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- Microsoft profit falls ahead of Windows 8 launch
- NY appeals court rules against US marriage law
- SC to resume Asghar Khan case today
- Eurozone leaders see 'good progress' in Greece
- Improve in oil production boosts Libya economy
- Asian markets suffer profit-taking after one week's rally
- Senior Cycling Australia official quit over doping
- Google, Samsung to sell Chrome laptop for $249
- Romney, Obama face off with jokes at annual dinner
- S Korean boat on rescue mission capsizes, 5 killed
- Shane Bond appointed as Zealand's bowling coach
- 49 die as Syrian jets blast rebel-held town
- Uniform education system, free legal aid for children demanded
- EU clinches bank deal amid Franco-German spat
- Hybrid vehicle battery creator Ovshinsky, 89, dies
| Microsoft profit falls ahead of Windows 8 launch Posted: Microsoft Corp.s net income fell 22 percent in the latest quarter as it deferred revenue from the sale of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system to PC makers and as PC sales in general took a dive.The economic troubles in Europe also weighed on results, which missed Wall Street expectations.The software company said Thursday that net income was $4.47 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That was down from $5.7 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year ago.Analysts were on average expecting 56 cents per share, according to FactSet.Revenue fell 8 percent to $16 billion, missing the average analyst estimate of $16.5 billion.Microsofts stock initially fell more than 3 percent in extended trading after the release of the results but recovered to $29.04, which was 46 cents, or 1.5 percent, below its price at the close of regular trading.Analyst Collin Gillis at BGC Financial said executives reassured investors on a conference call, noting that trends in Microsofts Server and Tools business, which has been the fastest-growing division, were better than they appeared at first glance.That division makes software for servers and software developers, and is moving from licensing it out program by program to striking multi-year licensing deals. Thats curbing the growth rate for now but sets the company up for better performance in the future, Gillis said.Analysis of the Windows results were complicated by the deferral of $783 million in license fees for PCs pre-loaded with Windows 8. Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, cant recognize the revenue until the units go on sale on Oct. 26.It also deferred $384 million in license fees from PCs that shipped with Windows 7 but are eligible for a $15 upgrade to Windows 8, and $189 million for the PCs that shipped with the new version of Office or are eligible for an upgrade.Excluding those deferrals and other adjustments, net income was $6.66 billion, or 65 cents per share, down 7 percent from last year. Revenue was flat with last years figure at $17.3 billion.Excluding the deferrals, revenue for the Windows division fell 9 percent from a year ago, roughly in line with the decline in global PC shipments in the third quarter reported by research firms Gartner and IDC. Consumers held off buying PCs ahead of Windows 8 and probably steered some of their electronics dollars toward tablets and smartphones.Windows 8 is the most significant revamp since Windows 95 and sports a completely new look thats intended to be consistent across PCs, tablets and smartphones. Its designed from the ground up for touch-sensitive screens, and Microsoft has high hopes that it will keep Windows relevant in a world where tablets are starting to eat into PC sales. Its also making its own tablets for the first time, and is set to launch them along with Windows 8.In the Business Division, Microsofts largest, posted a 1 percent increase in revenue, excluding the deferrals for Office.
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| NY appeals court rules against US marriage law Posted: The US law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman took another judicial hit Thursday when an appeals court in New York declared it unconstitutional.Supporters of same-sex marriage hailed the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the controversial Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which mirrored an earlier judgement from another federal appeals court in Boston.Section Three of DOMA violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional, said the court, citing the part that says marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.Enacted in 1996, DOMA effectively prohibits married same-sex couples from enjoying the same federal benefits and programs as their heterosexual counterparts.The Supreme Court is expected to consider next month whether to hear a challenge to its legality.The New York case was initiated by Edith Windsor, who sued the US government in 2010 after it told her to pay more than $350,000 in estate taxes following the death of her longtime partner Thea Spyer, whom she married in Canada in 2007.A married straight couple would have faced no estate tax.Yet again, a federal court has found that it is completely unfair to treat married same-sex couples as though theyre legal strangers, said James Esseks of the American Civil Liberties Unions LGBT program in a statement.This ruling is an important step in ensuring the rights of men and women are not dependent upon who they love and who they chose to spend their lives with, added New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.Today, were one step closer to striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, added New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who wedded her lesbian partner in May, a year after New York state recognized same-sex marriages.Eight of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have recognized same-sex marriage, which is vigorously opposed by evangelicals and the Roman Catholic church. New York is the most populous of those states.In a report Thursday, the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT civil rights group, said Catholic organizations have spent at least $1.1 million dollars in four states -- Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington -- where marriage equality is being put to voters on November 6 in tandem with the presidential election.
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| SC to resume Asghar Khan case today Posted: During Thursday’s hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed Thursday it was also binding on armed forces to adhere to the constitution like judges and elected government.The CJP gave these remarks while presiding over a 3-member bench of Supreme Court (SC) during the course of hearing of Asghar Khan case.Akram Sheikh counsel for Gen (Retd) Aslam Beg prayed the court to issue orders for introducing reforms in armed forces. ISI be brought under the discipline of army and notification for keeping it under chief executive be annulled.CJP said “ it is not our job. Aslam Beg remained army chief from 1988 to 1991. Aslam Beg could tell president Ishaq he would not become party in the distribution of money. He should have resisted before President Ishaq. It was only your client who could bring any change”.Akram Sheikh told the court Aslam Beg assumed his responsibilities within 3 hours after air crash on August, 21.Earlier Brig (Retd) Hamid Saeed filed his written statement during the hearing saying paragraphs 1 to 8 of his statement be kept secret while there is no need to keep paragraphs 9 to 14 secret.CJP observed it was his discretion that he should file separately what he wanted to keep secret.Brig (Retd) Hamid Saeed said if statement is filed by him separately then it will become difficult to understand other things. Court should not keep the entire matter secret if it deems so, he added. Court said paragraphs No 1 to 8 would not be made public at present.Defence ministry presented details of ISI accounts in the court at the inception of hearing.Attorney General (AG) said these details of the accounts were secret and could not be made public.CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked what he is considering secret is already on the record.Justice Jawad S Khawaja said during the hearing that Asad Durrani told all the money was not distributed and the rest of the amount remained in the accounts.Brig (Retd) Hamid Saeed former MI officer appeared in the court and filed his written reply. He presented his 21 years old diary in the court. All the record regarding distribution of money is available in the diary.CJP while addressing Hamid Saeed said he wanted to keep some matters secret. The contents of Paragraphs from 1 to 8 should be kept secret.If these things were not brought on the record then this would prove only an exercise in futility, Hamid Saeed said.The CJP remarked “we are making it part of the record on your insistence. Only paragraphs from 9 to 12 will be discussed in the court as these paragraphs relate to this case”.Hamid Saeed said one paragraph of his submissions could cause defamation to the army and maligning armed forces is an offence liable to be punished under law of the land and constitution. Court should decide on its own if it was to be kept secret or otherwise, he added. “I can be executed under official secret act if army is maligned”, he contended.Akram Sheikh advocate said Aslam Beg had controlled the situation in the country on August, 17, 1988 and PPP government had awarded him “Tamgha-e-Jamhooriat.CJP remarked “when you are citizen of this country then you should abide by the constitution. Bestowing medal on any one can make no difference. Armed forces are also bound to abide by the constitution like judges and elected government”.Reply of Brig Muhammad Aamir, military secretary to the president was also presented in the court wherein it was stated record was traced out in the presidency but file of Election-1990 was not found.
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| Eurozone leaders see 'good progress' in Greece Posted: Eurozone leaders on Friday hailed Greeces achievements in carrying out reforms aimed at getting its economy back on track and urged Athens to keep up efforts to stay in the eurozone.Good progress has been made to bring the adjustment programme back on track, a statement by the leaders of the 17-nation bloc said. We expect Greece to continue budgetary and structural policy reforms and we encourage its efforts to ensure swift implementation of the programme, they added.On Wednesday, the so-called troika of international lenders said it hoped for a deal within days on resuming much-needed financial aid to Greece in return for making headway on economic reforms.Greeces conservative-led government is in talks with the troika on an austerity package needed to unlock a loan payment of 31.5 billion euros ($41.1 billion).The payment, which has been pending since June, is a part of 230 billion euros in loans offered to the heavily-indebted eurozone country.Eurozone finance ministers, whose next scheduled meeting is on November 12, will examine the outcome of the review in light of the troika report and will take the necessary decisions, the statement said.The reforms will allow Greece to achieve renewed growth and will ensure its future in the euro area, leaders added.
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| Improve in oil production boosts Libya economy Posted: Libyas economy has made a swift recovery after the 2011 conflict, with oil production returning to near normal levels: but insecurity is holding up reconstruction and keeping foreign companies at bay.The economy nose-dived after the February 17, 2011 uprising against Moamer Kadhafi, which escalated into a full civil war that ended with the long-time dictators ouster and death in October.Oil production, which was more than 1.6 million barrels per day before the war, came to a virtual halt by the summer of 2011, after foreign companies and workers their workers fled en masse.But the oil sector, which accounts for 80 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 97 percent of exports, bounced back quickly after Kadhafis fall, and production returned to near pre-conflict levels in May.In one year (since October 2011), average oil production has surpassed 1.4 mbpd and sometimes reaches 1.6 mbpd, Oil Minister Abdelrahman ben Yezza told AFP.We were able to resume production quickly and generate income for the country, he said, stressing that oil was and remains virtually the only source of income for the authorities.Only a few international companies rushed back after the interim authorities announced the liberation of the country on October 23, 2011, three days after Kadhafi was captured and killed.The resumption of production was made possible thanks to the quick return of major Western companies, like Total (France), ENI (Italy), Repsol (Spain), Wintershall (Germany) and Occidental (USA), said a Tripoli-based economist working for an international financial institution.Such companies, he added on condition of anonymity, are providing their own security on production sites, some of which are in remote desert areas beyond the grip of nascent security forces.In 2013, Tripoli hopes to lure back more oil companies, many of which have been waiting for greater stability to return, and encourage local enterprises to resume, said the minister.In its October economic forecasts, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that real GDP growth in Libya will be 122 percent this year and 16.7 percent in 2013 after plunging by 60 percent last year.The Tripoli-based economist said performance of the post-conflict economy is undeniably positive, noting in particular a gradual decrease in the inflation rate and the stable exchange rate of the Libyan dinar against other currencies.He said inflation has been hovering around 15 percent in recent months after hitting record highs in 2011, when it touched nearly 30 percent in October.The IMF said inflation for all of 2012 should be down to 10 percent and to an almost negligible 0.9 percent next year. The economist also noted some persistent gaps in the economy, including a weak banking sector, which offers absolutely no financing options for companies and where there are also still problems with international transactions.Even such a basic thing as cash is a problem. Many banks do not issue bank cards and, even in major cities like Tripoli and Benghazi, there are only a handful of ATMs.In the absence of strong control by the transitional authorities, who are struggling to build up state institution and rein in the militias who were the backbone of the anti-Kadhafi war, the informal sector takes precedence over the formal sector, he added.But this is completely normal in a post-conflict situation, he explained.Imports, which had come to a virtual halt due to an embargo slapped on Libya by the United Nations and Western powers, have boomed thanks to the lifting of restrictions and lowering of taxes.This change has been heartening for Libyan merchants like Khaled al-Fallah. Today we have the freedom to take part in any activity, he told AFP, noting that the market before was monopolised by only a few people. But businessman Anas al-Maghrabi would like better regulation of imports.He says small traders are flooding the market with imported products and overwhelming the ports, causing significant delays in delivery.With its oil wealth and vast reserves, the largest in Africa, Libya is a natural magnet for foreign companies looking to profit from the reconstruction of a country destroyed by war and 42 years of corruption and mismanagement.But construction sites are at a standstill, with most foreign construction companies still not having resumed work.Hotel and housing projects that pre-dated the conflict are in limbo while the cities worst damaged by the fighting, including Sirte and Misrata, are crying out for reconstruction.The onus is now on the new authorities to persuade foreign companies that the North African nation offers enough political stability and security for them to resume their activities. Before asking foreign companies to come back, we must first guarantee their security, outgoing deputy prime minister Mustafa Abu Shagur told AFP recently.
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| Asian markets suffer profit-taking after one week's rally Posted: Asian markets were mostly lower on Friday as traders cashed in profits after a week of upbeat data out of China and rising hopes for the future of the eurozone.Investors did not seem to be immediately moved by news out of Europe that leaders had reached a deal on banking union within the trading bloc.Tokyo eased 0.47 percent, Hong Kong was flat, Sydney fell 0.15 percent, Shanghai was 0.15 percent off and Seoul lost 0.91 percent.Traders took a breather after regional markets enjoyed a strong rally this week following data from China indicating the worlds number two economy may have bottomed out, while woes in Spain and Greece also looked to have eased.China said Thursday its economy grew in the third quarter at its slowest pace since early 2009, but it was in line with expectations while other indicators pointed to an upturn in the next three months.That followed figures at the weekend showing exports surged in September.In Europe a decision by Moodys not to downgrade Spains credit rating, and reports that Madrid was edging closer to asking for rescue money, lifted confidence that the regions debt crisis was being addressed.Talks between Greece and its international creditors on giving the country more time to implement much-needed reforms also looked to be progressing.An on Friday in Brussels European leaders vowed to set up a banking union throughout 2013, with diplomats saying a final summit statement would commit EU states to agreeing on a supervisor for eurozone lenders by the end of the year.And a French government source said the European Central Bank would be tasked with supervising all of the 6,000 eurozone banks, but that its role would only come into effect from the beginning of 2014.The slow pace of implementation was seen as a weakness in the plan, which had no real effect on Asian shares Friday.On currency markets the euro remained strong after a week of gains. In early Tokyo trade it bought $1.3070 and 103.74 yen, compared with $1.3067 and 103.60 yen in New York late Thursday.The dollar was at 79.38 yen against 79.28 yen.Oil prices rose, with New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November up five cents to $92.15 a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December was unchanged at $112.42.Gold was at $1,742.40 at 0200 GMT compared with $1,743.40 late Thursday.
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| Senior Cycling Australia official quit over doping Posted: Senior Cycling Australia official Stephen Hodge has resigned from the board after admitting taking performance-enhancing drugs during his professional riding career, CA said on Friday.The departure of vice-president Hodge with immediate effect follows former Olympian Matt White who was sacked Wednesday by CA from its mens road racing programme for his role in the far-reaching Lance Armstrong doping scandal.CA said Hodge revealed in his resignation letter to the CA board and members that during a stage of his career as a professional cyclist he took performance-enhancing drugs.In light of the current circumstances Stephen has made it clear he doesnt want a mistake he made two decades ago to affect the work of Cycling Australia to take the sport forward, CA President Klaus Mueller said in a statement.Hodge turned professional in 1987 and raced in the European peloton up until his retirement at the end of 1996.He began his tenure on the board as the Chair of the Athletes Commission in June 1999 and in 2007 Hodge was elected vice-president of the board, a position he has held up to now.Hodge said in a letter to the CA board and released by CA that during a stage of his career as a professional cyclist he took performance enhancing drugs -- a decision I am not proud of.I am sorry I did it. It was wrong. I apologise unreservedly to CA, my family, friends, colleagues and cycling fans, he said.Hodge said when he made CA aware of his situation he offered to resign and it was agreed that he would immediately stand aside from all CA board duties in advance of submitting a formal resignation.At no point have I been involved in any CA board meetings or discussions in relation to the termination of Matt Whites contract, Hodge said in his letter.Hodge becomes the second Australian cycling figure to admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs during their previous professional riding career.White, 38, admitted last weekend that he was part of a strategy of doping when he rode on the Armstrong-led US Postal Service cycling team from 2001 to 2003. He said he was stepping down from his jobs as the sports director of the emerging Australian professional team Orica-GreenEDGE and was subsequently sacked from his role in Cycling Australias mens road racing programme.White is currently facing an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), which said this week it became aware of allegations of doping made against him by American cyclist Floyd Landis in 2010.
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| Google, Samsung to sell Chrome laptop for $249 Posted: Google is dangling a low-priced laptop computer in front of consumers as rivals Microsoft and Apple prepare to release their latest gadgets.The lightweight computer unveiled Thursday will sell for $249 and is being made in a partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which also makes smartphones and tablet computers that run on Googles Android software.The laptop will run on an operating system revolving around Googles Chrome Web browser.Like other so-called Chromebooks, this laptop doesnt have a hard drive. It functions like a terminal dependent on an Internet connection to get to information and applications stored in large data centers run by Google Inc. or other technology providers.Its the least expensive Chromebook that Google has released in the two years that it has been working on the product line. Google and Samsung released a slightly more sophisticated Chromebook priced at $449 in the late spring.The lower-priced model will go on sale early next week in more than 500 Best Buy stores in the U.S., as well as on various websites. Google hopes to begin accepting online orders at its Play store by this weekend.Google Inc. appears to be trying to beat Microsoft and Apple to the punch with the discount Chromebook.Microsoft Corp. is poised to release Windows 8, a dramatic makeover of its famous operating system, on Oct. 26. The long-awaited makeover is designed to run on touch-based tablets, as well as laptop and desktop computers. A variety of manufacturers will be selling a hodgepodge of Windows 8-powered personal computers and tablets. The prices of most of those machines, including a tablet made by Microsoft, will range from $500 to $1,000.Apple Inc. says it plans to show off a new product Tuesday. The event is widely expected to be the coming-out party for a slightly smaller version of its hot-selling iPad.The mini iPad is expected to feature a 7.85-inch (19.94-centimeter) screen compared to the nearly 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) screen of the pioneering iPad. Industry analysts expect Apple to price a smaller iPad in the $249 to $299 range in an effort to siphon sales away from other scaled-down tablets, such as Googles Nexus 7 and Amazon.com Inc.s Kindle Fire.Now, Google has a laptop vying for a piece of the same market.This is a big step in the journey for us, said Sundar Pichai, Googles senior vice president of Chrome and apps. I think its generally an exciting time in the computing industry.Like tablets, the discount Chromebook will rely on a computer chip design known as ARM, instead of Intel Corp. microprocessors. The ARM architecture is more energy efficient, extending the duration of batteries between charges.With an 11.6-inch (29.46-centimeter) screen, the new Chromebooks also will have a larger display than tablets selling in the same price range.The laptops will be set up to automatically use all of Googles services, including its search engine, Gmail and YouTube video site. Because the laptop lacks a hard drive, Google also is offering 100 gigabytes of free storage on computers kept in its eight data centers. Those remote computers provide the backbone for Googles online storage service, Drive.Despite the low price, the new Chromebook will face a tough time winning over consumers because it isnt set up like a traditional PC with a hard drive, said Gartner Inc. analyst Carolina Milanesi.A lot of people are going to see it and think, Once I have it, what exactly do I do with it? Milanesi predicted.Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, will try to educate and woo prospective buyers by setting up Chromebook kiosks in Best Buy stores where staff will be on hand to field questions. The company also will promote the new Chromebook in television ads.The attempt to grab a few early headlines Thursday backfired, though, when Google prematurely released its third-quarter earnings while the company was providing a preview of the low-priced Chromebook to a group of reporters. Once the earnings slipped out, some reporters bolted from the laptop presentation to focus on numbers that disappointed investors.
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| Romney, Obama face off with jokes at annual dinner Posted: President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney poked fun at themselves and each other for a charitable cause Thursday night, two days after attacking each other in their second debate.Thursdays pause for jokes in the tight race for the Nov. 6 election took place at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children.The two candidates are running neck and neck in the polls and Obama is hoping his strong debate performance Tuesday will help him regain the momentum he lost following his poor showing in the first debate two weeks earlier. The lighthearted evening was sandwiched between that debate and the final debate Monday night in South Florida.Romney, who spoke before Obama and appeared at ease on stage, playfully jabbed at the president, saying both candidates have crucial people on whom they rely. As Romney put it, I have my beautiful wife, Ann, hes got Bill Clinton.The dinner was overseen by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has clashed with the Obama administration over contraception provisions in the countrys new health care law. Dolan has said he received stacks of mail protesting the invitation to Obama, but Dolan has sought to avoid playing political favorites. He delivered benedictions at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions this year.The dinner was Romneys only public event Thursday. But his wife told ABC that her husbands political career will end if he doesnt win this election.Obama on Thursday campaigned in New Hampshire, one of a handful of closely fought battleground states in the election, before warming up for his dinner speech with an appearance on Comedy Centrals The Daily Show.Since the presidency is not decided by a nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests, states like New Hampshire that do not reliably vote Republican or Democratic are overwhelmingly important in a tight race like this one. The two candidates have turned their attention to undecided female voters.Romneys campaign aired a television commercial that seemed designed to soften his opposition to abortion while urging women to keep economic issues topmost in their minds when they vote.Obamas campaign responded with an ad featuring video of Romney in an earlier debate against fellow Republicans saying he would be delighted to sign a bill banning all abortions as president.Obama also picked up the endorsement of rock star Bruce Springsteen, who also backed him in 2008. Springsteen campaigned for Obama on Thursday in Ohio with former President Bill Clinton.
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| S Korean boat on rescue mission capsizes, 5 killed Posted: A South Korean coast guard boat capsized after rescuing sailors from a damaged cargo ship, leaving five of the sailors dead.The coast guard boat tipped over Thursday after rescuing 11 Chinese and Filipino sailors from a damaged Malaysian cargo ship that eventually sank off the southern island of Jeju. The rescued sailors and the South Korean boats crew were transferring to a larger coast guard ship when the capsizing occurred.Coast guard officers say all the Asian sailors were plucked from the water but three Filipinos and two Chinese were unconscious and later died in a hospital. One coast guard officer was injured.The 11 sailors were among 13 Chinese and six Filipinos on the Malaysian cargo ship. Other coast guard vessels rescued eight of those sailors.
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| Shane Bond appointed as Zealand's bowling coach Posted: Former paceman Shane Bond was appointed New Zealands bowling coach on Friday, ahead of a tough international season that includes Test series against South Africa, England and Sri Lanka.Bond, 37, said he had aspired to the role since 2010, when a succession of injuries that blighted his once-promising career forced him out of the game with just 18 Test caps in nine years.This is a role I have worked towards since I stopped playing, he said. The experience of playing for New Zealand exceeded my expectations and Im sure it will be no different as a coach.Bond will accompany the Black Caps to Sri Lanka later this month and be part of the coaching set-up when New Zealand tour South Africa in December, then host England in February.The Black Caps have some very important cricket coming up and we are delighted to have Shane on board to help develop and prepare our international bowling attack, New Zealand Cricket director of cricket John Buchanan said.His knowledge of the modern game will be a valuable asset to the team.
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| 49 die as Syrian jets blast rebel-held town Posted: Syrian fighter jets blasted the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan on Thursday, killing at least 49 people including 29 children, rescuers said.UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pressed for a truce during a key Muslim holiday later this month, while the UNs human rights chief appealed to the Security Council for unity over the crisis.Rescuers said bombs destroyed two residential buildings and a mosque, where many women and children had been taking refuge, in the strategic northwestern town. Among those killed was a nine-month-old baby.Rebels captured the town on October 9 in a push to create a buffer zone along the Turkish border.We have recovered 44 corpses from under the rubble, one worker told an AFP correspondent at the scene.In a makeshift field hospital, the correspondent saw at least 32 bodies wrapped in white sheets, including six children and many mutilated corpses, as well as plastic bags marked body parts.One child was decapitated, the correspondent said. The body of a second was pulled from the rubble still on his bicycle.At the moment it seems only three people survived the attack, including a two-year-old child, said medic Jaffar Sharhoub. He survived in the arms of his dead father.A resident who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said several of those killed had just returned to their homes. They thought the danger had passed, the resident said.Several fighter jets flew over Maaret al-Numan and the surrounding area throughout Thursday morning. They made short dives to drop at least 10 bombs on the town and its eastern outskirts, near the besieged Wadi Deif army base, which came under heavy bombardment by the rebels.Later Thursday, another five people were killed during the bombardment of the town, said rebels.In the early evening, the rebels launched what they said was a final assault on the base, a key depot for tanks and fuel supplies.Hundreds of fighters attacked the base, a frontline AFP correspondent reported. Three tanks were destroyed and at least six soldiers surrendered, rebel officers said. The base is situated two kilometres (a mile) from the Damascus-Aleppo highway, of which the rebels control a stretch of several kilometres. That has severely impaired the armys ability to resupply units under fire in the northern metropolis for the past three months.In Damascus, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up just 300 metres (yards) from the interior ministry without causing any casualties, a security source said.The bombing came ahead of Brahimis arrival in Damascus to press his call for a ceasefire during the four-day Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday starting on October 26.Speaking in neighbouring Jordan, the UN-Arab League envoy said he hoped that such a temporary ceasefire could form the basis for a longer lasting truce. The alternative would be disastrous for the whole region, he warned.If the ceasefire is implemented, we can build on it and make it a real truce as well as the start of a political process that would help the Syrians solve their problems and rebuild their country, Brahimi said in Amman.If the Syrian crisis continues, it will not remain inside Syria. It will affect the entire region, he added. Brahimi is due in the Syrian capital on Friday afternoon and will hold talks the following day with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. It will be his last stop on a tour of countries that play influential roles in the crisis -- Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.The envoy will also meet with President Bashar al-Assad very, very soon, but not on Saturday, Brahimis spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, told AFP.Asked whether any optimism was warranted over the Damascus talks, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi said: Lets see what Brahimi has to say.Serious doubts have been raised about Brahimis plan to halt the bloodshed, even temporarily.I dont know whether they will all agree at the higher level or not on the ceasefire proposal, but on the ground you have pro- and anti-regime forces that do not respond to any authority, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Damascus said it is ready to discuss with Brahimi his proposal, but wanted assurances that countries with influence on the rebels would pressure them to reciprocate. The exiled opposition said it would welcome any ceasefire but insisted it was for the government to halt its daily bombardments.With nearly 200 people killed on Thursday across the country according to the Syrian Observatory, the death toll since March last year came to more than 34,000.In Geneva, the UNs human rights chief Navi Pillay appealed for the Security Council to settle their differences over Syria.The situation in Syria is quite simply dire, said the High Commissioner for Human Rights. I urge the Security Council to speak with one voice. This is essential in order to send a strong message, she added.She repeated that violations committed by both sides may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.Moscow and Beijing, two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, have so far blocked three draft resolutions on Syria backed by Western and Arab countries, accusing them of interference in Syrian affairs.
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| Uniform education system, free legal aid for children demanded Posted: Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organised a group discussion to discuss inter departmental coordination, , capacity of provinces and lacunas in child related laws in the post 18th amendment scenario and responsibilities of provincial governments.SPARC National Manager Iqbal Detho said that Pakistan ratified United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on November 12, 1990 which provides broader outlines for the promotion and protection of child rights. A major shift has been brought in the arena of child rights by the 18th constitutional amendment. The major reform is the abolishment of the concurrent legislative list in result of which a number of federal ministries, divisions and departments have been eliminated and the subjects they were dealing with has been devolved to the provinces.SPARC Regional Manager Sajjad Cheema said the Punjab government always remained at the forefront of legislative and administrative initiatives on child protection and child rights. However the progress in establishing district child protection units and initiating legislation on a number of child right issues has remained stalled since decades.Mr Rashad Aziz said that no Rules have been notified under the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act (Amendment) 2007 together with the functioning of child protection institutions void of any minimum care standards. In the province of Punjab there is no legislation to prohibit corporal punishment except an executive order. In 2010 the draft bill on prohibition of Corporal Punishment was first introduced in National Assembly but after devolution it became the responsibility of provincial assembly and no steps have been taken to make it into law. According to Department of Law and Parliamentary Affairs of Punjab the bill falls under the domain of criminal laws thereby making it responsibility of the federal government, he said.The participants urged Punjab government to make legislation in accordance with article 25(A), and also demand uniform education system, allocate funds for free legal aid and establish juvenile courts.
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| EU clinches bank deal amid Franco-German spat Posted: EU leaders vowed Friday to set up a banking union during the course of 2013 after a Franco-German spat held up agreement on exactly when this vital crisis-fighting tool might come into force.The decision took place in a calmer market environment Thursday, but also against a backdrop of fresh violence in Greece, the origin of the three-year crisis, where a man died during a general strike and anti-austerity protests.Following almost seven hours of talks, European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said there had been an agreement on a political framework for the end of 2012 and a gradual implementation in 2013.However, expectations the new body would begin its work from the start of the new year slipped amid discord between Europes two powerhouses.Diplomats said a final summit statement due after a second day of talks on Friday would commit the 27 EU states to agreeing on a supervisor for eurozone banks by the end of the year. But one European official said that even in the fastest scenario, it would be summer 2013 before the supervisor saw the light of day.And a French government source said that the European Central Bank would only be tasked with supervising all of the 6,000 eurozone banks from the beginning of 2014.A German government source said the supervisor would have direct control of systemically relevant banks and oversight of every bank in Europe in the case of risks arising, working with national regulators, which has posed problems for non-euro governments.The basic idea is that in future, struggling banks in debt-wracked countries that pose a danger to Europes financial system could be recapitalised directly from EU bailout funds. But this will not come in time for aid pre-agreed for lenders in Spain, which will have to add loans to its public debt burden.A Spanish governmental source said Madrid had assumed for the last month, since the German, Dutch and Finnish governments had rowed back on aspects of Junes provisional agreement, that there wasnt going to be a direct recapitalisation of its banks.The Spanish official said the result of independent stress tests was that the recapitalisation would amount to 4.0 percent of Spains gross domestic product, which we can handle.The gathering in Brussels took place against a backdrop of calmer markets, but the crises in Spain and Greece continued to bubble away in the background and burst into violence in Athens.Greek riot police fired tear gas at protesters on the sidelines of a large anti-austerity rally. A 65-year-old man collapsed and died from a heart attack but it was not immediately clear if his death was linked to the sporadic bursts of tear gas.At the summit, Paris and Berlin clashed over the best way to end the three-year crisis, with France clamouring for rapid action on a banking union and Germany insisting there was no rush, during talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.The leaders also appeared to differ over proposals from Berlin to beef up the power of the European Commission to supervise individual countries budgets, handing the EU executive veto power if required.We could go further by granting the European level real rights to intervene in national budgets, Merkel said in a speech to the German lower house of parliament ahead of the Brussels gathering of leaders. But Hollande retorted bluntly: The subject of the (EU summit) is not budgetary union, it is banking union.He noted that Merkel had her own deadlines, referring openly to the German general election that must be held in September or October next year.Analysts said that markets had low expectations from this summit, but European stock markets closed higher for the fourth day as investors expressed greater confidence that the eurozone would eventually come to terms with the crisis.Meanwhile, opening the meeting, EU President Herman Van Rompuy invited all 27 EU members to attend the December awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, adding that the hardships the bloc now faced were nothing compared to the post-war era.We are facing serious difficulties today but we can draw confidence by remembering that the obstacles the builders of Europe had to overcome were frankly more daunting, Van Rompuy said.
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| Hybrid vehicle battery creator Ovshinsky, 89, dies Posted: Stan Ovshinsky, the self-taught inventor who developed the nickel-metal hydride battery used in the hybrid vehicle industry, has died at his home in suburban Detroit after a fight with cancer. He was 89.Ovshinsky, who ran Energy Conversion Devices, a car battery development company, also created a machine that produced 9-mile-(14 ½-kilometer) long sheets of thin solar energy panels intended to bring cheaper, cleaner power to homes and businesses.His son, Harvey Ovshinsky, said his father was passionate about science and alternative energy, but also about civil rights and other social causes. He said his father died of complications from prostate cancer Wednesday night at his home in Bloomfield Hills.Here was a man who spent his youth and his adulthood determined to change the world, the younger Ovshinsky said. Thats not a 9-to-5 job. My father worked tirelessly 24-7, even up until he got sick, to change the world and its attitude toward sustainable energy and alternate platforms for information.Stan Ovshinsky, for whom ovonics was named, made possible such technological discoveries as the solar-powered calculator. Ovonics changes the electrical resistance and structure of materials in response to sunlight.He never went to college, yet he earned about 200 U.S. patents and was a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received numerous honorary degrees.Born in Akron, Ohio, Ovshinsky and his late wife, Iris, founded Energy Conversion Devices Inc. in 1960. The company developed and applied his inventions to the fields of information and energy.Back then the environment was not a problem, he said in 2001. The only answer is to generate new industry that answers the problems and provides jobs.Prior to his death, Ovshinsky was nominated to receive the 2012 Hans Bethe Award for his research and development in material science. He was to receive the honor next month.But he was also was committed to human and equal rights, and took part in labor, civil rights and peace movements, his son said.Civil rights or a ban on nuclear testing, he was passionate, Harvey Ovshinsky said. Science was a key and so was civil rights and so was peace and so was equality. He would not give it up.As a father, he was really about the most supportive and encouraging person Ive ever met. He always saw his colleagues potential. He looked at people regardless of who they were to do the best he could to bring out the best in them.Along with his son Harvey, Stan Ovshinsky is survived by his wife, Rosa; his other children, Ben, Dale, Robin, Steven, Angela and Vicki; six grandchildren; and his brother, Herb.
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