Outdoors - Big blue catfish catch thrills river runners

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear River was closed due to the construction of a rock arch rapid. A crane atop a barge lifted enormous boulders and carefully placed them in rows along the face of the dam. Below the heavy construction work, a row of white warning markers kept boaters a safe distance downstream.

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Anthony Sellers caught this blue catfish near Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear River using a piece of shad as bait. Photo by Mike Marsh

Once completed, in theory, the rock rows or "vanes" will allow anadromous fish, such as shad and herring, to more easily swim upstream to historic spawning areas.

The fish should be able to rest in the pockets between the vanes, gathering the strength necessary for making the multiple jumps it takes to clear the dam, which has blocked the river for nearly 100 years.

Launching at the ramp maintained by International Paper Company at Riegelwood and heading to the lock and dam at Kings Bluff results in a 7-mile boat ride, compared to

Jamshed, Hafeez make confident start

Pakistan openers Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez made a brisk start for Pakistan on Sunday as they look forward to seal a win to confirm a berth of the final match of Asia Cup.

Pakistan were 81 in 15 overs without any loss when this report was filed.

Winning the toss, Pakistan decided to bat against India Sunday afternoon in their crucial last group match of the Asia Cup at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

It is a must-win match for India. Meanwhile, Pakistan is in a better position with two wins – one over hosts Bangladesh and the other the Sri Lankans.

Sachin Tendulkar’s hundredth century was snuffed out by Bangladesh on Friday, who chased down a 290-run target to inflict a five-wicket defeat on the visitors.

India: G Gambhir, SR Tendulkar, V Kohli, RG Sharma, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain), YK Pathan, IK Pathan, R Ashwin, P Kumar and AB Dinda.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema and Wahab Riaz.

Stocks gain in early trading

Share prices took a sharp rise Sunday morning the stockmarket resumed after the weekend.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DGEN) gained 123 points at 11:30am to reach 4,667.

Of the issues, 218 gained while five decreased in value.

Total trade was 26,357 while Tk 97.92 crore.

The premier bourse ended the previous week with a positive tone as the DGEN registered a 32-point gain to reach 4,543 points.

Zawahiri calls Pakistanis to revolt against army, govt

Agence France-Presse . Dubai 

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Pakistanis to rise up against their government and military in a video posted on the internet on Friday, US monitors said.
He also said that, unless its demands were met, al-Qaeda would not release an elderly American development expert captured in Pakistan last August.
In a 10-minute speech uploaded to jihadist forums, Zawahiri argued that the Pakistani authorities only represented US interests, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group.