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KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai was declared winner of the country's second election Monday by the country's electoral commission after it decided to scrap a planned run-off ballot."We declare that Mr Hamid Karzai, who won the majority of votes in the first round, and is the only candidate in the second round, is the elected president of Afghanistan," Independent Election Commission chairman Azizullah Ludin said.The move comes one day after Karzai's only challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, announced that he would not participate in the November 7 poll for fear of a repeat of widespread fraud which marred the first round in August.Ludin said the move had been made in line with the provisions of the Afghan electoral law and constitution and "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".The IEC chief said that the commission was also taking its decision in order to save money, citing "the huge expense that the electi...

Monday, November 02, 2009 PYONGYANG: North Korea's Foreign Ministry has said the country is ready to return to stalled six-party negotiations about its nuclear programme.It has also repeated its call for direct talks with its avowed enemy the United States. Last month, leader Kim Jong-il said he might consider a return to the nuclear talks he had previously declared dead - after direct talks with Washington. "The conclusion we have reached is that the direct parties, which are the North and the United States, must first sit down and find a rational solution," the foreign ministry spokesman said in comments reported by the official news agency. "Now that we have shown the generosity of stating the position that we would be willing to talk to the United States and hold multilateral talks including the six-way talks, it is time for the United States to make a decision," the spokesman said. But the state department says it has not yet decided whether to accept Pyong...

Monday, November 02, 2009 SYDNEY: A massive fire erupted on an oil rig that has been leaking into the Timor Sea and Australia's government on Monday promised an investigation, the latest drama in a 10-week saga to plug the hole. Rig operator said no one was injured and nonessential workers were evacuated after the fire broke out on the West Atlas rig and Montara wellhead platform on Sunday. The blaze started when workers began pumping heavy mud into a leaking well casing. An estimated 400 barrels of oil a day have escaped from the hole since Aug. 21 Officials had planned to pour more mud into the leak on Monday in the hopes of removing the source of fuel from the fire, which was sending massive plumes of smoke into the sky. But in a statement Monday evening, the company said it was still in the process of mixing 4,000 barrels of heavy mud, and would not be ready to pour it down the well until Tuesday.

Monday, November 02, 2009 WASHINGTON: Calling Pakistan’s current anti militant campaign as ‘incredibly important,’ US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the Pakistani forces are making ‘real progress’ in the fight against Taliban in the northwestern valleys and tribal areas.She also recognized that the democratic government’s support and military sacrifices are making a “big difference” in Pakistan’s ongoing campaign in mountainous South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, where US led International forces are struggling to contain a fierce Taliban insurgency.“They’re making real progress. And I think that the sacrifice that the Pakistanis have undertaken, the loss of life that they are suffering, is the clearest evidence of their seriousness and their resolve,” Clinton told sources in an interview.Clinton also said the US will assist reconstruction efforts in Swat and South Waziristan.“And they’re very concerned about reconstruction in both Swat and Waziristan, som...

Monday, November 02, 2009 MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan the superstar enters a make-or-break year on Monday — and 375 of his die-hard fans in Calcutta are seeking divine intervention to beat his 44th birthday blues.“SRK has been facing some personal and professional problems recently, so we thought of beginning the day with puja and rituals for him. We want him to emerge as the number one hero again,” said Arnab Roy, secretary of the 12-year-old Shah Rukh Khan Fan Club, at the thermocol-and-plywood shrine built for their screen god in Rajarhat.As he steps into his 45th year, the beleaguered badshah of Bollywood is battling a below-par box office, two Khans gunning for him, a Kumar packing a punch, a Roshan going strong, a host of young actors flexing their muscles, his endorsement count dropping and his Kolkata Knight Riders on a losing streak. Reason enough for his fan club in KKR country to pray for his success, on screens big and small and on the cricket pitch.“It took regular meetings ev...

Monday, November 02, 2009 SYDNEY: More than 20 people were feared dead on Monday after a boat carrying about 40 sank in rough seas far off northwest Australia during a rescue attempt by a passing merchant ship and fishing vessel. Defence chief Angus Houston said the unidentified boat capsized and then sank after the LNG Pioneer ship and Taiwanese fishing craft responded to pleas for help in a remote area off Australia's Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. It was not confirmed whether the boat was one of dozens of people-smuggling vessels that have headed to Australia this year carrying more than 1,700 asylum-seekers, many of them from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. "I understand when the first ship got there, this vessel was still intact," Houston said. "Somehow or other during the process of interaction between the ship and trawler and also the stricken vessel, there's been a capsize and people ended up in the water."Some 17 people were rescued by scrambling abo...

Monday, November 02, 2009 BRASILIA: The Brazilian Air Force Sunday said it found the body of a second person who died from a plane crash last week in the Amazon rainforest that saw nine survivors rescued by indigenous tribesmen. The body of one of the four crew members of the C-98 Caravan, single-propeller military transport plane was found near the crash site, dispelling assumptions the man had wandered off searching for help when he went missing after the plane crash-landed in a river.The remains of the other person who died in Thursday's accident were found Saturday trapped inside the wreckage. He was one of seven National Health Foundation (FUNASA) officials on an immunization campaign in indigenous communities in northwestern Brazil's Javari Valley near the Peruvian border. Six of the FUNASA team and three crew members were rescued after the plane was found by members of the Matis, a tiny tribe of some 300 people first contacted by modern Brazilian officials in the 1970s.

Monday, November 02, 2009 SYDNEY: Fifteen people have been rescued after a boat carrying about 40 people sank off Western Australia, an official told media on Monday, adding there were "grave concerns" for the others. A merchant ship and Taiwanese fishing vessel are searching for more survivors in rough, pre-dawn seas after the boat got into trouble about 700 nautical miles northwest of the Cocos Islands. "We obviously have grave concerns about the safety of those who are still in the water, given they've been in there for some time now," a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. "The LNG Pioneer (merchant ship) is still conducting search and rescue now," she added. "It's throwing out its life-raft in the hope of recovering more people from the water."Authorities have not confirmed whether the sunken boat was one of dozens of people-smuggling vessels which have headed to Australia this year carrying asylum-seekers, ...

Monday, November 02, 2009 SYDNEY: A boat carrying 40 people has sunk off the Cocos Islands, west of Australia, a report said on Monday. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a distress call on Sunday saying the boat was taking on water about 700 nautical miles northwest of the Cocos Islands, media reported. A merchant ship from the Bahamas responded to a broadcast for help but found the stricken vessel had sunk when it arrived 12 hours later, and its passengers were in the water.The merchant ship's crew were trying to rescue passengers and an Australian Defence Force plane was heading to join a search for survivors, it said. The report did not say how many passengers had been accounted for but added that authorities have yet to confirm whether the boat was carrying asylum seekers.

Monday, November 02, 2009 DOHA: Serena Williams won her second career WTA Championships title on Sunday with a commanding 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over sister Venus, a triumph which earned her a cool 1.55 million dollars.Serena, who will finish the season as world number one, also won the trophy in 2001, making her just the second player after Justine Henin in 2007 to win two Grand Slam titles as well as the WTA Championship in the same year.World number one Serena won all five matches at this event, including a group stage win over Venus, and such was her dominance in the final that she gave up just seven points on serve.The 85-minute romp was Serena's 13th victory in 23 meetings with her sister, a family rivalry stretching back to 1998.In a symbol of this injury-hit, desert money-spinner, which had seen four players end their campaigns prematurely through various aches and pains, both sisters arrived on court nursing knocks.Serena had her left thigh heavily-strapped while Venus ha...

Monday, November 02, 2009 LAHORE: Five policemen have been injured in a bomb blast at police check post near Babu Sabu Interchange, Geo News reported Monday.The blast took place when a white Suzuki Mehran rammed into the police check post, sources said.Rescue teams have reached the blast site.The injured police personnel have been rushed to nearby hospital.