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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Scientologists banned from editing Wikipedia

Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has decided to block "the Church of Scientology and its associates" from editing entries on its site, citing a "longstanding struggle" between admirers and critics of the controversial movement.Wikipedia has blocked the Church of Scientology from editing entries at the communally-crafted online encyclopedia due to an unrelenting battle over the group's image.A "longstanding struggle" between admirers of Scientology and critics of the group prompted Wikipedia on Thursday to bar online edits from computer addresses "owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates."An array of editors believed to have taken sides in a Scientology public-image war at Wikipedia have also been barred from tinkering with topics related to the church."Each side wishes the articles within this topic to reflect their point of view and have resorted to battlefield editing tactics," senior Wikipedia editors said in arbitration committee findings backing the decision."The worst casualties have been biographies of living people, where attempts have been repeatedly made to slant the article either towards or against the subject, depending on the point of view of the contributing editor."A church spokeswoman downplayed the development, saying the Wikipedia arbitration committee is part of a routine process for handling conflicts at the website."Do Scientologists care what has been posted on Wikipedia? Of course," said Karin Pouw. "Some of it has been very hateful and erroneous. We hope all this will result in more accurate and useful articles on Wikipedia."

Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 to win FA Cup

Chelsea have beaten Everton 2-1 to win the 2009 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Louis Saha scored the fastest-ever goal in an FA Cup final, in just 25 seconds.Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink admitted winning Saturday's FA Cup final against Everton was the perfect way to end his brief tenure at Stamford Bridge.Blues boss Hiddink will resume his role as Russia coach on a full-time basis in June and the Dutchman was granted a farewell to remember at Wembley thanks to Frank Lampard's second-half winner.Chelsea's players presented Hiddink with an engraved watch and a signed shirt as a thank-you for his revitalising four-month spell in charge, but the only gift both the manager and his players really wanted was the cup.After Louis Saha's stunning goal just 25 seconds into the match, Chelsea showed the calmness that Hiddink demands of his players and equalised through Didier Drogba before Lampard hit the long-range strike that sealed a 2-1 win.Although he has enjoyed European Cup-winning success with PSV Eindhoven, as well as impressive World Cup campaigns with Australia and South Korea, Hiddink hailed the victory as one of his finest."It was one of the biggest achievements of my career, winning in the Mecca of world football, the FA Cup is something you cannot believe," Hiddink said."We were very tough and the team has showed after a setback they react always, which is what I like."I loved it so much, I enjoyed it so much working with big stars but they knew what it's all about. They showed in the Premier League and Champions League and here, a lot of character."When Hiddink replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari in February, Chelsea were a squad in danger of stagnating, but he led them to the Champions League semi-finals, third place in the Premier League and now their first piece of silverware for two years.

Iran Hangs 3 for Involvement in Deadly Mosque Bombing

Three people convicted of involvement in a mosque bombing in southeastern Iran that killed 25 were hanged Saturday, Iran's official news agency reported.The three men supplied explosives to the perpetrators who carried out the Thursday bombing in Zahedan, 1,000 miles southeast of the capital Tehran, said a statement issued by the judiciary.Ebrahim Hamidi, the head of the justice department in Zahedan, said that the men were actually arrested before the mosque bombing, but they had "confessed to importing explosives into Iran and providing them to the main person behind the attack."He added that the men, identified as Haji Nouti Zehi, Gholam Rasoul Shahoo Zehi and Zabihollah Naroui, were also involved in several other bombings including a bus attack in 2006.Jundallah or God's Brigade, a Sunni militant group believed to have links with Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.The group is composed of Sunni Muslims from the Baluchi ethnic minority who have been fighting a low level insurgency in southeastern Iran for years, complaining of persecution by the overwhelmingly Shiite and Persian Iranian government.

Pakistani Troops Retake Largest Town in Swat Valley

The Taliban have fled the Pakistani army's advance on the main town in the Swat Valley, delivering the military a strategic prize in its offensive against militants in the country's northwest, commanders said Saturday.Taliban fighters had dug themselves into bunkers built into hotels and government buildings in Mingora, and initially offered stiff resistance as troops first closed roads leading to the town then began moving in earlier this week, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.Aid was being distributed to some of the estimated 20,000 who were trapped in Mingora, and water and gas supplies were being restored.But Abbas said it would be at least two weeks before power is switched back on, and refugees were not yet being encouraged to start returning to their homes.About 3 million people have fled the fighting in Swat, and the exodus has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis.Abbas said an unknown number of militant fighters were able to escape Mingora town despite the military having it surrounded, raising the prospect that they could return to the fight elsewhere.The military launched a major offensive about one month ago in the Swat Valley and neighboring areas to oust Taliban militants who had been extending their control over the northwestern region near the border with Afghanistan.U.S. and other officials say the lawless border region is being used by al-Qaida and the Taliban as a base to plan and launch attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan, and see the offensive as a test of Pakistan's resolve to fight extremism on its soil.Government troops had been advancing steadily into the Swat region for about a month, bombarding towns from the air and fighting house-to-house with Taliban gunmen in some places."When they realized that if they did not leave these areas the noose would tighten around them and they would not find a way to leave ... they decided to end the fight and leave," Abbas said.Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the number of people uprooted from their homes by the fighting had reached "around 3 million," and that more than 190,000 of them were living in refugee camps. The rest are staying with relatives or relying on goodwill from local residents.The widespread domestic support for the campaign so far could sour if the government is perceived to have failed the refugees, or if a high number of civilian casualties is revealed.Abbas said an emergency medical team had been flown to Mingora and would work to reopen the town's hospital and treat civilians wounded in the fighting.The Taliban has warned it will launch terrorist strikes in Pakistani cities in retaliation for the campaign, and claimed responsibility for last Wednesday's gun and suicide bomb attack in the eastern city of Lahore that killed at least 30 people. A day later, three suicide bombings killed at least 14 people in two cities in the northwest.Abbas said on Saturday that 1,217 militants have been killed in the Swat offensive and 79 arrested, and 81 soldiers have died. The military has not released civilian casualty numbers and says all care is being taken to protect the innocent.The figures could not be independently verified. The tally and the extent of destruction caused by the fighting is largely unknown because media have been restricted from traveling in the region.Abbas said he could not say how long the offensive would last.Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday defended the decision to launch the operation, saying it was necessary because the Taliban's advance from its stronghold of Swat into neighboring Buner last month was a direct challenge to the government."The very existence of Pakistan was at stake, we had to start the operation," Gilani told a group of workers at state-owned Pakistan Television.He promised cash payments to people forced from their homes and a massive reconstruction effort.

Number of displaced persons exceeds three million

Refugees make their way

The number of internally displaced persons (IDP) has crossed the three million mark, according to the NWFP government.Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference at the Officers’ Mess here on Friday that the number of IDPs now stood at 3.4 million — 2.8 million of them from Malakand division alone.He said the provincial government was determined to provide all possible facilities to the displaced people and a substantial number of lady doctors had been deputed to look after them.The minister said 11 doctors were attending to displaced people in Nowshera, 15 in Mardan, 13 in Swabi, two in Malakand, three in Haripur and six in Charsadda. In addition, 73 doctors had been appointed at basic health units set up in the camps.Mr Hussain claimed that security forces had dismantled the network of terrorists and they were on the run, but they would be pursued till their defeat and surrender.He said security personnel had arrested some militants from the IDP camps and they were being interrogated.He said earlier the militants had put leaders on their hit list, but now the government had announced head money on them. ‘We are thankful to the federal government for increasing head money on Malakand Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah from Rs5 million to Rs50 million.’The names of those who blew the whistle on militant leaders and warlords would be kept secret, the minister added.Referring to reports about thrashing of medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies in Dabgari area, he said militants wanted to scare people in different ways.He requested journalists not to give coverage to such events.When his attention was drawn to a threatening letter sent to an Urdu daily, he said only cowards could send threatening letters to shopkeepers and newspapers.

US warns N Korea of quick response

The US defence secretary has warned North Korea that the United States would be quick to respond if moves by the communist government threaten the US or its Asian allies."We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia - or on us," Robert Gates told defence and security officials from Asia and the Pacific Rim on Saturday.As he made the remarks in Singapore, media reports in South Korea suggested that the North was preparing to carry out a long-range missile test in the next two weeks."A train carrying a long-range missile has been spotted at the weapons research centre near Pyongyang," an unidentified intelligence source was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency."It is highly likely that the North may fire and South Korean and US intelligence authorities are watching closely," the source told Yonhap.Two US defence officials in Washington told the AFP news agency on Friday that US satellite photos had shown vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, indicating that a long-range missile test could follow six recent short-range tests.

Armed groups 'threaten all Somalia'

Somalia's new foreign minister has warned that the al-Shabab group is controlling the fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, and poses a threat to the entire country.Mohamed Abullahi Omaar told reporters on Friday that Somalia lacks proper resources to tackle the group, noting that it would not be so hard to defeat if the government had access to the necessary technology and supplies."We have the men. We have the intelligence. We have the knowledge. We know the terrain. We know the politics. We know the clans. We know the leaders," Omaar said."What we need are the resources."Al-Shabab, in alliance with the Hizbul Islam group, has vowed to topple the government of Sharif Ahmed, the president, and has stepped up attacks in recent weeks.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Obama as you’ve never seen him before

Lisa Jack stands next to an exhibition 

He was tall and stunningly good looking, a guy who could appear pensive and serious one moment and then, with smoke from an unfiltered cigarette swirling around his face, morph into the hippest looking dude this side of James Dean.Which is why budding photographer Lisa Jack knew the moment she saw Barack Obama walk into the campus snack shop at Los Angeles’ Occidental College in 1980 that she had to get the freshman in front of a camera.‘I was doing portraits of fellow students, the cool people on campus,’ Jack, a slender, 49-year-old bundle of energy, recalled this week as she stood in a West Hollywood photo gallery surrounded by framed black-and-white photos of the president as a young man.‘A friend of a friend said there’s this really cool guy, really good looking, you have to get his picture.’ And as he said it, he walked in. He said, ‘Hey Barry, come here.’Soon after, they had made arrangements for a photo shoot at Jack’s small off-campus apartment, a nondescript hovel furnished with little more than a worn couch that had been salvaged from the side of the road and an overturned shopping cart that doubled as an end table.To Jack’s surprise, the future president, dressed in jeans and a shirt with sleeves rolled up, arrived with his own props, including a leather bomber jacket, a wide-brimmed Panama hat and a package of cigarettes.‘He had so much charisma, even back then, it was amazing,’ the photographer said, looking at a portrait of Obama, a broad grin on his face, one palm outstretched as though he’s about to welcome a visitor. In another his head is tilted back, eyes closed, a grin again fixed on his face.‘Some of these are goofy. He could be a goofball,’ Jack said, chuckling as she surveyed them.Then she moved on to view photos of the future president looking pensive and sometimes lost in thought, still others of him in his classic cool pose, cigarette smoke swirling around his face, others in the bomber jacket, hat off, showing a medium-length Afro.She shot just one 36-exposure roll of film, going on to earn an A in her photo class. Then Jack buried the images away and moved on to other things.She had once dreamed of becoming a professional photographer but ended up teaching instead. After earning a doctorate from the University of Southern California, she became a psychology professor in Minneapolis, where she lives with her family.Over the years, she has continued to bump into Obama from time to time. Not long after the photo session, she was vacationing in Hawaii when she ran into him at a nightclub. Three years ago, she dropped by his Senate office during a visit to Washington.

Microsoft unleashes Bing to counter Google

US software giant Microsoft has unveiled its new search engine, Bing, a new search engine to compete against the hugely dominant Google. Bing should be available online on May 1 in the United States.Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a new search engine, Bing, designed to intuitively understand what people are searching for on the Internet and challenge online king Google.The US software colossus refers to Bing as a "Decision Engine" and said it will have it deployed worldwide at bing.com by Wednesday."Today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they don't do a very good job of enabling people to use the information they find," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer."When we set out to build Bing, we grounded ourselves in a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web."Bing search employs semantic technology intended to help it recognize not just key words but what is intended by phrases typed in as online queries, according to Microsoft.Internet search engines have traditionally relied on matching key words to words found at websites.Bing is built to "go beyond today's search experience" by recognizing content and adapting to query types, according to the Redmond, Washington-based company.Bing takes aim at Microsoft arch-rival Google, which dominates the online search market. Bing will replace MSN Live search, which has languished in a distant third place behind Google and Yahoo!

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza gets engaged

Sania Mirza 

Leading Indian player Sania Mirza has become engaged to a business scholar from her hometown of Hyderabad but has no plans to retire from competitive tennis, domestic media reported on Friday.The 22-year-old Mirza is a youth icon in a nation starved for sporting success after she became the first Indian to win a WTA tour title and break into the world’s top 50 in 2005 but has struggled to live up to early expectations.The pair are unlikely to tie the knot in the near future, as her 23-year-old fiancĂ© Sohrab Mirza plans to pursue higher studies, reports quoted family members as saying.Mirza has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons but has continued playing despite being frustrated by a series of court petitions attributed mostly to people trying to grab media attention. She also had to fend off the ire of Muslim clerics opposed to her playing in normal tennis attire.

Indian growth unexpectedly strong

India's economy grew 5.8% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year, which was better than had been expected.The official gross domestic product figure was down from 8.6% annual growth seen in the first quarter of 2008.Although growth has slowed from last year, the economy is still expanding faster than most other countries.It grew 6.7% in the full financial year, which was down from a rate of 9% in the year to the end of March 2008.

Iran Blames U.S. For Deadly Mosque Bombing

Iran blamed the U.S. and Israel on Friday for a bombing in a Shiite mosque in southeast Iran that killed 25 people, saying the countries were trying to stoke sectarian tension with the Sunni Muslim minority.Iran has repeatedly accused the U.S. and other Western countries of backing militants and opposition groups in the country — charges they have denied. The blame could be intended to mask real sectarian issues between Iran's Sunnis and majority Shiite population.Thursday's bombing took place in the remote city of Zahedan, which has witnessed attacks by an Islamic militant group called Jundallah that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunnis and is believed to have Al Qaeda links.Zahedan, located some 1,000 miles southeast of Tehran near Pakistan and Afghanistan, has also seen frequent clashes between drug smugglers and Iranian police.The Martyr Foundation, a government organization that provides financial support to victims of terrorist attacks in Iran, said 25 people were killed in the bombing in Zahedan's second-largest Shiite mosque. Earlier official reports Friday said 20 people were killed."I announce that ... those who committed the bombing are neither Shiite nor Sunni. They are Americans and Israelis" who want to stoke sectarian conflict in the country, Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said on the ministry's Web site.Jalal Sayyah, a senior security official in Zahedan, said 145 people were injured in the bombing and three suspects have been detained."Hire of the terrorists by the U.S. was verified based on investigation," Sayyah told The Associated Press. Sayyah did not say whether the terrorists belonged to a specific group. In 2007, Jundallah, or God's Brigade, killed 11 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards in Zahedan.Iran blamed a similar bombing of a Shiite mosque in the country's southwest in April 2008 on three men it said had ties to the U.S. The bombing in the city of Shiraz, located some 550 miles south of Tehran, killed 14 people.Last month, Iran hanged the men, who the court said were members of a little known monarchist group that wants to overthrow the country's ruling Islamic establishment.

Pakistan ups Taliban chief reward

Pakistan has increased its reward for a Taliban chief in the Swat valley to 50m rupees ($600,000, £372,000).The figure is more than 10 times the original bounty for radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah.Officials acted after Pakistani Taliban leaders warned of more bomb attacks in cities in retaliation for a government offensive in the north-west.Authorities in Peshawar have banned public gatherings a day after at least 10 people died in two separate attacks.On Wednesday at least 24 people died in a bomb attack in Lahore which targeted a police station and intelligence agency offices.As fighting continued in Swat on Friday, the army said 28 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours and seven arrested. It said five soldiers and two civilians were injured in clashes. The figures cannot be independently verified.

'Taliban killed' in Afghan province

At least 35 Taliban fighters have been killed and another 13 wounded in fighting in the Afghan province of Zabul, the US military has said.The fighters were killed when a US and Afghan patrol convoy came under attack, according to a statement released by the military on Thursday."The Afghan-led force was conducting a combat reconnaissance patrol early this morning, when the convoy came under heavy fire from militants using small arms and mortar fire," said the statement.The incident happened hours after the US military said its forces and Afghan troops killed 29 fighters in neighbouring Paktika province in clashes in Wor Mamay district.Details of the clash in Zabul's Daychopan district could not be independently verified.The province borders Pakistan's Baluchistan, which is rife with  regional insurgency and where attacks have been blamed on Taliban fighters. 

Sri Lanka fighting 'killed 20,000'

More than 20,000 civilians were killed in the final days of the Sri Lankan military's operation against the separatist Tamil Tigers, Britain's Timesnewspaper has reported. Citing confidential UN documents, the newspaper on Friday reported that the civilian death toll in the government-designated no-fire zone soared from late April, with around 1,000 civilians killed ever day until May 19.Hundreds of thousands of civilians were trapped between the remaining Tamil Tiger fighters and government forces in the final days of the bitter conflict.During the fighting hospital officials in the conflict zone and Tamil Tiger sources repeatedly accused the military of shelling civilians, while the government said the separatists were using them as human shields.Both sides denied the allegations.

North Korea 'tests another missile'

North Korea has fired another short-range missile off its east coast, the sixth such launch since it tested a nuclear weapon on Monday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported.Friday's reported test-fire followed a statement from North Korea's foreign ministry pledging to respond if the UN Security Council agreed any fresh sanctions over the tests."If the UN Security Council provokes us, our additional self-defence measures will be inevitable," the foreign ministry said in a statement."Any hostile acts by the UN Security Council will be tantamount to the demolition of the armistice," it said in a reference to the truce that ended the Korean War in 1953.The North has previously test-fired short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, often during periods of tension in the region.North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on Monday and followed it up with a series of short-range missile launches, all in violation of a UN resolution.

Obama unveils 'cyber czar' role

Barack Obama, the US president, is to appoint a "cyber czar' in a bid to combat growing threats to the nation's private and government computer networks.The US president said on Friday that the co-ordinator, who has not yet been named, would work with various government offices to protect their networks and others such as air traffic control and the US stock exchange.Obama also said the US had to provide the education required to keep pace with technology and attract and retain a cyber-savvy work force, and called for a new education campaign to raise awareness of cyber security threats."Cyberspace is real and so are the risks that come with it. It is the great irony of our information age [that] the very technologies that empower us to create and to build also empower those who would disrupt and destroy," he said.

Friday, May 29, 2009

The lesser evil? By Ayesha Siddiqa *****

Why should a bad and inefficient civilian leadership make former military dictators or future ones any better? —File photo
Why should a bad and inefficient civilian leadership make
 former military dictators or future ones any better?

FACEBOOK is a great invention. It allows you to interact with people, without having to meet them, and have discussions. I accidentally got into a discussion with some on my friends’ list regarding my comment on Gen Musharraf’s current status.There were quite a few who responded to my question about who was paying for the former military dictator’s stay at the expensive Dorchester hotel.There were immediate suggestions regarding the source of money. Some believed that he might have earned his money courtesy his lecture circuit. For instance, the Indian Express paid him millions of rupees for his lecture in Delhi. But then Dorchester is no child’s play. It is truly expensive and we are talking a lot of money.The interesting point about the discussion was not whether my friends and I managed to solve what had begun to look like something out of the Da Vinci Code, but that the debate highlighted our attitudes towards democracy versus dictatorship or civilian versus military rule. Very quickly the entire debate began to focus on the issue of the lesser evil as opposed to the bigger one and on whether or not Musharraf was a greater problem than the current regime.Of course, there were some views that were easier to understand such as those of a serving air force officer who tried to reprimand the rest of us for showing lack of respect towards the leadership. One wondered why he bothered to contribute since the discussion was among civilians, generally considered less nationalist and second-class citizens by the men on horseback. One really wondered if the air force officer himself understood that leadership was not about heading an organisation but about motivating people with a set of clear achievements.However, the rest was more interesting as it reflected the confusion that has gripped the entire nation today regarding the lack of choice as far as the leadership is concerned. The problem has intensified due to the inability of the present regime not managing to capture the imagination of the people, especially the middle class and the educated and affluent upper middle and upper classes. It is indeed sad that Asif Zardari seems to have broken all records where losing the people’s confidence is concerned. Consequently, Pakistanis with a US Ivy League background and those in a better position at home are immediately reminded of the days when Musharraf was in power.It is also rather comical that today when Zardari announces that he has brought home money no one is willing to believe that the funds are meant for IDPs. A popular perception is that corrupt practices will take care of a lot of these resources. There are also more fingers being pointed at the behaviour of the ministers. We are probably once more in the same cycle that is the fate of praetorian societies. Short-term planning driven by greed, rather than a long-term vision is the hallmark of such societies. Such behaviour is not specific to Pakistan and can be found in a number of Latin American countries where there is a general inclination towards the military whenever things go wrong, but not to the point of wanting the military to continue permanently.At this point, there are two issues one would like to raise. First, how real is the corruption of politicians in Pakistan? Surely, we would all like to believe that the present set-up is just as corrupt as that headed by its predecessors. It is a fact that the government suffers from genuine inefficiencies and an inept top leadership. However, do we really have a lot of evidence to produce in a court of law regarding alleged corruption? Why is it that successive civilian and military governments were unable to catch ‘thieves’ despite keeping these leaders in prison, throwing others out of the country and having access to all official records?This is not to argue that politicians are clean, but then are they any worse than the generals who take over with the excuse of cleaning up the political and economic system and who manage to do nothing except create greater chaos? Why is it that military regimes never manage to catch the corrupt or is it that there is far more propaganda than what is actually stolen from the coffers? For instance, while the grapevine is rife with stories about illegal money being made by this government, there is very little on how some of the most influential members of the previous government earned their billions.Second, why should a bad and inefficient civilian leadership make former military dictators or future ones any better? Sadly, the middle and upper classes in Pakistan, as in other parts of South Asia, are constantly tempted by Singapore’s political model. Things have to be modern and tidy even if it means no democracy which is not a lame concept dictated by Washington but a system that is marked by good governance and the rule of law.Moreover, why should we imagine that the inept civilian leadership is not a product of its military predecessors? Like many Latin American states, the ineptitude of the civilian leadership distracts people from understanding that corrupt and incapable leadership elements in the military and civilian are interlinked. The greedy senior military generals, businessmen, industrialists, large land owners and influential mullahs are interconnected. These days there are deep familial connections as well. Hence, it is not surprising that the military does not manage to catch any of the corrupt politicians despite its claims of possessing the ‘capability to meet any challenge’.So, while there is no forgiveness for what this government is unable to achieve, it is unfair to get into the lesser evil-versus-bigger evil debate (this reminds one of the classification made by the US of the good Taliban versus the bad Taliban). Evil multiplies and this is what we have seen happening throughout the six decades of our history.

forces advancing to upper areas from Behrain

Security forces have continued advancement in Swat from Behrain to the upper areas of the valley, as operation continued in Mingora.The forces last night targeted the positions of militants in Matta and Kabal regions with heavy artillery fire. The region has been under indefinite curfew, while the population exodus continued. At least 13 militant fighters were killed and several others captured during the security forces operations in Buner and Lower Dir districts as the forces have destroyed several hideouts of the militants and cleared 80 percent territory of Buner. The forces killed five more militants in the ongoing drive in Qambar area of Lower Dir. The troops have also destroyed hideouts of militants and captured arms and ammunition. In the skirmishes with forces eight militants were killed in Daggar and Gokand Darra regions of district Buner, while several miscreants were captured. The authorities have announced curfew break in Buner from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.Malakand has been under curfew for last 22 days.

Deaths in Brazil dam break

At least four people have been killed and 2,500 others made homeless after heavy rains caused a dam to burst in northeast Brazil.Residents took refuge on rooftops and in high trees when Cocal, a city of about 25,000 in the Piaui state, was flooded on Thursday.More than 100 people were missing and rescue personnel, using helicopters and rescue boats, were trying to find survivors.The waters in the Pirangi river rose suddenly, up to 20 metres in some parts, according to officials."It was a real tsunami," Wellington Dias, the state governor, said after he visited the area.Globo TV, a local television channel, said the rupture sent 50bn litres of water pouring out of the reservoir, causing flooding that stretched 100km downriver from Cocal.Flooding and mudslides in northeast Brazil over the past few weeks have left 57 people dead.The Brazilian government said weeks of rain and heavy flooding had displaced 400,000 people, about 95,000 of them in Piaui state.

New Indian ministers sworn in

Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, has added new members to his week-old cabinet, rewarding loyal coalition allies with ministerial posts.Fifty-nine new ministers were sworn in on Thursday, joining 19 others who took the oath of office on Friday - completing the formation of the new government and ending days of political manoeuvring since the Congress-led coalition swept to victory.Pratibha Patil, India's president, administered the oath to the ministers at a ceremony in the capital, New Delhi.The delay came as Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the leader of his Congress party, grappled with putting together a group that satisfied all the coalition partners and gave due representation to allied parties.

Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld

The Catholic church in Malaysia has failed in a bid to suspend a government ban on the use of the word "Allah" in its weekly newsletter after the court rejected its application.The high court ruling on Thursday effectively upheld the federal government's 2007 ban, which has become a symbol of religious tensions in the country.The government directive bars non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their literature, saying it would confuse Muslims in this plural, Muslim-majority country.The Herald, which reports on Catholic community news in English, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin, tried to get the order suspended while waiting for a court decision on the ban's legality.The court will hear the newspaper's original bid to review the administrative order on July 7.

U.S., S. Korea Troops on High Alert Amid Threats

South Korean and U.S. troops facing North Korea boosted their alert level Thursday to the highest category since 2006, after the communist regime threatened military strikes on allied troops in escalating tensions over its nuclear test.North Korea threatened Wednesday to attack any U.S. and South Korean ships that try to intercept its vessels and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting, raising the prospect of a naval clash off the Korean peninsula's west coast.The North was responding to Seoul's decision to join a U.S.-led anti-proliferation program aimed at stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, including nuclear technology. South Korea announced it was joining after the North's underground test blast of a nuclear bomb.On Thursday, the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command increased the surveillance to level 2 from the present level 3, Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said. He said that was the highest level since 2006, when the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test.The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.Won said the bolstered level means more aviation surveillance assets, intelligence analysts and other intelligence-collecting measures would be deployed to watch North Korea. He refused to disclose further details.The North has long warned it would consider the South's participation in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative as a declaration of war against North Korea.The North would "deal a decisive and merciless retaliatory blow" to anyone trying to inspect its vessels, according to a North Korean military statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.Key world powers, meanwhile, have proposed a range of expanded U.N. sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear as well as measures to give teeth to existing bans and ship searches against the reclusive country, a U.N. diplomat said Wednesday.

Earthquake hits Caribbean coast

A strong earthquake has hit Honduras and Belize, leaving at least four people dead,  injuring 40 others and razing many homes on the Caribbean coast.The 7.1 magnitude quake struck at 2.20am (0820GMT) on Thursday 64km from Roatan, the biggest of Honduras' Bay Islands."We have confirmed four dead," Randolfo Funes, an official at Honduras' civil protection agency, said."They were all asleep. Most of them died crushed ... There will be many more dead."A six-year-old girl in the Honduran beach town of Morazan was killed when one of the walls of her house fell on her.Another man in the nearby town of Tela suffered a heart attack when the quake struck and was taken for treatment.

Several killed in Iran mosque blast

A blast in a mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan has killed 15 people and wounded 50 others, the official IRNA agency says.The toll from the explosion, which struck Amir al-Mohini mosque on Thursday, was based on preliminary reports, IRNA said.The agency quoted an unnamed official as saying that part of the mosque was destroyed and that rescue teams were transferring the bodies of the dead and injured.Officials were investigating the cause of the explosion, it said.Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, which shares a border with Pakistan and is the scene of frequent clashes between Iranian police on the one hand and drug dealers and armed groups on the other hand.

Deadly blasts hit Pakistani city

At least 11 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in three blasts in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.A fourth bomb blast hit a hospital in Dera Ismail Khan, which lies 300km south of Peshawar, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.Thursday's attacks began when two bombs exploded in a market in Peshawar, killing six people. Armed men on rooftops fired at policemen as they arrived in the narrow lanes below.  Shortly after, a suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city, killing five soldiers, Wasiullah, a soldier wounded in the blast, said."He was on foot and as we saw him, he ran and blew himself when he got close to us," he told the Reuters news agency.Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Islamabad, said it appeared the series of bomb blasts were "inextricably linked"."Certainly that is the way Pakistan's intelligence services are seeing it - investigating this wave of bombings that is happening in recent days," he said.Police later said that two assailants from the market bombings had been killed and two suspects detained."Two terrorists have been killed but the operation is continuing. We're carrying out searches as others could be hiding," Sifwat Ghayyur, Peshawar's police chief, said.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Govt offers cash reward for info on TTP leaders

The Pakistani government has announced cash reward over information leading to the arrest of the 21 leaders of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). An advertisement published in national newspapers by the government, said that the names of people, providing information, will be kept secret. The contact telephone numbers were also published.According to NWFP information Minister Mian Iftikhar, Rs. 4 million will be awarded over the help arrest of TTP leader Molvi Fazlullah, Rs. 4 million over arrest of Haji Muslim Khan, Rs. 5 million over arrest of Naib Ameer TTP Shah Doran, Rs. 3 million over commander Qari Mushtaq Gali, Rs. 3 million over arrest of commander Koza Bandah Mehmood Khan, Rs. 2 million over arrest of commander Kabal Akber Hussain, Rs. 1 million over commander Charbagh Sher Muhammad Kasab, Rs. 3 million over commander Malam Jabba Sirajuddin, Rs. 3 million over Matta Bakht Farzandi, Rs. 1 million over local commander Koza Bandah Mian Fazal Gahfoor, Rs. 1 million over Matta Nisar Ahmed, Rs. 1 million over Baraymian Torobanda Lal Deen and others.

Barca crowned champions of Europe

In the Eternal City, the nil-all scoreline did not last for long.The two best football teams in the world squared up at Stadio Olimpico in Rome as Barcelona romped home with a 2-0 win over English champions Manchester United.A first-half goal from Samuel Eto'o in the opening ten minutes put an end to Barca's nervy start and then in the 70th minute Lionel Messi scored with a magnificent header, his first goal against an English side and his ninth Champions League goal of the season.United began with the confidence of European Champions, but ended most definitely the second-best team.The victory over the defending champions completed a sweep of titles for 38-year-old Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola in his first season after wins in the Spanish league and cup.United had been chasing their fourth European Cup title, and fourth trophy this season after winning the Premier League, Fifa Club World Cup and League Cup.United were thoroughly outplayed by the Spanish side as Messi scored his 38th goal of an amazing year for Barcelona.The loss left Man United manager Alex Ferguson at 25 titles in 23 seasons.He failed to match Liverpool's Bob Paisley's three titles in the competition.

Recent Attacks In or Linked to Pakistan

A look at some recent major attacks in Pakistan or blamed on Pakistan-based militants:-- May 27, 2009: A suicide car bomber targets buildings housing police and intelligence offices in the eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 30 and injuring more than 200.-- March 30, 2009: Gunmen armed with rifles and hand grenades attack a police academy on the outskirts of Lahore, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens.-- March 27, 2009: A suicide bomber demolishes a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud, killing about 50 people and injuring scores more.-- March 3, 2009: Gunmen attack the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, wounding several players and killing six policemen and a driver.-- Nov. 26-28, 2008: Ten attackers, allegedly from Pakistan, kill 164 people in a three-day assault on luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites in Mumbai, India.-- Sept. 20, 2008: A suicide truck bomb kills at least 54 and wounds more than 250 and devastates the Marriott hotel in Islamabad.-- Sept. 6, 2008: A suicide car bombing kills at least 35 people and wounds 80 at a police checkpoint in Peshawar.-- Aug. 21, 2008: Suicide bombers blow themselves up at two gates of a weapons factory in the town of Wah, killing at least 67 people and wounding at least 100.-- March 11, 2008: Suicide bombs rip through seven-story police headquarters and a house in Lahore, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 200.-- Feb. 29, 2008: Suicide bomber strikes funeral of slain police officer in the Swat Valley, killing more than 40 people and wounding at least 60.-- Jan. 10, 2008: Suicide bomber blows himself up among police guarding the High Court in Lahore, killing 24 people and wounding scores more.-- Dec. 27, 2007: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and 20 other people are killed in a suicide bombing and shooting attack in Rawalpindi, just south of the capital.

Microsoft to launch new Zune later this year

Microsoft the new Zune, its answer to Apple Inc’s 
popular iPod digital music player

Microsoft Corp plans to launch a new version of its Zune portable media player later this year in the United States, incorporating high-definition video, touch screen technology and Wi-Fi connection.Microsoft said on Tuesday the new Zune, its answer to Apple Inc’s popular iPod digital music player, will also come with an Internet browser and a built-in HD radio receiver that offers higher-quality sound than traditional radio.It did not give a price or a specific date except to say it was due in the fall.The company added new features to Zune’s music service last year, enabling users to download music wirelessly and buy songs they hear on the device's built-in FM radio.

Mingora to be cleared of Taliban within three days

Swat valley

Pakistan vowed Wednesday to wipe out the Taliban from Swat’s main town of Mingora within three days, as fierce fighting raged during a month-long offensive to crush the insurgents. Around 2.4 million people have fled fighting as soldiers struggle to wrest back the northwest Swat and two nearby districts from the Taliban, who advanced last month to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad.The military said 12 suspected militants and one soldier were killed in the last 24 hours in the Swat valley, where a two-year Taliban uprising had crushed the tourism industry and effectively imposed sharia law.In Mingora, the military said troops carried out house-to-house searches, while clashes in the area left eight insurgents dead.‘Mingora city will be cleared of militants in next 2-3 days,’ it announced in a daily briefing update on the offensive.Security officials said earlier that two soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near Mingora.Clashes also rocked Kabal and Kanju towns, within 25 kilometres of Mingora, a security official told AFP.‘Severe fighting is continuing in Kabal town. Militants are resisting in various parts of town,’ he said.‘It was a little bit calm in Mingora. There are reports of firing but militants are retreating from different parts of the city. Troops are busy clearing roads and streets of mines and bombs.’The military says around 1,200 militants and 76 soldiers have died in the onslaught, launched in the districts of Lower Dir on April 26, Buner on April 28 and Swat on May 8, but those tolls cannot be confirmed independently.

No end to financial crisis before 2010, IMF chief says

The International Monetary Fund's managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (pictured), said he expects no end to the financial crisis before next year but predicts positive growth by mid-2010.The International Monetary Fund's managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said Wednesday that he does not expect an end to the financial crisis before next year but predicts positive growth by the middle of 2010. In an interview Strauss-Kahn said a major problem is that global credit channels remain blocked. Without a freer flow of credit, it will be difficult to see a true recovery from the financial crisis, he said.Strauss-Kahn acknowledged that stocks have been on the rebound, but said: "For me, the stock market has never been a true indicator that things are going well."A more important factor, he said, will be the return of consumer confidence and a corresponding rise in spending.

Sri Lanka keeps state of emergency

The Sri Lankan government will maintain its state of emergency, including sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects, after the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers, according to a statement posted online.In order to prevent a resurgence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the state of emergency will remain in effect, Nimal Siripala, Sri Lanka's health minister, told the parliament on Tuesday.Last week the government declared an end to its 25-year war against the Tamil Tigers after a military campaign to recapture a region in the north and east that had become a de facto LTTE state.Under the state of emergency, police can arrest, enter homes and seize evidence without warrants and hold those they arrest for 18 months without trial.

Living with the enemy

I first met Abu Wissam at the foot of his son's shallow grave. Never will he be able to erase the last image he has of his son's body."He was cut to pieces," he said. "His hands and feet were chopped off. And he was decapitated."For a long time, Iraqis would say that it was "outsiders" that were carrying out such atrocities. The truth that is so hard to accept for many is that that often was not the case.Iraqis turned on each other, neighbors slaughtered neighbors, friends betrayed one another. It was the sheer degradation of society on a shocking and utterly petrifying scale.Abu Wissam's son Raed was a 25-year-old business school student. His fiance says that one day he got a phone call from a college friend asking to meet him. Little did she know that it was a plot to lure him out of the house and that it would be their last goodbye.They were childhood sweethearts. She says they knew that they would get married from the time they were six. "All I do now is cry," she sobs.Raed's mother can barely form a coherent sentence. Her voice shakes with every word, uncontrollable tears pour down her face. Her hands tremble holding Raed's worn-out photograph. From time to time she caresses the image, the face that she will never touch again."I don't sleep." She stutters. "I take pills ... I live on pills.""Nights aren't nights anymore, days aren't days. They cut his hands off, they cut his head off."As the last words leave her mouth she can no longer speak, only cry.The militia behind the kidnapping was the self proclaimed Mehdi Army, a Shia militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. And the militiamen were once friends and neighbors.For years my colleagues and I have reported on the atrocities committed by Shia militias, Sunni insurgents, and al Qaeda gunmen.We recited the daily tally of unidentified, mutilated bodies found in the streets of Baghdad. We spoke of beheadings, kidnappings and torture. But little did we really know about any of it.Now that there is a semblance of so-called stability, we can start to put a face and name to the victims and begin to try and understand and impart the horrors of what millions of Iraqis lived through and died from. It is only now that we can begin to comprehend the magnitude of what Iraqis went through.Raed's body was found in the courtyard of a mosque not far from his home. Abu Wissam says that the militia accused Raed of being a spy for the Americans. They demanded $10,000 for Raed's corpse. Abu Wissam paid. The killers did not hand it over.

N Korea 'not bound by armistice'

North Korea has declared an end to its half-century-old armistice with the South, saying that it sees Seoul's move to join a US-led anti-proliferation initiative as a "declaration of war".The warning carried on state media on Wednesday comes two days after North Korea conducted a second nuclear test and also follows a series of missile launches.The announcement also came amid reports in South Korean media that the North had restarted its main plutonium producing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.The reactor had previously been mothballed under a six-nation aid for disarmament deal, but in April the North said it had scrapped the agreement and would resume work on building nuclear weapons.Following the Monday's nuclear test South Korea announced it would become a full member of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a US-led drive to curb trade in weapons of mass destruction.It said the decision had already been taken following the North's controversial April 2 rocket launch, although the formal announcement was brought forward following the nuclear test.

'He would have found bin Laden'

Sebastian Junger found him crouched on a battlefield in Afghanistan, fighting to stay alive.The Taliban had the man cornered and outnumbered. A sniper's bullet came so close to the man that it plucked dirt between his feet. But Junger watched him coolly orchestrate a cunning counterattack by his soldiers -- all while discussing his favorite poetry and international news."He had tremendous magnetism," says Junger, a noted journalist and author who has written bestsellers like "The Perfect Storm," and "A Death in Belmont.""You didn't even need to speak his language to fall under his sway. That's the only time I've ever really felt that from another person."The man Junger met was Ahmad Shah Massoud, the "Lion of Panjshir." Today, Massoud is a national hero in Afghanistan, but he's also become something else: the prototype for the tough but enlightened leader Afghanistan desperately needs today, some Afghans say. Massoud was assassinated two days before the September 11 terrorist attacks by agents linked to al Qaeda. Though he died eight years ago, his legacy looms over any would-be leader in Afghanistan, Afghans and scholars say.Afghanistan's government has been accused of being corrupt and weak. Massoud had a reputation for integrity and strength, says Junger, who traveled to Afghanistan in 2000 to profile Massoud for his book, "Fire."