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Sunday, September 5, 2010

Shoes, eggs thrown at Blair in Dublin


Protesters hurled shoes and eggs Saturday as Tony Blair held the first public signing of his memoir amid high security in the Irish capital. Hundreds more people lined up to have their books autographed — evidence that the divisions left by Blair's decade as British leader have yet to heal. Blair's new book, "A Journey," is a best-seller, but it has angered opponents of his policies, especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq. About 200 demonstrators chanted that Blair had "blood on his hands" as the former prime minister arrived at a Dublin book store. A shoe, eggs and other projectiles were thrown toward Blair as he emerged from a car, but did not hit him. A flip-flop could be seen lying on the roof of a BMW in Blair's motorcade. Security was tight, with book buyers — who appeared to outnumber the protesters by about two to one — told to hand over bags and mobile phones before entering Eason's book store on O'Connell Street, Dublin's main shopping thoroughfare. Blair spent about two hours in the store before emerging to more shouts, boos and hurled eggs. He was quickly driven away, as a police helicopter circled overhead. "Blair took the world to war in Iraq and Afghanistan on the basis of lies," said protester Donal MacFhearraigh. He said Blair should be indicted as a war criminal.

Iran’s flood aid to Pakistan reaches 500 tons


So far, Iran has dispatched 8 cargoes, weighting 500 tons altogether, to this country in order to aid the flood-stricken Pakistanis and these aids will soon reach 1,000 tons, Najjar said upon his arrival in Islamabad. 
He went on to say that four committees from Iran’s Red Crescent, Health Ministry, crisis management council, and Majlis have traveled to Pakistan. 
The crisis management council plans to set up refugee camps for the flood-ridden Pakistanis, he said, adding a five-member committee from the Majlis paid a visit to the flood-ridden areas and met with some senior members of Pakistani Parliament and Senate. 
It was also decided that some mobile hospitals to be set up in Pakistan and about 90 Iranian physicians have voiced their readiness to travel to the area, Najjar stated. 
He also said the Pakistani government and people should know that Iran will always support them in hard times. 
A month after monsoons triggered catastrophic flooding throughout the country, submerging an area the size of England, eight million remain dependent on handouts for their survival. 
The floods have ruined 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of rich farmland, and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said farmers urgently needed seeds to plant for next year’s crops. 
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday the flooding had caused economic losses of 43 billion dollars. 
The government’s official death toll from the floods has reached 1,760, but disaster officials have said that number will likely rise “significantly” when the missing are accounted.

Received money from the bookie! Admitted by Pakistani Players


The three Pakistani cricketers, accused of an alleged betting scam, have reportedly admitted before police that they received money from the bookie Mazhar Majeed but denied any knowledge of the wrongdoing, saying that the money recovered from them was given on account of sponsorship contracts that they had signed with the different commercial organizations, said legal advisor of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The players Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Test captain Salman Butt were interviewed separately on Friday by Scotland Yard investigators at a police station in London. "All the players have informed the police that the man Mazhar Majeed was their agent, but they had no knowledge about his illegal activities," the PCB legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi told private TV channels in Pakistan. He said that the three players also showed a copy of their sponsorship contracts to London police, which they signed with Majeed. The players were later released without any criminal charges. The Scotland Yard police seized money and mobile phones from the players on last Sunday, investigating any possible link between the bank notes found in their possession and the money handed to Mazhar Majeed as part of the ploy by British tabloid News of the World, which made the allegations. News of the World accused agent Mazhar Majeed of accepting money in exchange for getting fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer to bowl no-balls during the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan. Majeed, was arrested last weekend by police over the News of the World allegations over money-laundering allegations. Rizvi said that players all around the world have their agents and it's not something new. "The players choose their agents on their own and the board has nothing to do with it," he said, adding that Mazhar had been associated with different Pakistan players as an agent for the last six to seven years.

Fixing "almost every match"


An explosive claim by a member of the Pakistan touring team that some of his team-mates ARE cheats. Opening batsman Yasir Hameed tells us bent teammates were fixing "almost every match". He said: "They've been caught. Only the ones that get caught are branded crooks. "They were doing it (fixing) in almost every match. God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages. "It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose."