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Firefighters bring Orega Centre blaze under control
US court hears review appeal against Dr Aafias sentence
4 children burnt alive in Multan
Anonymous knocks CIA website offline
Federer slumps to shock Davis Cup defeat
Tennis: Sharapova stunned by kerber as Paris Open
Golf: McIlroy, Bjorn share Dubai Desert Classic lead
Formula One: Alonso gives Ferrari late test boost
Oil hits six-month peak amid mixed week for commodities
Dernbach yearns for successful start
Disabled cricketers set for Pakistan-England series
Mortaza goes to ICC over spot-fixing approach
English spot-fixer's sentence delayed
Zardari calls for expanding Pak-Sri Lanka bilateral trade
Bilateral relations review likely despite SC case against PM: US

Firefighters bring Orega Centre blaze under control

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The massive fire started at the office of a multi-national company’s office situated at the 4th floor of Lahore’s Orega Centre in Gulberg main Bulevard and soon engulfed the entire shopping plaza. Rescue teams and fire brigade from different parts of city reached the site and started operation. The fire brigade brought the fire under control after a 5-hour hectic effort. The fire destroys millions of rupees material despite the fact that traders and shopkeepers pulled out their belongings from the shops on self-help basis. Eye-witnesses said that the fire started from the top floor and soon spread to other offices and shops in the shopping plaza.

US court hears review appeal against Dr Aafias sentence

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The counsel for Pakistani scientist, Dr Aafia Siddiqui serving an 86 year prison sentence for shooting at U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan told an appeals court Friday that she was so mentally ill, she should have been barred from testifying at her own trial. Aafia Siddiqui, once a bright young student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University, was branded a fugitive terror suspect after she left the U.S. in 2003 and married a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the master planner behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Her whereabouts were a mystery until she was detained in Afghanistan in 2008. A day later, she was wounded during a confrontation with U.S. authorities who had gone to interrogate her. Six witnesses testified that she had grabbed a rifle and fired at the Americans. Siddiqui s lawyer, Dawn Cardi, told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that even though her client was judged competent to stand trial, she was so disabled by paranoid schizophrenia that the court should have taken the unusual step of barring her from testifying. "She had no intelligent understanding of what was going on," Cardi said. "She was not rational." Cardi also argued Siddiqui was in the throes of mental illness when she made incriminating statements to FBI agents at a hospital in Afghanistan following the shooting. At the time, she was on pain medication, was restrained to her bed and was being questioned for several hours each day. "She was clearly mentally ill. They knew she was mentally ill," Cardi said. "The fact that she may have been lucid for some period of time ... doesn t undermine the fact that it was an involuntary statement." At her trial, Siddiqui fiercely denied that she was mentally ill, and she rejected a doctor s diagnosis that she was paranoid. She also insisted that she be allowed to testify, over the objection of her legal team. The judges who heard the appeal Friday expressed concern that taking away a defendant s right to testify in their own defense would be an extraordinary measure, and maybe an unconstitutional one. Appeals Court Judge Richard Wesley noted that Siddiqui s trial testimony, while unusual, wasn t disruptive. She didn t use the witness stand as a platform to rail against the U.S. or make a political speech. "What do you do with a client who simply wants to have her say?" Wesley asked. He also suggested that Siddiqui was intelligent enough to understand her circumstances. "This is a woman who has a Ph.D., correct?" Justice Department lawyers argued that Siddiqui clearly understood the questions she was asked during the trial, and also by the FBI agents who questioned her in Afghanistan, and said the court would have been overstepping its authority if it barred her from testifying. The judges didn t indicate when they would rule on the appeal.

4 children burnt alive in Multan

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According to police, the four children, three brothers and one sister, were sleeping in a room of their grandfather’s house when fire broke out during lighting a lamp, killing all the children. Those who died were identified as Imran, Rizwan, Adnan and Farhat. Their age ranged between 4 to 10 years. The children and their parents came to Larh village to attend funeral of their grandfather.

Anonymous knocks CIA website offline

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The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline. "CIA Tango down," a member of Anonymous said on @YourAnonNews, a Twitter feed used by the group. "Tango down" is an expression used by the US Special Forces when they have eliminated an enemy. Attempts to access the CIA website at cia.gov were unsuccessful. More than two hours after the initial attack on the site attempts by AFP to reach cia.gov were met with a message saying the Web page was not available. Asked about the apparent website outage, a CIA spokeswoman said: "We are looking into these reports." Members of Anonymous also claimed Friday to have hacked the website of Camimex, the Mexican chamber of mines, and posted emails taken from the site online. Like CIA.gov, the camimex.org.mx site was unavailable on Friday. Anonymous last month briefly knocked the websites of the US Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation offline. Those attacks were in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload. There was no immediate explanation from Anonymous for the targeting of the CIA site. In June, an Anonymous-affiliated group, Lulz Security, also temporarily disabled the CIA website. Most Anonymous cyberattacks are distributed denial of service attacks in which a large number of computers are commanded to simultaneously visit a website, overwhelming its servers.

Federer slumps to shock Davis Cup defeat

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World number three Roger Federer slumped to a shock 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 defeat to John Isner on Friday as the United States opened up a 2-0 Davis Cup World Group lead. Federer, playing a first round tie for the first time in eight years, saw his 15-match winning streak in the competition ended by the giant Isner on the indoor clay courts at Fribourg. Isner secured victory with three return winners as the 32-time Davis Cup champions America moved closer to a quarter-final spot. "The way I played today is the way I need to play in all my matches," said Isner, who paid tribute to captain Jim Courier.   "I owe it to Jim Courier -- he was on at me to hit all my shots. It s the win of my life." Courier, bidding to lead the United States to a first Davis Cup title since 2007, said Isner got his tactics just right. "The mission was to go out there and not allow an artist a canvas to work with," he said. Earlier, Mardy Fish had defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7 in the opening rubber. The winners of the tie will face either France or Canada in April for a place in the semi-finals.

Tennis: Sharapova stunned by kerber as Paris Open

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Top seed Maria Sharapova crashed out of the WTA Paris Open in the quarter-finals on Friday after falling 6-4, 6-4 to German ninth seed Angelique Kerber. Sharapova had breezed past Kerber in straight sets en route to the Australian Open final last month but the 24-year-old exacted sweet revenge on the world number three at a disbelieving Pierre de Coubertin indoor arena. Kerber, the world number 27, had never previously beaten a top-10 player and will now face either Belgian world number 29 Yanina Wickmayer or 21-year-old German qualifier Mona Barthel for a place in the final. Playing in her first tournament since losing to Victoria Azarenka in the Melbourne final, Sharapova broke Kerber s serve twice in the opening set, only for the German left-hander to break back on both occasions. Kerber, who reached the semi-finals at last year s US Open, produced some flashing groundstrokes to go 5-4 up but the loss of the first set was all Sharapova s doing. The Russian netted a simple volley to hand her opponent a set point and then found the net again with an attempted down-the-line forehand to gift Kerber an unexpected one-set lead. Sharapova s shot-making took an erratic turn in a tight second set and after once again failing to protect an early break of serve, she tamely conceded defeat on Kerber s first match point with an over-hit backhand. Second seed Marion Bartoli, the last Frenchwoman in the draw, continues her quest for a first ever Paris Open title later on Friday against Italian seventh seed Roberta Vinci. The winner of that match will face Czech world number 51 Klara Zakopalova after she came from behind to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 against German sixth seed Julia Goerges, who required treatment on a left thigh injury in the deciding set.

Golf: McIlroy, Bjorn share Dubai Desert Classic lead

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World number two Rory McIlroy and red-hot Thomas Bjorn shared the lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. At the $2.5 million European Tour event, the 2009 champion McIlroy posted an early bogey-free round of seven-under par 65 to set the pace, and his tally of 13-under par 131 was matched later in the day by the 2001 champion Bjorn (65). Among those lurking behind the leading duo was German world number four Martin Kaymer (67) and English world number three Lee Westwood (65). Kaymer, who made the first hole-in-one of his life during the round, was tied for fourth place at 11-under par 133, while Westwood was another shot behind at 134. Overnight leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello came in with a 69 to be at a 12-under par 132 to be one off the lead. Tied alongside Kaymer were Frenchman Gregory Bourdy (67) and Scotland s Scott Jamieson (68). The day s best round was by 2007 champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden. An eight-under par 64 showed the Swede was reaping the reward for all the hard work put in after a knee surgery in December last year, and he surged to tied 11th place at 136. Scoring continued to be easy in exceptional weather conditions and the cut was applied at one-under par 143 and 79 players, including American past champion Fred Couples and Mark O Meara, made it to the weekend rounds. McIlroy, who is now 14-under and bogey-free for his last 29 holes, hit 17 greens in regulation.

Formula One: Alonso gives Ferrari late test boost

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Former double world champion Fernando Alonso clocked the fastest time on the final day of Formula One testing on Friday, ending a frustrating week for the Italian giants on a high. His time of 1min 18.877sec, off 39 laps, was good enough to keep out French driver Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso, who timed 1:19.597 for second place. World champion Sebastian Vettel, in a Red Bull, was third fastest in 1:19.606 with former champion Lewis Hamilton taking fourth spot with a time of 1:19.640 in his McLaren. Alonso s best time was the second fastest of the week for a 2012 car - just 0.429sec slower than the quickest, set by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean on Thursday. "I still think there is a long way to go until Australia (the first race of the season on March 18), in terms of how many days and how many tests we can do," Alonso told www.autosport.com. "The progress in these four days has been quite big for us. Maybe not in performance or times or whatever, as I don t know what the times were like in the first two days or what were the track conditions in the first two days compared to now, but definitely all the tests we did and all the understanding of the car has been positive for us. "We will arrive to Barcelona much more prepared than how we arrived in Jerez." Vettel s progress in the morning session was slowed by an electrical problem which limited the German star to just two installation laps. But he then put in a comfortable 48 laps in the afternoon. "I m happy with the progress we ve made, I think we managed to get a lot done," said Vettel. "Of course, this morning was a bit of a setback but these things happen. Something like this is simply part of testing, this is the reason why we are here. "So we go back to the factory, look at everything we have learned from this week and prepare for the next test in Barcelona, where I m looking forward to putting some more miles on the car." The teams now head for Barcelona for the next winter test which takes place from Feb 21-24.

Oil hits six-month peak amid mixed week for commodities

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Oil rallied this week, with Brent hitting a six-month high on recent upbeat data, winter weather in the northern hemisphere and Iran tensions, while other commodities steadied as traders eyed Greek news. "This week, the crude oil markets broke free from almost a month of range-bound trading, as a combination of improved macro data, the arrival of winter weather, new supply disruptions and amplified geopolitical tension boosted prices," said Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan. "Base metal prices have generally stabilised in early February following a very strong start to the year. For precious metals, gold and silver surrendered some of the gains made the previous week." Meanwhile, raw materials giant Glencore and mining firm Xstrata unveiled a blockbuster merger on Tuesday to create a $90-billion (69-billion-euro) powerhouse. Glencore is the world s biggest commodities trader with mining assets in key minerals such as aluminum, copper, lead and zinc. It also has interests in coal, oil and agricultural products including cotton, sugar and wheat. Anglo-Swiss firm Xstrata is the biggest global exporter of thermal coal and also produces copper, nickel and zinc. Brent oil prices spiked on Thursday to $118.79 per barrel -- the highest level since August 1 -- as the market was propelled by ongoing tensions in key crude producer Iran and tentative hopes of a Greek debt deal. "Hopes of a new bail-out package for Greece, the weaker US dollar and the ongoing supply risks due to Iran, Sudan and Nigeria are giving buoyancy to oil prices," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. Oil sentiment took a slight hit after the International Energy Agency and the OPEC oil producers  cartel both cut their estimates for 2012 global oil demand growth. By late Friday on London s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March jumped to $116.93 a barrel from $113.38 the previous week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for March rose to $98.04 from $97.31. Gold fell, dragging most precious metals lower, as traders eyed Chinese trade data and ongoing Greek woes, and took profits after striking a two-month high the previous week. Glamorous metal gold had hit $1,763.15 an ounce on February 3, reaching the highest level since December 2, after a raft of upbeat global manufacturing data. By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold slid to $1,711.50 an ounce from $1,734 the previous week. Silver dipped to $33.55 an ounce from $33.93. On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum firmed to $1,638 an ounce from $1,630.

Dernbach yearns for successful start

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Fast bowler Jade Dernbach looked for a successful start to the one-day series against Pakistan after anchoring England s comfortable win over Lions in a practice match here on Friday. The 25-year-old Surrey paceman took 3-21 to wreck England Lions for a paltry 96 before England achieved a revised target -- set to give them some practice ahead of four-one-day match series against Pakistan -- of 230 on three wickets. Jonathan Trott made 75 not out and captain Alastair Cook finished with 68. England face Pakistan in the first one-day in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Dernbach, summoned to enforce England s one-day squad during the World Cup 2011 but made his debut only in June last year, hoped his form continues. "I hope it can continue," said Dernbach. "It was a nice way to start, to set the tone - and that s a job we need to do in this series to be successful." Besides Dernbach, Steven Finn also took three wickets on Friday. Dernbach said getting early wickets is the key. "The aim in any one-day cricket is to take early wickets. You re giving yourself the best possible opportunity of slowing down the scoring rate. If we can keep doing that on a game-to-game basis, we ll be all right," said Dernbach. He stressed the practice match will give England good preparations. "There are a few training sessions scheduled under lights. It was just important we got used to the conditions, for guys who might not have played at this stadium before. South Africa-born Dernbach also toured Sri Lanka with the Lions, an experience he said helped him. "It s going to be slightly different here, but spending a bit of time in the subcontinent is not going to do me any harm - getting that experience under my belt and trying to use it in all the best possible situations."

Disabled cricketers set for Pakistan-England series

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Cricketers with disabilities from Pakistan and England promise to defy all odds during their ground-breaking series which starts on Saturday, hoping it could set examples for such other people in life. They may not be big names like Misbah-ul Haq, Andrew Strauss, Saeed Ajmal or a Monty Panesar but they do not lack the passion to show their skills in matches, regarded as more than cricket. For 24-year-old Pakistan paceman Farhan Saeed life was miserable after his polio-stricken left leg was amputated before he found cricketing salvation. "I thought I will spend my life in a corner of my house but disabled cricket has given me a new lease of life and now I am about to do something which I had never dreamt of in my life -- playing a match in Dubai," Saeed told AFP. Saeed runs aided by a crutch in his left hand, jumps and perfectly lands to deliver the ball -- a sight which is going to excite the fans here. "It s going to be a memorable series and players will not only showcase their talent but will also send a message to all physically challenged people in the world that they should not get disappointed in life," said Saeed. Also on display will be the talent of Callum Flynn, now aged just 16, who feared his dreams of even playing cricket again were over two years ago after he was diagnosed with bone cancer. But cricket has changed Flynn s life. "Two years ago, I never thought I would play cricket and then when I did start playing again, I just always wanted to play for England and now I am wearing the Three Lions - it s just unbelievable," said Flynn. For 23-year-old Matloob Qureshi life has blossomed ever since he picked up a cricket bat. "I lost my left hand in an accident," said Qureshi, who hails from Multan in the Punjab Province. "Cricket has changed my life and now I am gearing up to hit big sixes against England." The Boards of both the countries have recognised the series which coincides with the one-day series between the able-bodied teams of Pakistan and England starting in Abu Dhabi from February 13. Pakistan s disability team will be led by Salim Karim, who founded it in 2006, while James Williams will lead England. The two Twenty20s on Saturday and Sunday will be followed by 40-over one-day matches on February 14, 17 and 19.

Mortaza goes to ICC over spot-fixing approach

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Former Best captain Mashrafe Mortaza has met the International Cricket Council (ICC) to discuss allegations he was the subject of a spot-fixing approach, said the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Mortaza held talks with the ICC s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) representative Howard Beer in Dhaka on Friday after the all-rounder was approached by an unnamed former cricketer ahead of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Twenty20 tournament. Bangladesh have also launched an inquiry into the allegation that has cast a shadow over the new tournament. Last week Mortaza told his Dhaka Gladiators franchise he was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he would be wearing his sunglasses. In return the 28-year-old was informed that he would be paid 15-20 percent of the earnings from the spot betting. "We have a zero tolerance policy towards match-fixing and that is why it was important for us to have a detailed inquiry into the matter," BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain said in a statement. "We are working closely on this issue with the ACSU officials present in Dhaka for the BPL and the ICC." The six-team BPL began on Friday with West Indian Chris Gayle smashing an unbeaten 101 off 44 balls to lead Barisal Burners to a 10-wicket win over Sylhet Royals.

English spot-fixer's sentence delayed

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The sentencing of an English former county cricketer who has pleaded guilty to spot-fixing has been delayed by a week. Mervyn Westfield, 23, was due to be sentenced at London s Old Bailey on Friday but the hearing has been adjourned until Friday, February 17. Westfield s lawyer, Mark Milliken-Smith QC, said a delay had arisen because of "administrative matters". Former Essex bowler Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty on January 12 to accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment to bowl in a way that would allow the scoring of runs. A separate charge of assisting another person to cheat at gambling was ordered to lie on file. Westfield, who is currently on bail, received 6,000 pounds ($9,200) to bowl so that 12 runs would be scored in the first over of a 40-over match between Durham and Essex in September 2009, although in fact only 10 were scored. Hours after Westfield pleaded guilty on January 12, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) launched a "reporting window" to encourage players and officials to come forward with information about corruption. The amnesty allowed them to report past approaches without fear of punishment. It is usually against ECB regulations not to report any alleged corruption within the sport. An international cricketer was arrested alongside Westfield but later released without charge. His identity was not revealed by the court. This case took place against the backdrop of Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer being jailed in Britain last year for their role in a separate spot-fixing scandal in a Test match against England. The trio was sentenced in London in November for a plan to bowl deliberate no-balls during a Test against England at Lord s in August 2010. Earlier this month, 19-year-old Aamer was freed from prison after serving half of a six-month sentence.

Zardari calls for expanding Pak-Sri Lanka bilateral trade

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President Asif Ali Zardari Friday called for stepping up efforts to fully realize the potential of Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka and building a mutually beneficial economic and trade partnership to jack up the bilateral trade from current $375 million to $2 billion target in the next three years. The President urged for further exploring the currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka, which, he said would provide huge incentives to business houses in both the countries to actively explore and enhance business linkages as they use local currencies for trade. The President said this during one-to-one meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, President Mahinda Rajapaksa followed by delegation level talks here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Those who were present during the delegation level meeting included among others Hina Rabbani Khar, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator A. Rehman Malik, Federal Minister for Interior, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Saleem H Mandviwala, Salman Bashir, Foreign Secretary, Maj ® Haroon Rashid, Special Secretary, Seema Ilahi Baloch, Pakistan Ambassador to Sri Lanka and other senior officials. The Sri Lankan President was assisted by Prof G.L Peiris, Minister for External Affairs, Duminda Dissanayake, Deputy Minister, Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Monitoring MP, Lalith Weerathunga, Secretary to the President, Karunatilaka Amunugama, Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, ACM Jayalath Weerakkody, Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Pakistan. Briefing the media spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said matters regarding Pak-Sri Lankan bilateral relations, mutual cooperation with special reference to trade and commercial ties besides regional and international issues were discussed during the meeting. The President welcomed President Mahinda Rajapaksa and members of delegation to the Presidency and expressed hope that the visit would help boost the bilateral ties between the peoples of the two countries which date back to the days of Buddhist civilization and have been marked by a shared interest in regional peace and stability and fight against militancy. The Spokesperson said that the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa thanked the President and the government of Pakistan for according warm welcome and said that Sri Lanka attaches great importance to its strategic and special relations with Pakistan and desires to further strengthen bilateral trade and commercial ties based on mutual respect, shared civilisational heritage and shared perceptions on a host of issues. He thanked the President and government of Pakistan for the support and cooperation extended to Sri Lanka in curbing the menace of terrorism and added that Sri Lanka-Pakistan relations have matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing key areas of contemporary relevance.

Bilateral relations review likely despite SC case against PM: US

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The United States administration is hopeful that Pakistan can complete the process of parliamentary review on Pak-US relations, despite the internal crisis including the ongoing contempt of court proceedings against the country s Prime Minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, in the Supreme Court and forward the recommendations in this regard to the United States. These recommendations are likely to form the basis of future relationship between both countries, after the differences peaked in the wake of NATO attack on Salala check-post in Mohmand Agency on November 26 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The US officials have been maintaining that they could only comment on any issue concerning Pakistan after having a thorough look at the parliamentary review recommendations in due course. Briefing the reporters on Friday, the US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland said "we are waiting for completion of Pakistani parliament s internal review before we are able to discuss these issues." When asked if Pakistan had given any potential timeline to US officials for forwarding the said recommendations, she said "only Pakistanis can answer when they are going to forward these recommendations, but we are going to remain patient." On another question whether the US administration was concerned that the internal issues being dealt with by the Pakistani regime, case in the Supreme Court being on top of it, could delay the review process, Ms. Nuland disagreed and said that the indications being given to the US was slightly different. "From our contacts with Pakistan, we are getting the sense that they are trying to complete the review despite these issues." Regarding the headway on US relations with Pakistan, she said that there was "nothing new to report on relations with Pakistan or reopening of NATO supply routes." She also declined to comment on a question whether US is still asking any questions from Pakistan about Osama bin Laden s presence in Abbottabad. - Contributed By Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC

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Saturday, February 11, 2012

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