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WASHINGTON: The United States will launch a new effort to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding along the mountainous Afghan-Pakistani border, US national security adviser James Jones said on Sunday. Asked in an interview if the administration planned a fresh attempt to go after Al-Qaeda's leader, Jones said: "I think so." The latest intelligence reports suggest that Bin Laden "is somewhere inside north Waziristan, sometimes on the Pakistani side of the border, sometimes on the Afghan side of the border, hiding in very, very rough mountainous area, generally ungoverned," Jones said. "We're going to have to get after that to make sure a very important symbol of what Al-Qaeda stands for is once again on the run or captured," said Jones, a retired Marine general. Al-Qaeda was plotting more attacks against US and other Western targets and the United Stated needed to ensure those plots did not "become a reality," he sa...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 WASHINGTON: Top members of US President Barack Obama's cabinet on Sunday refused to rule out talks with Taliban leaders in order to bring about a settlement of the war in Afghanistan, but made them conditional on changes in the radical movement's strategy."They have to renounce Al-Qaeda, renounce violence," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an American TV."They have to be willing to abide by the constitution of Afghanistan and live peacefully." She said she was "highly skeptical" that any of the current Taliban leaders would be interested in following the path of negotiations or accept such conditions. But when asked directly if high-level negotiations with the Taliban were possible, Clinton replied: "We don't know yet."Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates clarified that President Obama's decision to bolster the US military presence in Afghanistan by 30,000 additional troops was aimed in part ...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 LONDON: British police clashed with anti-Islam protesters in the English city of Nottingham on Saturday. Nottinghamshire Police said they made four arrests Saturday as several hundred demonstrators from the English Defense League marched through the city waving red-and-white English flags and shouting, "We want our country back." They were met by a rival group of anti-fascist protesters, and mounted police formed cordons between the sides. The league has held a series of protests across Britain in the last few months. In each city they have been met by counter-demonstrators, and skirmishes have broken out. The group says it is not racist and only opposes militant Islam. But its members have chanted anti-Muslim slogans and made Nazi salutes.

Sunday, December 06, 2009 ASTANA: With the first fall of snow on the windswept steppe lands of eastern Kazakhstan on Saturday (December 5), hunters saddled up and rode, eagles on their arms, on the day when tradition says the hunting season begins.The sudden snowfall masks rocks and hills with a sparkling blanket of snow, making it easier for the men to follow animal tracks -- and, when the time is right, release their giant golden eagles into the air to snatch up foxes and rabbits.In modern-day Kazakhstan, hunting with eagles is being revived as a sport by enthusiasts of every generation, who travel across this vast country to participate in tournaments like the one held on Saturday in the Chengelsky Gorge, near the eastern border with China."My father taught me, I taught my son, and now I'm teaching my grandsons," said Baurzhan Yeshmetov, a 62-year-old man in an embroidered velvet tunic, his eagle perched heavily on his arm.Nearby his two grandsons stood in costume, ea...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 AYODHYA: With fresh focus on the Babri Masjid issue in the wake of the Liberhan Commission's findings, the 17th anniversary of the demolition was observed today amid tight security in Ayodhya and other places in the country.Under categoric directions from the Union Home Ministry, Uttar Pradesh and other state governments beefed up security and Ayodhya-Faizabad area was converted into a virtual fortress.While the VHP observed the day as "Shourya Diwas (valour day)", Samajwadi Party marked it as "Kala Diwas (black day)".All India Babri Masjid Action Committee has decided to organise special prayers for peace and harmony.In Ayodhya, besides central forces, 500 personnel of PAC, 200 jawans of Rapid Action Force, three bomb detecting squads and anti-sabotage teams have been deployed, officials said.

Sunday, December 06, 2009 RIO DE JANEIRO: The lights are blazing from the world's largest floating Christmas tree -- a gigantic 85-metre high metal structure set on a lagoon in Rio de Janeiro.Despite the rain, some 100,000 people flocked around the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon on Saturday (December 5) night to watch the fireworks show which has become one of the city's main tourist attractions over the past decade.This year, the tree constructed by Brazil's largest insurance company features images of Christmas wreaths flickering from its nearly three million lights.Moema Garcia who watched the show with her mother said the bad weather didn't get in the way of the event."Every year (the lighting show) is good, but today was specially beautiful. The rain wasn't trouble at all. And I hope the love remains in everybody's hearts because that is what matters and not tree itself, which is beautiful. (I hope) that everybody is more considering with the others and th...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 KABUL: The Taliban said in a statement Saturday it would provide a "legal guarantee" that they would not intervene in foreign countries if international troops withdraw from Afghanistan.The Taliban have "no agenda of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries and is ready to give legal guarantee if the foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan," the group said in a statement emailed to news organizations.The statement did not specify what such a guarantee would look like. A Taliban spokesman was not available for comment.U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the main purpose of the war here is to prevent al Qaeda from reacquiring a safe haven from which its member can launch attacks against the West. U.S. and Afghan officials have been looking for ways to exploit the differences between al Qaeda, a mostly Arab organization that is focused on fighting a global holy war, and the Taliban, an Afghan group that largely restricts its ...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 SUNDERBANS: In the face of mounting pressure on world bodies to cut on their carbon emission, residents in Sunderbans delta of India's eastern West Bengal state are using electricity generated from solar power, thereby contributing their bit towards the carbon emission cut.The lives of the people living in Sunderbans has changed ever since a solar power plant was first set up by the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WEBREDA) in Sagar Island.And now a number of solar photovoltaic power plants have come up in various islands in the Sunderbans.Residents of Sunderbans, for whom even conventional electricity once remained a pipe dream, now use the electricity from solar power.Dipak Kumar Si, a resident of Baliara village in Mousuni island, whose family was dependent on kerosene lamps earlier, said that life for them has certainly changed after the introduction of solar power in his village."Earlier we used to use kerosene lamps and spent bet...

Sunday, December 06, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Rock on, Anvil. The aging band that never tasted music stardom found a measure of Hollywood fame on Friday when "Anvil, The Story of Anvil" won two film awards, including best documentary, from a key group of moviemakers.The International Documentary Association, a Los Angeles group that promotes and supports nonfiction film, late Friday awarded its top prize to "Anvil" director Sacha Gervasi for his story about the metal band that for more than three decades has tried, and failed, to score one major hit record.The IDA also gave "Anvil" its music documentary award.The movie, which became a cult hit in art house theaters in 2009, harkens back to the Canadian band's origins in the 1970s when its two key members, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, were on the brink of success playing on the same stages with the likes of Bon Jovi and Poison.But Anvil never hit the big-time and the movie catches up with th...