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Thursday, August 13, 2009 MOSUL: At least 18 people, most of them members of the ancient Yazidi religious sect, were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Thursday in a packed cafe in northern Iraq, a local government official said.At least 31 people were also wounded after the bombers detonated suicide belts packed with explosives in the cafe in Kalaa town, in the district of Sanjar, local district chief Dakheel Qassem Hasoon, told a foreign news agency."Two suicide bombers entered the Cafe Barbaroz at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) and blew themselves up, killing 18 civilians and wounding 31. Most of the victims were Yazidis," Hasoon said.Kalaa, northwest of the insurgent stronghold of Mosul in northern Nineveh province is predominantly populated by the minority Yazidi religious sect, as well as Arabs and Kurds.The attack is the deadliest since Monday, when 51 people were killed across Iraq, including 28 members of the tiny Shabak sect cut down when two truck bombs det...

ISLAMABAD: Britain's foreign office Director Mark Lyall Grant Thursday any decision regarding former president Pervez Musharraf’s fate has to be made by Pakistan political leadership.In a statement issued from British High Commission here, he clarified that the purpose of his visit to Pakistan is not to mediate for Musharraf’s future and that any decision in this regard will be made by Pakistan’s political leadership.He said the objective of his presence in Pakistan is to take ahead the promises made by the British prime minister in connection with Pak-British strategic dialogue. My current visit is in the backdrop of British foreign secretary’s tour to Pakistan in JulyHe termed the violent extremism as a threat to Pakistan’s security, independence and people’s prosperity.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 PUNE: With 75-year-old person dying of H1N1 at Sassoon Hospital here today, death toll has risen to 19 in the country. So far, 12 people have died of swine flu in Pune only. A 10-month-old boy from Pune succumbed to H1N1 late Wednesday night. The child tested positive for the swine flu and was admitted to Sasoon Hospital where his condition deteriorated. Thereafter, he was shifted to Sahyadri hospital where he succumbed to the virus.So far H1N1 has claimed 19 lives, including 12 in Pune, two each in Mumbai and Gujarat, one each in Nasik, Chennai, and Trivendrum, in India.The virus that travelled from abroad to India didn't show its affect in the beginning. But it started affecting people gradually and killed Pune school girl Reeda Sheikh on August 3. Since then virus is on prowl and killed an Ayurvedic doctor, who was also from Pune.A NRI, who came down to meet his family members in Gujarat, succumbed to the virus infection at a hospital. His wife tested p...

Thursday, August 13, 2009 WASHINGTON: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has placed India on its "Watch List" for New Delhi's largely inadequate response in protecting its religious minorities.In a statement, USCIRF said India earned the "Watch List" designation due to the "disturbing increase" in communal violence against religious minorities, specifically Christians in eastern Indian state Orissa in 2008 and Muslims in western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002 and the largely inadequate response from the Indian government to protect the rights of religious minorities."It is extremely disappointing that India, which has a multitude of religious communities, has done so little to protect and bring justice to its religious minorities under siege," said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair.USCIRF's India chapter was released this week to mark the first anniversary of the start of the anti-Christian violence in Orissa.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 NEW YORK: Hundreds of people waited in line to see mirrors, hairbrushes, cuff links and other items that survived the sinking of the Titanic.The "Titanic: Treasures From the Deep" traveling collection of 50 artifacts is on display through 4 p.m. Sunday outside St. Clair Square in the Dillard's parking lot.The artifacts were recovered from the debris field on the ocean floor surrounding the Titanic, including pieces of the ship, a spittoon and personal items from passengers, such as documents, clothes and a gem-encrusted tie pin.The White Star Line passenger ship was on its maiden voyage from Southhampton, England, to New York City when it struck an iceberg April 14, 1912, and went down in the Atlantic Ocean early in morning on April 15, 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people. Fewer than half that many people survived.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 KABUL: Officials say separate roadside blasts in southern Afghanistan have killed 14 civilians, including three children. Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Helmand provincial government, says 11 civilians were killed Wednesday after their van hit a bomb in the Gereshk district of the province. Ahmadi blamed the Taliban for planting the bomb.Mohammad Shah Khan, a police official, says three children died after a bomb they found exploded while they were playing with it on a road west of Kandahar's capital.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 ROME: Italy's state lottery reached a record jackpot of 115.9 million Euros ($167 million) this week, prompting locals to race out and buy tickets before Tuesday's draw.No one has bet on the successful six-number combination of the SuperEnalotte draw since January, meaning the jackpot has steadily risen to reach the current mark.The lottery, which is held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, rose from a jackpot of 107 million Euros one week ago to the current mark of 115.9 million Euros.Of course, the jackpot won't necessarily go to one person, as it will be split if more than one players bets on the correct numbers.Italy's largest single lottery prize up until now was the 100.7 million Euros won in the Sicilian city of Catania in October 2008.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 NEW DELHI: Panic ridden citizens in India, particularly in Maharashtra state have started criticizing the government for not taking adequate measures to control swine flue as death till rose to 15 on Wednesday. Schools, colleges, cinema halls have been shut in Mumbai city, Pune and adjoining areas. Some educational schools in national capital were also closed. People have been asked to stay away from crowded places. The spreading flu has claimed a total of 15 lives—one each in Ahmedabad, Vadodra, Thane, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram, two in Mumbai and eight in Pune. More than one thousand persons are affected. The Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is under focus of media criticism for not taking timely and adequate measure to control the new disease is holding emergency meetings with the centre and state officials and medical experts. Passengers on entry points at airports and border areas are being screened while warnings have been issued to the p...

Thursday, August 13, 2009 WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama Wednesday conferred America's highest civilian honor on 16 examples of unshakeable human spirit, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and British scientist Stephen Hawking.Former Irish president Mary Robinson, screen legend Sidney Poitier and Bangladeshi economist and Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus were also honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony in the White House."No barriers of race, gender or physical infirmity can restrain the human spirit, and that the truest test of a person's life is what we do for one another," said Obama, as he introduced the 2009 honorees."There are many honors and privileges bestowed on the occupants of this house. But few mean as much to me as the chance to award America's highest civilian medal to the recipients that are here today."Before placing the blue-ribboned medal around the neck of wheelchair-bound scientist Hawking, Obama joked he...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 SEOUL: North Korea's Arirang festival -- the world's largest gymnastic performance -- has opened in front of huge crowds, official media in the communist state said Tuesday.The 80-minute show opened at May Day Stadium Monday night, according to the Korean Central Broadcasting Station monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.It said this year's show has added new scenes to highlight the country's campaign to build a "strong, prosperous and powerful nation."The stadium was packed with soldiers and workers as well as diplomats, international agency representatives, tourists and Koreans living abroad, it said.The annual festival named after a famous Korean folk song began in 2002 to mark the 90th anniversary of the birth of founding president Kim Il-Sung.It involves some 100,000 people, many of them schoolchildren, in a display of synchronised acrobatics, gymnastics, dances and elaborate flip-card displays of highly politicised...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 NEW DELHI: Indian authorities are undertaking search following a bomb threat in a plane scheduled to leave for Kolkata from New Delhi, an Indian TV channel reported on Wednesday.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 LONDON: Spinal injuries are both common and devastating, leaving many victims paralyzed and relegated to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. But in most cases, the worst spinal cord damage doesn't happen at the scene of the injury - it's the swelling around the spinal cord and the crazy firing and burning out of otherwise healthy neurons in the hours and days following the incident that turns a bad situation permanently worse. Now, scientists in Rochester, New York, have discovered a simple way to stop a lot of this secondary damage in its tracks - using the same, familiar blue food dye that gives M&Ms and blue icy poles their color. Patients with spinal injuries could escape with vastly reduced loss of function - but they'll turn bright blue in the process.I'll admit a personal interest in this story: two years ago, a friend of mine, Lenna, had a nasty motorcycle accident, and I was present at the scene. It was clear she had spinal ...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 CULVER CITY: Beginning October 30th, the world will have a front-row seat for Michael Jackson's final concert, as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment release Michael Jackson's This Is It.This Is It is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson and will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage, captured in high definition with state-of-the-art digital sound as the late singer was preparing for his concert series in London. The film, which will also offer select sequences in 3-D, will provide a unique career retrospective and feature interviews with some of Jackson's closest friends and creative collaborators, said michaeljackson.com.The announcement was made by Michael Lynton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of the studio, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, and Rob Stri...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has asked for Mumbai schools, colleges and coaching classes to be shut for seven days as fears of the H1N1 virus grips the city. Multiplexes would also remain shut for the next three days.A Maharashtra schoolboy succumbed to swine flu just hours after three others in the state died of the same disease on Wednesday morning, officials said. With these deaths, the toll due to the viral infection has risen to 11 in the state and 15 in the country. Earlier, five people in Pune, two in Mumbai, two in Gujarat, one each in Tamil Nadu and Kerala had died of swine flu.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 NEW DELHI: The death toll from Influenza A (H1N1) virus, or swine flu, rose to 14 with three deaths being reported from Maharashtra, two in Pune and one in Nashik. Rupesh Gangurde, a doctor at the Nashik Civil Hospital, died, the city’s first and the nation’s 14th victim from the swine flu virus. Shrawani Deshpande (29) was India’s 13th swine flu victim. She too died at Pune’s government-run Sassoon General Hospital. Earlier, a 35-year-old man succumbed to the swine flu virus at the Sassoon Hospital. The total number of swine flu casualties in Maharashtra has now gone up to 10. Two more people have died of swine flu in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, with death toll continuing to mount the authorities have stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the contagious virus. The total number of swine flu casualties in Maharashtra has now gone up to 10. Two more people have died of swine flu in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu....

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 KABUL: U.S. Marines have mounted a helicopter assault to seize the Taliban-held town of Dahaneh in southern Afghanistan and are fighting gain control of the area ahead of next week's presidential elections. The assault began before dawn Wednesday, with Marines entering the town as others battled militants in the surrounding mountains. A foreign news agency reported that Marines were met with small arms, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire. Fighting is still under way hours later, with U.S. Marine Harrier jets streaking over the town and dropping flares in a show of force. Marines have captured several suspects and seized about 66 pounds (30 kilos) of opium.

TAIPEI: Rescue and recovery efforts continued Wednesday in China and Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot, which killed at least 70 people in both countries.In Taiwan, the death toll was 62 as of Tuesday evening, a Chinese news agency, reported. Another 57 were missing, and three others were killed Tuesday when a relief helicopter crashed.Thousands of households remained without electricity or running water. In mountainous areas, helicopters were used to drop food and water in villages cut off by bridges that had washed away.Sixteen Chinese tourists were evacuated Tuesday after being trapped since the storm at Mount Ali.Morakot made landfall in Taiwan late Friday and in China early Sunday. In China, eight were reported dead and three missing.Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, who traveled to the provinces hit by the storm, warned of secondary damage from flooded rivers. He said more than 20 rivers in Fujian, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces were at dangerous levels and continued rainfall could bring more f...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 ISLAMABAD: Visitors Iran thumped Sports Sciences Department of Punjab University Lahore 11-0 to win the 5th National Women’s Football Championship at the Jinnah Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex.Malavan Football Club of Iran, specially invited as a foreign team to compete in the national championship, dominated the local side from the very start, scoring almost at will. Federal minister for sports Pir Aftab Shah Jilani was the chief guest at the final of the 13-team championship and distributed prizes among the participants. He presented the winners’ trophy to the Iranian team, hailing from Bandar Anzali, and gave away the best player’s award to Mariam Irandost. Defending champions Young Rising Stars of Rawalpindi finished third in the annual event.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 LAHORE: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has given approval to appoint a Cuban coach for the national boxers.Coach Francisco Hernandes Roland, belonging to Cuba, will arrive in Pakistan next month.Spokesman of Pakistan Boxing Federation told that the PSB contacted the Cuban coach for the preparations of the SAF Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Qualifiers and signed a contract with him after obtaining an NOC for signing agreement with the PSB.The spokesman said that coach Francisco Hernandes Roland who is working as assistant coach with the Cuban team will come to Pakistan in the first week of September, just after the World Boxing Championship in Italy, and start training Pakistani boxers here.