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Sunday, July 12, 2009 WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is back home after a whirlwind visit to Ghana.He arrived at Andrews Air Force Base early Sunday morning, soon after midnight.Before departing, Obama addressed residents of Ghana at the airport in the capital of Accra. He said the trip was especially meaningful for him because of his African heritage. He congratulated Ghana for its democratic traditions and said he would never forget the image of his young daughters walking through a 17th century slave fortress on the country's coast.Obama said the message Ghana sends to the rest of the world every day is that democracy can thrive in Africa.

Sunday, July 12, 2009 ZAMBOANGA: Italian aid worker Eugenio Vagni was doing "remarkably well" in hospital early Sunday after his sudden release by Filipino rebels who held him for nearly six months, officials said.The 62 year-old was taken to a military hospital on the southern Jolo island for precautionary medical checks after the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group handed him over to province vice governor Nur-Ana Sahidulla shortly after midnight.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) worker, who suffers from hernia, had been known to be ill at various times during confinement."He's doing remarkably well considering the number of days he spent in captivity," ICRC spokeswoman Anastasia Isyuk said while talking to a French news agency.Vagni was seized by the Abu Sayyaf militant group with ICRC colleagues Andreas Notter of Switzerland and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba in January during a humanitarian mission on Jolo, a hotbed of militant activity.The gunmen free...

Sunday, July 12, 2009 LONDON: Britain's Big Ben is marking its 150th birthday with a celebration in London on Saturday.The booming bell first pealed on July 11, 1859 — a few weeks after the clock in the famous tower above the Houses of Parliament began keeping time.A projection wishing the bell a happy birthday will be broadcast on the south side of the 315-foot (96-meter) tower at about 10 p.m. (2100 GMT; 5 p.m. EDT).Mike McCann, the keeper of the Great Clock, says Big Ben stands as a magnificent example of engineering — and is much-loved.Big Ben's bongs are a cherished feature of life in London. They mark the hour and are carried globally by the BBC.The event is one of several honoring the 150th anniversary of the British landmark.

Sunday, July 12, 2009 SREBRENICA: More than 20,000 Muslims gathered in Srebrenica on Saturday for the burial of 534 newly identified victims on the 14th anniversary of the wartime massacre in the Bosnian town.In line with Islamic tradition the victims' caskets were carried by mourners from hand to hand to their graves following a prayer at a memorial cemetery just outside the eastern town.The victims' names were read out as coffins, wrapped in a green cloth, passed through the crowd and were finally buried 14 years after Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.The 534 victims were among some 8,000 Muslim men and boys who were killed by Serb forces after they captured the UN-protected enclave on July 11, 1995, and committed Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.The remains of the victims, aged between 14 and 72, were in most cases found in secondary mass graves where they had been moved from initial burial sites in a bid by Serbs to cover up war crimes."Although we were despera...

Sunday, July 12, 2009 NEW DELHI: Three persons have died and 11 others injured in a major mishap that took place at an under-construction site of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in Delhi on early Sunday morning. A pillar holding up the overhead railway tracks collapsed near LSR College. As the structure collapsed, the concrete slabs being laid came crashing down. The crash also burst a water-pipeline, causing flooding in the area. Rescue efforts are two-pronged. One group is working to save the man who's trapped under the debris. Another group is using a crane to lift the concrete slabs and clear the space. Making the rescue and clearing operations difficult is the fact that the area is flooded with water as a major pipeline burst due to the falling structure, flooding the area.Six cranes of 250 tonnes each and one crane of 400 tonnes have already been mobilised and they are working at the site for rescue operations. In addition, gas cutters have also been deployed and ove...

Sunday, July 12, 2009, CAPE CANAVERAL: A dramatic lightning storm forced NASA to delay the space shuttle Endeavour's launch on Saturday, pushing takeoff to late Sunday, in the latest blow to the seven-astronaut mission. With just nine hours to go before liftoff, NASA said the launch would be scrapped, citing 11 lightning strikes near the Cape Canaveral launch site during a powerful electrical storm late Friday. "We decided we are going to take 24 more hours to continue to review our data," said Mike Moses, the head of the mission. Moses later announced that the launch was rescheduled for 7:13 pm (2313 GMT) Sunday, and said the weather forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions for takeoff. After the lightning storm overnight, NASA technical teams were dispatched to examine the shuttle for damage. Spokesman George Diller said there was "no damage found on the shuttle or on the pad systems," but that engineers needed to examine whether the li...

Sunday, July 12, 2009, NEW DELHI: After Major Dimple Singla, a judge advocate general branch officer, who was tried on charges of corruption in 2006 in Chandigarh, a second woman officer of the army has been court-martialled. A court of Inquiry set up by the Army, sacked Captain Poonam Kaur for levelling 'false' allegations of physical and mental harassment against her seniors. Captain Poonam Kaur of Kalka based ASC (Army Services Corps) battalion had accused her seniors, including her commanding officer, of physically and mentally harassing her over the past few months. She was found guilty by a court of inquiry of disobedience, making false allegations against superior officers and leaking information to the media. In July 2008, Kaur alleged in that three officers of her unit, the Army Supply Corps (ASC), had sexually abused her and illegally confined her after she resisted their advances.

Saturday, July 11, 2009 ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Saturday agreed to a proposal that power tariffs would be increased by less than 17 percent for next six months.The sources said the government will curtail Rs50 billion or more from annual development program.The sources privy to finance ministry said a fiscal deficit of Rs66 billion is expected over next six months owing to freezing power tariffs.The sources said to finalize these proposals, talks will be held with IMF next week in Islamabad; also, the World Bank will be consulted over the issue.It merits mentioning here that the WB has been insisting on increasing power tariffs by 22.5 percent or more.

Sunday, July 12, 2009 COLOMBO: Pakistan team collapsed for a mere total of 90 runs against Sri Lanka after lunch on first day of the second Test match here on Sunday.This was Pakistan’s lowest ever Test score against Sri Lanka, eclipsing previous total was 117 made just in the first Test.Sri Lanka's pace duo of Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara ripped through Pakistan's batting line after Pakistan elected to bat on a wicket that gave early assistance to the seamers, slumped to 19-4 within the first seven overs before going to lunch on the first day struggling at 74-6.Kulasekera, playing his eighth Test, grabbed four wickets for 21 runs and left-armer Thushara chipped in with three scalps in a dramatic Pakistani collapse at the P. Sara Oval.Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik was the lone batsman to defy the Sri Lankan bowlers as he returned unbeaten at the end of the innings with 39.Only two other batsmen, Fawad Alam (16) and Mohammad Yousuf (10) could enter into double fi...