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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Nine soldiers killed in Taliban-held Swat Valley

Nine Pakistani soldiers were killed in the north-western district of Swat, including seven in one ambush, as clashes between the military and Taliban forces intensified. War planes are bombing suspected Taliban hideouts in the area.Pakistani attack helicopters and war planes pounded suspected Taliban hideouts Thursday, as thousands of people fled the deadliest fighting to erupt in the northwest district of Swat in months.Aid workers warned that the humanitarian crisis was escalating in the area after families streamed out of the Taliban militant stronghold on foot or crammed into cars weighed down with provisions and household possessions."A mortar shell hit the outer wall of my house last night. Luckily, we survived. I feel God has given me an opportunity I can't miss. I'm leaving. Swat is not worth living in," Nasir Jamal, a medical shop owner, told AFP.Security forces targeted militants holed up in Malam Jabba, Matta and Khawaza Khela of Swat, one day after 37 rebels were killed in the deadliest fighting to rock the area since a peace deal was reached in February.The agreement between the government and the Taliban to allow sharia law in Swat was supposed to end the bloodshed after a nearly two-year violent Taliban uprising."If there is no peace, there is no deal as it is directly linked to the restoration of peace," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters.A military official in the northwest said troops were ordered to target militant hideouts and establish the writ of the government "at any cost" as the peace deal unravelled.Pakistan is under US pressure to crush militants, who Washington has called the biggest terror threat to the West and US President Barack Obama has put the nuclear-armed Muslim country at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda.

Taliban Trap Civilians in Pakistani War Zone

Taliban militants blocked roads with rocks and trees, preventing terrified civilians from fleeing a Pakistani valley Thursday as the army stepped up a ground and air assault on the guerrillas that has been applauded by the U.S., witnesses said.Destabilizing violence is flaring in Pakistan just as its embattled president is appealing in Washington for more help to reverse the extension of Taliban-held territory to within 60 miles of the capital. The U.S. is particularly concerned by the unrest because its troops are fighting an increasingly virulent insurgency in Afghanistan fed from militant havens in Pakistan's lawless border area.Officials are bracing for a mass exodus from the Swat Valley, a former tourist destination where fighting has resumed after the breakdown of a controversial peace deal earlier this week. The military claimed to have killed more than 80 militants in the region on Wednesday. There has been no official word on civilian casualties.More than 500,000 Pakistanis driven out by fighting in other regions of the northwest are already living in makeshift camps or with relatives, adding a growing humanitarian crisis to the country's daunting security, economic and political problems.With Taliban militants roaming the streets of Mingora, Swat's main town, on Thursday and troops launching artillery and airstrikes on militant targets from helicopter, many residents hunkered down in their homes.The army announced it was relaxing its blanket curfew in the area, but some of those who tried to make a swift exit said militants blocked their way.Ayaz Khan, a 39-year-old from the Kanju area of Swat, said he loaded his family into his car early Thursday but that rocks, boulders and tree trunks has been laid across the roads, forcing him to turn back."I am helpless, frustrated and worried for my family," he told an Associated Press reporter by telephone from his home. He appealed to authorities to clear the barriers and let people move to safety.A health worker living in Mingora said militants had warned her to stay in her home."During the whole of last night, I heard firing, and again this morning," said the woman, who would only give her first name, Maryam, for fear she could be targeted for speaking with a reporter."I don't know when some weapon will hit our home and kill us," she said.Washington has said it wants to see a sustained operation in Swat and surrounding districts, mindful of earlier, inconclusive offensives elsewhere in the Afghan border region. Eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the area remains a haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters blamed for spiraling violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.But uprooting the insurgents from the valley will mean civilian casualties, property damage and massive disruption which could sap the resolve of the government, which is struggling to convince the nuclear-armed Muslim nation that fighting the militants is in its interests as well as those of the U.S.President Barack Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met Wednesday in Washington to explore ways to boost the country's antiterror fight, seen by many as the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the U.S. administration."Pakistan's democracy will deliver," Zardari said in Washington.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the military offensive against the Taliban was a positive sign."I'm actually quite impressed by the actions the Pakistani government is now taking," she said. "I think that action was called for, and action has been forthcoming."The Swat accord began unraveling last month when Taliban fighters moved from the valley into the nearby district of Buner, even closer to Islamabad, prompting an operation that the military says has killed more than 150 militants but has yet to drive them out.The Swat Taliban are estimated to have up to 7,000 fighters — many with training and battle experience — equipped with rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and automatic weapons. They are up against some 15,000 troops who until recent days had been confined to their barracks under the peace deal.

China: 2008 quake killed 5,335 students

A magnitude-7.9 earthquake that struck southwestern China last year killed 5,335 students and left an additional 546 children disabled, state media reported.The first official tally of students killed in the Sichuan province quake was released Thursday by Tu Wentao, the head of the province's education department, the Xinhua news agency said.As of September, official figures put the death toll at 69,227, with more than 17,923 people missing. The temblor struck May 12 about 2:30 p.m., when many children were in school.The official tally of student deaths and injuries was released a few days after an Amnesty International report accused the government of China of intimidating and unlawfully detaining relatives of children who had died in the earthquake.The 52-page report, published Sunday, documented instances in which relatives said they had been detained for up to 21 days for trying to get answers from officials.

Team Standings IPL2009

MPWLNRRRP
Delhi7520+0.1610
Hyderabad8530+0.1510
Chennai8431+1.369
Rajasthan8431-0.329
Bangalore8440-0.208
Punjab8440-0.508
Mumbai8341+0.527
Kolkata9171-1.093

Amazon unveils its new Kindle electronic reader

Amazon has unveiled a third version of its popular electronic reader, Kindle. With a larger screen, it's adapted for magazines, books and newspapers.Amazon unveiled a large-screen version of its popular Kindle electronic reader on Wednesday, promoting it as a handier device for reading newspapers, magazines and textbooks.The Kindle DX costs 489 dollars and features a screen which at 9.7 inches (24.6 centimeters) is 2.5 times larger than the six-inch (15.24 cm) screen on the earlier versions of the Kindle, which cost 359 dollars.Amazon said the latest Kindle, which will ship this summer, has a built-in PDF document reader and 3.3 gigabytes of memory which can store up to 3,500 books compared with 1,500 books for the Kindles 1 and 2.While the earlier versions of the Kindle were mainly book readers, Amazon touted the latest version as better suited to reading newspapers, magazines and textbooks."The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks," Amazon said in a statement.Some 50 US and international magazines and newspapers -- desperate to stop the flow of red ink from a loss of advertising and readers to the Web -- have signed up to make their publications available on the new Kindle.

Twenty20 between Pakistan and Australia today

The Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Australia will be played here today.Both teams participated in a practice session at the Dubai Cricket Stadium in connection with preparations for the match.Australia has already secured the five-match One-day International series 3-2.The only Twenty20 match will be played at the cricket stadium of Dubai Sports City.Today, Australian team took part in net practice in the morning session while Pakistan team did net practice in the second session of the day.This match is vital in the sense that both teams will play the last Twenty20 International before the T20 World Cup.Pakistan captain Younis Khan said that playing this match against a world class team would be beneficial for his team but for winning the match, it has to display the best performance in every department of the game.

Deccan outclass Mumbai by 19 runs

Rohit Sharma’s hat-trick helped Deccan Chargers defeat Mumbai Indians by 19 runs in the match of the IPL second edition here on Wednesday.Chasing an easy target of 146 runs, Deccan were restricted to 126-8 in the allotted 20 overs.Sharma captured four wickets for only six runs while RP Singh and Tirumalsetti Suman claimed two wickets each.For Mumbai, Duminy top scored with 52 with the help of seven fours. Earlier, Deccan Chargers could make 145 runs for the loss of six wickets after their captain Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and decided to bat first. Prominent scorers for Deccan were Rohit Sharma (38 off 36 balls with two fours and one six), Venugopal Rao (28 off 17 balls with two fours and one six), Adam Gilchrist (25 off 29 balls with two fours and one six) and Tirumalsetti Suman (20 off 13 balls with one four and two sixes).

Draw with Chelsea sends Barcelona to final with Manchester United

Barcelona's Iniesta scored a late goal in a stunning reversal of fortunes to sink unfortunate Chelsea (1-1) in Stamford Bridge. The Catalans will play holders Manchester United in the Rome final on May 27.Barcelona snatched a place in the Champions League final in dramatic fashion on Wednesday when a last-gasp goal from Andres Iniesta earned a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and victory on away goals.Barcelona will play holders Manchester United in the Rome final on May 27 after a stunning reversal of fortunes in the semi-final second leg.Chelsea had been on their way to a second successive final against United thanks to a brilliant volley from Michael Essien in the ninth minute.Barcelona had created few clear chances but they broke Chelsea hearts when Iniesta clattered in a shot from the edge of the box in the third minute of stoppage time.Barcelona's Eric Abidal, who was sent off in the second half, will miss the final, as will Daniel Alves, who was booked.

Prepaid wireless service could spur price war

The prepaid cell phone market has finally hit the U.S. in a big way as economically strapped consumers flock to inexpensive pay-as-you-go services. The result will likely mean that big cell phone providers may be forced to slash prices on contract service plans to keep consumers from defecting.This is good news for consumers, who could see lower prices on both prepaid and post-paid service plans. But it is very bad news for cell phone operators, which make more money from their post paid customers than they do from prepaid customers.Prepaid cell phone plans, which have been very popular in Europe and other parts of the world for several years, allow consumers to buy a phone at full retail price, without committing to a contract, and pay for service in advance.By contrast, post-paid services require consumers to sign a one- to two- year service contract, and their usage is billed on a monthly basis. In exchange for signing a contract, wireless operators often subsidize the cost of the phone.For years, the post-paid business model has dominated the U.S. cell phone market, providing strong growth for U.S. wireless operators. Meanwhile, the prepaid market in the U.S. has been largely left to consumers who are young, price-sensitive, or considered credit risks.While all of the major cell phone operators offer prepaid services, smaller operators, such as Leap Wireless, MetroPCS, and Virgin Mobile USA, have largely dominated this market.

EU, US reach deal to end beef, cheese spat

The European Commission and the US announced a provisional deal to end a long-standing dispute over an EU ban of US hormone-treated beef. The deal lifts the threat of new retaliatory duties on EU products imported to the US, such as Roquefort cheese.The United States and the European Union agreed Wednesday to bury the hatchet in their dispute over US hormone-treated beef, one of the longest and most bitter transatlantic trade rows.The deal, which still has to be finalised, lifts the threat of new retaliatory duties on EU products ranging from Roquefort French cheese to Italian mineral water, which were due to be imposed later this week.In exchange, Europe will nearly quadruple its quota for duty-free imports of non-hormone treated US beef in the coming years.US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said the deal offered a "pragmatic way forward" in a dispute that has long been a thorn in the side of one of the closest trade relations in the world."An agreement is in our mutual interest, and we will now discuss this with our respective stakeholders and constituencies in an effort to finalize it as soon as possible," they said in a joint statement.The agreement would provide additional duty-free access to the EU market for US beef produced from cattle that have not been treated with growth-promoting hormones, the statement said.The access would begin with 20,000 tons of beef -- in addition to 11,500 already allowed -- in the first three years and increasing to 45,000 tons beginning in the fourth year.

U.S.: Taliban Beheading Led to Air Strikes

Amid U.S. regret over civilian deaths in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. forces there voiced doubts Wednesday about whether American bombing was to blame."We have some other information that leads us to distinctly different conclusions about the cause of the civilian casualties," Gen. David McKiernan said.Speaking to reporters at Camp Eggers in Kabul, McKiernan said Taliban extremists beheaded three villagers over the weekend in the start of what he described as an extended battle that ended with U.S. airstrikes killing at least 25 Taliban militants.McKiernan noted the claims of local officials that civilians were also killed.He said a joint U.S.-Afghan investigation of the incident, which began Wednesday, would probably take a few more days."We do have people out there on the ground who will continue to follow this up with our Afghanistan counterparts to get to the truth," McKiernan said. He added: "It is certainly a technique of the Taliban and other insurgent groups to claim civilian casualties at every event, so we've just got to do the right investigation on this."

Pakistan army battles Swat Taliban

The Pakistani military says that it has killed more than 80 fighters in heavy fighting against several thousand Taliban loyalists in the country's northwest.As the fighting rages, tens of thousands of residents are fleeing the Swat valley area of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).The army launched its major offensive on Wednesday, with reports of aerial support being used overnight into Thursday."The military offensive has continued overnight and into Thursday ... our producers on the ground say the curfew in the region has been lifted and will be reimposed at midnight [01:00 GMT]."The roads are blocked and there is very little transport for those fleeing the fighting, so they have taken to the roads on foot to reach IDP camps," he said."We are also hearing reports of jet fighters being used, that will be the first time in this battle and, if true, it is a very worrying development."

Blackwater era ending in Iraq

The troubled Blackwater era ends in Iraq on Thursday as another firm takes over the once-dominant company's security services contract in Baghdad.Triple Canopy, a Herndon, Virginia-based company, picks up the expiring contract of Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe a few months ago. The State Department decided in January to not renew Blackwater/Xe's contract.That followed a refusal by the Iraqi government to renew the firm's operating license because of a September 2007 shooting in which the Iraqi government says security guards -- then employed by Blackwater -- killed 17 Iraqi civilians.As part of a contract to protect American diplomats and other employees around the world, the State Department hired Blackwater for a multi-year assignment in Iraq, renewable once a year. Blackwater/Xe, one of three security firms working for the United States, had one of the biggest security contracts in Iraq, providing security for the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

India to get Afghan transit trade route

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (C) speaks alongside 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (L) and 
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zadari

Pakistan and Afghanistan signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding to begin talks on a transit trade agreement which will ultimately allow India to use the Wagah-Khyber route for trade with Kabul.The memorandum of understanding commits the two ‘countries to achieving a trade transit agreement by the end of the year, which we believe will have great economic benefits for both peoples,’ said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who hosted the Afghan and Pakistani presidents for the first round of the second trilateral talks.‘This is an historic event. This agreement has been under discussion for 43 years without resolution,’ she said.‘Afghanistan and Pakistan have reached an important milestone in their efforts to generate foreign investment and stronger economic growth and trade opportunities.’Secretary Clinton also used the opportunity to regret the loss of innocent lives in US bombings, saying that ‘she wanted to convey to the people of both Afghanistan and Pakistan that ‘we will work very hard with your governments and with your leaders to avoid the loss of innocent civilian life. And we deeply, deeply regret that loss’.

Kashmir strike mars India polls

The fourth phase of voting in India's month-long general election is taking place, with 85 seats up for grabs in seven states across the world's most populous democracy, as well as in the capital New Delhi.Heavy security has been deployed for polling in the Kashmir valley, the disputed northern Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan.The separatist All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference has urged a boycott of the vote in the region's summer capital of Srinagar, arguing that the polls legitimise Indian rule of the territory. "So far, we haven't seen many voters coming out,"."Remember that a 50-hour strike called by the separatist leaders doesn't end until later this evening after polling has ended."

Obama, Karzai, Zardari unite against Taliban ahead of final talks

US President Barack Obama meets with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts, Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari, for final talks Thursday, a day after the three leaders announced they were united in their fight against Islamic extremists.Barack Obama has invested his young presidency's political capital in battling Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan -- but experts also see him keeping a greater distance from the troubled countries' leaders.Obama, in perhaps his most ambitious White House summit so far, met Wednesday with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai and hailed "unprecedented cooperation" to fight Islamic extremists."Let me be clear: The United States has made a lasting commitment to defeat Al-Qaeda, but also to support the democratically elected sovereign governments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan," Obama said, flanked by the two leaders."That commitment will not waiver. And that support will be sustained," Obama said.But while few doubt that Obama favors democracy in the two nations, analysts believe he is also seeking to depersonalize his relationship with the two leaders.It marks a break from the deeply personal politics of his predecessor George W. Bush, who was closely identified both with Karzai and Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf."The US reputation suffered from what seemed to be an overpersonalization and reliance on Musharraf, despite the fact that he had undermined Pakistan's democratic institutions," said Lisa Curtis, a South Asia expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank."I think so far the Obama administration has tried to keep a healthy distance between itself and both the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan," she said.Musharraf quit last year under threat of impeachment, paving the way for Zardari's civilian but weak government.Karzai -- first installed after a US-led military operation following the September 11, 2001 attacks -- is considered the front-runner in August elections, in which he has picked a controversial warlord accused of human rights abuses as a running mate.The Washington Post said Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to the region, has privately voiced hope that Karzai faces a challenge.

US 'regrets' Afghan deaths

Barack Obama has expressed regret for civilian deaths in Afghanistan, vowing to "make every effort" to avoid them as US-led forces step up their fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.The US president's comments on Wednesday came in the wake of reports that a US-led air raid in Afghanistan this week had killed as many as 100 civilians.If confirmed it would be the biggest loss of civilian life in a single attack since US troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001.Rohul Amin, the governor of Farah province where the alleged attack took place, said on Wednesday that he feared 100 civilians had been killed in the province's Bala Baluk district, about 600km from Kabul, the capital.Amin said Taliban fighters were reportedly using civilian homes to shelter from US-led forces during an operation targeting fighters.