ISLAMABAD: Oil and gas regulatory authority (Ogra) has announced new prices of the petroleum products on Thursday.
The prices of Petroleum, Hi-Octane, Hi-speed diesel and light diesel have been slightly lowered whereas kerosene oil’s cost has been increased.
Ogra’s spokesperson Jawad Naseem during a press conference in Islamabad told that petrol price has been lowered by 27 paisas while cost of Hi-Octane has been decreased by 29 paisas
COPENHAGEN: A book on the crisis sparked by a Danish newspaper's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed five years ago hit stores in Denmark Thursday amid concerns over a backlash from the Muslim world.
At one bookshop in Copenhagen, staff prepared for a busy day of trading with Flemming Rose's “The Tyranny of Silence” on the shelves, but fears were also high after a month in which Denmark faced two new security alerts.
On Tuesday an Iraqi Kurd being held in Norway on suspicion of planning bombings admitted that his target was the Jyllands-Posten daily.
Exactly five years ago on September 30, 2005 the newspaper, where Rose was cultural editor, ran a front-page spread featuring 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The drawings sparked outrage across the Muslim world and led to violent protests against Denmark and Danish interests in 2006. Rose himself has since received numerous death threats.
Danish police confirmed the Norwegian claim and said Denmark had become a “priority terrorist target for militant extremists.” “Among militants, it is a priority objective to lead terrorist attacks against Denmark and symbols related to the caricature case,” the head of Danish intelligence Jakob Scharf said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Danish police arrested a Chechen man in connection with a small explosion at a central Copenhagen hotel.
Investigators later said he was planning a letter bomb for the Jyllands-Posten.
“This is the second time in a very short period that the public has learned that Jyllands-Posten has probably been the target of organised terrorist acts,” head of the Danish Intelligence Service PET, Jakob Scharf, said in a statement.
“This naturally illustrates that, among extremist militants, it is a priority objective to lead terrorist attacks against Denmark and symbols related to the caricature case,” he added.
In a bid to “avoid new confrontations” Denmark’s foreign minister met ambassadors of 17 Muslim countries on Wednesday, ahead of the book's publication.
The 499-page book will not reprint the drawings separately, but its inside pages will feature “a picture of the front page of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that had the Prophet Mohammed’s cartoons on it,” it’s editor said.
Asked about the possibility of a strong reaction to the book's publication, Karsten Blauert told AFP: “It’s clear that a lot of things are happening, but everything is taking place as planned, and nothing will change that.”
In an August interview, Rose insisted he was not trying to be provocative with the new book, stressing that he simply wanted to “tell the story of the 12 drawings and put them into a context of (other) pictures considered offensive.
It was important to write the book because, he said: “Words should be answered with words.
“That’s all we have in a democracy, and if we give that up, we will be locked in a tyranny of silence.” – AFP
NEW DELHI: A court ruled on Thursday that the site of a demolished 16th century mosque in northern India would be divided three ways between Hindus and Muslims, local television reported.
The information has not been confirmed by the court in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The demolition of the 16th century mosque by Hindu mobs in 1992 triggered some of India's worst riots that killed about 2,000 people. More than 200,000 police have fanned out in India on Thursday to guard against any communal violence.
Hindus wants to build a temple on the site. Muslims want the mosque rebuilt after it was demolished in 1992.
The verdict is almost certain to be challenged in the Supreme Court and a final decision could take years. – Reuters
KARACHI: The Anti terrorist court in Karachi concluded the hearing of Allama Hassan Turabi’s murder case on Thursday. Three of the six accused were sentenced to death and the other three were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Allama Hasan Turabi, and his young nephew were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the religious leader’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal residence on July 16, 2006.
The six accused had been charged with masterminding the suicide attack on the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader and also with planting a remote-control bomb to kill him.
The anti terrorist court judge, Anand Ram based on the evidence provided to the court ordered death sentences to Amanullah, Muhammad Rehman and Sultan Mahmood.
Life imprisonment was ordered to the remaining three, Ashfaque, Muhammad Akber and Rahim
DUBAI: Yemen’s foreign minister acknowledged the United States has launched attacks on Al-Qaeda in his country in an interview published on Thursday, the first confirmation from Sanaa of a US military role.
Abu Bakr al-Kurbi told the Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that the US strikes were suspended in December because his government viewed them as counterproductive.
“Fighting Al-Qaeda is the responsibility of security and anti-terrorism forces in Yemen,” Kurbi said.
However, the New York Times reported in mid August that the US military carried out a secret air strike in May against a suspected Al-Qaeda target in Yemen, killing a deputy provincial governor in the process.
Abu Bakr al-Kurbi said the strike was a secret mission by the US military, and was at least the fourth such assault on Al-Qaeda in the mountains and deserts of Yemen since December.
The United States operates a major counter-terrorism base in Djibouti just across the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait from Yemen.
In June, human rights watchdog Amnesty International released images it said were of fragments of a US Tomahawk cruise missile, reportedly taken at the scene of a December 17 strike in Al-Majalah in Abyan province in the south of Yemen, in which it said 55 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
The White House said US President Barack Obama’s top counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan visited Yemen on September 20 and discussed cooperation in the fight against Al-Qaeda.
The United States has become increasingly concerned about the threat posed by terrorist militancy in Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, particularly the activities of his jihadist network's local franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
In the interview, Kurbi also said that while Yemen had launched a manhunt for US-born jihadist preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi, who is on a US most-wanted list, it would not hand him over if it succeeded in capturing him.
“Awlaqi is in an area where we are conducting operations against Al-Qaeda, and he is among those targeted for arrest in these operations,” the Yemeni foreign minister said.
“The US has already requested the extradition of other Yemenis holding US citizenship, but we refused because the Yemeni constitution prohibits the extradition of a Yemeni citizen to a third country. This applies to Awlaqi.”
In April, a US official said the Obama administration had authorised the targeted killing of Awlaqi, after intelligence agencies concluded the Muslim cleric was directly involved in anti-US plots.
Born in the southwestern US state of New Mexico, Awlaqi, 39, rose to prominence last year after he was linked a US army major who shot dead 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, and to a Nigerian student accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on December 25.
Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, faces a growing threat from Al-Qaeda, a sporadic Zaidi Shiite rebellion in the north and a separatist movement in the south. – AFP
THATTA: Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has said that the PPP is passing through a crucial phase and it needs to review its strategy to overcome challenges it faces.
LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said his organisation has good relations with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the game of cricket will not get affected by recent problems since it is bigger than any individual. 
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was taking out a rally in Karachi on Tuesday calling for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui.
There were strict security arrangements for the rally and the police had blocked all roads and streets between Capri cinema and Tibet centre with tankers.
GAZA CITY: Israeli warships on Tuesday intercepted a Jewish activist boat trying to run the naval blockade on Gaza and forced it to change course for a port in southern Israel, organisers told AFP.
“Ten Israeli warships forced the boat to head for Ashdod by force, but without raiding the ship,” said Amjad al-Shawa, a Gaza-based organiser.
“They surrendered because they were surrounded. They had no choice,” he added.
Shortly before the takeover, the warships had surrounded the vessel, the Irene, and warned they would stop it by force if it stayed on course for the Hamas-run enclave.
The Israeli military confirmed the navy had boarded the tiny, British-flagged boat, saying there had been no violence on the part of the troops or the passengers.
“A short while ago, navy forces took over the yacht Irene and it is now being towed with its passengers to Ashdod port. During the takeover there was no violence of any sort, either on the part of the troops or the passengers,” a statement said.
Describing the boat's attempt to reach Gaza as a “provocation”, the statement said the captain had ignored repeated warnings by the navy and had entered a closed naval zone, prompting the interception.
Earlier, Yonatan Shapira, one of the Israeli activists on board, told AFP the navy had ordered the Irene to change course.
“They said we were approaching an area under naval blockade and told us to change course,” Shapira told AFP by satellite telephone, saying the boat was on the edge of Gaza's territorial waters, some 20 nautical miles from the coast.
The navy also warned that the passengers and crew would be held legally liable if they insisted on heading to Gaza, especially those with Israeli nationality. Five of those on board are Israelis.
The sound of a voice over a megaphone urging the Irene to “change course”could be heard in the background.
The military had no immediate comment on the situation and refused to confirm that contact had been made with the boat, which is carrying seven Jewish activists from Israel, Britain, Germany and the United States, and two journalists, one of whom is an Israeli.
Israel had warned it would halt the vessel and divert it to Ashdod if it entered Gaza waters.
The activists have insisted they are not looking for a confrontation with Israeli forces.
“We have a policy of non-violence and non-confrontation,” Shapira, a former Israeli pilot, told AFP on Sunday. “But if the Israeli army stops the boat, we will not help them to take it to Ashdod.”In the past, Israel has said it would deliver any humanitarian cargo to Gaza overland after towing such boats to Ashdod.
In May, Israeli forces intercepted a six-ship flotilla heading for Gaza but the raid went badly wrong and nine Turkish activists including one with US citizenship were killed, prompting a wave of international condemnation.
Israel said its troops resorted to force only after they were attacked while rappelling onto the deck of the lead ship. Pro-Palestinian activists on board say the soldiers opened fire as soon as they landed.
The voyage of the Irene is organised by the London-based Jews for Justice for Palestinians.
Prominent British supporters listed on its website include humourist and actor Stephen Fry and Marion Kozak, the mother of newly-elected Labour Party leader Ed Miliband and of former foreign minister David Miliband.
On board the Irene are 82-year-old Holocaust survivor Reuven Moskovitz and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli whose daughter Smadar was killed in a 1997 Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem.
With them are a German nurse, British and US peace activists, Shapira's brother and a reporter for Israel's Channel 10 television.
Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza's borders after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier in June 2006 and tightened the blockade a year later when the Islamist Hamas movement seized power, allowing in only humanitarian aid.
Israel eased the closures to allow in all purely civilian goods in the aftermath of the deadly flotilla raid, but still restricts dual-use items such as construction materials that could be used to build militant fortifications. – AFP
KARACHI: A bill for the postponement of local bodies’ elections for an indefinite period was approved in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday.
The adjournment bill, presented in the assembly by Sindh’s Law Minister Ayaz Soomro, was unanimously approved.
Somroo said “new dates for local bodies’ elections will be announced after the rehabilitation of the flood victims”.
The assembly’s session was being chaired by Speaker Nisar Khurho.
MQM MPAs were not present in the session due to an MQM rally being taken out against Aafia Siddiqui’s sentence.
Provincial minister Pir Mazharul Haq said MQM MPAs had been taken into confidence regarding the adjournment bill.
The
“The nightmare of
Ashraf, who also led Pakistan in the World Cup and had to come out of retirement, was declared fit after suffering a hamstring injury during the team’s preparatory tour of the Netherlands earlier this month.
Since the World Cup flop,
Pakistan’s first task — reaching the semi-finals — looks tough as they are pitted alongside title holders and world champions Australia with hosts India, Malaysia and Scotland the other teams involved.
“It will be a very tough tournament, but I am confident that the boys will do well,” said Khan, a member of the team which won a gold medal for
Squad: Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Rasheed, Fareed Ahmed, Shafqat Rasool, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Haseem Khan, Waqas Sharif, Mohammad Rizwan, Omer Bhutta, Imran Shah, Mohammad Tauseeq, Kashif Javed.
ANKARA: The leader of Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish party in parliament was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Tuesday for disseminating propaganda in favour of Kurdish PKK rebels, state news Anatolian said.
The sentence against Selahattin Demirtas, which can be appealed, comes amid intense media speculation that the government and Kurdish politicians are engaged in diplomatic efforts to persuade the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group to declare a permanent ceasefire.
Conservative Turkish prosecutors regularly sentence Kurdish politicians and journalists on charges of disseminating PKK propaganda. Such cases are normally appealed against and final rulings sometimes takes months, if not years.
The predecessor of Demirtas' Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) was banned by Turkey's high court in 2009 for its suspected links to the PKK.
The PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to demand more autonomy in the largely Kurdish southeast Turkey, called a unilateral ceasefire on Aug. 13.
Turkey has officially refused to negotiate for a settlement with the PKK, but Turkish media has reported that government and BDP officials have held talks to convince the PKK to lay down its weapons.
The PKK is labelled a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have died in the conflict in the southeast. – Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR: The co-founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, on Tuesday slammed whistleblower WikiLeaks over its release of Afghan war documents which he said could “get people killed”.
Wales also expressed irritation over the website’s use of the term “Wiki”in its name, which refers to a site that allows different users to collaborate and make contributions.
“I would distance myself from WikiLeaks, I wish they wouldn't use the name, they are not a Wiki. A big way they got famous in the first place was by using the word Wiki, which was unfortunate in my view,” he said at a business conference in Kuala Lumpur.
WikiLeaks, in collaboration with The New York Times, Britain's Guardian and Der Spiegel of Germany, published 77,000 Afghan war documents in July and has said it will release another 15,000 related documents soon.
Earlier this month, WikiLeaks also announced plans to release a “massive cache” of classified US military field reports on the conflict in Iraq.
Wales, whose user-generated online encyclopedia has been a huge success, said such documents which experts say constitute one of the biggest-ever leaks of military intelligence must be handled responsibly.
“In the most recent round of leaks, the New York Times for example...actually redacted certain information that could put people in harm's way whereas Wikileaks is planning to publish absolutely everything,” he said.
“I think it is really important when we have sensitive information, that we do rely on responsible journalists to sort through it for us... it's much better than dumping all kinds of crazy information online and get people killed,” he added.
Wales said the documents could refer to “good-hearted people” working for civil society groups in Afghanistan, who would be affected if they were referred to in the leaked papers.
“It isn’t proof of anything but could be enough to get someone killed,” he said.
“I don’t think Julian Assange wants those people killed, however if he irresponsibly follows the policy of releasing absolutely everything, it's incredibly dangerous for those people,” he said, referring to WikiLeaks’ spokesman.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has previously warned the release of classified Afghan war documents may endanger the safety of international and Afghan troops.
The United States and NATO have 152,000 troops in Afghanistan aiming to quell the insurgency that began soon after the Taliban regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001.
Created in 2006, WikiLeaks first gained widespread notoriety with the release of a graphic video of a US military Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad in 2007 that killed two Reuters employees and a number of other people. – AFP
RAIPUR: Indian authorities appealed to Maoist militants on Tuesday to free four kidnapped policemen as a deadline set by the ultra-leftists for meeting their demands was set to expire.
“I appeal to the Maoists to release the men unharmed,” said Raman Singh, chief minister of central Chhattisgarh state, a hotbed of militant activity.
His appeal came after police said Maoists killed at least three policemen and abducted another four in a clash last Sunday, 525 kilometres south of state capital Raipur.
Posters in a forest area near where the clash took place said the government had until late Tuesday to meet the rebels' demands, which included calling off a massive security offensive codenamed Operation Green Hunt.
The poster also said the militants wanted the release of several locals from tribal groups who had allegedly been wrongfully arrested on suspicion of being Maoists.
The posters made no mention of any specific threat against the policemen if the government failed to meet the militants’ demands.
“We are working at various levels to secure the release of the four police personnel, who were kidnapped by the Maoists,” Chhattisgarh police director general Vishwa Ranjan told AFP in Raipur.
Maoist attacks have increased since the government launched Operation Green Hunt involving tens of thousands of police and paramilitary troops.
The militants have fought for decades against state and central government rule, drawing support from tribal groups and landless farmers left behind by India's rapid economic expansion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the Maoists the biggest single threat to India's internal security.
In April, militants massacred 76 policemen in the Chhattisgarh jungle district of Dantewada, a Maoist stronghold, in the deadliest single attack so far on security forces.
LAHORE: Pakistan’s cricket chief on Tuesday left for England, where he is expected to meet lawyers in a bid to clear his players of allegations of spot-fixing and fend off demands for an apology.
“I am leaving for London on an official trip,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt told AFP, without giving any details.
Reports said Butt and legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi will meet Elizabeth Robertson, the British lawyer representing Pakistani players and the PCB over the spot-fixing allegations.
Butt is also expected to meet Scotland Yard officials in a bid to expedite the case that saw Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz interrogated.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has provisionally suspended Salman, Amir and Asif, and have asked them to reply to the suspension notices.
Pakistan’s recent tour of England, where they also played Australia in a neutral venue series, was marred by the spot-fixing allegations.
The tour ended in acrimony when Butt alleged England players were paid “enormous amounts of money” to lose the third one-day international at The Oval, sparking a furious row between the two country’s cricket boards.
England players and the England and Wales Cricket Board have demanded an unreserved apology from Butt, who has refused, saying he was quoting bookie circles and will reply to the England players through his lawyer.
The ICC has launched a separate inquiry into the September 17 one-day between Pakistan and England after British tabloid The Sun said the scoring pattern of Pakistan’s innings in the match was pre-arranged with bookmakers.
Butt also met ICC officials last week in an unsuccessful attempt to get the provisional suspension on the three players lifted. —AFP
Federation president Giancarlo Abete handed over a cheque to Italian Red Cross president Patrizia Ravaioli in the presence of
“This is an opportunity for the whole football world to show our support for the Pakistani population,” said Abete.
Nearly 21 million people have been affected by the floods in the north of the country and officials say eight million people are reliant on handouts.
The donation will only make a small dent in the 120-million euros the UN High Commission for Refugees recently said it still needs to buy tents and other supplies. -AFP
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the petitions challenging the 18th Amendment.
A 17-judge full court heard petitions challenging certain clauses in the amendment.
The bench barraged Advocate Salman Raja with questions when he began arguing against the appointment of judges by judges.
During the hearing, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani said the proposed procedure for judges' appointment diminishes the powers of the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice.
Moreover, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday remarked that the judiciary was separate and detached from the parliament and the executive as it has to play the role of watchdog for both the former organs of the state.
During the proceedings, Justice Saqib Nisar asked whether the Senate in the United States has the power to appoint judges. Regarding that, Justice Ramday said that the American constitution does not allow the country’s elected representatives a role in the appointment of judges.
Also, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said parliamentarians on reserved seats were not elected, but selected.
The hearing was later adjourned till Wednesday (September 29).
WASHINGTON: The CIA has stepped up drone attacks against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas to try to foil a suspected terror plot against European targets, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The Journal, which cited current and former officials, said the exact nature of the plot could not be learned but it was believed to target multiple countries, including Britain, France and Germany.
Pakistani security officials have reported around 20 drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt along the Afghan border this month, the latest on Monday killing four militants.
It has been the highest number of drone attacks during a single month, surpassing the previous high of 12 in January, according to an AFP tally. – AFP
MOSCOW: President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday fired Moscow’s strongman mayor Yury Luzhkov, ending a controversial 18 year rule that saw the Russian capital boom but also attracted bitter criticism.
The firing of Luzhkov, one of Medvedev’s boldest moves since coming to power in 2008, came after the mayor was lambasted by the Kremlin for his aloof handling of the wildfire crisis over the summer that blanketed Moscow in smog.
A decree, published on the Kremlin web site, ordered Luzhkov, 74, to be “dismissed from the position of Moscow mayor because he has lost the confidence of the Russian president.”
The decree, which comes into force immediately and was published while Medvedev is on an official visit to China, appointed Luzhkov’s deputy, Vladimir Resin, as acting mayor.
In a snub, Medvedev’s spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said Tuesday that the president had no plans to meet Luzhkov. The Russian president has the power to fire the mayor of Moscow and all the other leaders of Russia’s regions.
“There are two ways that a regional leader can leave his post before his term ends. He can leave voluntarily by announcing his resignation or with a harsher wording of loss of confidence,” Timakova said.
“The mayor returned from holiday yesterday. Today the president signed a decree. You can draw your own conclusions from that,” Timakova told reporters in Shanghai.
The Kremlin publicly criticised Luzhkov’s decision to take a holiday during the August smog that engulfed the capital, and the mayor was targeted in a series of mud-raking documentaries shown on Russian television this month.
The mayor has long been dogged by corruption allegations over the business activities of his wife, construction billionaire Yelena Baturina, and has also been criticised by conservationists for destroying Moscow’s historic centre.
Luzhkov’s city hall controlled a vast budget of 32 billion dollars in 2009 as well as a property empire.
His dismissal came as the Kremlin seeks to freshen up the ranks of regional leaders, recently accepting the dismissals of a number of long-serving regional governors, who since 2005 have been appointed by the president.
Luzhkov on Monday had said in televised comments that he would not stand down as mayor voluntarily.
Luzhkov was appointed mayor by President Boris Yeltsin in 1992 and became popular with Muscovites for his beautification projects, which included rebuilding the Church of Christ the Saviour, blown up by the Bolsheviks.
He comfortably won mayoral elections before the post became a presidential appointment in 2005.
But the mayor also became a bete noire for the liberal opposition, sending in riot police to put down even small anti-government rallies and also notoriously describing gay rights rallies as satanic.
It remains to be seen how the move will be viewed by Medvedev’s predecessor in the Kremlin and strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who has been noticeably more restrained in his attitude to the Moscow mayor.
Luzhkov became Moscow mayor in 1992 at a time when Putin was still an obscure provincial official in Saint Petersburg and a complete unknown nationwide. —AFP
GHAZNI: A suicide bomber on a motorcycle has killed the deputy governor of Afghanistan's Ghazni province, Mohammad Kazim Allahyar, his son and two bodyguards who were in the same car, a top police official said.
Delawar Zahid, police chief of Ghazni province, which lies around two hours' drive southwest of Kabul, said that the men were near the airport in Ghazni city when the bomber struck.
“Allahyar was on his way to work when a suicide bomber on a motorbike targeted his car,” Zahid said.
“Allahyar, his son and two bodyguards were martyred.”
ROME: The Italian Football Federation on Monday donated 100,000-euros to the flood relief effort in Pakistan.
Federation president Giancarlo Abete handed over a cheque to Italian Red Cross president Patrizia Ravaioli in the presence of Pakistan's Ambassador to Italy Tasnim Aslam.
“This is an opportunity for the whole football world to show our support for the Pakistani population,” said Abete.
Nearly 21 million people have been affected by the floods in the north of the country and officials say eight million people are reliant on handouts.
The donation will only make a small dent in the 120-million euros the UN High Commission for Refugees recently said it still needs to buy tents and other supplies.
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday praised the “restraint” shown by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who did not immediately quit the Middle East peace talks after Israel ended its settlement freeze.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley also voiced US disappointment that Israel had not extended the 10-month moratorium on new settler homes in the West Bank, which formally ended at midnight (2200 GMT Sunday).
The Palestinian president had repeatedly warned he would turn his back on the US-backed negotiations with Israel should the Jewish state continue building on occupied Palestinian land.
But Abbas told reporters in Paris on Monday he would not rush to respond to Israel's failure to extend the freeze, but would first consult Palestinian and Arab leaders.
“In our discussions with both sides over the weekend, we encouraged restraint whenever a decision was made on the Israeli side,” Crowley told reporters.
“The Palestinian response so far reflects the restraint... The restraint at this point is appreciated.”
He said US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell was heading to the region late Monday, adding: “We'll be in touch with the Israelis this week.””We are disappointed, but remain focused on our long term objectives,” Crowley said.
“One way or the other the parties have to find a way to continue direct negotiations. We recognize that given the decision yesterday we still have a dilemma to resolve.” -AFP
CHANDIGARH: Uncapped batsman Ajinkya Rahane hit a sparkling century as a three-day practice match between the visiting Australians and an Indian side ended in a draw on Monday.
Rahane, 22, hit 18 fours and a six in his unbeaten 111-ball 113 to help the Board President’s XI finish on 174-0 after the tourists declared their second innings at 187-6 on the third and final day of the tie in Chandigarh.
Shane Watson (104 not out) scored his second century of the match after opening the innings with captain Ricky Ponting.
Ponting, who has hit just one century in 12 Tests in India, was dismissed by 18-year-old left-arm paceman Jaidev Unadkat for nine. The Aussie skipper had scored 42 in his team’s first-innings total of 505-8 declared.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was the most successful bowler for the hosts with figures of 3-64.
The Indians were set back by injuries to captain Gautam Gambhir and opener Shikhar Dhawan in the course of the match. Both the batsmen were hit by rising deliveries from Australian paceman Ben Hilfenhaus.
Australia will play two Tests, in Mohali (Oct 1-5) and Bangalore (Oct 9-13), and three one-day internationals in Kochi (Oct 17), Visakhapatnam (Oct 20) and Goa (Oct 24).
Brief scores
Australia: 505-8 decl. and 187-6 decl (S. Watson 104 n o; P. Chawla 3-64).
Indian Board President’s XI: 177 all out (P. Chawla 82; B. Hilfenhaus 5-47) and 174-0 (A. Rahane 113 n o, C. Pujara 52 n o).
LAHORE: The manager of Pakistan’s cricket team resigned on Monday, just days after the players flew home from England following controversies over spot fixing.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt relieved Yawar Saeed of his duties at Saeed’s own request, the board said.
The 75-year-old Saeed had hinted about stepping down before the tour began in June and denied that his decision to go was connected to the allegations that marred the team’s tour of England.
The allegations surfaced after British newspaper News of the World claimed that alleged bookie Mazhar Majeed paid several Pakistani players to deliberately bowl no-balls during last month’s Lord’s Test against England.
Scotland Yard raided the team’s hotel in London, and interrogated Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir and Wahab Riaz.
So far no charges have been brought against Pakistani players.
The International Cricket Council has provisionally suspended Salman, Asif and Aamir.
“I had requested the PCB chairman to relieve me of the duties before the England tour... nor it is linked to the tour of England,” Saeed told reporters.
Saeed is the son of Mian Mohammad Saeed, who led Pakistan in their first unofficial Test in 1948, and brother-in-law to the late fast bowler Fazal Mahmood.
Pakistan’s next assignment is a neutral venue series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates, starting next month.
Saeed is likely to be replaced by Shafqat Rana, assistant manager on the England tour.
NEW DELHI: Indian workers raced to finish preparations on Monday for the Commonwealth Games as hundreds of athletes and team officials arrived in New Delhi.
The city’s chief minister said she was confident they would complete the job ahead of the event’s opening on Sunday.
India has come under harsh criticism for the state of the athletes’ village, including complaints about filthy conditions, infrastructure problems and even a snake found in the room of a South African competitor over the weekend. Another snake, a four-foot-long cobra, was reportedly found at the tennis stadium.
The games village was supposed to be ready last week, but many teams have delayed moving in because cleaning and repair work have not been finished.
New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who took charge of the work last week, has been seen travelling around the village in a golf cart in recent days to personally inspect the work.
“We inherited a very difficult situation, but it’s improving almost by the hour,” she said on Monday. “We are racing against time, no doubt about it, but we will perform.”
Some of the buildings had leaks in them, there was still water in some basements and some elevators were not yet working, she said.
Several team officials said conditions in the village had improved dramatically.
“A lot of work has taken place over the last few days. I am relatively satisfied,” said Mike Summers, head of the Falkland Islands delegation. His 15-member team will arrive in the city and move in to the village on Tuesday, he said.
Juliet Acon, a Ugandan official, said her nation’s delegation had been forced to live in hotels for a few days until their rooms were ready Saturday. “So far, so good,” she said.
Kenyan shot putter Agnes Flora Oluoch said her team’s rooms were in good condition, but she and her fellow athletes had yet to receive keys, forcing them to leave their doors unlocked.
The multi-sport games, held every four years, bring together nearly 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories from across the former British empire. The games were meant to help cement India’s reputation as a growing regional power. Instead, its image has been battered by negative publicity about its frantic last-minute efforts to get ready for an event it knew it was hosting seven years ago.
The collapse of a pedestrian bridge leading to the main stadium and the recent shooting of two tourists outside one of New Delhi’s top attractions added to organizers’ woes.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, one of India’s key economic policymakers, brushed off concerns that the bad publicity could scare off potential investors in India.
“If you are talking about investors, people who are planning to invest significant sums of money in India, (they will do so) based on overall assessment of the economy and the economic policy and so on,” he told reporters in Malaysia. “I don’t think this will become an opportunity for people ... to reverse their opinion of how the Indian economy is performing.”
Nevertheless, the bad publicity has continued, with Australian cyclist Travis Meyer and table tennis player Stephanie Sang announcing Sunday they would pull out of the competition _ following a string of other athletes who have decided to stay away, either because of health and security concerns or injuries.
Tuelo Serufho, head of the Botswana contingent, was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that his team’s rooms in the village were “unlivable for our athletes,” with filthy bed sheets, bathroom fixtures that did not work and construction debris yet to be cleared away.
Complaints heave also came from Indian competitors.
Boxer Akhil Kumar, who won gold for India in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, said he was disappointed with his accommodation. “When I sat down on my bed to take a rest, it collapsed,” Kumar was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper. —AP
KARACHI: MQM senior party leader, Dr. Imran Farooq may have been killed due to conflicts in his own party, a report in the Guardian stated on Sunday.
The report said that Farooq, who was stabbed to death in London earlier this month, may have been about to join a new political party set up by former president Pervez Musharraf and his assassination could have been linked to that.
Farooq’s assassination is being investigated by the Scotland Yard.
Also on Sunday, MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain said that the “international establishment” and a few powerful countries had planned a conspiracy to eliminate him and Farooq’s murder was a part of this plot.
LAHORE: A Contempt of Court petition has been filed against former federal minister Abdul Qayyum Jatoi in the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry. The petitioner has requested the apex court to declare Mr Jatoi ineligible for holding the position of MNA.
The petition was filed regarding Jatoi’s remarks against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the Pakistan Army. Later on, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani summoned Jatoi at his residence and received his resignation.
Petitioner Safdar Shaheen said that Jatoi should be tried for contempt of court and under Article 6 of the constitution.
The petitioner also said that the federal minister blamed the judiciary and the army falsely.
ISLAMABAD: A joint kabbadi training camp between Pakistan and Iran is set to get underway as the Iranian team arrives in Islamabad on Monday.
The training camp will be held to help both countries prepare for this year’s Asian Games, to be held in China from November 12 to 27.
“Iran’s national team will arrive here on Monday for a joint training camp and some friendly matches. The training camp will be beneficial for both the teams ahead of the Asian Games,” Pakistan Kabbadi Federation (PKF) secretary Mohammad Sarwar told PPI.
Sarwar was hopeful that the joint training camp will boost Pakistan’s chances of bagging a medal at the Games.
“Iran’s team is very strong and both the teams will gain a lot from this training camp and the matches,” he said.
The camp will get underway on Monday, September 27 and will go on until October 4 at the Pakistan Sports Complex. —PPI
SINGAPORE: Fernando Alonso produced a masterful drive Sunday to win an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix ahead of a charging Sebastian Vettel to put the world championship title race on a knife-edge.
Starting from pole position, the Ferrari star led from start to finish for the second race in a row to take the chequered flag in 1:57.893, just 0.2 seconds ahead of the Red Bull tyro.
It was a measured performance from the two-time world champion Spaniard, who outpaced his title rivals under floodlights for his fourth win of the season and the 25th of his career.
In hot and humid conditions but on a dry track, the other Red Bull of Mark Webber came third to keep him atop the championship standings, with McLaren's Jenson Button in fourth.
But it was another disastrous day for Lewis Hamilton in the other McLaren, failing to finish his second Grand Prix in a row after colliding with Webber on lap 36, dealing his championship hopes a potentially devastating blow.
Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes came fifth, with Rubens Barrichello in a Williams sixth, Robert Kubica's Renault seventh and Adrian Sutil's Force India eighth.
“It was very good stuff. The race was very long and with the safety car problems I just tried to control the gap as much as I could and not take a risk,” said Alonso.
“The win means a lot. It means a lot in the championship and means we can be competitive at any track.”It leaves the championship finely poised with four Grand Prix to go, starting in Japan next month.
Webber leads with 202 points ahead of Alonso on 191, Hamilton on 182, Vettel a point further adrift and Button on 177.
“I'm very happy with third place. It's been a difficult week for me, probably the toughest of the year for me,” said Webber.
“To get third, I had to stay composed and not panic. Fernando is still hanging in there for the championship and I need to get rid of him somehow.”Vettel also remains in contention and is confident his car can perform at the final four Grand Prix.
“We now need to keep our heads down and try as hard as we can,” he said. “But it's looking good for us. Japan, Korea, Brazil, Korea and Abu Dhabi we have a strong car.”
The front row of the grid was always going to be decisive on the tight Marina Bay street circuit where overtaking is difficult, and Alonso made the most of starting on pole, as he did in Monza two weeks ago.
Driving with aplomb on a track that demands precision, nerve and confidence, he came through the opening corner scramble in prime position ahead of Vettel.
The top five off the grid went through the first lap in the same position, with Alonso first, followed by Vettel, Hamilton, Button and Webber.
But disaster followed for Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India, which collided with Nick Heidfeld in the Sauber and the safety car deployed on lap 3.
Webber took the opportunity to pit early and switch from soft to hard tyres, with the Australian coming out in 11th.
Alonso was steady at the front and had a three-second advantage on Vettel by lap 20.
Hamilton was the first of the championship front-runners to pit, on lap 29, with Alonso, Vettel and Button all following him in.
When they came out Alonso had a 1.2 second lead on Vettel, with Webber up to third as his early pit stop strategy paid off.
But then the safety car came out again when Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and Hispania's Bruno Senna hit the wall.
It was a sensational restart with Hamilton trying to pass Webber on the outside, and they made contact, with the Briton coming off worse.
Webber survived but Hamilton was forced to retire, throwing his steering wheel to the ground in disgust. Minutes later and Michael Schumacher and Heidfeld collided. Heidfeld's race was over and Schumacher had to pit for a new front wing.
Alonso and Vettel went wheel-to-wheel at the front but the experienced Spaniard held on to win here for the second time in three years. -AFP
KARACHI: The Iranian Government and its people have donated dollars 100 million worth of assistance and 20 (twenty) consignments weighing 1000 tonnes of required items for flood affectees of Pakistan.
This was stated here Sunday by the out-going incharge of the flood relief activities and Red Crescent Society of Iran, Abbas Babai while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club.
“Another consignment of 1000 tonnes carried by 300 trucks will also arrive by road very soon for the flood victims,” he said.
He said that all the efforts were being made to facilitate relief efforts in southern and northern parts of Pakistan.
Babai said that on the call of the Supreme leader of Islamic Revolution grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Red Crescent Society kicked off its programme to render relief services for flood affected people of Pakistan.
He further elaborated that first camp was established at Makli, 10 kms from Thatta, with the capacity of 270 tents. Totally, so far, 190 relief workers of the Red Crescent Society have worked and treated 10,000 patients with the assistance of 21 medical camps.
Moreover, the public and government relief consignments including tents, carpets, blankets, mineral water, kitchen sets, pulses, flour, rice, edible oil, washing liquid and hygiene sets in different intervals arrived in Pakistan, he added.
The affected people covered with all the supplies included that in Badin, Sujawal, Thatta, Jamshoro, Bargha, Moro and Sehwan Sharif, Mehar, Rahim Yar Khan and other areas, he added.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Suspected US drone aircraft carried out two missile strikes against a house and a vehicle near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing seven alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The US is now suspected of conducting 19 such attacks this month, the most intense barrage since the strikes began in 2004.
Most have targeted Datta Khel, part of the North Waziristan tribal area that is dominated by militants who regularly stage attacks against Nato troops in Afghanistan.
In the first strike Sunday, a drone fired three missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi village in Datta Khel, killing three suspected militants, said the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Minutes later, a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the same area, killing four suspected militants, the officials said.
The exact identities of the seven people killed in the attacks were not known, but most of this month's strikes have targeted forces led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a commander who was once supported by Pakistan and the US during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Haqqani has since turned against the US, and American military officials have said his network, now effectively led by his son, Sirajuddin, presents one of the greatest threats to foreign forces in Afghanistan. Another militant commander, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, and his forces also hold sway in North Waziristan.
The US wants Pakistan to launch an army offensive against insurgents in North Waziristan, but the government has resisted. Analysts believe Pakistan wants to maintain its historic relationship with the Haqqani network, which could be an ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
Without a Pakistani offensive, the US has had to rely on CIA-operated drone strikes to target the network, which also has bases in eastern Afghanistan.
The 19 missile strikes this month have killed around 90 people, according to an Associated Press tally based on Pakistani intelligence reports.
US officials do not publicly acknowledge the missile strikes but have said privately they have killed several senior Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the region, which is largely out of the control of the Pakistani state.
Pakistan often criticizes the attacks as violations of the country's sovereignty, but the government is widely believed to help the US carry out the strikes. Criticism of the strikes has been more muted in recent months. -AP
BERLIN: At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured Sunday when a bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on the highway southeast of Berlin, police said.
Arne Feuring, president of police in Frankfurt an der Oder, told the news agency DAPD that seven of the wounded were in critical condition, while another 27 suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Feuring said authorities believe the bus, carrying 49 Poles on their way home from a vacation in Spain, crashed into a car that was merging on to the highway and then slammed into a pylon of an overpass.
The merging car's 37-year-old driver was among the injured, he said. An investigation into the accident has been launched. German officials said they were organizing an information point for Polish relatives of the victims. -AP
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Sunday announced that it would take out a protest rally on Tuesday to condemn the sentence awarded to Dr Aafia Siddiqui in the United States.
A US court found Siddiqui guilty of attempted murder of US military officers in Afghanistan in 2008 and jailed her for 86 years.
Speaking to media representatives at the residence of Fauzia Siddiqui, Aafia’s sister, MQM leader Farooq Sattar said the sentence has shocked the entire nation.
Sattar demanded that the US frees Dr Aafia after pardoning her.
He said a team from the MQM would meet the US ambassador to Pakistan on Monday and demand for Dr Siddiqui’s release.
Earlier, MQM chief Altaf Hussain had also called on the US government to withdraw the sentence and release Dr Aafia.
Various groups in Pakistan have criticised the sentence against Aafia Siddiqui.
SRINAGAR: The separatist leader who has organised months of protests in Indian-administered Kashmir dismissed Sunday an offer from the India government for fresh talks and a security review in the state.
The proposals were put forward by Home Minister P. Chidambaram after he led an all-party mission last week to the Muslim-majority region, which has been shaken by pro-independence protests and strict curfews since June.
“It is a time-gaining exercise and unrealistic. It is aimed to hoodwink the international community,” Syed Ali Shah Geelani told reporters in Srinagar.
“If rulers in New Delhi believe that by releasing a few students and providing ex gratia relief to the families of martyrs they can reduce the alienation (of Kashmiris), they are wrongly mistaken,” he said.
Chidambaram's eight-point plan was the first major initiative by the government to end clashes between stone-throwing crowds and security forces in which 107 civilians have been shot and killed.
The home minister said a group of “interlocutors” would be appointed to reach out to Kashmiris in a bid to calm the protests, the largest since a separatist insurgency erupted in 1989.
Most of those killed have been young men and teenagers shot by police and paramilitary troops firing live ammunition and rubber bullets.
Chidambaram said the state government would be told to free 255 protesters jailed for throwing stones at security forces.
Authorities will also consider reducing the security presence in the heavily militarised Kashmir valley, and will review some areas of emergency military law imposed in the region.
Rights groups have long pushed for repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives security forces the power to open fire, detain suspects and confiscate property.
“We think these steps should address the concerns of different sections of Jammu and Kashmir, including (those of) the protesters,” said Chidambaram.
Moderate separatist said they were discussing their response to the government package.
Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, which both claim the region in full.
The dispute over the region has triggered two of the rival nations' three wars since partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
ISLAMABAD: All eyes will be focusing on the 17-judge full bench of the Supreme Court on Monday which after a break of almost two weeks will resume hearing of petitions to determine the contours of its authority of reviewing the mechanism of appointing superior court judges introduced by parliament through the unanimously adopted 18th Amendment. 
