News From Pakistan

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

2011-08-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

**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

2011-08-18T12:35:00.002-07:00

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

2011-08-18T12:35:00.001-07:00

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

2011-08-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-03T12:38:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-03T12:36:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

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"

2011-02-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-07T08:22:00.001-08:00

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

2011-02-07T08:21:00.001-08:00

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

2011-02-06T02:53:00.001-08:00

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

2011-02-06T02:51:00.000-08:00

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......

Japan defence review warns of China's military might

2010-12-17T08:35:00.001-08:00

Japan has unveiled sweeping changes to its national defence polices, boosting its southern forces in response to neighbouring China's military rise.

It said Beijing's military build-up was of global concern. Japan shares a maritime border with China.

It will also strengthen its missile defences against the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea.

China has responded saying it is a force for peace and development in Asia and threatens no-one.

China's Foreign Ministry said no country had the right to make irresponsible comments on China's development.

Flashpoints

The National Defence Programme Guideline has been approved by the cabinet and will shape Japan's defence policy for the next 10 years.

Japan is changing its defence policy in response to the shifting balance of power in Asia, analysts say.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12015362

Ivory Coast: Gbagbo under pressure to stand down

2010-12-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

International pressure is growing on Ivory Coast incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara after last month's disputed presidential election.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says Mr Gbagbo must stand down by "the end of the week" or face EU sanctions.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called for African nations to remove Mr Gbagbo by force if necessary.

Mr Gbagbo's refusal to stand down has sparked fears of renewed civil war.

The United Nations, Washington, African states and others say the election on 28 November was won by Mr Ouattara.

Mr Gbagbo insists the result was rigged by rebels who still hold the north after the civil war in 2002-03.

Ouattara supporters threatened to take to the streets, a day after gun battles in the main city, Abidjan, left at least 20 people dead.

However, the BBC's John James in Abidjan says the city is quiet, although many businesses are closed.

20 pc Khi people supported MQM: Leaks quotes Zardari

2010-12-04T22:25:00.001-08:00

20 pc Khi people supported MQM: Leaks quotes Zardari

Updated at: 0350 PST, Sunday, December 05, 2010
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari told the then US ambassador Anne W Patterson that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) hardly enjoyed support of 20 per cent population in Karachi, the capital city of Sindh, Geo News reported, quoting WikiLeaks.

Although, MQM had adopted an aggressive posture but we wanted to take them along, said Zardai to ex-US envoy Patterson, as reported by WikiLeaks.

According to leaked diplomatic memos, the party always emerged victorious only on the basis of delimitation of constituencies, Zardari further told her.

India plotted Mumbai attacks: Leaks quote Zardari Updated at: 0501 PST, Sunday, December 05, 2010 India plotted Mumbai attacks: Leaks quote Zardari

2010-12-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

India plotted Mumbai attacks: Leaks quote Zardari

Updated at: 0501 PST, Sunday, December 05, 2010
WASHINGTON: WikiLeaks has disclosed another key point regarding Pakistan-US ties, which is about putting a condition on Pakistan for securing a nuclear cooperation with superpower likewise India, Geo News reported.

During a meeting with President Zardari in 2009, a US’s Senator John Kerry placed a condition on Pakistan that the latter would have to ink a ‘New Security Arrangement’ accord with neighbour India, if it wanted a civil nuclear cooperation with US, according to leaked memos of US diplomatic cables, cited in a letter of the then US ambassador N.W Patterson.

Citing a letter of Patterson, WikiLeaks claimed that Senator Kerry wanted Pakistan to make agreement with New Delhi on New Security Arrangement, if latter was looking for winning a cooperation with US on Civil Nuclear deal.

Kerry also urged Pakistan to strengthen democratic institutions first for the purpose, leaked diplomatic cables disclosed.

Senator said AQ Khan network was key hurdle in way of progress of Pakistan.

While, during the same sitting, President Zardari told him that India itself plotted Mumbai Attacks in November 2008.

Senate showdown may pave way for year-end tax deal

2010-12-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

Play Video AP – Senate blocks bill on upper income tax cuts

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AFP/Getty Images/File – (L-R) Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Rep. Chris …

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – 1 hr 49 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans derailed legislation Saturday to extend expiring tax cuts at all but the highest income levels in a political showdown that paradoxically clears a path for a compromise with the White House on steps to boost the economy.

"We need to get this resolved and I'm confident we can do it," President Barack Obama said shortly after the near party-line votes. The public must have "the peace of mind that their taxes will not go up" on Jan. 1, he added.

Obama has signaled that he will bow to Republican demands for extending tax cuts at all income levels, and his remarks capped a day that lurched between political conflict and talk of compromise on an issue that played a leading role in last month's elections.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., eyeing the 2012 campaign, accused Republicans of siding with "millionaires and billionaires" with their rejection of proposals that would let tax cuts passed during George W. Bush's presidency lapse on seven-figure incomes.

Republicans noted that unemployment rose to 9.8 percent last month and said it made no sense to raise taxes on anyone in a weak economy. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., jabbed that Democrats were undergoing a "political catharsis" in public after losing control of the House and surrendering several seats in the Senate in the Nov. 2 election.

But the rhetoric subsided quickly after the votes, and Senate leaders in both parties said they hoped political clashes would give way to compromise in the next several days.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the GOP leader, said he was relatively confident there would be a deal with the White House "not to raise taxes in the middle of a recession." He said talks were continuing on the length of an extension to be enacted for the cuts that were put in place in 2001 and 2003.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he hoped for an agreement by the middle or end of next week on legislation that would combine an extension of tax cuts with a renewal of expiring jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Officials have said that in addition to tax cuts and unemployment benefits, the White House wants to include renewal of several other tax provisions that are expiring. They include a break for lower- and middle- class wage earners, even if they don't make enough to pay the government, as well as for college students and for companies that hire the unemployed.

Obama later spoke with Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A White House official said the president told them he was open to a temporary extension of the tax cuts if the Democratic priorities were included in the deal.

Key lawmakers and administration officials have been at work negotiating the terms of a possible deal for several days.

But many congressional Democrats privately have expressed anger at Obama for his willingness to surrender to Republican demands to let the tax cuts remain in place at upper incomes, and numerous officials said no compromise would be possible until they had engineered votes in both the House and Senate.

Any deal would mean a reversal for Obama, who said in the 2008 presidential race and this year that he wanted to let cuts expire above incomes of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.

In the Senate, a bill to enact Obama's original position was blocked on a vote of 53-36, seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance. Republicans were unanimous in their opposition, and were joined by Democratic Sens. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Jim Webb of Virginia and independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

The second measure would have let taxes rise on incomes over $1 million. It appeared crafted to appeal to senators from states with large high-income populations, as well as cast Republicans as protectors of the rich.

It was blocked on a vote of 53-37, also seven short of the 60 needed. A slightly different lineup of Democrats sided with Republicans, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Feingold. Lieberman also opposed it.

The White House opposed the second measure bill, and given the president's willingness to sign a bill to extend all the expiring tax cuts, there was never any doubt about the outcome of the day's proceedings in the Senate.

But Democrats said that even with elections nearly two years away, they intended to try and depict Republicans as defenders of the rich whose policies contribute to rising deficits.

"Do we want to extend those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires at a time of huge deficits. I would argue vociferously we shouldn't, said Schumer.

Referring to the 2012 elections, he said about Republicans: "I'm going to be here for the next year, next two years, to remind my colleagues that they were willing to increase the deficit $300 billion to give tax breaks to people who have income over a million dollars."

Republicans sounded alternately bemused and offended.

"It is the most astounding theory I have ever seen. Raise taxes to create jobs," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats perhaps viewed the votes as a gift to their political constituents. But, he added, "two years of wall to wall Democratic rule has only made the situation worse" in the economy.

The day's events capped a week that included a meeting at the White House at which Obama and top congressional Republicans sat down together for the first time since the elections.

Both the president and GOP lawmakers pledged afterward they would try to work together for the good of the economy, and agreed to set up a small negotiating group to discuss the tax issues.

The White House, Reid and Republicans have been negotiating quietly, and McConnell made a point of saying he had been in frequent touch with the administration in recent days.

In addition to tax cuts, Obama has made ratification of a new arms control treaty with Russia a priority of the postelection session of Congress, reducing his leverage with Republicans in the struggle over taxes.

Senior Senate Republicans have indicated they will not try to interfere with a debate on the issue as long as government spending and tax cut issues have been resolved to their satisfaction.

A two-thirds majority is required for ratification, meaning the White House will need the support of at least nine Republicans to prevail. Vice President Joseph Biden and other officials have been involved in talks with several GOP senators in hopes of lining up the votes needed.

US cable: China leaders ordered hacking on Google

2010-12-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

AP – In this photo taken Monday, March 22, 2010, a Chinese woman cleans the Google logo outside the Google …

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By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Gillian Wong, Associated Press – 15 mins ago

BEIJING – Sources told American diplomats that hacking attacks against Google were ordered by China's top ruling body and a senior leader demanded action after finding search results critical of him, leaked U.S. government cables show.

The American Embassy sent a cable to Washington saying a source told diplomats the Chinese government coordinated late last year's attacks on Google under the direction of the Politburo Standing Committee.

It was impossible to verify the details of the cables, but if true, they show the political pressures facing Google when it decided in March to close its China-based search engine.

The cable about the hacking attacks against Google, which was classified as secret by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Goldberg, was released by WikiLeaks to The New York Times and The Guardian newspapers.

It notes that it is unclear if Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were aware of these reported actions before Google went public about the attacks in January.

Another source said in that cable he believed an official on the top political body was "working actively with Chinese Internet search engine Baidu against Google's interests in China."

Google's relations with Beijing have been tense since the U.S.-based search giant said in January it no longer wanted to cooperate with Chinese Web filtering following computer hacking attacks on Google's computer code and efforts to break into the e-mail accounts of human rights activists. Google closed its China-based search engine March 22 and began routing users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site.

Google's spokeswoman in Tokyo, Jessica Powell, said the company had no comment on the cables released by Wikileaks, and on the hacking attacks, referred to a January statement that said it had evidence that the attack came from China. Google did not release any details then.

A man who answered the phone at the spokesperson's office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said no one was around to comment Sunday. Calls to the State Council Information Office and the Foreign Ministry rang unanswered.

A separate cable released by WikiLeaks showed a Politburo member demanded action against Google after looking for his own name on the search engine and finding criticism of him.

The May 18, 2009, cable did not identify the leader but The New York Times reported it was propaganda chief Li Changchun, the fifth-ranked official in the country.

The cable classified as confidential cited a source as saying the Chinese official had realized that Google's worldwide site is uncensored, capable of Chinese language searches and search results, and that there is a link from the home page of its China site, google.cn, to google.com.

The official "allegedly entered his own name and found results critical of him," and asked three government ministries to write a report about Google and "demand that the company ceases its 'illegal activities,' which include linking to google.com," the cable said.

The cable said American officials could neither confirm nor deny the details given by the source about the Chinese leadership's action.

Thabo Mbeki to mediate in Ivory Coast president crisis

2010-12-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

The African Union says it is sending former South African President Thabo Mbeki to Ivory Coast to help mediate the current political crisis.

Laurent Gbagbo and opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara have both sworn themselves in after claiming victory in a presidential run-off.

Mr Ouattara was initially declared the winner but the result was overturned in the incumbent's favour.

The AU has warned the crisis could have "incalculable consequences".

In a statement, the organisation rejected "any attempt to create a fait accompli to undermine the electoral process and the will of the people".

It called on all parties to "show the necessary restraint and to refrain from taking actions which will exacerbate an already fragile situation".

Several countries and international organisations - including the US, UN, France and the IMF - have backed Mr Ouattara as the true winner of last Sunday's run-off.

Conflict fear

The AU has not said when Mr Mbeki is likely to travel to Ivory Coast, but the BBC's John James in the capital Abidjan says his arrival is being widely discussed.

The crisis has already led to unrest on the streets of the capital

When he was president of South Africa, Mr Mbeki helped to mediate a peace deal in Ivory Coast.

But he was seen by the opposition as being uncomfortably close to Mr Gbagbo.

It is difficult to see what scope there is for Mr Mbeki to mediate, says our correspondent, as both men are adamant that they legitimately won the poll.

The fear is that if he fails to find a way out, rebel groups in the north who support Mr Ouattara will take up arms in protest.

Mr Ouattara was declared the winner by the Election Commission on Thursday, but on Friday, its ruling was overturned by the Constitutional Council, which is led by an ally of the incumbent, Mr Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo, who has the backing of the head of the country's armed forces, was sworn in for a third term in office at the presidential palace on Friday afternoon.

He repeated the accusations of fraud that had led the Council to discount large number of ballots in the north, where Mr Ouattara's supports is strongest.You think that you can cheat, stuff ballot boxes and intimidate voters and that the other side won't see what is going on," Mr Gbagbo said.

He also said he had noted "serious cases of interference" in recent days, referring to international disapproval of his return to power.

"We didn't ask anyone to come and run our country. Our sovereignty is something I am going to defend," he said.

'Brief episode'

But within hours, Mr Ouattara, a former rebel from the predominantly Muslim north of the country, was himself sworn in, at an Abidjan hotel guarded by UN peacekeepers.

He said the election had been "historic" and that he was proud of it, but that the last few days had been "difficult".

"But it's just a brief episode - I want to tell you that Ivory Coast is now in good hands," he said.

Mr Ouattara immediately re-appointed Guillaume Soro as his prime minister. Mr Soro had tendered his resignation in Mr Gbagbo's administration just hours earlier.

Mr Soro - who is the head of the New Forces rebels in the north - has warned that overturning the results threatens to derail attempts to stabilise and reunify the country after the 2002 war.

The political crisis has led to protests on the streets of the country's main city of Abidjan, with opposition supporters saying Mr Gbagbo's investiture amounts to a coup d'etat.

At least four people have been killed in election-related clashes in Abidjan this week.

Ivory Coast has closed its borders and stopped broadcasts of international news media into the country. An overnight curfew remains in place over the weekend.

Haiti cholera reaches Dominican Republic

2010-11-16T21:48:00.001-08:00

The Dominican Republic has detected its first case of cholera, following the outbreak of the disease in neighbouring Haiti last month. The patient is a Haitian migrant who had recently returned from his homeland, the health minister said.

The Dominican authorities had stepped up border controls and health checks to try to stop cholera from spreading from Haiti.

More than 1,000 Haitians have died of the disease.

Dominican health minister Bautista Rojas said the patient, a 32-year-old Haitian construction worker, was being treated in isolation in the eastern town of Higuey.

Like Haiti, the Dominican Republic had not had a confirmed case of cholera in more than a century until this year.

In Haiti, the government says 1,034 people have died and the disease is still spreading rapidly

Eurozone ministers to 'intensify' work to help Ireland

2010-11-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

His statement came at the end of an emergency meeting of eurozone ministers and financial institutions in Brussels.

Finance ministers from all the 27 European Union countries are set to meet shortly.

Tuesday's emergency talks came against a background of renewed financial market turmoil.

At the centre of this has been the markets' fear that the governments of the weaker eurozone countries - particularly the Irish Republic - would not be able to afford to repay their huge debts.

Mr Rehn said that "the Irish authorities are committed to working" with the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to calm market turmoil.

A statement by the eurogroup following its meeting praised Ireland's efforts to combat its problems: "The Eurogroup welcomes the significant efforts of Ireland to deal with the challenges it faces in the budgetary, competitiveness and financial sector areas."

'Short and focused'

The statement said the Irish government would engage in a "short and focused consultation" with the Commission, the ECB and the IMF in order to determine the best way to provide any necessary support.

It concluded by adding "We confirm that we will take determined and co-ordinated action to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area, if needed, and that we have the means available to do so".

The IMF welcomed Ireland's decision to allow a "short and focused consultation" to decide if the country needs a budget bailout.

Mr Rehn called Ireland the most pressing challenge of today, adding that there was "an intensification of preparations of a potential programme in case it is requested" but the meeting proposed no concrete course of action.......

SKA, parts of KP celebrate Eid Tuesday

2010-11-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

SKA, parts of KP celebrate Eid Tuesday

Updated at: 0501 PST, Wednesday, November 17, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated Tuesday in Saudi Arabia and parts of Khybar Pakhtunkhah with full devotion and enthusiasm. According to Geo News, after Hajjis completed last rituals of Hajj in Makkah like rami (stoning the devil), they sacrificed their animals (qurbani) to revive Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi.

They have also shaved their heads off and changed “Ahram” as part of Hajj’s essential rite. After that they did sa’hi and returned back to Mina.

The Hajjis also offered namaz-i-eid in Masjid-e-Nabavi.

Bohri community of Karachi also celebrated Eid on Tuesday with religious fervor and offered Eid prayers.

PC to meet on judges’ appointment Nov 22

2010-11-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

PC to meet on judges’ appointment Nov 22

Updated at: 0103 PST, Wednesday, November 17, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee (PC) has been convened on November 22 to discuss issues pertaining to judges’ appointment at higher judiciary, Geo News reported.

Secretary PC Raja Mohammed Ameen told Geo News, the session of PC has been scheduled to kick off at 1.30pm at Parliament House.

The meeting would discuss the recommendations forwarded by Judicial Commission (JC).

It is pertinent to mention that JC had nominated Justice Ijaz Chaudhry for the position of Chief Justice in Lahore High Court (LHC).

Nationwide Eid-ul-Azha today,Eid day in pakistan

2010-11-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

Updated at: 0402 PST, Wednesday, November 17, 2010
ISLAMABAD: The nation is celebrating Eid-ul-Azha with religious zeal and religious fervour today (Wednesday) across the country. The Muslims will throng to mosques and Eidgahs to offer Eid prayers countrywide. The biggest Eid congregation in the federal capital will be held at Shah Faisal Mosque.

Special prayers will be offered for strengthening national solidarity, prosperity, integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan and the liberation of all occupied Muslim territories, including held Jammu and Kashmir.

Scholars from different schools of thought will deliver special sermons to highlight the significance of the day and the purpose of the sacrifice rendered by Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) centuries ago.

The state-run and the private channels have chalked out special programmes for the auspicious occasion.

After Eid prayers, camels, cows, goats and sheep will be sacrificed to revive the Sunnah of the Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim (AS).

A large number of people migrated to their hometowns to mark the Eidul Azha. Scores of congregational prayers will be held early in the morning followed by slaughter of sacrificial animals for the next three days till Friday before sunset.

In Karachi, the biggest congregation will be held at Nishter Park. Besides, a number of Eid prayer’s congregation will be held across metropolis wherein religious scholars will deliver special sermons in accordance with the day.

In Lahore, the mass congregation will be held at the historic Badshahi Mosque where more than one lakh people will offer Eid prayers.

Other congregation will be held at Data Darbar, Jamia Naeemia, Mansoora and open places. Special prayers will be offered for national integrity and solidarity and for the liberation of occupied Muslim territories including Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the sale of sacrificial animals could not pick momentum this year because of price hike as most people stayed away from buying animals.

The city district governments of the major cities finalised arrangements for cleanliness during the Eid days as majority of the people throw offal of the sacrificial animals on roads and streets.

However, special instructions given to the staff of Solid Waste Management (SWM) to continue patrolling on the city roads to lift the waste and to keep the city clean.

Govt withdraws two weekly holidays

2010-11-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Updated at: 2001 PST, Tuesday, November 16, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved to end two weekly holidays from November 27, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

According to the spokesman for the PM House, the decision to end weekly two holidays was made after consultation with the provincial governments and respective ministries.

Earlier, the traders’ community and provincial governments had said that they were facing problems owing to two weekly holiday, while the ministry of water and power had pointed out that in winter season there was no need of two day weekly off.

Saboteurs blow up 2 schools in Bajaur

2010-10-24T06:14:00.002-07:00

Saboteurs blow up 2 schools in Bajaur

Updated at: 1213 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010
SALARZAI: The terrorists blew up two schools with the explosives in Bajaur Agency, Geo News reported Sunday.

According to the sources, the terrorists planted the explosives at both the schools in Bajaur Agency’s Salarzai area of Manogai Mandal. Both the premises were completely destroyed it the explosions.

Political administration started probe in the incident.

Meantime, the political administration and the security forces, beefing up the security across the Agency, began snap checking at exits and entrances. Also, heavy contingents of Bajaur Levies Force and the FC have been deployed on various sensitive points.

Pak banks improve in competitiveness: Kent

2010-10-24T06:14:00.001-07:00

Pak banks improve in competitiveness: Kent

Updated at: 1100 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani banks in public sector have higher cost-inefficiency compared to foreign banks operating in the country, said Professor Kent Matthews of Cardiff University, UK, here.

Professor Kent, who delivered a lecture on 'Banking efficiency in emerging market economies' at National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) here on Saturday at 17th lecture of Zahid Memorial Lecture series, said that the banking sector in the emerging economies is facing stronger competition due to globalisation in financial system.

However, he added that after reforms in banking sector, efficiency of banks had improved and concentration was reduced in recent years, which was because of competitiveness. He said that human capital and development, along with incentives, is very critical to motivate management to perform best. The foreign banks were the most efficient in terms of cost in Pakistan whereas the public sector banks have cost technical and allocative inefficiencies.

The reasons for high cost-inefficiency of local banks, he said, was because of their large network of branches, even in remote areas. But there is a need to introduce improved management and increase motivation levels to reduce cost, and increase profits in the banking sector.

The performance of Islamic banks surged during the earlier years and this was due to the fact that only two banks were operative till 2005. The index goes down because a couple of new entrants started their operations in 2005-06. Thus, it was seen that the performance of Islamic banks had been most consistent after the year 2006. Moreover, the efficiency scores of Islamic banks are getting closer to that of the foreign banks.

It is also evident that the consolidation in Pakistani banking sector due to the raise in minimum paid up capital requirement has led to stable performance of these banks. He said that he used input and output variables in estimating bank efficiency in Pakistan by applying five models. These, in turn, are decomposed into its technical inefficiency and allocative inefficiency components.

The results suggested that there was sufficient independent variation in each bank category type to separate the distribution of technical efficiency from the rest of the population. Also, the only bank category that had a distribution of allocative inefficiency that could be separated from the rest was foreign banks. However, these statistics are only indicative as the means and distribution could be signalling other relevant but unidentified factors, he said.

Rof Kent said: "Bank efficiency is clearly a topic worthy of consideration and it is particularly worthy of study in the case of emerging markets. In economies where capital and debt markets are as yet undeveloped, the principal conduit for economy wide investment and saving is through the banking system. The efficiency of the banks is an indicator of the efficiency of financial intermediation. Furthermore, the banking sector of the emerging economies is facing stronger competition due to the globalisation of the financial system.

While the trend in deregulation and global competition will be muted for the next few years as a result of the financial crisis, the pace will pick up once the world economy is stabilised."

Suresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosedSuresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosed Updated at: 1422 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010 Suresh Raina’s

2010-10-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

Suresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosed

Updated at: 1422 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010
MUMBAI: A British newspaper has revealed Indian cricketer Suresh Raina’s links with a bookmaker but the Indiana cricket board on Sunday described the report baseless while the International Cricket Council (ICC) refused to give any comment.

The ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit is probing why the Indian Board kept quiet about a report of its player Suresh Raina being seen in the company of a woman linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker, a media report said in London.

Making it clear that Raina was not suspected of any wrongdoing, 'The Sunday Times', quoting a senior ICC source, said the incident related to India's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.

With the heightened security concerns following the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan, the Sri Lankans deputed a former general to look after the Indian team.

CCTV Cameras installed at the Indian team hotel showed that on more than one night Raina was in the company of a woman known to be an associate of a man allegedly linked to a bookmaker.

A report, including the CCTV footage, was submitted by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to their Indian counterparts.

BCCI keeping quiet on Suresh Raina accompanying a woman allegedly linked to bookies during the Sri Lankan tour as "baseless", saying that she was the agent of the Indian batsman.

Haiti cholera cases 'detected in Port-au-Prince'

2010-10-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

Aisha Bain, International Rescue Committee, says the infection risk is "great"

Five cases of cholera have been detected in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, the UN says, amid an outbreak that has killed more than 200 people.

UN spokeswoman Imogen Wall told the Reuters news agency the patients had been quickly diagnosed and isolated.

She said they had been infected in the main outbreak zone - the Artibonite region - and had subsequently travelled to the capital, where they fell ill.

This meant Port-au-Prince was "not a new location of infection", she noted.

Earlier, Ms Wall said the prospect of cholera in the city, where more than a million survivors of January's earthquake are living in tents, was "awful".

Those in the camps are highly vulnerable to the intestinal infection, which is caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food. con..

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

2010-10-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

Updated at: 1903 PST, Tuesday, October 19, 2010
KARACHI: The death toll in firing incident in Karachi’s Kabari Market of Sher Shah, mounted to 12, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to Geo News correspondent, at least six unidentified armed men riding three motorbikes, opened indiscriminate fire in Kabari Market in Sher Shah area of Karachi, killing at least 12 people including shopkeepers and shoppers and injuring several others.

The eyewitnesses told Geo News that the miscreants, wearing helmets, went on firing spree for five minutes, triggering the panicked people to break up in stampede.

The saboteurs fled the scene effortlessly.

The injured have been shifted to hospitals, where emergency has been declared with more medical staff called on duty.

According to police sources, arriving late on the mishap site, the personnel of police and the Rangers put a security cordon around the Market.

Meantime, more additional contingents of security forces have been called in.

Hospital sources confirmed 12 deaths. Two bodies were transported to Abbasi Hospital and eight in Civil Hospital. (Last updated at 35)

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

2010-10-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

Pakistan rejects Indian army chief allegations

2010-10-16T23:51:00.001-07:00

Updated at: 2042 PST, Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pakistan rejects Indian army chief allegations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday took a serious exception to reported statement of Indian Army Chief about his threat perception from Pakistan, war under a nuclear scenario and uncalled for and gratuitous comments on the internal affairs of Pakistan.

In a statement, a Foreign Office Spokesman here on Saturday said that the repetitive mentioning by Indian High Command about war under the nuclear scenario is not only irresponsible but also jingoistic and unwise.

"Such statements and grandstanding by India are evidently unhelpful to the cause of promoting peace, security and stability in South Asia," he added.

He said Pakistan remains committed to a purposeful and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Karachi violence kills 19; hurts dozens

2010-10-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 0525 PST, Sunday, October 17, 2010
KARACHI: In a fresh spate of violence that erupted in the metropolis city Saturday, one day ahead of by-polls, has left at least 15 people killed and over four dozens others injured while unknown armed men forced shops in different areas to close, Geo News reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, five vehicles including an OB van of a private television channel have been reportedly torched in different areas during the violence-ravaged incidents. con

US drone kills six in NWaziristan

2010-10-10T03:31:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 1424 PST, Sunday, October 10, 2010
MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike killed seven militants at a compound in Pakistan's tribal North Waziristan region Sunday, security officials said.

The compound was located by a road in Shewa district about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the region's main town of Miranshah.

The drone fired four missiles at the compound and two vehicles parked outside were also destroyed, an intelligence official in Miranshah said.

Put international pressure on Pak after Musharraf remarks, BJP tells govt

2010-10-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

The BJP today asked the government to factor the admission of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf about his country's involvement in cross-border terrorism while framing its policy towards the neighbour and put international pressure on Islamabad to end the proxy war.

"Confession of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is vindication of India's position and consistent with BJP stand that terrorism in India is basically cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

"Just as our analysis on Ayodhya was vindicated by the court, our analysis on Pakistan's proxy war against India has been proved now," he added.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has admitted that Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir, the first such admission by a top leader of the country.

Musharraf's candid remarks came days after he announced his return to active politics from London where he has been living in self-imposed exile.

Javadekar said though the Pakistan government has denied the claims of Musharraf, the "cat is out of the bag. The denial is a formality while the confession is the reality".

The principal Opposition alleged that Pakistan has sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and was also behind the recent law and order problems in the Valley, including stone-pelting.

"BJP demands that the government should factor in these revelations (of Musharraf) while formulating its Pakistan policy," Javadekar said.

He insisted that one day the involvement of Pakistan in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and funding of separatists and stone-pelters would come out. "This is just the skeletons coming out of the cupboard," he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP charged that after the formation of Bangladesh, Pakistan cannot digest the fact that Kashmir is with India.

"Government must utilise these revelations to expose Pakistan and its dubious role in waging a covert war through state-sponsored terrorism directed at India. Pakistan government's oft-repeated alibi of blaming non-state actors to hide its own direct complicity also needs to be exposed at international forums," Javadekar said.

Suspended supply route may surge Taliban attacks: report

2010-10-04T21:58:00.001-07:00

KABUL: If countries were rated on how tough it is to fight wars on their soil, Afghanistan would come close to the top of the list.

Landlocked, with an extreme climate and paralyzing dust storms, it’s also bordered by dizzying mountains and safe highways are sparse.

That’s why escalating militant attacks on NATO fuel trucks heading from Pakistan to Afghanistan — the most recent on Monday — are a sign that the war against the Taliban is limping badly, if not hobbled. And they show the scarcity of supply line options may be a decisive factor in how and when the conflict concludes.

“The U.S. has tried to develop the northern distribution system, but the heavy duty supplies still have to go through Pakistan,” says Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center in Washington. “Given the short timetable the coalition is operating on, the chances of finding an alternative are dim.”

Between 75 and 80 per cent of NATO supplies are trucked from the Pakistani port of Karachi through the forbidding Khyber Pass and into Afghanistan. The most crucial is fuel. But they include vital items from water to weapons.

The pass has been shut down several times, and after a helicopter fired on and killed three Pakistani frontier troops last week Pakistan blocked the supply lines. It had complained earlier of similar cross-border attacks.

For NATO, the route has been dogged by years of mayhem and uncertainty.

“We accept responsibility for the attacks on the NATO supply trucks and tankers,” spokesman Azam Tariq of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan told reporters Monday. “We will carry out more such attacks in future. We will not allow the use of Pakistani soil as a supply route for NATO troops based in Afghanistan.”

The U.S. is well aware of the dilemma and has been expanding its use of an air base in Kyrgyzstan to deliver troops and supplies to Afghanistan’s battlefields. But there have been ongoing disputes with the Central Asian country over rental fees, and a coup earlier this year put its stability in doubt.

Possible overland alternatives include a route through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, inviting a diplomatic wrangle with Russia, which is wary of American influence on its former possessions.

“We are pretty much stuck with Pakistan,” says Thomas Johnson of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, who has advised the Canadian and U.S. governments. “The Central Asian states are completely landlocked. It is a very dire situation.”

The dependence on Pakistan includes more than geography, says Ontario-based defence analyst Sunil Ram of the American Military University.

“About 80 per cent of (NATO) fuel requirements are from refineries in Karachi,” he said. “It’s strategically easy for the Taliban to stop the convoys. Even if they cut off 15 to 20 per cent of the fuel it has a large impact on the war because it reduces the ability to operate.”

And, he points out, a number of international media reports contend the U.S. has reverted to paying the Taliban to stay away from the convoys.

Washington is also at odds with Pakistan over Islamabad’s responsibility for quelling the Taliban on its territory, although the dispute has diminished since massive floods hit the country and the army was deployed to aid displaced civilians.

“There are 70,000 troops deployed in flood relief, and 150,000 are in locations in the northwest and along the (Afghan) border,” said Nawaz. “But it’s still not enough to protect convoys going up from Karachi. The danger used to be when they approached the Khyber Pass. Now it’s starting from Karachi. The local Taliban has affiliates all over.”

Afghanistan itself may be working on a solution. Officials there “want to create a state-run military brigade equipped with its own trucks and thousands of soldiers to carry essential NATO supplies around the country,” said a report by McClatchy Newspapers.

But there is skepticism that Afghanistan, often at odds with neighbouring Pakistan, would be able to deal with the “highway barons” who control the roads and demand protection money — both at home and across the border.

Zawwar Sheikh sent on 4-month leave

2010-10-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Zawwar Sheikh sent on 4-month leave

LAHORE: District Session Judge Lahore Zawwar Ahmed Sheikh has been sent on four-month leave, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Sohail Nasir will act as the District Session Judge Lahore.

It should be mentioned here that the lawyers and judges were locked in a dispute over the transfer of Zawwar Sheikh.

Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial

2010-10-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

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Geert Wilders: "I am sitting here as a suspect because I have spoken... nothing but the truth"

The Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders has gone on trial in Amsterdam accused of inciting hatred against Muslims

Mr Wilders, whose statements have included comparing the Koran with Hitler's Mein Kampf, told the court freedom of expression was on trial.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

Mr Wilders' Freedom Party is the third biggest in the Netherlands after June's elections, and is expected to play a key role in the next parliament.

Prosecutors have brought five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination, and the trial will scrutinise statements he made between 2006 and 2008.

In one such statement, in an editorial for the De Volkskrant newspaper, he wrote: "I've had enough of Islam in the Netherlands; let not one more Muslim immigrate.

"I've had enough of the Koran in the Netherlands: Forbid that fascist book."

In 2008, he released a short film called Fitna which infuriated Muslims by juxtaposing images of suicide bombings with verses from the Koran.

Mr Wilders, in a bright blue tie and with his trademark shock of blond hair, waved to supporters as he entered the court complex in Amsterdam.

A small group of protesters had gathered outside court and riot police were on duty nearby.

In an opening statement, he told the court that he was being persecuted for "stating my opinion in the context of public debate", adding: "I can assure you, I will continue proclaiming it."

His lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, then told the presiding judge that Mr Wilders would thereafter exercise his right to silence and not answer questions during the trial.

When presiding judge Jan Moors said it appeared Mr Wilders was "avoiding discussion" Mr Moszkowicz accused him of bias and moved to have him substituted.

The trial was adjourned and a separate hearing arranged to decide whether Judge Moors could continue on the trial. The panel is expected to decide on the issue on Tuesday.

Earlier, Mr Wilders gave his views via his Twitter account, calling it a "terrible day".

"The freedom of expression of at least 1.5 million people is standing trial together with me," he wrote, in what seemed to be a reference to the number of voters who backed the Freedom Party in June.

The coalition deal that emerged last week joins two centre-right parties in a minority government, which will seek the backing of parliament this week.

But, holding only 52 of the 150 seats in parliament, they will depend on the support of 24 Freedom Party MPs to pass legislation.

In return for that support, he has already extracted policy concessions. The new government has said it will try to ban the Islamic face veil, and curb immigration.

It is not clear whether a conviction for Mr Wilders would affect the government's willingness to deal with him.

Mr Wilders has infuriated opponents not just with his opinions, but with language they see as inflammatory, such as stating that Muslim headscarves, which he referred to as "head rags", ought to be taxed for "polluting" the Dutch landscape.

Mr Wilders was briefly refused entry to Britain last year, after being invited to show his film in the House of Lords.

Having received numerous death threats, he is usually surrounded by bodyguards.

A verdict in the trial is expected on 4 November

Gold hits record near 1,300 dollars, silver at 30-year peak

2010-09-27T06:15:00.001-07:00

Gold hits record near 1,300 dollars, silver at 30-year peak

Updated at: 1829 PST, Friday, September 24, 2010
LONDON: The gold price soared to a record peak within a whisker of 1,300 dollars an ounce on Friday, dragging sister metal silver to a 30-year pinnacle, as investment demand propelled precious metals higher.

Gold prices struck a record 1,299.90 dollars an ounce in mid-day trading on the London Bullion Market, as investors sought a safe-haven to park their cash amid heightened uncertainty over the global economic outlook.

And silver surged to 21.41 dollars an ounce -- nailing the highest level since October 1980.

"The underlying bullish trend in the gold market continues to be fuelled by the high level of uncertainty regarding the United States and European economies," said SEB Commodity Research analyst Filip Petersson.

"Wealth preservation are the keywords.

"As long as we do not see a reduction in the uncertainty regarding the long-term economic outlook, gold prices will remain well-supported as the currency of choice for risk-averse investors."

He added: "The strategic view remains bullish and we expect prices above 1,350 dollars per ounce before the end of the year."

Gold and silver were also propelled by keen demand from exchange traded funds (ETFs).

ETFs allow traders to invest money more easily in the commodities, without trading on the futures market. They are traded like shares and are widely regarded as an inexpensive and low-risk way of investing.

"Gold is fuelled by a combination of things," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.

"High investment demand can be seen in inflows into gold ETFs," added Briesmann.

"Some central banks in Asia are also diversifying their currency reserves further, even at the current high price levels.

"Furthermore, the general interest of investors is not waning and gold is
sought for mainly as a 'stable currency'."

PSMA opposes allowing unlimited raw sugar imports

2010-09-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

PSMA opposes allowing unlimited raw sugar imports

Updated at: 1857 PST, Friday, September 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Sugar millers oppose a government decision to allow unlimited imports of raw sugar after massive sugarcane crop losses, an industry official said on Friday, adding the shortfall would be smaller than expected.

The price, he said, expected to be between Rs 60 to Rs 65 per kilogramme.

The government this week waived a 25 percent regulatory duty and allowed millers and traders to import raw sugar at will after estimates the 2010/11 crop would produce about 3 million tonnes of refined sugar against an annual demand of 4.2 million tonnes.

Millers estimate output at 3.6 million tonnes and say the government should set a limit in line with total demand.

"We are telling the government that there should be a limit on the import of raw sugar. It should not be more than 500,000 tonnes," Iskandar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), said.

"We are expecting 3.6 million tonnes of sugar output after flood damage and together with raw sugar import and purchases being made by the TCP, the availability will be according to our consumption," he said referring to the state-run trading agency.

While Khan frames the issue in terms of protecting local farmers and even health issues surrounding unprocessed sugar, unlimited sugar imports would drive down domestic prices and cut into industry profits.

Pakistan aims for a sugarcane harvest of 54.8 million tonnes for 2010/11 -- which could produce roughly 3.8 million tonnes of white sugar -- before August floods destroyed millions of acres of cropland.

Khan said the government should specify a limit and it should be channeled through the Industry Ministry to millers according to their production last year.

The government said the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would have no role and importers would decide the quantity and timing of purchases.

Khan said raw sugar should reach the country within three months to enable millers to refine it by the end of February, the end of the crushing season, which starts in late November this year.

Pakistan produced a little over 3 million tonnes of sugar from the 2009/10 crop and issued a series of tenders this year to import 1.2 million tonnes to make up the shortfall.

The TCP said this week it had so far received 478,155 tonnes and more was in the pipeline.

PSMA's Khan and a government official said that imported white sugar included shipment from India, Pakistan's first purchase from the neighbouring country after a three-year gap.

"MV Orbit carrying 30,000 tonnes of sugar from India reached Pakistan on Sept. 22," the government official said, speaking anonymously because he wasn't authorised to speak with the press, adding that another ship, the "Unicorn Brave," that was due the same day also carried Indian sugar.....

Floods may mar IMF-set targets: Qureshi

2010-09-27T06:11:00.002-07:00

Floods may mar IMF-set targets: Qureshi

Updated at: 1136 PST, Saturday, September 25, 2010
NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has feared that it may be hard for Pakistan authorities to meet IMF-set targets due to the worst devastations wreaked by deluge, Geo News reported Saturday.

Addressing a mass gathering of think-tank in New York, Qureshi worried that Pakistan authorities guaranteed IMF of bringing reforms in many sectors but the dismal situation emerged following worst spate of deluge, it appears second to impossible for them to meet the IMF targets.

“Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh visited IMF officials in Washington some weeks ago to discuss the said worries”, he maintained, adding, a delegation will meet IMF officials next month for finding a way out in this wake.

“Now, the government will have to devise new plans by sorting out its priorities given the havocs inflicted by floods”, he proposed.

Discussing fast sliding support of Taliban in country, he said, they are no longer popular among public in Pakistan after their brutalities made people think otherwise. con

Qayyum faces music after careless remarks

2010-09-27T06:11:00.001-07:00

Updated at: 2207 PST, Saturday, September 25, 2010
ISLAMABAD: After failing to satisfy Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani over his remarks, State Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayum Jatoi was made to resign Saturday, Geo News reported.

Earlier today, replying to a question while talking media on the occasion of his meeting with Talal Akbar Bugti here at Bugti House, he said everyone including Sindhi, Pashtun, Baloch, Seraiki and Punjabis should get share in corruption.

Later, taking serious notice of it PM Gilani summoned the state minister to Islamabad.

MQM leader Imran Farooq assassinated in London

2010-09-27T06:10:00.001-07:00

Updated at: 0115 PST, Friday, September 17, 2010
LONDON: Senior MQM leader Dr. Imran Farooq was stabbed to death in Mill Hills locality in London late Thursday night, Geo News reported.

According to reports so far reached here, he was ambushed and killed by an unidentified assailant outside his house in London when he was on his way back home after a regular walk.

As per hospital sources, Dr. Imran Farooq was hurried to the hospital after receiving critical wounds in head but on arrival at hospital, doctors confirmed his death.

Police cordoned off the crime scene after the incident.

The Scotland Yard confirmed report of the incident at 5:00 PM, according to their local time. It further said that Dr. Imran Farooq breathed his last on the spot instantaneously following the attack.

A British newspaper said that Dr. Imran Farooq was supposed to attend a celebration program scheduled to be held at MQM Secretariat.

According to British media, no arrest has so far been made following the incident.

MQM leaders visited Dr. Imran Farooq’s home in Karachi and expressed condolence with the bereaved family.

MQM sources have also confirmed murder of Dr. Imran Farooq in London, adding that Quaid Altaf Hussain has issued party workers directives of extending condolence with his family members at his native residence in Karachi.

London Police Scotland Yard has cordoned off Mill Hills locality and is engaged in collection of evidences for investigation from assassination site, sources said.

It may be mentioned that Dr. Imran Farooq has remained associated with Altaf Hussain and MQM since establishment of the party. Besides, he has served as Convener and Deputy Convener MQM for a long time.

SSC Part I result on Monday

2010-09-27T06:09:00.002-07:00

Updated at: 2129 PST, Saturday, September 25, 2010
KARACHI: The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) will announce the result of SSC Part I (Class IX) General Group Regular and Private Annual Examination 2010 on September 27.

This was announced by the Controller of Examinations of the BSEK on Saturday.

Troika vow to defend democratic process

2010-09-27T06:09:00.001-07:00

Troika vow to defend democratic process

Updated at: 1721 PST, Monday, September 27, 2010
ISLAMABAD: A meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvaiz Kiyani on Monday expressed resolve to defend and protect the democratic process and to resolve all issues in accordance with the constitution.

The meeting held here at the Presidency was presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari and lasted for over 90 minutes.

Spokesperson to the president, Farhatullah Babar said the meeting reviewed the current situation obtaining in the country.

The meeting also reviewed flood relief measures in the country and the ongoing fight against militancy.

Security situation in the country and the region also came under discussion in the meeting, he said.

SC gives time to govt in Implement NRO case

2010-09-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

SC gives time to govt in Implement NRO case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has given two-week time to the government, as the apex court adjourned the hearing of NRO Implementation case till October 13 on the request by the government, Geo News reported Monday.

The apex court accepted government petition and adjourned the case hearing till October 13.

It should be mentioned here that Government of Pakistan filed a petition at Supreme Court (SC) to adjourn the case regarding implementation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Earlier, Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq told Geo News the petition said Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will take stock of various legal aspects of the summary sent by the Law Ministry.

Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq filed the petition that the Premier is busy with certain national and foreign affairs of the state in the perspective of flood situation in the country; accordingly he could not follow up on the case.

The petition pleaded the court to adjourn the case hearing in view of the busy schedule of the PM.

Former AG Anwar Mansoor said the government has no options.

Palestinian leader puts Israel talks decision on hold

2010-09-27T06:05:00.001-07:00

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The BBC's Jon Donnison on the extent of Israeli construction work

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to talk to Arab governments next week before deciding whether to continue talks with Israel.

His spokesman said there would be no official response yet to Israel's lifting of the ban on building in West Bank settlements.

Limited construction work began on Monday, with bulldozers clearing land on a handful of settlements.

The BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says peace negotiations are in the balance.

"Israel is ready to pursue continuous contacts in the coming days to find a way to continue peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," he said in a statement.

On Monday morning, Israeli media said bulldozers had started levelling ground for 50 homes in the settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank.

Similar activity was also reported in the settlements of Adam and Oranit.

However, construction work was expected to be slow because of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

'Waste of time'

The Palestinian leader, who was due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday, made no immediate comment on the end of the freeze.

His spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said there would be no official answer until the Palestinian leader had consulted other Arab leaders in Cairo on 4 October.

"During that day President Abbas will consult with the Arab governments and will come back to the Palestinian leadership to take the right decision and the right answer, with all what we have from the Americans and the Israelis," he said.

He added that there should be an immediate halt to settlement activity.

On Sunday, Mr Abbas warned that the peace talks renewed earlier this month would be a "waste of time" unless the ban continued.

If they see that the extent of construction in the West Bank has been limited, that might be enough to keep them at the table, our correspondent says.

In his statement, Mr Netanyahu made no direct mention of the issue of the settlement freeze.

But he maintained that it was possible "to achieve a historic framework accord within a year".

He had earlier urged settlers "to display restraint and responsibility".

Some Jewish settlers celebrated the end of the construction ban.

At the settlement of Revava, near the Palestinian town of Deir Itsia, they released balloons and broke ground for a new nursery school before the moratorium expired.

Earlier in the evening, a pregnant Israeli woman and her husband were slightly wounded in a gun attack in the West Bank.

Israeli police said Palestinian gunmen had opened fire on their car south of the city of Hebron. The woman later gave birth in hospital.

Compromise deal

Obstacles to peace

Jerusalem
Borders and settlements
Refugees
Water

Meanwhile, the US has renewed calls for Israel to maintain the construction freeze, saying its position on the issue remained unchanged and the US state department was staying "in close touch" with all parties.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Mr Netanyahu and also to Tony Blair, the representative of the Middle East Quartet (the EU, Russia, the UN and US), as the end of the construction freeze neared, a spokesman said.

Israel says the settlements are no bar to continuing direct talks on key issues, and US negotiators have been working intensively to secure a deal.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, is strongly opposed to the talks.

On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told the BBC he would attempt to convince government colleagues of a compromise deal, and said the chances of a deal on the issue were "50/50".

It is estimated that about 2,000 housing units in the West Bank already have approval and settler leaders say they plan to resume construction as soon as possible.

The partial moratorium on new construction was agreed by Israel in November 2009 under pressure from Washington.

It banned construction in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the Middle East war of 1967, but never applied to settlements in East Jerusalem.

US President Barack Obama has urged Israel to extend the moratorium, saying it "made a difference on the ground, and improved the atmosphere for talks".

Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are held to be illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

David Miliband rallying call: Ed's a great leader

2010-09-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

"I don't know if you noticed but I came here on Saturday planning a slightly different week. I am now thinking what I am going to do instead," he told reporters ahead of the speech.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

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David Miliband: 'I'm incredibly proud of my brother'

David Miliband has issued a rallying call to the Labour conference, saying the party now had a "great leader" in his younger brother Ed.

The shadow foreign secretary, long favourite for the top job, said "I'll be fine" before calling for party unity and getting a standing ovation.

He has yet to say whether he will serve in his brother's shadow cabinet.

Ed Miliband has said that his brother has a "huge amount" to give to the party and British politics.

David Miliband has said he is talking to colleagues about his future, and wanted to take his time to make sure he made the right decision - with no decision until after the conference.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said a friend of Mr Miliband told him he was considering not running for the shadow cabinet and could quit politics, although colleagues insist he has yet to make up his mind.

Asked about his brother's future on Monday, Ed Miliband said he would make his decision "in his own way and in his own time" but praised his "loyalty to me and the country".

"He has a huge amount to offer our politics," he added.

The two brothers met in private for nearly 10 minutes on Monday but it is understood they did not discuss David's future.

Nominations have opened for the 19 shadow cabinet posts, to be elected by a ballot of MPs, but it is unclear whether David Miliband will put himself forward by Wednesday's deadline.

Ed Miliband will allocate posts to the successful candidates after the vote on 7 October and he has insisted that decisions about who will get what job must wait until then.

In a speech ahead of a session on foreign affairs, David Miliband told activists in Manchester that he had been "honoured and humbled" by the support he had received since narrowly losing the leadership election.

He urged the party to unify around his brother, saying he was "incredibly proud" of him.

"We have got a great new leader and we all have to get behind him," he told party supporters.

While he was proud of the campaign that he had fought, he said that no-one should enter such a high profile contest unless they were reconciled to the possibility of defeat.

Labour's task at the conference was to begin its "fightback", he added, and to show that it was focused on the country's future as well as its own.

A spokesman said many voters had failed to comply with "clear" instructions to tick a box confirming they were Labour supporters.

But Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of the Unite union, whose governing body recommended that members back Ed Miliband, said: "It's being portrayed as just getting the union votes. But, in fact, Ed got 175,000 votes to David's 147,000.

There must be "no more cliques, no more factions and no more soap opera" within the party, he said, arguing that "unless we are united, we will lose".

Former minister Vera Baird told BBC Radio Four's World at One that it would be "helpful" if David Miliband became shadow chancellor to ensure Labour continued to support the four-year plan for halving the deficit it endorsed at the election.

Union backing

But ex-Treasury minister Geoffrey Robinson said Ed Balls - who has argued for a slower approach to reducing borrowing - was the "outstanding candidate" for that crucial position and would be the best man to take the fight to the coalition on the economy.

Although David won a higher percentage of votes from Labour MPs, MEPs and party members, Ed Miliband's success with trade union members and affiliated societies pushed him into first place in the leadership contest.

He defeated his brother in the leadership race by just over 1% after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play.

Ed Balls was third, Andy Burnham fourth and Diane Abbott last in the ballot of MPs, members and trade unionists.

The party has revealed that nearly a tenth of the votes cast - more than 36,000 out of 375,000 - were spoiled.

"It was individual union members. All the candidates attended hustings meetings, and there were many of them over the campaign."

Mr Simpson also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the leaderships of some large unions, including Usdaw and Campaign, had supported David Miliband.

Ed Miliband has been portrayed as being to the left of his brother and been dubbed "Red Ed" by some newspapers. But he rejected the tag as "rubbish" in a BBC interview on Sunday and said his leadership would not see "a lurch to the left".

Meanwhile, in his final speech to conference as a frontbencher, outgoing shadow chancellor Alistair Darling said Ed Miliband was capable of winning back the support and trust of the British people.

Mr Darling defended his original deficit cutting plan, describing it as "measured and balanced" approach, and accusing the coalition of pursuing billions of additional spending cuts for ideological reasons.

Ed Miliband has described Mr Darling's plans as "broadly the right starting point", but said he wanted to look at how they could be improved.

Asian stocks mixed as yen edges back up

2010-09-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

Asian stocks mixed as yen edges back up

Updated at: 1219 PST, Wednesday, September 22, 2010
HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday and the yen hit its highest level against the dollar in a week after the US central bank said it was prepared to pump more money into its economy if necessary.

At its key monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve warned that "the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed" in the world's biggest economy.

It did not announce any new stimulus measures but did say it "will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery".

The news pushed the dollar to its lowest level against the yen since Tokyo last week stepped into the currency markets for the first time in six years to rein in the Japanese unit.

In Tokyo morning trade the dollar was at 84.80 yen, down from 85.15 yen in New York late Tuesday. However, the yen is well off a 15-year high of 82.86 struck last week before the government's intervention.

"The dollar is being dumped as the suggested credit easing spawned expectations of lower interest rates" in the United States, said Daisuke Karakama, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The Fed held interest rates at a record low of 0.1 percent on Tuesday.

Focus has now moved to Japan, where investors are waiting to see if the government will again step into the foreign exchange market to prevent the yen strengthening.

"The previous intervention was unexpected, so it's possible the government will intervene again at the lower 84 yen level," Takashi Ushio, general manager at Marusan Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

A strong currency weighs on the nation's key exporters as it makes them less competitive abroad and squeezes their repatriated earnings.

Tokyo's Nikkei slipped 0.12 percent in the afternoon as exporters were sold off. However, Hong Kong was up 0.81 percent and Sydney gained 0.18 percent while Singapore picked up 0.40 percent.

Markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for public holidays.

The region was given a weak cue from Wall Street, where the Dow posted a weak 0.07 percent gain as the Fed's comments did little to calm nervous traders.

Markets were also were little moved by better than expected data showing US housing starts jumped more than 10 percent in August.

Construction starts on privately owned homes rose to 569,000 last month, the Commerce Department said, a four-month high for the index.

The euro rose to $1.3275 from 1.3253 in New York, while holding steady at 112.84 yen.

Gold opened at a record high $1,287.50-1,288.50 an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Tuesday's closing price of 1,275.00-1,276.00 as traders picked up the safe-haven metal on growing concerns over the global economy.

On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, gained 13 cents to $75.10 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for November fell seven cents to $78.35.

Banks write off loans worth over Rs50b in 2 years

2010-09-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Banks write off loans worth over Rs50b in 2 years
Updated at: 1603 PST, Thursday, September 23, 2010
Banks write off loans worth over Rs50b in 2 years ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has been told that national banks have written off loans worth at least Rs50 billion in a span of last two years, Geo News reported Thursday.

It should be mentioned here that Pakistan is buckling under a debt juggernaut comprising over $31.16 billion borrowed from International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The federal Finance Ministry told the Assembly in a written reply, the loans waived off during the last two years are worth Rs50.854 billion owed by 212,000 individuals and companies.

State Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar told the National Assembly that 212,114 defaulters including some companies have got Rs50.85billion loans waived off in two years.

In a written reply to the NA,Hina stated that World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IMF have given loans amounting to $31,162milion to Pakistan till June 30, 2010.

She said the interest rate on the said loans is around $3,637 million.

PPP wants no confrontation with judiciary: CEC

2010-09-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party during its Central Executive Committee meeting agreed that the party wants no confrontation with the judiciary and that it will continue to pursue the policy of reconciliation.

This was stated by PPP leader Jehangir Badar while briefing the media following the party’s CEC meeting here on Thursday.

He said balance of power between the Parliament and other institutions must be maintained.

To a question, he said the President has transferred his powers to the Parliament through 18th amendment of the constitution whose decisions will be acceptable to PPP.

When asked to make comment on conspiracies to destabilise the country and role of military and intelligence agencies in it, Jehangir Badar rubbished the same, saying: “It’s nothing more than rumours.”

He said PPP will continue to struggle towards strengthening the democratic process in the country. “The party will continue to carry forward the journey from dictatorship to democracy.”

He eluded the question regarding the appointment of Adnan khawaja as MD OGDCL, saying the party only focuses on policies in broader terms during interaction with senior party leaders and individual cases are not discussed.

When Jehangir Badar was asked as to why Safdar Abbasi was prevented from participating in PPP CEC meeting, he said no such directives were issued by Co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari and that this must have happened due to miscommunication from either side.

Dr. Afia news in urdu incarcerated for 86 years by US court

2010-09-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Dr. Afia incarcerated for 86 years by US court

2010-09-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dr. Afia incarcerated for 86 years by US court WASHINGTON: US court has issued 86 years sentence to Dr. Afia Siddiuqi on seven counts including attempted murder, Geo News reported Thursday.

"It is my judgement that Dr Siddiqui is sentenced to a period of incarceration of 86 years," said judge Richard Berman.

Aafia Siddiqui, 38, denounced the trial and said an appeal would be "a waste of time. I appeal to God."

“I want no bloodshed over my conviction and sentence,” Dr. Afia who was present in court said after the announcement of the sentence.

Reacting angrily to the news, Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr. Afia, at a press conference blamed Pakistani rulers for the sentence. “They (Pakistani rulers) failed to honour their promises to bring Dr. Afia back to Pakistan,” she added.

Champions League Twenty20, 11th Match, Group B: Royal Challengers Bangalore v South Australia at Durban, Sep 17, 2010

2010-09-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

Bangalore

South Australia

Match scheduled to begin at 17:30 local time (15:30 GMT)

Current time: 10:06 local, 08:06 GMT

	Royal Challengers Bangalore squad
A Kumble*, B Akhil, ND Doshi, R Dravid, D du Preez, JH Kallis, V Kohli, P Kumar, A Mithun, MK Pandey, DW Steyn, LRPL Taylor, RV Uthappa†, R Vinay Kumar, CL White

	South Australia squad
M Klinger*, CB Bailey, CJ Borgas, DT Christian, TLW Cooper, CJ Duval, CJ Ferguson, PR George, JA Haberfield, DJ Harris, TP Ludeman†, GA Manou†, AW O'Brien, GD Putland, SW Tait

Shahid Afridi history

2010-09-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

Full name Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi

Born March 1, 1980, Khyber Agency

Current age 30 years 200 days

Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Deccan Chargers, Fly Emirates XI, Griqualand West, Habib Bank Limited, ICC World XI, Karachi, Leicestershire, South Australia

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak googly

Relation Brother - Tariq Afridi, Brother - Ashfaq Afridi

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	27	48	1	1716	156	36.51	1973	86.97	5	8	220	52	10
ODIs	298	280	18	6250	124	23.85	5527	113.08	6	30	577	273	99
T20Is	37	35	3	602	54*	18.81	429	140.32	0	3	52	19	11
First-class	111	183	4	5631	164	31.45			12	30			75
List A	387	366	21	8844	124	25.63			8	49			121
Twenty20	72	65	5	1049	54*	17.48	690	152.02	0	3	92	43	22

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w
Tests	27	47	3194	1709	48	5/52	5/43	35.60	3.21	66.5	1	1
ODIs	298	274	12654	9767	280	6/38	6/38	34.88	4.63	45.1	2	3
T20Is	37	37	858	884	47	4/11	4/11	18.80	6.18	18.2	2	0
First-class	111		13493	7023	258	6/101		27.22	3.12	52.2		8
List A	387		16629	12830	380	6/38	6/38	33.76	4.62	43.7	3	5
Twenty20	72	72	1575	1645	88	4/11	4/11	18.69	6.26	17.8	3	0

Pakistan tour of England, 3rd ODI: England v Pakistan at The Oval, Sep 17, 2010

2010-09-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

England

Pakistan

Match scheduled to begin at 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT)

Current time: 09:00 local, 08:00 GMT

	England squad
AJ Strauss*, JM Anderson, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, PD Collingwood, SM Davies†, EJG Morgan, A Shahzad, RJ Sidebottom, GP Swann, IJL Trott, LJ Wright, MH Yardy

	Pakistan squad
Shahid Afridi*, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal†, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Ajmal, Shahzaib Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz

Eight of 16 former CJs were corrupt in India: Bhushan

2010-09-17T00:57:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 1443 PST, Thursday, September 16, 2010
NEW DELHI: Former Law minister Shanti Bhushan has submitted a list of 16 former Chief Justices of India saying that 8 of them were definitely corrupt.

Bhushan has also dared the apex court to send him to jail for contempt of court.

Bhusan, who was Law minister in the Morarji Desai government, claimed six of the CJIs were honest and he could not comment on the remaining two judges. He submitted the name of eight "corrupt judges" to the Supreme Court.

Bhushan had written an article in 'Tehelka' magazine about the corrupt judges in Supreme Court after which the apex court started a contempt proceeding against him.

The application by Bhushan is in a contempt proceeding against his son Prashant Bhushan for casting aspersion on the integrity of present CJI SH Kapadia and former CJI KG Balakrishnan.

Bhushan also claimed that two former CJIs had personally told him while they were in office that their immediate predecessor and immediate successor were corrupt judges.

The father-son duo has been spearheading campaign against corruption in judiciary. Bhushan was the law minister in the Morarji Desai government from 1977 to 1979. con

MQM announces 10 day mourning at Imran’s murder

2010-09-17T00:56:00.001-07:00

Updated at: 0316 PST, Friday, September 17, 2010
KARACHI: MQM’s Coordination Committee has announced observation of 10 day mourning in connection with assassination of Dr. Imran Farooq, who was stabbed to death in London late on Thursday night, Geo News reported.

According to details, All MQM’s chapters across world have announced suspension of party activities for 10 days in mourning over tragic murder of party’s former convener Dr. Imran Farooq.

Addressing a press briefing here at Nine Zero, MQM’s Convener Dr. Farooq Sattar, strongly denouncing the killing slaying of Dr. Imran Farooq, has extended condolences with heirs of deceased soul.

He also directed party workers to observe mourning days peacefully.

On the occasion, he termed killing of party leader Imran Farooq as ‘irreparable loss’ to party adding that all party workers including Quaid MQM Altaf Hussain are deeply grieved over tragic incident.

con

Altaf says Imran Farooq was Shaheed-e-Inqilab

2010-09-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 0503 PST, Friday, September 17, 2010
KARACHI: Dr Imran Farooq, a founding member of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, which later became the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was killed in London on Thursday evening.

Expressing his profound grief over the shocking incident, Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain termed the incident as the saddest incident of his life, saying the deceased was Shaheed-e-Inqilab.

When the news broke late Thursday night, streets and roads in Karachi became deserted as people headed for their homes. Also, in their immediate reaction to the killing, leaders of various parties, including President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and the Awami National Party condemned the murder in strong terms.

Sources said on Thursday evening when Dr Imran Farooq was climbing the stairs of his flat in Mill Hill, North London, an unknown person stabbed him twice. He fell down the stairs. The assailant followed him and again stabbed him twice at the bottom of the stairs. He was shifted to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Following the confirmation of his death, all birthday celebrations of the MQM chief were cancelled.

In a late night development, senior MQM leaders assembled at Imran Farooq’s residence in Sharifabad, Federal B Area, to condole with the family. In a late night press conference at the residence of Dr Imran Farooq, his close associate Dr Farooq Sattar said the death of Dr Farooq was a great loss for the party and the MQM activists.

He announced 10-day mourning on behalf of the MQM Rabita Committee. During the mourning period, MQM activities throughout the world will remain suspended.

The Rabita Committee, he said, also condoled with the bereaved family. He said that the MQM chief was greatly upset over the death of Dr Imran Farooq. The place of burial of Dr Imran Farooq will be decided later. He hoped that the unidentified killer would be soon arrested.

Imran Farooq had attended the Sindh Medical College, where he was closely associated with Dr Farooq Sattar. Farooq was the secretary general of the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO).

After the emergence of the MQM, he became the first convener of the party. Following the death of General Zia and the elections in 1988, Imran Farooq was elected as an MNA from Karachi. He was the parliamentary leader of the MQM in the National Assembly.

In 1992, when the military operation against the MQM started, Imran Farooq, like other party leaders, went into hiding. He was facing several cases of crimes of heinous nature. Though he remained underground, he continued to run the party. After several years, he resurfaced in London.

Dr Imran Farooq was suspended twice from the party membership in recent years. Dr Farooq’s father was also elected an MNA in 1997. Dr Imran Farooq had married some five years ago. He is survived by his wife, Shumaila Farooq, and two children. Shumaila Farooq was a Sindh MPA in 2002.

According to initial reports, Dr Imran was returning home after a walk in a nearby park when he was repeatedly stabbed by an unidentified attacker around 11.30 pm (PST). So far, it is not clear whether it was a case of a mugging gone bad or a pre-planned assassination.

The critically injured leader was rushed to a nearby hospital where he expired an hour or so later. According to another unconfirmed report coming in later, he may have been murdered by his own security guard. Dr Farooq’s parents reside in Karachi while his wife constantly shuttled between Karachi and London. cont..

Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland Substitute Corry Evans scored with his first touch as Northern Ireland made a fine start to the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

2010-09-04T02:07:00.001-07:00

Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland

Corry Evans slots in the only goal in the Maribor qualifier

Substitute Corry Evans scored with his first touch as Northern Ireland made a fine start to the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Slovenia squandered a host of chances in the first half with Milivoje Novakovic and Zlatan Ljubijankic posing a potent attacking threat.

The hosts dominated after the break but the visitors netted in a rare attack as Evans turned in Craig Cathcart's low cross at the backpost on 70 minutes.

Maik Taylor saved from Josip Ilicic as Northern Ireland held on for the win.

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington saw his men show more urgency than their hosts in the early stages, hustling and quickly closing down the Slovenians.

Click to play

Scorer Corry Evans and debutant Craig Cathcart on Northern Ireland's 1-0 win in Slovenia

But they created nothing of note with Grant McCann firing his 25-yard free-kick against a defender in the fifth minute.

Slovenia were the first to threaten on 13 minutes as striker Novakovic failed to connect with Andraz Kirm's inswinging free-kick.

Chris Baird dragged his shot wide before debutant Craig Cathcart put in a last-ditch tackle to deflect Ljubijankic's effort over the bar.

David Healy was harshly booked as he struck a defender instead of the ball with an attempted overhead kick, two minutes before his weak curling shot was easily saved by Samir Handanovic.

Slovenia grew more dangerous as the half progressed and Novakovic squandered another opportunity, heading straight at Taylor from Kirm's cross.

Ljubijankic broke free on the right only to blast wide while there was no-one to turn Kirm's dangerous ball across the goalmouth into the net just before the break.

Slovenia assumed complete control on the restart but their pressure failed to produce a deserved goal.

606: DEBATE

Well done Corry Evans. Well done Norn Iron - bring on Italy at Windsor

yerman82

Valler Birsa's deflected volley flew just wide after 49 minutes as they mounted attack after attack.

Changes were needed and Worthington brought Kyle Lafferty and Evans on for Healy and McCann after 67 minutes.

The introduction of Evans, who was making his competitive debut, proved to be an inspired substitution as the visitor's took a surprise lead with their first meaningful attack three minutes later.

Cathcart supplied a low cross to the far post and the young Manchester United midfielder sneaked ahead of his marker to slot in from two yards.

It was a case of hanging on as Slovenia searched for an equaliser, with Taylor saving from Ilicic before Ljubijankic blasted into the side-netting.

Northern Ireland players and fans celebrated at the final whistle in what was an unlikely success on the road and the first win in 11 games.

Andy Murray sees off flamboyant Dustin Brown at US Open

2010-09-04T02:06:00.000-07:00

Murray has not dropped a set in his opening two matches

By Piers Newbery

Andy Murray overcame the unorthodox style of Jamaica's Dustin Brown to reach the third round of the US Open.

The British number one coped well with Brown's mix of big serving, volleys and constant drop shots to come through 7-5 6-3 6-0 in New York.

It was another impressive display from the Scot in blustery conditions at Flushing Meadows.

Murray goes on to face Swiss 25th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who beat Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5 6-3 6-4.

"I'd never played him before so at the start of the match it was very interesting," Murray said afterwards.

"He went for his shots huge and was hitting fun shots so I was glad to get off in straight sets. I kind of knew what to expect coming into the match. I've been told he likes to put on a bit of a show beforehand.

It's not bad losing to Andy Murray, I'm definitely not upset

Dustin Brown

"The crowd obviously enjoy watching that but it went from being a great atmosphere at the end of the first set to just pretty quiet because there wasn't a whole lot going on out there.

"I started well, I didn't really give him many chances. I've not really ever seen him play before. He has a very fast service action, so it took a few games to start to read the serve a little bit.

"I just had to focus on playing solid and making as many returns as possible. When you play as high-risk tennis as that, it's difficult over five sets to keep it up."

Brown, ranked 123 in the world, had become the first man from his country to reach the second round of a Grand Slam since 1974.

And the dreadlocked Jamaican certainly made his mark with his unusual playing style and on-court eccentricities, such as insisting on using the same ball throughout his service games and choosing not to sit down at the changeovers.

The match had something of a false start, with a 20-minute rain delay interrupting proceedings after three games, but once the action resumed it was the flamboyant Brown who gripped the attention of the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

And as the heavy serves and huge groundstrokes pounded down, there were moments of real hope for the Jamaican contingent in the early stages.

606: DEBATE

Your thoughts on Murray's victory

However, Murray remained calm under the onslaught with some solid serving of his own and and earned his first break point at 5-4, but Brown saved it with a heavy first serve and screamed his delight.

The Scot was beginning to get the measure of his man though, and two games later a breathtaking half-volley forehand winner took Murray to 15-40 before he sealed the set with a backhand arrowed down the line.

Brown's resistance might not have been broken but it had been dealt a heavy blow and Murray capitalised on his advantage, taking total control with successive breaks at the start of the second set as he moved 5-0 clear.

The world number four needed that cushion as Brown's radar kicked back into life in the latter stages of the set, but after dropping three straight games Murray focused well to close it out at the second opportunity.

A double-fault and a regulation volley into the net did for Brown at the start of the third and, with Murray increasingly keen to attack the net, the outsider was left with nowhere to go.

A blistering backhand winner helped Murray move 5-0 up for the second set in succession and this time he made no mistake to seal victory in one hour 24 minutes.

"It's not bad losing to Andy Murray," said Brown. "I'm definitely not upset, that's why it was a good first set. The other two sets he started getting more comfortable and definitely returning really well.

"I only know him from watching him on TV. I wasn't worrying about him too much, I just tried to play my game and make sure that I'm doing the things I'm supposed to do.

"I wasn't trying to go out there and worrying too much about the opponent. If you do that, then you're just going to go nuts out there. I lost 5, 3, and 0. It happens."

England 4-0 Bulgaria Jermain Defoe struck a hat-trick as England started the road to recovery after the bitter disappointment of World Cup failure wi

2010-09-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

Hat-trick hero Defoe celebrates scoring England's opener

By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer, at Wembley

Jermain Defoe struck a hat-trick as England started the road to recovery after the bitter disappointment of World Cup failure with victory against Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.

England manager Fabio Capello has been under increasing pressure in the aftermath of the flawed South African campaign - so the emphatic manner and margin of the win will come as a huge relief to the 64-year-old Italian.

Defoe established the foundations with an early goal and added a second just after the hour as the home side eventually overran the Bulgarians.

Manchester City's Adam Johnson, on as a substitute for Theo Walcott, ended any slim hopes of a Bulgarian revival with England's third and his first for his country before Defoe completed his treble with a powerful drive four minutes from time.

England's win may have come at a cost however, with Tottenham defender Michael Dawson stretchered off with what looked like a serious injury after slipping as he made a challenge early in the second half.

Defoe also limped off after picking up an injury as he scored his third goal, but Capello expects him to recover in time for Tuesday's game in Switzerland.

The home side suffered the occasional anxious moment, but goalkeeper Joe Hart was flawless when called upon as he continued his impressive graduation to the international stage with some crucial saves.

And there was another plus as Wayne Rooney was a central figure in England's goals, despite occasionally appearing to be out of favour with the home support.

As Capello's men started their rehabilitation after the dismal World Cup exit in the last 16 against Germany in Bloemfontein, a bright start was essential to ease any concerns among the Wembley crowd - and it was duly delivered.

Phil McNulty blog

England made the perfect start on a road they hope will lead them to Poland and the Ukraine in two years

Rooney's wonderful pass played in Ashley Cole, and when he pulled a cross into the six-yard box Defoe volleyed expertly high beyond the reach of Bulgaria keeper Nikolay Mihaylov.

Steven Gerrard was relishing his central midfield role, dictating the tempo and showing his full range of passing in an encouraging England opening, but Bulgaria were almost handed a route back into the game from the unlikeliest of sources.

Glen Johnson appeared lost in confusion as he attempted to deal with a cross, succeeding only in turning the ball towards his own goal and bringing an instinctive save from the alert Hart.

Rooney had occasionally felt the impatience of the 73,246 at Wembley, but he demonstrated his enduring quality with a 20-yard chip four minutes after the interval that forced Mihaylov into a scrambling save to turn his effort over the top.

Ivelin Popov then posed a threat for England as he flashed a shot across the face of goal before England were forced into a defensive reshuffle following Dawson's unfortunate departure, with Bolton's Gary Cahill coming on for his international debut.

And two decisive moments just after the hour saw the balance of the game swing decisively in England's favour. Hart did well to block a powerful drive from Stanislav Angelov, giving England the opportunity to sweep forward on the counter attack as Gerrard and Rooney combined to set up Defoe for another clinical finish.

Hart had distinguished himself as he confirmed his status as Capello's first-choice keeper, and he came to the rescue again with a fine one-handed stop from Dimitar Rangelov just as he seemed poised to pull a goal back for Bulgaria.

Walcott had been a peripheral figure, and he was replaced by Johnson as the clock ticked down towards an England victory.

Gerrard almost gave the scoreline a more convincing appearance when Mihaylov dived low to save his shot, and then recovered well to claw away with loose ball as Defoe closed in on a hat-trick, but England were not kept at bay for long.

Johnson had proved a lively introduction for England and he was on the scoresheet for the first time at full international level with a low drive that left question marks over the positioning of Bulgaria keeper Mihaylov.

It was left to Defoe to round off England's triumph as he took advantage of more good work by Rooney to lash a finish past Mihaylov - although he picked up a knock in the process and limped off.

Switzerland will provide a sterner test in Basel on Tuesday, but Capello and England will regard this as the perfect tonic after the trauma of South Africa.

Quetta rally suicide bomb kills dozens

2010-09-03T19:07:00.001-07:00

Quetta rally suicide bomb kills dozens

The blast was followed by firing, reports suggest

A suicide bombing has killed at least 50 people in Quetta, south-western Pakistan, police say.

Nearly 80 others were injured in the explosion at the Shia Muslim rally in the Meezan Chowk area.

Pakistani Taliban militants said they had carried out the bombing.

It was the second attack on Pakistan's Shia Muslim minority this week - bombs in Lahore on Wednesday killed dozens in an attack also claimed by the Taliban.

The bombings come at a time when Pakistan is grappling with unprecedented floods that have displaced millions of people.

TV pictures showed chaotic street scenes in the aftermath of Friday's explosion. Survivors fired guns in the air, said police.

Reports said several Pakistani journalists were among those injured.

Shia leader Allama Abbas Kumaili appealed for calm, telling a Pakistani TV channel: "We understand these are attempts to bring Sunni and Shia sects against each other."

Organised by the Shia Imamia Students' Organisation, the rally was one of many that take place in Pakistan each year on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to support the Palestinian demand for a homeland.

Shia Muslims make up an estimated one in five of Pakistan's Sunni-dominated population of 160 million.

The attack comes two days after bomb attacks on a Shia procession in Lahore killed 31 people on Wednesday. At least two of the attacks were suicide bombings, police said.

The Pakistani Taliban said they had carried out the blasts in revenge for the killing of a Sunni leader last year.

Earlier on Friday, in another attack on religious minorities in north-west Pakistan, a suicide bomber killed one person outside a mosque of the Ahmadi sect.

Members of the community have often been the victims of sectarian attacks.

While the Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim and follow all Islamic rituals, they were declared non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1973.

Konkona, Ranvir's to marry this week

2010-09-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Konkona, Ranvir's to marry this week

Updated at: 1513 PST, Thursday, September 02, 2010
MUMBAI: The talented actress Konkona Sen Sharma is all set to tie the knot with her long-time boyfriend actor Ranvir Shorey.

The tentative wedding day is September 3. Both Ranvir and Konkona have been dating each other for the past three years and have been living in together.

The marriage has been kept under wraps and only a couple of close friends are aware of it. The wedding will take place at their Goregaon residence this Friday.

Our source said, "Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir have always believed in keeping their personal life, private. They have never spoken about each other in the media and although everyone is aware about their relationship status, they have not let the media peep into their lives.

Now they are all set to tie the knot on the 3rd of this month and the wedding is also an extremely private affair. Very close friends are aware of it and only a couple of them are invited.

They plan to break the news after they get married this Friday. Konkona's mother Aparna Sen is already in town for the wedding and everything is set."

The source further said, "Ranvir's film The Film Emotional Atyachar is slated for release on September 3 and he is promoting the film everywhere. But he has not informed anyone amongst the cast and crew of the film about his wedding plans."

Labour politicians call for new phone hacking inquiries

2010-09-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

The News of the World says the allegations should be treated with "extreme scepticism"

Labour politicians have urged fresh inquiries into phone hacking claims surrounding the News of the World.

Lord Prescott said he would go to court to find out if his phone was tapped. Ex Home Secretary Alan Johnson said last year's police probe could be reviewed.

A former reporter on the paper told the BBC he had been asked to hack into phone messages by Andy Coulson, then editor, now an aide to David Cameron.

No 10 said Mr Coulson "totally and utterly" denied the allegations.

The News of the World said the claims by Sean Hoare, who it said had been dismissed from the paper, should be treated with "extreme scepticism".

The News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access messages in 2007 but the paper maintained that that was an isolated case.

Calls for further action by Labour politicians were prompted by allegations in the New York Times about the extent of phone hacking which went on at the News of The World.

Last year, the Metropolitan Police chose not to launch an investigation into claims, made by the Guardian newspaper, that a host of public figures - including Lord Prescott - had had their messages hacked by journalists there.

At the time, it said the evidence did not warrant it and suggested Lord Prescott's phone had not been tapped.

It reiterated that on Friday, rejecting suggestions that it had failed to follow up clear leads or come under pressure not to proceed with a full investigation.

While it was seeking clarification from the New York Times about its allegations, it said the investigation remained closed.

Lord Prescott said he wanted to "find the truth" about whether he had been targeted by journalists and would seek a judicial review unless the police supplied him with information in its possession by next week.

Fellow Labour MP Chris Bryant believes he was also targeted but said he had not been informed by the police. Solicitors acting for the MP said they would challenge the Met's decision in court.

And the BBC understands former Labour cabinet minister Tessa Jowell has said her phone was hacked 28 times, according to police, at a time when Mr Coulson was the paper's editor.

'Dark arts'

Separately, shadow home secretary Alan Johnson said there was a case for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to review the Met's handling of the case and he would ask to see Home Office files on the allegations.

“Start Quote

Asked whether or not his position was in doubt, one very senior source in the government said Andy is going nowhere”

Gary O'Donoghue BBC Political Correspondent

However, Conservative MP and government minister Alan Duncan, speaking on Radio 4's Any Questions, said comments by Labour MPs were part of a concerted campaign to attack the government.

"Things are getting ramped up in the media based on rumour and innuendo and, as in the William Hague case, I don't think it's acceptable in this case. And unless anybody comes forward with any clear evidence this is not something that should be pursued," he said.

Mr Hoare, one of the sources for the New York Times' allegations, told the BBC that phone tapping was "endemic" within the industry and he had been personally "requested" to do so by his then editor Andy Coulson.

"He was well aware that the practice exists," he told Radio 4's PM programme.

"It was always done in the language of 'Why don't you sort of practice some of your dark arts on this' which was the metaphor for saying 'Go and hack into the phone'," he explained.

And former News of the World sport reporter Matt Driscoll said he thought it was "unconceivable" that Mr Coulson would have been unaware of phone hacking practices when he was at the paper because "he would be a part of all the big stories that were being made by the paper".

Andy Coulson told MPs last year he did not "use or condone" phone tapping

Mr Coulson resigned after Mr Goodman - and a private investigator - were jailed in 2007, saying he took responsibility for the incident while insisting he was not aware of what the journalist had done and never sanctioned his activities.

He told a Commons committee which looked into the allegations last year that he never "used or condoned" phone tapping and was deceived by the journalist concerned.

While critical of the conduct of the News of The World's journalists, the Culture Committee found no evidence that Mr Coulson either approved of or was aware that phone tapping was taking place.

But Mr Hoare told the BBC that for Mr Coulson to "stand up in front of a Commons committee and say 'I was unaware of this under my watch' was wrong".

The News of the World said the New York Times allegations "contained no new evidence".

'Unsubstantiated allegations'

"It relies on unsubstantiated allegations from unnamed sources or claims from disgruntled former employees that should be treated with extreme scepticism given the reasons for departures from this newspaper," it said in a statement.

"We reject absolutely any suggestion there was widespread culture of wrongdoing at the News of the World."

No 10 has said Mr Coulson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the case and said he stood by his evidence to the Culture Committee last year.

The BBC's Political Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue said there is "some political advantage to the Labour party to stir up as much trouble as possible for Andy Coulson" because he is "central to the Downing Street operation" since he is "very close to David Cameron and extremely important to what he does".

Our correspondent said No 10 "totally and utterly rejected the idea that he allowed anyone [or] asked anyone to hack into any phones".

"Asked whether or not his position was in doubt, one very senior source in the government said Andy is going nowhere," he said.

If you are a national of a country that joined the European Union in or after 2004

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Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania, you do not need to apply to us under the points-based system in order to study in the UK.

You must not work for more than 20 hours per week while you study until we have given you permission. This is unless you are working during your vacation, as part of a course of vocational training, or are otherwise exempt from the worker authorisation requirements. See Bulgarian and Romanian nationals for more information.

Nationals of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia

If you are a national of one of these countries, you do not need to apply to us under the points-based system in order to study in the UK.

You will need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme if you want to work while you are studying in the UK, unless you are exempt from the worker registration requirements. See Worker Registration Scheme for more information.

Do you need to apply for a Tier 4 student visa?

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You can study in the UK without needing to apply for a student visa if:

you are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland;
you are a British overseas territories citizen, unless you are from one of the sovereign base areas in Cyprus;
you are a Commonwealth citizen with permission to enter or stay in the UK because at least one of your grandparents was born here; or
you have no conditions or time limit attached to your stay.

However, there may be restrictions on your ability to work during your studies if you are a national of a country that joined the European Union in or after 2004.

Using this website

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. Read Can you apply? to find out whether you are eligible to come to or remain in the UK to study under Tier 4 (General).

2. Read What evidence must you provide? to find out which documents you must provide with your application - including evidence that you have enough money to pay your fees and living costs.

3. Read Visa fees to find out how much it costs to apply for a student visa under Tier 4 (General).

4. Read Applying to find out how and when to apply.

5. Read Conditions of your stay to find out when you can come (if you are applying from outside the UK), and what you can and cannot do while you are here as a Tier 4 (General) student.

What is the Tier 4 (General) student category?

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The Tier 4 (General) category is for adult students who want to come to or remain in the UK for post-16 education.

If you are 16 or 17 years old and you want to study a course at or above National Qualfication Framework level 3, you and your approved education provider (known as a 'Tier 4 sponsor') can agree whether you should apply under this category or under Tier 4 (Child). However, if you want to study English as a foreign language, you must apply as a Tier 4 (General) student.

Part 6A (p aragraphs 245ZT to 245ZY) of the Immigration Rules contains full details of the category's requirements.

Can you do extra studies while you are in the UK as a Tier 4 student?

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You are allowed to do extra courses (such as evening courses) in addition to your main studies. The course can be on any subject, and does not have to relate to your main course of study.

You do not need toobtain our permission in order to do extra studies, and you do not need to tell your Tier 4 sponsor. But you must ensure that the extra course does not get in the way of the course that you have permission to stay for.

Work placements

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Under Tier 4 (General), you can do a work placement as part of your course of study, provided that the work placement is an assessed part of the course and the course is:

at degree level or above; or
a foundation degree course; or
provided by a Highly Trusted sponsor.

The work placement must be no more than 50 per cent of the length of the course in the UK, unless there is a legal (statutory) requirement for the course to contain a specific period of work placement.

Example 1. You can study a two-year Master's degree course involving 12 months studying with your education provider and a 12-month work placement.

Example 2. You can study for an NQF level 4 diploma involving 26 weeks' classroom learning (with a minimum of 15 hours' taught study per week) and a 26-week work placement arranged at the end of or at any time during the course.

Example 3. You can study for an NVQ level 3 qualification with a work placement run concurrently with the course: 15 hours' classroom study per week with your education provider, plus 15 hours' work placement. Any additional hours worked during the week may be allowed as part of your entitlement to work part-time during term-time (see the 'Conditions of your stay' page), but these additional hours cannot be an assessed part of the course. You will need to arrange them directly with the employer - they cannot be arranged by your education provider.

If your course involves a work placement, your education provider will be responsible for you throughout the work placement.

If you are coming to the UK to do a 'study abroad' programme as part of a higher education course at an overseas higher education institution, you may do a work placement as part of the programme as long as it is no more than 50 per cent of the length of your study in the UK.

Course to prepare you for a main course of study (pre-sessional course)

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A pre-sessional course to prepare you for study is an intensive English language course, or any other course you take to prepare you for your main course of study in the UK.

The pre-sessional course does not need to lead to a qualification, but it must be at the acceptable level for Tier 4 (General) students (see the Your course of study page) unless it is:

a pre-sessional course at an independent school, which may include some academic study as well as English language, to prepare you for your main full-time course of study at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 3 or above; or
a pre-sessional English language course which you study immediately before taking up an unconditional offer of a full-time course of study at NQF level 6 or above, and which is covered with the main course of study under a single confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) issued by your Tier 4 sponsor; or
a pre-sessional English language course which will allow you (if you successfully complete it), to study a full-time course at NQF level 6 or above. You must have the same Tier 4 sponsor for both courses, and that sponsor must have already given you a CAS for the pre-sessional course and a conditional offer for the main course.

If a pre-sessional course meets these requirements, it can be at any level.

If a pre-sessional course is below the acceptable level for Tier 4 (General) students, you may want to apply to study under a different immigration route. However, you cannot switch into Tier 4 if you are in the UK as a child visitor or student visitor - you will need to leave the UK at the end of the pre-sessional course and apply from overseas for permision to study your main course here.

If you have a unconditional offer

If you have an unconditional offer of a place on your main course of study, we may give you permission to study in the UK for both your pre-sessional course and your main course. We will only do this if your pre-sessional course will be:

with the same education provider as your main course; or
with a partner institution named on your education provider's sponsor licence.

Your education provider will need to assign you a single CAS that covers both the pre-sessional course and the main course. The pre-sessional course must end no more than two months before the main course starts.

If you have a conditional offer

If you only have a conditional offer of a place on your main course of study, or if your pre-sessional course provider is separate from your main course provider, you will need to apply to us for permission to do the pre-sessional course first.

If you successfully complete the pre-sessional course, you can apply from inside the UK to extend your stay under Tier 4 and do your main course.

Postgraduate doctors and dentists

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A recognised Foundation Programme for postgraduate doctors and dentists is an acceptable course under Tier 4 (General). You must already have successfully completed a recognised UK degree in medicine or dentistry from:

a Tier 4 (General) sponsor; or
a UK publicly funded institution of further or higher education; or
an institution that is included as a recognised body or a listed body on the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills website.

Higher education course at an overseas institution

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If you are already enrolled on a higher education course at an overseas higher education institution, you can do a short-term 'study abroad' programme in the UK as part of your course. Your overseas course must lead to a qualification that is validated by UK NARIC as being at or above UK degree level. For more information about validation of overseas courses, visit the UK NARIC website.

You will not need to send us evidence that your overseas course is at the right level. Your education provider sponsor will check this before it assigns a confirmation of acceptance for studies to you.

What is an acceptable course of study for a Tier 4 (General) student?

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study full-time in the UK on a course that leads to an approved qualification for our purposes and meets the additional requirements below; or
undertake a recognised Foundation Programme as a postgraduate doctor or dentist in the UK; or
work as a student union sabbatical officer in the UK.

If you want to study full-time, your course must also:

lead to a qualification at or above level 6 on the revised National Qualifications Framework (NQF) or its equivalents; or
be a short-term 'study abroad' programme as part of your qualification at an overseas higher education provider, if UK NARIC has confirmed that the qualification is at or above UK degree level; or
be an English language course at or above level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR); or
be an English language course at any level, if you are a government-sponsored student or if the course is a pre-sessional course which you are taking before a degree course; or
involve at least 15 hours per week of organised daytime study. 'Daytime' is 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday.

If the course is below revised NQF level 6 or equivalent and is not an English language course or a study abroad programme, it must:

be approved at or above level 3 on the NQF or Qualifications and Credits Framework (QCF), or accredited at or above level 6 in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), if you will be studying with a Highly Trusted sponsor; or
be approved at or above level 4 on the NQF or QCF, or accredited at ar above level 7 in the SCQF, if you will be studying with a sponsor that has an A (Trusted) or B (Sponsor) rating; or
be a pre-sessional course to prepare you for your main course of study in the UK.

Level 3 of the NQF is equivalent to a UK 'A-level'. Level 6 of the revised NQF is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree.

A course below degree level cannot include a work placement unless it is:

offered by a Highly Trusted sponsor; or
a foundation degree course.

A work placement must be an assessed part of the course, and must not exceed 50 per cent of the length of the course in the UK.

Your course of study

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This page explains the types of course that you can study as an adult student under Tier 4 (General).

You must study a course at an acceptable level, and there are additional requirements for certain types of course.

You can do a work placement as part of your course, and a short preparatory course if you need one before starting your main course of study.

As well as being at an acceptable level, your course must be provided by an education provider which has a Tier 4 (General) sponsor licence. For more information, see the Your education provider page.

فکسنگ الزامات، سب سے گرم موضوع

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انگریزی اخبار ڈان نے اسے پاکستانی کرکٹ کے لیے ایک اور شدید دھچکا قرار دیا ہے

پاکستان میں آج لوگوں کے درمیان سب سے گرم موضوع میچ فکسنگ کے وہ الزامات ہیں جو پاکستانی کرکٹرز پر لگائے گئے ہیں اور پاکستانی میڈیا چاہے وہ الیکٹرانک ہو یا پرنٹ ہو اس کی ترجیح بھی یہی خبر ہے۔

پاکستان کے زیادہ تر اردو اور انگریزی روز ناموں نے اس خبر کو شہ سرخی کے طور پر شائع کیا ہے۔

انگریزی اخبار دی نیوز نے پاکستانی ٹیم کے مینجر یاور سعید کو نیوز آف دی ورلڈ میں میچ فکسنگ کی خبر پڑھتے ہوئے تصویر کے اوپر لکھا ہے، ’داؤ پر لگی ٹیم۔‘

انگریزی اخبار ڈان کی سرخی ہے پاکستانی کرکٹ کو ایک اور شدید دھچکا۔

ڈیلی ٹائمز نے اس خبر کو سب سے اوپر بہت زیادہ نمایاں طور پر شائع کیا ہے۔

اخبارات نے اس قضیے کو لے کر ان کا پس منظر بھی شائع کیا ہے جیسے روزنامہ خبریں نے اپنی پیشانی پر لکھا ہے کہ میچ فکشنگ کا اعتراف سب سے پہلے عمران خان نے کیا ’اپنی جیت پر رقم لگائی تھی۔‘

نوائے وقت کی شہ سرخی ہے کہ ’میچ فکسنگ قوم کے سر شرم سے جھک گئے:گیلانی۔‘

روز نامہ ایکسپریس نے اپنے کھیل کے صفحے پر لکھا ’میچ فکسنگ سکینڈل سے پاکستانی کرکٹ کے درودیوار لرز اٹھے۔‘

”جنگ اخبار لکھتا ہے ’کرکٹ کے میدانوں سے طاقتوروں کی جاگیروں تک ہر جگہ کرپشن۔‘

بعض اخبارات نے عوامی سروے بھی شائع کیے۔ ان میں کرکٹ شائقین کے حوالے سے لکھا کہ ’سٹے بازی میں ملوث کرکٹرز کو سر عام کوڑے مارے جائیں۔‘

یعنی اخبارات میں اس قضیے کو لے کر ہر طرح سے بھڑاس نکالی گئی۔

اخبارات کے ادارتی صفحات نے میچ فکسنگ کے اس سکینڈل پر اداریے اور کالم شائع ہوئے۔ایک کالم نویس لکھتے ہیں، ’تین نو بالز جس نے کرکٹ کو ہلا کر رکھ دیا۔‘

کچھ پاکستانی اخبارات بے اس خبر کے حوالے سے دوسرا رخ دکھانے کی بھی کوشش کی ہے ۔

ایک روزنامے نے بک میکرز کے حوالے سے لکھا ہے کہ میچ فکسنگ سکینڈل پاکستانی ٹیم کے خلاف بھارتی سازش ہے۔ کرکٹ میں نو بالز پر جواء نہیں ہوتا۔

پاکستان کے نجی ٹیلی ویژنوں پر تو سنیچر اور اتوار کی رات سے ہی اس خبر کو لے کر ہنگامہ برپا ہے۔

تمام پاکستانی ٹی وی چینلز مختلف کرکٹ مبصرین سابق چئرمین اور سابق کرکٹرز سے ان کی آراء لینے میں ایک دوسرے کو مات دینے میں کے لیےایڑی چوٹی کا زور لگانے میں مصروف ہیں۔

چند گھنٹوں میں پاکستان میں کرکٹ کی تاریخ میں ہونے والی بے ضابطیگیوں اور اس سے پہلے ہونے والے میچ فکسنگ اسکینڈلز کا کچا چٹھا ایک بار پھر مختلف قسم کے ٹی وی فیچرز کی شکل میں ناظرین تک پہنچ رہا ہے۔

اس حوالے سے آنے والی تمام خبروں کو بار بار دکھایا جا رہا ہے۔خبریں پڑھنے والے ہر خبر چاہے وہ میچ کے نتیجے کی ہو یا پاکستان ٹیم مینجمنٹ کی پریس کانفرنس ہو دکھانے کے ساتھ ساتھ اس پر طنزیہ اور تضحیک آمیز تبصرے کر رہے ہیں

چند ٹی وی چینلز پر پاکستانی کرکٹرز کی کرائی گئی نو بالز کے پیچھے طنزیہ گانے بجائے جاتے رہے۔

Private toll roads not the answer - M6 motorway report

2010-08-31T03:43:00.001-07:00

Private toll roads not the answer - M6 motorway report

The M6 Toll was opened in 2003 and was intended to relieve congestion

Private toll roads are not a cost-effective answer to traffic problems, the government has been warned.

A report by the Campaign for Better Transport said the UK's only private motorway toll, the M6 Toll, had not significantly cut congestion.

Its owners lose tens of millions of pounds a year on the road, near Birmingham, campaigners added.

Midland Expressway, which runs the M6 Toll, was approached by the BBC but would not comment on the report.

The Campaign for Better Transport concluded that the government should not see privately financed schemes as a way out of economic problems.

Road charge

The group argued that journey times on the M6 were only slightly better than before the toll opened nearly seven years ago, and drivers were put off using the road by the charge of £5 per car.

It estimated the toll road's operator was losing more than £25m a year, discouraging potential investors.

M6 Toll report key findings

The toll road has failed to significantly cut congestion on the M6
Journey times on the M6 are only slightly better than before the toll opened
The cost of the toll for users has risen well above inflation each year
The toll operator has lost around £26 million a year since the toll opened

Source: Campaign for Better Transport

Campaigners used documents from the Highways Agency, the Transport Select Committee and Midland Expressway to compile the report.

Not only had the toll road failed to improve transport in the West Midlands, it concluded, but drivers who paid the toll were not receiving value for money.

In addition it said the Highways Agency was planning to spend £500m on congestion relief that the M6 Toll was supposed to have provided.

The M6 Toll is a 27-mile privately-financed motorway that runs around the north west of Birmingham, between junctions 3a and 12 of the M6.

It opened in December 2003 and was intended to relieve congestion on the busiest section of the M6 by providing an alternative route.

BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott says that with the public finances under pressure and road building under threat, the government is looking at how to improve the transport network in the most cost-effective way.

Mexico arrests 'drug lord' Edgar Valdez

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Mexico arrests 'drug lord' Edgar Valdez

The US had offered a $2m reward for information on Edgar Valdez

Mexican police have arrested alleged drug trafficker Edgar Valdez, a US citizen also known as Barbie, Mexico's attorney general says.

Officials said he put up little resistance when he was captured in a residential area near Mexico City.

Edgar Valdez is linked to the influential Beltran Leyva drug cartel.

Mr Valdez has been fighting Hector Beltran Leyva for control of the gang, previously led by his brother Arturo until he was shot dead last December.

Analysis

Julian Miglierini BBC News, Mexico

Born in Laredo, Texas, Edgar Valdez Villareal had a meteoric rise to the upper echelons of the Beltran Leyva cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organisations.

As the alleged head of the hitmen for the gang, his high profile - and catchy nickname, Barbie, thanks to his fair complexion - made him one of the most famous cartel members and thus he joined the list of Mexico's most wanted men.

Since December last year, when one of the founders of the cartel, Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed by security forces, he was vying for control of the organisation.

His career as a criminal comes to a screeching halt with Monday's arrest, which was celebrated by Mexican authorities.

Monterrey caught up in drug conflict

Earlier this month, police found four decapitated bodies hanging from a bridge in the city of Cuernavaca and their heads were discovered nearby with a message warning that anyone supporting Edgar Valdez would risk a similar fate.

National security spokesman Alejandro Poire told a news conference Mr Valdez had links with criminals across South and Central America.

"This capture constitutes a blow of great impact against organised crime," he said.

Analysts believe his capture will be a boost for President Felipe Calderon, who launched a high-profile fight against the drugs gangs after taking office in 2006.

Mr Calderon hailed the arrest on the Twitter website, calling Mr Valdez "one of the most-wanted criminals in Mexico and abroad".

The US authorities had offered $2m (£1.3m) for information leading to the arrest of the 37-year-old, who was also known as "El Comandante" and "El Guero", as well as "Barbie", because of his fair complexion and blue eyes.

Mr Valdez has been charged with distributing thousands of kilos of cocaine in the eastern US between 2004 and 2006.

His arrest comes weeks after security forces killed Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, a top member of the Sinaloa drug cartel and believed to be the right-hand man of Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, the country's most-wanted drug lord.

The war against the drug cartels has left some 28,000 people dead since Mr Calderon came to power.

He has deployed the army against the traffickers in many parts of the country, despite the opposition of many of his critics.

The federal police force in Mexico said on Monday it had sacked almost 10% - some 3,200 - of its officers this year for corruption, incompetence or links to criminals.

Afghan roadside bombs kill four US soldiers

2010-08-31T03:41:00.002-07:00

Afghan roadside bombs kill four US soldiers

US soldiers have come increasingly under Taliban attack

Four US soldiers have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in eastern Afghanistan, Nato said.

In a press release, Nato said home-made bombs, one of the main weapons of the Taliban, were used in both the attacks. No other details were given.

The attacks come a day after seven US soldiers were killed in two bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan.

The deaths add to the rising trend of casualties for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).

June and July were the worst months for foreign troop deaths since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

Nearly 50 Americans have died in August alone. More than 350 Nato soldiers have been killed this year.

The Nato commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, said international forces had reversed some of the gains the Taliban had made in recent years in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

But, he added, the militants still retained the initiative in some parts of the country.

Housing group gives four-year negative equity warning

2010-08-31T03:41:00.001-07:00

Housing group gives four-year negative equity warning

Low-income families could be locked out of the market, the NHF said

Homeowners who bought at the peak of the market face four more years of negative equity, a housing group said.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) said the average buyer in England paid £216,800 for a home in 2007.

They may now have to wait until 2014 before prices recover enough to make their homes worth more than their loan.

Meanwhile, figures from the Bank of England show that the number of mortgages approved for UK home buyers was barely changed in July at 48,722.

The figures reinforce data from lenders and surveys which suggest that prices have reached a plateau after the revival that started in the spring of 2009.

The Bank's figures show that in July, the number of mortgage approvals was just 160 higher than in June and only slightly higher than the average recorded in the previous six months.

With lenders continuing to ration severely their loans to house buyers, net mortgage lending rose by only £86m in July, one of the lowest monthly increases on record.

"The Bank's July mortgage figures offer further evidence of a stabilisation in the level of home loans," said Brian Murphy of mortgage brokers the Mortgage Advice Bureau.

"The October Spending Review — D-Day for consumer confidence — is approaching fast and many prospective borrowers are understandably being cautious."

Forecasts

According to the NHF, house prices in England will dip again next year by 3%, before steadily climbing thereafter.

“Start Quote

Proposed caps on housing benefit payments could also put nearly a million people on low incomes at risk of losing their home”

David Orr National Housing Federation chief executive

The federation expects prices to be 22% higher by 2015 than they were in 2009, bringing the average price of a house to £226,900.

The NHF, which represents housing associations in England, said in its report that prices are still too high for many buyers.

Unless homeowners wish to sell their property, being in negative equity - when your home has become worth less than the mortgage secured against it - does not necessarily pose a problem.

But it is when people are looking to move that they can face a struggle, as lenders are entitled to insist that borrowers redeem their loans.

In theory, if the mortgage is worth more than the house and the borrowers cannot find the money elsewhere, they will be prevented from moving.

'Perfect storm'

Other groups have issued similar forecasts.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said that house prices are starting to fall, while figures from the Land Registry suggest that prices are levelling off.

The accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers expects prices to be flat for the second half of 2010, and warned that they might not reach the levels seen at the peak of the market for another decade.

"A combination of circumstances in the market have made it very, very difficult for house prices to recover," NHF chief executive David Orr told the BBC.

"But actually the big problem that we have is that we've created a kind of perfect storm where there is negative equity for some people and they're trapped and can't move, but prices haven't come down enough to make buying a home a realistic option for people in their 20s and 30s in ordinary jobs.

"We really are in danger of pricing people out of owner-occupation."

He also criticised government decisions to scrap regional house-building targets and withdraw funding for affordable housing.

"Proposed caps on housing benefit payments could also put nearly a million people on low incomes at risk of losing their home," he added.

Ed Balls slams 'daily soap opera' of Miliband brothers

2010-08-31T02:48:00.001-07:00

Ed Balls slams 'daily soap opera' of Miliband brothers

Ed Balls is calling for money to be made available for more affordable housing

Labour leadership candidate Ed Balls has criticised the "daily episodes" of the "soap opera" surrounding fellow contenders Ed and David Miliband.

Calling for £6bn to be invested in affordable homes, he said their rivalry "did not do justice to the issues".

Labour heavyweights Lord Kinnock and Lord Mandelson have also clashed following Ed Miliband's criticisms of the New Labour project.

Voting in the leadership contest gets under way on Wednesday.

Labour Leadership Contest

Labour leader: Runners and riders
Labour leadership rules
Newsnight leadership hustings
Kuenssberg meets: Andy Burnham Watch

The final weeks of the battle have been dominated by the "increasingly fractious battle" between the Miliband brothers, BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said.

Ahead of a campaign event in London, Mr Balls said the debates about Old and New Labour were detracting from the issues at stake.

'Hark back'

He told the BBC: "We've had a daily soap opera of one Miliband brother or the other, with their supporters or non-supporters, commenting here and there.

"It is a bit like in the election campaign where it was all about personalities. I think what the public want to know, what Labour members and voters want to know, is do we have plans to deal with the big issues of our time?"

He called for Labour to focus more on the issue of housebuilding.

Mr Balls, the shadow education secretary, said the government should use a £12bn "windfall" - available because public borrowing for 2009-10 came in at £155bn, lower than the earlier forecast of £167bn - to create more homes.

Analysis

Norman Smith Chief political correspondent, BBC Radio 4

Suddenly it seems the Labour leadership contest is getting personal.

First Lord Mandelson warns that Ed Miliband would lead the party up an "electoral cul de sac"; then Lord Kinnock accuses Lord Mandelson of "personalised factionalism;" and Ed Balls bemoans the "Miliband soap opera."

But this is about a lot more than personalities. The angry exchanges are because such experienced Labour figures recognise this contest is about fundamental choices over the future direction of the Labour Party.

In short, whether Labour turns its back on the New Labour inheritance or seeks to build upon it.

Ed Miliband - while hardly the born-again Bennite he is sometimes characterised as - has defined his whole campaign by criticising much of the Blairite approach - and would seem intent on taking the party to the left.

His brother David - is much more comfortable with the Blairite years - and critical of what he clearly regards as his rival's core vote approach.

And the stakes for Labour are immense. Get it wrong and the party risks years in opposition. No wonder, then, that its getting personal.

He admitted Labour's pre-election plans to build 176,000 social homes over four years were "too cautious", saying: "The truth is that whilst we made progress, Labour leaders over several decades never paid enough sustained attention to housing to make it the priority it deserved. That must change.

"We now need a strong housing policy to support our economy, to provide the homes Britain badly needs and to reconnect with the voters we lost, both young families who want a home of their own and those queuing patiently for social housing."

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, who is backing Ed Miliband in the contest, said in his letter to the Times newspaper that Lord Mandelson was "indulging in the sort of personalised factionalism that has inflicted such damage on our party in ancient and modern history".

Lord Mandelson, the former business secretary, has said Labour could be left in an "electoral cul-de-sac" if its next leader tried to create a "pre-New Labour party" - seen as a criticism of Ed Miliband.

He was reacting after the leadership hopeful suggested New Labour had feared increasing taxes for high earners, had displayed an aversion to Old Labour's anti-Americanism and had suffered from an unnecessary desire to protect the public from the views of Labour members.

Speaking to the Times, Lord Mandelson addressed Mr Miliband's criticisms of New Labour.

He said: "I think that if he or anyone else wants to create a pre-New Labour future for the party then he and the rest of them will quickly find that that is an electoral cul-de-sac."

The peer also accused Lord Hattersley and Lord Kinnock of wanting to "hark back to a previous age".

Voting in the contest will continue until 22 September, with the winner being announced on the first day of the party's conference in Manchester on 25 September.

The other candidates are Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham.

Chile begins drilling mine rescue shaft

2010-08-31T02:47:00.001-07:00

Chile begins drilling mine rescue shaft

The drilling is the start of up to four months of work to free the men

Engineers in Chile have begun drilling the rescue shaft through which they hope to eventually free the 33 men trapped in a collapsed gold mine.

The miners have been stuck 700m (2,300ft) underground for the past three weeks.

Officials say it could take up to four months for the tunnel to be completed and the men to be winched out.

Some of the miners have developed fungal infections and body sores in the hot conditions underground.

Chile's Trapped Miners

Conversation of hope
Rescuers' challenge
In pictures: 'Ground Zero'
Realism amid elation

A huge Australian-made "Strata 950" excavator began work late on Monday.

The machine dug a narrow test hole, and will now drill down to the men, before widening the shaft to about 60cm.

The miners will have to clear thousands of tonnes of falling debris in round-the-clock shifts, although officials say the men are in no danger of being hit.

The rescue shaft is likely to take 90 to 120 days to complete. Then a capsule can be lowered down to retrieve the miners one by one.

Mining Minister Laurence Golborne had said up to 10 options were being considered in the efforts to rescue the men.

But he dismissed suggestions that the men could be out within a month, saying: "Up to now there is no alternative... that would allow us to get them out in 30 days."

At present, rescue workers are using three narrow shafts to send essential supplies to the trapped men, and ensure they have adequate ventilation.

Vaccinations

On Sunday, the miners were each able to speak to family members for one minute by telephone.

Click to play

The supply line which is proving vital to the Chilean miners

Alicia Campos said she broke down as she said goodbye to her son, Daniel Herrero, promising him she would see him again.

"His voice is the same. He's not good, but not so bad either," she said.

Jessica Chille said speaking to her husband, Dario Segovia, had been "a balm to my heart".

The men are trapped in a refuge chamber of the mine, where they managed to take shelter after a rock collapse on 5 August.

One of the men has some medical training and has been able to give his colleagues vaccinations against tetanus. They will be sent flu vaccinations later this week.

Quick-dry clothing has also been sent down, after some of the miners said they were suffering from skin conditions in the hot, wet conditions. Others have been sent mats to sleep on to protect them from the damp ground.

They have also been sent mp3 players to listen to music and a small screen, so they can watch football matches.

'Well organised'

The drill will first make a pilot shaft and then widen it out sufficiently for a rescue capsule to be lowered

Four experts from Nasa are due to arrive at the mine this week at the request of the Chilean authorities, to advise the miners and rescuers on how to cope with their situation.

The team includes a doctor, nutritionist, and engineer and a psychologist.

Nasa deputy chief medical officer Michael Duncan said that while the environment was different to that experienced by astronauts, "the human response in "physiology, behaviour, responses to emergencies is quite similar".

"We think that some of the things we learned in research and operation can be adaptable to the miners who are trapped under the ground," he said.

Mr Duncan praised the responses of the miners and officials, saying they appeared to be well organised.

"They have done a lot for the miners, and in fact the miners have done a lot for themselves underground," he said.

Families of the men have set up a temporary encampment at the head of the mine, which they have called Camp Hope.

The BBC's James Reynolds at the mine, about 800km (500 miles) north of Santiago, says a shrine has been built for each of the miners, covered in photographs, messages and football shirts.

How rescuers will drill to save miners

1. First, a 33cm pilot hole is drilled down to the miners' location 2. Next, the hole is "reamed" with a wider drill to a diameter of between 60 and 70cm. Debris falls down the hole to the bottom 3. Thirdly, a rescue capsule is lowered down to the men and each is slowly brought to the surface

Four Pakistan cricketers 'unlikely' to finish tour

2010-08-31T02:45:00.000-07:00

Four Pakistan cricketers 'unlikely' to finish tour

Test captain Salman Butt is one of four players in the spotlight

Four Pakistan cricketers under scrutiny for claims of spot-fixing are unlikely to play again on the current England tour, the BBC understands.

The BBC's Pat Murphy said the four may lack the mental focus required to play.

The International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit is preparing an urgent report, while police carry out a separate criminal investigation.

The four players being questioned are Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Kamran Akmal.

Murphy added that the ICC was concerned about banning the four players based on a newspaper expose and an incomplete investigation from Scotland Yard, and therefore wanted to receive the findings from the anti-corruption unit urgently. It is expected within days.

The anti-corruption unit's representatives are now in the UK, while the Pakistani government is sending its equivalent members to work with Scotland Yard. An ICC press conference has now been pencilled in for Thursday.

Click to play

Pakistan's team manager Yawar Saeed: "No allegations are true til they are proved"

Murphy told BBC Radio 5 live: "A conference call between Pakistan high commissioner [Wajid Shamsul Hasan] and chairman of the cricket board [Ijaz Butt], who are in London and sports minister [Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani] in Islamabad will take place on Tuesday.

"And given the importance of cricket in Pakistan, Prime Minister [Yusuf Raza Gilani] may also be directly involved in the discussions.

"Although the players will still be deemed to be innocent until proven guilty, it's almost certain they will taken out of the firing line and the formula of words citing mental pressure and a lack of necessary focus, will necessitate their withdrawal from the Twenty20 matches and the one-day series."

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told BBC Radio 5 live that the intention is to conclude the investigation before the start of the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England, in Cardiff on Sunday.

The ICC has also stated that Pakistan's tour of England will carry on - they are due to play Somerset in a tour match from Thursday - president Sharad Pawar said it was the "desire of the ICC and the cricket boards of England and Pakistan that the game should continue".

Lorgat added: "The reputation of the game has been tarnished and it is something we must make right. There is no question that people's confidence will have been swayed.

"We're busy with the Metropolitan Police and hope, before the weekend arrives, we can get to some sort of a conclusion.

"We are working hard, but it's important to remember that an individual is innocent until proven guilty.

If any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out

Chief executive Haroon Lorgat

"I'm in touch with the investigators. It's likely I might have to come across to London. But this is a live issue which moves with the hour, every hour.

"At the moment, it is appropriate that the game continues. We shouldn't let everyone suffer because of a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices.

"The vast majority of players are not guilty of any such behaviour. They play the sport in the right spirit, and there are many fans who want to watch the game.

"We shouldn't let a couple of individuals, a few players, bring the entire game to a standstill."

Test captain Butt, fast bowlers Amir and Asif and wicketkeeper Akmal were questioned by police at the team's hotel in London on Sunday following a report that some Pakistan players had been bribed to fix incidents during the fourth Test against England at Lord's.

The allegations centred on three no-balls from Amir and Asif which the News of the World newspaper said had been bowled on purpose at pre-determined times to facilitate betting coups after a "middle man" accepted £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter.

The man identified as the alleged go-between, cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, 35, has been released on police bail after being arrested on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

Investigators from the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit are already in the UK conducting enquiries of their own as well as "assisting London's Metropolitan Police with their criminal investigation".

"If any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game," said Lorgat in a statement earlier.

On Monday, the Pakistan team coach left London for Taunton ahead of the match against Somerset. Pakistan are then due to continue their tour with the two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day internationals against England in September.

Test captain Butt - the one-day side is led by Shahid Afridi - boarded the coach with Amir, Asif and Akmal, plus the rest of his team-mates, despite calls from a number of quarters for the quartet to be suspended from the final part of the tour pending investigations.

There were audible, but isolated, shouts of abuse from at least one member of the public after a crowd gathered to watch the players leave London.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould said he expected the team to receive a "warm welcome" on Thursday.

He added: "They have a net session booked in for Wednesday and if they want anything else we will be happy to provide it. This game has been looked forward to by many of our supporters and members and we think they will give the Pakistan team a warm welcome."

Pakistan's team manager Yawar Saeed revealed there were "sober feelings" in the dressing room, but added: "No allegations are true until they are proved."

Cricket agent Mazhar also owns Croydon Athletic Football Club who have released a statement saying they are "devastated and appalled to hear of the alleged match-fixing of international cricket matches by its owner Mazhar Majeed".

Pakistan cricket 'match-fixing' in urdu

2010-08-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

Pakistan embroiled in cricket 'match-fixing' probe

2010-08-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

LONDON: Pakistan's embattled cricket team were embroiled in allegations of match-fixing on Sunday after British police arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

The controversy erupted after the News of the World alleged some members of the Pakistan team were involved in a betting scam in the ongoing fourth and final Test against England at Lord's.

Britain's biggest-selling newspaper claimed several blatant no-balls had been delivered by Pakistan bowlers.

The weekly tabloid said it gave 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) to a middle man who correctly told them in advance precisely when those deliveries would be bowled.

"Following information received from the News of the World we have arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police said.

Despite the latest controversy swirling around the game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) insisted the fourth Test would continue as scheduled on Sunday, adding that no "players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident".

Pakistan tour manager Yawar Saeed added: "I can confirm we are aware of the allegations. Scotland Yard (Metropolitan) police are with us now at our hotel and we are helping them with their enquiries.

"This is as much as I can say at the moment."

The News of the World published images and dialogue from the encounter and a picture of what it said was one of the promised no-balls delivered on Friday.

It also ran a photograph of Pakistan captain Salman Butt standing with the man they claimed was the middleman, and one of their reporters.

The News of the World claimed their reporters had posed as front men for an Asian gambling cartel, paying 10,000 pounds to the alleged fixer as an upfront deposit.

They met again on Wednesday in a west London hotel room to hand over the rest of the money as their "entry ticket" into what they claimed was a "huge betting syndicate".

They claimed the middle man then correctly predicted when the no-balls would be bowled.

The newspaper showed the alleged fixer with piles of cash on a table.

Meanwhile, the ICC said the match would continue as planned on Sunday at Lord's, the spiritual home of the game.

"The International Cricket Council, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been informed by the Metropolitan Police that a 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," said an ICC statement.

"The Metropolitan Police have informed the ICC, ECB and PCB that their investigations continue and ICC, ECB and PCB, with the involvement of the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit, are fully assisting those enquiries.

"No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday.

"As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), will make any further comment," it added.

Pakistan, who have been dogged by 'fixing' allegations since the 1990s, collapsed spectacularly yet again Saturday to leave England closing in on an innings victory.

At stumps, Pakistan, following on, were 41 for four in their second innings, having been dismissed for just 74 first time around.

That left them still 331 runs adrift of England's first innings 446 as the home team eyed a victory that would give them a 3-1 win in their final series before they begin the defence of the Ashes in Australia in November.

There was also a controversial finish to Pakistan's 2006 Test series in England.

They forfeited the final match at The Oval in south London, having refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day because they'd been penalised for ball-tampering.

Pakistan have been unable to play matches at home since an armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March last year effectively turned the country into a 'no-go area' for international cricket.

Rani is Out, Katrina is Aditya’s n muse

2010-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 1448 PST, Thursday, August 19, 2010
MUMBAI: Rani Mukherjee, who used to be the muse for filmmaker Aditya Chopra, is no longer the director’s lucky charm.

Adi, as the filmmaker is fondly called in the industry, held Rani of Black fame in high esteem as his lucky mascot until recently, when it seems the spell of another Bollywood belle has been cast on him. The new arrival in the filmy world of Adi is none other than the charming Katrina Kaif.

A source close to the filmmaker reveals that Adi has developed a liking for Katrina after New York, starring Kat along with Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham, became a blockbuster last year. The words emanating from the grapevine are that being bitten by the bug that is Katrina’s beguiling beauty, Aditya has been spending quality time with her. In addition, the Bollywood beauty has been taking career tips from him as per the reports.

The buzz in the air also reveals that Katrina has walked out of Abbas Mustan’s The Italian Job because Adi thought that this is the high noon of her career and she should not do insignificant roles.

The source also informs that Kat is going to do three films under the banner of the Chopras. Katrina herself confirms that she is doing a Yash Raj film with Imran Khan and she is supposed to be cast in the female lead in Dhoom 3 under the same banner.

Boy killed as fresh clashes erupt in IHK: police

2010-08-20T00:08:00.001-07:00

Updated at: 0112 PST, Friday, August 20, 2010
SRINAGAR: Twenty people were hurt Thursday in fresh clashes with police after the death of a nine-year old boy injured during a weekend protest in Indian Occupied Kashmir, police said.

The death brought to 59 the number of protesters and bystanders killed in two months of violent protests in the mainly Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, most of them young men or teenagers shot dead by security forces.

The boy, who was not part of any protest, had been shot in southern Kulgam district Saturday and died in hospital Thursday, police said.

"He was injured when a stray bullet hit him after security forces opened fire to quell a demonstration," a police spokesman said.

Thousands of Kulgam residents, shouting, "We want freedom" and "blood for blood" attended his funeral, which dispersed peacefully.

In Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital, hundreds defied strict curfew restrictions in several places and staged protests against Indian rule, witnesses said.

Riot police fired live ammunition, tear-gas and wielded batons, injuring 17 protesters and bystanders, a police officer said, asking not to be named.

He said three of the injured suffered bullet wounds and were from the same family -- a man, his daughter and daughter-in-law.

Protesters retaliated by hurling rocks and bricks, injuring three policemen.

Srinagar has been under a rolling curfew after separatists called on residents to hold protests against Indian rule.

Anti-Indian sentiments run deep in the valley, and recent protests that started on June 11 after a teenage student was killed by a police tear-gas shell, are the biggest in recent years.

Kashmir is in the grip of a 20-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has left more than 47,000 people dead by an official count.

Boy killed as fresh clashes erupt in IHK: police

2010-08-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

UN urges faster Pakistan flood aid

2010-08-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

Updated at: 0238 PST, Friday, August 20, 2010
UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the Pakistan flooding is the worst natural disaster he has ever seen - as more heavy rain heads towards the worst-hit areas.

With the first case of cholera reported, Ban has also urged foreign donors to speed up aid to the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said as many as 300,000 people may contract cholera and up to seven million will suffer from diarrhoea.

Up to 1,600 people have died in the disaster and around 20 million have been left homeless.

After pledging a further $10m from the UN's central emergency response fund, Ban said: "This has been a heart-wrenching day - I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed.

In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.

"I am here... to share my sympathy and solidarity of the United Nations together with the people and government of Pakistan at this time of trial.

"I am here also to urge the world community to speed up their assistance to Pakistan.

"Waves of flood must be met with waves of support from the world."

So far, only one case of cholera has been confirmed by the UN, but other cases are suspected among those with diarrhoea.

Mark Ward, acting director of the US department for foreign disaster assistance, said cholera was "unavoidable" - but could be controlled.

He praised a system set up by the WHO to quickly detect any cases of the disease or other waterborne illnesses common after flooding.

"The good news is that we know where it is and we can get resources in there to help because of the disease early warning system," he said.

"When you are dealing with this much water and that many people, it (cholera) is almost unavoidable. I think we can control this."

Cholera, a bacterial intestinal infection typically spread through contaminated water, causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration and can be fatal.

Fresh flood waves have swelled the River Indus, threatening nearby cities, towns and villages in southern Sindh province, said senior meteorologist Mohammed Ajmal Shad.

Authorities are trying to evacuate or warn people in Jacobabad, Hyderabad, Thatta, Ghotki, Larkana and other areas in Sindh province that so far have been spared floods.

Meanwhile, more American helicopters have joined food aid work, with the US assigning aircraft from the USS Peleliu in the Arabian Sea.

And France has announced it will send a plane loaded with 60 tons of aid to the region.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the world and Pakistan faced a "defining moment," while Britain and the United States raised their combined aid contributions to 250 million dollars.

"I stand before you as the voice of 20 million Pakistanis devastated by the floods," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the UN General Assembly's emergency fund-raising session in New York.

"The massive upheaval caused by the floods and the economic losses suffered by the millions of Pakistanis must be addressed urgently. We cannot allow this catastrophe to become an opportunity for the terrorists."

Although weather forecasters say the monsoon systems are easing off and water levels receding, the fallout from three weeks of devastating floods that have left nearly 1,500 people dead is likely to last for years.

The nuclear-armed nation of 167 million is a top US foreign policy priority due to the threat posed by Islamist extremists, as Washington tries to bring an end to the nine-year war against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

In a poignant video message, Clinton urged Americans and the world to reach deep into their pockets for the crucial war on terror ally, saying: "This is a defining moment -- not only for Pakistan, but for all of us.

"The enormity of this crisis is hard to fathom, the rain continues to fall, and the extent of the devastation is still difficult to gauge.

"In surveying the lives and landscape affected by this disaster, we see brothers and sisters; mothers and fathers; daughters and sons. We see 20 million members of the human family in desperate need of help."

Clinton doubled US aid from 90 million dollars to 150 million dollars, while Britain said it planned to double its contribution to more than 64 million pounds (99 million dollars).

"I have come to New York directly from Pakistan, where I saw the dire need for more help," British Development Secretary Andrew Mitchells told the General Assembly. "It is deeply depressing that the international community is only now waking up to the true scale of this disaster."

Clinton announced that the State Department had set up a Pakistan Relief Fund and urged Americans to donate, either online or by texting F-L-O-O-D to a special cell phone number.

"Every dollar makes a difference," she said. "Five dollars can buy 50 high energy bars providing much needed nutrition; 10 dollars can provide a child or mother with a blanket; and about 40 dollars can buy material to shelter a family of four."

The US pointman on Pakistan called on China to join the global effort, saying billions of dollars would be needed for the country's reconstruction.

"I think the Chinese should step up to the plate," Richard Holbrooke told reporters at an Asia Society event before the UN meeting.

More than 40 speakers were scheduled to take the floor of the General Assembly to pledge increased assistance.

Opening the special session, UN chief Ban Ki-moon described the disaster as "one of the greatest tests of global solidarity" and said Pakistan was facing a "slow-motion tsunami."

Qureshi said the economic damage was at least 43 billion dollars and warned that failure to assist, "could undermine the hard won gains made by the government in our difficult and painful war against terrorism."

The General Assembly adopted a resolution urging the international community to help Pakistan recover, as foreign donors belatedly rallied in support of the embattled Muslim nation.

The Asian Development Bank said it would provide two billion dollars to repair roads, bridges, power lines, homes, schools, medical facilities and farm structures, and the World Bank has promised to lend 900 million dollars.

At least six million flood survivors in desperate need of food, shelter and clean drinking water require humanitarian assistance to survive, as concerns grow over potential cholera, typhoid and hepatitis outbreaks.

The floods wiped out villages, farmland and infrastructure, and UN aid coordination body OCHA said more than 650,000 homeless families were still without basic shelter.

In Islamabad, US Senator John Kerry and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari urged the world to act swiftly to stop extremists exploiting the country's devastating floods and to prevent social unrest.

B.A./B.Sc. result annual examination 2010

2010-08-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

The result of B.A./B.Sc. Annual 2010 has been scheduled to be declared on 17th August 2010.

Eric Pickles announces plans to scrap Audit Commission

2010-08-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

England's public spending watchdog the Audit Commission, which employs 2,000 people, is to be scrapped.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the move would save £50m a year.

Commission Chairman Michael O'Higgins said the watchdog had improved the quality of local services since its inception in 1983.

He said the commission regretted the government's decision but the body had already been looking at moving some of its work into the private sector.

Staff received an email from management on Friday. A source told the BBC it came "completely out of the blue".

Surprising move

In a press statement, Mr Pickles said the commission's research functions would stop and councils would be able to ask private companies to carry out audits. There would also be a "new audit framework" for local health services.

In May, Mr Pickles vetoed the £240,000 salary for the new head of the Audit Commission. Earlier this month he criticised its decision to pay a lobbying firm £55,617.

A source at the commission told the BBC that moving some of the auditing into the private sector could end up costing more.

But Mr Pickles said: "The corporate centre of the Audit Commission has lost its way. Rather than being a watchdog that champions taxpayers' interests, it has become the creature of the Whitehall state.

Analysis

Laura Kuenssberg Chief political correspondent, BBC News channel

"The Audit Commission is a body that has been responsible for checking how councils, and some health organisations, spend taxpayers' money.

There have over the last few weeks been some quite bad tempered tussles between the Audit Commission and the new coalition government.

But the fact that it is to be scrapped has come completely out of the blue.

The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles' belief is that bringing in the private sector will increase the amount of competition and drive down costs.

Sources I've spoken to believe the Audit Commission can do the job more cheaply than big private accounting firms.

Tonight, the victim of the latest cuts announcement is clear - 2,000 staff at the Audit Commission will lose their jobs - at any rate in their present form."

"We need to redress this balance. Audit should remain to ensure taxpayers' money is properly spent, but this can be done in a competitive environment, drawing on professional audit expertise across the country."

He said he wanted to see the commission's auditing function become independent of government and compete for business from the public and private sector.

He later told BBC Radio 4's PM programme it could mean being bought by another company, or the auditing arm becoming a co-operative, like John Lewis.

Job losses

Asked about job losses, he said: "In terms of people working for the Audit Commission, almost certainly we are looking for them to be able to continue in another form."

He also said the Audit Commission had already been thinking about putting the auditing function out to the private sector.

In a statement, Mr O'Higgins said: "The Audit Commission was set up by a Conservative Secretary of State in 1983, and I believe we have more than fulfilled Michael Heseltine's ambitions when he set it up.

He said the commission had exposed poor practice and had played a significant role in improving services across the country.

'Uncertainty'

"The gerrymandering 'homes for votes' scandal at Westminster Council was uncovered by the Audit Commission," he said.

He said the commission's successes had enabled ministers to give local authorities more autonomy.

Earlier, Mr O'Higgins told the BBC Radio 4's PM programme the decision was only confirmed at 1000 BST on Friday.

He said Mr Pickles' comments about the body were "characteristically robust and quotable" but argued the body had criticised Whitehall and saved £600m in one fraud initiative alone and the quality of local government had vastly improved.

Audit Commission

The Audit Commission for Local Authorities in England and Wales was established in 1983
It is an independent watchdog "driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness" in local public services
The commission assumed auditing responsibility for the National Health Service in 1980
Functions were extended to fire and rescue services in 2004
Its remit in Wales was transferred to the auditor general for Wales, also in 2004
The commission now covers local government, health, housing, community safety and fire brigades
It audits £200bn spent by 11,000 local public bodies

He also said some major audit firms were interested in acquiring parts of the commission's audit function - and they would look at mutualisation or a management buyout.

He said there would inevitably be "uncertainty for staff" but until a decision about the next step was made, the commission would continue to carry out its work.

In a statement, Labour's shadow communities secretary John Denham said the move meant taxpayers would have "no coherent information" about how much value for money their local services provided.

He said: "The Audit Commission doesn't just look at the cost but at the quality.

"Without the function of the Audit Commission there will be no one to step in when a council is failing, as Doncaster was recently.

"This move by the government shows they are only interested in the cost of everything and the value of nothing."

He added: "I had warned The Audit Commission against excessive wage increases and their fate seemed to be sealed when they ignored this but the commission needed reform - not abolition."

Clive Betts, the Labour chairman of the communities and local government select committee, suggested to BBC Radio 4's PM programme there might be a "political motive" behind the move - saying there were "quite a few Labour people" including former councillors on the body.

The watchdog has offices in London, Bristol, Leicester, Solihull, Stevenage, Bolton, Gateshead, Leeds and Exeter.

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