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MEHTAR LAM: A suicide car bomber struck a funeral in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, and a police source said senior officials were among the dead and wounded. A spokesman for the governor of Laghman province, where the attack took place, said there were casualties in the blast but he was not able to confirm whether officials were among them. The police source, who declined to be identified, said the deputy head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security Intelligence agency, Abdullah Laghmani, had been killed by the bomb, at a funeral in the provincial capital Mehtar Lam. Laghman governor Lutfullah Mashal was also wounded in the blast, the police source said. A witness in the provincial capital saw a pick-up truck carrying wounded people covered in blood.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 SRINAGAR: Indian troops have killed five militants trying to sneak into Line of Control (LoC), the Indian army claimed Wednesday. "The army has foiled an attempt by militants to infiltrate into held Kashmir from across the Line of Control (LOC)," Indian army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Uma Maheshwar said. "The militants were killed in northern Gurez sector during an operation that started late Tuesday and is still continuing Wednesday," Maheshwar said.The fighting erupted a day after an Indian soldier was killed.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi marked the 40th anniversary of the bloodless coup that brought him to power, with celebrations attended by African, Arab and Latin American leaders. Kadhafi's party kicked off around midnight on Monday at the former US military base of Matega near Tripoli with a two-hour spectacle that paid homage to the leader himself and featured music, illuminations and dance. Guests included Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, African leaders who had earlier attended an African Union summit in Libya, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his Dominican counterpart Leonel Fernandez, Serbian leader Boris Tadic and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo. Later on Tuesday, there was a military parade of detachments from African, Arab and eastern European armed forces, while dozens of aircraft, including French and Italian jets, flew overhead.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 WASHINGTON: Two US astronauts gingerly stepped out of the shuttle Discovery on Tuesday and began the first spacewalk of the mission's nine-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS).Astronaut Nicole Stott emerged from the orbiter's decompression chamber at 2149 GMT some 350 kilometers (255 miles) above the Pacific ocean and was joined in the blackness of space by Mission Specialist Danny Olivas for what is expected to be a walk of 6.5 hours, according to US space agency NASA. With the help of the station's robotic arm and guided by shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow and spacewalk choreographer Pat Forrester, the duo will be removing an old liquid ammonia coolant tank from the ISS truss. A new, 800-kilogram (1,760-pound) replacement will be installed during the second spacewalk. They will also be retrieving experiment equipment from the outside of the ISS, from the European Columbus module, and returning it to Earth for processing.Astronauts

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama praised Islam as an integral part of America, as he feted prominent US Muslims at an Iftar dinner marking the holy fasting month of Ramadan."For well over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection," Mr Obama said, in remarks welcoming his guests in the State Dining Room of the White House. "Tonight's Iftar is a ritual that is being carried out this Ramadan at kitchen tables and mosques in all 50 states," he said."Islam as we know is part of America. Like the broader American citizenry, the American Muslim community is one of extraordinary dynamism and diversity. "On this occasion, we celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and we also celebrate how much Muslims have enriched America and its culture in ways both large and small,'' he said. Among the guests Mr Obama praised was Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a first-year student at the University of Memphis who sc

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 WASHINGTON: Former first daughter and UT alum Jenna Bush Hager will begin contributing a "variety of human interest and feature stories" to NBC's Today. Hager impressed the show's producers in previous appearances, and her résumé includes vaguely journalistic endeavors like Ana's Story, the biography of an HIV-positive teenage mother Hager met during a UNICEF internship, and the pro-literacy children's book, Read All About It, co-authored by her mother. Besides, do you know how hard it is to fill four hours of morning television?Long after the fateful night when Hager was busted for sidling up to the Chuy's bar with a fake I.D., she quietly completed her studies at UT, married fellow politician's kid Henry Hager, and settled in Baltimore, where she currently works as a teacher. "I hope to focus on what I'm passionate about, because I think I'd do the best job on them—education, urban education, women and child

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 LONDON: A new study has said that apple-shaped women with a waist bigger than 88cm are at increased risk of developing asthma - even if they have a normal body weight. It is well-known that being overweight raises the risk of asthma but the new study, by the Northern California Cancer Centre at Berkeley, suggests that the amount of weight women carry around the abdomen might be particularly important.For the study, the researchers analysed data on 88,304 female teachers and school administrators. They found that overweight women were 40 percent more likely to have asthma than women of a normal weight. Asthma was more than twice as likely in obese women, and more than three times as likely in extremely obese women than in those of normal body weight. The researchers also found that women of normal body weight, but with a waist circumference of more than 88cm were also at increased risk - around a third higher than those with a smaller waist. Body mass index (

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 LONDON: An African woman was almost blinded following her desperate operation to obtain blue eyes. Shenise Farrell, an African woman obsessed with her appearance was forced to have a restorative sight surgery after enduring a horrendous cosmetic operation to obtain European coloured eyes.Despite being warned by opticians in the UK not to go ahead with the dangerous vanity procedure, Farrell who read about the £5,000 operation in Central America on the internet - ignored all professional advice on the matter. She was so determined to have the operation that would mask her dark brown eyes by surgical insertion of fake implants that she used her savings and lied to her family.Speaking to tabloid media, Farrell, said; ‘I’ve already had breast implants abroad in Bulgaria and had been very happy with that, so it didn’t faze me that I would have to go to Panama.After spending almost £2,000 on eye tests alongside air flight and accommodation costs, she travelled to

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 MUMBAI: Katrina Kaif is inclined towards spirituality these days. Either because she wants more success or because she has learnt how other Bollywood stars try to show off their spiritual side. The actress is not just learning Hindi to get her dialogues right but is also trying to understand the nuances of Indian astrology, yoga and meditation.She says astrology excites her and is trying to read books related to the subject.Whenever Kat bumps into an expert who is good at palmistry, star gazing or numerology, she doesn’t miss an opportunity to ask what’s in store for her in the future. Kat reportedly has fun this way and finds it fascinating when another person predicts her future.The New York-actress has also got hooked onto gems, yoga after meeting people who have sworn how certain gems have helped them improve their lives.Kat believes the energies that many of these gems contain can change a person’s life for the better. Well, Katrina’s life changed the d

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 NEW YORK: A benefit concert that rapper Jay-Z is planning for Sept. 11 is a step in the direction that his career — and life — is heading in, he said.The 39-year-old is set to release his 11th studio CD, "The Blueprint 3," the same day of the charity concert, which has been billed as "Answer the Call." The performance will be at New York's Madison Square Garden and air live on Fuse TV."The first 'Blueprint' was a return to my roots, like those soul samples my mom and pop listened to, and now on this one we're becoming those guys we looked up to on all those records," he said. "It's my evolution and it's me now in the forefront, not as the performer who looked back ... but me taking the initiative being the one, and being the icon, or being the philanthropist," he said in an interview after a news conference Monday.Jay-Z was joined by his wife, singer Beyonce Knowles; Gov. David Paterson; Fire Co

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 BEIJING: Going green is the only option for Chinese art lover and part-time artist Ma Yihua.Passionate about ancient bronze pieces, the civil servant from Beijing uses old newspapers to recreate the costly classical art, some as old as 2,000 B.C.An art enthusiast from an early age, the self-taught painter and sculptor spends his free-time studying traditional Chinese craftsmanship.More than twenty years ago, an exhibition in Beijing gave him an idea.Ma Yihua said, "I happened to visit the History Museum of China. There was a special exhibit on Chinese bronze. All the pieces dated back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. I thought the bronze pieces' design, carving and colours were beautiful. I thought maybe I can make one myself."But work in bronze came with a high price-tag, so Ma needed a cheaper substitute.Taught by older generations to recycle all unused goods and materials, Ma's grandmother used to make containers out of old newspapers mi

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 PARIS: US and NATO troops have inflicted “vast damage” on the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, seizing strongholds and making a dent in the militia’s drug trade, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Monday.Holbrooke, who has visited the southern Helmand province twice in recent weeks, told France 24 in an interview that a major US offensive launched last month was showing results. “The coalition forces including the British and Americans have done vast damage to the Taliban, disrupted them, captured major caches of opium, heroin and drug paraphernalia,” he said. His comments came as the US and NATO commander in Afghanistan submitted a review calling for a revised strategy to defeat the Taliban and reverse the country’s serious situation.General Stanley McChrystal’s review, compiled since he took up command in mid-June, had been widely anticipated under US President Barack Obama’s strategy putting Afghanistan at the heart of his foreign policy. Holbrook

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 NEW YORK: Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova advanced to the second round of the US Open by defeating Bulgaria's 98th-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3 6-0 in 73 minutes.Sharapova, the 2006 US Open winner, is coming back after a right shoulder injury that kept her from playing in last year's US Open. The 29th-seeded Russian will next face US wild card Christina McHale, who ousted Slovenia's Polona Hercog 6-3 6-1. Top-ranked Dinara Safina avoided becoming the first top-seeded woman ever to lose her opening match at the U.S. Open, rallying to defeat Olivia Rogowska of Australia in three sets.Safina committed 11 double faults and 48 unforced errors against the 18-year-old Rogowska, a wild-card entry who's ranked 167th in the world.A major upset looked to be in the offing as Rogowska took a 4-2 lead in the deciding set. But Safina reeled off four straight games to win 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in just over two and a half hours and remain in the running for