusion in educational curriculum.

Paul Anderson, Founder of Bozemanscience, will speak about the innovative use of playing in education and its impact on the curricula and on transforming students from recipients to participants in the educational process.

Derek Muller, Physicist, Director and owner of Veritasium, one of the most popular scientific channels on You Tube, will highlight the role of social media in shaping the future of education.

Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, will speak about the next generation of governments and how they can be transformed into more innovative ones.

Arun Sundararajan, Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences at New York University, will discuss the impact of the economy of communion on governments and what governments should do to keep up with this future economic pattern.

Rod Beckstrom, Cybersecurity Expert and former President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), will speak about the dangers of the digital world and the means to address them.

Day two: Rwandan President talks about development experience in his country

On day two, Honorable Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, will give an exclusive interview to John Defterios of CNN on Rwanda's experience in the field of development after the civil war that tore it apart.

President Kagame will speak about his experience since taking office in 2000 and how Rwanda managed to achieve an annual economic growth of 8 per cent, which resulted in lifting million of its citizens out of poverty.

He will also highlight how Rwanda became an attractive prospect for businesses, how it increased its tourism revenues five-fold and how it achieved the second millennium development goal by increasing the enrollment ratio in basic education. President Kagame will further discuss the political empowerment of women, and reducing the neonatal mortality rate.

Sessions on day two will include a panel discussion entitled ‘Why Governments Fail?’ that convenes Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France, and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and Dr Mahmoud Jibril, former Prime Minister of Libya.

In two special sessions, journalist Turki Aldakhil will converse with Dr Khalid Bahah, Prime Minister and Vice President of Yemen about the challenge to governments with regards to development, while Egyptian journalist Muhanad Alkhatib, of Sky News Arabia, will discuss ‘Egypt's Readiness for the Future’ with Sherif Ismail, Prime Minister of Egypt.

The agenda also includes keynote speeches by Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) and Arif Naqvi, Founder and Chief Executive of The Abraaj Group, as well as Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

A discussion panel featuring Nicholas Negroponte from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will address the intriguing topic on the ‘Future of the Future’.

Another panel discussion entitled ‘Reverse Brain Drain’ will feature a number of personalities of Arab origin who excelled in universities and in Western scientific and academic institutions. It will discuss the transformations and effects of the brain drain and how emerging markets can attract talent and expertise that contributes to their development. Journalist Muntaha Al-Ramahi from Al Arabiya will moderate this panel discussion.

The interactive lectures that will take place on the second day of the summit include a talk by Justin Hall-Tipping, Chief Executive Officer of NanoHoldings, who will discuss the future of renewable energy and future challenges to preserving the environment and achieving sustainable development.

Brogan Bam Brogan, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Hyperloop, will highlight the future of road transport and the possibility of road travel at the speed of sound.

Nicolas Cary, Co-Founder and President of Blockchain, will tackle the issue of the future of digital currency and its evolution to answer the futuristic question ‘The Digital Currency: Is It the Future of Money?’

Two lectures will focus on the future of education. The first lecture will feature Professor Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, who will talk about the issue of cloud schools. In the second lecture, Peter Diamandis, Founder and Chairman of the Global X Prize Foundation, will speak about the universities of the future and their form and structure.

Author and researcher Christopher Schroeder will conclude the second day’s lectures with a discussion of the Silicon Valley experience, its impact, how it can be replicated and where the next similar project can be located.

Day three:

 Keynote speakers, sessions on Robotics and the Future of Healthcare

On day three of the summit, Felipe Calderón, former President of Mexico and Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, will deliver a keynote speech addressing climate change as the greatest challenge for humanity.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai Ports International, Dubai Customs and Dubai Free Zone, will also deliver a keynote speech addressing the future of smart trade.

Meanwhile, Kathy Calvin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation, will deliver a keynote speech on at the World Government Summit.

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Trade and Economic Cooperation of the UAE, will participate together with Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta, and Mahmoud Mohieldin, the World Bank's Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations, and Partnerships, in a panel discussion entitled ‘Transforming the Global Vision into a Reality: Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’. The session focuses on this global challenge and the means to find solutions and mechanisms to address it.

The final day 

of the summit will feature interactive panels addressing many futuristic issues. Dr Neil Jacobstein, Co-Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Track at Singularity University will speak about the prevalence of robots and whether they can in fact control the world.

For his part, entrepreneur and author Andrew Keen will discuss the issue of robots from another vantage point, questioning whether robots are the solution to many of the future challenges.

Albert Manero, CEO of Limitless Solutions, will talk about the ‘end of disability’, and discuss the future of prosthetics and the solutions that they will offer in more than one field for people with special needs. Dr Anthony Atala, Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will highlight the developments in 3D printing of human organs and the huge leap that this can bring about in the field of health care.

In a lecture entitled ‘Celebrate Your 200th Birthday’ Dr Brad Perkins, Chief Medical Officer at Human Longevity, will speak about the developments in the healthcare field and their impacts. For his part, Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future for Research, will discuss in a lecture entitled ‘Will the New Retirement Age Be 100 Years?’ the effect of increased life expectancy on governments, the job market, the policies and laws.

International meetings that discuss Sustainable Development and Future Cities

Within the framework of the World Government Summit, a series of meetings and sessions will be held to discuss ways to implement the global Sustainable Development Goals. These meetings are held in cooperation with the international organizations participating in the summit, especially the United Nations and the World Bank, to discuss the SDGs that have been agreed upon by the international community under the auspices of the United Nations in September 2015 in New York.

They are the indicators of global performance over the next 15 years. This will be the first international meeting to discuss the mechanism of achieving the SDGs that takes place after the conference in which these goals were announced. Ministers from around the world will participate in these sessions in addition to a group of international experts from the public and private sectors. The session will focus on three main areas - implementation, funding and measuring.

The summit will also include the convening of the 11th Annual Meeting of the OECD’s Middle East and North Africa Working Group on Open and Innovative Government. The group will convene directors of electronic and smart governments in the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the preliminary results of a number of studies on digital government strategies in the countries of the region and the findings of the OECD’s open government survey.

In addition, a consultative meeting will also be held with the World Bank experts to discuss the World Development Report. This is the principal World Bank Report on the issue of governance and it will be released in 2017.

Sponsored by Dubai Municipality, a meeting will be held for a mayors and directors of municipalities from several cities around the world to discuss the issue of future cities and how to prepare properly for construction of such cities as well as the prerequisites for this task.

Futuristic Reports and Studies

Several reports will be issued at the World Government Summit in cooperation with knowledge partners from major global scientific research institutions. These reports will be issued during the convening of the summit and throughout the year and include the report on artificial intelligence, evolution of sciences and the future of governments, in cooperation with The Economist.

This report focuses on how artificial intelligence can be used to analyze massive quantities of data that governments have and help predict events based on this data. It will also tackle the issue of integrating and using artificial intelligence in all fields to improve the outputs of vital sectors such as education and health, the future of governments, the genome and attempt to understand how governments will regulate this sector. The session will debate the issue of biometrics and how it can they be kept confidential and used in a safe and appropriate manner.

The summit will also launch a survey on the digital transformation of the government in cooperation with the Deloitte Foundation. The survey will include 1,200 government officials from 70 countries as well as interviews with 140 government officials and international experts. It will focus on the use of the digital technology as the most important factor affecting the delivery of government services. The results of the survey will be announced at the World Government Summit 2017.

The summit will issue a report in cooperation with Harvard Business Review on the next wave of major innovations. The report will explain the innovations and their implementation in governmental institutions.

The Future Education Methods

 report will be launched in cooperation with Oxford Analytica. The report will examine the re-designing of the methods and future of education where games are used to engage the student in an enjoyable and exciting educational process.

The Best Minister Award

The first day of the summit will honor the winner of the ‘Best Minister in the World’ award. This inaugural award aims to honor the best minister to have led a new and successful government project that resulted in a tangible social impact and can be replicated successfully in other countries.

The selection is based on scientific criteria set by Thomson Reuters, a neutral party for research and evaluation that chooses government personalities and evaluates their achievements. The ministers of the United Arab Emirates have been excluded from participating in order to maintain the neutrality of the award.

The Innovative Teacher Prize and honoring Winners of the Best Mobile Government Service Award

The World Government Summit will also honor the winners of the Emirates innovative teacher prize and the winners of the award for the best governmental service via mobile phones.

The Emirates Innovative Teacher award consists of a cash prize of Dh1 million and will be presented to an exceptional teacher who has made significant contributions to the teaching profession in the UAE.

The winners of the Best Mobile Government Services award will also be honored. There are three levels to this award: global, Arab and national. The competition includes university students in the UAE, in 10 sectors and the awards will be delivered prior to the conclusion of the World Government Summit.

The Museum of the Future Exhibition

The Museum of the Future Exhibition will be open for the first time to the public and offer a chance to view real examples of the most advanced technologies, methods and futuristic tools. The exhibition will be open throughout the duration of the summit from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.

The exhibition will highlight a number of products and distinctive experiences, transporting visitors to the future so that they can experience for themselves artificial intelligence and robotic technologies at work.

Innovative Governments’ Exhibition

This year's summit will feature the ‘Innovative Governments’ Exhibition’, organized by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation. It enables governments that have implemented innovative experiences to share their experiences and exchange knowledge and expertise and facilitate government officials in testing new technologies that will help them lead a rapid change in their governments in preparation for the future.

Ferrari sold for world record Dh121.5 million(Legendary 1957 335 S Spider Scaglietti)

A legendary 1950s Ferrari has fetched a world record $35 million (Dh121.5) at auction, going under the hammer in Paris.

Applause broke out after the hammer came down on the bidding for the 1957 335 S Spider Scaglietti at the Artcurial auction house just off the Champs-Elysees.

In a sale that generated interest from around the world, the race car fetched 28 million euros plus premiums and taxes taking the overall price to just over 32 million euros ($35 million).

The Spider -- which beat the record set in 2014 when a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for what was the equivalent of 28.9 million euros -- finished sixth in the Sebring 12 Hours race in 1957 and second in the Mille Miglia 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometre) road race in Italy.

Thereafter the car was returned to the factory to have its engine size boosted from 3.6 to 4.1-litres -- boosting power from 360 to 400 horsepower, allowing a top speed of 300 kilometres an hour (186 mph).

The Ferrari enabled the Italian manufacturer to win the Constructors' World Championship title in 1957.

The identity of the purchaser of the Spider was not revealed following Friday's deal but is US-based, according to Matthieu Lamoure, director general of Artcurial motorcars.

"Clearly, we won't soon forget," Lamoure told journalists after the hammer came down on the record sale, bidding having started at 20 million euros.

The sleek machine had belonged to the family collection of late French racing driver Pierre Bardinon, who died in 2012.

Legendary British driver Mike Hawthorn drove the Spider in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1957.

All players welcome and tax free: UAE-based PSL aims to be second biggest event in cricket

Najam Sethi, head of Pakistan Cricket Board’s executive committee, spoke to Paul Radley about the Pakistan Super League and his hopes for the UAE-based Twenty20 tournament.

Definitely in the UAE

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) used its sway to encourage the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to accommodate its new Twenty20 league on its chosen dates in February. That meant shifting the dates of an independent tournament called the Masters Cricket League — which is set to involve former players such as Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist — which had booked the venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Renewed ties

Sethi, chairman of the PSL governing body, said the PCB had been “disappointed and hurt” that the ECB had appeared to favour the veterans league over its concept. South Africa, Qatar and Sri Lanka were considered as potential hosts for the competition before a rapprochement was made. Now Sharjah and Dubai are booked for the PSL.

Pakistan’s response to IPL

Sethi says the PSL can become the second-biggest event in cricket — after the Indian Premier League — but acknowledges it may be a loss-leader for the franchise owners until it becomes fully established. “I don’t think even PCB will make much money in the first year,” he said. “But as the central pool of revenue goes up, and the value of the assets goes up, and we add another team in the second or third year, at the end of it, everybody makes a lot of money.”

Tax-free for foreigners

Sethi said he met with Pakistan’s finance minister before his current trip to the UAE, and it has been agreed overseas players signing up with the event will get tax-free pay deals. The fees to the foreign players will range from US$100,000 to $200,000 (Dh367,000 to Dh734,000) for the 21-day tournament. The Pakistani players could earn between $25,000 and $150,000.

Who will play?

The five teams will have a split of 12 Pakistani players and four foreigners. As many as many as 150 overseas players are said to have signalled their interest to be involved. These include the usual suspects from Twenty20 leagues around the world, such as Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen and Sunil Narine.

What are the Reasons to Start a Blog

Hello
Happy 33rd Day of Year,

People are wondering and asking me , why I made  a Blog , have i enough time to write after eight hours of Job to write Posts,

 My Friends thank you for your kind peice of advice ,

I am writing the Reasons why  I started posting in my blog,

this Post is for My Friends........ LOL

• •     To Express  Thoughts and Opinions.

  You have something to say, and blogs provide a place to say it and be heard
  
  

  • To Market or Promote Something 

  
  
  Blogging is a great way to help market or promote yourself or your business, product or service
  
  
  To Help People 
  
  
  Many blogs are written to help people who may be going through similar situations that the blogger has experienced. Many parenting and health-related blogs are written for this purpose.
  
  

  • To Establish Yourself as an Expert

  Blogs are wonderful tools to help bloggers establish themselves as experts in a field or topic
  
  
  
  

  • To Make Money 

  
  
  It's important to point out that most bloggers don't make a lot of money blogging, but the potential does exist to generate revenue from your blog with hard work and commitment.
  
  
  
  

  • To Have Fun and Be Creative 

  Many people start a blog simply for fun. Perhaps a blogger is a fan of a particular actor or loves knitting and wants to share that passion through a blog.