| Youm-e-Ali (RA): Mobile service to remain suspended in various cities Posted: LAHORE (Dunya News) The government has instructed the mobile phone companies to suspend their services in various cities of the country including Karachi, Quetta, Lahore Multan and Sialkot as part of security arrangements for Youm-e-Ali (RA) today (Wednesday).The services would remain suspended in Lahore between 4:00am and 8:00 pm, Rawalpindi 4:00 am and 6:00 pm , Gujranwala 3:00 am and 1:00 am Thursday, Sargodha 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.The cellular services would also be shut in Jhnag, Sialkot and others cites.Foolproof security arrangements have made on the occasion of Youm-e Shahadat of Hazrat Ali (RA) as large rallies are taken out and procession and gatherings are organized across the country.  |
| Israel, Palestinians eye peace deal in 9 months Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed Tuesday to meet again within two weeks to start substantive negotiations on a so-far elusive peace deal with the goal of reaching a deal within nine months, Secretary of State John Kerry said.Speaking as the two sides wrapped up an initial two days of talks at the State Department after paying a visit to President Barack Obama at the White House, Kerry said Israel and the Palestinians were committed to sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues that divide them. He said the next round of negotiations would take place in either Israel or the Palestinian territories at an as yet-unspecified date before mid-August.Kerry said he was aware of the deep skepticism surrounding the new push for peace and acknowledged that the road ahead would be difficult. Yet, he said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached. While I understand the skepticism, I dont share it. And I dont think we have time for it, he said.Kerry said the negotiations, to be mediated on a day-to-day basis by his new Mideast peace envoy, Martin Indyk, would be cloaked in secrecy and that the parties had agreed that he would be the only person to comment on them. He quickly added that he would not comment on them, leaving unclear the framework for the talks that he struggled for six months to get back on track.Earlier Tuesday, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with the lead negotiators Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat for about 30 minutes. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama called the meeting to directly express his personal support for final status negotiations. Obama pledged full US support to the process, Carney said.At the State Department ceremony, Kerry was flanked by Livni and Erekat who each spoke briefly about the need to resolve the long-standing conflict.Its time for the Palestinian people to have an independent sovereign state of their own, said Erekat, who spoke first. Its time for the Palestinians to live in peace, freedom and dignity within their own independent, sovereign state.Livni allowed that she and Erekat had been involved in failed negotiations before, notably the Annapolis Process that former President George W. Bush initiated in 2008, but she said this time could be different.You know, Saeb, she said to Erekat, we all spent some time in the negotiations room ... but we didnt complete our mission. And this is something that we need to do now, in these negotiations that we will launch today. And the opportunity has been created for us, for all of us, and we cannot afford to waste it.I believe that history is not made by cynics; it is made by realists who are not afraid to dream, Livni added. Let us be these people.  |
| New DRS feed to be tried in 3rd Ashes Test Posted: MANCHESTER (AFP) - This weeks third Ashes Test will see the International Cricket Council (ICC) trial an independent television feed with the aim of improving its controversial Decision Review System.DRS, designed to eliminate the howler by on-field umpires, has been at the centre of several controversial decisions in the first two Test of the Ashes, both of which England have won to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has been among those leading calls for the system to become a fully independent operation and not, as is currently the case, be reliant on the technology of the host broadcaster.Now this weeks Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford will see the ICC trial an independent feed, although it will not yet be available to help the third umpire with his deliberations.Earlier this month, ICC chief executive David Richardson explained how the new feed, which is still at the drawing-board stage, might work as part of an improved DRS set-up.There will be a bank of televisions in the third umpires room -- with Hawkeye, replays and Hot Spot directly available to him to look at independently to what is on TV, Richardson said.At the moment the third umpire talks to the TV producer and says Can I have a look at this?, the former South Africa wicketkeeper added.The idea is you give the third umpire access to information he needs much quicker and (you are) not reliant on the television producer to do it.  |
| Anderson hopes to win Ashes 5-0 Posted: MANCHESTER (AFP) - England spearhead James Anderson said on Tuesday that the side were focused solely on the job in the hand ahead of the third Ashes Test against Australia and not a 5-0 whitewash.Ashes-holders England have put themselves in pole position to retain the urn by going 2-0 up in the five-match series with victories at Trent Bridge and Lords ahead of this weeks clash at Lancashire paceman Andersons Old Trafford home ground.Only last week Anderson, who turned 31 on Tuesday, said: We want to win the series 5-0, so we will be doing everything we can in each game to win.But in his latest remarks, he indicated the best way of achieving a 5-0 sweep -- something England have never managed against arch-rivals Australia -- was to concentrate on one Test at a time.When the third Test starts on Thursday it will be the first time Old Trafford -- which shares its name with the nearby Manchester United football ground -- has staged an Ashes match since 2005 when Australias last-wicket pair of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath batted out the final four overs of a thrilling draw.Since 2005, Old Trafford has undergone a 44 million ($67 million) redevelopment which has seen the pavilion modernised, a conference centre built and, perhaps the most striking change of all, the square turned so that pitches now face north-south rather than east-west axis.However, for all the changes the surface at Old Trafford -- where England off-spinner Jim Laker took a record 19 wickets for 90 runs in the 1956 Ashes Test -- remains helpful to slow bowlers.Monty Panesar has been added to Englands squad as a second spinner but Anderson was understandably keen the pitch should have something in it for himself and the rest of the hosts faster bowlers.Meanwhile Anderson said he had no specific information on Kevin Pietersens fitness after the batsman suffered a calf injury at Lords.England have added the in-form James Taylor to their squad as cover for Pietersen.Pietersen did bat in the nets on Tuesday and, with his left calf strapped up, joined his team-mates in a warm-up before going through his own training routine under the guidance of Englands physiotherapist.England are unlikely to say for definite if Pietersen is playing until they announce their team on Thursday.  |
| Australia will benefit from Warners return: Rogers Posted: MANCHESTER (AFP) - Chris Rogers said on Tuesday that Australia could only benefit from David Warners return, even though the opener may have to make way if his fellow left-hander plays in the third Test against England.Rogers is one of several Australia top order batsmen who have struggled so far in this years Ashes, scoring just 89 runs in four innings while England have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Warner, yet to play a Test against England, missed those defeats at Trent Bridge and Lords having been suspended in the run-up to the Ashes for punching Englands Joe Root in a Birmingham bar after Australia lost a Champions Trophy match to their arch-rivals last month.Instead the 26-year-old joined up with the Australia A side and bolstered his hopes of a Test recall when the third match of the Ashes starts at Old Trafford on Thursday by making 193 against South Africa A in Pretoria last week.David brings a lot of energy to the group. He goes 100mph and it is fantastic to see him get runs, Rogers told an Old Trafford news conference on Tuesday.He is such a destructive player, so if he bats for long he could put some real pressure on England.He is one of those ones the opposition know they have to get out quickly.If he bats for a while he can take the game away like a (Adam) Gilchrist used to do.Hopefully he can do that for us if he does play.I think they used Davey in the middle order when he played for Australia A -- I dont know if that is what they want to do but maybe it is.Warner has also opened in Tests, however, and Rogers did not hide from the fact that he could be dropped to make way for him.Darren (Lehmann, Australia coach) said we (Rogers and Shane Watson) were the openers to start but it us up to us to perform and I know if I dont perform I may not deserve a place in the side, he told reporters.Both Rogers and Warner could play in the same side if top-order batsman and part-time leg-spinner Steven Smith fails to recover in time from the stiff back that prevented him from training on Tuesday.Steve Smith may have tweaked his back yesterday (Monday) but its improved a bit and hopefully he will be all right to train tomorrow (Wednesday) and be good to go on the first day, Rogers said.  |
| Londons gay venues boycott Russian vodka Posted: LONDON, July 30, 2013 (AFP) - The G-A-Y Group, which runs the famous Heaven superclub, is among those removing Russian products after President Vladimir Putins government banned gay propaganda and cracked down on gay rights protests.As other countries move forwards (on gay rights), Russia is moving backwards, Jeremy Joseph, founder and owner of the G-A-Y Group, told AFP on Tuesday.Its important to show solidarity at a really hard time.Joseph said he had asked his four venues, including Heaven -- which has a capacity of almost 2,000 -- to take Russian drinks off the shelves with immediate effect.The Shadow Lounge, which calls itself Europes premier gay members club, and Manbar in Soho said they were boycotting Russian vodka, both naming Stolichnaya as the main brand affected.US writer Dan Savage called for the boycott last week, urging gay bars to dump Stoli and dump Russian vodka over what he called Putins anti-gay pogrom.Christopher Amos, owner of Manbar, said the boycott call had gone viral among the gay community internationally.Stolichnaya has already responded to the campaign, issuing an open letter dated Friday condemning the dreadful actions taken by the Russian government.Val Mendeleev, chief executive of the SPI Group, which owns the brand, said: Stolichnaya vodka has always been, and continues to be, a fervent supporter to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.We also thank the community for having adopted Stoli as their vodka of preference.He said the Russian government had no control or ownership over the brand, which originated in Russia but is now headquartered in Luxembourg.Joseph said he hoped the boycott would prompt supermarkets to follow suit, and added that corporate sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian resort of Sochi should also reconsider their position.Young gay men are being targeted, theres been murders -- theres no protection for them now, he said.You can attack a gay man in Russia and not face the consequences.Comptons, one of many gay venues on central Londons Old Compton Street, is taking part, and several of its neighbours said they were considering joining the campaign.Reports indicate some US bars have also heeded the call, including in Chicago.More than 1,300 people have signed up on Facebook for a gay rights protest outside Londons Russian embassy on August 10.Putin this month signed a law banning same-sex couples in foreign countries from adopting Russian children.Last month the country introduced a law imposing jail terms for people promoting homosexual propaganda to minors, while dozens were arrested at gay rights protests for which authorities had refused permission.Also in June, investigators said three men in the eastern region of Kamchatka were suspected of kicking and stabbing their neighbour to death because he was gay.The murder came less than a month after a 23-year-old man was beaten to death and sodomised with beer bottles in an apparent homophobic attack in the southern city of Volgograd.  |
| 17 people burnt to death in bus, truck collision Posted: PESHAWAR (AFP) - At least 17 people, including three children, burned to death in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday when a gas cylinder exploded on a bus after it collided with a truck, officials said.The bus was carrying passengers to the city of Bannu when the collision happened on a highway around 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.The gas cylinder installed in the bus leaked after the accident and it caught fire, said Dil Nawaz Khan, a senior government official in Karak city, where the accident happened.All 18 people on board were burnt and only one passenger could survive. His position is also critical, he told AFP.Hospital officials said six women and children were also among the dead.We received 17 dead bodies including the bodies of three children and as many women. Most of the dead bodies are badly mutilated and could not be identified, Sarfraz Khan, a doctor at Karaks public hospital, told AFP.  |
| Black Italy minister demands stop to racist taunts Posted: MILAN (AP) - Italys first black minister has demanded that the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League political party put a clear and sharp stop to racist remarks directed at her by members of his party.Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge said Tuesday that she told Roberto Maroni that the behavior of some members of the Northern League had become intolerable.Kyenge has been the target of numerous racist outbursts since accepting the Cabinet post in Enrico Lettas 3-month-old government.In the latest incidents, Northern League council members walked out of a meeting she attended in a town near Milan and a Northern League official near Padua likened her to a gorilla in a Facebook post.Kyenge says she wont be intimidated into stepping down, nor does she believe Italians in general are racist.  |
| 17 killed in air, mortar attacks in Syria Posted: DAMASCUS (AP) - Mortar attacks and air raids in two major cities in Syria killed at least 17 people, activists and government officials said Tuesday, as a Kurdish opposition leader was killed in the north.The deadliest attack struck the central city of Homs, which has been an opposition stronghold since the beginning of the two-year conflict and is now the target of a withering offensive by President Bashar Assads forces.Three mortars slammed into a government-held district of Dablan before dawn Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 26 others, a government official. He said many living in the neighborhood fled there to escape fighting elsewhere in Homs. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations for civil servants.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people including a child were killed. The Observatory, citing hospital officials, also said attack happened late Monday close to midnight.Homs has been the center of protests against Assads rule since the Syrian revolt started in March 2011. In recent weeks, the city has been the scene of fierce fighting between Assads troops and rebels fighting to topple his regime.On Monday, government troops captured Homs strategic area of Khaldiyeh after a monthlong battle, bringing Assads regime closer to its goal of capturing all of Syrias third largest city.In northern Syria, regime warplanes hit the town of Andan, killing seven people, including five children, the Observatory said.Much territory in the north and the northeast along the borders with Turkey and Iraq has been under rebel control since last summer, when the opposition forces seized large swaths of land and several neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syrias largest city. In February, rebels also captured Raqqa, the first city to fall entirely under opposition control.In the past months, Assads troops regrouped and have been battling rebels on multiple fronts, capturing strategic towns near the border with Lebanon and steadily regaining control of territory they previously lost to the opposition, including around the capital, Damascus, the seat of Assads power.The battlefield successes largely have been credited to the regimes superior firepower, including heavy artillery and fighter jets, as well as battle-hardened fighters from Lebanons militant Hezbollah group that have been fighting rebels alongside Syrian troops in recent weeks.While the rebels have been forced into retreat on the central front, rebel-on-rebel fighting also has sapped energy from anti-Assad forces.A prominent Kurdish opposition leader, Issa Hisso, was killed Tuesday in a bomb attack in the city of Qamishli, near the border with Turkey, the Observatory said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A Kurdish member of the Syrian parliament, Omar Ossi, confirmed to The Associated Press that Hisso had died in car bombing.Hisso was an opponent of Assads regime. He also was speaking against radical Islamic groups, including the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which have gained influence in the opposition movement after leading several battles against the regime.Kurds, the largest ethnic minority in Syria, make up more than 10 percent of the countrys 23 million people. Their loyalties in the conflict are split. Kurdish rebel factions have fought al-Qaida lined militants in recent weeks for control of the territory they captured from the regime together.More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict and millions have been driven out of their homes, seeking shelter in safer areas of the country or in the neighboring Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.  |
| Wife of Syrian journalist indicted in his killing Posted: BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanons state-run National News Agency says a prosecutor has indicted the wife of a Syrian journalist along with two of her relatives in the killing of her husband.Mohammed Darrar Jammo, who spoke out stridently in favor of President Bashar Assad, was shot dead on July 17 in the southern Lebanese town of Sarafand. Authorities said gunmen raided his apartment and shot Jammo almost 30 times.Syrias civil war has set off political and sectarian tensions in neighboring Lebanon. It was initially thought the killing was part of that.But Tuesday, the Lebanese news agency reported Jammos wife Siham Younes and her brother and nephew had been arrested. The three face a possible death sentence.Officials said Jammo and his wife fought before his death.  |
| Wealthy Greeks set to pay for police bodyguard Posted: ATHENS (AP) - Wealthy Greeks fearing attacks by anarchist groups will no longer be entitled to free police bodyguards in the latest cost-cutting plan from a government trying to meet budget targets set by international creditors.The Public Order Ministry said Tuesday that individuals with a net income of more than 100,000 euros ($132,500) a year will have to pay for their own police protection from potential terrorist and organized crime attacks. Under the plan, they will have to pay 2,000 euros ($2,650) per month for each officer acting as a bodyguard and a daily fee of 50 euros for use of a patrol car.The new pay-for-protection scheme still needs to be signed off by the Finance Ministry and will not include elected officials, judges, or public sector executives. Private citizens currently receiving police protection include prominent businessmen and journalists who have been repeatedly threatened by anarchist groups, though few of the warnings have been specific.Nevertheless, theres been a resurgence of attacks lately amid growing public hostility toward those, whether in the public or private sector, seen as corrupt and incompetent and blamed for Greeces economic crisis.It is the latest in a series of austerity measures that the Greek government has had to enact in recent years in return for bailout cash to avoid bankruptcy. However, the spending cuts and tax increases have come at a heavy cost to the Greek economy. The country is in its sixth year of recession and the countrys unemployment rate has spiked to over 25 percent.The Greek state has routinely provided a level of protection to individuals widely seen as potential targets of far-left and anarchist militant groups. However, in this time of austerity, the police budget has become strained and the government is looking around for ways to keep a lid on costs.The ministry declined to make any immediate comment on the number of officers involved in security details and the projected amount of money that would be saved.The Greek Police Officers Association said the government had the right to recover some of the cost it spent on protection of individual citizens but described the system as poorly organized, reviewed infrequently, and governed by political influence.Police officers have borne a large brunt of the cuts to public sector pay. A typical officer receives around 1,100 euros ($1,460) in take-home monthly pay, while bonuses worth €300-400 euros ($400-530) to those on bodyguard duty per month have been scrapped.Last month, an armed group named Informal Anarchist Federation, which has links to other European militants, claimed responsibility for a series of parcel bomb attacks this year, one targeting the former director of the polices anti-terrorism division.In a report Monday, bailout monitors from the European Union pressed Greece to speed up cost-cutting reforms, including extensive public sector staff cuts, and announced that emergency taxes that have drastically cut into consumer spending are likely to be extended for another year, through 2016.  |
| US consumer confidence dips from 5-year high Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans confidence in the economy fell only slightly in July but stayed close to a 5 ½-year high, a sign that consumers should continue to help drive growth in the coming months.The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 80.3 in July. Thats down from a reading of 82.1 in June, which was revised slightly higher and the best reading since January 2008.Despite the slight drop in July, confidence remains well above year-ago levels. And consumers are more optimistic about the current job market.Overall, indications are that the economy is strengthening and may even gain some momentum in the months ahead, said Lynn Franco, an economist for the Conference Board that oversees the consumer confidence survey.Amna Asaf, an economist at Capital Economics, blamed the July drop in confidence on rising gasoline prices. But she said the confidence index remains at a level that is consistent with stronger growth in consumer spending in the July-September quarter.Consumers confidence in the economy is watched closely because their spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.The index surged in June, coinciding with a stronger job market. Employers added 195,000 jobs in June and many more in April and May than initially reported. That brought the monthly job growth up to an average of 202,000 in the first six months of 2013, up from 180,000 a month in the final six months of last year.The government releases the July employment report on Friday. Economists forecast that employers added 183,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent in June.A recovery in housing is also boosting confidence, and a separate report Tuesday offered more encouraging news on that front.The Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index jumped 12.2 percent in May compared with a year ago. Thats the biggest annual gain since March 2006. The gains were widespread with all 20 cities reporting monthly and annual increases.One reason why consumers are more confident than they were a year ago continues to be the comeback in housing, said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.Still, the Conference Board report showed consumers are still worried the economy remains vulnerable.Their assessment of current economic conditions improved in July, as did their view of the job market. But their short-term outlook for the economy and job market weakened slightly in July, signaling some worries about the next few months.The job market has shown surprising resilience in the face of tax increases, federal spending cuts and economic weakness overseas.Stronger hiring is not being reflected in overall economic growth at the moment. The government will release its first look at economic growth in the April-June quarter on Wednesday.That report is expected to show growth slowed to an annual rate of 1 percent or less, down from a subpar 1.8 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter.Economists are hopeful that the economy will rebound in the second half of the year as the adverse impact of the tax increases and spending cuts lessen. Many are forecasting a growth rate of around 2.5 percent in the second half of the year.Revisions to economic growth being released Wednesday could also show stronger growth at the start of the year.Despite recent gains, consumer confidence remains below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy. That level hasnt been reached since the Great Recession began in December 2007.  |
| US home prices rise 12.2 percent, best in 6 years Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - US home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May compared with a year ago, the biggest annual gain since March 2006. The increase shows the housing recovery is strengthening.The Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday also surged 2.4 percent in May from April. The month-over-month gain nearly matched the 2.6 percent increase in April from March the highest on record.The price increases were widespread. All 20 cities showed gains in May from April and compared with a year ago.Prices in Dallas and Denver reached the highest level on records dating back to 2000. That marks the first time since the housing bust that any city has reached an all-time high.Home values are rising as more people are bidding on a scarce supply of houses for sale. Steady price increases, along with stable job gains and historically low mortgage rates, have in turn encouraged more Americans to buy homes.One concern is that higher mortgage rates could slow home sales. But many economists say rates remain low by historical standards and would need to rise much faster to halt the momentum.Svenja Gudell, senior economist at Zillow, a home price data provider, said a big reason for the recent price gains is that foreclosed homes make up a smaller proportion of overall sales. Foreclosed homes are usually sold by banks at fire-sale prices.Gudell said higher mortgage rates and a likely increase in the number of homes for sale in the coming months should slow the pace of price gains and stabilize the housing market.The index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The May figures are the latest available. They are not adjusted for seasonal variations, so the monthly gains reflect more buying activity over the summer.Despite the recent gains, home prices are still about 25 percent below the peaks they reached in July 2006. Thats a key reason the supply of homes for sale remains low, as many homeowners are waiting to recoup their losses before putting their houses on the market.Dallas and Denver, the two cities that reached record highs, were not hit hard by the housing bust and therefore didnt experience the sharp price swings like cities in Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida.In Dallas, prices fell only 11.2 percent from their previous peak in June 2007 through February 2009. Thats far less than Las Vegas, where prices plummeted by more than half. Since bottoming out, home prices in Dallas have increased nearly 14 percent.In Denver, prices dropped 14.3 percent from August 2006 until they also hit bottom in February 2009. Since then, they have risen 17.3 percent.The biggest price gains are occurring in many of the states that experienced the worst housing bust.Prices jumped 24.5 percent in San Francisco in May from a year earlier, the largest increase. Las Vegas reported the next biggest gain at 23.3 percent, followed by Phoenix at 20.6 percent. All three remain well below their peak prices.The smallest yearly gains were in New York, at 3.3 percent, followed by Cleveland with 3.4 percent and Washington, D.C. at 6.5 percent.Higher home prices help the economy in several ways. They encourage more sellers to put their homes on the market, boosting supply and sustaining the housing recovery.And they make homeowners feel wealthier, encouraging consumers to spend more. Banks are also more willing to provide mortgage loans when homes are appreciating in value.Mortgage rates have surged since early May, though the increase would have had little impact on the current report. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has jumped a full percentage point since early May and reached a two-year high of 4.51 percent in late June.Mortgage rates jumped after Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve could slow its bond-buying program later this year if the economy continues to improve. The Feds bond purchases have kept long-term interest rates low, encouraging more borrowing and spending.In recent weeks, Bernanke and other Fed members have stressed that any change in the bond-buying program will depend on the economys health, not a set calendar date.Since those comments, interest rates have declined. The average on the 30-year mortgage was 4.31 percent last week.The Fed begins a two-day policy meeting Tuesday and could clarify its remarks further when the meeting concludes on Wednesday.  |
| No wine at lunch: China Communist Party warn cadres Posted: BEIJING (AP) Lavish weddings, fancy holidays and lunchtime wine on the public dime were among transgressions detailed Tuesday that led China's ruling Communist Party to discipline 2,290 officials so far this year in a frugality campaign aimed at addressing public anger.The party's disciplinary arm, quoted in official state media, provided eight examples of such breaches, including a party chief in a township in Hebei who was stripped of his post for holding an extravagant wedding for his daughter and receiving around 1 million yuan ($163,000) in cash and gifts.Party officials, led by President Xi Jinping, hail their efforts to eradicate extravagance among cadres as evidence that they are serious about cracking down on the graft that plagues them at every level. But while it might seem as though many officials have been admonished this year as part of the campaign, the number is only a small drop in China's ocean of 85 million party members.Official reports have also not indicated the seniority of the officials who were being punished, though most of the examples listed appeared to be mid- and low-level cadres. Xi has promised to target even high-level officials, who are usually seen as enjoying special protections that come with ties to the politically powerful.One analyst said such campaigns are only of limited use because they address only the symptoms of corruption rather than focus efforts on building systematic checks on power.Of course these are helpful to anti-corruption efforts, but they remain only the traditional way of fighting corruption, by using campaigns and iron-fisted administrative methods, said Hu Xingdou, a political economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology. There has been no progress in developing an anti-corruption mechanism.Hu said such a mechanism would include requiring officials to declare their assets, allowing for greater press freedom and stronger oversight of official organs.There is an even greater need for work on this front, he said.The 2,290 officials cited were punished for violating new guidelines aimed at curbing waste, the official Xinhua News Agency cited Xu Chuanzhi, a party official, as saying. Examples cited in Xinhua's report paint a picture of the privileges enjoyed by many government officials throughout China that are a source of public resentment.A community leader in the central city of Wuhan who led 10 staffers on a holiday in southern Hainan paid for by government funds was given a serious warning while staffers were ordered to return the funds spent on the vacation, it said.In central Hunan, the head of the provincial-level judicial bureau was handed a warning for hosting a massive wedding banquet for his son while 10 officials who misused police cars as part of the celebrations were also admonished.The party issued a serious disciplinary warning to the party chief of Gongzhuling, a northeastern city, for drinking wine at a weekday lunch, the report said.The campaign comes as more individuals have stepped forward to publicly accuse senior officials of wrongdoing.The allegations publicized mainly on microblogs but carried by Chinese media test the new leadership's resolve to fight graft at the highest levels.Liu Hu, a reporter with the New Express Daily newspaper, publicly accused the deputy head of China's industry regulator, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, of failing in his previous duties as an official in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing.The regulator's press office said it had no immediate comment on the report while a man who answered the phone at Chongqing's propaganda office said he had not heard about the allegations.  |
| Edler banned for 2 Olympics matches Posted: ZURICH (AP) - Sweden defenseman Alex Edler has been suspended for two Sochi Olympics matches for a dangerous hit on Canada captain Eric Staal at the world championships.The International Ice Hockey Federation says its disciplinary panel judged Edlers action to be reckless, dangerous and in disregard to the vulnerability of his opponent.Edler knocked Staal out of the quarterfinals with knee-on-knee hit in Stockholm in May, and was given a major penalty and game misconduct.Edler, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, was banned from the rest of the tournament as Sweden went on to become world champion.The IIHF says he attended a disciplinary hearing in Zurich last week which decided on a four-match total sanction.Edler must sit out Swedens matches against the Czech Republic and Switzerland in Sochi next February.  |
