Attackers from Egypt kill 7 inside Israel,JERUSALEM — Squads of gunmen armed with heavy weapons and explosives crossed into southern Israel on Thursda

JERUSALEM — Squads of gunmen armed with heavy weapons and explosives crossed into southern Israel on Thursday, killing seven in an attack on buses, cars and an army patrol in one of the boldest attacks on the Jewish state in years, officials said. Israel said the Palestinian assailants came from Hamas-ruled Gaza and crossed through Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Exchanges of gunfire across the Israel-Egypt border continued late into the evening, but it was not clear whether assailants were still at large within Israeli territory, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said. Gaza militants fired a rocket at the southern city of Ashkelon Thursday night, but Israel’s new missile defense system knocked it down, said Israel’s chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.

The series of attacks were the boldest against the Jewish state in years and stoked concerns that Palestinian militants might be exploiting instability in Egypt. Within hours, Israeli aircraft bombed southern Gaza in retaliation, and Gaza medical official Adham Salmia said five militants and one child were killed in a strike on a private home.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not put up with stepped up attacks from Sinai.

“If the terror organizations think they can strike at our civilians without eliciting a response, then they will find that Israel will exact a price — a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a brief broadcast statement Thursday night.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the attack. “This violence only underscores our strong concerns about the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula,” she said in a statement, praising “commitments by the Egyptian government to address the security situation.”

Egypt and Hamas denied involvement.

The onslaught on southern Israel began at midday. The attacks came close together in time and location and appeared coordinated. Mordechai said security forces killed five assailants in all — three on the Israeli side of the border and two others who had been shooting at Israeli forces from Egypt. Earlier military reports said seven assailants were killed.

The attackers were booby-trapped, Mordechai said. There was no word on whether any of the attackers were captured alive or exactly how many in all were involved.

Israel said the gunmen started out from Gaza and made their way through Sinai, which borders both Israel and Gaza. Eilat and Gaza are about 130 miles (200 kilometers) apart along the border.

“The incident underscores the weak Egyptian hold on Sinai and the broadening of the activities of terrorists,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement. “The real source of the terror is in Gaza, and we will act against them with full force and determination.”

Mordechai said Israel coordinated its operation against the assailants with Egyptian security sources, who helped to battle gunmen operating against Israel from its side of the border.

It was the deadliest assault in Israel since a Palestinian gunman entered a religious seminary in Jerusalem in March 2008 and killed eight people.

Security in Sinai has deteriorated sharply since February, when longtime leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising. Many Israelis saw Mubarak as a source of stability with shared interests in containing Iran and its radical Islamic proxies in the region, such as Hamas. Mubarak also upheld the decades-old peace treaty with Israel.

Last week, Egypt moved thousands of troops into the Sinai peninsula as part of an operation against al-Qaida inspired militants who have been increasingly active in Sinai since Mubarak’s ouster in February. The militants have taken advantage of the security vacuum caused by the abrupt withdrawal of police forces. Authorities have blamed the militants for brazen attacks on police patrols as well as a string of bombings on a key pipeline carrying natural gas to Israel and Jordan.

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Obama demands Syrian leader step down,After watching Syria’s bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters for months, President Obama on Thursday mo

**FILE** Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech at Damascus University in Damascus, Syria, on June 20, 2011.

After watching Syria’s bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters for months, President Obama on Thursday morning called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.

“For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people.”

The president said his administration is imposing “unprecedented” new sanctions against Syria's government to further pressure Mr. Assad to step down, including a freeze of Syrian assets in the United States.

The demand for Mr. Assad’s departure comes more than a month after Mr. Obama said the Syrian leader had lost legitimacy. There is a growing clamor in the United Nations to formally condemn the violence.

Human-rights activists say Syrian forces have killed more than 2,400 anti-government demonstrators since the uprising began about five months ago. As Syrian protesters have taken to the streets, Mr. Assad has sent tanks and ground troops to retake control in rebellious areas. Syrian leaders maintain they are dealing with a rebellion led by Islamic extremists.

As the pro-democratic “Arab spring” uprisings have spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Obama has spoken out forcefully against strongman leaders such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Col. Moammar Gadhafi. But critics say he has been slow to take the same forceful posture against Mr. Assad, despite the Syrian government’s clear acts of brutality.

As the killings mounted, the White House has issued a series of statements calling on Mr. Assad to “lead or get out of the way.” The administration also has imposed sanctions, including penalties on senior members of Mr. Assad’s inner circle.

“It is clear that President Assad believes that he can silence the voices of his people by resorting to the repressive tactics of the past,” Mr. Obama said. “But he is wrong. As we have learned these last several months, sometimes the way things have been is not the way that they will be. It is time for the Syrian people to determine their own destiny, and we will continue to stand firmly on their side.”

Mr. Obama signed an executive order freezing Syrian assets and banning U.S. imports of petroleum products that originate in Syria. It prohibits people in the U.S. from operating or investing in Syria.

Minutes after the president’s statement was released, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that “no outside power can or should impose” on Syria’s transition, a warning directed at Iran.

“We understand the strong desire of the Syrian people that no foreign country should intervene in their struggle, and we respect their wishes,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We will do our part to support their aspirations for a Syria that is democratic, just and inclusive. And we will stand up for their universal rights and dignity by pressuring the regime and Assad personally to get out of the way of this transition.”

In Europe, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued their own statement, saying Mr. Assad, who succeeded his father as president in July 2000, should quit and announcing they were imposing new sanctions as well on Damascus.

“Our three countries believe that President Assad, who is resorting to brutal military force against his own people and who is responsible for the situation, has lost all legitimacy and can no longer claim to lead the country,” they said. “We call on him to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people. Violence in Syria must stop now.”

On a visit to Israel, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, echoed Mr. Obama’s call for Mr. Assad’s resignation.

“Under the Assad regime, Syria has been a proxy for Iran, a supporter of terror, and a threat to United States interests and our allies in the region,” Mr. Cantor said. “The recent atrocities and Assad’s brutalization of his own people in Syria are extremely alarming and reflect a long history of anti-American hostility, and I join President Obama in calling for Mr. Assad’s resignation.”

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Traders decide to shut markets,KARACHI: Markets in old city areas were shut in protest against increasing incidents of extortion from various mafias a

KARACHI: Markets in old city areas were shut in protest against increasing incidents of extortion from various mafias active in the city, Geo News reported.

The Traders' Action Committee has warned if extortion is not stopped than markets and Eid bazaars will be closed down. In a statement the chairman of the committee said that markets and Eid bazaars were operating without any security and traders were living in fear.

President Karachi Chamber of Commerce Industry (KCCI) Saeed Shafique told Geo news that due to volatile city situation a decision has been taken to close the markets. The KCCI has also convened a meeting to discuss the situation.

Hazare to launch 15-day hunger strike, NEW DELHI: India's beleaguered government caved in to popular fury over corruption on Wednesday after thousand

Hazare to launch 15-day hunger strike

Updated at: 1947 PST, Thursday, August 18, 2011
NEW DELHI: India's beleaguered government caved in to popular fury over corruption on Wednesday after thousands protested across the country, granting permission for a self-styled Gandhian crusader to stage a 15-day hunger strike in public.

Anna Hazare was arrested on Tuesday, hours ahead of a planned fast to demand tougher laws against the graft that plagues Indian society from top to bottom.

But the jailing of the 74-year-old campaigner sparked nationwide protests and put Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government on a backfoot, forcing it to relent.

"We are India's youth. We are with Anna. I've already seen corruption at this age," said 21 year-old Sweta Dua outside the jail. "In my college people got admitted despite being unable to clear the required cut-off scores, simply by paying money."

The Congress party-led government, facing one of the most serious protest movements since the 1970s, at first agreed to release Hazare, but he refused to leave the high-security Tihar jail until he won the right to lead an anti-corruption protest.

Crowds by the jail erupted in joy after a deal was struck to allow Hazare to fast in public, reached early on Thursday, shouting "I am Anna" and "We are with you". An impromptu stage was set up with musicians playing for the crowds.

"Anna wishes to congratulate everyone as we have started a great momentum for this fight against corruption," said Arvind Kejriwal, a social activist and close aid of Hazare.

Hazare is expected to postpone his public fast until Friday because the Ramlila Maidan grounds in central Delhi are not ready to host massive crowds, his advisers told reporters.

A medical team is on standby to monitor Hazare's health as he has already begun his fast in jail and a sharp deterioration could further worsen the crisis for the government, although there were signs a compromise would eventually be reached.

"It's an indefinite fast, not a fast-unto-death. He will be there as long as he can sustain it," said Kiran Bedi, a former senior police officer and a member of Hazare's team.

The protests across cities in India, helped spread by social networks, have not only rocked the ruling Congress party, they have sent shockwaves through the political class.

Students, lawyers, teachers, executives and civil servants have taken to streets in cities and remote villages stretching to the southern end of the country.

"The movement has meant politicians realise that they cannot fudge these issues or ignore public opinion any longer," said Vinod Mehta, editor of the weekly Outlook magazine.

"It has succeeded in concentrating the minds of politicians across the political spectrum on one issue for the first time."

A weak political opposition means that the government should still survive the crisis, but it could further dim the prospect for economic reforms that have already been held back by policy paralysis and a raft of corruption scandals. (Reuters)

Several villages in Thatta, Mirpur Khas and Badin inundated,THATTA: Flood affectees are awaiting relief in Thatta and Mirpur Khas, while protests were

Updated at: 1400 PST, Thursday, August 18, 2011 THATTA: Flood affectees are awaiting relief in Thatta and Mirpur Khas, while protests were held against the lackluster conditions in relief camps in Badin, Geo News reported. 40 villages are inundated in Badin because of a breach in the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LOBD) and locals are fleeing the area.Diseases are spreading in relief camps and affectees complain of a lack of medicine, food and clean drinking water in these camps. Due to these horrid conditions several locals have refused to leave their homes. Meanwhile water continues to seep through cracks in drains in Mirpur Khas and Thatta. Several villages in the area are inundated and relief work has not been initiated in affected areas. Flood affectees are fleeing their homes without any assistance.

47 killed in Karachi since yesterday,KARACHI: Firing continues in old city areas including Lyari and those surrounding it while the death toll during

Updated at: 1415 PST, Thursday, August 18, 2011
KARACHI: Firing continues in old city areas including Lyari and those surrounding it while the death toll during the last 17 hours in the targeted killings in the provincial capital has mounted to 31, bringing the number of people killed in two days to 47.

Eighteen out of the 31 killed are those who were slain after being abducted from houses and passenger busses in different parts of the city.

During the last 36 hours post-mortem of 39 bodies has been carried out, said a Senior Medico-Legal officer Dr. Aftab Chunar. He said 34 autopsies were done in Civil Hospital while 5 in Jinnah Hospital. Medical cases of 35 injured were also registered.

He said many families were taking away the bodies of their loved ones without waiting for the legal formalities to be completed.

The spokesman of Edhi Welfare Trust said that 19 bodies had so far been shifted to Edhi morgue and out of these 10 were yet to be identified.

According to police and Capital Police Liaison Centre (CPLC), reports were coming in of 30 people having gone missing.

Violence in Karachi claims six lives

Updated at: 1058 PST, Wednesday, August 17, 2011
KARACHI: Six persons were shot dead in the fresh wave of violence in the city Wednesday, Geo News reported.

According to police, three bodies were recovered from PECHS Block 2 and Tariq Road area who were shot dead. The victims were identified as Kamran, Saqib and Shahnawaz who were the residents of Lyari and went for shopping to Tariq Road Tuesday night.

A trussed up body was found from Soldier Bazar area who was identified as Shahabuddin.

Another body, bearing torture marks was found near Hashoo Centre, Saddar who was also shot dead while a body was recovered from Malir Nadi in the vicinity of Shah Faisal Colony police station. The victim was not identified until last reports.

DG FIA Tehsin Shah tenders resignation

Updated at: 1203 PST, Wednesday, August 17, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Tehsin Anwar Shah tendered his resignation in the Supreme Court on Wednesday during the hearing of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case, saying that he can not work under a junior, Geo News reported.

Responding to which, Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said that Shah should not threat the court with his move and resign before the concerned authorities.

Tendering his resignation, Shah said being the director general of the FIA, he could not work under his subordinate FIA’s Additional Director General Zafar Qureshi, chief investigator probing the NICL scam.

The members of Qureshi’s team also appeared before the court on Wednesday.

Furthermore, CJ reprimanded Director FIA Lahore Waqar Haider saying he was creating hurdles in the way of implementing the court’s orders.

The two officials had been summoned by the court over the bomb scare in the FIA office.

Assistant Director FIA Lahore Khwaja Imad told the court Haider had said that he was “under a lot of pressure”

Earlier on Tuesday, the court had ordered Shah to allow officers from Qureshi’s team to rejoin the probe. Moreover, the court had directed Shah to associate himself with the team to facilitate the probe.

Nation celebrates Independence Day

Updated at: 1447 PST, Sunday, August 14, 2011 ISLAMABAD: The nation is celebrating its 65th Independence Day with great fervour but simplicity. The day began with special prayers in mosques for the unity, solidarity and prosperity of the country. The celebrations began with a 31-gun salute at the federal capital and 21-gun salute at all the provincial headquarters. Quran Khawani are being held for the martyrs of the Pakistan Movement for their eternal peace. The national flag has been hoisted on government and private buildings. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani hoisted the national flag in a ceremony at 9:00am in Jinnah Convention Centre. The national anthem was also played on the occasion. The prime minister felicitated the nation on its 65th Independence Day and paid tribute to the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and leaders of Pakistan Movement for providing a spirited leadership which created the world's first ideological state through democratic struggle. The flag hoisting ceremonies were also held at provincial capitals. Sindh Governor, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah along with members of the Sindh cabinet visited mausoleum of father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to pay homage to the great leader on 65th Independence Day of the country. They hoisted the national flag at the ceremony held at Mazar-e-Quaid in connection with the Independence day of the country. Various political parties and civil society organisations across country have also arranged seminars, walks and debates to mark the Day.

Extra weight linked to dementia risk: study

Updated at: 1659 PST, Tuesday, May 03, 2011 NEW YORK: Carrying around extra pounds during middle age was associated with a higher risk of dementia later in life in a new study that followed twins in Sweden for 30 years. The research was not set up to prove that dementia was caused by the added weight, but Dr. Weili Xu, the study's lead author from the Karolinksa Institutet in Stockholm, said that the evidence is pointing in that direction. The findings, published in the journal Neurology, suggest that "control of body fat as early as middle life is important to prevent dementia later in life," she said. Xu and her colleagues analyzed data from close to 9,000 Swedish twins. When the participants were an average age of 43, they gave researchers information about their height and weight. Thirty years later, the researchers examined the same individuals for signs of declining thinking and memory skills, then diagnosed some of them with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. Close to one in three of the participants were overweight or obese in middle age. And those that were had about an 80 percent higher chance of getting any kind of dementia than people of normal weight. The more participants weighed in mid-life, the higher their chance of getting dementia or "questionable dementia" - meaning they had signs of thinking and reasoning problems, but not enough to be diagnosed with dementia. In total, about 4 percent of everyone in the study was diagnosed with dementia, and another 1 to 2 percent with questionable dementia. Despite the link between excess pounds in midlife and later dementia, when the researchers looked specifically at 137 twin pairs who were "discordant" - one twin had dementia and the other didn't - the tie to midlife overweight shrank considerably. While Xu said that finding suggests that "there are some common genes that predispose (people) to both diseases (overweight and dementia)," it could also be that it was just more difficult to establish a solid link in such a small sample. Whether genes predispose a person to being overweight in adulthood, or it's just bad eating habits, the likely explanation for the link to dementia, researchers say, is that fat tissue in the body releases hormones and other signaling cells that may affect the brain's functioning. In addition, Xu said, extra weight has been shown to increase a person's risk for diabetes and heart and blood vessel diseases - and those conditions are related to a higher dementia risk. However, the link between weight and dementia remained even after the researchers took other diseases into account. The findings are the latest evidence that preventing Alzheimer's disease and dementia starts long before their signs and symptoms typically show up, said Rachel Whitmer, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland who was not involved in the study. "People need to understand that what they do today could have an effect on them 30 or 40 years from now," Whitmer told. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, she said, "what's good for the heart is good for the brain." (Reuters)

Oil prices slide on eurozone worries, Osama death

Updated at: 1718 PST, Tuesday, May 03, 2011
LONDON: Oil prices slid on Tuesday on fresh concerns over the eurozone debt crisis, alongside implications from the death of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June tumbled $1.33 to $123.79 a barrel in early afternoon London deals. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for June, sank $1.22 to $122.30 a barrel.

"Both Brent and (New York) crude oil contracts slid lower in correction, following the uncertain economic conditions as renewed concerns raised about eurozone's sovereign debt problems, especially for Greece," said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.

Prices had fluctuated wildly on Monday following weekend news of bin Laden's demise. In a dramatic announcement on Sunday, the White House revealed that US forces had killed the al-Qaeda chief behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, at his secret compound in Pakistan.

In reaction, New York crude had plunged on Monday underneath $110 a barrel, but swiftly reversed course to peak at $114.83 before easing back.

"The energy market was fairly volatile on Monday following news that the US forces claimed killing Osama bin Laden," said analyst Sokou.

"Crude oil prices initially fell almost $4 per barrel but easily rebounded and rallied with Brent oil climbing above $126 per barrel, while WTI crude oil almost tested the $115 per barrel area," she added.

Meanwhile, investors are also monitoring political unrest in the oil-producing Arab world and its impact on crude supplies.

Later on Tuesday, traders will absorb more crucial economic data in the United States, which is the world's biggest crude-consuming nation.

Figures slated for publication include US durable goods and factory orders for March, while the market will monitor the dollar's direction.

A weaker US currency makes dollar-priced oil cheaper, boosting demand and leading to higher prices. (AFP)

Pak had no knowledge of US operation against Osama: FO

Updated at: 2040 PST, Tuesday, May 03, 2011 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday denied any prior knowledge of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, but said it had been sharing information about the targeted compound with the CIA since 2009. The al Qaeda leader was shot dead by U.S. Special Forces in an attack on a sprawling compound in Abbottabad early on Monday. "Neither any base nor facility inside Pakistan was used by the U.S. forces, nor the Pakistan Army provided any operational or logistic assistance to these operations conducted by the U.S. forces," the foreign ministry said in a lengthy statement. While Islamabad hailed the killing of bin Laden as an important milestone in the fight against terrorism, the statement said Pakistan had expressed "deep concerns" that the operation was carried out without informing it in advance. "This event of unauthorised unilateral action cannot be taken as a rule," the ministry said. According to the statement, U.S. helicopters entered Pakistani airspace by making use of "blind spots" in the radar coverage caused by the hilly terrain surrounding Abbottabad. The foreign ministry said the Pakistani air force scrambled its jets within minutes of being informed of the U.S. operation but there was no engagement with the U.S. forces as they had already left Pakistani airspace. It said Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency had been sharing information about the compound with the CIA and other friendly intelligence agencies since 2009 and had continued to do so until mid-April. "It is important to highlight that taking advantage of much superior and technological assets, CIA exploited the intelligence leads given by us to identify and reach Osama bin Laden."(Reuters)

US feared Pak might 'alert' Osama about raid: CIA

Updated at: 2245 PST, Tuesday, May 03, 2011 WASHINGTON: CIA Director Leon Panetta said in an interview Tuesday that officials ruled out informing Islamabad about a planned raid against Osama bin Laden's compound as they feared their Pakistani counterparts might alert the Al-Qaeda chief. Panetta told a British magazine that "it was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission: They might alert the targets." Panetta also told the magazine that the options presented to President Barack Obama included bombing the compound with B-2 bombers or firing a "direct shot" with cruise missiles. Air strikes were in the end ruled out because of the risk of "too much collateral," said Panetta, a reference to potential civilian casualties. During White House deliberations, Panetta said he acknowledged there was only "circumstantial evidence" that Bin Laden was in the compound, as there were no spy satellite photos of the Al-Qaeda founder in the large compound. Although his CIA aides were only 60-80 percent confident that Bin Laden was there, Panetta argued to Obama at a pivotal meeting Thursday that it was worth taking the gamble and that it was the best chance to take out the Al-Qaeda mastermind since a failed attempt in 2001 after the US invasion of Afghanistan. He said he told the White House meeting, "when you put it all together ... we have the best evidence since (the 2001 battle of) Tora Bora (where bin Laden was last seen), and that then makes it clear that we have an obligation to act." (AFP)

Shahbaz meets Gen. Kayani

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif met Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Sunday night, The News has learnt. In the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's statement about the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), came under discussion. Views were also exchanged on the continuity of professional training of Punjab Police to check terrorism in the province. Sources said during the meeting, the Army chief also advised the Punjab chief minister about breaking terrorist networks in the southern and central parts of the province.

Al Qaeda leader bin Laden dead, says Obama

WASHINTON: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced on Sunday. "Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington. Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said. "The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said. It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden. A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, "USA, USA." Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive" for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009. U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist was killed in the Pakistani town of Abbotabad and his body recovered. Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead. He had been the subject of a search since he eluded U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan in 2001. The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan. While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his militant Islamist views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway. Besides Sept. 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.

Pakistan board says bans "regrettable"

KARACHI — The head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday said lengthy bans given to three Pakistani players for spot-fixing were "regrettable" but promised to help them in their rehabilitation.

An International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption tribunal on Saturday banned former Pakistan captain Salman Butt for ten years, Mohammad Asif for seven years and Mohammad Aamer for five years after a hearing in Doha.

The charges against them related to alleged incidents during the Test against England at Lord's last year, when Britain's News of the World newspaper claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

The newspaper alleged the three had colluded in a spot-fixing betting scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.

"PCB terms the verdict against the three players as regrettable and a sad reality which must be faced," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said in a statement.

Butt said the PCB had "full confidence" in the investigation and tribunal, but admitted the spot-fixing episode had been a gruelling time for Pakistani cricket.

"The time since August last year, when the spot-fixing case came to light, has been an extremely painful one for Pakistan cricket. I now hope that this unfortunate saga is put to rest and we can concentrate on cricket," Butt said.

"We will continue to work with ICC on this sensitive matter in future also. We will also see how we can help the three players with their education and rehabilitation programme."

Butt said the PCB was determined to root out corruption, which has dogged cricket in Pakistan in the past.

"The PCB is determined to ensure the threat of corruption is dealt with severely and will do everything in its power to ensure the integrity of cricket is protected," he said.

"Like all my colleagues in the ICC, I am determined to maintain the integrity of our sport. This is fundamental."

Since the spot-fixing scandal, the PCB has taken important steps, including the introduction of a corruption code in domestic cricket, he said.

The PCB had formed an integrity committee to check players and held lectures to create awareness against corruption and these steps were praised by the ICC, Butt said.

On Friday British prosecutors charged the three players as well as Majeed with corruption offences and summoned them to appear in a London court on March 17.

Salman and Aamer have indicated they wish to appeal against the ICC tribunal's verdict, but Asif till now has given no reaction.

The players have 21 days to appeal against the sanctions at the Court of Arbitration for Sports, based in Switzerland.

An untethered Iphone jailbreak is out for Windows and MacIF YOU FANCY escaping from Apple's walled garden, Greenpoison has the answer with an untether

IF YOU FANCY escaping from Apple's walled garden, Greenpoison has the answer with an untethered jailbreak hack for Mac and Windows.

Working for IOS 4.2.1, the current version of the operating system used on Apple's Ipad, Iphone and Ipod touch devices, this jailbreak is different from ones we've seen before. Previously, every time you rebooted your device you would have to connect it to your computer to start using it again.

This was quite an issue if you weren't near a PC, as your Iphone would basically be dead once the battery ran out. But the latest versions of the jailbreak released this weekend for Mac and Windows, but not yet for Linux, have got over this problem.

Whenever criticism of IOS devices comes up, the fact the company closes it off is a stick used to bash it repeatedly. But jailbreaking now is perfectly legal, even if Steve Jobs would give you the evil eye for doing it.

There are perfectly valid reasons for doing it. There might be apps you can't buy in the App Store, or maybe you want to give your older device a bit of extra functionality and pep.

As with all tools like this, you jailbreak it at your own risk and you could void the warranty. It might not even work. But in the majority of cases, just like with Android devices, putting the device back in its original state is usually easy to do. µ

Fire injures 27 in Lahore

LAHORE, Pakistan — A fire blazed in several buildings and injured at least 27 people on Monday in a commercial area of Pakistan's eastern cultural hub Lahore, officials said.

"The fire started early Monday at the 10-story Bahria Centre commercial building in old Lahore city, and the flames spread to three other buildings, one mosque and two houses," rescue services chief Rizwan Naseer told AFP.

Local administration head Ahad Cheema said that at least 27 people were hurt.

"At least 27 people were wounded in the fire incident. We have asked Islamabad to send us a helicopter to extinguish the fire," Cheema said.

Naseer said that the narrow lanes of old Lahore -- known as the "walled city" -- hampered rescue efforts as fire engines could not enter and the hoses were not long enough to reach the multi-storey building in the congested neighbourhood.

Officials said that they were estimating the losses caused by the massive fire, which took place in an area famous for wholesale businesses.

Pak, India foreign secretaries to meet in Bhutan

Updated at: 1426 PST, Sunday, February 06, 2011
NEW DELHI: The top diplomats of India and Pakistan are due to meet Sunday in Bhutan in the first high-level meeting between the two countries since July.

Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir were to hold talks on the sidelines of a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting in Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital.

India suspended a peace dialogue with Pakistan in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which claimed 166 lives, but the two countries last year began to explore a resumption of structured talks.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held a meeting with his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna in Islamabad in July.

"Dialogue between India and Pakistan is necessary and a must if we are to satisfactorily resolve the outstanding issues between our two countries," Rao was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

"We have a number of outstanding issues. So we are going into this with an open mind and constructive attitude."

PTI quoted Bashir as saying that the talks on Sunday would focus on making progress towards another meeting between the countries' foreign ministers.

"My expectations are that we should be working towards continued engagement," he said.

Egypt's Brotherhood to enter crisis talks

Egypt's most influential opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, says it will enter talks with officials on ending the country's political crisis.

The group said Sunday's talks would assess how far the government was ready to "accept the demands of the people".

The negotiations would be the first ever to be held between the government and the officially banned Brotherhood.

Meanwhile many banks are opening for the first time in a week, amid fears of panic withdrawalsDivided?

President Hosni Mubarak has rejected protesters' demands that he quit now, as he says it would cause chaos.

But Mr Mubarak - who has been in office since 1981 and has tolerated little dissent - has said he will not stand in elections due in September.

Huge crowds have been on the streets of Cairo and other cities in the past two weeks demanding his immediate resignation and calling for democratic reforms......