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Friday, April 30, 2010

Oil slick reaches US shores


Small amounts of oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico have reached US shores. Officials said the leak, from an oil rig sunk by a massive explosion last week, was five times worse than previously thought, and could trigger a disaster of "national significance" on the Gulf coast. By sunset on Thursday, the oil had reached the mouth of Mississippi river, lapping at the shoreline in long, thin lines and threatening birds, marine life and some of the country's richest seafood grounds. The massive slick has prompted the southern US state of Louisiana to declare a state of emergency and the White House to step up its response.

Ban Sania to play for India


Rajiv Mahajan president of Jammu based Hindu organisation Shri Ram Sena has appealed Government of India should treat Sania Mirza, who become a Pakistani National after her marriage with a Pakistani cricket player, Shoaib Malik, as Pakistani national. He also appealed to Central Government and Sports Club of India to not allow to Sania Mirza for joining any sports from India as she has no rights to represent India after her marriage with Pakistani national. Giving the reference of Maduri Gupta, an Indian female diplomat working in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, who allegedly passed on sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence agencies, Rajiv requested Central Government for not trusting on any person who will move towards Pakistan.

Pakistan, India agree to revive dialogue


India and Pakistan on Thursday agreed to revive dialogue – without any preconditions – following a meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the 16th SAARC summit in Bhutan. The meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart, Dr Manmohan Singh, took place at Bhutan House in the SAARC village and lasted for 90 minutes. After the one-on-one session ended, the foreign ministers and the foreign secretaries were asked to join in. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao separately briefed the media after the bilateral meeting.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Gordon Brown is upping the tempo of his campaign


Former British Premier Gordon Brown has said that he is "upping the tempo" of his campaign for re-election. Recent survey suggests signs that Labour could be beaten back into third place in the May 6 election. The Prime Minister admitted that his popularity declined during the debate however he denied that he was tearing up his strategy with less than two weeks to go until polling day. But he said: "As you get nearer to election day you are always upping the tempo. Aides said he would be engaging more with ordinary members of the public, including more question and answer sessions with people who are not Labour Party members. The move appears to acknowledge criticism that the Prime Minister's contact with the public has been limited, his focus being on gatherings with mostly Labour sympathizers.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Laxmi Mittal still tops world’s rich persons’ list


The fortunes of the richest people in Britain have soared by 30 percent in a year while much of the country is struggling to recover from recession, according to an annual list published today. Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and his family remain top of the list with 22.45 billion pounds (34.5 billion dollars, 25.8 billion euros), more than double the 10.8 billion pounds they were estimated to have last year. Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who owns Chelsea Football Club, retains his second place on the Sunday Times Rich List with wealth of 7,400 million pounds, up 400 million pounds from last year. The compilers of the 2010 list say the rise in the wealth of Britain's richest individuals is the largest since the list was first published 21 years ago. The recovering health of global stock markets and property values following the global downturn has fuelled the rise. The 1,000 richest people in the country increased their wealth by 77 billion pounds last year, bringing their total wealth to 335.5 billion pounds. Another ten individuals joined the ranks of billionaires in the past 12 months -- there are now 53 in Britain. A boom in commodity markets lifted the fortunes of the mining magnates Alisher Usmanov, up 213 percent to 4.7 billion pounds, and Anil Agarwal, up 583 percent to 4.1 billion pounds.

Thai PM vows to retake protest site


Bangkok is bracing for more unrest after the Thai prime minister rejected an offer by anti-government protesters to end their demonstrations in return for fresh elections within 30 days. Instead, Abhisit Vejjajiva reiterated in a nationally televised address on Sunday that the authorities will retake the main protest site of the so-called red shirts in Bangkok's main shopping area of Ratchaprasong. "There will be a retaking of Ratchaprasong, but the process, measures, how and when it will be done, we cannot disclose because it depends on several things," Abhisit said with the army chief, General Anupong Paojinda, by his side.

Israel must topple Assad in next conflict with Syria proxies


Syria, according to recent reports, is supplying Hezbollah with Scuds and other missiles that possess a range covering all of Israel - prompting the question as to the implications of such military hardware during wartime. The missiles have the capacity to carry a ton of explosives or another warhead, and they don't require great sophistication to operate. The use of solid fuel might also make it possible to launch these missiles more quickly than the smaller missiles that were directed at Israel during the Second Lebanon War. Though the larger weapons are launched from mobile launch pads, they are more easily identified and destroyed than the smaller missiles. The accuracy of the current Scuds is a matter of hundreds of meters, a higher level of precision than that of the missiles which landed in Israel during the Second Lebanon War. At the same time, a missile that strikes an urban area does not require great accuracy. If Hezbollah arms itself with several hundred Scuds, over the course of a two-week war it could fire several dozen large missiles a day, causing physical damage or injury as well as affecting morale. And a strike at the commercial heart of the country could deter foreigners from doing business with Israel. 

Iran and Zimbabwe: birds of same feathers?


Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe backs Iran’s controversial nuclear programme and has accused the West of seeking to punish the two countries for asserting their independence. “Be also assured, comrade president, of Zimbabwe’s continuous support of Iran’s just cause on the nuclear issue,” Mugabe told Ahmadinejad at a banquet he hosted for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Harare on Thursday for a two-day visit.. Iran faces a possible new round of United Nations sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Zimbabwe itself escaped U.N sanctions in 2008 after Mugabe’s re-election in a second round poll marred by political violence, which forced his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out despite outpolling Mugabe in the first round voting.

Shoaib seeking Rs 35 million for media rights of 'walima' reception


Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik wants to cash on his extensively reported wedding with Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, as he has reportedly demanded Rs 35 million for media rights of his 'walima' reception, which would be held today (April 25) in his hometown, Sialkot. According to a private television channel, Shoaib is in consultation with two media houses for leasing out the rights of coverage of his reception ceremony, but a deal has not been struck so far.

Clashes as settlers march in Israel


Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces have clashed after Jewish settlers marched in the Arab neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The rightwing settlers, who staged the march on Sunday, want Palestians removed from the area and their homes pulled down. The march, led by Baruch Marzel and Itamar-Gvir, comes as Israel prepares to declare the beginning of US-mediated indirect talks with the Palestians. It was originally scheduled for March but was delayed by the police until after the Jewish Passover.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Suicide bomb at police station kills 7 in Pakistan


A suicide bomber rammed a truck loaded with explosives into a police station in Pakistan on Sunday, killing a child and six other civilians, police said. The attack at Saddar police station in the Kohat region wounded 26 people, said Abdullah Khan, the deputy inspector general in Kohat. Twin suicide attacks in the same region Saturday targeted refugees who were fleeing the Orakzai tribal area where Pakistan's army is fighting militants. That attack killed 41 people as they lined up to register for food and relief supplies. The victims of the police station bombing were mostly civilians, said Dilawar Khan, the Kohat police chief. Six of the wounded were police. The truck was loaded with up to 250 kilograms of explosives, he said. It struck a concrete barrier in front of the building, which was heavily damaged as was an adjoining school. The victims were among around 200,000 people who have left the Orakzai region along the Afghan border since the end of last year, when the Pakistan army began offensive ground and air operations against militants based in the remote, tribally administered region. The attacks in Kohat were a reaction to the army offensive in Orakzai, Diliwar Khan said.

I was marrying a person, not a Pakistani: Sania Mirza


In her first interview with CNNpost marriage Sania Mirza said "I was marrying a person, not a Pakistani, people try to make it political but we were very clear that we were two individuals who were getting married just like normal people." Sania and Shoaib are the first major Indo -Pak celeb couple to tie the knot setting in motion a hue and cry from both the countries. "Everyone had an opinion, everyone wanted to have a say, but the most important thing is that now we are relieved as we are married." she said. The newly- weds are planning to live in Dubai, away from the subcontinent in a probable attempt to be away from media scrutiny. Sania might have tied the knot but tennis continues to be her focus. "My immediate goal is to play in Commonwealth games in India. I have played in Asian games before but this time it's in India so it'll be more special for me, I am more excited about it, I'm also going to play in Wimbledon, " she added. When asked about the change in her life post-marriage, the tennis star says that she's clear about the fact that marriage is not going to change anything for her. "I never thought I would get married so soon." she added.

UN declares Pakistan as a terrorist state?

At last the United Nations has overtly admitted that Pakistan fueled anti-Bharat activities in Kashmir. According to a UN report, Pakistan’s spy agency ISI (Inter-services Intelligence) and military has used terror groups’ services to drum up anti-India passion in Kashmir and in entire country. The report is submitted by the panel headed by Chile's UN ambassador Heraldo Munoz, which was appointed by the United Nations to probe the assassination of former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhuto. The panel found out that the Pakistan Government had formulated a policy to use terrorists as a tool to achieve its strategic objective against its neighbors, especially India.This resulted in active linkages between Pakistan Government and Islamic terrorists at the expense of national forces.  The panel also pointed out some past actions of the Islamic state to substantiate their observation. In 1996, the Pakistani military masterminded, and supported the Taliban acquisition of Afghanistan, the report said. The panel observed that Pakistan has been using similar techniques in Kashmir against India since 1989. The terror activities in Kashmir border are mentored by ISI, Lashkar-e-Toiba and HUJI (Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami). These terror outfits have close links with Pakistan Army and Government. The panel observed that the bulk of anti-India movement by Pakistan in Kashmir still remains in full swing. The 65-page report stated that the jihadi organizations are Sunni groups based largely in Pakistan's Punjab. The report said Qari Saifullah Akhtar, one of the founders of the extremist HuJI, was reportedly one of the ISI's main links to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and is believed to have cultivated ties to Osama bin Laden, who lived in Afghanistan during that period. “Akhtar's one-time deputy Ilyas Kashmiri, who had ties with the Pakistani military during the Afghan and Kashmir campaigns, had been a senior aide to bin Laden's deputy Ayman al Zawahiri,” the report observed. With this the UN effectively established Pakistan as a terrorist state, a state which is becoming a serious threat to neighboring nations.In this situation, one should also analyze Pakistan’s stand on Mumbai terror during the recently concluded Nuclear Summit in Washington. Pak Prime Minister Yoosaf Raza Gilani yet again asked for more evidences to support the alleged involvement of Lashkar-e-taiba in 26/11. India has already given enough evidences about LeT role in the attacks to Pakistan, but still they are asking for more proof. Dear Manmohan Singh, How can a country, which is ruled by Islamic terrorists take action against an Islamic terror outfit. So don’t ask them to take action. Do what you can. If you are so committed to save India from terrorists, you should go for a real terror hunt in Kashmir and in the entire country without considering the minority appeasement policy of your Italian boss. Do you have the courage to do this? For starting an effective hunt against Maoist terrorists, P Chidambaram, Minister, Home Affairs has been isolated within the Congress party. So, I request my fellow-countrymen to not expect a nationalist approach from the present Government.

Osama bin Laden's Facebook account disabled


Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's profile on social networking website Facebook has been shut down, after a security expert raised the issue with the website's U.S. owners. According to reports, Osama had a Facebook page named "The leader of the Mujahideen, Osama bin Laden", and he used it as a platform to show videos and speeches to Islamic militants.  Talking about the decision, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said that the company could not ascertain if the profile belonged to Osama or was fake. 

Bomb strikes IPL cricket match in Bangalore, police say


A bomb has exploded outside a cricket stadium in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, police say. At least eight people were injured in the explosion. The blast happened shortly before the start of an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match. Police say the device was hidden in the perimeter wall. The match went ahead with about 40,000 people in Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Mumbai Indians beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bangalore captain Anil Kumble brushed aside suggestions that some of his overseas players had refused to take the field following the explosion. The game started after security staff carried out an inspection of the grounds.

Pakistan 'failed to protect Bhutto'


The 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani leader, could have been prevented and Pakistani officials failed to properly investigate her murder, a United Nations commission has found. In a damning report released on Thursday, the three-member UN panel investigating the killing blamed failures at all levels of the Pakistani government and said security measures to protect her had been "fatally insufficient." "Ms Bhutto's assassination could have been prevented if adequate security measures had been taken," the inquiry's 65-page report said. It added that the panel, headed by Heraldo Munoz, Chile's UN ambassador, believed the Pakistani police's failure to probe the slaying effectively "was deliberate." "These officials, in part fearing intelligence agencies' involvement, were unsure of how vigorously they ought to pursue actions, which they knew, as professionals, they should have taken," it added. Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said the findings of the UN report were in line with the party's own views on the killing. "It is quite obvious that the suicide bomber did not act alone," he told. He said the party would be issuing a detailed comment on the report once it had studied the document in detail.

US indicts 5 Blackwater ex-officials


US Federal prosecutors charged the former president of Blackwater Worldwide and four other former senior company officials on Friday with weapons violations and making false statements in the first criminal inquiry to reach into the top management ranks of the private security company.  The executives were some of the closest advisers to Blackwater’s founder, Erik Prince, and helped him steer the company during its swift rise to become the leading contractor providing security for American diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan, working for the State Department, the CIA and the Pentagon. They were also the senior executives in charge during the company’s most turbulent period, after its security guards were involved in a series of shootings, including one in Baghdad in 2007 that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. Prince, who was not charged, remains at the helm of the company, now known as Xe Services, while many other executives have left as the company has sought to reshape its public image in the face of mounting legal and political scrutiny. 

Islam forbids use of nuclear weapons: Ayatollah Khamenei


Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei termed the use of nuclear weapons as forbidden in Islam while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged formation of a new organization to stop nuclear proliferation. Addressing used an international conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad proposed the foundation of a new body to supervise nuclear energy worldwide, and suggested that the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should be reviewed by independent countries not possessing nuclear arms. Ahmadinejad called to expel countries that used or threatened to use nuclear weapons from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including the US.

Deaths in Pakistan twin blasts


At least 38 people have been reported killed following two explosions at a camp for displaced people in northwest Pakistan. Police said scores of others were wounded when the blasts detonated minutes apart on Saturday at a camp in the Kacha Pukka area of Kohat, a tribally administered region close to the Afghan border.

Ash may hover for days over uncertain Europe


The Icelandic volcano that has kept much of Europe land-bound is far from finished spitting out its grit, and offered up new mini-eruptions Saturday that raise concerns about longer-term damage to world air travel and trade. Facing days to come under the volcano's unpredictable, ashy plume, Europeans are looking at temporary airport layoffs and getting creative with flight patterns to try to weather this extraordinary event. Modern Europe has never seen such a travel disruption. Air space across a swath from Britain to Ukraine was closed and set to stay that way until Sunday or Monday in some countries, affecting airports from New Zealand to San Francisco. Millions of passengers have had plans foiled or delayed. Activity in the volcano at the heart of this increased early Saturday, and showed no sign of abating.Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines, depending on prevailing winds. In Iceland, winds dragged the ashes over new farmland, to the southwest of the glacier, causing farmers to scramble to secure their cattle and board up windows.In Iceland, torrents of water have carried away chunks of ice the size of small houses. More floods from melting waters are expected as long as the volcano keeps erupting — and in 1821, the same volcano managed to erupt for more than a year.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Usama Bin Laden Had a Facebook Page


The al Qaeda leader, or someone posing as him, was using the social-networking site as a platform to show videos and speeches to Islamic militants -- until Facebook shut him down, that is. His address was given as "the mountains of the world." On Thursday, a security expert urged Facebook's U.S. owners to shut down the profile page, named "The leader of the Mujahideen, Osama bin Laden." The profile became active on March 25 and had already attracted nearly 1,000 extremists. Access was via the Taliban's own Facebook presence, according to U.K. publication Although the language used is Arabic, messages in English were beginning to appear, the Sun reported. "Bin Laden, via his supporters, is clearly taunting his pursuers," Internet terror expert and author Neil Doyle said.

Israel fears US wants to impose peace


Israel's hardline government is deeply worried that the U.S. will try to impose a Mideast peace deal, that the Palestinians might declare statehood unilaterally and that Washington could be moving to end tensions with Syria. These fears underscore how the current differences between the U.S. and Israel go far beyond a still unresolved diplomatic row over Israeli settlement building. Instead, there is a deepening chasm between the visions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, raising questions about the strength of the U.S.-Israeli alliance despite mutual pronouncements that the bond is unshakable.Netanyahu fears Israel could be forced into unwanted concessions and its enemies' hands will be strengthened. His government is pushing to keep the focus firmly on threats from Hezbollah, Hamas and — particularly — Iran and its disputed nuclear program. Obama, in contrast, is speaking about the promises of peace and has taken a new unusual step, publicly characterizing Israeli-Arab strife as harmful to U.S. interests — which many interpreted as a prelude to taking action to push through a peace. A forum of Israel's top seven ministers met three times this week to try to find ways to warm the chilly relationship with the Obama administration, but failed to agree on any specific measures, such as stopping Jewish construction in east Jerusalem, officials said on condition of anonymity because the meetings were closed.

US pledges to help Pakistan after Bhutto probe


The United States pledged Friday to help Pakistan develop democracy after a report said the country could have prevented the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The United States, which had encouraged Bhutto's decision to return to Pakistan to resolve political turmoil, "cooperated fully" with the UN probe, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "The assassination was a tragedy for the people of Pakistan," Crowley told reporters. "Benazir Bhutto gave her life in defense of the development of Pakistan's democratic institutions." "We will continue to work with Pakistan to make sure that we build the institutions of democracy going forward," Crowley said. Crowley declined to comment on the particulars of the report, but said: "Tragically there were failures at a number of levels where she did not have the protection that she deserved and obviously needed." Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack after addressing an election rally. Her death threw the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic nation into chaos, sparking violence and months of political turmoil that ended in September 2008 when her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, assumed the presidency. The United States has supported Zardari's civilian administration, last year approving a five-year, 7.5 billion-dollar package to build infrastructure and democratic institutions.

Friday, April 16, 2010

U.S. doubles special forces in Afghanistan: report


The Pentagon has more than doubled the number of highly trained special forces in Afghanistan to hunt down Taliban leaders, a newspaper report said on Thursday. "The secretive buildup reflects the view of the Obama administration and senior military leaders that the U.S. has only a limited amount of time to degrade the capabilities of the Taliban," the Los Angeles Times noted. With the new buildup, there will be more of the special operations forces in Afghanistan than there were in Iraq at the height of the U.S. troop buildup there in 2007, the paper quoted a defense official as saying. The move came as the U.S. military was gearing up for an expected offensive this summer in Kandahar, the southern Afghan city that is the Taliban's spiritual heartland, according to the paper.U.S. forces are in the midst of an overall increase that will add 30,000 troops this year, and plan to begin reducing the force in mid-2011.

Iran could build bomb in 3 years, fears US

The closed door meeting at the US mission to the United Nations in New York included envoys from the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany ended with a conclusion that Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium needed for a single nuclear bomb in as little as one year but would probably need three to five years to build an atomic weapon.

Battle to reach China quake victims


Rescuers are struggling to free people trapped under rubble after a powerful earthquake and strong aftershocks devastated a remote mountainous region in China's western province of Qinghai. The death toll stood at 760 early on Thursday, with more than 10,000 people injured, state-run media and local quake relief officials said. The ministry of civil affairs said 15,000 houses had collapsed and 100,000 people needed to be relocated after the quake, which also toppled Buddhist temples, cracked a dam and triggered landslides, hampering rescue efforts in the mountainous area 4,000m above sea level.

India's cryogenic satellite space launch fails


India's bid to launch an advanced communications satellite into orbit for the first time by using a cryogenic engine has failed. The rocket took off as planned but the phase powered by the new engine failed to perform and deviated from its path. Cryogenic engines are rocket motors designed for fuels that have to be held at very low temperatures to be liquid. They would otherwise be gas. Officials say that only five countries in the world have this technology. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman K Radhakrishnan said that an investigation would now be held to find out what exactly went wrong. Scientists say the mission failed because control of the two engines controlling the satellite was lost, resulting in loss of altitude and velocity. 

Iceland volcano causes flight chaos


Thousands of flights from European airports have been cancelled because of a cloud of ash thrown up by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland. A number of countries have closed their airspace, including Britain, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Flights were also severely disrupted in Norway, Finland and Switzerland, while airports in the north of France, Germany and Poland closed later in the evening as volcanic ash drifted across Europe.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

iPad's international release delayed by Apple


Apple is to delay the international release of its touchscreen tablet computer, the iPad, by one month. It will now launch the device around the world, including the UK, at the end of May, and will begin accepting pre-orders on 10 May. In a statement the company blamed demand for the device in the US, which it said had been "surprisingly strong". When the iPad launched in the US, 300,000 units were sold on its first day. Apple claims it delivered 500,000 in the first week of its release. "Demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks," said Apple. Prices for the first iPad models start at $499 (£328) in the US. They have wi-fi but not 3G connectivity.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wedding bells for Indian and Pakistani sports stars


Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik have got married, ending days of controversy and high drama.The high-profile wedding of South Asia’s first sporting couple was a private affair. It was attended by only relatives and close friends, said Rucha Nayak, a spokesperson for the 23-year old Sania Mirza. "The nikah (wedding) has now been performed. Please pray for the couple," Nayak told reporters in Hyderabad. There was no immediate explanation given on why the wedding ceremony had been brought forward by three days. Originally, it had been scheduled for April 15. The wedding ceremony took place after days of drama revolving around the 28-year-old groom's first marriage.Soon after the sporting couple first announced the plans of their wedding last month, another woman from Hyderabad, Ayesha Siddiqui, claimed that the cricketer had met her on the Internet and married her over the telephone under Islamic law in 2002. Siddiqui also charged Malik of infidelity, harassment and criminal intimidation. Last week, Siddiqui withdrew the charges after Malik formally divorced her. Malik had initially admitted to the telephonic relation with Siddiqui, but had claimed that the photographs Siddiqui provided to him on the net had been someone else's, adding that the wedding with her was illegal.The cross-border alliance between national sports stars Mirza and Malik has generated huge interest among the people of both India and Pakistan, long time rivals. The news about the wedding and the controversy had people in both countries glued to their televisions. After celebrations in Mirza’s home town Hyderabad this week, a reception is planned in the Pakistani city of Lahore later. The couple will be based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates but they will continue to represent their countries in their respective sports. 

US 'strongly' backs Russia entry into WTO: official


Washington "strongly supports" Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization, a top US official said Wednesday, amid renewed calls by Russia for quick admission to the global trade body. "The United States strongly supports Russia's accession to the WTO," said William Burns, US undersecretary of state for political affairs. Burns noted in remarks made at the Center for American Progress, a Washington thinktank, that Russia is "the largest economy in the world outside the WTO -- the only G20 member outside" the influential trade bloc. A former US ambassador to Moscow, he said that "it is truly is not in Russia's interest, or our interest" that Russia remain outside the WTO. The US diplomat's remarks came one day after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for Moscow's swift entry into the WTO "without humiliation or new demands."

Name change stirs Pakistan protest


Eight people have been killed in northwestern Pakistan during protests against plans to rename the country's North West Frontier Province, witnesses reported. The protests erupted on Monday and continued for a second day on Tuesday, as scores of people took to the streets of the city of Abbottabad. The demonstrators were protesting against a parliamentary proposalto change the name of the North West Frontier Province, or NWFP, to Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.

Poll: 91% against Obama imposing deal


A huge majority of Israelis would oppose an attempt by US President Barack Obama to impose a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, a poll sponsored by the Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA) organization found this week. Leading American newspapers reported last week that Obama was considering trying to impose a settlement if efforts to begin indirect proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians proved unsuccessful. The option was discussed in a meeting with current and former advisers to the White House. Asked whether they would support Obama imposing a plan dividing Jerusalem and removing the Jordan Valley from Israeli control, 91 percent of Israelis who expressed an opinion said no and 9% said yes, according to the poll of 503 Israelis, which was taken by Ma’agar Mohot on Sunday and Monday and had a 4.5% margin of error.

Different policy approaches and strategic issues divide Obama and Netanyahu


The traditionally close relations between Israel and the US have turned sour under Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Middle East peace process. Israeli experts are divided whether Europe can help out. That the leadership combination wasn't exactly a match made in heaven for the special relationship between Israel and the US was evident right from the start. On the one hand, there is an Israeli prime minister, generally considered a foreign policy hawk, whose leanings would place him squarely in the conservative wing of the US Republican Party. And on the other hand, there is a reformist president who won the election by promising a new approach to foreign policy that included talking to Iran and other pariah states.

Quake in western China kills 400


A strong earthquake hit a remote mountainous area of China Wednesday, killing about 400 people and injuring thousands as it toppled mud-and-wood houses and at least one school, burying many in rubble. About 10,000 people were injured in the quake of at least 6.9-magnitude which also disrupted telecommunications, knocked out electricity and triggered landslides in the north-western province of Qinghai. Rescuers were working with their bare hands to clear debris and find survivors from the rubble, with children said to be among the casualties. President Hu Jintao called for all-out efforts to save as many as possible. About 400 people have been confirmed dead, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting Huang Limin, a top official in the Yushu prefecture, where the quake was centred. 

Scores killed by storm in India


At least 89 people have been killed in eastern India after a powerful storm demolished tens of thousands of homes and uprooted trees. Local authorities said on Wednesday that hundreds of people had suffered injuries and up to 100,000 mud hut homes were destroyed by the storm in the state of West Bengal.

Poland president's burial stirs row


Plans to bury Poland's late president in a castle where kings have been interred has triggered divisions across a nation still mourning the death of its leader. The funeral of Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, who were killed in a plane crash in Russia on the weekend, is expected to take place this Sunday at Wawel castle in the southern city of Krakow. But the choice of site has sparked anger among some groups, triggering protests on the streets and campaigns on social networking websites.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Obama Seeks Global Support for Nuclear Crackdown at Summit


The nuclear security summit in Washington, D.C., this week is the largest gathering of world leaders hosted by a U.S. president since the 1945 conference founding the United Nations. But the historic, two-day gathering of representatives from 47 countries is not expected to result in a bold new strategy. Rather, the summit will showcase President Obama's eagerness to lead on the issue, according to top administration officials. Obama invited world leaders to Washington as a key step toward his declared goal of one day ridding the world of nuclear weapons. And the president hopes to use the gathering to focus heads of state on what he sees as one of the most serious nuclear proliferation threats of their time: the ability of terrorists and terror networks like Al Qaeda to steal or buy nuclear material. "We don't believe the threat from nuclear terrorism comes from states," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on ABC's "This Week." "Our biggest concern is that terrorists will get nuclear material." Iran and North Korea were not invited to the summit, though both nations' nuclear programs are likely to be discussed during the Washington summit Monday and Tuesday. Clinton said in the interview aired Sunday that "we fear" North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons and Iran's pursuit of them because "they are unpredictable." 

Polish President Kaczynski proved a controversial figure


Polish President Lech Kaczynksi will be remembered as a man with traditional values that sharply divided European opinion. Kaczynski was frequently vilified by those on the left of the political spectrum for his policies, which included banning a gay pride parade when he was mayor of Warsaw. However, his tough stance on law and order and emphasis on family values gained him support among many Poles, especially older voters. The Polish president died, along with his wife and many of Poland's political elite, in a plane crash on Saturday, close to the Russian city of Smolensk. Kaczynski became Poland's president in 2005 and was expected to run in new elections in autumn this year. He formed a political double act with identical twin brother Jaroslaw and the pair's right-wing nationalist stance was disquieting to many in Poland and the rest of Europe.

Sudan faces uncertain future as it goes to the polls


Sudan's elections have been billed as the first multi-party polls since 1986. But only minor opposition parties will be standing against President Omar al-Bashir and his party in the north. This after the Umma Party's pull-out and the announcement by the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - the main political force in Southern Sudan - that it would only contest the south.  The boycott, which comes after allegations of vote rigging, means al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, is almost certain to win the presidential poll.