Kamran Danish

LOS ANGELES: The "X-Men" spinoff "Logan" -- starring Hugh Jackman as the metal-clawed, mutant anti-hero Wolverine -- dominated the box office in its opening weekend with a huge $88.4 million, according to data released Monday. Aimed at a more adult audience, it is the first R-rated outing in the "X-Men" franchise, which began in 2000 and has so far clocked up $4.4 billion in box office revenue. More of a blood-spattered road movie than a traditional superhero film, it follows Wolverine/Logan as he undertakes one final mission: to protect a young girl who has powers remarkably like his own and is being pursued by dark forces. Dropping to the runner-up spot in its second week was social horror-thriller "Get Out," which has been the surprise hit of the year, taking $28.2 million, said box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. Jordan Peele´s directorial debut -- he is half of the comedy duo "Key and Peele" -- follows an African Ameri...

Google’s AMP makes inroads into Asia Pacific, partners with Baidu, Sogu and Yahoo! Japan NEW YORK: A traditionally challenging market for American companies, China is now opening up to tech giants as Google said on Tuesday that search results in Baidu and Sogou will be connecting directly to the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). David Besbris, Google’s VP Search and AMP Project Lead made this announcement at two-day AMP developer conference in New York City. At a session, Besbris told the audience that Baidu and Sogu, which account for around 90% of the search market in China, will be leveraging AMP. Yahoo! Japan the market leader in search locally, also said that it will connect to AMP pages from their search results. According to a TechCrunch report, Besbris said these partnerships “tremendously increase the reach of where AMP pages can go” and help fulfill the promise that publishers can build one file that works well on every distribution platform. In a  blog po...

Samsung Group repeats it did not pay bribes, seek improper favours SEOUL: South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group reiterated on Monday that it did not pay bribes or seek illicit favours in response to the special prosecutor's announcement accusing the group's leader of paying money to curry favour from President Park Geun-hye. "Future court proceedings will reveal the truth," Samsung said in a statement. Handcuffed and tied with white rope, the scion of one of the world's biggest conglomerates, Samsung Group, was earlier taken for questioning by South Korean authorities after spending a night in a small detention cell. Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee was arrested for his alleged role in a corruption scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The 48-year-old Lee, who has a net worth of $6.2 billion, heads the technology giant that is the world's biggest manufacturer of smartphones, flat-screen televisions and memory chi...

‘Peshawar is like a family’ foreign players hail Pakistan security HONG KONG: Foreign players have tentatively endorsed the return of international cricket to Pakistan after their whirlwind trip to Lahore for Sunday´s heavily guarded Pakistan Super League final. Players including winning captain Darren Sammy detailed a journey involving bullet-proof buses and closed roads, before they were rushed straight back to the airport with no time for celebrations. The blanket security, deploying thousands of troops, military helicopters and armed guards on horseback, came after a deadly militant attack in 2009 on Sri Lanka´s team halted visits by top-level cricket teams. The rest of the Pakistan Super League was played in the United Arab Emirates, but Sunday´s incident-free final has opened the door to more international cricket with a World XI now scheduled to visit in September. Several foreign players, including England´s Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, skipped the final o...

Natalie Portman becomes mother for the 2nd time. Hollywood star Natalie Portman has given birth to a girl, her representative said on Friday. It is the second child for the 35-year-old Oscar-winning actress and her husband, French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, six years after the birth of their son Aleph. “Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied welcomed a baby girl, Amalia Millepied, on February 22. Mother and baby are happy and healthy,” her representative said in a statement circulated to US media. Portman attended the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards in January but skipped Sunday’s Oscars, where she was nominated for best actress for her performance in “Jackie,” about the late US First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Critics raved about how accurately Portman managed to capture Kennedy’s voice and personality. Portman won a best actress Oscar for 2010’s psychological ballet thriller “Black Swan,” and it was on the set of the movie that she...

Dreaming big! A fast food restaurant run by robots in Multan MULTAN: The excited kids and youth throng to a fast food restaurant where Pakistan’s premier smart robot waitress serves foods at a Pizza outlet in Cantonment area. These innovative types of robots have earlier been introduced in United States and China. The face behind the innovation is an electrical engineer Syed Usama Aziz. Usama, 23, developed the innovative idea of making robot when he was leaving for the United States for higher education and his father Syed Aziz Ahmed Jaffery compelled him to do something in Pakistan before going abroad for higher education. “I am thankful to Allah Almighty on awarding me a pride and my son not only introduced Multan around the world but also shined Pakistan. I am proud of my son and I appeal the government to facilitate him for more innovation in the world of robotic technology”, Syed Aziz Jaffery said. The young engineer is now working to upgrade its capability ...

Misbah decides to stay on Veteran batsman will lead Pakistan in their Test series in West Indies LAHORE: Pakistan’s ageing Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Monday made himself available for next month’s series in the West Indies, ignoring entreaties from ex-players to call time on his illustrious career following a slew of poor results. Misbah, who will turn 43 in May, had asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for time to decide on his future following series defeats in his last two series against Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Shaharyar Khan, the board’s chairman, said: “Misbah has told me that he is available for the Test series in the West Indies and that will be conveyed to the selection committee that he will be the captain.” Misbah added: “I am committed to the Pakistan Test team and that’s why I’ve made myself available.“We as a team will do our best to lift ourselves from the slump which we’ve had by losing six Tests on the trot,” referring to a slid...