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KABUL: The Taliban's reclusive leader said in a Muslim holiday message Saturday that the U.S. and NATO should study Afghanistan's long history of war, in a pointed reminder that foreign forces have had limited military success in the country.The message from Mullah Omar comes less than a month before the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. This year has been the deadliest of the conflict for U.S. and NATO troops, and political support at home for the war is declining.Taliban attacks have spiked around Afghanistan in the last three years, and the militants now control wide swaths of territory. In his message for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which ends the fasting month of Ramadan, Omar said the U.S. and NATO should study the history of Alexander the Great, whose forces were defeated by Pashtun tribesmen in the 4th century."We would like to point out that we fought against ...

Saturday, September 19, 2009 BANGKOK: Thai "Yellow Shirt" protesters have clashed with police and villagers at an ancient temple in territory at the centre of a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.At least 15 people were injured in north-eastern Sisaket province after members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) tried to march to the gates of the temple near land claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, demanding the Thai government seize the disputed territory.Protesters broke through barricades in attempts to reach the 11th century Preah Vihear temple near the border with Cambodia on Saturday.Thai riot police used their shields to push back protesters armed with sticks who were trying to beat local villagers.

Updated at: 1821 PST, Saturday, September 19, 2009 NEW YORK: The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) has officially opened LentSpace, a half-acre public park in lower Manhattan that it plans to use as a temporary gathering space, contemporary-art venue, and performing arts site. The block, which is bounded by Grand, Varick, and Canal streets and Sixth Avenue, is owned by the Trinity Real Estate Corp., which manages Trinity Church's real estate holdings. Unable to arrange a sufficiently lucrative arrangement for the property, church officials decided to allow the LMCC program to go there until economic conditions improve.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 LONDON: Its vivid colour is clearly designed to appeal to youngsters, but this watch is really aimed at their parents. For its key selling point is a satellite positioning system that locates the wearer to within ten feet. The makers claim the GPS tracking device will offer anxious parents peace of mind and allow children the independence to go out to play on their own. However critics have said the 'tagging' is a step too far in the climate of paranoia over child safety. Parents will be able to see their child's location on Google maps. Safe zones can also be set up in which children can play. An alert will be sent to the parents if the child strays out of that area.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 BAGHDAD: Seven people were killed and 21 others wounded by a car bomb just outside Baghdad on Friday evening, a security official said. The bomb exploded in the town of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in a popular market as people were shopping for food to break the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The town lies within a confessionally mixed region known as the Triangle of Death because of the frequency of insurgent attacks during the worst of Iraq's insurgency in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion. The number of violent deaths in Iraq hit a 13-month high in August, raising fresh concerns about stability after the government admitted that security is worsening. Government statistics showed that 456 people -- 393 civilians, 48 police and 15 Iraqi soldiers -- were killed. That was the highest monthly toll since July 2008, when 465 died.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 TEL AVIV: How you write can indicate whether you’re a liar, scientists in Haifa, Israel, have discovered. Instead of analysing body language or eye movement, to catch out people telling fibs, people’s handwriting can instead give them away. While stressing the research was in the early stages, scientists say it could one day help validate loan application or even insurance claims. Psychologists have suggested that handwriting changes when someone is lying because the brain has to work harder to invent facts, which then in turn interfere with the normal writing process.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 BEIJING: A dinosaur 1 percent the size of Tyrannosaurus rex and with most of the predator’s distinctive features was found to have lived 60 million years earlier, scientists said, throwing a wrench into an evolutionary theory. Raptorex kriegsteini, as the newly found 125 million-year- old species is called, shares traits including enlarged jaw muscles and head, short arms and lanky legs with the much larger T-rex, said Paul Sereno, a University of Chicago palaeontologist and lead author of a study appearing in Science Express. The discovery in China turns on its head a theory that T- rex’s small arms and outsized head were necessary evolutionary steps to develop into the 6-ton predator that dominated the food chain in Asia and North America 65 million years ago.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 LONDON: American magazine Entertainment Weekly has become the first to publish a video advertisement in its print edition.A small piece of cardboard inserted in a page holds a mini screen and has adverts for Pepsi Max and the American TV network, CBS. In-built speakers have also been provided to make the advert audible. A small chip containing the footage gets activated and displays the video when the page is turned to. Each chip can store up to 40 minutes of clippings. The slim screens are as good as cell phone displays and work on rechargeable battery.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 MUMBAI: She is about the size of a cat. With a height of just 1ft 11 in (58 cm), Jyoti Amge is dwarfed even by an one year old toddler (which may be over 75 cm (2.5 ft) tall and weigh over 10 kg (22 pounds), on average), but this girl is 15 years old.The Indian Book of Records registered her as the world's smallest girl. Jyoti's condition is one of the most common types of genetic dwarfism called achondroplasia, in which the fibroblast growth factor receptor gene 3 (FGFR3) is impaired, impeding the normal cartilage formation.Jyoti is now fully grown and weighs only 11 lb (5 kg), but she seems to be happy with her size, because of the fame it brought her. "I am proud of being small. I love the attention I get. I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different," she told Sunday Mirror. Jyoti attends the local high school, in Nagpur, Maharashtra (central India), where she has her own special...

Saturday, September 19, 2009 BEIJING: Beijing held the last large-scale rehearsal on Friday for China's 60th anniversary on October 1st. 56 formations of civilian performers and an assortment of military equipment were on display during the practice. The Beijing municipal government has suggested that businesses, schools and other organizations close during the afternoon of the main event because traffic restrictions will cover 10 of the capital's 18 districts. More than 200 thousand people will be involved in the military parade and performances during the celebrations on October 1st.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 JAKARTA: An earthquake struck offshore from Indonesia's island of Bali on Saturday, causing some injuries, the meteorology agency and the health ministry said.Officials said no tsunami warning had been issued, but the quake at around dawn was felt strongly on the resort island.At least seven people were injured, some hit by falling debris from buildings and others after jumping from high floors, said Rustam Pakaya, an official at Indonesia's health ministry.The roof of a shopping mall in the island's capital of Denpasar also collapsed, the official said.The quake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was 101 km (62.76 miles) southeast of Nusadua in Bali at a depth of 36 km, the meteorology agency said.