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US to end combat role in Afghanistan in 2013: Panetta
SC to resume hearing on contempt case today
Lakki Marwat: Police mobile blown up, 3 officials killed
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on joint strategy against terrorism
20th Amendment to be approved with consensus: PM
Afghan Taliban deny they're ready to talk peace
IAEA sets date for new nuclear talks in Tehran
Mexico: suspects tried twice to rescue Gadhafi son
Egypt football violence kills 73
Olympics: Olympic flame to be lit in ancient home
Africa Cup: Mali rally to reach last eight
FIFA unveils logo for 2013 Confederations Cup
Gasquet, Simon advance to Open Sud quarterfinals
Pakistan to limit US unilateral actions: Hina
Ashraf: BCCI not yet got clearance from govt

US to end combat role in Afghanistan in 2013: Panetta

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The United States plans to end its combat mission in Afghanistan as early as mid-2013 and shift to a training role, more than a year before most American troops are due to withdraw, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday. Although US commanders had already indicated a move towards an advisory mission in coming months, Panetta s comments marked the first time the US administration had forecast American and allied troops could end their combat operations by the second half of next year. "Hopefully by the mid-to-latter part of 2013, we ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a train, advise and assist role," Panetta told reporters aboard his plane en route to a NATO meeting in Brussels. With President Barack Obama facing a tough re-election campaign, the Pentagon s chief s remarks represented the strongest signal yet that the White House wants to wrap up the wars it inherited from the previous administration, after having overseen the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq in December. Obama took a similar approach in Iraq before the pullout there, declaring an end to the combat mission while the Pentagon renamed units as "advise and assist" brigades. Panetta portrayed the approach as in keeping with a gradual NATO plan adopted in Lisbon in November 2010, which calls for handing over security duties to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. Washington has vowed to withdraw combat forces battling the Taliban by the end of 2014 but has left the door open to a follow-on force likely focused on training, depending on the outcome of negotiations with the Afghan government. Panetta said Washington wanted to see all the NATO allies in Afghanistan -- including France -- "respect" the NATO timeline. "We all went in here together and we ll all go out together, but we have to do it on the basis of a strong alliance and a strong commitment that was made in Lisbon," said Panetta, who was due to meet NATO defense ministers on Thursday. The NATO-led coalition this year needed to cement battlefield gains against the Taliban insurgency and to build on progress in strengthening the Afghan army and police, he said. He said 2013 would be a "crucial" year for the final transfer of remaining areas to Afghan security forces. "2014 becomes a year of consolidating the transition," he said. It was unclear how the planned shift from combat to a mainly advisory role would affect planned troop levels for US forces. With nearly 90,000 US troops now in Afghanistan, Panetta said that "no decision has been made with regards to the level of forces we ll have in 2013." By the end of September, the number of US troops is due to drop to 68,000, following the scheduled withdrawal of a "surge force" that deployed in 2010.

SC to resume hearing on contempt case today

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A seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, will resume hearing on contempt notice issued to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today for not writing a letter to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The SC has asked the prime minister s lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan to conclude his arguments during today’s hearing.

Lakki Marwat: Police mobile blown up, 3 officials killed

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According to details, a police mobile came under terrosirsts attack in Shahbazkhel near Lakki Marwat. The miscreants first blew up the police mobile and then opened fire, killing three officials and wounding one. Police mobile was on a routine patrol in the area. Those who died were identified as Jaan Muhammad (In charge), Zahid Khan (Constable) and Munawwar (Driver). Heavy contingent of police have cordoned off the area after the incident and started search for the unidentified attackers.

Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on joint strategy against terrorism

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Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met her Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rasoul during her visit to Kabul. They also reiterated their commitment to steer bilateral relations between the two countries in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, mutual respect and the UN Charter. According to a Joint Communiqué&sbquo; issued from Islamabad and Kabul simultaneously: “The two sides held in-depth consultations to work out a programme of enhanced engagement for promoting bilateral cooperation in diverse fields, re-affirmed the historical, cultural and religious bonds of friendship that exist between the two the countries and their peoples, reiterated commitment to steer bilateral relations in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, mutual respect and the UN Charter, agreed that a strong, robust and independent bilateral relationship would greatly contribute to peace and stability in the region and emphasised the need of working together towards enhanced bilateral engagement for deepening interaction in diverse fields including security, development, transit, trade, economic and investment linkages, infra-structure and energy connectivity and people to people contacts for harnessing mutual benefits.” Earlier, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and discussed Pak-Afghan relations. Karzai told Khar that his country wanted better relations with Pakistan and expansion of cooperation in different fields. Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul says President Hamid Karzai will travel to Islamabad on February 16-17 to further strengthen ties.

20th Amendment to be approved with consensus: PM

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Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the proposed 20th Constitutional Amendment would be tabled and approved from the Parliament with consensus. The Prime Minister, while talking to the members and leaders of the coalition parties at a dinner he hosted for them here at the PM House on Wednesday, said the government would not bulldoze anything in the House. Gilani informed the coalition partners that he has already talked to Chief of JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and sought his cooperation for the smooth passage of the 20th Constitutional Amendment. Besides the MNAs, the dinner was attended by various leaders of the coalition parties including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Haji Munir Khan Orakzai, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Babar Ghauri, Ghulam Muhammad Bilour, Haji Khuda Bakhsh Rajar and Saima Akhtar Bharwana. The coalition partners assured the Prime Minister of their full support for the adoption of the 20th Constitutional Amendment. They said the Amendment would benefit all the parties by giving legal cover to the bye-elections. The Prime Minister thanked the coalition partners for strengthening democracy and political system in the country.

Afghan Taliban deny they're ready to talk peace

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The Taliban denied Wednesday that the movement is planning direct talks with the Afghan government to end the 10-year-old war, while a leaked NATO report suggested the insurgents are confident they will regain power after international troops leave. While both developments were setbacks to Afghan President Hamid Karzai s efforts to broker peace, his government got a boost from Pakistan s top diplomat who declared her nation s support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process. "Our only prerequisite to be supportive of an initiative is that it should be Afghan-led. It should be Afghan-owned. It should be Afghan-driven and Afghan-backed," Pakistan s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said at the Afghan Foreign Ministry. While she didn t mention the United States, Afghan officials have complained privately that the peace effort has so far been dominated by American efforts and talks with Taliban representatives. Washington insists it is only setting the stage, and any eventual talks must involve Karzai s government. The Taliban were responding to widespread reports that Karzai s government was seeking direct talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia a move seen as an attempt by the Afghan leader to take charge of the peace effort. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid rejected those reports as "baseless," saying in a statement that exploratory talks between the insurgency and the U.S. and its allies have not yet reached the stage for negotiations. "Before the negotiation phase, there should be trust-building between the sides, which has not started yet," Mujahid said. The Taliban calls the Afghan government a puppet regime. The insurgency, however, has agreed to set up a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar and has acknowledged having preliminary discussions with the Americans.

IAEA sets date for new nuclear talks in Tehran

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The UN atomic watchdog IAEA said Wednesday it would hold new nuclear talks in Tehran this month after a delegation concluded a three-day visit to Iran over the weekend. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement that another meeting will take place in Tehran from February 21 to 22. A six-strong IAEA team returned to Vienna on Wednesday after a visit aimed at clearing "outstanding substantive issues" on Tehran s nuclear programme following a damning report from the agency in November. "There is still a lot of work to be done, and so we have planned another trip in the very near future," chief UN nuclear inspector Herman Nackaerts told reporters on his arrival. The IAEA said that during the visit the delegation "explained its concerns and identified its priorities, which focus on the clarification of possible military dimensions to Iran s nuclear programme". "The IAEA also discussed with Iran the topics and initial steps to be taken, as well as associated modalities," it added. "The agency is committed to intensifying dialogue. It remains essential to make progress on substantive issues," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said. Western nations suspect Iran of seeking an atomimc bomb, but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful purposes.

Mexico: suspects tried twice to rescue Gadhafi son

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Prosecutors said Wednesday they broke up not one, but two Indiana Jones-style plots to "extract" the son of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi from Libya and bring him to Mexico as his father s regime crumbled. The plan to sneak out al-Saadi Gadhafi involved piles of stolen passports, white-knuckle flights with pilots who refused to land in war-torn Libya and luxury homes bought under false names in Mexico, according to Assistant Attorney General Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas. He said it was led by a Canadian woman, a Danish man and two Mexican suspects who were charged this week with attempted immigrant trafficking, falsifying documents and organized crime. Salinas said the group hired pilots to fly from Mexico to Kosovo, from there to the Tunisian capital of Tunis and on to Libya in July, but that attempt failed to extract the dictator s son. "They weren t able to do it out because the pilots refused to carry out a secret landing," Salinas said. The ring, purportedly led by Canadian Cynthia Vanier, then allegedly made arrangements for a second attempt, hiring pilots and a plane. But Mexican authorities were tipped off to the scheme by a series of anonymous e-mails and arrested the four suspects in November, before the second flight could take off. Prosecutors showed an image of the Guy Fawkes mask in connection with the tip. The image of Fawkes, a 17th century English revolutionary, has become a symbol of the Internet network "Anonymous," which has claimed credit for internet hacking around the world. Because the suspects had not been ordered held over for trial, they have not entered pleas, nor do they have lawyers of record. In December, a lawyer for al-Saadi Gadhafi vigorously denied that his client plotted to sneak illegally into Mexico. A Twitter account linked to the Anonymous IberoAmerica website, which has carried comments from the movement in Mexico in the past, did not immediately respond to queries about whether the Anonymous movement was responsible for blowing the whistle on the plot.

Egypt football violence kills 73

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At least 73 people were killed Wednesday in fan violence after a football match in the city of Port Said, the health ministry said, as Egypt struggled with a wave of incidents linked to poor security. More than 1,000 fans also sustained injuries. "The death toll, as a result of the unrest after the match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masri, has reached 73," deputy health minister Helmy al-Efni said. A security official said the violence erupted as soon as the referee blew the final whistle. Fans of Al-Masri, which beat Al-Ahly 3-0, invaded the pitch and began to throw rocks, bottles and fireworks at the Al-Ahly fans. Egypt s military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who took power when veteran president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February, has sent two military planes to Port Said to fly out the players and the injured, state television reported. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt s largest political force, accused Mubarak supporters of instigating the football violence. "The events in Port Said are planned and are a message from the remnants of the former regime," said MP Essam al-Erian in a statement on the Islamist group s Freedom and Justice Party website. Medics said some of the deaths were the result of stab wounds and that the death toll could rise even further as ambulances continued to ferry in the injured from the stadium. Shops in the northern city of Port Said, which sits at the entrance to the Suez Canal, shut their doors as private cars helped to shuttle the injured across the city to hospitals. Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmud has ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, state television reported. Parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni, a member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, said that the People s Assembly would hold an emergency session on Thursday at 11:00 AM (0900 GMT) to discuss the violence. Newly elected liberal deputy Amr Hamzawi has called for the immediate sacking of the interior minister as well as the governor and security chief of Port Said. State television broadcast footage of chaos on the pitch, with fans running in all directions, as photos of bleeding players circulated on the Internet. Gunfire was also reported on the main road leading to Port Said from Cairo. In the capital itself, a fire broke out at Cairo Stadium during the first half of a match between Zamalek and Ismaili clubs, prompting officials to cancel the fixture. Emergency services managed to bring the blaze under control, a security official said. Since last February s ouster of Mubarak, Egypt has seen sporadic and sometimes deadly unrest coupled with a sharp rise in crime, linked to the scarcity of the unpopular police, who were heavily criticised for their crackdown on protesters during the uprising.

Olympics: Olympic flame to be lit in ancient home

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The Olympic flame will be lit in the ruins of the home of the ancient Games in Greece before starting its journey to London, organisers said Wednesday. A ceremony amid the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia on May 10 will see the flame lit by the rays of the early morning sun. It will then travel through Greece on an eight-day relay before being handed over in Athens on May 17 to a London 2012 representative. The flame s first port of call in Britain will be at a naval base in Cornwall, south-west England. From there, it will go on a 70-day nationwide tour culminating with the lighting of the cauldron at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London on July 27. Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, said Wednesday: "It gives me great pleasure to confirm 10 May as the flame lighting date and Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose as the Olympic Flame s arrival point into the UK "My team is looking forward to working with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Defence and our commercial partners to create exciting events to mark the flame s Greek provenance and its arrival to our shores," added Coe, the Olympic 1500 metres champion in both 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles). The flame will be transported from Greece to Britain on board a gold-liveried Airbus 319, flight number BA2012, for what will be the third Games staged in London following those of 1908 and 1948. It will travel in a ceremonial lantern that is designed so the flame can burn safely for up to 30 hours.

Africa Cup: Mali rally to reach last eight

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Mali secured their first Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final spot in eight years after a 2-1 win over Botswana here on Wednesday. Goals from Garra Dembele and Barcelona star Seydou Keita put Mali into the all important Group D runners-up spot after the 1-1 draw between Ghana and Guinea in the other game being played simultaneously at Franceville. The Eagles, who finished on six points, one behind group winners Ghana, will now face coach Alain Giresse s former team, co-hosts Gabon, in the last eight in Libreville on Sunday. Botswana coach Stanley Tshosane made four changes from the side routed 6-1 by Guinea last time out, including relegating Dipsy Selolwane, scorer of the Zebras  first ever Cup goal on his return on Saturday, to the bench. Giresse was missing Samba Diakite, the suspended Nancy midfielder. After a cagey opening Botswana created the first decent opportunity when Lemponye Tshireletso raced on to Ndiyapo Letsholathebe s neat flick in the box in the 20th minute only for his shot to go the wrong side of the near post. Mali s attack was having trouble breaking down the Zebras  sky blue defence but with Ghana having taken the lead in Franceville Giresse s men only required a draw to go through as group runners-up. And even when news came through that Guinea had levelled the Mali team and their legion of fans were still smiling as they remained in the runners-up spot thanks to their 1-0 win over Guinea in their opening match. Botswana dampened their spirits six minutes after the restart in a beautifully worked move with Mogakolodi Ngele finding Moemedi Moatlaping over on the far right. Moemedi controlled the ball well with a slide rule pass for Ngele, now handily positioned in the box, to slam past Mali keeper Oumar Sissoko. That sparked Mali into life and on 56 minutes they levelled when Abdou Traore s floating cross from the left was headed into the hands of keeper Modiri Marumo by Modibo Maiga, with Dembele pouncing on the loose ball to convert a half-volley and send the Mali fans wild. That was the 21-year-old Fribourg striker s first goal for his country, and it couldn t have come at a more opportune moment. On 68 minutes Mali almost took the outright lead when substitute Ousmane Coulibaly struck the underside of the crossbar, the ball bouncing back into play. They duly took it though with quarter of an hour remaining after sterling work fending off a posse of sky blue defenders in the box by Tidiane Cheick Diabete set up Keita to chip in from close range.

FIFA unveils logo for 2013 Confederations Cup

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FIFA has unveiled the 2013 Confederations Cup logo and confirmed that Brasilia will host the tournament s opening match while the final will be held at Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The native Brazilian bird Rufous-bellied Thrush is at the center of the logo, with its wings extending upward in front of a football. The green, yellow, red, white and blue logo has "Brasil 2013" and "FIFA Confederations Cup" inscribed on it. With 500 days left until the test tournament begins, FIFA on Wednesday said that the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia will stage the opening match on June 15, while Maracana will host the final on June 30. Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza will also host matches, while the northeastern cities of Recife and Salvador still need approval from FIFA.

Gasquet, Simon advance to Open Sud quarterfinals

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Seeded Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet both won in straight sets Wednesday to reach the Open Sud de France quarterfinals. The second-seeded Simon fired nine aces and saved four break points in his 6-3, 6-2 win against Flavio Cipolla of Italy, while the fourth-seeded Gasquet broke Nikolay Davydenko three times in a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Even though Davydenko is no longer ranked in the world s top 50, Gasquet had remained wary of the former top-five player. "He s not the No. 3 he was a few years ago but he can still dazzle sometimes, and you can easily find yourself a break down against him," Gasquet said. "So it was important to hold my serve." Davydenko led 40-15 on serve in the 10th game of the second set, but Gasquet took a forehand early to pass Davydenko, who next hit an unforced error and watched as Gasquet dispatched a volley to get to his first match point. Davydenko saved that with his fifth ace. Gasquet wasted his next chance when a hurried backhand pass hit the net, then double-faulted on his third match point and watched as Davydenko saved another with a clipped forehand pass. Gasquet, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, sealed victory on his fifth match point after a long baseline rally ended with the Russian slicing a forehand well wide. "I m glad he missed that as it was becoming harder to get my first serve in," said Gasquet, who has slipped from a ranking of seventh in 2007 to 16th. "I ve recovered from Australia now and am starting to sleep properly, so everything s fine." Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, seeded No. 7, dropped serve twice but served 10 aces to beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-4, 7-5. Guillaume Rufin of France also advanced after a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Rufin hit 16 aces compared to 13 for Lopez, who lost his serve twice in the second set after the big servers swapped a break each in the first.

Pakistan to limit US unilateral actions: Hina

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Pakistan will tell the United States that it cannot take unilateral actions such as the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and that parliament will determine military priorities, the foreign minister said. A Pakistani parliamentary committee is reviewing the troubled relationship with the United States amid outrage over a NATO raid in November that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border at Salala. Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, in an interview with Time magazine released Wednesday, said that the upcoming report would recognize the importance of US ties but "will redefine what is uncompromisable for Pakistan." "It is the parliament of Pakistan that must decide whether it is time for military action in one area or not," she said. Asked what Pakistan s red lines would be, she said: "No unilateral action at any level, of any type. Like Abbottabad. Like what happened in Salala." US forces killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in May in Abbottabad, which is home to Pakistan s top military academy. US officials gave no advance warning out of fear that Pakistan may have stopped the raid or tipped off bin Laden. Despite Pakistan s offensives against some homegrown extremists, US officials have charged that elements in Pakistan s intelligence agency support some other Islamic militants, particularly in Afghanistan. A newly leaked NATO document -- seen by The Times newspaper in London and the BBC -- cited Taliban detainees as saying that Pakistani intelligence was intimately involved in supporting the Afghan insurgency. Khar, on a visit to Kabul on Wednesday, rejected the accusations and said that Pakistan has "no hidden agenda" in Afghanistan, where Western forces aim to pull out most combat troops in 2014. In the interview with Time, Khar said that Pakistan will support "whatever path the Afghans choose for themselves." "Pakistan s desires and hopes for Afghanistan are nothing more than a peaceful, stable Afghanistan," she said.

Ashraf: BCCI not yet got clearance from govt

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Indian cricket has not yet been given clearance by the government to resume ties with Pakistan, the Pakistan board chairman Zaka Ashraf said on Wednesday The neighbors have not met in a series since Pakistan visited India in 2007. Ashraf met with N. Srinivasan, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in Dubai during an ICC meeting. "We want to resume cricketing ties with India, but he (Srinivasan) told me that his board is facing problems in getting clearance from the government," Ashraf said. India was due to play a test series in Pakistan in late 2008 but the tour was aborted after the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. The PCB has been organizing home series at offshore venues since 2009, after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus at Lahore, killing six police officials and a van driver. But Ashraf, who took charge in October, is hopeful that Bangladesh will visit Pakistan for a one-day series in April which could help in attracting other foreign teams to tour Pakistan. A security delegation from Bangladesh is expected to visit Pakistan this month to make assessments. ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it will conduct its own security assessment before sending its match officials to Pakistan for the proposed ODI series. "If that (tour) happens has not yet come to the table, but (we) have to do security assessment before making the decision," Lorgat said. The ICC appoints neutral umpires and match referees for international series.

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Cricket - Sports

Thursday, February 2, 2012

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