sport

Meet Ngima Sherpa. Nepalese by birth, with family in Tibet, he now has a wine named for him, Ngima's Cuvee. Last night Ngima (pronounced knee-ma) was at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in San Francisco for the launch of this wine. "I am happy; it's a great honor," he says. Tasting it for the first time tonight, a 2009 Hirsch Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, he likes it. "It's great, very nice finish; I'm very happy."
Nicole Kosta is the Wine Director at the Mandarin. When Hirsch Vineyards asked her if she'd want to create a custom blend, "I was like, are you kidding me? of course!" The 50 cases of the 2008 Pinot went to the Mandarin Hotel and were sold only in the hotel's bar and restaurant.
Sommeliers at other Mandarin Oriental properties in the US "caught wind of this wine and wanted to be a part of it." Nicole invited them to join her in blending the 2009 vintage. The night before going to Hirsch, the somms had dinner at Meritage Restaurant in Sonoma, where they met Ngima for the first time. They had no idea he'd been up Everest more than a dozen times. "He was just taking care of us, and he just gave us this amazing, gracious service. He's very humble but spot on and pristine, which is how we approach service at the Mandarin Oriental. We also saw Ngima's passion for wine."
They did get around to talking about his expeditions on Mt. Everest. He's never reached the Everest summit, but has come close, at 28,000 feet (Mt. Everest is just over 29,000 feet). "Ngima told us about the time he took a bottle of Hanzell Vineyards wine up the mountain, and he took a photo of it there. I wanted an experience like that," says Nicole. "He was very inspiring."
Ngima grew up in the hospitality business, organizing, guiding and cooking on treks up the world's tallest mountain. He came to the United States in 1994, and friends in Sonoma talked him into staying. He started working at Meritage, and that's where he met Jean Arnold Sessions, president of Hanzell Vineyards. "She has a dream of trekking in Nepal, with me as her guide," says Ngima. Until that happens, they created a Himalayan experience at Hanzell, where Ngima leads groups up the steep hilly vineyards to the "summit." So his taking a bottle of Hanzell on an Everest climb makes total sense.
As the somms were at Hirsch blending the '09 Pinot, they needed a name for it. "We can call it this or call it that," says Nicole, "but I was just like, why don't we name it after Ngima, he is such an amazing person." In a call to Ngima to ask if it was okay to use his name, he said, "no problem."
ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara has rejected U.N. charges that his forces were involved in a massacre of hundreds of civilians.

The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast (ONUCI) said on Saturday that traditional hunters known as Dozos fought alongside Ouattara's forces and took part in killing 330 people in the western town of Duekoue.

Troops loyal to Ouattara launched an offensive early this week to dislodge incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo who has refused to cede power after losing a U.N. certified election to Ouattara.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Saturday that at least 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in Duekoue this week.

It is not clear whether the 330 counted by ONUCI is included in that figure.
LOS ANGELES: Vanessa Hudgens, 22, is unsure if she will ever have cosmetic surgery but already uses anti-ageing products in order to maintain a youthful appearance.

Vanessa Hudgens already uses anti-ageing products.

The 22-year-old actress is unsure whether she will undergo any cosmetic procedures in the future but is already taking care to maintain a youthful look.

She said: "Would I have surgery? I don't know. It would really depend. I'm already starting to use anti-ageing products.

"You might as well start sooner than later because products are really amazing these days."

The 'Sucker Punch' star admitted she thinks there is more pressure on women then men in Hollywood as they get older because grey-haired actors are seen as "sexy".

She said: "I think women still get the pressure more because when men age, it's sexy - they get to have their grey hair.

The U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke late on Saturday with Ouattara, who told him his forces were not involved in the Duekoue killings.

Guillaume Ngefa, the deputy head of the human rights division of the U.N.'s mission in Ivory Coast (UNOCI) speaking on France24 television, blamed 220 of the deaths on pro-Ouattara forces. He said the killings happened between Monday and Wednesday as pro-Ouattara troops advanced southward.

He said pro-Gbagbo militia fighters killed over 110.

"The government (Ouattara's) notes with regret that the allegations of the deputy chief of ONUCI human rights division are not supported by any evidence after its preliminary investigation," Ouattara's government said in a statement.

It also denied that Dozos were part of its forces.

OVER 1,300 DEATH

After swiftly taking control of swathes of the country, pro-Ouattara forces have met fierce resistance over the past three days.

Troops loyal to Gbagbo have held on to positions around the presidential palace in Abidjan, Gbagbo's residence and the state television.

In Paris, the French defense ministry said French troops have taken over Abidjan's airport and that France plans to send an additional 300 troops to Ivory Coast.

After a day and night of intense fighting, Abidjan was calm on Sunday morning with sporadic gunfire, Reuters reporters and residents said.

Heavy canon fire and shooting were heard overnight in the pro-Gbagbo neighborhood of Yopougon and also in Cocody, residents said.

The fighting has brought the number of people killed since the post-election violence began in November to over 1,300.

Catholic charity Caritas said in a statement that teams visiting Duekoue reported that a thousand people have been killed or "disappeared."

LALITPUR: Coach Graham Roberts today said Nepal’s opening match against Afghanistan on April 7 would be crucial in a bid to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup finals.

Nepal will take on Afhanistan at the Dasharath Stadium in the Group D qualifiers where they will also face World Cup finalists North Korea and Sri Lanka. Addressing a press meet at the ANFA Complex, English coach Roberts said they were aiming to make a winning start on home soil.

“If we beat the Afghans, it will be easier for us to qualify for the finals. But if we lose then we will be under tremendous pressure to win the remaining matches,” he said. “I have watched the DVDs of Afghans playing against Bhutan in their play-off matches. They are physically strong, but we are ready to face them.”

“The 10-week long hard training and the fitness of the players have given me confidence of a better showing,” Roberts said. He said the team was looking forward to the tournament.

Roberts, who looked confident with his defenders led by skipper Sagar Thapa and Rohit Chand, said the defenceline would be the major weapon to beat any opponent. “We have world class players in Rohit and striker Anil Gurung but defense would be a major weapon for us,” he said.

However, Roberts complained of not getting enough practice matches. “We played a couple of matches with local clubs and two friendlies with Bhutan, but the case could have been different had we played with strong international teams,” said Roberts.

LALITPUR: Image Channel and Manakamana Development Bank kicked-off their first Rupak Memorial Five-a-side Corporate Football Tournament campaign with victories here at the Jawalakhel Youth Club grounds today.

Aabesh Shrestha scored a hat-trick as Image Channel defeated G-Five Mobile 3-2 in the inaugural match. Dipesh Shrestha and Rabindra Poudel replied for G-Five. In another Group ‘A’ match, Manakamana Development Bank beat Surya Nepal 3-2 on goals from Shekhar Dahal, Ananta Khatiwoda and Saroj Neupane. Trishakti Rana scored both goals for Surya Nepal.

Civil Bank and Norling Restaurant won their respective Group ‘B’ matches. Civil hammered International Leasing and Finance Company 3-0 following a brace from Bhagwan Basnet, while Bikram Karki netted one for the losing side.

Bishal Giri struck twice as Norling beat Himalayan Bank 2-1. Rupak Karki replied for Himalayan Bank.

The Himalayan Times (THT) played a 1-1 stalemate with International Money Express in a Group ‘C’ match. Sunil Bhattarai scored for THT before Sanam Maharjan levelled the scores. Also, Bank of Asia defeated Global Bank 1-0 with Rajeev Shakya scoring the winner.

In Group D, Suresh Dhungana and Prajwol Prajapati scored twice as Ncell hammered Nepal Industrial and Commercial (NIC) Bank 4-1. Amit Man Shrestha scored the consolation goal for NIC. Amit Shrestha was the first player to be booked in the tournament. Earlier, former skipper of Nepali national team and former Inspector General of Police Achut Krishna Kharel inaugurated the tournament.

In case you're wondering where model Poonam Pandey is now that India has won the World Cup, read on!

After going to the media with promises of streaking down the streets if and when the Men in Blue get the World Cup home, Poonam Pandey conveniently disappeared on Saturday. And even managed to switch off her cell phone.

Sources say the 20-year-old model was pestered by calls from people, either begging her to strip or threatening should she dare 'insult Indian culture'.

Pandey on Thursday had reiterated her promise to run in the buff if India brings the Cup back home.

Pandey tweeted: "3 days to go to Complete my Promise to INDIA :)", a few hours after India thrashed Pakistan by 29 runs in the semifinal held in Mohali, near Chandigarh.

Complying with a court order, an FIR was lodged against the Kingfisher model, on the charge of obscenity. She defended her case saying this would be her way of expressing support to Team India and that she wanted to go the 'extra mileage'. Freudian slip is it Poonam? After all the much-hyped stunt has just given her extra mileage without going the mile!