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WASHINGTON: Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said on Tuesday that US forces were under strain from fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq but were not at a "tipping point."The mental fitness of American troops has come under intense scrutiny after a shooting rampage at Fort Hood by an army psychiatrist this month and amid a rise in suicides and depression.Suicides in the US Army are on track to reach a new high this year. With 140 suspected cases reported among active duty soldiers since the start of 2009, the number of suicides was already at last year's level, the army's vice chief of staff, General Peter Chiarelli, told reporters on Tuesday.But Mullen told a gathering of top business executives that he stood by a previous comment that the military was not at a breaking point despite two protracted wars."I still even subsequent to that don't think we're near a tipping point but," he said at the event sponsored by the Wall Street Journal,...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 WASHINGTON: Iran faces a "very short" window to submit its formal response to a U.N.-brokered deal meant to allay suspicions that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday."Frustration is mounting," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told a news briefing, noting that Tehran had still not made a formal reply to a proposal drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) more than a month ago."We're not prepared to actually pronounce that they have rejected the deal because they haven't formally rejected the deal yet," Kelly said."We always hesitate to give a formal deadline -- but I would just say that time is very short."Kelly did not specify the time frame he meant by "short."Kelly added that an IAEA report this week that said Iran's belated revelation of a new uranium enrichment site raised concern about possible further nuclear secrets underscore...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 SEOUL: The death toll from a blaze at an indoor shooting range in a South Korean city has risen to 11 after a local victim died while being treated for severe burns, hospital officials said Wednesday. Seven of those killed in Saturday's blaze in the southern city of Busan were Japanese tourists, who visited the shooting range as part of a group tour. The latest victim, 67-year-old Moon Min-Ja, had suffered severe burns and died of heart failure, a hospital official was quoted by news agency as saying. Police are still trying to determine the cause of the fire. President Lee Myung-Bak Monday ordered a thorough investigation and urged South Koreans to be more careful about safety.Local media blamed carelessness for the tragedy. The fire "exposed our society's inveterate numbness and insensitivity to safety risks despite an embarrassing track record of accidents," a Daily said in an editorial Wednesday. The paper said the fire "was caus...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 MANAGUA: Hurling homemade explosives, hundreds of Nicaraguan students attacked the country's legislature Tuesday over government plans to cut university funding, lawmakers said. The explosives caused only minor damage when they were thrown at the building that houses the Nicaraguan Congress, said lawmaker Francisco Aguirre. But Aguirre said that if they had been used in a street demonstration, which both the ruling party and opposition groups are planning for Saturday, "they certainly could kill a person."Students on Tuesday marched to the legislature building to oppose government plans to cut funding for public universities as set out in the draft budget for 2010, said National Universities Council leader Telemaco Talavera.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday, November 17, `Eid Al-Adha’, one of the two main religious festivals on the Islamic calendar, will fall on Friday, November 27, Geo news reported."The new moon of Dhul-Hijjah was sighted by trusted witnesses on Tuesday in a number of provinces," the Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency."Thus, Wednesday, November 18, will mark the beginning of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah."This means pilgrims will climb Mount `Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago, on Thursday, November 26.Standing on Mount `Arafat before sunset marks the climax of hajj and pilgrims who fail to make it on time must repeat their pilgrimage in future.Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime.Muslims wor...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 BAGHDAD: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited troops Monday in Iraq at a military camp outside Baghdad for the first time as California governor, signing autographs and recounting his own experience as an Austrian tank driver.The governor gave a short speech designed to motivate the troops. He delivered cigars, signed autographs and told them he'd return today to work out with them before breakfast.Schwarzenegger last visited Iraq in 2003, just before he announced his run for governor. His communications director said last week the governor had been looking for the right time to visit the troops and felt it was appropriate to do so after striking a water infrastructure deal with lawmakers and before the next round of budget negotiations. "I just wanted to let you know how much we in the United States appreciate the work you are doing," Schwarzenegger said Monday, according to video provided by the Multi-National Corps public affairs office in I...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube is trying to help shrinking newsrooms expand their video coverage without increasing their payrolls.The assist comes in the form of "YouTube Direct," a free tool made for media interested in amateur video of calamities, protests or other newsworthy events. The application launched Tuesday as a way for news organizations to solicit and show videos on their own Web sites.As the Internet's most popular video site, YouTube already has become a prime outlet for so-called "citizen journalism" — visual or written reporting submitted by people who don't work in a newsroom.But finding interesting clips while the news is still hot can be difficult, given that about 20 hours of video is posted to YouTube every minute.YouTube believes news videos will stand out more quickly if they're endorsed by professional editors or prominent bloggers. In return, broadcasters and newspapers could get compelling video to supplemen...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 ORLANDO: Doctors say that a new type of heart pump greatly improves survival of people with severe heart failure. It could become the first one of these devices to be widely used as a permanent treatment.The device is implanted next to a patient's own heart to help it pump. In a study, the new device increased by four times the number of patients who survived at least two years, compared to an older pump that is used now just for short periods to keep people alive until a heart transplant can be done.The big issue is cost. The pump costs $80,000, plus $45,000 for the surgery and hospital stay to implant it."It will allow older people who are not heart transplant patients to stay alive but at a higher cost. It's all about who's going to pay," said Cleveland Clinic heart chief Dr. Steven Nissen, who had no role in the research.The device — called the HeartMate II and made by Thoratec Corp. of Pleasanton, Calif. — is the first of a new gen...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 BEIJING: A state media report says a massive landslide in northern China partially has buried a village and killed at least 23 people, and that rescuers are seeking survivors.A news agency says the landslide occurred Monday in Zhangzishan Township, near Luliang city in northern Shanxi province.The news agency said Tuesday that rescuers have recovered 23 bodies from the debris so far, and that two people have been pulled out alive.Most of those killed were migrant workers who worked at a nearby coal mine.The news agency quoted the local Communist Party chief, Nie Chunyu, as saying that most of the victims were from the southwestern Yunnan province.

"Kurbaan" has turned out to be two hours 37 minutes long after editing. Debutant director Rensil D'Silva's movie is longer than the show-timing multiplexes approve of and lengthy films on grim themes are not the flavour of the season. But D'Silva is unfazed. "My film is not grim. It's about a serious global issue. But it isn't a documentary on terrorism. It's designed as a fast-paced thriller," D'Silva told IANS. He also says that the release hasn't been timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the terror attacks on Mumbai. "We're coming on Friday November 20. The date was chosen according to availability of space," said the director. Tense but happy D'Silva has just about wrapped up the post-production work of the film that has Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi in major roles. And he is ready to take a long break before moving into his next film which would be a marked departure from the theme o...

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday that he would like to host a summit next year to chart a timetable for the handover of security in various regions of Afghanistan to the Afghan government, with an eye toward the withdrawal of NATO forces from country. In the traditional prime minister's speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet in London, Brown said he has offered London as a venue for an international conference next year to map out the international community's next steps in Afghanistan."I want that conference to chart a comprehensive political framework within which the military strategy can be accomplished," said Gordon Brown. "A strong political framework should embrace internal political reform and ensure representative government that works for all Afghan citizens at the national level in Kabul and also at the provinces and districts."The British prime minister said he hopes such a conference would result in concrete actions for h...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 ASUNCION: At least two people were killed and seven others injured in a fire at a crowded supermarket near the Asuncion bus terminal, a Paraguayan police spokesman said.The bodies of two men were found after the fire at a supermarket, Asuncion Metropolitan Police Zone 1 chief Eligio Ibarra said.One of the men “burned to death and the other died from asphyxiation,” Ibarra said.The fire apparently started when a gas cylinder in the supermarket’s restaurant exploded, the fire department said.An Aug. 1, 2004, blaze at the Ycua Bolaños supermarket killed 364 people and injured hundreds of others, making it the worst fire in Paraguay’s history.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 NEW YORK: The shuttle Atlantis has blasted off carrying vital supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station to push its life past the 2010 retirement of the aging shuttle fleet.Atlantis launched at 2.28pm on Monday (0628 AEDT Tuesday) from the Kennedy Space Centre near Florida's Cape Canaveral carrying six astronauts and some 12 tonnes of gyroscopes, ammonia tanks and other equipment."A perfect launch, right on time," said a NASA spokesman after the shuttle reached orbit about eight minutes into its flight, hurtling at a speed of more than 24,000km/ph, NASA said.Moment before the lift-off, launch director Mike Leinback wished the crew godspeed, declaring: "All the vehicle systems are outstanding today, the weather is near perfect for a good lift-off today."Space agency officials said the mission was crucial as just five more shuttle launches remain before the planned September 2010 retirement of the fleet and the spare ...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 BAGHDAD: Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms abducted and killed at least 13 people in a village west of Baghdad, in what some described as revenge against Sunnis who helped fight al-Qaida, Iraqi officials said Monday.The exact motive for the attack was unclear, but it could be a case of insurgents killing locals allied to the central government or an internal struggle among the region's fractious tribes ahead January's elections.The victims included a member of the country's main Sunni political party and several of his relatives, said party official Mohammed Iqbal, suggesting a political motive to the attack.While members of the Iraqi military have been accused in the past of taking part in extra-judicial killings, such uniforms are also widely available on the open market and have been used by insurgents in the past to conceal their identities.Violence has dropped dramatically in the predominantly Sunni regions of western Iraq after local tribe...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 KABUL: Ten civilians were killed and 28 wounded when Taliban insurgents fired three rockets into a busy market in northeastern Afghanistan Monday, Afghan police said.The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed the attack and said in a statement it had initial reports that eight Afghans were killed and more than 40 wounded.No NATO soldiers were killed, it said.General Matiullah Safi, police chief of Kapisa province, said the Chinese-made rockets struck the crowded market in the Tagab valley, about 75 km (45 miles) northeast of the capital, Kabul.In western Farah province, Taliban insurgents kidnapped and beheaded two Afghans, including a tribal elder, Sunday for "aiding the government," said provincial chief Faqir Ahmad Askar.The Taliban had captured five people but later released three, he said.Several provinces in the previously quiet west and north of Afghanistan have witnessed a dramatic increase in insurgent activity in recen...

Monday, November 16, 2009 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned the Palestinian leadership against "unilateral action" after they said they plan to seek UN recognition of their independence. "There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Netanyahu said in a radio address. "Any unilateral action will undo the framework of past accords and lead to unilateral actions from Israel." He called on the Palestinian Authority to restart negotiations "without preconditions." The Palestinians said on Sunday they plan to ask for UN recognition of their independence, amid mounting frustration over the stalled peace process, including at Israel's refusal to end settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

Monday, November 16, 2009 LONDONL: UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown today warned the danger posed by al-Qaeda is as strong as ever, trying to rally support for the war in Afghanistan.The PM claimed the terrorist network remain the "biggest threat" to Britain's national security.‘It is essential that UK forces win the battle in Afghanistan against Taliban insurgents.’‘We are in Afghanistan because we judge that, if the Taliban regained power, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would once more have an environment in which they could operate."Brown said, "Make no mistake, al-Qaeda have an extensive recruitment network across Africa the Middle East, Western Europe - and in UK."His speech came amid growing evidence the public is turning against the war in Afghanistan.

Monday, November 16, 2009 SHANGHAI: U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday the greatest threats to the United States continued to be terrorist networks like al Qaeda."I continue to believe that the greatest threat to the United States' security are the terrorist networks like al Qaeda," he told students at a town hall meeting in Shanghai."They have now moved over the border of Afghanistan and are in Pakistan, but they continue to have networks with other extremist organisations in that region and I do believe it is important for us to stabilise Afghanistan."

Monday, November 16, 2009 BERLIN: Scores of celebrants assembled in Berlin in the pouring rain last night to watch nearly a mile of giant dominoes drop as a stand-in for the Berlin Wall. One thousand giant domino pieces fell in a little less than a minute, stretching from the site formerly known as Checkpoint Charlie to the Reichstag building. The Goethe Institute distributed the oversized Styrofoam dominoes around the world so they could be decorated before the "Festival of Freedom." Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed world leaders Gordon Brown, Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Brandenburg Gate, which divided the city 20 years ago. Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev and former Polish President Lech Walesa also attended.

Monday, November 16, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Disaster swept the world during the weekend as the apocalyptic movie "2012" registered the biggest opening for a non-franchise movie.The latest calamity epic from "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich sold $225 million worth of tickets globally, distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday.Moviegoers in the United States and Canada chipped in $65 million, at the high end of bullish industry forecasts.The foreign tally of $160 million came from 105 countries, led by France with $17.2 million, Russia with $15.3 million and Emmerich's native Germany with $12.4 million. It opens in Japan next weekend.Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp, said "2012" recorded the highest worldwide opening ever for an original film not based on an established franchise, brand or best-selling novel.In overall worldwide terms, it ranks at No. 9, behind pictures from such franchises as "Harry Potter," "Spider-Man" and ...

Monday, November 16, 2009 ROME: A UN summit on the plight of the planet's one billion hungry opens here Monday, with activists warning it risks being a waste of time as leaders of the world's wealthiest nations are to be conspicuous by their absence. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the only leader from the Group of Eight industrialised countries expected to be among the 60 heads of state and government who attend the "Hunger Summit" that runs through Wednesday. Pope Benedict XVI will be among the inaugural speakers at the meeting at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Also expected at the summit are Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Moamer Kadhafi of Libya, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.As delegates gathered Sunday in Rome, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) made an early pledge of one billion dollars for joint projects with the FAO, the UN agency said. More...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 BEIJING: The dollar will still be the world's dominant currency in 10 years' time because the United States will still be the world's most important economy, the head of the IMF said on Monday.However, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said he could not see 30 or 40 years into the future.Answering questions put by university students, Strauss-Kahn said the outlook for the global economy remained fragile.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 ZURICH: The Swiss bank Credit Suisse has signed a 10-year sponsorship with Roger Federer.The bank says it will make a "significant annual contribution" to the Roger Federer Foundation. The charity was founded by the tennis star to help disadvantaged children in Africa.Credit Suisse declined to say how much the deal is worth or how much would go to Federer's foundation. The bank pulled out as a Formula One sponsor last year.