Monday, December 20, 2010
Protesters try to storm Belarus government building
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Online US News: Shia clerics warn govt against tampering with blas...
Online US News: Shia clerics warn govt against tampering with blas...: " Others take Karbala as inspiration for courage and bravery. KARACHI: Shia clerics chose the Muharram 9 sermons as an opportunity to c..."
Shia clerics warn govt against tampering with blasphemy laws
KARACHI: Shia clerics chose the Muharram 9 sermons as an opportunity to comment on the blasphemy law, which they warned the government should not tamper with.
“Muslims in Pakistan will not accept any amendments to the blasphemy law,” said Maulana Shahanshah Hussain at one point. He condemned the attacks on mourners in Hangu and Orakzai and said that they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the supremacy of Islam and mourning of Imam Hussain (RA).
Earlier on, the mourners in the central congregation offered Zuhr prayers on MA Jinnah Road. They were led by Maulana Ahmed Iqbal Rizvi. After the prayers, the mourners staged a demonstration against what they said was the increasing interference of the United States government in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
Other Shia clerics who addressed mourners commented on the sacrifices of Imam Hussain (RA) to preach courage and bravery for Muslims. They believed that Karbala took Islamic Shariah to new heights. Scholar Maulana Syed Shahanshah Hussain also said that Karbala had become a source of guidance for all independence movements.
He believed that the sacrifices offered by Imam Hussain (RA) teach people how to tackle oppression, suppression and brutality
Barack Obama suffers latest blow as part of health care law deemed unconstitutional
The judge, a Republican appointed by previous President George W Bush, supported the argument that the law's requirement Americans must buy health insurance or face a fine exceeded the federal government's power under the constitution. Health care insurance is currently optional.
The Justice Department has argued that the mandate is a proper exercise of the government's authority.
The case was brought by Ken Cucinelli, the Attorney General of Virginia, in defence of a law passed in his state banning the requirement.
White House officials had expected to lose the ruling, but professed to be nonplussed because the mandate does not come into force until 2014.
China-India row over Kashmir escalates, raising fears of military tensions
Indian officials had hoped Mr Wen's visit would help reduce the trade imbalance between the Asian rivals and soften Beijing's increasing assertiveness over disputed territories along their frontiers in Kashmir and Tawang district in India's eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
China has angered the Indian government by insisting that all visitors from Kashmir have their visa stamped on a separate sheet – indicating it does not recognise Indian sovereignty – and launching strong attacks on the Dalai Lama and Manmohan Singh, Indian prime minister, for visiting Arunachal Pradesh during last year's election campaign.
Beijing's aggressive approach has been marked by a number of minor incursions by Chinese troops across the MacMahon Line, the imprecise border mapped by British officials during the colonial era
India recently announced that it was planning to deploy an additional 35,000 troops, where both sides have already stationed some 300,000 soldiers each. Both India and China are also building new roads and military airfields along the border.
Friday, December 17, 2010
PCB body grills Malik, Kamran over fixing row
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Integrity Committee has handed over three questions — concerning fixing controversy — to Shoaib Malik and two to Kamran Akmal seeking satisfactory responses from both, as a precondition for their return to the national fold, well-informed sources told Dawn on Thursday.
The Integrity Committee, headed by PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, held a six-hour session here on Wednesday, during which Malik, Kamran and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria were questioned mainly about suspicions over match-fixing.
As Kaneria is not a regular player in limited-overs cricket, the Committee is focusing primarily on Kamran and Malik, while the selectors are wait for the outcome of the duo’s case in order to finalise the 30-probables list for the World Cup.
The Mohsin Khan-headed selection committee also wants to know about the availability of the said players to pick the ODI squad for the six-match series against New Zealand.
Hopefully, Kamran and Malik will hand over their replies to the Integrity Committee by Monday, after which it is expected that the Committee will hold a meeting to reach a conclusion.
Sources said Kamran also produced a clearance certificate — issued by the ICC in his favour — to the Integrity Committee. Still, sources added, Kamran had some questions to answers.
Moreover, the PCB also rejected the request of Kamran to release his arrears of the last series, which he had played.
“First, try to clear yourself for selection,” was PCB’s reply to Kamran, sources said.
Though the last date to submit the World Cup probables’ list to the ICC is Dec 19, the PCB has sought an extension from the game’s world governing body until next week.
The PCB did not consider Kamran, Malik and Kaneria for the last series against South Africa and now for the upcoming Twenty20 and Test series in New Zealand.
However, officially the PCB had not yet announced any exact reason for which the three cricketers have been kept at bay.
Last week, the three players met the PCB officials and asked about the reasons for being sidelined. And for that purpose the Integrity Committee met in Lahore on Wednesday and gave them the charge-sheets.
Interestingly, the ICC — which earlier had asked the PCB for a list of 40 probables for the World Cup, from which the PCB had to announce 30 afterwards — could not take any decision over Kamran and Malik.
And the world body then asked the Pakistan board to include any player after ensuring no selected cricketer was involved in any wrongdoing.
Muharram processions underway across Pakistan
KARACHI: The 9th Muharram mourning processions were being taken out across the country on Thursday to commemorate the sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions.
In Karachi, the main procession began from the city’s Nishtar Park, which would, after passing though its routes, culminate at the Imambargah Husainian Iranian, Kharadar. Strict security measures had been adopted by law enforcement agencies for the occasion.
In Lahore, thousands of mourners took out Zuljinah processions from Imambargah Attiya-i-Panjten in Model Town and Pandu Street in Islampura.
Separately, in Islamabad, the mourners’ procession started from the Imambargah in G-6.
In view of the security situation, extra police and Rangers contingents have been deployed across the country. Security arrangements were also finalised in others major cities for Muharram processions.
Trade disparity to be taken up with Chinese premier
The Chinese do not eat basmati rice, Pakistan’s main farm export, nor are they interested in importing textiles and garments which were produced in much better quality in their country, an official said.
Even surgical instruments, sports and leather goods could not penetrate the Chinese market because of local production, making the free trade agreement irrelevant from Pakistan’s point of view.
According to another official, only four per cent annual growth was recorded in exports to China under the agreement to about $1 billion in 2009-10, while the imports grew by an average 12 per cent to $4.41 billion.
The official said the factors that might have hampered the exports included lack of China-specific trade specialists, lack of preparation and guidance of the business community to explore market under the free trade agreement, language issues and lack of knowledge to exploit the segmentation in Chinese market from low to high value-added products.
Some elements in the Federal Board of Revenue go so far as to question the logic of having free trade with China which has not increased exports and cost the country a large amount of revenue as a result of massive cuts in duties on Chinese goods.
They said Pakistan’s main competitor in the international market, India, was constantly opposing free trade deal offers from China fearing that Beijing might only want to dump cheap manufactured goods on its booming economy.
An official in the Board of Investment (BOI) said China was more into an investment-based economic relationship with Pakistan instead of linking trade with investment.
Consequently, the total investment by China in Pakistan was much higher at $2.205 billion — 3.6 per cent of the foreign direct investment in the country in 2009-10.
Pakistan is the largest recipient of Chinese investment in South Asia with the figure amounting to $19.042 billion during 2004-09.
China invested only $221 million in India in 2009 with a trade imbalance over $9 billion in Beijing’s favour, showing a low interest in buying Indian assets.
The commerce ministry said a project to set up special economic zones (SEZs) for Chinese investors to establish industries to exports goods had been put on the backburner.
The SEZs are in Pakistan’s interest, as among other things they may reduce the trade deficit.
On the sidelines of the visit, a summit of Pakistan-China business cooperation would be convened on Friday, a BOI official said. Almost 260 Chinese delegates and 150 representatives of different sectors in Pakistan will participate.
As many as 23 memorandums of understandings are expected to be signed at the event to be attended by the prime ministers of the two countries.
Priority sectors for business-to-business investment from China have been identified in oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, power (including coal, hydroelectric and gas-based), information technology and telecommunication, chemicals (including urea fertiliser), glass and polymers, value-added textile manufacturing, engineering goods, textile machinery, assembly of automobiles, electronics, automotives, agricultural implements, agriculture and agro-based industry, pesticides, cool chains, food and fruit processing and packaging, livestock and dairy farming.
At least 83 Chinese companies are working in Pakistan in the oil and gas, IT and telecom, power generation, engineering, automobiles, infrastructure and mining sectors.
They include the ZTE, China Mobile, Huawei Technologies, BGP (Pakistan) International, Metallurgical Construction Corporation of China (MCC), China Harbour Engineering, China Petroleum, Dong Feng and Haier.
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California, Nov 30: The internet giant Google Inc has launched the updated version of Google Earth with 3D experience.
The new Google Earth 6 has integrated Street View experience and 3D trees. The new version offers the Street View experience which allows the users to zoom in and see 360-degree.
In the new version, Google has docked Pegman, the orange icon used to navigate Street View, with the navigation controls. Now users can move seamlessly from one location to another.
"And unlike our earlier Street View layer, you can now move seamlessly from one location to another as if you're walking down the street by using the scroll-wheel on your mouse or the arrow keys on your keyboard," Google said in a blog post.
Google Earth 6 offers better Street View, 3D trees
Jane Austen gets Google doodle tribute
Google's home page is festooned today with a doodle to celebrate the 235th birthday of novelist Jane Austen. A Regency couple – most likely the novelist's most celebrated characters, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice – are pictured taking a stroll through the English countryside, eyeing each other rather coyly, in the illustration on the search engine's site.
Google makes a habit of marking literary anniversaries, among others, and has already featured Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th (13 November) and Agatha Christie's 120th (15 September) this autumn.
Austen is another writer who hardly needs further publicity, with novels – including Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park – that remain widely read, and so frequently adapted on film and TV that they have almost become a costume drama cliché.
Often represented as a "romantic" writer, Austen's books in fact contain much comic but biting social satire, and reflections on the chances and choices of women whose options in life are severely limited. Accusations by Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland earlier this autumn that her famously crisp prose style owed as much to her editor William Gifford as to her own talents have been rebuffed by other Janeites, leaving her reputation as the queen of elegant prose unsullied.
The author herself was born in 1775, one of eight children born to a clergyman, growing up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager and, despite attachments, never married, living instead with her mother and sister Cassandra.
Austen's first book, Sense and Sensibility, about two sisters with contrasting temperaments, appeared in 1811. It was published anonymously, with Austen's brother Henry helping her negotiate with the publisher.
Then followed Pride and Prejudice, a tale of two warring lovers with an opening line - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" - which has since become Austen's best known quotation. Pride and Prejudice was very favourably reviewed and described by the author as her "own darling child." It remains Austen's most widely-read work, regularly chosen as readers' all-time favourite, with the haughty lover Mr Darcy, who is humbled by high-spirited Elizabeth Bennet, popularly characterised as the epitome of the desirable romantic hero.
Mansfield Park followed in 1814, with Emma – the tale of wilful Emma Woodhouse, who meddles in other people's love lives but remains woefully ignorant of her own heart – published in 1816. Austen died in 1817, with her two remaining finished novels – Northanger Abbey, a satire on gothic romances, and Persuasion, a sombre tale of lost youth and missed chances – both published posthumously.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Jane Austen gets Google doodle tribute
Google's home page is festooned today with a doodle to celebrate the 235th birthday of novelist Jane Austen. A Regency couple – most likely the novelist's most celebrated characters, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice – are pictured taking a stroll through the English countryside, eyeing each other rather coyly, in the illustration on the search engine's site.
Google makes a habit of marking literary anniversaries, among others, and has already featured Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th (13 November) and Agatha Christie's 120th (15 September) this autumn.
Austen is another writer who hardly needs further publicity, with novels – including Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park – that remain widely read, and so frequently adapted on film and TV that they have almost become a costume drama cliché.
Often represented as a "romantic" writer, Austen's books in fact contain much comic but biting social satire, and reflections on the chances and choices of women whose options in life are severely limited. Accusations by Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland earlier this autumn that her famously crisp prose style owed as much to her editor William Gifford as to her own talents have been rebuffed by other Janeites, leaving her reputation as the queen of elegant prose unsullied.
The author herself was born in 1775, one of eight children born to a clergyman, growing up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager and, despite attachments, never married, living instead with her mother and sister Cassandra.
Austen's first book, Sense and Sensibility, about two sisters with contrasting temperaments, appeared in 1811. It was published anonymously, with Austen's brother Henry helping her negotiate with the publisher.
Then followed Pride and Prejudice, a tale of two warring lovers with an opening line - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" - which has since become Austen's best known quotation. Pride and Prejudice was very favourably reviewed and described by the author as her "own darling child." It remains Austen's most widely-read work, regularly chosen as readers' all-time favourite, with the haughty lover Mr Darcy, who is humbled by high-spirited Elizabeth Bennet, popularly
Google Body Browser Gives Detailed Look at Your Inner Workings
It seems as though Google invades nearly every aspect of our online/tech life. With a variety of products like Search, Gmail, Chrome, Google Checkout, Google Voice, Google Maps, and Android OS, it's hard not to be sucked into the Google ecosystem.Now it looks like Google wants to actually invade the human body. The company just took the wraps off a new tool which uses WebGL called the Google Body Browser. The new utility allows you to view the human body in intricate detail right down to the muscular tissue, skeletal structure, nervous system, and even major organs.
The Google Body Browser starts off as a fully clothed person which can then be "zoomed in" to get a rotatable, 3D look at just about any area of the human body. In keeping with Google's roots, you can even search for specific bones and arteries and see them pointed out on the 3D model.
Since the Google Body Browser is based on WebGL, there is no need for plugins such as Flash or Java. Instead, you only need a supported browser to enable the demo -- in this case, that happens to be the Dev release of Chrome 9, or the latest Firefox 4 beta.
Chrome 8 (stable build) users can also get in on the action by typing in "about:flags" in the address bar and then enabling WebGL.
You can see YouTube demonstrations of the Google Body Browser here and here (if you don't have a supported browser). If your browser supports WebGL, you can try it out for yourself here.
9th Muharram processions being taken out
9th Muharram processions being taken out The 9th Muharram mourning processions are being held across the country amid foolproof security, Aaj TVreported on Thursday.
To remember the sacrifices of martyrs of Karbala, mourning processions would be held in almost all the cities of the country. In Karachi, the main procession would begin from Nishtar part chowrangi, and after passing though its routes, would terminate at Hussnainia Irania Imambargha, Kharadar.
Strict security measures have been adopted by the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to meet any untoward incident. Extra police and Rangers contingents have been deployed across the country in this regard.
Security arrangements have also been finalized in others major cities for Muharram including Quetta. Police, Balochistan Constabulary and FC besides a brigade of Army would be deployed in the city on the occasion of mourning processions.
LEAs have sealed off all the procession routes in Quetta, Lahore and others major cities.-MONITORING DESK
Crackdown: ‘ASF, customs men abet in gold smuggling’
LAHORE: Director FIA Punjab, Zafar Ahmad Qureshi has said that smuggling of gold worth billions of rupees to other countries was shattering the foundations of the economy. He said this was occurring with the connivance of Airport Security Force, Customs and airlines officials deputed at international airports.
He said that he has constituted a team of investigators to look into the smuggling of about 230 kilogrammes of gold to various countries which surfaced during investigations of a case registered in the past wherein 28.361 kilogram of gold was seized by the FIA from the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore.
He said that FIA will take stern action against swindlers involved in committing fraud through short messaging service (SMS), against white collar crimes and against government employees involved in corruption. He said that vigilance has been ensured at all airports as well as check posts across Punjab to stop gold smuggling.
He was of the view that majority of the people making hue and cry over street crimes do not know that the real loss caused to the national exchequer was due to white-collar crimes in the country.
He ruled out the impression that Ayaz Niazi was being tortured and said that he was being interrogated under law and no ‘third-degree’ method was being applied during investigations. “If I am awake at night to investigate, then the accused will have to wake up to reply to my questions,” he maintained. Qureshi said that 11 accused of NICL have been arrested and mind-boggling disclosures are expected during the investigation of Niazi.
The FIA has busted two gangs involved in human trafficking; later torturing and seeking ransom from their family members, he added
Cables reveal how Musharraf was eased out
KARACHI: A series of political and strategic blunders by former president Gen Pervez Musharraf had given the cause and justification to both Asif Ali Zardari and new army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to work separately for his “honourable exit”, a couple of freshly released WikiLeaks cables reveal.
In two separate cables written by the-then US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne W. Patterson, details have been given about how the new army chief, General Kayani, and leader of the majority party in the new National Assembly, Asif Zardari, had systematically started to distance themselves from President Musharraf.
In a “brief” and “talking points” prepared for Admiral Mike Mullen during his early 2008 visit to Pakistan, ambassador Patterson states: “As expected, (Gen) Kayani is taking slow but deliberate steps to distance the Army from now civilian President Musharraf”.
She then goes on to say that Kayani has announced that army “generals would need his permission to meet the President”, which was a move apparently aimed at denying the beleaguered former military ruler from lobbying for his further extension as head of state.
In a separate cable about a meeting of US Representatives, Adam Schiff and Allyson Schwartz, with Mr Zardari in May 2008, the American ambassador has given details of how the PPP co-chairman (who later became president) advocated for an “honourable exit” of President Musharraf.
According to the cable, “Zardari blamed President Musharraf for not taking enough responsibility for the ‘war on terrorism’ in Pakistan”, which resulted in a marked increase in anti-American sentiments in the country.
“Anti-U.S. feeling will go away when the old faces go away,” the cable said, adding that the American government should no longer rely on just Musharraf in fighting terrorism.
In her own assessment of Mr Musharraf’s public standing, ambassador Patterson wrote in the 2008 cable that a year ago his popularity was high. However, “beginning with his decision to fire the chief justice in March 2007, Musharraf has made repeated blunders culminating in a state of emergency and temporary suspension of the constitution”.
Eid Mubarak: Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha
Muslims observe Eid al-Adha at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi, India. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha with the sacrificial slaughtering of sheep, goats, cows and camels to mark Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. Picture: REUTERS
British FO investigates death of 2 Britons in drone strike
Drone strikes have become a frequent occurrence in Pakistan's tribal regions. PHOTO: FILE/AFP
LONDON: The British Foreign Office is investigating reports that two British al Qaeda members were killed in a drone strike carried out near the Datta Khel region five days ago.The men, aged 48 and 25 are known only by their pseudonyms Abu Bakr and Mansoor Ahmed. They were killed when a Hellfire missile struck the vehicle they were riding near the town of Datta Khel. Two other men also died in the attack.
The ongoing US drone campaign has stepped up the number of attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern regions.
According to an earlier report in The Express Tribune, data gathered primarily from local and international news sources reveals that the number of attacks from 2008 to 2009 increased by approximately 50 per cent and from 2009 to 2010 they have more than doubled in number.
Earlier, a Briton, Abdul Jabbar, reported to be linked to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was killed in a drone strike in Miranshah, North Waziristan. Another drone strike in October had killed eight German al Qaeda men who had allegedly been training in Pakistan’s tribal regions.
Pakistan encouraging Hamid Karzai in coalition with militants
By Dean Nelson, Praveen Swami and Ben Farmer in Kabul 6:00AM GMT 13 Dec 2010
General Ashfaq Kiyani, Pakistan's army chief, has launched a diplomatic offensive to persuade the United States, Britain and President Karzai to back the deal which would offer government posts to Taliban leaders prepared to renounce al-Qaeda.
It amounts to a direct challenge to Nato's current strategy to intensify the war against the Taliban-led insurgency in the hope of persuading its "reconcilable elements" to negotiate a peace.
Under General Kiyani's plan however, the insurgency's most feared faction, the "Haqqani Network" could play a role in a new 'broad-based government'.
Washington's frustration over Pakistan's refusal to confront the followers of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a vetran warlord, was revealed by WikiLeaks which published a cable earlier this month in which the US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Paterson said "no amount of money" could persuade Pakistan to abandon the group, which it regards as an ally against Indian influence in Afghanistan.
Gen Kiyani and his intelligence chief have met President Karzai twice in recent months and he is understood to be considering their proposal
Diversion of floodwaters: SC forms commission to probe dyke breaches
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court constituted a four-member commission on Wednesday to investigate the issue of breaching of dykes and unauthorised diversion of floodwaters during the recent floods that caused immense devastation in Balochistan.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry announced the names of the members of the commission while hearing a petition of Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) MNA Marvi Memon, who moved the court against dyke breaches , which she had said had diverted water to Balochistan.
The commission will comprise of AK Lodhi from Sindh, Khawaja Zaheerud Din from Punjab, Azam Khan from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fateh Muhammad from Balochistan. Meanwhile, additional registrar Supreme Court Qazi Sajid would be the co-coordinator of the commission.
The commission would assess the damages as well as the reasons due to which dykes were breached during the floods and submit its report within a month. It will also prepare suggestions regarding compensation to the people who suffered due to the diversion of floodwaters.
The court has directed all four provincial chief secretaries and other concerned officials to co-operate with the commission during their investigations and provide them all required information and record. The commission would also determine whether the safety measures taken by the administration during the floods were sufficient and if the affected people have been compensated.
During the proceedings, Marvi Memon informed the court that people in some districts of Sindh, like Jafarabad, have not yet been compensated.
The chief justice assured her that the commission will cover all aspects of this issue and will soon deliver its report, before adjourning the hearing.
On the last hearing of the case, Advocate General Sindh Yousaf Laghari expressed his reservations before the court on the name of former Chairman Wapda Shamsul Mulk in the proposed commission.
The court however observed that it has the authority to appoint anyone in the commission and is not bound to accept anyone’s objections. Nevertheless, the court omitted Shamsul Mulk from the commission.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 25
While it was generally thought to be an accident, some believed it could be arson.
Interior Minister Shahara Khatun said after visiting the site that her ministry would investigate whether it was related to recent violent protests at textile factories over wages.
Monir Hossain, a local journalist at the scene, told The Associated Press the blaze broke out on the two upper floors during lunch break. A gate on a stairwell was locked, trapping people inside the factory, which mainly produces T-shirts for international brands, he quoted witnesses as saying.
Another journalist, Rafiqul Islam, said he saw at least 25 bodies being loaded onto ambulances.
Diganta television reported at least 26 people died and more than 100 were injured. ATN News said rescuers recovered at least 24 bodies.
Islam said about 13,000 people work at the factory each day, though most were outside buying lunch when the fire started.
Officials predicted the death toll would rise, he said.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/14/bangladesh-factory-fire.html#ixzz18DnhVB4p
Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 25
While it was generally thought to be an accident, some believed it could be arson.
Interior Minister Shahara Khatun said after visiting the site that her ministry would investigate whether it was related to recent violent protests at textile factories over wages.
Monir Hossain, a local journalist at the scene, told The Associated Press the blaze broke out on the two upper floors during lunch break. A gate on a stairwell was locked, trapping people inside the factory, which mainly produces T-shirts for international brands, he quoted witnesses as saying.
Another journalist, Rafiqul Islam, said he saw at least 25 bodies being loaded onto ambulances.
Diganta television reported at least 26 people died and more than 100 were injured. ATN News said rescuers recovered at least 24 bodies.
Islam said about 13,000 people work at the factory each day, though most were outside buying lunch when the fire started.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/14/bangladesh-factory-fire.html#ixzz18DjKbkr1
Megyn Kelly
Throughout her tenure with FNC, Kelly has covered breaking news and has reported live from numerous major events. During the 2008 election season, she covered the Democratic National Convention live from Denver and the Republican National Convention live from St. Paul. She was also part of FNC's "America's Election Headquarters" team that provided political coverage on primary nights and election night.
She also reported live from Blacksburg, Virginia after the 2007 Virginia Tech campus massacre and from Huntington, Utah as rescue efforts were underway for six trapped miners. Kelly notably covered the Duke University rape case involving three of the school's lacrosse players. Reporting from Durham, North Carolina, she broke new details that would ultimately help exonerate the defendants.
Kelly joined FNC in 2004. Prior to her anchor role, she served as a general assignment reporter based in Washington, where she provided wall-to-wall coverage of the confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John Roberts. She also reported on the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, as well as the indictments of Scooter Libby and Tom Delay.
Before joining FNC, Kelly served as a general assignment reporter for ABC News affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington. During her tenure at WJLA, Kelly covered national and local stories of interest, including the 2004 presidential race and the D.C. sniper cases. Previously, Kelly practiced law as a corporate litigator.
Kelly earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Syracuse University and a J.D. from Albany Law School, where she also served as editor of the Albany Law Review.
Air Force Blocks Access to News Sites
The Air Force started blocking the sites in August to avoid having "classified incidents on our unclassified systems," Maj. Toni Tones, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Space Command, told FoxNews.com.
Other sites that have been blocked include Germany's Der Spiegel, France's Le Monde, Britain's Guardian and Spain's El Pais, Tones said.
FoxNews.com is not one of the blocked sites, she said.
“It is unfortunate that the U.S. Air Force has chosen not to allow its personnel access to information that virtually everyone else in the world can access,” a spokeswoman for the New York Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, said.
The Air Force uses two different systems: a secure site on which classified information can be used and an unclassified site for day-to-day operations, Tones said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/14/air-force-blocks-access-news-sites-posted-wikileaks-documents/#ixzz18Ddg5ts5
HTC Magic conjures up Froyo update
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What do you mean you don't remember the HTC Magic?
Sure you do, it was the Android phone marked as the G2 that arrived in the UK via Vodafone back in May 2009.
Okay, so it may have only boasted a 528MHz CPU with 288MB of RAM, which seems fairly tame by today's Android standards but it was a decent little device, that scored pretty highly in our Pocket-lint review.
And now, Vodafone is bringing HTC Magic customers slap bang into the new decade with a Froyo (Android 2.2.) update for the device - it originally shipped with Donut (Android 1.6).
A statement on the Vodafone forums said:
"Android 2.2.1 will give customers a number of improvements including: latest Gmail and Android Market clients; ability to save applications directly onto an SD card; support for USB tethering so the phone can be used as a modem; improved support for Active Sync Exchange (email, contacts and calendar sync); enhancements to Bluetooth; and enhancements to the camera. The update also includes the latest Google security patches".
All good, we're sure you'll agree.
If you're on Vodafone with the HTC Magic then you should receive a notification to update your phone's software. It's a big update, so use your Wi-Fi to download it so as not to eat into your 3G data allowance.
Read more: HTC Magic conjures up Froyo update - Pocket-lint http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/37281/htc-magic-conjures-up-froyo#ixzz18DbiFbe5
US arrests Afghan for Facebook threats
WASHINGTON: US federal authorities have arrested an Afghan man for threatening to blow up Washington’s subway system on Facebook, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Awais Younis, also known as Sundullah “Sunny” Ghilzai and Mohannme Khan, allegedly described how to build a pipe bomb that could maximise casualties on the Washington Metrorail, according to a December 6 criminal affidavit.
During a chat last month Younis said the third and fifth cars on the Metro had the highest number of commuters on them and that he could place bombs there without being noticed, according to the affidavit.
“Complainant responded by saying ‘You wouldn’t do that,’ and (Younis) responded by saying ‘Watch me,’” the affidavit says, without providing further details on who turned Younis in.
Younis had also allegedly posted pictures from Afghanistan on Facebook in which he holds an AK-47 assault rifle and his uncle stands in front of a tent filled with explosives, with a caption reading “My family business.” He had also recently posted a message saying: “Christmas trees were going to go boom.”
Younis threatens the complainant in a chat included in the affidavit. “You are sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong into something bigger then you and I,” he said. “That is the problem with Americans they can’t leave well enough alone until something happens then they sit there wondering why we dropped the twin towers like a bad habit hahaha.” He goes on to warn the complainant to tell his father not to take the Metro to work.
Younis, who will appear in court on December 21, has been charged with “communicating threats using interstate communications” but not terrorism, the Justice Department said in a statement.
“The public should be reassured that his activities prior to his arrest were carefully monitored and that there is no threat against Metrorail or the general public in the Washington, DC area,” spokesman Dean Boyd said.
An FBI spokeswoman said Younis was in his early 20s. News of the arrest comes less than a week after FBI agents used Facebook to nab a young Muslim-American who believed he was about to set off a car bomb at a US military recruitment office north of Washington.
In October a Pakistani-American man was arrested for plotting a series of bomb attacks on Washington’s subway system with people he believed were tied to al Qaeda Farooque Ahmed, 34, had been allegedly observing, videotaping and photographing Metro stations in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, including near the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
No squad despite hours of deliberation
LAHORE: The Pakistan selection committee, after hours of deliberation at the Gadaffi Stadium yesterday, decided against naming the One-Day International (ODI) squad for the tour of New Zealand as well as the preliminary squad for next year’s World Cup which is due to start in February.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) meeting included members of the Integrity Committee and according to officials, the failure to get clearance for Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik from the International Cricket Council (ICC) forced the delay.
While the board had not set yesterday as the announcement day but the two squads were widely expected to be named.
According to details received by The Express Tribune, the PCB is ensuring all the necessary measures to include the duo in the squad, ICC clearance permitting.
The PCB, according to officials, has been advised by the ICC against picking the duo as well as leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in the 30-man preliminary squad. All three players appeared before the committee headed by the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt pleading their case following a strong performance in the Quaid Trophy this season. Akmal and Malik were overlooked for the series against South Africa in the UAE while Kaneria was stopped from joining the squad for the Test series without any reason a day before his departure.
Chinese PM seeks to shore up 'fragile' ties with India
Hundreds of Tibetan exiles protesting Chinese rule over their homeland marched through the streets of New Delhi ahead of Wen’s visit, his first to India in five years.
Wen and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh have both stated that the world is “large enough” to accommodate the growth and ambition of the two Asian giants, but ties are dogged by a history of mutual suspicion and mistrust.
Growing competition for global markets and the raw materials needed to keep their fast-growing economies on the move has exacerbated tensions over border disputes, trade and the activities in India of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. China’s ambassador to India, Zhang Yan, warned ahead of Wen’s two-day visit that relations between China and India were “fragile… easy to (damage) and difficult to repair.”
Wen, the latest world leader to beat a path to India’s door, will be accompanied by about 400 Chinese business leaders, outnumbering the recent delegations headed by US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Annual bilateral trade currently totals close to $60 billion, with India pushing hard for greater access to Chinese markets to redress a yawning trade surplus in China’s favour estimated at between 18-25 billion dollars.
Talks between Wen and Singh on Thursday are certain to touch on the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border – the cause of a brief but bloody war in 1962 and the focus of 14 rounds of largely fruitless negotiations.
Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke dies
Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan and a key figure in the 1995 peace agreement that ended three years of war in Bosnia, died on Monday from a heart ailment.
Holbrooke, 69, died after undergoing surgery for a torn aorta at a Washington hospital. He fell ill on Friday while working at the State Department on the building’s seventh floor where US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has her office.
His death comes at a critical time for US policy, with the US administration due to conduct a review of its troop surge in Afghanistan and campaign against the Taliban on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Obama called him “a towering figure in American foreign policy, a critical member of my Afghanistan and Pakistan team, and a tireless public servant who has won the admiration of the American people and people around the world.”
Just before Holbrooke’s death, Obama had told members of his family at a State Department holiday reception just hours earlier: “America is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.”
A hard-nosed trouble shooter, Holbrooke is perhaps best known for brokering the 1995 peace agreement that ended three years of war in Bosnia.
Dubbed “the bulldozer” for his impatient, hard-charging style, Holbrooke alternately browbeat and cajoled the nationalist leaders of former Yugoslavia until he succeeded in forging a peace deal in November 1995 in Dayton, Ohio, following a round of Nato air strikes against Serb forces.
The Dayton agreement, despite criticism, has held the shaky Bosnian state together despite persistent tensions among rival communities. After the signing of the peace agreement, Holbrooke recounted the roller-coaster negotiations in a well-received book, “To End a War,” in which he argued the case for a robust US foreign policy that includes a readiness for military action to prevent possible genocide.
Holbrooke was quoted by the BBC as saying he had no qualms about negotiating with “people who do immoral things.”
“If you can prevent the deaths of people still alive, you’re not doing a disservice to those already killed by trying to do so,” he said. “And so I make no apologies for negotiating with Milosevic and even worse people, provided one doesn’t lose one’s point of view.”
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times, he was once called “Washington’s favorite last-ditch diplomat” by Time magazine.
Known for his tenacity, intelligence and charm, Holbrooke held some of the most important jobs in US diplomacy, including assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and European and Canadian affairs.
Some analysts believe Holbrooke achieved at best mixed results on US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan and that his influence had waned.
He had a strained relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who held on to power in elections last year that were marred by widespread reports of fraud. “We are saddened by his death, it is a big loss. He had done great services for Afghanistan,” said Siyamak Herawi, a spokesperson for Karzai.
Born in April 24, 1941 in New York, Holbrooke began his diplomatic career at the age of 21 in Vietnam, and rose quickly to key posts in president Lyndon B Johnson’s administration during the trauma of the Vietnam war.
Holbrooke, who has two sons, married in 1994 his third wife, Kati Marton, a writer and former journalist.]
Ashura arrested
19 girls fit into one car in attempts to set world record. 19 girls fit into one car in attempts to set world record. The aspiring students said that all formalities for setting the record have been completed. The previous record was set up by participants in Australia. Previously the record stood at 18 girls fitting into a smart car. The feat was witnessed by prominent personalities including speaker of Sindh Assembly Nisar Khoro and former cricketers Wasim Akram and Saleem Yousuf.
KARACHI: Nineteen young girls in Karachi managed to fit into a two-door smart car in hopes of having their names put in the Guinness Book of World Records.
During a gathering at the Creek Cub in Karachi the 19 female students squeezed into the car to break a previous record of 18 girls fitting into such a vehicle, which was achieved by participants in Australia.
The aspiring students said that all formalities for setting the record have been completed.
The feat was witnessed by prominent personalities including speaker of Sindh Assembly Nisar Khoro and former cricketers Wasim Akram and Saleem Yousuf.
Three men planning attack on Ashura arrested
KARACHI: Police in Karachi on Wednesday foiled a terror plot planned for the ninth and tenth of Muharram when they arrested three suspected members of the banned outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
Police later reported the arrests of two more suspected suicide bombers who were planning an attack on a Muharram procession. The two arrests were made from Orangi Town.
Earlier, while addressing the media in Karachi, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umar said a suspect, Imamuddin alias Muawia, was arrested from the Ayub Goth area of the city.
The SSP informed that explosive material including suicide bomb jackets, pistols, Kalashnikovs, hand grenades and bullets were also seized in the operation.
Umar said the arrested man had been trained in Afghanistan as a specialist in placing bombs in vehicles and was involved in the Sheraton hotel blast of 2002.
Lahore lacking security arrangement
Administrators of Ashura are not satisfied with the security arrangements in Lahore where 4,000 processions are expected.
The interior ministry has put all law enforcement agencies on high alert and declared more than 180 places in the Lahore as sensitive.
Although over 12,000 policemen are to be deployed to provide security to participants of the processions, local administrators of the processions say no security measures have been implemented so far.
They say no walkthrough gates have been installed or any policemen deployed. They have demanded the government implement the Muharram security plan as soon as possible
Police later reported the arrests of two more suspected suicide bombers who were planning an attack on a Muharram procession. The two arrests were made from Orangi Town.
Earlier, while addressing the media in Karachi, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umar said a suspect, Imamuddin alias Muawia, was arrested from the Ayub Goth area of the city.
The SSP informed that explosive material including suicide bomb jackets, pistols, Kalashnikovs, hand grenades and bullets were also seized in the operation.
Umar said the arrested man had been trained in Afghanistan as a specialist in placing bombs in vehicles and was involved in the Sheraton hotel blast of 2002.
Lahore lacking security arrangement
Administrators of Ashura are not satisfied with the security arrangements in Lahore where 4,000 processions are expected.
The interior ministry has put all law enforcement agencies on high alert and declared more than 180 places in the Lahore as sensitive.
Although over 12,000 policemen are to be deployed to provide security to participants of the processions, local administrators of the processions say no security measures have been implemented so far.
They say no walkthrough gates have been installed or any policemen deployed. They have demanded the government implement the Muharram security plan as soon as possible
Pakistan delay squad selection over clearance issues
"All the issues relating to the clearance of players came under discussion. The committee decided that further consideration of this matter is required," the PCB said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The ODI squad for New Zealand and that for the World Cup will be announced at a later date."
Chief selector Mohsin Khan said that the squads could only be announced once the board gave clear instructions about players under consideration.
"We need to get a clearance from the integrity committee for each player only then can we announce the squads," Khan said.
The PCB did not name the players that have yet to be cleared.
Political jugglery not our cup of tea: Nawazent was its uncanny description of Mr. Holbrook
Chief Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif said that we do not believe in political jugglery but always talks about Pakistan so that’s why considered to be dangerous.
Addressing to congregation and media in Skardu on Wednesday during visit to Gilgit Baltistan to meet affectees of Atabad lake incident, Chief PML-N Nawaz Sharif said that he always believe in public service not in political jugglery. He said that some powers considered me dangerous due to atomic bomb experiments during our regime.
He further said that RGST would not be implemented till complete elimination of corruption and mismanagement from the country. Nawaz Sharif announced to make five model villages in Baltistan division. He said that in perspective of corruption, lawlessness, terrorism and inflation, implementation on RGST is not possible.
He said that the country could be tracked towards development and progress by utilizing natural resources of Gilgit Baltististan.
He said that if he got rule then he would made Gilgit Baltististan airport an international airport and development work would be done in the province.
The Taliban Remembers an American Envoy
Richard C. Holbrooke, center, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited Herat, Afghanistan in August 2009.
The Taliban statement on the death of Richard C. Holbrooke, the chief American envoy to the region, carried a dignified, almost somber tone. It seems they took him seriously, as they do all enemies and as Mr. Holbrooke took them.
“His life of toils and fatigues ended after admission into a hospital where he breathed his last yesterday,” read the statement from Qari Yousaf Ahamadi, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban name for the country.
The Afghan media arm has become more and more active in the last few years. Recently, the group’s press statements have tried to discuss policy, not just violence. Still, it was somewhat surprising to see a formal statement on the death of Mr. Holbrooke, since most of the Taliban’s statements on deaths involve eulogies for fighters who died trying to kill westerners or their Afghan allies.
The statement depicts his death as only the most recent example of the deadly spell that Afghanistan casts on outsiders who try to dominate the country. The Russian leaders who made similar efforts to dominate the country also died of heart disease, the Taliban said. Among them: Leonid Brehznev and Yuri Andropov, who championed the Soviet invasion. Thus, Mr. Holbrooke’s death, according to the Taliban propaganda, is a signal of the incipient failure of American efforts here.
The Taliban noted that other American leaders are getting sick from the Afghan war (or perhaps getting sick of it.) They mention that Gen. David H. Petraeus fainted in a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced he would be stepping down soon. The war, they say — using language that almost suggests they are concerned for the mental health of America’s policy makers — is taking a toll.
“The war of Afghanistan is heavily weighing on the psyche of the American military and political higher-ups,” the statement read. “Some of them lighten their burden by simply going to the other world and others, while being still alive, choose to avoid shouldering the mission.”
Perhaps the most striking — and even psychologically astute — passage in the Taliban statem
MQM only ray of hope for the country: Altaf
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Chief Altaf Hussain has said that the country was passing through a difficult phase and his party is the only ray of hope.
He was talking to members of MQM Rabita Committee, Saif Yar Khan, Iftikhar Akbar Randhawa and office-bearers of MQM Lahore Zone, said a statement issued by MQM on Monday.
Altaf Hussain was also given a briefing about organizational affairs of his party in Lahore by local office- bearers of the party.
He said if MQM gets a chance to serve the people, we would recover every single penny and deposit the looted wealth in the national exchequer.
Prices, poverty and unemployment are continuously increasing and the people of Pakistan as a nation would have to exhibit a sense of honour and dignity in order to bring the country out of its present situation, he said.
Altaf HussaIn asked party workers to keep working despite all odds and not be discouraged by the propaganda of the opponents.
He asked them to work for promoting inter-faith harmony during the holy month of Muharram-ul-haram by holding meetings with the concerned quarters because creating love and respect among people was the greates
Pakistan coalition partner holds crisis talk
KARACHI — The second largest partner in Pakistan's fragile coalition held crisis talks Wednesday after a prominent religious party walked out of the government, triggering fears of a collapse.The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has its powerbase among the Urdu-speaking majority in the financial capital Karachi held a meeting lasting more than four hours.
The session was chaired by MQM leader and founder Altaf Hussain, on a conference call from self-imposed exile in London.
Those taking part held a "detailed" discussion on the current political situation and the ruling Pakistan People Party's (PPP) behaviour towards its allies, a communique read by provincial minister Raza Haroon said.
It did not comment in detail on the departure of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF) from the government.
"It is their democratic right and we respect it," it said.
"The government should treat its coalition partners as its allies and give up its unreasonable behaviour towards its coalition parties," the communique said.
Earlier Farooq Sattar, head of MQM's parliamentary faction, told AFP that the emergency meeting would forge a future strategy.
Pakistan's most pro-Taliban Islamic party JUIF walked out on Tuesday after PPP Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked one of its three cabinet ministers.
The government needs a simple majority of 172 members in the 342-seat national assembly, which has not been affected by JUIF's departure with only eight seats in the lower house of parliament.
But MQM support is considered crucial to the PPP coalition. Party relations have already soured over a surge in political violence in Karachi, which saw more than 155 people killed and sparked allegations of MQM involvement.
PPP has 128 lawmakers in the lower assembly and commands a total of 184, based on coalition partners and allied independent members.
MQM has 25 seats in the federal parliament and could theoretically bring down the government unless the PPP can shore up replacement coalition partners.
The federal government's third coalition partner, the Awami National Party, on Tuesday pledged public support for the PPP after JUIF's withdrawal.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
* Chesterfield County Public Schools
Chesterfield County Public Schools, A school official Chesterfield County faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stop after an incident Saturday night left five damaged vehicles.
Richmond police said Paul Van De Mortel, 44, was arrested after witnesses reported seeing a vehicle sideswipe five cars parked in the block of West 2800, Grace Street near the Fan District of the city.
Van De Mortel, the dean of students at Matoaca High School, was arrested shortly after at his home near Monument Avenue, police said.
Richmond police said Paul Van De Mortel, 44, was arrested after witnesses reported seeing a vehicle sideswipe five cars parked in the block of West 2800, Grace Street near the Fan District of the city.
Van De Mortel, the dean of students at Matoaca High School, was arrested shortly after at his home near Monument Avenue, police said.
Family of 14 displaced after fire in Chesterfield
RICHMOND Armstrong High School in Richmond's East End was evacuated briefly this morning for what authorities said was a small trash fire in the auditorium. No injuries were reported. The school in the 2300 block of Cool Lane was cleared shortly after 9 a.m. when a fire was discovered in the auditorium. Firefighters discovered what they described as a small trash fire, which was quickly extinguished. Fire investigators were called to the scene.
Crime News Richmond man sought in connection with October slaying
RICHMOND Richmond police are looking for Calvin R. Williams, 21, in connection with the Oct. 20 killing of Brandon T. Thomas, 25. Williams, of the 1000 block of West Nine Mile Road in Highland Springs, is wanted on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting. The homicide occurred about 7:30 p.m. outside the Chicken Box Restaurant in the 1300 block of East Brookland Park Boulevard. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000. Authorities earlier arrested another man, Orlando J. Fogg, 19, in the same slaying. He, too, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Family of 14 displaced by Chesterfield house fire
A family of 14 was displaced by a fire that destroyed a house in Chesterfield County this morning.
The lone injury occurred when a firefighter suffered a minor burn, but he stayed on the job until the fire was declared under control before going to CJW Medical Center (Chippenham), where he was treated and released, said Chesterfield Fire & EMS Capt. Robbie Dawson.
The fire was reported at 3:12 a.m. in the 6800 block of Bryanbell Drive, a short distance south of Meadowbrook High School.
Dawson said one of the adults in the house smelled smoke, went to check and discovered a fire on the back deck before he got everyone safely outside.
By the time the first firefighters arrived, fire had penetrated the rear section of the two-story frame house and had worked its way into the attic, Dawson said.
The fire was declared under control at 4 a.m.
Dawson said the cause is under investigation.
The Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the displaced family in finding temporary housing.
The lone injury occurred when a firefighter suffered a minor burn, but he stayed on the job until the fire was declared under control before going to CJW Medical Center (Chippenham), where he was treated and released, said Chesterfield Fire & EMS Capt. Robbie Dawson.
The fire was reported at 3:12 a.m. in the 6800 block of Bryanbell Drive, a short distance south of Meadowbrook High School.
Dawson said one of the adults in the house smelled smoke, went to check and discovered a fire on the back deck before he got everyone safely outside.
By the time the first firefighters arrived, fire had penetrated the rear section of the two-story frame house and had worked its way into the attic, Dawson said.
The fire was declared under control at 4 a.m.
Dawson said the cause is under investigation.
The Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the displaced family in finding temporary housing.
PC withdraws Delhi 'migrant' remarks
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New Delhi, Dec 13: Following severe criticism over his "migrant" remarks, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that he never intended to say anything about the migrants, but reminded about "unacceptable behaviour" of the migrants.
Chidambram also added that he wants everyone to focus on the real issues rather than creating political dilemma.
Pak journalist MA Zuberi passed away
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Karachi, Dec.13: A close aide of Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and well known journalist, MA. Zuberi, passed away on Sunday. He was 90 years of age.
According to the Daily Times, Zuberi was suffering from multiple illnesses for years.
Zuberi founded two newspapers, an evening daily The Star and Daily Business Recorder in the mid 60s. He was also the patron in chief of a private TV channel.
Agreement reached on Tapi gas pipeline
The pipeline, which would terminate in India, would bring huge amounts of gas to underdeveloped regions and could earn impoverished Afghanistan hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees.
The route for the 1,700-kilometre Tapi (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) pipeline from gas-rich Turkmenistan would cross Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, where the Taliban and international forces are locked in battle, as well as some of Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas. Concerns about security for the pipeline itself and for the workers who construct it have cast doubt on the project’s near-term feasibility, but proponents say it would calm the chaotic region.
“Along with commercial and economic benefits, this project will also yield a stabilising influence on the region and beyond,” Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov said after the leaders signed a document supporting the project.
“Afghanistan will live up to its obligations in ensuring the pipeline’s construction and safety,” said Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose under-trained army struggles against the resurgent Taliban.
Sweden suicide bomber: police search Bedfordshire house
Police continued searching a house in Bedfordshire today as part of an investigation into the UK connections of the suicide bomber who struck in Stockholm on Saturday night.Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede, who set off a car bomb in the Swedish capital before killing himself with a second bomb strapped to his body, received a BSc in sports therapy from the University of Bedfordshire in 2004, and had spent some time in Luton in recent years. Well-placed Whitehall officials confirmed the bomber's identity and his link to a British university.
Metropolitan police officers started examining a terraced property in Luton last night after a warrant was issued under the Terrorism Act 2000. The house remained cordoned off today.
It was reported last night that his family still lived in Luton and that neighbours last saw him two and a half weeks ago.
Abdaly's family were quoted by the Swedish press as saying they had lost contact with him. "He did not say where he was going," Abdaly's father told the Swedish newspaper Expressen. "The whole family is in shock, and wants to find out what happened."
Tahir Hussain, 33, a taxi driver who lives nearby, told the Daily Telegraph: "I used to see him around often. He didn't say much but seemed nice. I used to see him walking with his kids.
"I was shocked when I heard what happened because I never thought he could do such a thing."
Scotland Yard said: "At 10.55pm last night, Metropolitan police officers executed a search warrant under the Terrorism Act 2000 at an address in Bedfordshire.
"No arrests have been made and no hazardous materials found."
A police car with two officers inside was parked outside a semi-detached bay-fronted house in Argyll Avenue in Luton today where camera crews and reporters had gathered. There was no sign of activity inside the property.
A Home Office spokesman said officials remained in close contact with the Swedish authorities.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter said Abdaly had travelled to Britain and Jordan in the runup to Saturday's attack, in which he was the only victim.
On an Muslim matrimonial site, Muslima.com, where he was seeking a second wife, Abdaly, 29, listed Luton as his home, and said he met his first wife in Bedfordshire.
However, his car was registered in Sweden, and the motives declared in emails sent to a Swedish news agency and the security police addressed local issues. The emails refer to a Swedish cartoonist, Lars Vilks, whose 2007 drawing of the Prophet Muhammad as a dog infuriated Muslims around the world, and to Sweden's 500 soldiers in Afghanistan. "Now your children, daughters and sisters shall die like our brothers and sisters and children are dying," one email warned.
The car bomb caught fire but did not explode and caused minimal damage in a busy Stockholm shopping street. Only one of several bombs Abdaly had strapped to his body blew up, killing him but nobody else.
Sweden's prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, cautioned that no connection between the emails and the bombs had been proved. "We know that a man is dead. We know that a car exploded. We know that some threats has been given to the secret police and media," he said. "But we are not sure they are connected. And I think it's very important not to give final answers based on speculation."
British intelligence sources suggested Abdaly was one of an increasing number of individuals influenced by al-Qaida ideology who have spent time in the UK. However, they said there was no indication the bomber was directed by al-Qaida – he had probably planned his own attack.
The fact that the Stockholm attack failed suggests al-Qaida is not in a position to train its supporters properly, British sources said.
Terrorism experts suggested al-Qaida and its allies were increasingly favouring one-man attacks on targets of opportunity, rather than long-planned, sophisticated and spectacular assaults such as 9/11.
The vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire University, Les Ebdon, said he would be urgently checking the registration records to verify whether Abdaly had attended.
He told the Guardian: "We have a harmonious campus and we haven't had any cases of terrorist or radical activities on campus since I've been vice-chancellor, around seven years. In the present world however I am not complacent about it."
The university was wrongly linked to one of the 7/7 bombers, reports of which resulted in public apologies from one newspaper. "We have experienced erroneous linkages before and we will certainly cooperate if this case is proved and any authorities want to speak with us," Ebdon said. "The impact is quite serious because it particularly damages our reputation abroad."
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