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Sunday, August 29, 2010

Survivors, Obama mark five years since Hurricane Katrina

President Barack Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans on Sunday to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital. Obama flew straight from his beach vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts to the storied city, which was plunged into chaos on August 29, 2005 when water driven by Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed its levees. Although 1.4 million residents and visitors were ordered to evacuate as the monster storm approached, many could not or would not and were left stranded. More than 1,500 died. "It's recovering, but there's some more work to do," said White House spokesman Bill Burton of the city, whose population is only 80 percent what it was before the Category 5 storm. During his visit to mark the anniversary, Obama "will commemorate the lives lost and the shared sacrifice that the Gulf Coast experienced because of Katrina," the White House said. The president will also pledge to "recommit the nation" to a region that more recently has struggled with the worst accidental oil spill in history.

Match-fixing scam: Who Is Mazhar Majeed?


So who is the man at the centre of allegations of the latest spot betting scandal, with such great contacts in the Pakistan team and able to literally get them dancing to his tune. Here is all about the bookie who triggered the spot fixing controversy in the Pakistan cricket camp. Mazhar is a 35-year-old property tycoon, who also owns Croydon Athletic Football Club. He also told the News Of The World reporter how he launders match-fixing money through the football club. "The only reason I bought a football club is to do that," he said. He lives in a 1.8 million home in Croydon, with his wife and two daughters. He and owns a Range Rover, a black Jaguar and VW Golf and an Aston Martin.

politics on floods?


It seems that Pakistan will remain hostage to petty politics, even at a time of grave national crisis. Initially it was said that a ‘trust deficit’ was the root cause behind the international community’s slow response to the ongoing flood relief operations in this country. That was possibly a fair assessment given the mismanagement and lack of transparency that are the hallmarks of Pakistani officialdom. Donors have every right, after all, to expect that the funds they provide will go to the needy and not line the pockets of government functionaries. Facts must be faced: Pakistan’s reputation when it comes to honest governance is poor and it is understandable that foreign countries, at least until UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit this month, were reluctant to hand over large sums of money directly to state-run organisations. The world’s view of Pakistan is one thing. What is more deplorable is the trust deficit that exists between the centre and the provinces as well as the federating units themselves. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif stressed on Friday that the provinces should on no account be bypassed when funds are disbursed for the flood relief operation. The message is clear: Mr Sharif doesn’t believe that Islamabad will treat his province, Punjab, fairly in its time of need. He has also called for a meeting of the Council of Common Interests so that each province’s rightful share in relief funds can be ascertained and distributed accordingly. This is a welcome proposal and should be pursued without delay because the suffering of the public is immense. No province should be left believing that it has been hard done by, either at the hands of the centre or another unit of the federation. Political parties of every hue — and that includes both the PPP and the PML-N — apparently want direct access to flood relief funds so that they can build up their political capital. They want to be seen as the people personally handing over money because that could win votes at the next election. But a greedy, distasteful scramble over cash is the last thing that Pakistan needs right now. Why, for instance, should we have a multitude of flood relief funds set up by offices as disparate as the PM House, the army, the National Assembly speaker and the Punjab chief minister? The activities of individuals and NGOs are a different matter altogether and every rupee or sack of flour they raise ought to be commended. But the key players that constitute the state must show unity and act as one. This is a time for giving, not politicking. 

Pakistan survivors stalked by disease as waters ebb


A month after torrential monsoon rains triggered Pakistan's worst natural disaster on record, flood waters are starting to recede -- but there are countless survivors at risk of death from hunger and disease. The disaster has killed at least 1,643 people, forced more than six million from their homes, inflicted billions of dollars of damage to infrastructure and the vital agriculture sector and stirred anger against the U.S.-backed government which has struggled to cope. Despite generally lower water levels, officials said they were still battling to save the delta town of Thatta, 70 km (45 miles) east of Karachi, in the southern province of Sindh. Water has broken the banks of the Indus near Thatta and also topped a feeder canal running off the river.

Match-fixing rips Pakistan apart

World cricket was reeling last night from an elaborate London newspaper sting that appears to have proven more than half of the Pakistan cricket team has been involved in cheating and match-fixing. In the covert video operation, The News of the World taped match-fixer and player manager Mazhar Majeed revealing that Pakistan players had rigged their Test against England at Lord's and also their dramatic SCG loss to Australia in January. Pakistan faces being kicked out of international cricket after Scotland Yard police raided the team hotel in London and took player bags that allegedly contained a large volume of money. Remarkably, the Lord's Test continued last night. In the NOTW sting, Majeed detailed how corrupt punters got on Australia at 40-1 at the SCG Test, which always had a whiff of controversy with wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropping four catches. Majeed reveals that Pakistan batsmen threw away their wickets when they were bowled out for 139, chasing 176 against Australia. Spinner Hauritz, who bowled Australia to SCG victory with 5-53, was last night struggling to come to terms with how one of his biggest days in cricket was allegedly a Pakistan fraud.

The price of politics in cricket


A man was arrested today on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following allegations of match-fixing during the current cricket Test match between England and Pakistan. The News of the World alleged that some members of the Pakistan team were involved in cheating during the current Lords Test. A Scotland Yard said: "Following information received from the News of the World we have today (Saturday August 28) arrested a 35-year old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers."

Taliban attack Afghan NATO bases


About two dozen Taliban militants -- at least some dressed in US military uniforms -- have been killed in a failed attempt to storm two US-run bases in a city in eastern Afghanistan. The attackers targeted US-run Forward Operating Bases (FOB) Salerno and Chapman on Saturday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. Amid a spike in military deaths, the brazen attacks underscored the threats faced by foreign forces in Afghanistan as the insurgency drags towards its tenth year.

''Human hand'' served in Pak prison: jail official


A "human hand" was reportedly found in the food served to prisoners in a Pakistani jail here, an official said today. An object believed to be a human hand was found in the beef curry served yesterday at ''sehri'', the pre-dawn meal during the holy month of Ramzan, an official at Kot Lakhpat Jail said on the condition of anonymity. A prisoner Fahim Raza raised alarm after finding the suspicious object in the food served that forced him to puke, the official said. Other prisoners refused to eat their meals as they protested against the jail administration''s "gross negligence". Some of the jailbirds were also reportedly subjected to torture for raising the matter with higher authorities. Meanwhile, a prison official reportedly removed the "human hand" from Raza''s meal and told inmates to keep mum about the incident. An investigation into the matter has been issued under DIG (Lahore region) Mirza Shahid Saleem after Punjab Home Department''s Deputy Secretary for Prisons Khalid Rasool visited the jail last afternoon. Saleem recorded the statements of 14 prisoners in the barrack where the incident occurred and examined the food served to them. Sources said the jail administration put pressure on prisoners to hush up the incident. The object found in Raza''s meal was neither preserved nor sent to a laboratory for examination. The DIG said he had thoroughly investigated the matter and has concluded that the object found in the food was not a human hand, but "actually it was a piece of cooked meat which had a deformed shape." He claimed there was no need to conduct any laboratory analysis as it was evident from the statements of some prisoners that the object was a piece of meat.