Djokovic beats Ferrer to win Dubai Championships

DUBAI (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic defeated fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5 6-3 on Saturday to win the Dubai Championships.

It was the top-seeded Serbian's 12th title and his first since he won the Tennis Masters Cup in November, and came after he was stopped in the Marseille semi-finals last week by eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Djokovic had fallen in the 2007 Dubai quarter-finals to Roger Federer and in the 2008 semi-finals to Andy Roddick, who both went on to take the title.

Officials had to remove a light covering of sand from the court with brooms and blowers before Saturday's final could start.

When play got underway in sultry conditions there was little to choose between the two baseliners.

Most of the games went easily with serve until Djokovic broke the deadlock when Ferrer netted a forehand after a long rally to give the Serbian a 4-2 lead.

Djokovic was unable to maintain his advantage, though, netting a backhand in the next game after another lengthy rally.

Djokovic broke again to lead 5-3 but, having the opportunity to serve out the set, he dropped the next eight points. In a bizarre turnaround, Djokovic won eight of the next nine points to take the set when Ferrer netted a low backhand volley.

Djokovic made a good start to the second set, breaking to lead 2-0 when Ferrer again netted a low volley.

Ferrer, who was seeking his first title since winning S'Hertogenbosch last year, appeared to be heading to an easy defeat as he trailed 4-1, but he pulled himself back into contention by breaking for 4-3.

A double-fault cost him his serve in the next game and left Djokovic to serve out the match.

In a dramatic finale Ferrer then held a break point but made a forehand error and Djokovic clinched victory when he disputed a serve that was called wide but Hawkeye showed it to be an ace.

Pakistan says wins key region on Afghan border

KHAR, Pakistan - Pakistani forces have defeated Islamist militants in a strategically important region on the Afghan border and expect to clear militants out of other areas by the end of the year, a commander said on Saturday.

Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous ethnic Pashtun regions, known as agencies, are sanctuaries for al Qaeda and the Taliban and a victory against them would provide relief for U.S. and NATO forces hard-pressed by insurgents in Afghanistan.

Major-General Tariq Khan, who is commanding military operations in five of the seven agencies, said his paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) had driven militants out of Bajaur, the smallest of the agencies but a major infiltration route into Afghanistan, after a six-month offensive.

"They have lost. They have lost their cohesion here," Khan told reporters on a trip arranged by the military to Bajaur and Mohmand agencies. "The resistance has collapsed."

He said his forces had also largely restored "a reasonable state of stability," in the four other agencies under his command.

"If you are asking me about five agencies ... I think somewhere by the end of the year or so we would, more or less, be over with the military operations," he said.

Khan said his forces planned to hand over control of Bajaur, the most northerly of the tribal areas and opposite the Afghan province of Kunar, to government authorities next week.

In 2006, a CIA-operated pilotless drone aircraft fired missiles at a house in Bajaur in the belief that al Qaeda number two Ayman al Zawahri was there. At least 18 people were killed.

Khan said he had no information about Zawahri's whereabouts but his forces had killed and arrested several Arab fighters.

Officials say more than 1,500 militants were killed, along with about 100 soldiers, during the "Operation Sher Dil" launched in Bajaur in September. There has been no independent verification of that militant casualty estimate.

Hard-pressed militants led by an al Qaeda ally, Faqir Mohammad, this week declared a unilateral ceasefire in Bajaur. Khan said he rejected an offer of talks and went ahead with military operations.

DIFFERENT STRATEGIES

Khan's strategy appears different to the government's in the neighboring Swat valley, where authorities struck a deal with Islamists, agreeing to enforce Islamic sharia law, after militants virtually took control of the region in recent months.

Authorities also sealed peace deals with militants in North and South Waziristan agencies, two major sanctuaries for al Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Afghan border where U.S. drones have carried out more than 20 missile strikes since September.

Western countries have expressed concerns over Pakistan's policy of making deals with the militants, fearing the strategy provides breathing space for militants to regroup and intensify their insurgency against Western forces in Afghanistan.Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said the military and government had devised strategies to suit different areas.

"There is no single thread that runs across all the agencies ... so one has to deal according to what exactly the situation warrants. That's why the strategy applied in Swat is different and what is being applied in Bajaur is different."

Pakistani officials argue that military action against militancy must be backed by political support to reach a lasting solution. "There is no such thing as a military solution. It has to be a political solution," Khan said.

Reconciliation with PML (N) discussed in Aiwan-e-Sadr

ISLAMABAD: A high level meeting was held here in Aiwan-e-Sadr with President Asif Ali Zardari in Chair on Saturday, Geo News reported.

According to sources, during the meeting, the attendees discussed many options to tackle the prevailing political turmoil including reconciliation with PML (N).

The meeting was convened by President Asif Ali Zardari to look into options for successfully overpower political crisis including extending contacts with PML (N), sources added maintaining that PML (Q) was also playing a major role in this connection but it does not want to form government with PPP.

PPP will wait to come to any conclusion until PML (Q) announced to form government in Punjab, sources claimed.

Undersea bombs threaten marine life

Beyond the golden beaches and beneath the blue waters of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is a site that resembles more of a munitions graveyard than a Caribbean paradise.Hundreds of corroding and unexploded bombs litter the sea floor, leaking toxins and taking a toll on nearby marine life. The munitions were left by the U.S. Navy, which had a training site on Vieques for six decades.

"We know that these munitions are leaking cancer-causing materials and endangering sea life," said marine ecologist James Porter, associate dean of the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, who recently completed a research trip to Vieques.

Responding to a request by the governor's office of Puerto Rico, Porter tested the island's waters for the presence of radioactive material surrounding the sunken USS Killen, a World War II-era destroyer used as target practice for Navy missiles.

Instead, Porter stumbled upon another finding: cancer.

He discovered that feather duster worms, sea urchins and various types of coral found near bombs and bomb fragments contained high levels of carcinogenic material -- in some cases 100,000 times more than what is considered safe for commercially edible seafood.

Obama to pull combat troops from Iraq by August 2010

WASHINGTON - President Obama told congressional leaders Thursday he's planning to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010, which falls short of his campaign promise to bring all combat forces home within 16 months, according to three congressional officials.

President Obama says he plans to keep up to 50,000 support troops in Iraq after combat troops leave in 2010.

Under this scenario, all combat troops will be withdrawn within 19 months of Obama's January inauguration, three months longer than his promise on the campaign trail.

In a meeting at the White House Thursday evening, Obama also told lawmakers that he plans to keep a range of 35,000 to 50,000 support troops on the ground in Iraq after combat troops are out, the officials said.

All U.S. troops have to be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, under an agreement the Bush administration signed with the Iraqi government last year.

White House officials confirmed the president will deliver a speech about Iraq to troops at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, his first visit to a military base since being sworn into office.

The officials refused to comment on the details of Obama's plan.

While liberals may be frustrated that Obama is not keeping his campaign promise to the letter, the president could win credit from lawmakers in both parties for giving military commanders more time and flexibility to finish the mission.

Obama budget realistic on climate revenue: analysts

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's estimate of $646 billion in revenue for the first years of a carbon-capping program to curb climate change is realistic or possibly a little low, policy analysts said on Thursday.

Obama's budget for 2010 projects this revenue, from 2012 through 2019, will fund $150 billion in clean energy technology investments over 10 years and a tax credit to help Americans make the transition to a less carbon-intensive economy.

"I don't think it's overly optimistic at all," said Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.

"It's on the conservative side," said Tim Profeta, the institute's director. Both spoke in a telephone interview.

"From a substantive standpoint, the numbers are based on a good analysis," said David Gardiner, senior adviser to the Ceres coalition of investors, environmental groups and others aiming to curb climate change.

The $646 billion figure, spread over eight years, presumes that a U.S. law to limit carbon emissions will be in place by 2012, and Obama has said he will work with Congress to make this happen.

Obama has said he wants a so-called cap and trade system that would put a price on emissions of climate-warming carbon. Companies that emit more than the limit would have to buy emission permits; companies that emit less could sell emission credits.

It would mean about $80 billion in revenue annually, the Nicholas institute's Murray said, with each ton of carbon emissions priced at $15 at the start of the eight-year period. Because the goal is to reduce carbon emissions, the carbon price would rise over the eight years.

Cap-and-trade legislation that narrowly failed in the Senate last year foresaw higher revenues based on a carbon price starting at $18 a ton and rising from there.

CAP-AND-DIVIDEND

The Obama budget envisions that some revenue from the emissions permits would be returned to individuals in an idea known as cap-and-dividend. Democratic U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced on Tuesday he plans to introduce a cap-and-dividend bill.

Meanwhile, Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who shepherded a cap-and-trade bill to the Senate floor last year, has vowed to introduce carbon-curbing legislation this year.

Environmental groups were jubilant at Obama's proposals on climate change.

"It's a hugely important policy direction and another sign that Obama gets it when it comes to building a clean energy economy," said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters.

"Wall Street and Washington alike understand that the question is no longer if or when, but only how we will tackle global warming and build the clean energy economy that will rescue us from economic collapse," said Sierra Club's Carl Pope.Shell Oil Company president Marvin Odum also favors cap-and-trade.

"The only really wrong thing to do, is not to do anything," Odum told a congressional hearing on Wednesday. "The reason I like a cap and trade system is it directly addresses the problem. So when money goes into buy these credits, then that money goes directly to reducing carbon emissions."

The budget also raises the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency to $10.5 billion, a $3 billion rise from the previous year, with a $19 million increase for "a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and related activities that will provide data critical for implementing a comprehensive climate change bill," the agency said in a statement.

Protests continue over Sharif brothers' disqualification

LAHORE: Protests continued for third consecutive day in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict declaring former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif ineligible to contest elections.

The cases have been registered against 300 leaders and activists of PML-N on charges of rampage.

In Karachi, lawyers have abandoned the court proceedings in City Court to express solidarity with Sharif brothers.

PML-N lawyers former Law Minister Salim Zia, PML-N lawyers’ forum’s Arshad Jadoon and others observed hunger strike within the premises of City Court.

Meanwhile, Lahore lawyers boycotted the proceedings of the courts in protest. PML-N announced protest rallies today against Sharifs disqualification after jumma prayers.

The lawyers in Shaikupura and other parts of Punjab and Azad Kashmir are also protesting against Sharifs disqualification.

Muslim Conference (Atiq) organized protest demonstration in Kotli and Bhambir whereas Opposition leader in Azad Kashmir Assembly Sardar Atiq Ahmad and other members of assembly stage sit-in in Rawlakot.

PML-N and other political parties hold protest demonstration in Battgram.

Police on Friday registered cases against two MNAs and 300 local leaders and activists of PML-N on charges of rampage.

According to reports, the cases against MNA Hanif Abbasi, Pervaiz Khan, PML-N leader Sardar Nasim and other 300 local leaders have been registered in city, Gunj Mandi and Waris Khan police stations.

Yahoo CEO reorganizes company

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Carol Bartz on Thursday took the wraps off a broad reorganization plan designed to dismantle what she called the "silos" that had slowed down the Internet company.

The move came as Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen became the latest executive to leave Yahoo, which has struggled to convince Wall Street that it has a growth strategy after turning down a takeover bid from Microsoft Corp last year.

Under the plan to simplify Yahoo's management structure, its various technology and product groups will be combined into one entity led by Chief Technology Officer Ari Balogh, according to an email Bartz sent to employees.

Yahoo will also divide the world into just two regions instead of four: North America, led by former U.S. chief Hilary Schneider, and International, whose chief has yet to be named.

"Today I'm rolling out a new management structure that I believe will make Yahoo a lot faster on its feet," Bartz, who took the CEO reins six weeks ago, wrote on Yahoo's corporate blog. "We'll be able to make speedier decisions, the notorious silos are gone, and we have a renewed focus on the customer."

The changes follow weeks of meetings between Bartz and various division heads as she familiarized herself with Yahoo's many businesses.

Unlike Yahoo's previous so-called matrix management structure, which was criticized for lacking clear reporting lines, the new organization centralizes power and control around Bartz.

"It resembles much more of a classic business organization," said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner, adding that a centralized approach helps innovations get to market faster.

Weiner noted that Bartz, who replaced co-founder Jerry Yang in January, is Yahoo's first CEO with the business background that he said is best-suited to implementing such a structure.

Yang's 18-month stint as CEO was defined by his rejection of a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft, which the software maker subsequently withdrew.

Yahoo's stock price has sunk from a high of $29.73 last May to below $13 on Thursday, as revenue and profits have been pinched by an industrywide slowdown in advertising spending.

TOP CONCERN: SEARCH BUSINESS

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Weinstein said Bartz, the former CEO of software maker Autodesk Inc, has shown herself to be decisive and unafraid to take action in her short time at the company. But he noted that a reorganization alone is not enough to revive Yahoo's fortunes.

"What we really want to see is what direction does Carol want to go. That's the first step," Weinstein said. "And the second step is how well she actually executes."

Among the most pressing questions on investors' minds is the fate of Yahoo's search business, which is a distant second to Google Inc. There has been long-running speculation that the unit could be sold to Microsoft, or Yahoo could team up with another rival such as Time Warner Inc's AOL.Yahoo tried to form a Web search partnership with Google last year as an alternative to a deal with Microsoft, but the deal collapsed under U.S. antitrust review.

On Wednesday, Jorgensen said Yahoo was not opposed to a search sale or partnership, leading some observers to believe it was moving closer to a deal with Microsoft.

Earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he wants to team up with Yahoo to compete with Google, which controls 63 percent of the U.S. search market.

Yahoo shares rose as high much as 7.3 percent to $13.39 on Thursday on Jorgensen's comments. They finished the regular trading session up 4 percent at $12.98 on Nasdaq.

"It's premature to discuss our strategic options," said a Q&A document distributed by Yahoo management to employees on the restructuring. "For the time being, nothing is off the table and creating shareholder value is our first priority." Yahoo said the changes were not driven by a desire to cut costs, but it is always reviewing its business and expenses.

SEARCHING FOR CFO

Yahoo has initiated a search for a new CFO, and Jorgensen will remain through a transition period, Yahoo said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Bartz also said in the memo that Marco Boerries, head of the Connected Life group, which focused on bringing Yahoo products to mobile devices, has resigned for personal reasons.

She said Yahoo's business and advertising efforts for mobile will be led by David Ko, while Elisa Steele, formerly at NetApp Inc, will be chief marketing officer.

In October, Yahoo announced plans to cut at least 10 percent of its workforce of roughly 15,000 employees. It posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $303 million, while sales fell 1 percent from a year earlier to $1.8 billion.

In her note to staff, Bartz acknowledged "reorg fatigue" within the ranks, after multiple restructurings that occurred before she joined. "Hang in there -- our intention is to leave this structure in place for two to four years," she wrote.

Bartz also unveiled a new "customer advocacy group" to better attune the company to the outside world. "After getting a lot of angry calls at my office from frustrated customers," she wrote on Yahoo's blog, "I realized we could do a better job of listening to and supporting you."

Google joins EU antitrust case against Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO. Google Inc has added its voice to the case against Microsoft Corp as the European Commission probes antitrust charges related to the software giant's Internet Explorer browser.

"Google believes that the browser market is still largely uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users," Sundar Pichai, Google vice president product manager, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Google introduced the Chrome browser last year, which has taken little market share.

The Internet company joins the Mozilla foundation, producer of the Firefox Web browser, and Norway's Opera, a privately held company. Google adds the voice of a significant and well-financed player in the case against Microsoft.

In January, European regulators brought formal charges against Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with its Windows operating system, which is used in 95 percent of the world's personal computers.

If the preliminary views expressed in the EC's Statement of Objections are confirmed, Microsoft could be subject to a fine and an order requiring it to cease bundling its browser and operating system.

In 2007, European Union courts upheld the European Commission's finding that Microsoft violated antitrust law by bundling its Windows Media player with the Windows operating system. It also found Microsoft used illegal tactics against RealNetworks real player.

The company has been fined more than $2 billion for its violations and for failing to carry out remedies imposed by the Commission.

In 2000, a U.S. judge decided that Microsoft had broken the law after it combined its Internet Explorer browser and the Windows operating system. The most serious violations of the law were upheld on appeal, but the company continued to bundle its operating system and browser.

Google competes with Microsoft in several markets, including online search engines.

Pichai wrote that the company hopes its perspective in launching Chrome will "be useful as the European Commission evaluates remedies to improve the user experience and offer consumers real choices."

Interveners traditionally provide background information, legal theories and proposed remedies to the Commision in cases.

Florida tests using magnets to repel crocodiles

MIAMI. Florida wildlife managers have launched an experiment to see if they can keep crocodiles from returning to residential neighborhoods by temporarily taping magnets to their heads to disrupt their "homing" ability.

Researchers at Mexico's Crocodile Museum in Chiapas reported in a biology newsletter they had some success with the method, using it to permanently relocate 20 of the reptiles since 2004.

"We said, 'Hey, we might as well give this a try," Lindsey Hord, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's crocodile response coordinator, said on Tuesday.

Crocodiles are notoriously territorial and when biologists move them from urban areas to new homes in the wild, they often go right back to the place where they were captured, traveling up to 10 miles a week to get there.

Scientists believe they rely in part on the Earth's magnetic fields to navigate, and that taping magnets to both sides of their heads disorients them.

"They're just taped on temporarily," Hord said. "We just put the magnets on when they're captured and since they don't know where we take them, they're lost. The hope would be that they stay where we take them to."

Hord and his co-workers have tried it on two crocodiles since launching the experiment in January, affixing "a common old laboratory magnet" to both sides of the animals' heads. One got run over by a car and died, but the other has yet to return, Hord said.

Once an endangered species, American crocodiles' numbers have rebounded to nearly 2,000 in coastal south Florida, their only habitat in the continental United States. That puts them in increasing contact with humans, especially in areas where backyards border on canals around Miami and the Florida Keys.

Crocodiles are still classified as a threatened species, so game managers are reluctant to move them to new areas where they might be killed battling other resident crocodiles for turf rights, Hord said. Unlike alligators, which are far more numerous, each crocodile is considered important to preserving the species, he said.

"These crocodiles are unique and valuable creatures and we feel like we have a responsibility to live with these animals as much as we can," he said.

Many frightened residents don't share that view, although crocodiles are shy creatures, Hord said. Wildlife managers will try to relocate any thought to pose a significant risk, mainly those that seem to have lost their fear of humans.

Most crocodiles in Florida are tagged as hatchlings so biologists can easily recognize them, Hord said.

Any that come back twice after being captured and moved are sent to zoos or otherwise placed in captivity, something biologists hope to avoid if the magnet experiment works.

"This one is by no means a really well-developed scientific study with a control group. It's just something we thought we would try," Hord said. "We do have to make some room to live with them."

Too much PlayStation may cause painful lumps

LONDON.Gamers beware: Keeping too tight a grip on the console and furiously pushing the buttons can cause a newly identified skin disorder marked by painful lumps on the palms, Swiss scientists said on Tuesday.

Called "PlayStation palmar hidradentitis" by the scientists, the skin disorder can cause painful lesions on the palms similar to patches found on the soles of children's feet after taking part in heavy physical activity, they said.

"The tight and continuous grasping of the hand-grips together with repeated pushing of the buttons produce minor but continuous trauma to the (palm) surfaces," Vincent Piguet and colleagues at University Hospitals and Medical School of Geneva reported in the British Journal of Dermatology.

A spokesman for Sony Corp, which makes the PlayStation, noted the study involved one person and said the company had sold hundreds of millions of the consoles since the product was introduced in 1995.

"As with any leisure pursuit there are possible consequences of not following common sense, health advice and guidelines, as can be found within our instruction manuals," Sony spokesman David Wilson said.

"We would not wish to belittle this research and we will study the findings with interest, but this is the first time we have ever heard of a complaint of this nature."

Excessive gaming is already seen as a public health issue, sparking addictive behavior that can lead to a range of psychological problems, the researchers said.

Other researchers have identified acute tendonitis from playing too much of Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii, and now a disorder related to the PlayStation can be added to the list, the team said.

Their study described the case of a 12-year-old girl who attended the Geneva hospital with intensely painful lesions on her hands, which she had developed four weeks earlier. She had no other lesions anywhere else on her body.

After questioning, the doctors discovered that several days prior to the appearance of the lesions the girl had started to play a game on her PlayStation for several hours each day.

The researchers suspected that grasping the console's hand-grips together with repeated pushing of the buttons produced minor but prolonged injury to the palm of the girl's hands, which can be made worse by sweating during a tense game.

The doctors recommended the girl stop playing and she recovered fully after 10 days, the researchers said.

"If you're worried about soreness on your hands when playing a games console, it might be sensible to give your hands a break from time to time, and don't play excessively if your hands are prone to sweating," Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists said in a statement.

Turkish plane crash in Amsterdam

A Turkish Airlines plane has crashed on landing at Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport, killing nine people and injuring 84, six critically.

The plane, carrying 128 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of the runway near the A9 highway. It broke into three pieces, but did not catch fire.

Witnesses spoke of seeing at least 20 passengers walking from the wreckage of Flight TK 1951.

Officials said it was unclear why the plane, en route from Istanbul, crashed.

There were conflicting reports initially about the number of dead and injured, but at a press conference at Schiphol a couple of hours after the crash, the airport director confirmed nine people had died.The Boeing 737-800 aircraft came down at 1031 local time (0931 GMT), several hundred yards (metres) short of the runway. It had left Istanbul's Ataturk Airport at 0622 GMT.

An official told a news conference that six people were in a critical condition and 25 were severely wounded.

Another 24 passengers had suffered light injuries, she said, with the injuries of another 31 still to be established. Eighty-four people altogether were taken to 11 hospitals in the surrounding area.

The bodies of three crew members had been left in the cockpit while investigations were carried out, another official said.

Michel Bezuijen, mayor of the Haarlemmermeer municipality under which Schiphol airport falls, said earlier: "We cannot say anything about the cause at the moment. The priority of the authorities is providing help and care."

Candan Karlitekin, head of Turkish Airlines' board of directors, told reporters in Turkey that visibility had been good at the time of landing.

"We have checked the plane's documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance," he is quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency (AP).

Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said it had been "a miracle" that there were not more casualties, AP reports.

"The fact that the plane landed on a soft surface and that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low," he said.

One passenger aboard the plane, Kerem Uzel, told Turkish news channel NTV that the plane's landing had been announced when they were at an altitude of 600m (2,000ft).

"We suddenly descended a great distance as if the plane fell into turbulence. The plane's tail hit the ground... It slid from the side of the motorway into the field."

The Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands told Anatolia news agency there were 72 Turks and 32 Dutch people on board. No details on the nationality of the other passengers were given.

White sheets

Schiphol Airport spokesman Rudd Wecer earlier told BBC News that emergency services had reached the site quickly.

Television footage showed rescue workers laying out white sheets on what appeared to be bodies.The injured people were being taken to Spaarne hospital, in Haarlem, close to the airport, while relatives of passengers were assembled in a sports hall at a nearby village.

Airport spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang said Turkish Airlines had organised a special flight to Schiphol, due to arrive at 1710 GMT, for family members of those on the plane which crashed.

Thomas Freidhoff, a student who was cycling past the scene, told BBC News he had seen the plane appearing to glide through the air, having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground.

"The plane was nose up and the tail section was at a 45-degree angle. The tail section broke down first, which broke off," he said.

"And seconds after the crash people started exiting through the tail section...

"I saw dozens of people making it out very quickly, and as I was about to dial 911 the first sirens were noticeable, and within five minutes there were 10 or 15 ambulances."

A witness who was driving past the airport moments after the crash told BBC News he saw the plane lying in a field just 60m from the A9 motorway, surrounded by large clouds of brown dust and grey smoke.

"I saw the plane lying there in three pieces," said Nikolai van der Smagt, who works for a telecom company near Schiphol airport.

"The first people were just getting off the plane and they looked confused. There was a lot a dust, but no fire."

'Lot of sirens'

Resident Jonathan Nip described the scene: "What I'm seeing now is the whole of the aeroplane - without any wings or front or rear end - is lying in the field and there are about 50 ambulances, a lot of fire trucks, a couple of helicopters, emergency helicopters, a lot of police, a lot of sirens.

"The highway which is running next to the crash site is closed right now because of the traffic that has stopped to watch the crash."

All flights were suspended, but the airport has since re-opened.

The last crash involving a Turkish Airlines plane was in 2003, when at least 65 people died in an accident in eastern Turkey.

Schiphol airport has six runways and one major passenger terminal. In 2007, it handled 47 million passengers, ranking fifth in Europe.

Governor-rule imposed in Punjab for two months

LAHORE: The federal government has imposed the Governor-rule in Punjab for a period of two months, the Presidential spokesman said on Wednesday.

According to spokesman, the Governor-rule has been imposed on the directives of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani under article 234 of the constitution.

Earlier, Punjab Assembly members had submitted a requisition to convene provincial assembly session.

Rare cheetah captured on camera

The first camera-trap photographs of the critically endangered Northwest African, or Saharan cheetah, have been obtained in an experiment in Algeria.

The images were captured as part of a project run by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Office du Parc National de l'Ahaggar (OPNA).

The animal is known with certainty to range in six countries: Algeria, Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

But the total population may be fewer than 250 mature individuals.The pictures come from a systematic camera-trap survey across the central Sahara.

It managed to identify four different Saharan cheetahs using spot patterns unique to each animal.

"The Saharan cheetah is critically endangered, yet virtually nothing is known about the population, so this new evidence, and the ongoing research work, is hugely significant," said ZSL's Dr Sarah Durant.Farid Belbachir, who is running the field survey, added: "This is an incredibly rare and elusive subspecies of cheetah and current population estimates, which stand at less than 250 mature individuals, are based on guesswork.

"This study is helping us to turn a corner in our understanding, providing us with information about population numbers, movement and ecology."

US to donate '$900m in Gaza aid'

The United States is preparing to donate some $900m (£621m) for Gaza, an Obama administration official said.

The aid would not go to Hamas, the group that controls the territory, but it would help the Palestinian Authority, the official added.

It comes as the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to attend a Palestinian donors' conference.

Any US aid would have to be approved by Congress, where some are wary that funds could still end up with Hamas.

The donors' conference in Egypt next week will discuss humanitarian and reconstruction needs in the Gaza Strip after Israel's recent military offensive.

Two separate Palestinian surveys have put the cost of the damage at just under $2bn.

Without power

The US official spoke anonymously because the donation has not received final approval and he was not authorised to talk about it before it was announced by Mrs Clinton.

The US secretary of state will travel to Egypt for the conference, which is being held next Monday.

Later that week she will visit Israel, according to officials in Jerusalem, for her first trip to the region in her new role.
She is also expected to visit the West Bank. Although she is unlikely to go to Gaza, a US official said.

The US considers Hamas a terrorist organisation and refuses to deal with the group but it recognises the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The aid would go to nongovernmental and UN organisations, with some going to the Palestinian Authority, the official said.

Around 1,300 Palestinians, of whom 412 were children, were killed during the Israeli offensive on Gaza; 21,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the three weeks of violence.

In its latest report, the UN says 90% of Gaza's 1.5m residents have intermittent electricity, while 50,000 people do not have access to piped water.

Israel meanwhile continues to keep Gaza's borders closed, allowing in only essential supplies.

Hamas has called for the reopening of the crossings as part of on-going Egyptian truce talks but Israel says there first needs to be an end to rocket fire from the territory, plus a halt to the smuggling of weapons and the release of a captive Israeli solider.

Younis makes history hitting triple ton against SL

KARACHI: Skipper Younis Khan created history by scoring a triple hundred, only the third by a Pakistani in Test cricket – here at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

His extra-ordinary innings not only helped his team to make a huge total of 574 runs for the loss of five wickets in reply to Sri Lanka’s 644-7 declared in the first innings by the end of the fourth day’s play in the first Test.

Younis Khan is still at the crease batting for almost 12 hours and he is looking towards the Test record for the highest individual innings, set by Brain Lara of the West Indies who made 400 not out in 2004. He has an ample time for creating this record as the match is heading towards a draw.

The new Pakistan captain was well supported by former captain Shoaib Malik (56), Misbah-ul-Haq (42) and Faisal Iqbal (57) and was involved in three consecutive century wicket partnerships – 149 for the third, 130 for the fourth and 174 for the fifth wicket, respectively. The fifth wicket stand is a new record against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan bowlers toiled hard throughout the day but could not affect the concentration and determination of the King Khan who has so far hammered 27 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten innings. He overpowered all the opponent bowlers including magician spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and uprising spinner Ajantha Mendis.

Younis took 681 minutes and faced 510 balls becoming the third Pakistani and the 20th batsman in Test cricket to reach 300 runs in an innings. The two earlier Pakistanis were Hanif Mohammad (337) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (329).

Besides, Younis is the first batsman to hit a Test triple hundred against Sri Lanka as the highest individual score against them was 299 by Martin Crowe of New Zealand.

11-Year-Old Charged in Shooting Death of Pregnant Woman in Pennsylvania

WAMPUM, Pa. — An 11-year-old boy shot his father's pregnant girlfriend in the back of the head while she was lying in bed in their western Pennsylvania farmhouse, then got on the school bus and went to school, authorities said Saturday.

Jordan Brown was charged Saturday as an adult in the shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, who was 8 months pregnant, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said at a news conference.

Houk's family and friends, who gathered at her parents' house Saturday night, told The Associated Press that Houk had experienced problems with the boy in the past.

"There was an issue with jealousy. He told my son stuff," said Houk's brother-in-law, Jason Kraner, 34. "He actually told my son that he wanted to do that to her."

Brown, the son of Houk's live-in boyfriend, was charged with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child, Bongivengo said. He was being held in Lawrence County Jail. A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday.

The fifth-grader was picked up from school Friday by Pennsylvania State Police, who found Houk's body after her 4-year-old daughter told tree cutters on the property that she thought her mother was dead, Bongivengo said.
The murder follows another shocking killing linked to a boy. On Thursday, a 9-year-old Arizona boy reached a plea deal with authorities who accused him of the fatal shootings of his father and his father's roommate. The boy pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death of his father's roommate while the murder charge in his father's death was dropped.

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania boy told police there was a suspicious black truck on the property that morning, causing investigators to look into a false lead for about five hours, he said.

Inconsistencies in Brown's description of the vehicle led police to re-interview the victim's 7-year-old daughter, who implicated the boy in the killing, Bongivengo said.

"She didn't actually eyewitness the shooting. She saw him with what she believed to be a shotgun and heard a loud bang," Bongivengo said, adding that the weapon, a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, was found in what police believed was the boy's bedroom.

The shotgun, which apparently belonged to Brown, is designed for children and such weapons do not have to be registered, Bongivengo said.

Brown's attorney, Dennis Elisco, said the evidence points to the gunshot wound being "consistent" with the boy's hunting gun, but he wanted to see stronger proof that it was Brown's.

"I believe Jordan did not do this and I'm looking forward to seeing the physical evidence to see if it matches with what I think happened," he said Saturday after meeting with the boy in jail.

The attorney also said he met with the boy's father, Christopher Brown, and planned to file a motion Monday to have the boy released on bail and move the case to juvenile court.

The attorney said Christopher Brown was "in a state of actual shock and disbelief." There was no indication the boy had a problem with Houk, he added.

"This is a tragic, extremely tragic situation, and it's way too early to have any substantive comment," Elisco said.

Police said they had no motive for the shooting, and Bongivengo would not say whether the boy confessed.

"An 11-year-old kid — what would give him the motive to shoot someone?" Houk's father, Jack, told the AP. "Maybe he was just jealous of my daughter and the baby and thought he would be overpowered."

Jack Houk said the family had gathered at his home in nearby New Castle on Thursday night to celebrate his 4-year-old granddaughter's birthday. Everyone was excited about the pending birth of his daughter's baby, he said.

"That's the last time I seen her, my daughter," Jack Houk said.

He said Brown was raised by his father and grandmother. Houk and the boy's father had been together since May 2008 and were engaged at Christmas, her father said.

Jack Houk said the boy and his father used to practice shooting behind their farmhouse, and the two enjoyed hunting together.

He didn't know of any recent problems between the boy and his daughter, but said there had been "some tension" in the beginning. Houk said his daughter had been working hard to forge a relationship with the boy.

Kraner, Houk's brother-in-law, said Jordan could be a "rough kid." He said his son was interviewed by police about the boy.

Kenzie Houk had been renting the farmhouse in Wampum, a rural community northwest of Pittsburgh, for no more than a year, neighbor Cameron Tucker said.

Tucker's wife sometimes drove Houk's younger daughter to the bus stop because she went to preschool with the Tuckers' 5-year-old.

Obama Travels to Denver to Sign Stimulus Bill Into Law

The White House is already fighting back against critics of President Obama's massive economic stimulus bill, launching a Web site -- www.recovery.gov -- at the same time the president signs the spending and tax-cut bill into law in Denver on Tuesday.

The Web site is supposed to help the curious find out how federal dollars are being spent, the pace of scheduled construction projects and whether any federal dollars are being wasted.

It's clear from a quick glance at the site that the president wants to grab the reins of public sentiment and steer it his way. One section proclaims: "This is your money. You have a right to know where it's going and how it's being spent. Learn what steps we're taking to ensure you can track our progress every step of the way."

In keeping with the president's past pronouncements of being a fully transparent and accessible White House, a public feedback section has also been included.

The White House will release data Tuesday on the economic stimulus bill that touts its financial and economic benefits on a state-by-state basis and aggregates benefits for each congressional district as it tries to prove the $787 billion bill will produce national economic gains.

The administration wanted a full-dress signing event in Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention that nominated Obama, to highlight the bill's potential to fund "green jobs." But the president's critics have attacked him for urging Congress to rush the bill through by Presidents Day, and then waiting through the three-day holiday weekend to sign it.

The White House explained that it waited until Tuesday because the bill wasn't delivered in its enrolled form by the Clerk of the House until midday Monday.

A relentless storm of economic bad news and public pessimism has raged through the first month of Obama's presidency. He now must take vigorous steps to prop up the country's deeply troubled financial system, ease the pain of Americans facing home mortgage foreclosures and save the teetering auto industry.

Two of America's Big Three automakers, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler, now kept afloat on a combined $13.4 billion in federal emergency loans, were to report on Tuesday their plans for reorganizing toward long-term survival.

Obama has turned to appearances throughout the country to sell his economic plans, hoping to sustain support and foster hope among Americans who are giving him high marks in opinion polls. The president's travels pointedly contrast public backing for his economic plan to the partisan atmosphere still consuming Washington, where Republicans were nearly unanimous in opposing the stimulus measure.

Obama will sign the stimulus bill into law at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, underscoring investments the spending plan will make in the "green" energy-related jobs.

On Wednesday he moves to Arizona for the unveiling of a program to help millions of homeowners fend off home mortgage foreclosures.

Tuesday's signing of the massive stimulus measure was designed to start the flow of federal money nationwide toward infrastructure projects, health care, renewable energy development and conservation with twin goals of short-term job creation and longer-term economic healing.

The measure includes a $400 tax break for most individual workers and $800 for couples, including those who do not earn enough to pay income taxes. Consumers will receive tax incentives to buy first homes and new cars.

States will receive tens of billions of dollars to prevent state job losses and budget deficits. Poor people and laid-off workers will benefit from increased unemployment and food benefits and subsides for health insurance.

Part of Obama's message is designed to lower expectations. He has said frequently that he expects the economy to get worse before it gets better.

Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said over the long holiday weekend that "things have not yet bottomed out. ... But this is a big step forward toward making that improvement and putting people back to work."

The unemployment rate is now at 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years. Analysts warn the economy will remain feeble through 2009, though one or two bright spots have emerged of late, including reports of healthy car sales over the Presidents Day weekend and a stronger-than-expected retail report for January..

Republican lawmakers, who largely balked at the economic package, complained that it was short on cutting taxes and that the spending measures didn't target the vast sums of money well enough toward short-term job creation, which was the major goal of the bill.

Many private economists are forecasting that the budget deficit for the current year will hit $1.6 trillion, including the stimulus spending. That's about three times last year's shortfall, and such year-to-year deficits contribute toward a mounting national debt.

Congress has not passed its annual omnibus spending package for fiscal year 2009, which likely would not include the costs of keeping troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Obama administration said it would be weeks, not months before it announces its plan to move U.S. troops to Iraq.

Defense officials have said as many as 30,000 troops could be sent to the Central Asian nation but Obama is weighing suggestions on revising U.S. goals for the nation, which could impact the number sent.

Press Statement By Mr. Lalit Modi

Friday 20, February 2009

Commenting on the continued commitment of Sponsors to the DLF Indian Premier League. Mr. Lalit Modi said …..

I want to make it amply clear that all our sponsors and partners remain resolute and steadfast in their commitment to the DLF Indian Premier League. They are all very much still on board and not a single partner has pulled out. They have all paid as per the schedule. In fact, we have received a lot of offers from potential sponsors at multiple prices willing to pay much more for our properties.

On the Sony issue, Mr. Modi said….

We are jointly working with the management team at Sony to address this and we are confident that we will be able to amicably resolve the operational issues to the satisfaction of all the concerned parties.

Mr. Modi also announced that the Deccan Chargers had exercised their option to select Visakhapatnam as the second venue for holding two of their home games in Season II of the Indian Premier League.

On Ricky Ponting’s leave of absence from Season II…..

The Indian Premier League will not be the poorer by the absence of one or two of the world's top
Players. All our franchisees have gone about selecting the team’s basis commitments of the international player to the FTP (Future Tours Programme) of the International Cricket Council. The IPL has thus in a way been structured around the FTP. It is designed in such a way that even while teams have a maximum of ten foreign players (on their rolls) only four can play at any given time.

Sri Lanka amass 644 against Pakistan in first Test

KARACHI: Mahela Jayawardene struck his first double-century outside Sri Lanka - his fifth overall - while Thilan Samaraweera went past 200 for the first time in his Test career to put the visitors in a rock solid position in the first Test.

They further strengthened their position by dismissing Salman Butt shortly before stumps on the second day here at the National Stadium while debutant opener Khurram Manzoor (18) and captain Younis Khan (0) were still at the crease.

The two batsmen set a Test record for the fourth wicket with a 437-run stand against Pakistan, eclipsing the previous record of 411 runs set by England's Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies at Birmingham in 1957.

Jayawardene ended on 240 and Samaraweera 231 and both fell in successive overs before tea on the second day,

Later, Sri Lanka declared their first innings at 644-7, their best ever total in a Test against Pakistan in Test.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was out in the last over before tea for nought, leaving Prasanna Jayawardene unbeaten without scoring at the break.

The overnight pair of Jayawardene and Samaraweera batted through all but two overs in the first two sessions before Pakistani bowlers were rewarded with three wickets for an unchanged score of 614.

Jayawardene fell when he miscued a sweep shot off spinner Shoaib Malik and was caught one-handed by diving wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal behind the stumps.

The Sri Lankan skipper hit 32 boundaries during his 531-minute stay at the crease. Samaraweera was bowled by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria after hitting 31 boundaries during his 457-minute innings.

Resuming at 406-3, the pair also beat Sri Lanka's previous best fourth-wicket stand in all Test cricket of 240, set by Asanka Gurusinha and Arjuna Ranatunga against Pakistan in Colombo in 1986.

They then took Sri Lanka past their highest Test total against Pakistan, overhauling the 528 they scored at Lahore in 2002. Samaraweera also improved his previous highest Test score of 142 against England at Colombo in 2003

Robbing banks no longer just for guys, FBI statistics show

"We're armed," the note said. "Don't say anything. Just give us all the money."

Moments later, the woman and her male accomplice raced from the bank, jumped in their car and sped off with $10,000 in cash.

"It felt powerful, exciting, quick," said the woman, who spoke with CNN under the pseudonym Jane Smith. "At that time of my life, everything was upside down and I didn't have any control."

Smith told CNN she was going through a bad divorce and that robbing a bank "made me feel like I was in control again." She is one of a growing number of female bank robbers, a crime normally committed by men. Nationwide, 6.2 percent of all bank heists today are committed by women. That's up from 4.9 percent in 2002 -- a 25 percent increase, according to the most recent FBI crime statistics.

"Here's a crime that you can commit easily and its an equal opportunity crime," crime historian Robert McCrie said. Banks have become so customer-friendly and open, they've become "a safe place to rob," he added.

In Long Island's Nassau County, Detective Sgt. John Giambrone says he came across not one female bank robber in his first 25 years in law enforcement. He has seen 15 in the past three years.

"For a woman, especially a woman, to take that step ... you're crossing a big threshold," said Giambrone, who heads up the Nassau County police department's robbery squad.

In Giambrone's experience, the women who are captured in bank heists usually say they're doing it to "pay bills, get a little extra cash."

It's different for the men, he added. They usually say they rob banks for the thrill of it, or to get money for drug, alcohol or gambling addictions.

Giambrone said women tend to carefully plan their holdups, and prepare the notes ahead of time.

"Women are more pragmatic," forensic sociologist Rosemary Erikson agreed. "They need diapers for the baby that kind of thing."

The most notorious female bank robber was Bonnie Parker of the famed Bonnie and Clyde duo. Often she was armed, not the usual modus operandi of today's women. Like the men, they usually just hand the teller a note, knowing most banks instruct employees to hand over the cash rather than risk injuries.

Among today's more memorable women: the giggling teen Barbie Bandits captured last year in Georgia, Northern Virginia's Cell Phone Bandit, caught in 2005, and the Starlet Bandit, still on the loose in Los Angeles, California.

As crimes go, bank robbery is hardly a fool-proof caper. The chances of getting caught are high, the prison sentences long, Erikson pointed out.

Three out of four bank robbers are caught, she said. The arrest rate is high because the FBI is involved in almost all bank robbery investigations. The penalty can be as high as 26 years.

But 83 percent of bank robbers think they are not going to be caught, Erikson said. "They have this kind of immortality thing, they have inflated egos."

Jane Smith, who is trying to rebuild her life after serving five years in a maximum security prison, agrees that while the holdup was exciting, it wasn't worth it.

Still, she couldn't help smiling as she recalled how the tire blew on the getaway car while she and her accomplice made their getaway.

"I kept going on the rims, sparks flying on the highway," she said.

When she could drive no farther, Smith recalled, "I started flagging people down. All the money is on the floorboard of the car. One lady did pull over to pick us up and so I got the money and I stuffed it in my purse and could barely zip it. She took us to a convenience store close by and I called a taxi."

She went on wild spending spree, going through most of the money before her arrest several days later.She said she would never again rob a bank, because her arrest and incarceration nearly destroyed her parents and two kids.

But Smith admitted that the thrill was addictive. "I loved the danger in it. I wanted to get more money. I wanted to keep doing it. That's how it really felt -- an adrenaline rush. Perfect."

'Pak-Sri Lanka series to decide future of my captaincy': Younis

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said that he will accept full responsibility if the Pakistani side loses Test series against Sri Lanka.

Addressing a news conference at National Stadium here on Friday, Younis said the outcome of Pak-Sri Lanka Test series would decide the future of his captaincy. He said that players would be advised to support the team.Responding to a question about Shoaib Malik, the Pakistani skipper said there was a marked improvement in his performance and he was a good batsman.

He also announced a 12-member Pakistan squad for the first test match against Sri Lanka. The 12 players selected for the match which begins on Saturday includes opener Khurrum Manzoor and pace bowlers Sohail Khan and Mohammad Talha, untried at test level.

"We wanted a lively and sporting pitch for the match and the bowling is our strength," Younis said. "So we have picked five specialist bowlers in our 12."

Younis is leading Pakistan in his first full test series after replacing Shoaib Malik as captain last month after Pakistan lost a home one-day series to Sri Lanka.

32 killed, 85 injured in D.I. Khan suicide blast

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least 32 persons were killed and 85 others injured in a powerful suicide blast during funeral procession of Shia elder near Shobara hotel here on Friday, DCO Syed Mohsin Shah said.“The funeral procession accompanying the body of Shia elder, Sher Zaman killed yesterday by unknown gunmen, was moving towards the graveyard when it reached near Sobara hotel a powerful explosion took place,” he told reporters.The DCO said that curfew has been imposed in the city and army has been called in. He also vowed to bring perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.Mohsin asked the people to remain in-door as shoot on sight orders have been issued. The DCO said security personnel are patrolling the roads and streets to avoid loss of life and property and maintain order.The injured were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Dera Ismail Khan, Bhakkar and CMH. Emergency has been declared in DI Khan hospital while doctors on leave have been called back. The condition of several victims was stated to be critical. The enraged mourners and family members of the victims protested the incident and resorted to aerial firing.The protestors burnt tyres and pelted stones on buildings and vehicles. Police rushed to the scene and started search operation. The situation in the city remained tense as intermittent incidents of firing are still reported from interior city.

Dictators have hurt democratic govt: Iftikhar

PESHAWAR: Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhri Wednesday said several times dictators have damaged democratic governments in Pakistan.

Addressing Peshawar High Court Bar de said there was no complete democracy in Pakistan since 60 years.

He said now the situation in Swat was seemed under control after the enforcement of Sharia in Malakand.

A large number of lawyers and political workers warmly received Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and chanted slogans for restoration of the deposed chief justice.

Earlier, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd and other leaders of lawyers also spoke on the occasion.

Obama: Troops alone cannot win in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- Diplomacy will play a bigger role in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan in future even as the Pentagon announced a significant troop increase, President Barack Obama said Tuesday in an interview on Canadian television.
"I am absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means," Obama told journalist Peter Mansbridge as part of a wide-ranging interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "We're going to have to use diplomacy. We're going to have to use development."

The Pentagon said Tuesday that Obama had approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, which is expected to include 8,000 Marines and 4,000 Army troops. An additional 5,000 troops will be deployed at a later date to support combat forces, bringing the total to 17,000, the Defense Department said later in the day.

Canada has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, but parliament has voted to pull them out by 2011. Obama suggested he will take up the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper when the two meet Thursday in Ottawa.

"My hope is that in conversations that I have with Prime Minister Harper, that he and I end up seeing the importance of a comprehensive strategy, and one that ultimately the people of Canada can support, as well as the people of the United States can support," Obama said.

The White House is reviewing America's strategy in Afghanistan, according to the president, who said the situation "appears to be deteriorating." iReport.com: Do youths have "war fatigue"?

Obama also addressed Canadian concerns about protectionism in Washington's economic stimulus package. Canada is America's largest trading partner.

Khmer Rouge prison chief stands trial in Cambodia

 A former member of Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime became the first from the ultra-Maoist movement to stand trial before a U.N.-backed tribunal Tuesday.

Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, faces charges that include crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention during the regime's 1975-79 rule.

He is standing trial just outside the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which is made up of Cambodian and international judges.

At least 1.7 million people -- nearly one-quarter of Cambodia's population -- died under the Khmer Rouge, from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

More than 500 people -- including three survivors from the prison Duch ran -- filled the tribunal. About 50 people came from Kampong Thom province, the birthplace of now-dead Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.

"I have been waiting for this hearing for 30 years. I never thought that it would happen. Now I hope that the ECCC will bring justice to all Khmer Rouge victims. I lost three members of my family during the regime and I am a sufferer of the regime," Luch Bunthort, of Kampong Thom, told The Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

The initial hearing was primarily procedural and was likely to last a few days. No one -- Duch, witnesses or experts -- was expected to speak, though Duch was in the courtroom.

Clinton warns against N. Korean missile launch

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her strongest comments yet about North Korea Tuesday during her tour of Asia.

Speaking at a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, the U.S. secretary warned that a possible North Korean missile launch "would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward." Clinton said the U.S. is "watching very closely" actions by North Korea.

U.S. officials recently said they obtained evidence that North Korea was gearing up for a launch of a long-range missile.

North Korean officials disputed the claim, saying in the country's official news agency that North Korea was preparing to launch a satellite.

Clinton also said Tuesday that there is a possibility that the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea could improve if North Koreaabides by the obligations that it has already entered into and verifiably and completely eliminates its nuclear program.

If that happens, there is "a chance to normalize relations, to enter into a peace treaty rather than an armistice and to expect assistance for the people of North Korea," she said.

Clinton left for Asia Sunday on her first overseas trip as secretary of state and is slated to also travel to China, South Korea and Indonesia to discuss a range of issues, including mutual economic recovery, trade, the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation and reversing global warning. 

Eight killed, 16 injured in Peshawar blast

PESHAWAR: Eight people were killed while 16 others injured when a blast took place in a vehicle outside the house of a Union Councillor here on Tuesday.

According to CCPO Peshawar, the vehicle was parked outside Union Councillor Faheem’s house. Six people were killed on the spot while UC men gunned down two attackers when they tried to flee the scene.

Refinery picketed for third day

Hundreds of striking workers have taken part in a third day of protests in North Lincolnshire over the use of foreign labour on a construction site. 

Up to 1,000 people gathered at Lindsey Oil Refinery after a £200m contract was given to an Italian firm. Protesters vowed to return on Monday. 

Unions said British staff should be doing the work. 

Total, owners of the refinery at North Killingholme, said there would be "no direct redundancies" as a result. 

Protesters carried posters calling for UK jobs to be given to British workers. 

The protest was disrupted at 0615 GMT, when a car collided with an oil tanker at the entrance to the refinery. 

Firefighters took about 30 minutes to free the driver of the car, who was then taken to hospital.
Once the protesters were assembled in a car park opposite the refinery they were addressed by union leaders. 

Unite regional officer Bernard McAuley told them: "There is sufficient unemployed skilled labour wanting the right to work on that site and they are demanding the right to work on that site. 

"Our general secretaries of Unite and the GMB have called upon the prime minister to call an urgent meeting with the heads of industry in the engineering and construction industry to clients and the trade unions to get round the table. 

"We want fairness. We want the rights of our members to have the opportunity to be employed, not just on this job but on all jobs around the United Kingdom." 

Protester Kenny Ward told the crowd they had to stand together and take on the "greedy employer". 

He said: "This is what it's about, it's about collective strength. I'm a victim, you are a victim, there are thousands in this country that are victims to this discrimination, this victimisation of the British worker." 

Friday's Lindsey refinery protest ended at about 1000 GMT. 

The protest began on Wednesday with a walk-out by Lindsey workers and at least 800 people demonstrated at the plant on Thursday. 

The action has now escalated, with workers walking out of sites across the UK.
They included employees at BP's Dimlington gas terminal in East Yorkshire and its chemical manufacturing plant in Saltend, Hull. 

Lindsey's Total bosses decided to invest in a new de-sulphurisation unit at the plant in 2004, and a contract to complete the work was awarded to the Californian-based engineering group Jacobs in June 2006. 

When additional works were found to be needed a sub-contract was awarded to IREM over six other contractors, including five from the UK. 

Cleethorpes MP Shona McIsaac said the decision was "like a red rag to a bull for people in our community who are out of work and who have skills that could be used in this construction project". 

In a statement, Total said there would be no direct redundancies as a result of the contract. 

"On this one specific occasion, IREM was selected, through a fair and competitive tender process, as the most appropriate company to complete this work. 

"We will continue to put contracts out to tender in the future and we are confident we will award further contracts to UK companies. 

"We are disappointed they have taken this action and we hope contractors return to work so the situation can be resolved as soon as possible through discussion with their union representatives." 

It said its main refining operations on the 500-acre site remained unaffected by the action.

Sellafield workers stage walk-out

About 1,300 contract workers at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria have walked out in a protest at the employment of foreign workers. 

The action followed a meeting of mechanical contractors in one of the plant's car parks early on Monday. 

Their action is in support of staff at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, who walked out last week over the employment of Italian workers. 

A Sellafield spokesman said the action would not affect safety. 

One of the strikers, GMB convener Willie Doggert, said: "All we want is a level playing field, it's not just about foreign workers, we need jobs to be advertised with transparency so that everybody gets a far crack of the whip at getting them. 

'Safety paramount' 

"The jobs down the country were given to foreign workers without giving Great British workers the chance to bid for them. 

"This has nothing to do with stopping people coming here, it's just about greater transparency." 

The contractors on strike include scaffolders, riggers, pipe fitters and labourers working on building projects around the Sellafield site. 

A spokesman for Sellafield Ltd said: "This meeting involves contractors working for companies operating under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), not Sellafield Ltd employees. 

"Safety is paramount at Sellafield, and Sellafield Ltd is confident that any industrial action would have no impact on safety, security or production." 

The industrial action is scheduled to last for 24 hours and contractors will reconvene on Tuesday to reassess the situation.

Shilpa Shetty too joins the IPL mania

The whole of last year was a buzz with the King Khan and Preity Zinta entering the world of cricket by means of the IPL. Following the suit this year is none other than the leggy lass Shilpa Shetty. Reports are that Shilpa along with business partner Raj Kundra has invested approximately $15.4 million in acquiring 12% stakes in the Rajasthan Royals team.

The Royals which is lead by the legendary Australian spin doctor Shane Warne comprises of other international stars like South African skipper Graeme Smith and Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson. Rajasthan Royals were also last year's IPL winner. Guess it has something to do with the win that prompted Shilpa and Raj to enter the IPL.

Panasonic set to cut 15,000 jobs

Japanese electronics group Panasonic is to cut 15,000 jobs and close 27 plants worldwide as it seeks to reduce costs. 

The world's largest maker of plasma TVs said it expected a net loss of 380bn yen ($4.2bn, £2.9bn) for the financial year to 31 March. 

The company has been hit by a stronger yen and falling sales amid the global economic downturn. 

Also on Wednesday, Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi forecast its first annual loss for three years. 

It said it expected a net loss of 60bn yen for the year to the end of March, compared with a profit of 34.7bn yen a year earlier. 

Amid a slew of downbeat news, Casio Computer, a maker of cameras, digital watches and mobile phones, also cut its outlook for annual net profit to 1.5bn yen from 13.5bn yen, reporting a 87% drop in net income for the April-December period. 

Falling sales 

The announced job cuts represent about 5% of Panasonic's workforce and will be implemented by the end of March 2010.
The company said that half of the cuts would take place in Japan and the other half would be overseas. 

Panasonic's UK headquarters is based in Bracknell, Berkshire. 

It employs more than 1,000 staff at its Cardiff base and a further 500 workers in Newport make communication equipment. 

The company is hoping to cut its costs by 100bn yen worldwide in the next financial year. 

Panasonic's loss in the current business year will be the company's first in six years. 

It is also set to be bigger than analysts had expected. In 2007, Panasonic made a net profit of 281.9bn yen. 

"Sales fell in all our business segments in the third quarter [to the end of December]. We expect sharper sales declines in this quarter, and profits are likely to shrink in every segment," Panasonic director Makoto Uenoyama said at a news conference. 

Despite challenging economic environment, Panasonic is in the process of buying its struggling rival Sanyo Electric for $9bn. 

Recession 

Other Japanese electronics firms are also set to report full-year losses, and the rest of the economy is also suffering. 

Japan's economy slipped into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter of last year. 

Last week, Japanese electronics giant NEC announced that it was going to cut 20,000 jobs worldwide by March 2010 and Hitachi said it would cut up to 7,000 jobs. 

Sony is also cutting 16,000 jobs and closing five or six plants. 

Among other companies, carmaker Mazda said on Wednesday it would cut 500 more jobs in Japan, eliminating a total of 2,000 temporary workers in the country.

Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha in Rohit Shetty's next

In his first directorial venture Zameen, Rohit Shetty had the opportunity to direct Ajay Devgan and Bipasha Basu. Since then, Rohit has worked with close friend Ajay in films like Golmaal, Sunday and Golmaal Returns but he never got a chance to work with Bipasha again.

Now after a hiatus of 6 years, Rohit will once again direct Ajay and Bipasha in Ajay Devgan's home production. The untitled film, which is supposedly a comedy, also stars Sanjay Dutt and Fardeen Khan in important roles. Shooting for the film will commence in the picturesque locales of Goa in March. 

With such a hot-n-happening star cast shooting on the beaches of Goa, expect the mercury levels to rise this summer.