Cannes Film Preview: The Ayatollah’s Holy Rollers Set in Tehran shortly after the 1979 revolution, this feelgood drama sees Sean Connery as Ayatollah Khomeini who, having swept to power, is attempting to rid the country of decadent Western influence. Meanwhile, the Iranian national roller-staking team, under the unorthodox yet inspirational leadership of US sports veteran Alan Johnson (Will Ferrell), has qualified against all odds for the World Roller-Skating Championships. Refusing to bow to government pressure and disband the team before the finals, Johnson and his skaters must train underground, until a chance meeting with the Supreme Ruler himself leads to some unexpected revelations. The Ayatollah’s Holy Rollers, world premiere at the Palais des Festivals, tomorrow 8pm. Continue reading →

KABUL (PAN): Properties purchased with Kabul Bank loans in Dubai are being sold, senior officials told the Wolesi Jirga on Wednesday, warning borrowers of referring their cases to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) if they failed to return loans within 10 days. Kabul Bank, once the country’s largest private sector lender, ran into a grave financial crisis due to unauthorised credit and other anomalies in 2010. As a result, the government partially took over the bank to bring it back to financial health. Properties purchased with the anomalous loans in the UAE include 17 residential houses and two high-rise buildings, according to First Deputy Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank Mohibullah Sapi. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, Da Afghanistan Bank Governor Noorullah Dilawari and ... Continue reading →

Pete Souza/The White House In the photo that has hung in the West Wing for three years, President Obama looks to be bowing to five-year-old Jacob Philadelphia, his arm raised to touch the president’s hair — to see if it feels like his. WASHINGTON — For decades at the White House, photographs of the president at work and at play have been hung throughout the West Wing, and each print soon gives way to a more recent shot. But one picture remains after three years, its staying power testifying to the thousand words it seems worth to those who see it. In the photo, President Obama looks to be bowing to a sharply dressed black boy, who stands erect beside the Oval Office desk, his ... Continue reading →

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A Kenyan journalist investigating the Somali pirates and an Afghan broadcaster exposing violence against women will receive the 2012 Knight International Journalism Awards, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) announced. The award recognizes excellent reporting that makes a difference in the lives of people around the world. Kassim Mohamed is an investigative reporter covering Kenya and Somalia, a nation plagued by lawlessness and piracy. He has chronicled the ensuing chaos in great detail—and at great personal risk —for the Nairobi-based Star FM radio station and The Star newspaper. His in-depth interviews with Somali pirates have shed light on a lucrative industry that endangers international sea routes. During one investigation, the pirates took him hostage. After they freed him, he wrote a groundbreaking story on the ... Continue reading →

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Ismailia, Egypt - Yosry Abdel Qader stood over his son in his family's plush living room and wagged his finger, berating the younger man's choice for president - Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force pilot and minister in Hosni Mubarak's government. Shafiq, like many others who served under Mubarak, has earned the derogatory label felool - a remnant of the regime. "Shafiq will come and bring generals, he will bring CEOs who are generals, he will bring back slavery." Yosry said. "In Tahrir, did we see Shafiq? But we saw revolutionaries." "Who are the revolutionaries?" asked Anas, a 19-year-old commerce student. "Youth from your generation!" Egyptians elect first new president in post-Mubarak era Anas made a face halfway between a grimace and a smirk and ... Continue reading →

د تېر ۲۰۱۱ کال په جون کې هم د افغانستان مرکزي ولايت باميانو د پنجاب ولسوالۍ د نجونو په ليسه کې شاوخوا ۴۰ نجونې مسمومې شوې وې. د افغانستان په شمالي ولایت تخار کې یوځل بیا د نجونو د یوه ښوونځي لسګونه زده کوونکې مسومې شوي دي. د تخار د عامې روغتیا مشر حفیظ الله صافي بي بي سي ته وویل، چې د مرکز تالقانو د یوه ښوونځي ۴۵ زده کوونکې روغتون ور وړل شوې خو وايي، د نجونو روغتیایي حالت یې د ډاډ وړی دی. پخوا هم په تخار کې لسګونه زده کوونکې نجونې مسومې شوې وې. یوه میاشت وړاندې هم ددغه ولایت په رستاق ولسوالۍ کې د افغانستان په شمال لوېدیځ ولایت تخار کې سیمه ییز چارواکي وايي، د رستاق ولسوالۍ د نجونو ... Continue reading →

REUTERS - Egypt's reshuffled cabinet will not be sworn in until Prime Minister Essam Sharaf recovers from a drop in blood pressure and returns to work, cabinet sources told Reuters.About 15 new ministers were supposed to take the oath of office on Monday but the ceremony was delayed when Sharaf, locked in negotiations over the composition of a new cabinet demanded by protesters, was taken to hospital."The new cabinet oath and negotiations over appointing other ministers is delayed until Essam Sharaf's return to the cabinet," one cabinet source said, adding that Sharaf may return by the end of this week. Continue reading →