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WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama Tuesday hailed the withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi towns and cities as an "important milestone," but warned difficult days of violence and bloodshed lay ahead. "Today American troops have transferred control of all Iraqi cities and towns to Iraq's government and security forces," Obama said. "The Iraqi people are rightfully treating this day as a cause for celebration," Obama said at the White House, more than six years after the contentious US invasion of Iraq during the presidency of George W. Bush. "This is an important step forward, as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny," Obama said, also hailing the pullback, agreed last year with the Iraqi government, as an "important milestone." The president warned that it was now up to Iraq's leaders to take political steps to bolster what the White House says are improving security conditions on the ground ...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 LILONGWE: Eliza Manyoza, a banana vendor in Malawi's colonial-era capital Zomba, says she has never heard a Madonna song. She only knows the American pop icon as an "adopter" of orphaned children."I am told she is a nice woman who wants to help our children," Manyoza, 39, said while talking to a French news agency, with her nine-month-old baby strapped at her back and balancing a basket of bananas on her head. She knew that Madonna had adopted David Banda, a toddler the star met at an orphanage three years ago, but had just learned of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal's decision to grant her a second adoption of a girl named Chifundo "Mercy" James, who let Malawi Friday to join the singer in London. "That's great news and very nice of her," Manyoza said. "But how many children can she take out of Malawi? Where are the rich Malawians who should be adopting their own children and not leave it to Madonna?...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 LONDON: The organisers of Michael Jackson's comeback tour dates in London announced Tuesday they would offer full ticket refunds following his death last week. "AEG Live (UK) Ltd, concert promoters, announced that full refunds will be available to fans who purchased tickets through authorised agents for any of the 50 Michael Jackson 'This Is It' concerts which were to take place at The O2 Arena in London," AEG Live announced in a statement. Jackson's fans from around the world had rushed to snap up tickets for the performances, which were due to start on July 13. British media reports said about 50 million pounds (59 million euros, 83 million dollars) has been spent on 750,000 tickets. Fans had also queued for hours to watch the reclusive star's final public appearance when he unveiled the gigs here in March, promising to play his classic tunes. "The world lost a kind soul who just happened to be the greatest entertainer the wo...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 DUSHANBE: Tajikistan's president on Tuesday urged his people to donate money to charity rather than perform the annual hajj pilgrimage amid a severe economic crisis in the overwhelmingly Muslim state. "I call on future pilgrims from Tajikistan, during the global economic and financial crisis... to donate their savings to charity," President Emomali Rakhmon said in a statement. The pilgrimage to Mecca, to be held in November this year, is one of the five pillars of Islam, which the Koran holds as a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every able Muslim who can afford it. Every year some 5,000 Tajiks undertake the hajj to Saudi Arabia -- a journey which costs them an average of 3,000 dollars. Rakhmon targeted his appeal at Tajiks having already completed the hajj two or three times, he said. "In a time of crisis your savings could go to needy families!" In 2007, in an effort to spare families the costs of feeding the hundreds of guests who wou...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 JEDDAH: Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah yesterday met with experts from WHO and other international agencies and discussed precautionary measures to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, such as swine flu, among pilgrims.The experts were in the Kingdom to attend a workshop on precautionary health measures during Haj and Umrah seasons, which was organized on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Al-Mirghalani said Al-Rabeeah briefed the experts on the measures taken by the government to protect citizens, residents and pilgrims from swine flu and other infectious diseases.“The minister also spoke about field medical services, preventive medicine and health awareness programs,” Al-Mirghalani said, adding that he also fielded questions from experts.“The meeting was attended by top experts in the field of fighting influenza and those specialized in viruses to set out system for monitoring and c...

Debbie Rowe, the former wife of Michael Jackson, says that Michael is not the father.News of the World reported: MICHAEL Jackson's two eldest kids face a tug-of-love battle after their mum Debbie Rowe confessed he was not their father.In an astonishing interview Debbie - mother of Prince, 12, and Paris, 11 - said she was artificially inseminated by an anonymous donor. And she told how, despite Jackson's death, she does not WANT custody of the children and NEVER expects to see them again. Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe wants her children back after selling them to Jackson.British reporter Ian Halperin wrote today that Michael Jackson had no voice and at 5'10" and 125 pounds, he had no strength to perform. His medical team even believed he was anorexic. Jackson also reportedly left as many as 200 unpublished songs that for his children after his death.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 KAMRA: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has started assembling of the first Pakistani-built JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft. Chief of the air staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman inaugurated the construction in a ceremony at Kamra. Top military and civilian officials of Pakistan and China attended the ceremony.This success will enhance Pakistan’s air power in the region and at international scale, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said. He praised the Chinese cooperation and said that the joint Sino-Pak project is a living example of the cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan and China signed an agreement for the production of 42 JF-17 fighters, which are expected to form the backbone of Pakistani aerial combat fleet in coming years.The Pakistan Air Force has so far received eight JF-17 jets from China that are being used for testing and evaluation. The PAF plans to raise its first squadron of JF-17 jets by the end of this year.

NEW DELHI: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya submitted its report to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.The Commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram.The contents of the report were not immediately known.Set up within ten days of the demolition of the historic mosque on December six, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country's longest serving Commission of Enquiry.The Commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe. The last three-month extension was given in March this year.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 WASHINGTON: Approximately 229 detainees from "about two dozen countries" are still held in Guantanamo, according to the latest Pentagon figures.Of the remaining detainees, the largest group about 100 men is from Yemen. The next most represented nationals are Afghans and Algerians, with about 20 from each country, according to the US Department of Defense.In addition, the Pentagon said there are roughly 10 Saudi detainees and 13 Chinese Muslim ethnic Uighurs left at the detention facility in the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in southeastern Cuba. There are between five and 10 detainees each from Libya, Pakistan, Syria and Tunisia, according to the figures. Other detainees still being held at Guantanamo come from Azerbaijan, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

At least 15 people have been killed and some 50 injured after a freight train carrying gas derailed and exploded in northern Italy, officials say. The wagons jumped the tracks and crashed into several homes, setting off an inferno in the seaside town of Viareggio in the middle of the night. Several of the victims died when their houses collapsed. There are fears some people may be trapped under the rubble. Officials say there is still a risk that other gas tanks could explode. The explosion happened shortly before midnight local time (2300 BST) when one wagon in the 14-car train carrying liquefied petroleum gas came off the tracks before ploughing into several homes near the station in Viareggio. "It was a derailment that caused the explosion of one of the rail cars filled with liquefied natural gas. It was a very strong explosion," Viareggio Mayor Luca Lunardini said. "Two buildings collapsed and burned down, there are others in a serious condition," he said. A num...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 MANAGUA: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya vowed to return to Honduras later this week as violent clashes flared here, while international pressure grew for him to be restored to power."I go to Tegucigalpa on Thursday," Zelaya said in a speech in Managua before regional leaders, setting up a potential clash with the newly installed administration of congressional leader Roberto Micheletti.Defying a government curfew meanwhile hundreds of angry Zelaya supporters erected barricades near the presidential palace, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and used pipes and metal bars to accost shield-bearing riot police, with security forces cracking down with tear gas and gunfire.The violence, the most serious unrest in years in this Central American country, left several demonstrators and security forces wounded.

Yemeni aviation official says the Yemeni Airbus 310 that crashed off the Comoros islands in the Indian Ocean had 142 passengers and a crew of 11 Yemenis on board. Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader says the majority of the passengers were from the Comoros. Those on board included families with children. The plane crashed before landing in Moroni, on the main island of Grand Comore, early on Tuesday morning. Many passangers were returning from Paris. Abdul Qader says bodies have been spotted off the archipelago and that a rescue and search effort was under way. The Comoros is an archipelago of three main islands situated about 2,900 kilometres south of Yemen, between Africa's southeastern coast and Madagascar.

She won temporary guardianship of his three children. Now Michael Jackson’s mother wants control over his estate, too. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of the children Monday. He also scheduled a hearing for Aug. 3 on Jackson’s petition to become permanent guardian of her son’s children. Katherine Jackson filed another court action Monday, seeking to take control of her son’s estate, according to an Associated Press source. Jackson’s mother wants to protect her son’s legacy, the source said. He left behind three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7.

Farrah Fawcett’s son will get a pass out of jail to go to his mother’s funeral today. The bad news: He’ll be allowed to wear a suit instead of his prison jumpsuit, but he’ll probably still have to wear handcuffs. Redmond O’Neal, 24, Fawcett’s son with Ryan O’Neal, is currently a resident of Pitchness Detention Center for in-patient drug rehab. He was arrested after getting caught trying to bring drugs into jail while visiting an inmate. It was his second drug-related arrest in less than six months. Fawcett’s funeral is set for this afternoon at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. Ryan O’Neal has handled the funeral details.

While tribute arrangements have yet to be announced for pop legend Michael Jackson, PEOPLE has confirmed that Farrah Fawcett's funeral will take place at 4 p.m. PST Tuesday, June 30. Fawcett, 62, who died just hours before Jackson on Thursday after a long battle with cancer, will be laid to rest in a private ceremony open to mourners by invitation only. Sources tell PEOPLE Fawcett's longtime partner Ryan O'Neal is handling arrangements.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton says Michael Jackson's family is carefully considering how to celebrate the legacy of the pop star. Sharpton and Michael Jackson's father, Joe, spoke Monday outside the family's home in the Encino area of Los Angeles. Joe Jackson says planning for a funeral will await a finding on what happened to his son. But Joe Jackson says the funeral will not be closed to the public. Sharpton says the funeral plan has to be careful and deliberate and cannot be done spontaneously.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 LONDON: Andy Murray of Britain finally finished off a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon Tennis.Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer won easily, as did two-time runner-up Andy Roddick and No. 4 Novak Djokovic. Venus Williams, like Federer chasing a sixth title at the All England Club, was way ahead when her opponent, former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, quit with a thigh injury. Williams’ younger sister, Serena, herself a two-time Wimbledon champion, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva were never challenged in their straight-set victories.One surprising run ended in the fourth round. Melanie Oudin, a 17-year-old qualifier from Marietta, Ga., who never won a Grand Slam match before last week, lost to No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 7-5.Tuesday’s other matches are No. 2 Serena Williams against No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Dementieva against unseeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy,...