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Sunday, June 21, 2009, TEHRAN: Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi hit back on Saturday at a speech by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which the supreme leader ruled out any fraud in last week's election. In a statement posted on his newspaper website, Mousavi said his demand for the annulment of the election was an undeniable right and vowed to side with the Iranian people in defending their rights. "If this huge volume of cheating and changing the votes... which has hurt people's trust is presented as the very evidence of the lack of cheating, then it will butcher the republican aspect of the system and the idea that Islam is incompatible with a republic will be proven," Mousavi said. The strong criticism headlined "the fifth statement of Mir Hossein Mousavi to the Iranian people: don't allow lies and cheaters to steal the flag of defending the Islamic system from you" was briefly pulled from the website but later reposted. In his fi...

Sunday, June 21, 2009 MUMBAI: In a meticulously planned attack, Maoist insurgents blew up a truck carrying over 40 security personnel in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Bastar region late Saturday evening, killing 12 troopers. Seven rebels were also killed by security forces.The blast occurred in a thickly forested stretch of Tongapal area in Dantewada district, some 500 km south of here, when a search squad of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Force (DF) was on its way back to the base camp. Maoists also fired at the ambushed patrol, but the troopers instantly retaliated, killing seven rebels. "Despite being hit by a massive blast, the jawans showed bravery and a fair amount of courage and retaliated against the Maoists, who were in dozens and armed with sophisticated weapons," T J Longkumer, Inspector General of Police, Bastar said. He said the bodies of seven insurgents were recovered. About a dozen CRPF troopers sustained multiple injuries and were admi...

Sunday, June 21, 2009 WASHINGTON: The so-called First Dad President Barack Obama is calling on many American men to work harder at fatherhood.Sunday is Fathers' Day in the United States, and President Obama is using the occasion to encourage men across the country to take their parental responsibilities more seriously.Obama said 23 percent of America's young people are without fathers, and that number rises above 50 percent among African-Americans. He called on men to rise up where their own fathers may fall short. "Children who grow up without fathers are more likely to drop out of school and wind up in prison. They are more likely to have substance abuse problems, run away from home and become teenage parents themselves. And I say this as someone who grew up without a father in my own life," he said.Obama's father returned to his native Kenya when the future president was a small child living in Hawaii. He was raised by his mother and her parents, and credits t...

Sunday, June 21, 2009 MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said his country is ready for a reduction of strategic weapons in an arms control agreement with the United States. Medvedev is due to meet President Barack Obama next month on replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Medvedev says Moscow wants binding arrangements outlined in one single, efficient document. He said Russia wants "a verifiable and real" reduction of offensive weapons as part of that deal. Russian officials have said previously that U.S. plans for a missile defense system will be problematic in the talks, though the US said the shield is designed against threats from Iran, not Russia. Medvedev spoke to reporters today after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Sunday, June 21, 2009, LONDON: Pakistan and Sri Lanka will contest the World Twenty20 final at Lord's today.Pakistan, who beat favourites South Africa by seven runs in Thursday's semi-final, have bounced back in style at this tournament.They will face unbeaten Sri Lanka in the final after their Asian rivals thrashed the West Indies by 57 runs at the Oval on Friday.Despite the events in Lahore, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said relations between the two sides had remained friendly."What Lahore really brought home to us was we are just the same as anyone else," he said.Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 19 runs in a Super Eights match earlier at this tournament but Sangakkara said: "We've played Pakistan many times before but in T20 you must take every game in isolation. Different players come into form at different times."Hopefully, we can put in a good performance and walk away with a trophy."The dangerous Shahid Afridi produced a brilliant all-round...