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Sunday, April 19, 2009

U.S. boycotts racism conference, says it 'singles out' Israel

WASHINGTON The United States is boycotting a U.N. conference on racism next week over a document that "singles out" Israel in its criticism and conflicts with the nation's "commitment to unfettered free speech," the U.S. State Department said Saturday.The Obama administration made the decision not to attend the Durban Review Conference in Geneva "with regret," a State Department statement said.Two months ago, the administration had warned that it would boycott the conference if changes were not made to the document to be adopted by the conference. In recent weeks, discussions over the document have fueled several revisions, but the changes to the language didn't meet U.S. expectations, the statement said.The current draft is "significantly improved," but "it now seems certain these remaining concerns will not be addressed in the document to be adopted by the conference next week."State Department officials say the document contains language that reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Actions from the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa, which the United States has said it won't support. The 2001 document "prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians," the statement said.

State Department 'Welcomes' Chavez Envoy Goal

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- Hugo Chavez said Saturday that he is restoring Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, voicing hopes for a "new era" in relations after barely getting to know U.S. President Barack Obama at a regional summit.Venezuela's socialist leader told reporters at the Summit of the Americas that he will propose Roy Chaderton, his current ambassador to The Organization of American States, as its new representative in a move toward improving strained ties with Washington.The announcement crowns a week in which Obama rejected two centuries of U.S. "heavy-handedness" toward Latin America and raised the highest hopes ever for a rapprochement with Cuba, with which it severed ties 48 years ago. Venezuela under Chavez has become a close ally of Cuba.Chavez expelled the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, in September in solidarity with leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales, who ordered out the top U.S. diplomat in his country for allegedly helping the opposition incite violence.Washington reciprocated by kicking out both nations' ambassadors.Chavez's decision on U.S. relations came after a day of exchanges with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other diplomats at a hemispheric summit in the twin-island Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago.A State Department official said Chavez approached Clinton during the summit sessions Saturday, and the two discussed returning ambassadors to their respective posts in Caracas and Washington.Clinton "welcomes this development, and the State Department will now work to further that shared goal," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.Chavez had stormy relations with the previous U.S. administration and once likened President George W. Bush to the devil. But he has warmed to the new American president at this weekend's summit, though Obama has been critical of him for his alleged harboring of and offering finance to Colombian rebels.On Saturday, Chavez gave Obama a book about foreign exploitation of Latin America and repeated in English during a luncheon speech what he told the U.S. president the previous night at their first meeting: "I want to be your friend."

US drone hits militant camp

A drone fired by the US on Sunday struck a camp suspected of housing insurgents in the Pakistani province of Waziristan near the Afghan border. The exact number of casualties is still unknown.A missile fired on Sunday by a pilotless U.S. drone struck a militant camp in Pakistan’s South Waziristan region on the Afghan border but there were no reports of casualties, security officials said.The drone strike came a day after a suicide-car bomber killed 27 soldiers and two passers-by in an attack on a military convoy in the northwest. Pakistani Taliban said the bombing was a reaction to U.S. drone attacks.“It was a training camp. At the moment, we’re trying to get information from the site,” said one security official in the region, who declined to be identified.Another security official said the camp was being used by militants from Pakistan’s Punjab province.Residents said the compound was empty as militants had left it hours before the strike.“The drones were flying last night and we saw those living in the house leaving in the dark,” said villager Kaleem Wazir.“The building has been destroyed completely and there’s just a vehicle parked inside. There’s no dead body, no wounded.”The United States, frustrated by an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan getting support from the Pakistani side of the border, began launching more drone attacks last year.Since then, about 35 U.S. strikes have killed about 350 people, including mid-level al Qaeda members, according to reports from Pakistani officials, residents and militants.Pakistan objects to the strikes. Officials say about one in six of the strikes over the past year caused civilian deaths without killing any militants, and that fuels anti-U.S.  sentment, complicating the military’s struggle to subdue violence.

Civilians die in Sri Lanka fighting

At least 28 civilians have been killed in the latest fighting between the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a health official said.More than 160 others are being treated for wounds after being caught in the crossfire in the northeast of the island, an official at the only makeshift hospital in the conflict zone said.The defence ministry reported that soldiers had killed eight Tamil Tiger fighters, but the statement made no mention of civilian casualties.Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman speaking on Sunday, denied that fighting was going on in the "no-fire zone"."There is no fighting going on in these areas. This is a 25km safety zone which the government has earmarked for the safety of the civilians."Even though we know the locations of their [LTTE's] guns and various equipment, we don't enter this location because we are concerned about the civilians."Aid groups say more than 100,000 civilians are trapped between the army and Tamil Tiger fighters in the narrow coastal "no-fire zone". 

Indian Premier League Group Game Today



Kings XI Punjab






Delhi Daredevils  


1230 local1630 PST, 1600 IST Newlands, Cape Town





Kolkata Knight Riders










Deccan Chargers


1630 local2030 PST, 2000 IST Newlands, Cape Town

Jackie Chan Says 'Chinese Need to Be Controlled'

BOAO, China Action star Jackie Chan said Saturday he's not sure if a free society is a good thing for China and that he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders in China's southern island province of Hainan.The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao Forum when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society."I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic."Chan added: "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."The kung fu star has not been a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement in his hometown of Hong Kong. Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, voters have not been allowed to directly elect their leader. Several massive street protests have been held to demand full democracy, but Beijing has repeatedly said Hong Kong isn't ready for it.The theme at Saturday's panel discussion was "Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential," and Chan had several opinions about innovation in China.He said that early in his career, he lived in the shadow of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee. He said that during his first foray into Hollywood, he struggled to establish his own identity, so he returned to Hong Kong. After spending 15 years building his reputation in Asia, Chan finally got rediscovered by Hollywood, he said.Chan said the problem with Chinese youth is that "they like other people's things. They don't like their own things." Young people need to spend more time developing their own style, he added.

Royal Challengers crush the Royals

Anil Kumble's five wicket haul in the IPL helped the Bangalore Royal Challengers to defeat the last year's champions Rajasthan Royals by 75 runs.Praveen Kumar of Bangalore Royal Challengers removed Graeme Smith and Asnodkar, the opening batsmen of Rajasthan Royals, early into the match to give his team a slight edge over the champions of the first IPL tournament.Defending champions Rajasthan Royals restricted Bangalore Royal Challengers to 133 for eight in 20 overs in the second game on the opening day of Indian Premier League's second season here Saturday. Dimitry Mascarenhas was the top bowler with three for 20 while skipper Shane Warne and Munaf Patel picked up two wickets each at the Newlands Stadium. Rahul Dravid was the top scorer for Royal Challengers with 66 off 48 balls. Mascarenhas of Rajasthan Royals took three early wickets to put the Bangalore Royal Challengers under pressure early in the second match in the Indian Premeir League at Cape Town.Electing to bat first, Royal Challengers lost the wickets of Ryder and Taylor in the initial overs.Earlier, Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and decided to bat against defending champions Rajasthan Royals in the second match of the Indian Primier League (IPL) here Saturday. 

Mumbai beat Chennai by 19 runs in IPL opener

CAPE TOWN Mumbai Indians won by 19 runs against Chennai Super Kings in the opening Twenty20 match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.Chasing 166, Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 146 in the allotted 20 overs and lost seven wickets.Their main scorers were Matthew Hayden and captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni. Hayden made 44 off 35 balls with six fours and one six while Dhoni smashed two sixes and one four in his 26-ball 36. For Mumbai Indians, Lasith Malinga captured three wickets for 15 runs and Sanath Jayasuriya claimed two for 34. Harbhajan Singh and Dwayne Bravo took one wicket each.Earlier, Dhoni won the toss and put Mumbai Indians into bat who made 165 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.Their captain Sachin Tendulkar was the top scorer with an unbeaten 59 off 49 balls while Abhishek Nayar smashed 35 runs from only 14 balls with three sixes and two fours. Sri Lanka’s veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya made 26 off 20 balls and together with Tendulkar gave his team a solid start of 39 runs.For Chennai Super Kings, Manpreet Gony claimed two wickets while Joginder Sharma, Jacob Oram, Thilan Tushara and Andrew Flintoff took one wicket each.Tendulkar was adjudged the man-of-the-match.

Djokovic overcomes Wawrinka to reach final

Serb Novak Djokovic posted his fifth straight win over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, advancing 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 into the final of the Monte Carlo Open. The world number three will face either Nadal or Murray.World number three Novak Djokovic overcame a sluggish start to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3 and reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday.The Serb will meet either world number one Rafael Nadal of Spain or British fourth seed Andy Murray in Sunday's final.Djokovic was broken in the ninth game as 13th seed Wawrinka won the first set, but the 2007 Australian Open champion then stepped up a gear.He stormed through the second set and rallied from 2-0 down in the third to wrap up the victory on his third match point with a forehand winner.

Many die in blast at China mine

At least 18 people have been killed and another six wounded in an explosion at a coal mine compound in central China, state television has reported.Two people are missing after the blast flattened the three-storey warehouse at the Qingshanbei mine in the mountainous Hunan province on Friday afternoon, CCTV reported.Police are investigating whether explosives were illegally stored in the warehouse, CCTV said on Saturday.A shareholder of the mine is already "under police control" and authorities are looking for the other owners, the channel reported.

Zardari calls for help in fighting terrorism

President Asif Ali Zardari gestures while delivering a speech during the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2009 in Boao, Hainan province. -Reuters
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari

BOAO Pakistan's president appealed Saturday for help in combating terrorism in the region, a day after international donors pledged more than five billion dollars to stabilise the troubled country.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum which focuses on the global financial crisis, President Asif Ali Zardari pointed to terrorism in Asia as another pressing issue.'This issue is about not being able to control the terrorism that is evolving around Pakistan, Afghanistan and indeed the region,' he told the more than 1,600 delegates gathered at the annual summit on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan, which aims to promote regional economic integration.'Please help us solve and fight this menace,' he added in a speech broadcast live on China's state television.Zardari, whose wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a December 2007 attack, said the current global financial crisis could be linked to terrorism.'Even today's recession I would put down to the aftermath of what happened in 9/11,' he said.US President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against terrorism and Al-Qaeda.Zardari's comments came a day after around 40 donor countries and groups pledged development funds to help the politically volatile and nuclear-armed country fight poverty, strengthen its institutions and reduce militancy.

Five billion not enough for Pakistan: Holbrooke

US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke speaks before the press in Tokyo on April 18, 2009, one day after he attend the Pakistan donor countries conference. – AFP
US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke 

TOKYO Pakistan needs further international support, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Saturday as he warned that a pledge of five billion dollars was ‘not enough’ to stabilise the troubled nation.At an aid meeting in Tokyo on Friday, donor countries pledged a total of 5.28 billion dollars to stabilise Pakistan, seen as a frontline state against Islamic extremism.The United States and Japan pledged one billion dollars each at the meeting Tokyo co-hosted with the World Bank.‘Five billion dollars is not enough,’ said Holbrooke, US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.'The terrorists in western Pakistan are planning other attacks around the world ... so we need to work hard to strengthen the government of Pakistan, to deal with the tribal areas with all its problems,' he said.‘We should – after congratulating the result yesterday – we should be very mindful of the fact that the problem is far from over,’ he said.He declined to give a figure on how much money was required to stabilise Pakistan, but noted that some economists say the number ‘is as high as 50 billion dollars.’More than half of Pakistan's people live below the poverty line of two dollars a day and ‘even in great cities like Karachi – which I would point out is the world's largest Muslim city – 17 million people (live) with only a few hours of electricity a day,’ he added.

'Mega-droughts' forecast for Africa

Severe droughts could devastate sub-Saharan Africa following a recent decades-long drought that killed 100,000 people in Africa's Sahel region, scientists say.Sub-Saharan Africa often suffers droughts, but the group of specialists reported on Thursday that global climate change will make these dry periods more severe and more difficult for the people who live there.The prediction is contained in a study published in the journal of Science by the scientits at the University of Arizona, US."Clearly, much of West Africa is already on the edge of sustainability, and the situation could become much more dire in the future with increased global warming," said Jonathan Overpeck, a climatologist and co-author of the study.Temperatures in the Sahel region are expected to rise by five to 10 degrees this century, the scientists said, despite some curbing of the greenhouse emissions that cause climate change."We might actually proceed into the future ... we could cross a threshold driving the [climate] system into one of those big droughts without even knowing it's coming," Overpeck said.

Dutch commandos rescue hostages, new vessel seized

Dutch commandos have freed 20 hostages who had been forced to sail a pirate "mother ship" that was targeting commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said. Meanwhile, pirates seized a Belgian ship and its 10-member crew. Dutch commandos freed 20 Yemeni hostages on Saturday and briefly detained seven pirates who had forced their captives to sail a "mother ship" attacking vessels in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said. Meanwhile, pirates seized a Belgian-registered ship and its 10-member crew, including two Belgians, further south in the Indian Ocean. A pirate source said the vessel, the Pompei, would be taken to the coast. Sea gangs from Somalia have captured dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors prisoner and made off with millions of  dollars in ransoms despite an unprecedented deployment by foreign militaries off the Horn of Africa. NATO Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes, speaking on board the Portuguese warship Corte-Real, said the 20 fishermen were rescued after a Dutch navy frigate on a NATO patrol responded to an assault on a Greek-managed tanker by pirates firing assault rifles and grenades.The Dutch ship, the HNLMS De Zeven Provincien, chased the pirates, who were on a small skiff, back to their "mother ship" -- a hijacked Yemeni fishing dhow.

Nations reject Americas declaration

Several leaders at the Summit of the Americas are unlikely to sign the final declaration due to disagreements on the global economy and Cuba.Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica and Bolivia all said on Saturday that they would not agree to the final commitments, Al Jazeera's Dima Khatib reported."These countries say that they do not accept the final declaration because it is insufficient and unacceptable," Khatib said."The reasons that these countries give are many. One of them is that the declaration doesn't tackle the problem of capitalism being the reason for the financial crisis that the world is living with right now."Not including Cuba in such an important summit where all the other Latin American and North American countries are included is another reason."Thirty-four countries, including the US, are attending the summit of North and Latin American nations which is due to wrap up on Sunday in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.

US-Iranian reporter gets eight years in jail

After a five-day closed trial, US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in Iran, accused of spying for the United States. It is the harshest sentence of its kind given to a dual national.An Iranian court has sentenced an Iranian-American journalist accused of spying for the United States to eight years in jail, her lawyer told Reuters on Saturday.The sentencing of Roxana Saberi could become a source of tension between Iran and the United States at a time when Washington is trying to reach out to the Islamic Republic following three decades of mutual hostility."She has been sentenced to eight years ... I will appeal," lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said.The United States earlier this week called the charges against Saberi "baseless and without foundation" and demanded her immediate release.Saberi, 31, is a citizen of both the United States and Iran but Tehran does not recognize dual nationality. It announced the espionage charges against her last week.