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SC to hear contempt case against PM today
Wikileaks: Chavez has less than a year to live
Zardari for completing rehabilitation plan before monsoon
Independent Balochistan will never survive: Raisani
Pakistan detains 24 Indian fishermen
US vows no change in Afghan war strategy
Cold kills 35 Afghan children in northeast: official
2 dead in Russian apartment blast
UN doubts credibility of Syria referendum
89.4 percent 'yes' for new Syria constitution: minister
Djokovic wins on return to action in Dubai
Petra Martic, Jelena Dokic advance in Malaysia
Boxing: Klitschko out to make Mormeck his 50th knock-out
Oil prices fall after 7-day surge
Euro falls against dollar after G-20 meeting

SC to hear contempt case against PM today

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The seven-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk will hear today the contempt of case against Prime Minister. Earlier, on Moday the counsel of the Prime Minister’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan submitted a list of witnesses in the Supreme Court which also included the names of Babar Awan and Law Secretary Masood Chishti. He also prayed the court to call them as witness in the case. It was said in the application moved in the Supreme Court that that the prime minister, in his personal capacity, did not wish to exercise official power in directing any official to appear as a defence witness. The application, however, also stated that the officials should be summoned by court in the capacity of court witnesses. However, Babar Awan declined to oblige, saying he had been a lawyer in the NRO review case; therefore, he was not eligible to appear as a witness. He said if he appeared as a defence witness, it would be tantamount to professional misconduct.  Similarly, Law Secretary Masood Chishti offered regrets to appearing as a court witness, saying he too had appeared as a counsel in the NRO review petition.

Wikileaks: Chavez has less than a year to live

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WikiLeaks claimed to have 5 million Stratfor emails that it would publishe in collaboration with media outlets. However only 200 were released in the first lot. One of the e-mails included the suggestion that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela s president, may have less than a year to live after his cancer spread to the colon and bone marrow. Russian doctors who had been brought in to "clean up the mess" resulting from Cuban treatments for the Venezuelan leader had given a grim prognosis for his recovery, the e-mails said. Other revelations were statements that Israel had last year carried out a successful covert attack on Iran s secret nuclear facilities.

Zardari for completing rehabilitation plan before monsoon

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President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday called for involving local people in the rehabilitation work being carried out in Sindh province in the wake of unprecedented downpour of last year. During a review meeting on floods and rehabilitation work here at Bilawal House he expressed concern over reports that the last year’s rainwater was still standing in some areas of the province. He has also directed that the first phase of the rehabilitation work be expedited and efforts be geared up in this regard. According to sources, the USAID Programme has presented a negative report about the working of Education Department. The president expressed displeasure over the working of Education Department and directed the concerned authorities to conduct a separate briefing on USAID programme. The USAID is starting a training programme for teachers’ training in Sindh.

Independent Balochistan will never survive: Raisani

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Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani has said that an independent Balochistan would never be able to survive an unrestrained, bloody civil war. Talking to the EU ambassador, who called on him on Monday, he, condemning confirmed external interference in Balochistan, clarified that each Sardar and Nawab had patches of areas under their control and were ‘sovereign’ within their geographical fiefdoms; as such a volatile senseless civil war would erupt between these unruly sardars/nawabs for full control of Provincial resources, which would not augur well for ordinary Baloch. He informed that high level talks with warring dissidents, who had so far shunned all friendly and truce gestures, would soon be undertaken by Governor Magsi and notables of various tribes. Referring to the issue of mutilated dead bodies, the chief minister said that he had always stressed the fact that this rather compounded the crisis, while regarding missing persons he said that many had been discovered as running their personal businesses in Afghanistan. Raisani termed the situation in Balochistan as quite complex , and time-consuming , and hoped that a prudent conducive strategy and process should take it out of crisis.  Raisani also stressed on early resolve of the core issue of Kashmir, with due assistance of EU in this connection, and also demanded technology transfer from EU for maximum indigenous production. Expressing his great pride in mineral resources of the Province, he said that these could be, and would be used for the benefit of masses, and also expressed his great desire for assistance from EU. The EU ambassador assured of provision of technology f, alongwith other sectors as well.

Pakistan detains 24 Indian fishermen

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The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has handed over 24 Indian fishermen to Docks police in Karachi after arresting them fishing inside Pakistani waters. According to Maritime Security Agency sources, these fishermen were busy in fishing in Pakistani territory on 12 boats which were also seized.

US vows no change in Afghan war strategy

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The US military has no plans to alter its troop drawdown timetable in Afghanistan despite a week of deadly unrest over the burning of the Quran at an American base, the Pentagon said Monday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and top US military officer General Martin Dempsey both "believe that the fundamentals of our strategy remain sound," spokesman George Little told reporters. The United States will stick to its plan for a gradual troop drawdown and has an "unwavering" commitment to hand over to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014 as agreed by the NATO alliance, Little said. Attacks on US and coalition troops and violent protests were "regrettable" but had not jeopardized "strong" ties between American and Afghan forces, he said. "We re not going to let the events of the past week, which are regrettable and unfortunate and tragic, influence the long-horizon view that we re taking with respect to our partnership with Afghanistan and to our enduring work there," Little said. Another military spokesman, Captain John Kirby, acknowledged tensions had flared over the burning of the Islamic holy book at the Bagram airbase and after two US officers were gunned down inside the interior ministry. But he said the scale of protests had begun to decline and that US troops were still operating successfully alongside Afghan forces. "These events -- they re troubling, they re worrisome, they ve got everybody s attention. And yes, tension is high here in Kabul right now," Kirby said by video link from the Afghan capital. "But across the country writ large... the mission continues and we re seeing the protest activity decline." The United States has repeatedly apologized for the Quran burning at an incinerator and insisted it was a mistake and not intentional. The incident has set off seven successive days of protest and violence, with the death toll estimated at about 40. The United Nations announced that it was pulling its international staff out of their base in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz after it came under attack Saturday by demonstrators. The commander of NATO s International Security Assistance Force, US General John Allen, withdrew all staff out of Afghan ministries at the weekend when two US advisers were shot dead in the interior ministry, apparently by an Afghan colleague. There had been no decision yet on when coalition advisers would return to their posts at government offices, Kirby said. Allen "is not ready right now to have the advisers go back," he said. "But this is temporary." The general had advised his commanders to be "vigilant" given recent events but "he also made it clear that operations must continue," Kirby said.

Cold kills 35 Afghan children in northeast: official

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The children died in four remote districts of Badakhshan province after the roads to districts were closed by heavy snow. "Thirty five children died as a result of pneumonia caused by severe weather in Badakhshan in the past two days," Dr Noor Khawrin a provincial public health official told AFP. "We have only been able to set up some emergency mobile clinics recently to help the kids there." Afghanistan, a landlocked and mountainous country, has suffered its coldest winter in 15 years. On February 19, the public health ministry said the severe weather had killed almost 40 children in the country over the course of one month. More than half came from refugee camps on the outskirts of Kabul, which house thousands of Afghans fleeing war and Taliban intimidation in southern Afghanistan, according to officials.

2 dead in Russian apartment blast

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An explosion apparently caused by natural gas has heavily damaged a nine-story apartment building in southern Russia, leaving two people dead and 12 injured. Rescue workers were searching through the rubble, and officials said at least 11 residents of the building are unaccounted for. The explosion occurred Monday in Astrakhan, a city 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) southeast of Moscow. A spokesman for the regional emergencies ministry, Oleg Grekov, told the ITAR-Tass news agency two bodies were pulled from the rubble late Monday. Regional Investigative Committee spokeswoman Anna Konyaeva said the blast first blew out a lower section of the building. As people rushed to help, the upper six stories collapsed. Explosions of gas canisters in Russian homes and businesses are common.

UN doubts credibility of Syria referendum

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Any vote in Syria must be held "in conditions free of violence and intimidation," United Nations deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters, adding that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had just "noted" Sunday s vote organized by President Bashar al-Assad s government. Syria said on Monday that almost 90 percent of voters approved a new constitution in the referendum held after 11 months of anti-government protests. "While a new constitution and the end of the Baath party monopoly on power could be part of a political solution, a referendum must take place in conditions free of violence and intimidation," del Buey said. "It is unlikely to be credible in a context of pervasive violence and mass human rights violations," he added. Thousands have been killed in a government crackdown on protests. "The priority in Syria must therefore be for all violence to stop, only such conditions will allow a genuine political process that will meet the democratic aspirations of the citizens," the UN spokesman said. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos is meanwhile still waiting for Syria to respond to her request to visit the country to assess the extent of the crisis, the spokesman added. Amos made an official request last week after being told by Ban to go there. The UN under secretary general is still "waiting for a reaction from the Syrian government," del Buey said.

89.4 percent 'yes' for new Syria constitution: minister

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Almost 90 percent of voters approved Syria s new constitution brought in after 11 months of anti-regime protests, the interior minister announced on Monday. Mohammed al-Shaar also told a press conference that turnout reached 57.4 percent of eligible voters, with 89.4 percent of the 8.376 million who cast their ballots in Sunday s referendum saying "yes" to the new constitution. "There has been a large turnout despite threats made by armed terrorist groups in some regions," the minister said, using a term employed by the authorities for rebels. People went to polling stations "despite campaigns by treacherous media to stop citizens from exercising their rights and undermine the democratic process that took place freely and transparently," he added. The opposition had called for a boycott of the referendum, while the United States described it as "laughable".

Djokovic wins on return to action in Dubai

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Novak Djokovic shook off the rust to beat Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-4, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships Monday in his first match since winning the Australian Open. Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish also had an easy time against Andreas Beck of Germany, winning 6-1, 6-1 to join Djokovic in the second round. The top-ranked Djokovic has not played a match in nearly four weeks and it showed at times. He broke the 72nd-ranked German to go up 1-0 but had to save two break points in the fourth game as he struggled with Stebe s return game. Stebe pushed the set to 5-4 and deuce before Djokovic hit his first ace and another good serve which the German returned long. Djokovic had an easier second set, breaking twice. He won the match with his third ace of the match and another serve that Stebe couldn t return. Djokovic, going for a fourth consecutive Dubai title, is now 8-0 this year after beating Stebe. He insisted that he was not concerned with matching his exploits in 2011, in which he won three Grand Slams and started the season with a 41-match winning streak. A few hours before his match, Djokovic was courtside as his younger brother Marko lost his match to Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2. The 869th-ranked Djokovic was granted a wild card into the tournament. Djokovic serves as a mentor of sorts for the 20-year-old Marko and said it was hard to see his brother struggling, admitting that can difficult for Marko and his other tennis-playing brother 16-year-old Djordje to always be compared to him. Fish, meanwhile, broke Beck twice in the first set to lead 4-0. In the second, he broke three times before closing it out in 57 minutes. The American has had a mixed year so far, crashing out in the second round of the Australian Open and losing to 388th-ranked Albano Olivetti in the Marseille quarterfinals last week. He did, however, help the United States rout Switzerland 5-0 in the Davis Cup.

Petra Martic, Jelena Dokic advance in Malaysia

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Seeded players Petra Martic of Croatia and defending champion Jelena Dokic of Australia won first-round matches at the Malaysian Open on Monday. The fifth-seeded Martic rallied to defeat Erika Sema of Japan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 after nearly two and a half hours at Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort. The seventh-seeded Dokic beat Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3, 6-1. Olivia Rogowska of Australia also advanced, downing Elitsa Kostova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-0. Two Japanese players reached the second round. Misaki Doi fended off Olga Puchkova of Russia 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Kurumi Nara topped Thailand s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-4, 6-3.

Boxing: Klitschko out to make Mormeck his 50th knock-out

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Wladimir Klitschko plans on making Jean-Marc Mormeck the 50th knock-out of his career on Saturday, while the Frenchman says he is determined to become his country s first world heavyweight champion. World champion Klitschko will defend his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA titles against Mormeck, who stepped up from cruiserweight just over two years ago, in Dusseldorf. The pair were scheduled to meet last December, but kidney stones forced Klitschko, 35, to postpone the fight which will be the 60th of his career. "I m ready for this challenge," said Klitschko at Monday s press conference. "I still have the hunger and assume the task will not be easy." Klitschko has not been beaten since April 2004 when he suffered a fifth round technical knock-out to Lamon Brewster in Las Vegas and Mormeck wants to break the Ukrainian s winning streak and take his titles. "I know that I am underestimated against a bigger and heavier opponent," the 39-year-old Mormeck told AFP. "I have an iron will and I m tough, I will give it my all. "I have the mental strength too. Does he?" This will be Mormeck s fourth heavyweight bout and Klitschko has said it will be tough against a man who is considerably shorter than he is with the challenger measuring 181 cms, compared to Klitschko s height of 198 cms. Klitschko s brother Vitali defended his WBC heavyweight title against Britain s Dereck Chisora a fortnight ago in Munich, but the sport s image was tarnished by the post-fight brawl between Chisora and ex-champion David Haye. Chisora had also slapped Vitali in the pre-bout weigh-in before running away. Wladimir says he expects things to stay peaceful, but is taking nothing for granted. "We are only on Monday, things also started peacefully in the press conference between Vitali and Chisora," said the younger Klitschko, who also suffered from Chisora s boorish behaviour when he spat in his face. "I am looking forward to the open training and the weigh-in." Despite his threats to dethrone the champ, all bar three of Mormeck s 40 fights have been at the lighter weight including a technical knock-out at the hands of Haye at cruiserweight in 2007. The Frenchman has still enjoyed 22 knock-outs in 36 victories, but has suffered four defeats in his career.

Oil prices fall after 7-day surge

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Benchmark crude fell by 79 cents to $108.98 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil that s imported by U.S. refineries, lost $1.33 at $124.14 per barrel in London. Analysts say a standoff between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme continues to keep oil prices around nine-month highs. But many traders sold contracts to lock in profits following a 9 percent rise since mid-February. "Some people are getting out now just because oil is at those high levels," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said. Western nations fear that Iran is making a nuclear weapon and have been trying to get international inspectors into its facilities. Iran denies the claim and has threatened to disrupt oil supplies in response to any threats. Meanwhile, gasoline prices continue to hit new records in the U.S. The national average of $3.70 a gallon (98 cents a litre) is the highest ever for this time of year. The pump price averages $4.29 per gallon in California. In some isolated cases around the U.S., gas is going for more than $5 a gallon ($1.32 a litre). In other energy trading, heating oil fell by 3 cents to $3.29 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 3 cents at $3.13 per gallon. Natural gas futures fell by 4 cents to $2.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Euro falls against dollar after G-20 meeting

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The euro fell against the dollar Monday after finance ministers from the world s 20 leading economies said that they would not add money to the International Monetary Fund until the European Union puts up more money to stave off its debt crisis. The euro fell to $1.3398 in afternoon trading Monday from $1.3459 late Friday. The euro rose to an 11-week high of $1.3486 on Friday. The IMF wants to raise about $500 million to help struggling countries, mostly in Europe. With the G-20 not willing to add cash, traders are concerned that Europe s debt crisis might drag on further. The G-20 nations met over the weekend in Mexico. Greece got closer to getting its second bailout Monday after German lawmakers approved a $174 billion loan package. The bailout is needed in order for Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt next month. A default could have triggered another financial crisis. Greece received a $148 billion package of rescue loans in 2010. In other trading, the British pound rose $1.5823 from $1.5889. The dollar fell to 80.49 Japanese yen from 80.98 yen and to 99.86 Canadian cents from 1.0002 Canadian dollar. The U.S. currency rose to 0.8996 Swiss franc from 0.8950 Swiss franc.

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Cricket - Sports

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

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