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BEIJING: China’ largest company, Ali Baba.com providing business information through Internet was seen making 100 percent annual profit at a time when the markets all across the world were in the grip of deep depression.Ali Baba.com said that the company posted profit of Yuan780.2 million in the third quarter of the current year, which as compared to the same period last year remained higher by 37 percent and as against second quarter higher by over 6 percent. Company’s CEO said that despite depression in the global market, Ali Baba.com was growing and during January-September, the company’s profit was recorded at 100 percent.

LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PBC) Ijaz Butt during the current month.will go to India where he will talk with the high officials of the Indian cricket board regarding Pak-India series.Talking with media at the National Cricket Academy, Lahore, chief operating officer PCB Saleem Altaf said that he is hopeful that the Indian cricket team would tour Pakistan in January as per schedule.Chairman PCB Ijaz Butt has met with the Indian high commissioner and Pakistan’s prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani regarding the cricket series between the countries.He will now again give briefing to India’s high commissioner Satyabrata Pal in Islamabad next week regarding security arrangements.Later, he will go to India for meeting with the Indian board officials on the series while a security delegation from India will come to Pakistan next month.Saleem Altaf said that talks have been held with concerned countries regarding neutral venues.He said that the PCB has to review the financial matter...

DRESDEN: In the ninth round of World Chess 38th Olympiad being played in Germany, Latvia teams of men defeated Pakistan here on Sunday sliding Pakistani team down to 67th position. In the ninth round match, Latvia outclassed Pakistan by 4-0 points, as none of Pakistan’s Aamir Kareem, Waqar Muhammad, Khalil Al-Rehman Butt and Haseeb Ahmed being on board, could not win their rounds.Earlier in the eighth round match, Pakistan beat Jordan by 3.5-0.5 points. Pakistan to face Luxemburg in the tenth round match.

LOS ANGELES: International Hockey Federation has announced the names of the World Hockey All-Star Teams here on Sunday.Pakistan’s only Rehan Butt was also fortunate enough to be named among the other 18 top class men and women players for the All-Star teams.The names were announced during the annual session of Federation of World Hockey Congress in Los Angeles state on Sunday.Four players of Spain and Germany each, three players of Australia and Holland each, two players of England and a player from Pakistan were among the chosen players for World All-Star teams.Two coaches were also decided; one from Germany and other from Spain while World Player of the year would also be named after the session.

BUENOS ARIES: Spain claimed its third Davis Cup title since 2000 as Fernando Verdasco defeated Jose Acasuso 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch a 3-1 victory over Argentina. The winners managed to complete their trophy hat trick in the worldwide team competition without the services of Rafael Nadal, out with a knee injury.The victory ended the Argentine victory run at home at 13 straight ties. Spain becomes the seventh nation in the Cup's 108-year history to win three or more titles.Spain won the Cup in 2004 over the US in Sevilla and in 2000 against Australia in Barcelona.

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on Monday pardoned 14 people and commuted the sentences on two others, leaving the door open for more clemency measures in the two months he has left in office, the White House said. There were no high-profile personalities among the pardoned people who had been convicted of drug, environmental, animal endangerment, tax and fraud offenses, according to a list published by the Justice Department. It is customary for US presidents to issue a flurry of last-minute pardons in the waning weeks of their tenure. Including Monday's announcements, Bush has pardoned 117 people and commuted the sentences of eight others since he took office in January 2001, the White House said."The President carefully considered recommendations for pardons and commutations on a case-by-case basis and made his determinations," said White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. "He will continue to review clemency requests," he added.

WELLINGTON: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the remote Kermadec islands north of New Zealand on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported. The epicentre of the quake, recorded at 1:36pm (2336 GMT Monday), was 131 kilometres (81 miles) from Raoul Island and at a depth of 35 kilometres. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the area, which is part of the "Ring of Fire" where the Pacific plate of the earth's crust meets other continental plates.

KANDAHAR: Afghan police have arrested 10 Taliban militants involved in an acid attack against 15 girls and teachers walking to school in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Tuesday."Several'' of the arrested militants have confessed to taking part in the attack earlier this month, said Kandahar Governor Rahmatullah Raufi. He declined to say exactly how many confessed.High-ranking Taliban fighters paid the militants a total of$2,000 to carry out the attack, Raufi said. The attackers came from Pakistan but were Afghan nationals, said Doud Doud, an Interior Ministry official.The attackers squirted acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school in Kandahar city on Nov.12.Several girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. One teenager couldn't open her eyes days after the attack, which sparked condemnation from around the world.

AMMAN: Jordan's Queen Rania has received YouTube's first Visionary Award for a daily video Web cast and blog in which she sought to challenge stereotypes of the Arab and Muslim world and encourage dialogue across cultures.Accepting the award in a YouTube clip posted Saturday, Rania listed 10 reasons for her five-month YouTube series in a spoof of the top 10 list segment on CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman."Among her reasons were: "Because anything Queen Elizabeth can do, I can do better" and "I was tired of people thinking Jordan was just a basketball player."More seriously, Rania has said she wants people to "know the real Arab world unedited, unscripted and unfiltered."YouTube created the Visionary Award to recognize people who use the video sharing Web site as a platform for positive social change.In the series, which ran from March to August, the media savvy queen and rights advocate invited viewers to share their opinions o...

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has decided to confer its top human rights award posthumously on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who fought to promote democracy and fundamental freedoms in Pakistan, informed sources at U.N. Headquarters said Tuesday. The award will be announced on December 10, the UN Human Rights Day. The occasion also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The sources said the President of the U.N. General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, would officially communicate the decision to President President Asif Ali Zardari in the next few days. The United Nations human rights awards are intended to “honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other United Nations human rights instruments”. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will present the award—a metal plaque bearing the...

LOS ANGELES: Britney Spears said Tuesday her life is so dull under her father's watchful eye that she feels old and boring.With her new album "Circus" out next week, the 26-year-old singer is working on a comeback after seeing her life spiral out of control with a run of strange behaviour, a bitter custody battle over her two sons and the loss of her rights to administer her own affairs."I feel like an old person now," Spears told Rolling Stone in an interview for a music magazine's December 11 issue."I do! I go to bed at, like, 9:30 every night and I don't go out or anything, you know what I mean? I just feel like an old fart.", she regretted.

BANGKOK: Thai protesters on Wednesday tightened their hold on Bangkok airport, where two people were wounded in a blast and thousands of travellers left stranded by demonstrators vowing to topple the government.Two grenade attacks elsewhere in the capital deepened the sense of lawlessness after demonstrators stormed the airport Tuesday night, dramatically stepping up their campaign against Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.Suvarnabhumi Airport, a three-billion-dollar showpiece hub for travel throughout Southeast Asia, was closed down as guards from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement sealed off roads to the facility.The PAD said it completely controlled the airport, a pet project of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra that opened with great fanfare in 2006 and told airlines to apply directly to the group for landing rights."I have been informed by Thai Airways that 3,000 passengers are stranded at the terminal now," airport director Saereerat Pr...

WASHINGTON: U.S. first lady Laura Bush said that White House is an inspiring symbol of national endurance. Now, as she and President George W. Bush prepare to leave after eight years, she is hosting a History channel special, "The White House: Behind Closed Doors." This 90-minute documentary is a combination inside look, history lesson and parting gift from a grateful resident."I'm very proud of how beautiful the White House is," Mrs. Bush said during a phone call Tuesday from the upstairs living quarters.She said she's proud, too, of the White House staff "all the people who work here, who've worked here for many presidents. This was a way for me to pay tribute to them as well; to thank them, here at the end of our time."Masterminded by George Washington the only president who never got to live there, the White House was first occupied by John Adams in 1800, and since then has been the official residence of 40-and-counting chief executives. I...

WASHINGTON: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama intends to ask Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to remain at the Pentagon when his new administration takes office, a senior Democratic source said on Tuesday. "He intends to ask Gates to stay," the Democrat said, adding that he believed it was likely he would. He said the talks had advanced to a point where Gates was discussing which of his team to keep in place under the Obama administration. Politico had earlier reported on its website that Gates would stay on in his job and that Obama would appoint retired Marine Gen. James Jones as his national security adviser.