Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson crashes $4m car

In a less than comical accident, actor Rowan Atkinson was taken to hospital today after crashing his prized McLaren F1 on the A605 in Haddon, Cambridgeshire.

The Blackadder and Mr Bean star is believed to have lost control of the car in wet weather, causing the powerful super car to spin around several times, run into a tree and a lamppost and catch fire.

According to sources, the 56-year-old was able to walk from the car, and waited with a motorist until an ambulance arrived. However, the actor did suffer a shoulder injury in the incident and was taken to Peterborough City Hospital by paramedics.

"We were called to a single vehicle road traffic collision at 7.30 tonight on the A605 at Haddon," said a spokesman from East of England Ambulance Service.

"The man was taken to hospital in Peterborough with a minor shoulder injury."

Firefighters were also required to put out the blazing car, one of just 65 in existence.

A spokesman for the star could not be reached for comment, but an onlooker at the scene said that "Rowan is lucky to be alive, considering the state of the car".It is the second time he has crashed the F1, after damaging the front in a minor collision in Forton, Lancs, in 1999.

An exceptionally rare vehicle, it was bought by Atkinson for around $1.2 million to celebrate the success of his Mr Bean movie. The car is now believed to be worth around $4 million.

Atkinson, known to be a car enthusiast, recently topped the leader's board on Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. Notching up the fastest ever time on the show, he completed the circuit in 1 minute 42.2 seconds.

Atkinson is best known for his work on Not The Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder and Mr Bean, in which his hapless character drives an old Mini.

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The unwanted

Beads of sweat trickle down Havi Ameen’s face as she sits silently observing what’s going around her. The 22 year old is heavily pregnant but it’s hard to tell because her belly is so small. She shifts her dupatta to cover her stomach as women and children swirl around her.

When Havi starts talking she becomes animated and uses her hands a lot, her eyes dance around the room as she explains her points forcefully. It’s as if she’s been waiting for a long time to speak, waiting a long time for someone to listen to what she has to say.

“We women loose sleep when we hear we are pregnant. We should be happy, but we know the reality of having a baby, we have to do everything by ourselves,” says Mavi.

I am in a remote village in Bassrio Jat To in Misri Baran, an hour away from Thatta, Sindh, visiting the only medical clinic in the area for miles and miles. The clinic is run by international health organisation Merlin in response to the 2010 floods in Pakistan. Before the floods people in the area had not seen a doctor for years, unable to afford transport to travel to Thatta for healthcare.

The clinic is heaving with women and children seeking treatment for malnutrition and health check ups. On average 200 patients a day attend the clinic. Almost all are women and children. The atmosphere is intense and the air heavy as more and more people arrive squeezing in to any space they can find in the clinic. Mavi is keen to tell me more about her life

“I gave birth to 10 children but only seven survived. I am eight months pregnant. I am weak from being pregnant. We are uneducated people, we feel this a lot. We don’t have any way of making a proper living, of sending our children to school. My husband says so what if we are poor, if Allah provides us with children, Allah will provide us with food for them too. I’m tired of having children and if I had my way I wouldn’t have anymore.” Women around Mavi nod in sympathy and tell her they understand how she feels.

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Days of the mystic

At a distance of 285 km from Karachi, lies a rural town named Sehwan Sharif. Famous for the shrine of Saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sehwan is one of the liveliest towns in the province of Sindh during the Islamic month of Shaaban.

Known to have achieved a high rank as a Dervesh (devotee) of the Qalandar order of Sufis, Syed Muhammad Usman of Marand was given the title of Lal (the colour he chose for his life-long apparel) Shahbaz (symbolising his height of devotion to the flight of a falcon) Qalandar (identifying the order of Sufism he belonged to).

Held every year on the 18, 19 and 20 of Shabaan, the annual Urs of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is no less a kaleidoscope of colours and characters. Walking around in the courtyard of the shrine is an experience in itself. To the uninitiated, it’s like stepping into another world, where mysticism rules. From the malangs dancing to the beat of the large dhols to devotees holding the firm belief that the lord above will have mercy on them and grant their wishes, it’s a place where faith in the unseen reigns supreme.

The mureed (followers) of Shahbaz Qalandar will tell you of the miracles he performed, stories that have been carried down through generations. Be it the existence of a warm water spring at the spot of his worship place in Manghopir to the water well that sprung up when he tapped the spot with a stick to the bread he baked that fed hundreds of starving people. These are just some of the tales, many more will be shared by the attendees, each never failing to amaze you.

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Top military brass resign from posts

ANKARA: Turkey’s military command echelon resigned late Friday from their posts amid an ongoing spat with the government over the growing number of arrested generals. The mass resignations, which marked a first in the country’s history, immediately caused a state crisis.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner, Land Forces Commander Gen. Erdal Ceylanoğlu, Air Forces Commander Gen. Hasan Aksay and Naval Forces Commander Adm. Eşref Uğur Yiğit quit their posts days before the Supreme Military Council, or YAŞ, was supposed to meet to discuss key military promotions. Koşaner had another two years left in the office.

Gendarmerie Forces Commander Necdet Özel did not resign.

The resignations came hours after a prosecutor demanded the arrest of a top military official, Gen. Hüseyin Nusret Taşdeler, the commander of the Aegean Army. Sources said disagreements over promotions and the arrests of numerous generals peaked to an unacceptable level following the legal action against Taşdeler.

Tensions between the military and the government have been high in recent years as hundreds of high-ranking officers were put behind bars in the ongoing “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) and Ergenekon coup-plot cases.

It was not yet sure as of late Friday whether this year’s YAŞ, set to begin Aug 1., would take place as scheduled.

Consecutive meetings between Koşaner, President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the last 10 days were not sufficient to avert the crisis. Koşaner, Gül and Erdoğan met Friday morning, after which Erdoğan met with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin. Gül tried unsuccessfully to calm down the tension through a statement he made Friday afternoon, before the resignations were announced.

“I hope that everything will be solved in a good way,” Gül told reporters after Friday prayers. Asked by a journalist if the recent meetings were “a sign of a problem” between the government and the military, the president said they were not.

Right after Gül made his statement Friday, however, an Istanbul court demanded the arrest of the commander of one of the country’s most strategic armies, threatening the efforts by the government and military to avert a crisis over the promotions of senior generals.

The 13th Istanbul Court for Serious Crimes on Friday unanimously accepted the indictment prepared by Prosecutor Cihan Kansız, demanding a life sentence for Gen. Taşdeler, who served as Erdoğan’s military advisor in 2007-2008.

Erdoğan met with Ergin after the prosecutor’s demand was made public.

This year’s YAŞ was set to decide on key promotions to the positions of commander of the air and naval forces. Naval Forces commander Yiğit, and Air Force commander Aksay were both scheduled to reach the end of their terms on Aug. 30.

The commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Gen. Ceylanoğlu, had also been expected to retire due to age. However, filling the empty seats was already expected to cause problems with so many high-ranking and eligible generals behind bars in the Balyoz case. The only eligible candidate to replace Aksay had been considered to be is Lt. Gen. Mehmet Erten, who would have had to be promoted to the rank of general and then be appointed as the commander.

Balyoz is the code name for an alleged military coup plot against the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, drafted in 2003. According to the allegations, the military planned drastic measures to foment unrest in the country in order to remove the AKP from power.

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‘Country needs trained midwives and nurses’

KARACHI: Highlighting the role of midwives in the improvement of maternal health, senior health professionals on Friday urged the government to ensure a significant increase in the number of health workers equipped with midwifery skills in the country.

Speaking at a press conference, they said that trained midwives could not only make pregnancies normal and safer, but also timely identify complications, if there were any, that needed medical specialists’ intervention, particularly in rural areas.

The press conference, which was led by Dr Shershah Syed, was held in connection with the launch of a teleplay on maternal health produced by Tehrik-i-Niswan in collaboration with the Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health (PNFWH) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The executive producer of the play, Sheema Kermani of Tehrik-i-Niswan, said that the play “Maen Jioungi Sar Utha Kay” depicting the story of a fistula patient had been shot at different hospitals and health institutions.

She said that artists in the teleplay observed sufferings of women with obstetric complications and their handling by their families and medical care staff and would be seen interacting with real gynaecologists and midwives in a real environment and health infrastructure.

She said that the teleplay was linked with the overall status of women in the country and presented trained midwives as a role model in averting maternal disabilities, including obstetric fistula.

“We have planned to have a review launch of the teleplay on July 30 at the Arts Council of Pakistan to get input from medical experts and social scientists so that we can amend the content and presentation of the play further, following which efforts will be made to get the play telecast on the state TV and private television channels and have a good number of CDs prepared for its distribution,” she said.

Dr Faria Ahsan, UNFPA programme officer on reproductive health, said that the UNFPA was associated with the teleplay project since its inception and would also extend necessary support to it as it believed that maternal health issues needed to be addressed on priority basis, particularly in the developing countries.

Dr Shershah, who is also the president of the PNFWH, expressed dissatisfaction over the existing status maternal health and situation of midwifery training in the country.

He said that despite millions and billions of rupees investment in the maternal healthcare sector, situation had not improved significantly, adding that women were still dying in childbirth and suffering pregnancy associated complications, including genital fistula.

He said that there was a dire need to check the working of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and the Pakistan Nursing Council.

“Pakistan needs an increasing force of nurses, midwives and paramedics to face the challenges of primary and secondary health care. However, the people at the helm are just busy in producing thousands of glorified MBBS quacks majority of whom are ladies not pursuing the medical profession for any practical and public welfare purposes.”

He said that in Sindh about 3,300 doctors were being produced on yearly basis, while the number of male nurses was 570, female nurses 553, midwives 533 and just 185 lady health workers each year.

“A country like us, in fact, needs to see manifold increase in the midwifery force,” he said.

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Govt should follow court orders, says Nawaz

RAWALPINDI: President, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, PML-N Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that he had presented the national agenda for real democracy in the country and for the betterment of the people.

Presiding over a meeting of newly elected office bearers and leaders of the party held in Murree he said that the office bearers should devote their energies and abilities for the completion of national agenda.

He said by implementing this agenda, we can strengthen democracy in the country.

Nawaz Sharif said that our politics is above party and personal interests.

He stressed upon the participants to make hectic efforts for completion of this mission.

The meeting was attended among others by Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Pervez Rasheed, Mehtab Khan Abbasi, Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Rana Sanaullah, Ch. Abdul Ghafoor, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Bilal Yasin, Khurram Dastgir, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Capt.(R) Muhammad Safdar, Anwar Kamal and Javed Latif.

The PML-N leader while addressing the meeting said that parliament is supreme institution and there was no doubt in its supremacy but any effort to make shield for corruption would be resented.

Every possible effort would be made to stop these sorts of nefarious designs, they said.They said that countless sacrifices were given for the supremacy of law and judiciary and no one would be allowed to waste these sacrifices.

They further said that future of Pakistan is linked with rule of law and harmony with it by government officials was a good sign. This effort would not only be supported but maximum effort would be made for rule of law in the country, they added

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State Bank reduces policy rate to 13.5 per cent

The key parameter in this assessment is the outlook of inflation that indicates that average inflation in FY12 is expected to remain in line with the announced target, Yaseen Anwar said, adding that no adjustment in the interest rate would have entailed further tightening of monetary policy in real terms, which is not warranted given the decline in private investment. - File photoKARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday decided to reduce its policy rate by 50 basis points to 13.5 per cent with effect from August 01, 2011.

This was announced by Yaseen Anwar, Acting Governor SBP while unveiling the Monetary Policy Statement in a press conference at SBP, Karachi. The key parameter in this assessment is the outlook of inflation that indicates that average inflation in FY12 is expected to remain in line with the announced target, he said, adding that no adjustment in the interest rate would have entailed further tightening of monetary policy in real terms, which is not warranted given the decline in private investment.

He said the government also expressed its commitment to continue with a stance of zero borrowings from SBP in yearly flow terms in FY12, which bodes well for anchoring inflation expectations. He observed that developments related to expected financial inflows and pattern of government borrowings from scheduled banks will need to be monitored closely to assess potential risks for macroeconomic stability.

The SBP Acting Governor said a relative decline in average CPI inflation compared to earlier projections and a gradual buildup of foreign exchange reserves provide a modicum of macroeconomic stability as the economy begins a new fiscal year. He noted that expectations of inflation are fairly entrenched in the economy. “Thus, a meaningful reduction in inflation would require consistent and credible implementation of monetary and fiscal policies,” he stressed.

He said acknowledging the persistence of inflation, the government has announced an inflation target of 12 per cent for FY12. The government has also provided in Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) a desired path of inflation of 9.5 per cent and 8 per cent for subsequent two years. Conditional on factors such as adjustments in administered prices of electricity and oil and a projected broad money (M2) growth of 15 to 16 per cent, SBPs forecast of average inflation ranges between 11 and 12 per cent during FY12, he added.

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