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MUNICH: Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasul said ties were improving with Pakistan and curbing terrorism and militancy is a difficult task. In an interview with foreign news agency, improving ties with neighboring countries is top priority of Afghan government. Terrorism issue could not be resolved without mutual efforts among the countries of the region. "We are in the phase of trust-building, confidence-building between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. He said a secure, peaceful and democratic Afghanistan was no threat to Pakistan. "The Pakistan too was suffering militant violence. "So we have started a deep strategic discussion and we will continue to do it.It is a beginning," Rasul said. Afghanistan will not pay bribes to persuade Taliban footsoldiers to stop fighting, but will help them to reintegrate into Afghan society and find jobs, Zalmay added.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 ANKARA: US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates expressed doubt Saturday that a deal with Iran on sending some of its uranium abroad for enrichment was close. "I don't have the sense we are close to an agreement," Gates told reporters in Ankara following bilateral talks with Turkish leaders.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 BEIJING: Two American-born giant pandas arrived in China by special cargo jet and enjoyed a welcoming ceremony. The 3-year-old female Mei Lan and 4 1/2-year-old male Tai Shan arrived at Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. The two stars were taken out of the cargo jet and onto a special truck after the jet was disinfected. The two pandas looked at their hometown people, who had gathered to welcome, through the windows of the truck with curious eyes. Tai Shan and Mei Lan watched the welcoming ceremony at a distance of some 30 meters, to avoid being disturbed by the loud music and sounds. Experts said the two were in good condition after the 14-hour journey. The pandas will be kept under observation to further guarantee their health. They needed a good rest to overcome the jet lag, experts said. The two cute "goodwill ambassadors" were taken to their new home separately after the welcoming ceremony.

                                                          Saturday, February 06, 2010 PARIS: Legendary US director Martin Scorsese and his favourite actor Leonardo DiCaprio said they took their collaboration to new heights for the gothic thriller "Shutter Island". The Oscar-winning director who made a star of Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", has formed a close bond in the past decade with DiCaprio since "Gangs of New York". After "The Departed", which finally gave Scorsese the Best Director Oscar, "we began to realise there was something more that we could push with each other," Scorsese told a press conference in Paris. With "Shutter Island", their fourth collaboration, they sa...

209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15,174 deaths," the WHO said. According to the latest bulletin from the UN health agency, the Americas have recorded the biggest number of fatalities with at least 7,261 deaths from the A(H1N1) virus, while Europe has recorded at least 3,605 fatalities. At least 3,127 people have died from the virus in the east Asia and west Pacific region, WHO said. But the spread of the virus continued to decline or remain low across most of the world -- from the temperate northern hemisphere to North Africa and Asia -- after having peaked between October and December 2009.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 PORT-AU-PRINCE: PROTESTS over the slow arrival of aid have flared in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. Former US president Bill Clinton pledged to try to get aid flowing here as he was met by angry Haitians protesting the slow arrival of help since last month's quake. Clinton said he was sorry that the aid efforts had been so slow, adding he also wanted to understand why more than three weeks after the January 12 quake supplies were still not getting through to desperate Haitians. Clinton told reporters as he visited a clinic in the ruined capital of Port-au-Prince. But the former president rejected suggestions he had in effect become governor of this small Caribbean nation. Clinton also visited the government's de facto headquarters in a police building in the city, where about 200 people demonstrated outside to protest the lack of shelter. A similar number gathered in front of the US embassy nearby. Participants said they hoped to mee...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft said Friday that Bing will power Internet searches for Facebook's 400 million members in an arrangement that returns control of display advertising to the social-networking service. Bing had previously powered online searches on US Facebook pages. Microsoft will provide Facebook users full access to Bing features as part of an "expanded cooperation in search," according to Bing general manager Jon Tinter. "You will start to see the fruits of our expanded relationship show up in the Facebook experience over the weeks and months ahead," Tinter said in a blog post. The companies mutually agreed that Facebook will take over selling display advertising posted at the website because it "just made more sense" given the unique nature of the website, according to Tinter. Microsoft's control of display advertising served up at Facebook stretched back to shortly before the US software giant boug...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO: Google has gone techno-chic, debuting fashion designs inspired by the Internet giant. An "old-fashioned magnifying glass pendant" priced at 200 dollars was for sale online at google store website along with a 300-dollar knit scarf in the firm's trademark colors and "peace" T-shirts for 85 dollars each. The pieces were the work of emerging designers who last year were asked to come up with "one-of-a-kind" items inspired in some way by Google, whether it be the firm's colors, technology or mission. The designs resulted from an annual fund-raising event by fashion magazine Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). "Last October, we transformed 10 of the finalists' designs into iGoogle Artists themes," Google product marketing manager Michaela Prescott said in a blog post, referring to the iGoogle personalized homepage that users can manipulate or design to their lik...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 CAPE CARNIVAL: Engineers from NASA and General Motors have jointly developed what they tout as “the world’s most dexterous robot” called “Robonaut2” to supplement human activity both in space and in the factory. The robot, called "R2" for short was built to replicate the appearance of a human from the waist up so that it can fit into and work in the same spaces, doing the same jobs as people do, sometimes right alongside them. Robonaut2 is the newer sibling of Robonaut, a robot previously created by NASA and the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to do the same types of tasks that human spacewalkers do. Robotnaut2 replicates a human torso, head, arms, hands and fingers. GM and NASA are examining various “mobility solutions,” such as legs, for the robot, but future iterations may instead have wheels or maybe a single leg.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 FLORIDA: President Barack Obama may have recently cut the funding legs from beneath NASA regarding the Constellation Project and future manned missions to the Moon, but that isn’t likely to stop the cash-strapped U.S. space administration from reaching towards the stars. More pointedly, NASA has this week revealed that its scientists are currently working with experts from engineering giant General Motors (GM) to accelerate the development of Robonaut, a line of robotic astronauts that could serve as Mankind’s explorers of tomorrow. Utilising leading-edge control, sensor and vision technology, NASA is looking to create robots capable of providing direct assistance to human astronauts during hazardous space missions. While, on the flip side of the deal, GM sees the robotic creations as potentially helping it to build safer cars and manufacturing facilities. “This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 NEW DELHI: The death toll in Friday's building collapse in Indian city of Hyderabad rose to 13 as two more bodies were retrieved from the debris while rescue work continued Saturday. Eighteen hours after the four-storeyed under construction building caved in, a person was pulled out alive from the debris and shifted to hospital. The rescue teams were continuing their work to clear the debris as officials fear more people could be trapped under the huge concrete slabs. The accident in the busy Narayanguda area in the city centre has claimed 13 lives, including a two-year-old child and four women. Six people were injured. All the victims were construction labourers from Medak and Mahabubnagar districts. The district collector said the building was being constructed without permission from municipal authorities. "We will take legal action against the builder," he said. Officials said the builder was constructing additional floors on an...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 HAGERSTOWN: The US military's highest court has upheld the convictions of two soldiers for abusing Abu Ghraib prison detainees in Iraq. In opinions released, the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington affirmed the conviction of former Army Spc Sabrina Harman, who helped place a hooded detainee atop a box with wires in his hands. He was told he would be electrocuted if he fell off. Harman also was photographed giving a smiling "thumbs-up" beside a pyramid of naked detainees. The court found no errors by the judge who presided over the court-martial of former Sgt Michael Smith, an Army dog handler. Smith was convicted of offenses that included letting his Belgian shepherd bark and lunge at prisoners for his own amusement.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 WELLINGTON: Five crates of whisky and brandy belonging to polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after being buried for more than 100 years under the Antarctic ice, explorers said. The spirits were excavated from beneath Shackleton's Antarctic hut which was built in 1908. "To our amazement we found five crates, three labelled as containing whisky and two labelled as containing brandy," said Al Fastier of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, who previously believed there were only two crates. "The unexpected find of the brandy crates, one labelled Chas Mackinlay & Co and the other labelled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale are a real bonus." Some of the crates have cracked and ice has formed inside which will make the job of extracting the contents delicate. However, Fastier said the trust was confident the crates contained intact alcohol, given that liquid could be heard when the crates ...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 SYDNEY: One of Australasia's richest literary prizes was scrapped Friday after the resource-rich state of West Australia said it was a waste of money. The 110,000-dollar (95,502 US) Australia-Asia Literary Award (AALA) was launched in 2008 as the biggest prize in the region, with the then-Labor state government saying it gave Asia an award on a par with those of Europe. But Western Australia's current conservative government said while it agreed with the intent of the award, the money would be better spent elsewhere. "Given the economic pressures, the AALA does not represent the most prudent use of funds and is unsustainable," Culture and Arts Minister John Day said. "The State Government is now under a lot more pressure than was the case two years ago and there is simply not the ability to continue that sort of prize in the longer term." Funding will now be transferred to the Western Australian Premier's Book Awar...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 SEOUL: A giant steel float that will be part of a "floating island" in Seoul boasting off-shore entertainment facilities began a snails-paced trip towards the city's Han River Saturday. The football-field-sized structure, resembling the hull of a cargo ship, moved at a barely noticeable speed over rows of giant rubber airbags from a riverside assembly site to the water just 60 metres (198 feet) away. Linked by huge iron chains to giant winches, the buoy weighing 2,000 tonnes was not due to reach the water until Sunday. The three-metre high float, 85 metres long and 49 metres wide, will be part of Viva, one of three artificial islets to be built near the southern end of Banpo Bridge. Along with two other artificial islets, Vista and Tera, to be launched by the end of April, the cluster of man-made floating islets will be used for conventions, water sports, restaurants, performances and exhibitions. The project will be completed and o...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 WASHINGTON: An “extremely dangerous” blizzard expected to dump record amounts of snow swept across much of the eastern United States yesterday, closing down the US capital and threatening to trap millions indoors for days. The National Weather Service (NWS) put the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area under a rare 24-hour blizzard warning starting at 10pm yesterday (0300 GMT Saturday). The storm, dubbed “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon” by many locals, stretched from Indiana to Pennsylvania and into parts of New York and North Carolina, creating treacherous travel conditions, shutting Washington area airports and leading several states to declare emergencies. The storm “will significantly impact most of the region through Saturday,” the NWS said. Forecasters said the Washington region would be hardest-hit, describing overnight yesterday to today's travel conditions in the area as “hazardous and life-threatening.” They issued a blunt warnin...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 KUALA LUMPUR: Two missing US-made fighter jet engines, worth 29 million dollars and stolen from a Malaysian military airbase, have been traced to Uruguay, a report said Saturday. Attorney general Abdul Gani Patail said Kuala Lumpur was informed about the discovery by Montevideo and had made moves to secure the return of the engines. "We have sought the assistance of the relevant authorities in Uruguay to seek confirmation on the location of the engines and their subsequent return," he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper. The Malaysian government is facing a storm of criticism over allegations of official corruption after the theft of the engines. Last month a Malaysian air force sergeant and a businessman were charged over the theft. The accused pair both pleaded not guilty. The two Northrop F-5E jet engines were reportedly sold on the black market to a South American company after being taken from a military airbase, apparently ...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 IQALUIT: G7 finance ministers and central bankers launched talks in northern Canada Friday aimed at keeping a tentative global economic recovery on course as fresh turmoil roiled financial markets. Topping the agenda for talks, which some have said would be "frank," will be growing concerns over eurozone debt as well as the Chinese yuan, accused of being kept deliberately weak to boost exports to the West. The state of the public coffers in Spain and Portugal have been causing growing unease, with investors fearing a scenario similar to that in Greece. Greece has been placed under unprecedented EU surveillance as it attempts austerity measures to slash its massive debt and a 12.7-percent public deficit, while Portugal's deficit hit 9.3 percent last year, its highest since 1974. "Fundamentally, this is an issue for the European Union, but a number of countries represented here are EU countries, so it's a matter of concern that...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 MORELIA: Police found six decapitated bodies alongside their heads in a van in western Mexico, one week after six others were found in the same town, the Michoacan state prosecutor said Friday. The western state is a flashpoint in a wave of violence between vicious drug gangs that has left more than 15,000 dead in the past three years. The six bodies and their heads were found inside an abandoned van in a public square in the town of Apatzingan, state prosecutor Jesus Montejano told journalists here. Warning messages were written on their backs, he added. Gruesome gangland-style killings have spiraled in recent years in parts of Mexico, amid a nationwide crackdown on organized crime involving some 50,000 troops. Gunmen opened fire on a party packed with teenagers last weekend, killing 16 people in a particularly extreme attack in country's most violent, northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 ISLAMABAD: Pakistani skier Mohammad Abbas will take part in the winter Olympics to be held from February 12 in Canada. A ceremony was arranged at the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad in honour of Mohammad Abbas. Canadian high commissioner Randolph Mank, office-bearers of Ski Federation, skier Abbas, politicians and diplomats attended the ceremony in large number. The Canadian high commissioner termed the Winter Olympics an honour for Canada.

Friday, February 05, 2010 DHAKA: Pakistani and Indian squash players will meet in team event while India are still on top of the points table in the South Asian Games. After succeeding in squash singles event, Pakistan have an edge over India in team event also. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s handball team has qualified for the final. Kaleemullah Khan of Pakistan won bronze medal in individual event of 50 meter pistol shooting while the national team secured silver medal in team event. Pakistan’s Ahsan Qamar achieved bronze in badminton singles event India are still leading with 32 gold, 14 silver and nine bronze medals while Pakistan are on second position with six gold, 15 silver and eight bronze medals.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 KARACHI: The combined funeral prayers of 14 people martyred in yesterday’s twin planted bombs on Sharah-e-Faisal have been offered, Geo News reported Saturday. Allama Kausar Abbas Naqvi led the funeral prayers. People in large number gathered at Husaini Mission RCD Ground well ahead the funeral prayers were offered, as Karachi presented a deserted look. Heavy contingents of police and Rangers kept sealed the areas around the funeral ground. The markets and commercial centers yesterday announced to remain closed. The leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also were present on the occasion. All the deceased would be laid to rest at Model Colony cemetery. According to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announcement, the funeral prayers of their workers martyred in bombing at Jinnah Hospital, would be offered after Zuhr prayers at Jinnah Ground. The funeral services for the Christian people who were killed in bombing at Jinnah Hospital, would be o...