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US leads mass walkout of Ahmadinejad speech at UN
Ahmadinejad blasts US over mysterious 9/11
15 killed in renewed violence in Yemeni capital
EU chief urges Israelis, Palestinians to resume talks
Libya holds back from assault on lack of Gaddafi redoubts
China FM tells US to revoke Taiwan arms sale
Mass demo in Chile demanding more education aid
Studies suggest 2 waves of ancient Asia settlement
Neil Armstrong says US space programme 'embarrassing'
Particles seen to travel faster than light: Scientists
Key US Senator says Haqqani should be on terror list
NASA defunct satellite to crash to earth today
Zardai, Gilani dismiss Mullen's charges
Arsenal need Bolton win to ease Wenger pressure
Golf: Liam Bond takes lead at Australian Open

US leads mass walkout of Ahmadinejad speech at UN

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The United States led a mass walkout of the UN General Assembly when Iran s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched an outspoken attack on Western nations. A US diplomat who was in the assembly hall to monitor the speech left halfway through, while the 27 European Union nations then followed in a coordinated protest move. The Iranian leader again cast doubt on the origins of the Holocaust and the September 11, 2001 attacks and criticized the United States for killing Osama bin Laden rather than bringing him to trial. Ahmadinejad has in the past drawn international condemnation for his use of major speeches to call for the destruction of Israel and indicate that the US government may have been involved in 9/11. Ahmadinejad told the UN summit that the United States and its allies use the Western media to "threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military action." The Iranian leader said he had been threatened by the US government after he last year alleged American government involvement in the attacks and called for an independent investigation. Moving to the US operation to kill bin Laden, Ahmadinejad said: "Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly bring to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin World Trade Center towers?" In a general blast at the West, Ahmadinejad said: "Hypocrisy and deceit are allowed in order to secure their interests and imperialistic goal." "Mr Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people s aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories," said US mission spokesman Mark Kornblau. A French spokesman called Ahmadinejad s attacks "unacceptable," while the German delegation said it had left the assembly because of the "crude, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-West tirade by the Iranian president."

Ahmadinejad blasts US over mysterious 9/11

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Making reference to what he called the "mysterious September 11th incident" and the "slave masters and colonial powers" of the West, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad excoriated Western member nations in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Ahmadinejad attacked the United States for its history of slavery, causing two world wars, using a nuclear bomb against "defenseless people," and imposing and supporting military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes on Asian, African and Latin American nations. He said that the US used the 9/11 attacks as a pretext for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the wars were in fact motivated by imperialism and a thirst for oil. "By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions," Ahmadinejad said. The US delegation walked out of the speech minutes after Ahmadinejad began speaking. The French representatives left shortly thereafter, when Ahmadinejad made reference to the Holocaust as a decades-old "excuse" for subservience to "Zionist" interests. Dozens of other diplomats followed the French.

15 killed in renewed violence in Yemeni capital

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Renewed violence in the Yemeni capital killed at least 15 people as forces loyal to the regime and its opponents shelled each other s strategic positions from hills surrounding the city, medical and security official said. The shelling over the city has terrified residents and emptied out city streets, already pockmarked by street battles between rival forces in different corners of the capital. A number of shops in a main boulevard in Sanaa were torched from earlier mortar shelling and oil spots covered the streets after electricity transformers also took a hit. Smoke billowed from the opposite edges of the city, as two military officials said rival forces were caught in an exchange of artillery and mortar shelling from northern and southern hills at the edge of Sanaa. It was not clear what was hit by the shelling. The Republican Guards, forces loyal to Saleh and led by the son of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have been in control of the south of Sanaa, while defecting military units led by Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a former Saleh aide who sided with the opposition, hold the city s north. Officials said six people were killed in central Sanaa when government forces shelled thousands gathered for a protest there with mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Snipers on rooftops also targeted the protesters at Change Square, the center of Yemen s seven-month-old uprising, and adjacent streets. Three bystanders were killed by a mortar shell in Sanaa s northern Hassaba district, the officials said. The district is home to several of the tribal chiefs who switched sides in March to join the opposition against Saleh s 33-year rule. The Interior Ministry later said four gunmen among supporters of Saleh were also killed. The rival side said one of its fighters was shot dead and 13 were wounded. The house of a former defense minister, who has declared his support for the protesters, was also hit by government shells, leaving one of the guards dead, a defecting military official said. The former minister himself was unharmed. The latest deaths took to about 100 the number of people killed in Sanaa and elsewhere in Yemen since Sunday, in the worst bout of bloodshed in months. The deaths also shattered hope that a cease-fire negotiated on Tuesday could be restored and significantly diminished the chances for a proposal by Yemen s Gulf Arab neighbors to end the crisis. The Gulf plan, backed by the United States, provides for Saleh to step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution and for the vice president to assume power until elections.

EU chief urges Israelis, Palestinians to resume talks

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In his address to the United Nations on the eve of a Palestinian bid for UN state membership the European Union s president urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks. "Now, the resumption of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is the top priority," EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in his address to the UN General Assembly. As a member of the Quartet seeking a negotiated resolution of the Middle East conflict -- alongside the UN, the United States and Russia -- the European Union is deeply engaged in the peace process, he said. Van Rompuy did not mention the proposal offered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy the previous day as a way to head off the diplomatic crisis caused by the Palestinians  UN bid. Under Sarkozy s plan, the Palestinians would be given an intermediate observer status at the United Nations, while the two sides would return to negotiations and have one year to reach a definitive agreement. "Now is the time for politics: for dialogue and negotiations. Populations have lived in fear and suffering for too long," Van Rompuy said. "That s why I say to the leaders on both sides: the time to act is now. There are political risks, but you need to take them -- just like some of your predecessors did -- with a view of offering a better and safer future to your communities," Van Rompuy said. "The status quo is no option. The wind of change across the entire region should help you to get out of impasses," the EU chief added, alluding to the recent wave of uprisings in the Arab world. Van Rompuy repeated the EU s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, under which a negotiated resolution would be based on Israel s 1967 borders with mutually acceptable land swaps. The EU is also "fully supporting financially" the Palestinian state-building process, Van Rompuy added.

Libya holds back from assault on lack of Gaddafi redoubts

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Forces loyal to Libya s new rulers said they were holding back on Thursday from advancing on Moammar Gaddafi s last redoubts despite their capture of two key southern oases. The commander of NATO s Libya air campaign, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, said he was confident the mission could be completed "well within" three months after the alliance extended it for another 90 days. Algeria, which has previously angered Libya s new rulers, announced it now recognised the National Transitional Council, while Tunisia jailed former Libyan premier Baghdadi al-Mahmudi for illegal entry. Meanwhile a new regime official said oil production will resume soon but a return to pre-uprising production levels is still far off. "We will return to production in the very next few days but exports will take longer," Mustafa el-Huni, who heads the economy, finance and oil commission at the National Transitional Council (NTC), said. But he added that "resuming Libya s normal production of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) is still far off."  On the battlefront commanders said the new regime forces were Thursday in full control of all three main towns in the Al-Jufra oasis, a day after the capture of Libya s largest desert city, Sabha, in the deep south. The defeat of Gaddafi loyalists in the Saharan oases left diehards in his hometown of Sirte and in the desert city of Bani Walid to its west effectively cut off from any line of escape to the south. "Al-Jufra -- Hun, Waddan and Sokna -- is liberated," a military spokesman in Libya s third largest city Misrata said in a statement Thursday. On Wednesday an NTC official said new regime forces had seized Waddan on Tuesday and took Hun the following day. Several key Gaddafi supporters fled to Niger from Sabha after it fell to new regime forces, NTC military spokesman Ahmed Omar Bani told a news conference on Thursday without elaborating. In its operational update, NATO said its warplanes had hit four anti-aircraft guns and a vehicle storage depot around Hun, and struck as well a command and control node and five surface-to-air missile systems in and around Sirte. NATO s operations commander said resistance among Gaddafi loyalists was now restricted to "only three isolated pockets" -- Sirte, Bani Walid and Al-Fugaha in the Al-Jufra region. Bouchard added that Gaddafi forces "are no longer able to conduct coordinated operations throughout Libya," while the number of people at risk from pro-Gaddafi military action had fallen to about 200,000. He said he had no idea where Gaddafi was, but stressed that the fugitive strongman continues to "give orders" and "entice regime forces" to act. NTC commanders west of Sirte said they had been told to expect further NATO air strikes and had orders not to advance. East of Sirte, commanders said that they had postponed any offensive against the city for at least a week for want of ammunition after heavy fighting.

China FM tells US to revoke Taiwan arms sale

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China s foreign minister is calling for the US to revoke its latest decision to sell arms to Taiwan, saying it seriously undermines ties between the superpowers. But Yang Jiechi concluded his wide-ranging speech to American businessmen on a positive note. He said that the US-China relationship "will overcome the difficulties and continue to move forward." On Wednesday, the Obama administration notified Congress of its intent to upgrade Taiwan s fleet of F-16s. It deferred a decision on selling new warplanes widely seen as a concession to Beijing. Yang said arms sales "grossly interfered in China s internal affairs." Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as its territory. Yang is attending the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mass demo in Chile demanding more education aid

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Tens of thousands of students and teachers took to the streets in Chile s capital Santiago Thursday in a growing confrontation with the government over education spending that has already results in four months of marches. The demonstration, which organizers said gathered up to 180,000 people, was part of the biggest protest movement Chile has seen since General Augusto Pinochet s military dictatorship came to an end in 1990. But Chile s current President Sebastian Pinera, a center-right billionaire who came to power in March last year, was stubbornly rejecting the protesters  demands. This week he shrugged off calls for the school year be rearranged, and said that 70,000 high school students pressing that point who refused to sign on for remedial tests to make up course credits had simply wasted a year. That angered students and teachers, and gave new impetus to the protests, which had been dwindling in the past few weeks after months of marches and sit-ins. The breakdown of talks between the students and the government last week also contributed. Thursday s rally kicked off with participants playing musical instruments and wearing fancy dress. The march to the presidential palace blocked traffic in the city centre, home to six million people. Small groups of hooded youths taunted police and threw stones and set tires on fire in the street. Officers responded with water cannon and tear gas. There was no immediate count of arrests or injuries. Organizers said between 150,000 and 180,000 people took part in the rally.

Studies suggest 2 waves of ancient Asia settlement

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Early humans settled eastern Asia in two waves rather than just one, say two genetic studies that weigh in on a long-running debate among experts trying to trace the migrations of early humans. The first wave brought in ancestors of present-day Aborigines of Australia, while the second brought forerunners of most current residents of east Asia, the studies conclude. One of the studies also showed that a species recently discovered in Siberia that s related to modern humans traveled a much greater distance than previous evidence indicated, ranging farther south and deeper into Asia, a conclusion that at least one expert found very surprising. Neither study challenges the idea that our ancient ancestors emerged from Africa in just one wave. But the new research sheds light on what happened after that. The two studies, released Thursday, take different approaches. One, published online by the journal Science, analyzed DNA from an aboriginal Australian. The sample was taken from a century-old lock of hair to reduce the chance that the man would have had European ancestry, which would have complicated the analysis. The study, by Eske Willerslev of the Natural History Museum of Denmark and colleagues, made comparisons between the man s DNA and that of the Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in that country, Africans and Europeans.  Analysis suggested that the ancestors of the Australian differed from those of the Chinese, suggesting there were two different ancient migrations. The researchers calculated that the first migration, which brought in ancestors of the Australians, might have entered eastern Asia some 62,000 to 75,000 years ago. The second might have happened 25,000 to 38,000 years ago, they said. The second study was published online by the American Journal of Human Genetics. David Reich of Harvard Medical School and colleagues studied DNA from 243 people representing 33 populations in south and southeastern Asia,  Australia and islands in the region. They looked for genetic signatures of ancient sexual encounters with Denisovans, a poorly understood relative of modern humans known only from DNA recovered from a Siberian cave. Traces of Denisovan ancestry had previously been found in present-day inhabitants of New Guinea, but the new work also found it in aboriginal populations in Australia and the Philippines, and people from Polynesia, Fiji and eastern Indonesia.  But no such trace appeared in western Indonesia or among mainland East Asians or particular ethnic groups from Malaysia or the Andaman Islands. This result suggests that Denisovans ranged into Southeast Asia and interbred with the ancestors of some of today s populations at least 44,000 years ago, a date suggested by archaeological finds, Reich said. When researchers used their findings to estimate mixing between ancestors of the present-day populations at that time, they found no sign that ancestors of today s mainland East Asian populations were present. So those ancestors must have shown up in a later migration, the researchers concluded. The study could not put a date on the migrations, Reich said. Previous work had suggested Denisovans ranged from Siberia into parts of Asia but not into Southeast Asia, so the new work shows they were able to live in a wide range of environments, Reich said.

Neil Armstrong says US space programme 'embarrassing'

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Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, told lawmakers Thursday that the end of the space shuttle era has left the American human spaceflight programme in an "embarrassing" state. "We will have no American access to, and return from, low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for an unpredictable length of time in the future," Armstrong told the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. "For a country that has invested so much for so long to achieve a leadership position in space exploration and exploitation, this condition is viewed by many as lamentably embarrassing and unacceptable." Armstrong was part of a four-member panel of space experts who told lawmakers that NASA needs a stronger vision for the future and should focus on returning humans to the Moon and to the International Space Station. "A lead, however earnestly and expensively won, once lost, is nearly impossible to regain," said the US astronaut, now 81, who was commander of Apollo 11 and walked on the Moon in 1969. President Barack Obama canceled the Constellation program that would have returned humans to the Moon and called on NASA to instead focus on new, deep-space capabilities to carry people to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars by 2030. The retirement in July of the three-decade-old space shuttle programme brought an end to the US capability to send humans to space until private industry can come up with a new commercial space capsule to the ISS, maybe by 2015. In the meantime, Russia s Soyuz capsules are the only taxis for the world s astronauts heading to low-Earth orbit, and a ticket to the ISS costs global space agencies between 50 and 60 million dollars each. "Get the shuttle out of the garage down there at Kennedy (Space Centre), crank up the motors and put it back in service," said Eugene Cernan, who commanded the Apollo 17 flight and was the last man to walk on the Moon in 1972. "You want a launch vehicle today that will service the ISS? We ve got it sitting down there. So before we put it in a museum, let s make use of it. It s in the prime of its life, how could we just put it away?" Cernan hailed the vision of John F. Kennedy, "a bold and courageous president who started us on a journey to the stars," and said thousands of Americans have been inspired by the space race with the Soviet Union. "Today, we are on a path of decay. We are seeing the book close on five decades of accomplishment as the leader in human space exploration," Cernan said.

Particles seen to travel faster than light: Scientists

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Physicists reported Thursday that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos can travel faster than light, a finding that -- if verified -- would be inconsistent with Einstein s theory of relativity. In experiments conducted between the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland and a laboratory in Italy, the tiny particles were clocked at 300,006 kilometres per second, slightly faster than the speed of light, the researchers said. "This result comes as a complete surprise," said physicist Antonio Ereditato, spokesman for the experiment, known as OPERA. "We wanted to measure the speed of neutrinos, but we didn t expect to find anything special." Scientists spent nearly six months "checking, testing, controlling and rechecking everything" before making an announcement, he said. Researchers involved in the experiments were cautious in describing its implications, and called on physicists around the world to scrutinise their data, to be made available online overnight. But the findings, they said, could potentially reshape our understanding of the physical world. In the experiments, scientists blasted a laser-like beam producing billions upon billions of neutrinos from CERN, which straddles the French-Swiss border Geneva, to the Gran Sasso Laboratory 730 kilometres (453 miles) away in Italy. Neutrinos are electrically neutral particles so small that only recently were they found to have mass. Under Albert Einstein s theory of Special Relativity, however, a physical object cannot travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum.

Key US Senator says Haqqani should be on terror list

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The US Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein pressed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to add the militant Haqqani network to a formal terrorism blacklist, citing recent attacks in Afghanistan. "I request that the State Department take the additional step of listing the network as a Foreign Terrorism Organization and look forward to receiving your response," said Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein, a Democrat, said "there is no question that the Haqqani network meets the standards" for joining the list. "It conducts attacks against US targets and personnel in Afghanistan, and poses a continuing threat to American, Afghan, and allied personnel and interests," she said in a statement. Her comments came after the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, charged that the Haqqani network "acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan s Inter-Services Intelligence agency." Washington blames Haqqani militants for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul last week, a June attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, and a bloody September 10 truck bombing in Afghanistan s Wardak province. The Haqqani network is probably the most dangerous faction in the Afghan Taliban. A CIA asset turned Al Qaeda ally, the United States in the 1980s funneled arms and cash to the Haqqani faction to counter Soviet forces.

NASA defunct satellite to crash to earth today

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A six-ton NASA satellite that is on course to crash back to Earth on Friday is not expected to hit North America, the US space agency said in its latest update. "Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period," NASA said in an update issued Thursday at 7:44 am (1144 GMT). "It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 36 hours." All but 26 pieces of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are expected to burn up on re-entry into Earth s atmosphere. The surviving chunks will include titanium fuel tanks, beryllium housing and stainless steel batteries and wheel rims. The parts may weigh as little as two pounds (one kilogram) or as much as 350 pounds (158 kilograms), NASA said. Orbital debris scientists say the pieces will fall somewhere between 57 north latitude and 57 south latitude, which covers most of the populated world. The debris footprint is expected to span 500 miles (800 kilometers). UARS is the biggest NASA spacecraft to come back in three decades, after Skylab fell in western Australia in 1979. The risk to human life and property from UARS is "extremely small," NASA said, adding that in 50 years of space exploration no one has ever been confirmed hurt by falling space junk. There is a one in 3,200 chance that someone, somewhere in the world will be hit, according to NASA. More frequent updates are scheduled for 12, six and two hours before it lands.

Zardai, Gilani dismiss Mullen's charges

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Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Blawal house. Both the leaders dismissed US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen’s accusations that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was behind attacks on US Embassy in Afghanistan. President and the Prime Minister said Pakistan wants to live with peace and dignity in the region. Both the leaders also discussed law and order and political situation in the country. The Prime Minister also briefed the President on his brief visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to condole the death of former Afghan President and Chairman of the High Peace Council Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani who was assassinated in Kabul in a suicide attack on Tuesday. The President also hosted dinner for the Prime Minister.

Arsenal need Bolton win to ease Wenger pressure

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With just four points from five Premier League matches, Arsenal needs a victory against Bolton on Saturday to relieve the pressure on Arsene Wenger, who is facing the biggest crisis of his 15-year managerial reign. Arsenal has struggled against teams from the northwest this season losing to Liverpool and Blackburn and suffering an 8-2 mauling by Manchester United and Bolton s notoriously physical approach should provide another tough test at the Emirates. England players Owen Hargreaves of Manchester City and Liverpool s Steven Gerrard could make league comebacks after injury as second-placed City hosts Everton, while the Reds face Wolverhampton Wanderers. Also Saturday, leader Manchester United travels to Stoke, and third-placed Chelsea hosts Swansea. Arsenal s worse start to a league season in 58 years has mostly been blamed on a porous defense that has conceded 14 goals in five league matches. The miserable opening has prompted the first serious murmuring of fans  unrest during Wenger s tenure. Speaking after Arsenal s 3-1 victory over Shrewsbury in the third round of the League Cup, the Arsenal manager said he "wasn t bothered by all this speculation at all." Arsenal signed Germany defender Per Mertesacker and Brazil full back Andre Santos on transfer deadline day but neither has convinced. Mertesacker looked slow on the turn and Andre Santos was badly positioned for both Blackburn s goals as Arsenal twice relinquished the lead in Saturday s 4-3 loss at Ewood Park. Bolton has problems of its own ahead of the trip to the Emirates Stadium. Manager Owen Coyle has overseen four straight league defeats since a 4-0 opening-day win at Queens Park Rangers. Coyle said he would leave it late before deciding whether to include Stuart Holden in his squad after the US midfielder returned from six months out with a fractured left leg in the League Cup win at Aston Villa on Tuesday. Manchester City midfielder Owen Hargreaves faces a tough task breaking into Roberto Mancini s starting line-up for the visit of Everton. Hargreaves was forced to post videos on YouTube to prove his fitness after being sidelined for three years with knee problems, but he crowned his City debut with a goal in the 2-0 League Cup win against Birmingham on Wednesday. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be hoping to help his club arrest a slump of two straight league defeats 1-0 at Stoke and 4-0 at Tottenham when Wolves visit Anfield. Gerrard returned from a six-month groin injury in the Reds  League Cup win at Brighton. Manchester United will attempt to make it six wins out of six with a trip to Stoke City and may have England defender Rio Ferdinand available for the trip to the Potteries.

Golf: Liam Bond takes lead at Australian Open

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Welsh 41-year-old rookie Liam Bond, who only escaped qualifying school at the 16th attempt last year, took a one-shot lead at the Austrian Open on Thursday. He enjoyed seven birdies, with four coming in the last five holes, against one bogey, for a six-under-par 66 to lead by one from Denmark s Thomas Norret, Australian Daniel Gaunt and Dutchman Joost Luiten. Steve Webster of England was a shot further back on 68. It was a timely round for Bond, who has yet to record a top-20 finish this season and who came into the tournament on a run of five successive missed cuts. At 193 on The Race to Dubai order of merit, Bond still faces a huge struggle to keep his card for next year. "I played really well today -- I didn t miss too many shots," he said. "I had a couple of really good up-and-downs early in the round to stay under par when I could have easily slipped back over par. Then I had a great finish with four birdies in my last five holes. "I haven t been the best with the putter on Tour this year so it was very nice to strike the ball well and see a lot of them go in the hole. I have to say that the greens here are outstanding. "I have played all right this year -- I think I have missed five cuts by a single shot, so that tells you that you are not playing badly. Things just went my way today." Of the three Walker Cup players making their professional debuts in the event, Andy Sullivan had the best day with a level-par 72. Tom Lewis, who shot to fame at the British Open in July with an opening 65, is two over, while Northern Irishman Paul Cutler struggled to an opening round 77.

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Friday, September 23, 2011

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