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NASA probe shoots video of the dark side of the moon
Khyber Agency: One killed in security check post attack
Nisar accuses govt of taking 'Jagga Tax'
Karachi: Three injured in road accident
Gilani to inaugurate first Business Train today
UN talks on Syria end without agreement
Four dead, 15 hurt in Colombia car bomb attack
IOC steps up fight against illegal betting
Nadal: Tax bill paid up despite reports
FA Cup final set to avoid clash with league games
Oil below $96 on mixed demand signs
US Archives unveils Magna Carta after repairs
Pakistan looking for Test whitewash versus England
Misbah says return of Amir too early to predict
India's air the worst, says study

NASA probe shoots video of the dark side of the moon

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NASA released video taken aboard one of its twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft that shows images from the dark side of the moon. In the video captured on January 19, the spacecraft flies from the moon s north to south pole. It shows rugged terrain and impact craters caused by asteroids after the moon was formed. The spacecraft - nicknamed Ebb - took images of the side of the moon hidden from earth s view during a test of its camera, the MoonKam or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students. MoonKAM will be used interactively by students to choose lunar images to study starting in March.

Khyber Agency: One killed in security check post attack

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According to official sources militants attacked a security check post in Malik Din Khel area of Bara in Khyber Agency in early hours on Friday, killing one official and wounding four. Security forces cordoned off the area after the attack and started search for attackers. Intermittent firing continued between security forces and militants in the area. One militant was reportedly killed and three were wounded in the exchange of firing between both sides. Both sides are using heavy and automatic weapons during the fight. Curfew was imposed in the area after the incident. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 families have migrated from the area to the safer places. Panic gripped the residents after the attack.

Nisar accuses govt of taking 'Jagga Tax'

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Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday criticizing the imposition of petroleum levy, said the government should clarify if the levy was anything else than a  Jagga Tax , Speaking from the floor of the lower house, Chaudhry Nisar accused the government of  extorting money from the people . He regretted that prices of petroleum products were raised for 200 times over the past 10 years.

Karachi: Three injured in road accident

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According to details, an over-speeding coach hit a motorcycle near Liaquatabad Post Office near Chorangi in Karachi, injuring three people, including a woman. The injured were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. Angry crowd gathered at the accident site tried to set on fire the coach involved in the accident but a timely action by police foiled their attempt. Police have registered a case and started investigation.

Gilani to inaugurate first Business Train today

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The Business Train is being operated under public-private partnership. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will inaugurate the train in Lahore today. The train will travel between Lahore and Karachi daily. The luxury Business Train, comprising nine coaches, will complete its kourney from Lahore to Karachi in 18 hours with a fare fixed at Rs 5,000 per head.

UN talks on Syria end without agreement

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Negotiations over a draft UN Security Council resolution condemning the government crackdown in Syria stalled again Thursday, diplomats said, despite attempts to satisfy Russian concerns. The meeting was "not so good," India s UN ambassador, Hardeep Singh Puri, said after a day of talks ended without agreement on how to respond to bloodshed in Syria that has left more than 5,400 people dead. Li Baodong, the UN ambassador from China, which along with Russia is skeptical about the need for a tough UN resolution, said, "We are close, but not there yet." "More consultations (are) needed," Li said. The UN body has been divided for days over a draft resolution put together by the Arab League and the main Western powers calling for an end to the crackdown and the start of political change in the country. Earlier Thursday, diplomats said they had made a major concession to Russia by revising the draft to remove an explicit call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad s departure.

Four dead, 15 hurt in Colombia car bomb attack

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A car bomb outside a police station in southwestern Colombia killed four people Thursday and left at least 15 injured, officials said, in the region s second such attack in less than 48 hours. Juan Guillermo Mina, mayor of the southwestern town of Villa Rica where the blast occurred, said the dead included the police station s commander and three local residents. The station was nearly destroyed, as were several nearby shops, television news footage showed. "We have never had this type of incident occur here and I hope that it never happens again," Mina said. On Wednesday, a motorcycle bomb blamed on leftist guerrillas exploded near a police station in Tumaco, also in the country s southwest, killing nine people including three policemen and wounding nearly 70. Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon accused the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the blast in Tumaco, and President Juan Manuel Santos traveled Thursday to the town, where he held a security meeting. While Thursday s attackers were unidentified, military officials say a FARC front operates in the Villa Rica region. The FARC, founded in 1964, has an estimated 8,000 fighters across Colombia, according to the Ministry of Defense.

IOC steps up fight against illegal betting

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Governments, law enforcement agencies and betting operators have promised to work more closely together to fight illegal betting and corruption in sports. The International Olympic Committee held a summit meeting Thursday of sports federation leaders and representatives of the United Nations, European Union and international police agency Interpol. IOC director general Christophe De Kepper says "there was a consensus around the table that sporting fraud should be a criminal offense." He says there is a shared "urgency" to improve cooperation between police and justice departments.

Nadal: Tax bill paid up despite reports

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Rafael Nadal says his fiscal requirements are up to date after a Spanish website reported the Australian Open finalist had set up several companies to trim his tax bill. Spanish website Primeran says Nadal created companies in the Basque region to take advantage of a local tax rule to drop the amount of income tax he would have to pay from image rights. Spanish media reported on Thursday that Basque tax authorities were investigating. Nadal issued a statement acknowledging the existence of the companies, which had been transferred to his home residence of the Balearic Islands. Nadal says he gained "no benefit," while the companies mentioned "are up to date with the payment of all tax obligations."

FA Cup final set to avoid clash with league games

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The FA Cup final is unlikely to be played on the same day as any Premier League matches after all 20 clubs agreed to shift their fixtures to the following day. Last May, for the first time in 50 years, the final was played on the same day as a topflight league program because the Champions League final was held at Wembley Stadium later in the month. But the 20 club executives agreed Thursday to move their fixtures from Saturday, May 5, to the following day to avoid overshadowing the cup final, which will be pushed back 2 hours, 15 minutes to start at 5:15 p.m. "We realize that it is not good for either competition to have our matches conflicting with the FA Cup," Premier League communications director Dan Johnson said. British broadcaster Sky TV, however, could enforce its contractual right to show a Saturday lunchtime league match. Also, an English club may change its mind about not playing on May 5 if it is involved in the Europa League final the following Wednesday. It was also confirmed at Thursday s meeting that next season s Premier League will kick off on Aug. 18, six days after the end of the London Olympics. The traditional English season-opener, the Community Shield, is set to be played in its usual slot on the Sunday before the Premier League starts despite falling on the same day as the Olympics closing ceremony. However, the match between the Premier League champion and FA Cup winner will be played outside of London rather than at Wembley Stadium.

Oil below $96 on mixed demand signs

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Oil prices fell below $96 a barrel Thursday on mixed signs about the strength of crude demand in the U.S. amid growing inventories. Benchmark crude fell by $2.03 to $95.58 per barrel in New York afternoon trading, reflecting weak demand for petroleum products in the U.S. Brent crude fell by 28 cents to $111.28 per barrel in London. A jump of U.S. crude inventories last week by 4 million barrels suggested oil consumption is sluggish. Analysts expected a rise of 3 million barrels. However, factories raised output in January by the most in seven months and construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December, the fifth straight monthly gain. Oil prices have hovered near $100 for the last few months amid mixed economic signs from the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some analysts expect crude to begin to rise as the global economy may grow more this year than previously expected. In other energy trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures rose 8 cents to $2.46 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas hit a 10-year low last month at $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet, and the price is still less than half of it what it was in 2010. Heating oil was up about a penny at $3.04 per gallon and gasoline futures fell by 3 cents to $2.86 per gallon.

US Archives unveils Magna Carta after repairs

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The National Archives unveiled its 715-year-old copy of Magna Carta on Thursday after a conservation effort removed old patches and repaired weak spots in the English declaration of human rights that inspired the United States  founding documents. A $13.5 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein funded conservation and a new case for the only original Magna Carta in the United States. Rubenstein bought the historic document at auction in 2007 for $21.3 million and sent it to the National Archives on a long-term loan. Rubenstein, who is co-founder of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, said he bought the document previously owned by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot because he wanted to keep it from leaving the country. The only other copies are in Britain and at Australia s parliament. The U.S. copy was one of four reissued in the year 1297. It still carries the wax seal of King Edward I of England, which is attached by a ribbon under the document. As a history buff, Rubenstein, 62, has become somewhat of an expert on Magna Carta s legacy dating to 1215. That s when noblemen came together to declare their rights to King John, including the right to a trial by jury and the first limits on arbitrary taxation that led to the principle of "no taxation without representation." "This became something that set the trend of common law" in Britain and later in the United States as founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison referred back to Magna Carta, Rubenstein said. Rubenstein said he became interested in the ideas behind the Constitution while working for Congress in his 20s, which led him to study the Magna Carta. The document will likely remain at the National Archives permanently, he said. "You can t be buried with these documents as far as I know," Rubenstein said. Magna Carta will return to public view at the National Archives on Feb. 17. A new interactive display will allow visitors to zoom in on an image of the parchment and see how it was repaired. They can read an English translation of Magna Carta s Latin words and see comparisons to language in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. On Thursday, conservators showed the document in its new protective case developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Rubenstein s gift also is funding an upcoming exhibit that will open in 2013. There, Magna Carta will be shown as a forerunner to the freedoms imagined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights and will be paired with other documents declaring human rights for African Americans, women, immigrants and others.

Pakistan looking for Test whitewash versus England

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Pakistan will again rely on spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman to run through an underperforming batting lineup in the team s search of a first Test series whitewash against England. Jonathan Trott (141) and Alastair Cook (109) are the only English batsmen to have crossed the 100-run mark in England s two heavy defeats in the first two Tests. Ajmal s off-breaks and the left-arm spin of Rehman exposed England s inability to bat on subcontinent-like turning wickets in this Gulf country by taking 29 wickets between them. And Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq would like to see his spinners bowl with the same intensity in the third Test, which starts Friday. "No doubt they are world class bowlers and if they get conditions like this, it becomes difficult for batsmen," Misbah said on Thursday. The Pakistan captain believes England batsmen s struggles with spin especially against Ajmal s "doosra" delivery which is disguised as an off-break but spins away from right-handed batsmen has affected their levels of belief. "England batsmen are under pressure because of not scoring runs, their confidence level is a bit low," Misbah said. "Pakistan s spinners create pressure on the batsmen and don t bowl loose balls. They never give any opportunity to let them out of that pressure." England had an ideal opportunity to level the series at Abu Dhabi but the team was out for 72 while chasing a target of 145 runs. Pakistan has never recorded a clean sweep against England, but Misbah s men are firm favourites to make a history at Dubai after two superlative performances. "It will be a big achievement for the team," Misbah said. "No doubt England is a good team, No. 1 team and it will not be easy because they will be more prepared, but we will try." England needs a win to receive the $175,000 jackpot awarded by the ICC to the team that finishes top of the Test rankings by April 1. But captain Andrew Strauss is more concerned with his team s capabilities to counter spin and rectify its mistakes. "We re not talking about massive changes of technique or anything like that," Strauss said. "It s always important against spin, because in some ways it s important you are proactive rather than reacting to the ball that comes down. "We expanded our practice a bit more. It s not about kind of deconstructing your technique ... it s about just clarifying what you want to do out there in the middle." England has undergone long training sessions in the past five days facing spin at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the site of the team s 10-wicket loss inside three days in the first test last month. The renowned English middle-order batting lineup comprising Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan have scored just 94 runs combined in two Tests, and their early dismissals was one of the reasons for England s defeats. "To a certain extent, cricket is a bit of a form game and probably few of our guys have got out of form in conjunction with each other, which doesn t help," Strauss said. "When you look back, probably two, three guys haven t really been in long enough to allow the game-plan to work. "You can t disappear into a hole too much, there s a lot of things these guys have done very well ... these conditions are slightly different and so it s more about adapting your game to the conditions." Strauss himself is struggling against the spinners with a top score of 32, made in the last innings at Abu Dhabi. But the England captain said his teammates are eager to show that they have learnt from the two defeats. "We desperately want to avoid losing the series 3-0, we desperately want to come back," Strauss said. "There have been some doom and gloom moments ... we re not going to get too caught up in a kind of down with spiral, but we obviously have to learn lessons from what went wrong."

Misbah says return of Amir too early to predict

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Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq feels sympathy for banned former teammate Mohammad Amir, but pointed out that any possible early return for the fast bowler to play cricket can only be decided by sporting authorities. The 19-year-old Amir was released from jail in London on Wednesday because of good behavior after serving half his six-month sentence for spot-fixing with two teammates during a test against England in August 2010. Amir is banned by the International Cricket Council until September 2015, but his mentor said the player will now appeal to have his suspension overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. "I am not the concerned person, it s what the ICC decides," Misbah said. "I think it feels sad whoever suffers that, as a cricketer you feel sad about such incidents. But sometimes you have nothing in your control and you can t do anything. "Once he is cleared, once he is available, then only we will see what happens. Before that, I have nothing to do with that." Amir pleaded guilty before the trial at London s Southwark Crown Court last year. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are still serving their sentences in London after being convicted of also receiving money to ensure no-balls were bowled in the Lord s test 18 months ago. Butt was jailed for 2½ years and Asif for 1½ years. Misbah said he is more concerned about the third test against England, which starts Friday. "We have nothing to do with that, we are here to play cricket and we are focusing on that," Misbah said. "I think it s all up to the appropriate people what they think, what they say about him (Amir)." England captain Andrew Strauss, who was also leader in that infamous test in 2010, was also reluctant to get involved. "It s not my job to hand out bans or otherwise," Strauss said. "I have said that the deterrent for match-fixing or spot-fixing should be as strong as possibly can be so that people don t do it in future, so it s up to ICC to deal with that."

India's air the worst, says study

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India has the worst air quality in the world, beating even its neighbour China, according to an annual survey based at Yale and Columbia universities in the United States. Of all the countries surveyed in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which measures the effects of polluted air on human health, India ranked the lowest at 132. The study used satellite data to measure air pollution concentrations. The level of fine particulate matter in India is nearly five times the limit where it becomes unsafe for humans, said the study released at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Health experts say particulate matter is one of the main causes of acute lower respiratory infections and even cancer. India scored a meagre 3.73 out of a possible 100 points in the air analysis, lagging way behind Bangladesh, the next-worst performer, which scored 13.66. The region fared poorly with Nepal, Pakistan and China taking up the remaining spots in the bottom five of the rankings.

PoliticusUSA

Cricket - Sports

Friday, February 3, 2012

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