Stanford receiver faces herculean task

Life isn't easy for Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver now overseeing the financial empire of Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, accused by U.S. regulators of carrying out a massive Ponzi scheme.

Janvey, a straight-talking, Dallas-based lawyer and adjunct law professor at Southern Methodist University, has taken the helm of Stanford Financial Group, after a U.S. judge tapped him to serve as the receiver, with final say over Stanford's vast estate of offices, island properties, yachts and castles.

So far, he has been sued by angry investors and had to fire 1,000 Stanford employees on Friday.

"Imagine being thrust in at the top of this company right now," said Michael Goldberg, an attorney with Akerman Senterfitt in Miami, who has served as a receiver in many other SEC cases. By all measures of the law Janvey "is Stanford now," Goldberg said.

It is not the best time to take charge.

The company is in "dire" financial condition, with "tens of millions of dollars" in unpaid bills, Janvey reported to U.S. Judge David Godbey last week. There is mounting evidence that estate assets will only provide a "fraction" of amount needed to cover claims, Janvey said. On Friday, Janvey slashed 1,000 Stanford jobs -- about 85 percent of the company's workforce.

U.S. securities regulators have accused Stanford, his college roommate and three of their companies of carrying out a "massive Ponzi scheme" over at least a decade and misappropriating at least $1.6 billion of investors' money.

Charles Meadows, a Dallas-based lawyer representing Stanford, said in a filing that the allegations against his client are "false and the SEC has presented no evidence of any such Ponzi scheme." Janvey did not respond to multiple interview requests.

Alan Bromberg, a professor at the Dedman School of Law at SMU, once taught Janvey as a law student and described him as "one of the best I've ever had."

Now Bromberg is filling in for Janvey's evening class on regulation of securities markets -- with about 25 students.

After being appointed receiver, Janvey "just called me and said 'Can you pick up my class on Monday,'" Bromberg said.

GLOBAL ASSET HUNT

Now, Janvey must scour the globe and attempt to return assets to bereaved investors, field angry calls and emails from shareholders who have had access to their accounts frozen and decide the eventual fate of the company.

"He's got poor people who think their life savings are gone calling him and trying to speak to him," Goldberg said. "He's getting barraged by thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls."

To make matters worse a group of Stanford clients last week sued Janvey, the SEC and the U.S. Marshals office for freezing their assets.

Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells

President Obama signed an executive order Monday repealing a Bush-era policy that limited federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research.Obama's move overturns an order signed by President Bush in 2001 that barred the National Institutes of Health from funding research on embryonic stem cells beyond using 60 cell lines that existed at that time.

Obama also signed a presidential memorandum establishing greater independence for federal science policies and programs.

"In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama said at the White House.

"In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research -- and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."The president pledged to develop "strict guidelines" to ensure that such research "never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction."

Such a possibility, he maintained, is "dangerous, profoundly wrong and has no place in our society or any society."Obama's order directs the NIH to develop revised guidelines on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research within 120 days, according to Dr. Harold Varmus, president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and co-chairman of Obama's science advisory council.

"The president is, in effect, allowing federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research to the extent that it's permitted by law -- that is, work with stem cells themselves, not the derivation of stem cells," Varmus said in a conference call with reporters Sunday.

While conceding that "the full promise of stem cell research remains unknown" and "should not be overstated," Obama nevertheless expressed hope that the order will help spur faster progress in the search for cures to afflictions such as Parkinson's disease, cancer and spinal cord injuries.Researchers highly value embryonic stem cells because of their potential to turn into any organ or tissue cell in the body. Stem cells have this ability for a short time. A few days before the embryo would implant in the uterus, it starts to develop into specific cells that will turn into skin or eyes or other parts of a developing fetus.When the embryo is 4 or 5 days old, scientists extract the stem cells and put them in a petri dish. With the removal of these stem cells -- of which there may be about 30 -- the embryo is destroyed.

Twenty-one of the 60 stem cell lines authorized for research under the Bush policy have proven useful to researchers. Bush twice vetoed legislation -- in July 2006 and June 2007 -- that would have expanded federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

At the time, Bush maintained that scientific advances allowed researchers to conduct groundbreaking research without destroying human embryos.

Conservative leaders echoed Bush's rationale in their criticism of Obama's decision.

"Advancements in science and research have moved faster than the debates among politicians in Washington, D.C., and breakthroughs announced in recent years confirm the full potential of stem cell research can be realized without the destruction of living human embryos," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Sunday.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, said the Bush policy imposed proper ethical limits on science.

"My basic tenet here is I don't think we should create life to enhance life and to do research and so forth," Shelby said Sunday. "I know that people argue there are other ways. I think we should continue our biomedical research everywhere we can, but we should have some ethics about it."

The issue of whether to lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has, however, exposed a clear rift between the more moderate and conservative factions of the GOP.

In February, a group of six moderate GOP congressmen sent a letter to Obama urging him to lift the funding ban.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan also issued a statement Monday thanking Obama for lifting the ban.

"These new rules will now make it possible for scientists to move forward," Reagan said. "Countless people, suffering from many different diseases, stand to benefit from the answers stem cell research can provide. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to do everything in our power to find cures for these diseases."

President Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after leaving office -- an affliction that many scientists say eventually may be cured with the help of embryonic stem cell research.

Obama's presidential memorandum, however, may turn out to have a broader impact than his executive order.

The memorandum is expected to create a clear change of tone from the Bush administration on a broad range of scientific issues.

Bush's critics argued the former president allowed political factors improperly to influence funding decisions for science initiatives as well as to skew official government findings on issues such as global warming.

Africa Americas Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East South Asia UK Business Market Data Economy Companies Health Science & Environment Tech

The US jobless rate jumped in February to 8.1%, according to official figures from the Labor Department.

The number of people out of work rose by 651,000 during the month. Both figures were bigger than expected.

The number of job cuts in January was revised up to 655,000 while December's losses were pushed up to 681,000.

December's figure was the biggest job loss in a single month since October 1949. The unemployment rate was the highest since December 1983.The extra 161,000 jobs added to December and January's figures mean that almost two million jobs have been lost in the past three months.

A total of 12.5 million people are now unemployed in the US.

"It just continues to show the grim state of the labour market, which suggests a deepening US recession," said Joe Manimbo, currency trader at Ruesch International in Washington.

There were further signs of companies cutting back on their spending with the news that the number of people who wanted to work full-time but were forced to work part-time for economic reasons rising 787,000 to 8.6 million.The average working week stood at 33.3 hours, matching the record low set in December.

Jobs were cut in most sectors, with only government, education and health services adding staff.

In the manufacturing sector 168,000 jobs were cut in the month while 104,000 jobs went in construction and 375,000 were cut in the service sector.

"The payroll numbers are very weak. With the revisions, we've had significant job losses in the past four months," said Gary Thayer, senior economist at Wachovia Securities in St Louis.

"Companies are reducing workers and output in order to bring inventories into line with weak sales."

Among the companies that announced big job cuts in February were Goodyear, Estee Lauder, Macy's and General Motors.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier in the week that economic indicators "show little sign of improvement" and suggest that "labour market conditions may have worsened further in recent weeks".

More young girls face rape in Afghanistan

Rapes targeting girls as young as seven are on the increase in Afghanistan where conditions for women are little better than under the Taliban, the U.N. and rights groups say.
In its annual report on human rights, the U.N. warned conditions were deteriorating in the war-ravaged country despite U.S.-led efforts after the 2001 removal from power of the hardline militia.

"Violence is tolerated or condoned within the family and community, within traditional and religious leadership circles, as well as the formal and informal justice system," said Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

The "Afghan government has failed to adequately protect the rights of women despite constitutional guarantees."

With a resurgent Taliban targeting NATO forces, government security forces and civilians, violence has been on the increase in Afghanistan..

The number of civilian casualties in 2008 totaled 2,118 -- the highest number recorded since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, the U.N. said, urging greater protecting for ordinary Afghans.

Violence against women comes in the form of rape, "honor killings," early and forced marriages, sexual abuse and slavery, the report says. "The security is the big issue," said Suraya Pakzad, founder of the Voice of Women Organization, which promotes education and awareness of women's rights and protects women and girls at risk in Afghanistan.

People’s dreams to materialise soon; Nawaz

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has said the dream of a prosperous and economically viable Pakistan will soon come true.

Addressing a massive public rally here, Nawaz said the people of Pakistan have been demanding their rights for the last 60 years and soon they will emerge victorious.

He said the PML-N would fulfill the commitments it made to the people. He said soon a new era of hope and democracy would usher in the country. He said the PML-N would ensure the supremacy of law and constitution.

Nawaz said he would join the protest rally in future, PML-N chief also regretted he could not timely participate in the rally due to his engagements with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan.

He said President Asif Ali Zardari belittled his own words by not honoring his promises that were enshrined in the Charter of Democracy (CoD). Nawaz said the long march would play a decisive role once it reaches Islamabad.

‘I did not compromise over people’s interest. We joined the federal cabinet on Zardari’s insistence and I did not ask for any material benefit from Zardari before and even after the general elections”, he told a wavering crowd.

Terming the apex court decisions in former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his cases unjust, Nawaz said president Zardari is contravening the very manifesto of the PPP which was promised to the nation by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Struggle to help Gaza's traumatised

Omsyat, 12, has become nervous and aggressive, Hala, 7, has completely stopped speaking and Sobhy, 11, burned the toys he was brought with a candle, says their mother, Wafa Awersha.

Psychiatric nurse Rowiya Hamam nods as she sits on a thin mattress on floor of the tent in al-Atatra in northern Gaza.

In what is now their home, Mrs Awersha updates her on how the five children are coping with their brother's death in the recent conflict.

Sobhy stares at the floor fiddling with a toy as he is asked about his loss

Ibrahim, 9, was hit by Israeli bullets on 4 January and died before his siblings' eyes, with their injured parents barely conscious nearby, the family say.

His body lay for four days outside their house before the fighting waned enough for neighbours to take it away on a donkey cart.

Israel blames civilian casualties on militants' practice of operating from populated areas and says Palestinian fighters fired at its forces during the daily unilateral three-hour ceasefire it instituted to allow emergency workers to reach the dead and injured.

Several hundred of the 1,300 Palestinian deaths were children and some accounts of civilian deaths have raised concerns of war crimes.

After Ibrahim's death, Sobhy began behaving like his sibling and asking to be called Ibrahim, Ms Hamam says.

"School's fine," he says, when asked. "I like maths." But he stares at the ground and tears soon well in his eyes.


Audio gallery: Children's drawings

Mrs Awersha says he used to be top in his class, but he struggles to concentrate now.

Hala covers her head with a blanket whenever Ibrahim is mentioned, while Diya, 3, beheaded the soft toys he was given, Ms Hamam says.

'For my kids'

Ms Hamam is one of a team of mental health workers in Gaza that say they have been "overwhelmed" by the scale of the needs since the conflict.

She has visited the Awersha family several times, bringing toys and games, trying to help the children express their feelings and teaching them deep breathing exercises.

Mrs Awersha smiles and teases the children as she scrapes the girls' matted hair into pony tails and helps them put on the school smocks rescued from the rubble of their home. The tent buzzes with fat, black flies.

Mrs Awersha exhales hard when asked how she is coping. And then the tears flow.

Wafa says she jokes with her children, but cries when she is alone

"Maybe you found me making people laugh, but honestly I'm doing this just for my kids," she says.

Whenever she goes back to her bulldozed home and stands in the spot where Ibrahim was killed, she weeps and weeps, she says.

Gaza's mental health professionals have been working flat out in schools, kindergartens, clinics, homes and tents to try to help similar cases.

Hassan Zeyada, who heads the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme's centre in Gaza City, and his colleague, psychiatrist Sami Owaida, say they are exhausted.

"Many of our colleagues lost relatives. We have to give support, but sometimes we feel that we need support," says Dr Oweida.

Dr Zeyada also points out the difficulty of treating "ongoing and continuous trauma" in a place where a long-term political solution remains elusive.

"Sometimes you feel you are wasting your efforts. Another invasion, another war, another attack will happen - you feel they will demolish or destroy all your efforts," he says.

Anxiety

Ongoing trauma too plagues the residents of Israel's southern towns, who live under the constant threat of Palestinian rocket fire, with about 8,000 rockets and mortars fired since 2001.

At least 18 people have been killed in that time. Children under eight have known little else but a constantly heightened state of anxiety.


Children hit hard as Gaza toll rises
Sderot longs for end to rockets

And even after the recent fighting, which Israel said was aimed at reducing the rocket fire, a steady flow of rockets and mortars has continued.

But while mental health workers on both sides say at least 20-30% of the population suffers symptoms of trauma, the Israeli south is clearly better equipped to tackle the problems than Gaza.

GCMHP say there are only five clinical psychiatrists in Gaza trained to international standards, and no clinical psychologists.

'Basics for life'

John Jenkins, the World Health Organization's mental health project manager for the West Bank and Gaza , says that, as well as difficulties in getting people with the right skills into Gaza , shortages of drugs such as tranquilisers and antidepressants are a constant problem.

He says it is too early to assess the scale of the mental health needs from the recent conflict, as the impact of trauma takes time to emerge.

Living in a tent makes it harder for children to regain a sense of normality


But human beings' ability to deal with stress is "quite remarkable", he says, and the majority of people do not need specialist treatment.

"What people really need are the basic things in life," he says, such as reliable food supplies, a secure place to live and prospects for work. This should "absolutely" be the priority, he says.

But as Ms Hamam traipses away past the rows of tents, while children in flip-flops clamour at her to bring them shoes, she says that for the Awersha children, the conditions will make recovery harder.

"Before the war, they had their routine - come home, watch TV, write their homework, but in the tent it's very difficult."

"It will take too much time for them to recover," she says shaking her head sadly.

Analysis: Attack puts sport in terror gunsights

The media are in place, thousands of fans watching and major stars present. It's not hard to see why sport makes a tempting target for terrorists and, say security experts, Tuesday's attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team could set the two worlds on a new collision course.

One of eight Palestinian terrorists behind the Munich Olympic killings of Israeli athletes.

At least seven people -- six police officers and a driver of a van carrying umpires -- were killed when a gang of 12 gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore that also left eight players and their coach injured.

The attack is not the first involving Pakistan's cricket world, a fact that reflects both the volatility of a country caught in the crossfire of an international terror conflict and also the game's prominence in South Asia, where passions for cricket regularly enter politics.

In 2002 a suicide bomb blast outside the New Zealand cricket team's hotel in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi left players unhurt but killed 11 French Navy experts, two Pakistanis and the team's physiotherapist.

The wider sports world has weathered more direct attacks, most notably the Munich Olympics of 1972 when 11 Israeli team members were held hostage then murdered by Arab militants demanding the release of various prisoners.

And in 1996, the Olympics were again targeted, this time by Eric Rudolph, a suspected member of an anti-abortion white supremacist sect, who detonated explosives killing two people and injuring 120 others in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ahead of the 2008 Games in Beijing, China deployed a massive security presence saying it had foiled a terrorist hijacking plot and warning it faced further threat in its Muslim-majority northwest -- although it did not produce evidence to back its claims.

The British government has already earmarked $840 million for policing and security for the 2012 London Games, with officials at pains to reassure over safety in a city where 52 people died in July 2005 terrorist attacks on its transit network.

But though the Olympics may be surrounded by a ring of steel, the many hundreds of events across the world that make up the annual sporting calendar represent much softer targets, and says security analyst Will Geddes, the potential for further attack is real.Geddes, CEO of International Corporate Protection, says the fallout from Tuesday's incident will be watched with interest by terror groups looking for new ways of getting their message across with the greatest possible impact.

He told CNN that, unlike events such as Munich, which related to the already widely-publicized Israeli-Palestinian conflict, modern media coverage of sports events has the potential to put the spotlight on lesser-known radicals seeking to maximize exposure.

"These days in international terrorism small groups that want to get their agenda across to the widest audience are continually innovating in terms of the target and how to ensure they get the most publicity with as much embarrassment as possible for the country involved," he told CNN.

Says Geddes, although it remains unclear who is behind Tuesday's attack, it may already be viewed as a success by its perpetrators in terms of the global headlines it has garnered and the damage it has caused to Pakistan's reputation.

Such a result would be an attractive prospect to groups such as militants seeking to reignite conflict over the disputed region of Kashmir that has dogged Indian-Pakistani relations for decades -- and also disrupted sporting ties between the two nations.
"We can't rule out the possibility that this will happen again in the future. It has generated massive, massive publicity and bad press for the Pakistan government and it throws a question mark over future events and whether anyone will feel safe touring there."

Pak shares Lahore attack leads with Sri Lanka

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan is against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, speaking at a joint news conference with Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagam, said terrorism is a global issue that requires a global response. He said Pakistan had shared important leads of Lahore attack with Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan foreign minister said his country condemns terrorism. He lauded bravery of martyred policemen who saved lives of Sri Lankan cricketers. Rohitha Bogollagam termed Liberty attack a bid to sour Pak-Sri Lankan relations.

Serena tops Venus to win Billie Jean King Cup exhibition

NEW YORK - Serena Williams beat her older sister Venus 6-4 6-3 to win the Billie Jean King Cup exhibition on Monday, marking the return of women's tennis to Madison Square Garden after a nine-year absence.

Australian Open champion Serena, who defeated 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 6-3 in her one-set semi-final, collected $400,000 in the first women's matches at the Garden since the 2000 WTA Championships.

Venus, winner of her last two tournaments in Dubai and Acapulco, settled for $300,000. The reigning Wimbledon champion beat world number three Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4 in her first match.

The Serbs got $250,000 each in the $1.2 million event.

"Venus and I are so excited to be playing here," Serena said after an arduous final, during which she slipped over while chasing a baseline retrieval and later crashed onto the blue court when trying to reach a backhand volley.

"It was really good, really intense," the 27-year-old world number one said.

Venus, who leads the sisters' WTA tournament head-to-head series 10-9, said: "I tried but Serena was too good."

The first set turned on a marathon, with a tense ninth game that reached deuce nine times. Serena finally cracked her older sister's serve on her eighth break point for a 5-4 lead before serving out the set.

EMOTIONAL CEREMONY

Before the Williams match, an emotional ceremony was held to honor women's sports pioneer and equal rights campaigner King, keynoted by former President Bill Clinton.

"There were millions of young women all across America who couldn't play sports or pursue dreams that were thought to be the province of boys," Clinton said. "That was before Billie Jean King.

"She's done a lot not only to help women pursue their tennis dreams but other dreams well beyond athletics. She has probably done more than anyone in the world to empower women and to educate men."

King said: "The seeds for this historic event were planted almost 40 years ago when nine of us...signed a $1 contract to play a tournament in Houston.

"We had such big plans for our sport. We dreamed of playing in the world's greatest arenas, like Madison Square Garden."

The exhibition was also used to spark a youth registration push called "Tennis Night in America" with 750 facilities in all 50 states holding sign-up parties for youth tennis programs built around screenings of the Billie Jean King Cup event.

Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore

LAHORE: Gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in a gun and grenade assault Tuesday in the Pakistani city of Lahore that killed eight people and wounded seven members of the squad.



The attack sparked condemnation from around the world and threw a massive question mark over the future of the game in the troubled nation -- a co-host for the 2011 cricket World Cup.


‘The plan was apparently to kill the Sri Lankan team but the police came in the way and forced the attackers to run away,’ Lahore's police chief Habib-ur Rehman said.


‘They appeared to be well-trained terrorists,’ he told reporters.


Rehman said up to 12 gunmen ambushed the team's convoy close to the Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons, unleashing a fierce gunbattle with security forces.


The gunmen fled after the ambush, triggering a giant manhunt.


It was the first deadly attack against a sports team in this nuclear-armed country, where more than 1,600 people have died in a wave of Islamist attacks in less than two years, and where Al-Qaeda and Taliban shelter in its northwest.


Witnesses said the upmarket district of Lahore, home to many designer boutiques, was transformed into a battle zone as gunmen hidden behind trees opened fire in a sophisticated, coordinated attack.


‘The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium,’ Sri Lanka's captain Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo.


‘The gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first, and then the bus. We all dived to the floor to take cover.’



He said most of the team's injuries appeared to be minor and caused by debris, and said the players owed the bus driver their ‘lives’ for his courage under fire.


It could have been worse -- Rehman said the attackers fired a rocket which missed the bus, then threw grenades underneath which failed to explode.


A police official said two civilians and six policemen guarding the players were killed in the attack as the team was heading for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan.


Sri Lankan officials said seven team players and a coach were wounded.


Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana were treated in hospital but out of danger, while Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara and Suranga Lokumal had minor injuries.


Assistant coach Paul Farbrace, a British national, was also hurt.


Samaraweera is one of Sri Lanka's leading players and earlier this week he became only the seventh batsmen in Test cricket to notch a double hundred in consecutive matches.


Sri Lanka said it was rushing its foreign minister to Pakistan in the wake of the assault, which Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse called a ‘cowardly terrorist attack.’



Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also strongly condemned the ‘terrorist’ attack and ordered an inquiry.


Two air force helicopters evacuated the Sri Lankan team from the stadium to Lahore airport, from where they were to be flown home late Tuesday.


Experts defused two car bombs and recovered grenades, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of explosives, a pistol and a detonating cable.


Blood stained the front seats of a vehicle used by Pakistan's elite force that had been assigned to protect the team, the van raked with gunfire with its wheels shot up and radio system disabled.


There was no immediate claim of responsibility although fears of an attack by Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda have caused many cricket teams to cancel tours to Pakistan in recent years.


Pakistani officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of the November 2008 assault on the Indian city of Mumbai, which was blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants.


India's immediate reaction was to say that Pakistan needed to dismantle its ‘infrastructure of terrorism’ and that security for the Sri Lankan cricketers had been ‘hopelessly inadequate.’The attack also came as the Sri Lankan army pressed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has cost tens of thousands of lives.


Pakistani shares slumped three percent on Tuesday as analysts warned the attacks would further blight business already beset by the global financial crisis.


David Morgan, president of the International Cricket Council, warned that Pakistan could not host international cricket unless it drastically improved security.


‘Things will have to change dramatically in Pakistan, in my opinion, if any of the games are to be staged there,’ he told BBC television. The 2011 World Cup is due to co-hosted by Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.
Last month, Australia forced Pakistan to change the venue of their one-day series in April/May to Dubai and Abu Dhabi because of security fears.


India also refused to send its team across the border following the Mumbai attacks and a spate of bombings in Pakistan over the past year.

Eight dead in attack on Sri Lanka cricketers in Lahore

LAHORE: Gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in a gun and grenade assault Tuesday in Lahore that killed eight people including six police personnel and wounded five members of the squad.

"The plan was apparently to kill the Sri Lankan team but the police came in the way and forced the attackers to run away," Lahore's police chief Habib-ur Rehman said.

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists," he told reporters.

Rehman said up to 12 gunmen ambushed the team's convoy close to the Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons, unleashing a fierce gun battle with security forces. The gunmen fled after the ambush, triggering a giant manhunt.

Witnesses said the up market district of Lahore, home to many designer boutiques, was transformed into a battle zone as gunmen hidden behind trees opened fire in a sophisticated, coordinated attack.

Police officials said two civilians and six policemen guarding the players were killed in the attack as the team was heading for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan. Sri Lankan officials said seven team players and a coach were wounded.

Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana were treated in hospital but out of danger, while Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara and Suranga Lokumal had minor injuries. Assistant coach Paul Farbrace, a British national, was also hurt.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani also strongly condemned the "terrorist" attack and ordered an inquiry.

Two air force helicopters evacuated the Sri Lankan team from the stadium to Lahore airport, from where they were to be flown home late Tuesday. Experts defused two car bombs and recovered grenades, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of explosives, a pistol and a detonating cable.

Blood stained the front seats of a vehicle used by Pakistan's elite force that had been assigned to protect the team, the van raked with gunfire with its wheels shot up and radio system disabled.

The attack has sparked condemnation from around the world and threw a massive question mark over the future of the game in Pakistan -- a co-host for the 2011 cricket World Cup.

Hyundai Motor Group to invest $6 billion in 2009

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group HYGR.JK plans to invest nearly $6 billion this year, similar to 2008, and will focus on developing environment-friendly cars, as the world's No. 5 carmaker eyes longer-term growth beyond the current crisis.

The global auto industry is reeling under an unprecedented demand slump that has sparked production cuts, layoffs and government bailouts. General Motors Corp (GM.N) on Thursday posted a loss of nearly $31 billion for 2008.

Hyundai Motor Group, which has Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS) under its wing, said it would invest about 9 trillion won ($5.9 billion) this year, similar to its spending last year.

Of the planned investment in 2009, 6 trillion won would be spend on facilities with the remaining 3 trillion won earmarked for research and development, Hyundai said in a statement.

Hyundai is considered better positioned than its Japanese and U.S. rivals to weather the global recession thanks to the weaker won currency and a line-up of cheaper cars.

Hyundai's total global vehicle sales fell 27 percent in January year-on-year, but its U.S. sales rose nearly 10 percent.

The group, which has taken steps to slash costs and cut executives' salaries, said its research efforts would focus on greener vehicles as demand for less-polluting, fuel-efficient cars was expected to surge once the global economy improves.

Hyundai said it would spend 2.4 trillion won over the coming years on environment-friendly cars.

It aims to launch a gasoline-electric hybrid car model in July in South Korea. The group also plans to develop a commercial fuel-cell car model by 2012.

Abu Dhabi reviewing Citigroup investment: sources

ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi is assessing its $7.5 billion investment in Citigroup as the bank's problems deepen and consequences of a possible nationalization become clearer, according to sources close to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

ADIA invested $7.5 billon last year in Citi through convertible bonds that pay 11 percent in interest, but it must start converting the bonds into 235.6 million shares in Citigroup from March next year.

"Nothing has changed from ADIA's perspective at this point. ADIA's convertible bonds are due for conversion in a phased manner between March 2010 and September 2011, and that stands," an Abu Dhabi government official told Reuters.

"But it is carefully assessing its options due to the latest events -- although no decision is taken yet," he said, declining to be named.

A spokesman for ADIA, thought to be the world's largest sovereign fund, declined to comment.

Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest of seven emirates within the United Arab Emirates, the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.

ADIA's returns as a bondholder have been unaffected by continuing troubles at Citigroup, but the dramatic fall in Citi's share price has eroded the conversion value of the mandatory convertible bonds.

In the original deal with ADIA, the Citi securities must be converted into common stock at a price between $31.83 and $37.24 a share between March 2010 and September 2011. Citi last traded at $1.50 a share.

Options for the investment include holding them through to the conversion, which may allow enough time for the share price to recover, or converting them early, in a move that may head off the possibility of the U.S. government nationalizing it.

"We know ADIA is following the recent developments closely, but as a bondholder, ADIA's investments are secure because the U.S. government has left bond holders untouched, unlike other investors such as preferred shareholders," a senior Abu Dhabi-based banker close to ADIA said.

"However, it is early days, and we need to wait and see what ramifications the latest events would have and whether there would be pressure on investors in bonds to convert (early)," he said.

Citi, he said, has been urging preferred shareholders and convertible bond holders to convert to common stock to help avoid nationalization by the U.S. government.

FORCED CONVERSION?

On Friday, the U.S. government announced it would convert up to $25 billion of its $45 billion worth of preferred stock into common equity at $3.25 per share.

Other preferred shareholders, including the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed, will convert up to $27.5 billion of their holdings at the same price. Compared to Alwaleed or Singapore, ADIA has no aspirations in any controlling stake or a board seat and is just happy to ride along as an investor with regular returns. At least for the moment, ADIA's investment is safe," an Abu Dhabi-based financial analyst said.

"ADIA is a long-haul investor and is in a different boat compared to other investors in Citi," he said, declining to be named due to company policy.

Gulf sovereign funds have been badly burned buying into troubled U.S. banks, with the Kuwait Investment Authority investing last year in U.S. banks Citigroup and Merrill Lynch before both stocks dived and the latter was sold for a fraction of its earlier price to Bank of America.

Major sovereign wealth funds are now holding off big investments abroad, with some focusing on investing at home to stimulate economies in the wake of the global crisis, a recent survey showed.