Translate

Search This Blog

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Nigeria militants 'repel attack, kill troops'

LAGOS, Nigeria Militants in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta region said they killed six government soldiers after the military attacked one of its camps on Thursday. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, in an e-mail, said three military gunboats attacked one of its camps around the Ke River in the country's Rivers state. The group said the gunboats were repelled, with six soldiers dying and three militant fighters wounded in the skirmish. There was no immediate reaction from the government. Nigeria is Africa's largest crude oil producer and the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States. MEND has demanded that more of the country's oil wealth be pumped into the region instead of enriching foreign investors, and the militants have been attacking oil pipelines in retaliation against government forces, limiting the amount of crude oil that can leave the country. MEND -- the largest rebel group -- has targeted foreign oil companies since 2006. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers, typically releasing them unharmed, sometimes after receiving a ransom payment. MEND hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.

UAE spends $5 bln on arms deals

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates, across the Gulf from Iran, signed military deals worth 18.4 billion dirhams ($5 billion) during an arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi this week, a senior officer said on Thursday. Major-General Obaid al-Ketbi said the deals awarded at the five-day International Defence Exhibition were a five-fold rise over those signed at the last show in 2007, but denied that the Gulf Arab state was in the middle of an arms race. "There is no arms race in the region," Ketbi said. "We have a strategic plan ... Each country focuses on its plans."

UK plans to inject £25.5 bn in RBS

LONDON: The UK revealed yesterday it was planning to inject up to £25.5bn ($36.5bn) in additional capital into Royal Bank of Scotland as part of a plan to stabilise the beleaguered lender and prevent it from being fully nationalised. The injection, under a government scheme to ringfence £325bn of RBS's assets against large future losses, is the first of what is expected to be a series of banking bail-outs designed to kick-start lending to the ailing British economy. Lloyds Banking Group, which includes HBOS, is today expected to reveal details of a similar scheme to ringfence up to £250bn of potentially bad assets. The long-awaited move came as RBS reported a £24.1bn loss for 2008, the largest in British corporate history, and revealed that businesses with assets of about £240bn - almost a quarter of the bank's balance sheet - would be sold or wound down over the next three to five years.

Canadians intercepted Russian bombers before Obama visit

One day before U.S. President Barack Obama's Canadian visit last week, Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers near Canadian air space, the defense minister said Friday."At no time did Russian planes enter Canadian air space, but within 24 hours of the president's visit here ... we did scramble F-18 fighter planes from NORAD in Canada command," Peter MacKay said in a news conference in Ottawa. The Russian planes were in international waters, about 118 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Tuktoyuktuk, in Canada's Northwest Territories. "It was a routine flight over international airspace," Yevgeniy Khorishko, a spokesman at the Russian Embassy in Washington, told CBC news.

Zardari should carry forward Ms. Bhutto’s legacy not Musharraf’s: Nawaz

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief Nawaz Sharif has said that President Zardari should carry forward the legacy of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and not of former president Gen. (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf.

In an exclusive interview given to Geo News, Nawaz Sharif said President Asif Ali Zardari intends to take the nation towards a mid-term election.

England in command

Captain Andrew Strauss struck his 16th Test hundred to put in England in control of their must-win fourth Test against West Indies in Barbados on Thursday.Strauss and Alastair Cook shared England's first double-century opening stand for more than four years -- although once their partnership of 229 came to its conclusion minutes after tea, the runs dried up. England totally dominated the first two sessions only to be pegged back by a loss of wickets in a turgid evening period, and closed on 301 for three. Strauss was dismissed for 142 in spectacular manner by fast bowler Daren Powell to provide a breakthrough in the 65th over of a bat-dominated opening day. A full delivery demolished Strauss' stumps to provide Powell with some joy after much suffering. Opening partner Cook then perished five overs later, six short of a hundred, when he mis-hit a pull off Jerome Taylor which was clutched by a diving Ryan Hinds at midwicket.  It continued Cook's run of failing to register a Test century to 27 innings and to add to the frustration this was the 11th time he has got halfway there without converting. Owais Shah returned to the Test team at Antigua with a half-century, but appeared nervous this time around and perished, after spending 47 balls over seven, when he chopped a delivery from Benn to slip.

Turkish Airlines plane fell 'vertically' to ground

The Turkish Airlines plane that crashed this week in Amsterdam fell almost vertically to the ground, making only a short track in the muddy farmer's field where it went down, Dutch investigators said Friday.That sudden drop indicates the aircraft did not have enough forward speed when it crashed, a spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board said, but the reasons for that are still unclear. It is too early to speculate on the cause of the crash, spokesman Fred Sanders told CNN. Reports that it was caused by engine failure are premature, he said. "There must have been ... reasons why the plane did not get enough speed," Sanders said. "We don't know yet why this came about, and that's the main thing that will have to be investigated." Wednesday's crash of Flight 1951 from Istanbul, Turkey, to Amsterdam killed nine and injured more than 60 of the 135 people on board. The crash, less than 500 yards short of the runway, split the plane into three parts. 

Oil prices slide in Asia

SINGAPORE: Oil prices slid in Asian trade on Friday as investor pessimism returned after the release of more weak US economic data, dealers said. 

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, fell 69 cents to 44.53 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for April delivery shed 45 cents to 46.06 dollars. 

Nearly 200 mutineers arrested in Bangladesh

DHAKA: Bangladeshi security forces have arrested nearly 200 members of the country's border security force following a two-day mutiny in the capital Dhaka, a security official said Friday. "We have arrested nearly 200 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops who fled their barracks in civilian dress," a spokesman for the Rapid Action Batallion, the country's elite internal security force, told foreign news agency. "We were given orders to arrest the mutineers." The spokesman, Commander Abul Kalam Azad, said checkpoints had been set up at all routes leading out of the capital Dhaka and surrounding the BDR barracks. "We are searching buses and trucks for any other rebel troops." At least 22 people were confirmed to have died during the standoff that began Wednesday. The mutiny ended late Thursday after the border guards surrendered.

Wolverine Movie Trailer 2009 (X-Men Origins) in HD

Central contract not signed by 9 senior cricketers

LAHORE: Nine senior cricketers have not signed the central contract despite heavy offers made to them. Captain Younis Khan and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq are also among them.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) offered the central contract to 27 cricketers. Those who have not so far signed the new central contract are Shahid Afridi, Danish Kaneria, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanveer and Rao Iftikhar Anjum besides Younis and Misbah.

According to media reports, the players expressed their reservations because of conditioning their TV contracts with the Board permission and depriving them of their salaries while playing county cricket.

Israel: Netanyahu fails to strike deal with Kadima

JERUSALEM  Israel's next government is shaping up to be a narrow conservative coalition after designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to strike a deal on Friday with the moderate Kadima Party."Unfortunately, I encountered a complete refusal for unity, a complete refusal to create joint teams to reach arrangements in order to find a common ground," Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Kadima leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "I found no willingness for unity by Livni." other major moderate party, Labor, has already stated its unwillingness to join a government led by Netanyahu's Likud Party. Livni said the main sticking point was Netanyahu's refusal to adequately commit to negotiations with the Palestinians that would lead to a Palestinian state. "A two-state solution is not an empty slogan," Livni said. "It is the only way in which Israel can maintain its existence as a Jewish and democratic state." She said the meeting ended "without agreements on issues which I find essential in any entrance to the government."

PPP, PML (N) could find way out through dialogue: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday a peaceful way out could be found through dialogue if Pakistan Muslim League (N) established contacts to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after Supreme Court verdict against Sharif brothers but he regretted saying that PML (N) opted confrontations. President said this addressing a meeting of National and Provincial members of PPP-Punjab here at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Various national and political issues were discussed during the meeting including formation of government in Punjab province. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and PPP’s Secretary General Jahangir Badr also attended the meeting. According to sources, the overall law and order situations were discussed during the meeting and the option to extend PPP’s contacts with PML (Q) was also highlighted besides seeking attendees’ views on the option.  Addressing the meeting, President Zardari accused Sharif brothers of manipulating the judges’ issue for their vested interests. “People of Punjab are in support of PPP”, he maintained.