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Friday, June 19, 2009 WASHINGTON: The United States has concerns about a possible North Korean missile launch towards Hawaii and has taken steps to ensure the protection of US territory, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday."We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile ... in the direction of Hawaii," Gates told a news conference.Gates said he had approved the deployment of THAAD missile defense weaponry to the US state and radar "to provide support" in case of a possible North Korean missile attack.And he said that ground-based defenses in Alaska were also at the ready."I would just say I think we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory," he said.The Theatre High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weaponry is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.US and South Korean officials have said North Korea might be readying another ballistic missile test after three previous launches in 1998, 2006 and...

Thursday, June 18, 2009 WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell and broke her elbow on Wednesday while en route to the White House but will resume her full duties soon as the top U.S. diplomat, the State Department said. Clinton will have surgery to repair her elbow in the next week, her chief of staff Cheryl Mills said in a statement released overnight. "On the way to the White House late this afternoon, Secretary Clinton fell and suffered a right elbow fracture. She was treated at The George Washington University Hospital before heading home," Mills said. A State Department official said all of Clinton's meetings had been canceled on Thursday. She had been due to join filmstar Angelina Jolie at an event for World Refugee Day and present awards at the American Foreign Service Association. Clinton is set to go next week to Trieste, Italy, for a meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers and attend a conference on Afghanistan to which Iran has been invit...

Thursday, June 18, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Five clones of a search and rescue dog which helped locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks were formally presented Wednesday to their ancestor's former handler. James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd named Trakr, who died in April. Symington was presented with Trakr's offspring after winning a competition organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone Giveaway" -- to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog. Symington said he hopes the puppies -- Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and Deja Vu -- will go on to follow in Trakr's footsteps. "We're here to celebrate that Trakr's legacy lives on in these five beautiful puppies," he told reporters. "If they have the same attributes Trakr did, then hopefully they'll develop into world class sea...

LEON: Volcano boarding in Nicaragua is the new extreme sport craze that is, quite literally, too hot to handleThe experience offers thrill seeking tourists the chance to jump on plywood boards and hurtle down an active volcano at speeds of up to 68km/hr.

Pakistan have moved into final of the ICC World Twenty20 beating South Africa by 7 runs. The South African juggernaut was brought to a screeching halt by Shahid Afridi who, with a little help from his team-mates, dumped the tournament favourites out of the World Twenty20 and secured Pakistan's place in the final. Afridi put in an all-round performance of tremendous intensity, lifting Pakistan to a defendable total with an aggressive yet methodical half-century, before bowling a spell that left the South Africans winded at Trent Bridge. The clinical South African side, unbeaten in the competition, were favourites going in to the semi-final and their bowlers fought admirably to restrict Pakistan to 149 when at one stage a total of 170 seemed on the cards. With the exception of Jacques Kallis, though, their batsmen failed to give the chase any sort of direction. They were suffocated by Afridi and Saeed Ajmal and their inability to score enough runs during the initial and middle ov...

Thursday, June 18, 2009, TEHRAN: Iran's opposition was set to hold marches and a day of mourning Thursday for slain protesters as they keep up pressure on the authorities over the disputed presidential election in the country's biggest crisis since the 1979 revolution. Thursday's first rally was set for 2 pm (0930 GMT) in front of the offices of the United Nations and the second at 4 pm at Imam Square, according to people who took part in marches on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Iraq is concerned about instability in neighbouring Iran, which is experiencing unrest in the aftermath of disputed presidential elections, but it respects Iran's decisions, Iraq's foreign minister said on Thursday. 'Definitely Iran instability is of concern for us,' Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told British news agency in an interview on Thursday. 'We as Iraqis respect the will of the Iranian people and we respect the political system, and we are not' in a position to pas...

Thursday, June 18, 2009 MOGADISHU: Heavy fighting between hardliner Islamist rebels and government forces in Somalia's capital killed at least 26 people, including Mogadishu's police chief. The fighting on Wednesday came after government forces attacked rebels in Mogadishu, the latest in a string of offensives to try and dislodge the insurgents from the capital.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 WASHINGTON: Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday reiterated the Jewish state's refusal to freeze settlements, after his first talks with US counterpart Hillary Clinton exposed gaps on Middle East peace. Lieberman, standing next to Secretary of State Clinton after the pair had more than one hour of talks, told reporters that Israel did not have "any intention to change the demographic balance" of the West Bank. "But we think that as in any place, babies are born, people get married, some pass away and we cannot accept this vision about an absolutely complete freezing of settlements," said Lieberman. "I think that we must keep the natural growth," he said after the two held their first official meeting since the right-leaning government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in late March. "This approach is very clear and also we had some understandings with the previous administration (of George ...

Thursday, June 18, 2009, NOTTINGHAM: An intriguing battle is on the cards when favourites South Africa clash with buoyant Pakistan in the semi-final of the World Twenty20 here on Thursday. Geo Super will telecast the action live from the ground at 2230 PST.The South Africans have showed their all-round prowess during an unbeaten run in the tournament, including emphatic wins in all three Super Eight games against the West Indies, England and defending champions India. The latest success came at Trent Bridge on Tuesday when the Proteas fought back after being restricted to a modest 130-5 on a slow wicket to keep off-colour India down to 118-8. Pakistan bounced back after losing their first Super Eights game to Sri Lanka to defeat New Zealand by six wickets before ensuring their place in the semi-final by packing off minnows Ireland by 38 runs. In the preliminary round, the enigmatic Pakistanis had shown a similar never-say-die attitude by thrashing England-conquerors Netherlands by 82 ...

Thursday, June 18, 2009 LONDON: India and New Zealand will face each other in the first ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009 semi-final at Trent Bridge on Thursday.The White Ferns, who were losing finalists in the ICC Women's World Cup in March in Australia, start favourites to make the final at Lord's after carrying their good form to Taunton with three convincing wins. New Zealand, who had arrived in England on the back of a three-Twenty20 series with Australia, beat an undercooked India comfortably in Taunton ahead of the tournament.Though India eased into the semis with two wins - its sole defeat was to favourite England - Mithali knows that its batting has been shaky and has relied on individual performances such as Anjum Chopra's 37 not out against Pakistan, and her own unbeaten 32 against Sri Lanka.