William, Kate take off to Canada, US for first tour

Prince William and Kate arrive in Canada on Thursday for their first official overseas trip since their wedding, in a visit that is expected to draw record-numbers of star-struck crowds and well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, open the Calgary Stampede and go canoeing in the Northwest Territories during their nine day-tour of their future realm before taking off to Los Angeles.
"The response we've gotten is overwhelming," Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore told The AP. "We're already now having to adjust some of our plans from moving the couple in and around the capital here, closing off some streets and moving people around."
Canada's prime minister has even unveiled a personal flag for use during William's visit. It is the first flag to be created by Canada for a member of the royal family since 1962, when the queen adopted a personal flag for her own use in Canada
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Pakistan kicks U.S. off air base

ISLAMABAD - The U.S. faces the challenge of quickly establishing alternative facilities from which to launch drone aircraft inside Afghanistan after Pakistan ordered U.S. personnel and hardware out of a base believed to have been used in the past for CIA drones, two senior Western defense officials tell CBS News.

Concern mounted Wednesday over the future of Pakistan's clandestine support for Washington's use of drones after the country's defense minister announced Pakistan had told the U.S. to vacate the small Shamsi air base in the southwestern Baluchistan province.

Only "Pakistani aircraft will be flown from Shamsi in future," Pakistani defense minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar told reporters. "No U.S. aircraft will fly from Shamsi."

"U.S. personnel will not be allowed to use the Shamsi air base," a senior Pakistani government official added to CBS News.

Another senior Pakistani official, who spoke Thursday to CBS News on condition of anonymity, said there previously "have been U.S. activities at the Shamsi air base. All those activities are being ceased now."

The news comes as the Obama administration details its new strategy for combating extremism across the globe -- a strategy which shifts the focus sharply away from the large-scale ground operations espoused by President George W. Bush, to smaller "surgical" strikes like drone attacks.
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USA, Mexico meet for third straight Gold Cup final

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Mexico and the United States meet in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament on Saturday for the third consecutive time.
Mexico and the US have won nine of the 10 Gold Cups contested since the biennial tournament took its current form in 1991.
Mexico dominated the United States 5-0 in 2009 and the Americans beat El Tri 2-1 two years earlier.
The two sides meet again Saturday in a sold out contest at the Rose Bowl stadium near downtown Los Angeles.
Aldo de Nigris and Javier "El Chicharito" Hernandez scored off corner kicks early in overtime and Mexico defeated Honduras 2-0 in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The Americans advanced but also struggled in a 1-0 win over Panama in the other semi-final.
Mexico have outscored their five Gold Cup opponents by an aggregate score of 18-2. They are also undefeated in their last 11 Gold Cup games, with nine wins and two draws.
Mexico scored a tournament high 14 goals in group play.
The contest should be a matchup of Mexico's high-powered offence against the defensive-minded Americans.
The Americans head into the game after not having given up a goal in 322 minutes of action.
Landon Donovan and Freddy Adu were two of the best American players in the semis and both started the game on the bench.
The 22-year-old Adu hadn't played in this year's tournament before being inserted into the match in second half.
After a scoreless first period, US coach Bob Bradley also put Donovan into the game in the second half, when he combined with Adu on the winning goal.
Bradley had been under fire after the US were upset by Panama in the group play earlier in the tournament.
"Even though it wasn't our best game we were still able to grind out a result," said American Clint Dempsey who scored the only goal Wednesday on a setup from Donovan, after Adu started the play in his own end.
Adu had not played for the national team since the 2009 Gold Cup.
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NY becomes largest state to approve gay marriage

New York lawmakers narrowly voted to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born.
New York will become the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.
"We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states," said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat.
Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
"Once this is signed into law, the population of the United States living under marriage equality doubles," said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda in an interview. "That's certainly going to have a ripple effect across the nation. It's truly a historic night for love, our families, and democracy won."
Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state's size, New York City's international stature. The gay rights movement is considered to have started with the Stonewall riots in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1969.
A huge street party erupted outside the Stonewall Inn Friday night, with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote.
"I am spellbound. I'm so exhausted and so proud that the New York State Senate finally stood on the right side of history," said Queens teacher Eugene Lovendusky, 26, who is gay and said he hopes to marry someday.
He then repeated a chant he had screamed during a protest at the Obama fundraiser at the Sheraton last night: "I am somebody. I deserve full equality."
A number of celebrities also praised the Senate vote. Lady Gaga tweeted that she couldn't stop crying, while Pink tweeted, "congratulations!!!!!!!!! About time!"
"I have never be prouder to be a lifelong New Yorker than I am today with the passage of marriage equality," Cyndi Lauper said in a statement.
The New York bill cleared the Republican-controlled Senate on a 33-29 vote. The Democrat-led Assembly, which previously approved the bill, passed the Senate's stronger religious exemptions in the measure Friday, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on the issue last year, has promised to sign it. Same-sex couples can begin marrying 30 days after that.
Cuomo made a surprise and triumphant walk around the Senate, introduced like a rock star by his lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy. The filled upper gallery shouted down to Cuomo, "Thank you!"
"Feels good?" Cuomo shouted up with a big smile and thumbs up. "Thank you!"
The passage of New York's legislation was made possible by two Republican senators who had been undecided.
Sen. Stephen Saland voted against a similar bill in 2009, helping kill the measure and dealing a blow to the national gay rights movement.
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Osama bin Laden wanted to rebrand al-Qaeda

Osama bin Laden was thinking of renaming al-Qaeda, a letter discovered by US troops reveals.
It was found in the house in Pakistan where he was killed and shows he thought his terror network’s name should have a more religious meaning.
He wanted to convince Muslims worldwide they were in a holy war with America and was worried the full name al-Qaeda al-Jihad, meaning The Base of Holy War, had become shortened.

Losing the word jihad let the West “claim deceptively they are not at war with Islam,” he wrote. He suggested Taifat al-Tawhed Wal-Jihad (Monotheism and Jihad Group) or Jama’at l’Adat al-Khilafat al-Rashida (Restoration of the Caliphate Group).
3Pakistan has agreed to release the youngest of Bin Laden’s three widows, Amal Abdulfattah, and allow her to return to her native Yemen.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The Imperial County Film Commission would like to invite Valley residents to a party at “The Movies” in Imperial, for the world premiere of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2’ on Friday, July 15th. This is going to be a magical celebration of the last Harry Potter movie, ever! The celebration and cocktails start at 5:30PM and the movie premieres at 7PM. Tickets for the event are $20 and include admission to the movie, a free movie themed drink, access to the Harry Potter gift shop and a fun gift for you to take home. There will be a cash bar stocked with beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Concessions are available for purchase at the The Movies snack bar.

Tickets for this event are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. So purchase your tickets ASAP. To purchase tickets stop by the El Centro, Brawley or Calexico Chambers of Commerce by Friday, July 8th. Theater 1 is strictly reserved for guests 21 and over. Theater 2 is reserved for those under the age of 21 and guests who are not drinking alcoholic beverages.
There will also be a prize drawing for a few amazing items, including Harry Potter movie memorabilia. Tickets to enter the drawing will be available for purchase at the event.
Harry Potter enthusiasts are also encouraged to come dressed as their favorite character. There will be a $100 prize for first place, $50 for second and third place wins two free tickets to The Movies.
This movie is rated PG13 and the event is open to those residents 13 and older. Those over 21 years of age will have to show ID at the door.
for more detail visit : tribwekchron.com

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With Afghan withdrawal, US focus turns to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – As the U.S. looks ahead to its phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, even more attention is being directed toward Pakistan, where Obama administration officials say al-Qaida and its allies are still plotting attacks against the West.
They argue that threat has been effectively neutralized in Afghanistan, a key justification for President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 because al-Qaida used it as the base to launch the 9/11 attacks.
Afghanistan could take on new significance for the U.S. as a base to launch unilateral strikes against militants inside neighboring Pakistan, an unstable nuclear-armed country that many analysts say is more strategically important than Afghanistan.
That future has become more likely as the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has deteriorated following the American raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden not far from the Pakistani capital last month. The operation humiliated Pakistan, which cut back on counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S., a popular move in a country where anti-American sentiment is rife.
"We haven't seen a terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan for the past seven or eight years," said a senior administration official in a briefing given to reporters in Washington before Obama's speech. "The threat has come from Pakistan over the past half-dozen years or so, and longer."
One of the most high-profile attempted attacks against the U.S. homeland coming from Pakistan recently was by Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American who tried to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square last year. He allegedly traveled to Pakistan's tribal areas and coordinated his attack with the Pakistani Taliban.
Since Pakistan effectively prohibits American troops inside the country and has been a reluctant ally in targeting militants the U.S. deems a threat, Washington has increasingly relied on covert CIA drone missile strikes to target al-Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in Pakistan's mountainous border region with Afghanistan.
The U.S. refuses to acknowledge the drone program in Pakistan, but Obama alluded to its effectiveness in his speech, saying "together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al-Qaida's leadership."
But the future of the drone program in Pakistan could be threatened by pervasive anti-American sentiment and anger over the U.S. commando raid that killed bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2.
The drones are extremely unpopular in Pakistan, and lawmakers took the opportunity to demand the government, which is widely believed to allow the drones to take off from bases inside the country, halt the program.
That demand found resonance with Pakistanis, nearly 70 percent of whom view the U.S. as an enemy despite billions of dollars in American aid, according to a recent poll conducted after the bin Laden raid by the Washington-based Pew Research Center. Only 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of the U.S., according to the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
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Weight loss surgery may cure diabetes in many cases

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Most obese people with diabetes will be cured of the blood sugar disease after undergoing weight loss surgery, a new review of earlier studies suggests.
In a report published in the Archives of Surgery, researchers say eight out of ten patients could stop taking their diabetes medications following a gastric bypass operation.
"Surgery ought to be considered front line therapy for diabetes among obese people," said Dr. Jon Gould, who heads the weight loss surgery program at the University of Wisconsin and was not involved in the review.
The researchers combed through the data of nine studies of diabetics who had either gastric bypass or another form of weight loss surgery called gastric banding.
In gastric bypass, food is diverted around the stomach into a small pouch, reducing the amount of food a person can eat and hindering its absorption.
Gastric banding slips a ring over the top of the stomach to limit how much a person eats.
In 2009, more than 220,000 Americans had some type of weight loss surgery, at a price of about $20,000 per patient, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Eight of the nine studies included between 23 and 177 patients, while one study tracked the outcomes of 82,000 patients. Each study followed the patients for at least 12 months after their weight loss surgery.
Among diabetics who had gastric bypass -- the gold standard weight loss surgery in the U.S. -- 83 percent wound up free of diabetes medications, some within days of the procedure.
Sixty-two percent of diabetics who had the gastric banding procedure could stop taking diabetes medication while maintaining good control of their blood sugar.
Dr. Rick Meijer at the Institute for Cardiovascular Research at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and the lead author of the new report said those outcomes exceed what can be achieved with conventional methods of diabetes treatment.
"In standard practice, only a very minor group of individuals with an iron-will can lose enough weight to be cured from type 2 diabetes mellitus," Meijer wrote in an email to Reuters Health. "The rest of patients have a chronic disease with the need of daily medication-regimens."
About 18 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with diabetes. Meijer said about 90 percent of cases are due to excessive weight, though not all obese diabetics would be eligible for weight loss surgery.
It's unclear how long surgery's impact on diabetes can last.
One study included in the review found that 10 years after surgery, just one third of people whose diabetes had abated continued to have good control of their blood sugar.
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Lindsay Lohan Due In Court For Probation Violation

Actress reportedly tested positive for alcohol and faces possible jail time

Just weeks from completing her home detention sentence, troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is due in a Los Angeles court on Thursday (June 23) after allegedly violating her probation by testing positive for alcohol.
According to TMZ, the 24-year-old actress tested positive for alcohol earlier this month and could be facing additional jail time if the probation department has its way. The gossip site reported that Lohan was tested twice last week for drugs and alcohol and that unnamed sources said she tested positive for alcohol on one of the tests and negative on another; both were reportedly negative for drugs. One of the tests is reported to have taken place after a rooftop barbecue party Lohan had at her condo for friends on June 12.
In April, Lohan was sentenced to four months in jail for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace but was allowed to serve a reduced 35-day term at her Venice, California, condo. She was under strict home-confinement rules and wore an electronic monitoring device.
TMZ reported that the Los Angeles County Probation Department will ask the judge in the case to pull Lohan from house arrest and send her directly to Los Angeles County jail. Lohan's attorney could not be reached for comment at press time.
Lohan was specifically told by the judge in her 2007 DUI case that she was not allowed to consume any alcohol while on probation.

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Students Win NASA Moon Robot Competition

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ― Call it the circle of robotic life. A week after NASA announced the death of the Mars rover Spirit, students from 46 teams around the globe demonstrated their ideas of a replacement robot.
After a grueling five-day test of material-collecting ability, the team from Laurentian University returned home to Sudbury, Canada, with the win in NASA’s second annual Lunabotics competition.
The Laurentian robot collected 523.8 pounds (237.6 kilograms) of the dusty material that stood in for lunar regolith.
The Lunabotics competition is hosted by NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate to encourage students to pursue degrees in fields related to science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).
Those who helped promote the May 23-28 event saw an increase in the level of competition and enthusiasm from the inaugural contest.
“Last year the event was smaller and the quarters were a little bit more confined,” said Blair Allen, co-host of the “NASA Edge” videocast series. “This year the venue is much better; we have more teams that are really giving it their all to win.″
By all appearances the Raptor team from the University of North Dakota, one of 34 American teams in the competition, was in a prime spot to win after the first day. Its robot collected 172.2 kilograms of material.
The rover looked like a miniaturized front end loader.
″It′s a proven, robust design that’s used every day,″ said Raptor member Joshua Rogers. ″We thought, why mess with what works?″
The Colorado School of Mines also looked to be an early favorite. However, a cable that moved the bucket of regolith got caught in one of the gears and snapped, stopping its efforts cold.
By the final day, Laurentian University had finished first, North Dakota second and West Virginia University third.
The robots appeared to fall into two distinctly definable categories. Some were designed to have a minimum of moving parts. Others were very complex, which in some cases proved their undoing.
The competing teams worked to collect the greatest amount of regolith. Each group was evaluated in five categories: on-site mining, systems engineering paper, outreach project, slide presentation and team spirit.
Source:
TechNewsDaily. 
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Tiny teen wins Guinness shortest title

SINDANGAN, PHILIPPINES He may be the shortest man on earth, but Junrey I. Balawing has become a giant in the eyes of his countrymen.
The son of a poor blacksmith and a homemaker in rural Zamboanga del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao, 18-year-old Junrey, who is a mere 23½ inches tall and weighs only 12 pounds, was recognized Sunday as the world’s shortest man.
“I’m pleased to announce that we have a new world record holder,” Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, said to a cheering crowd of local officials and townspeople.
The announcement, which took place on Junrey’s 18th birthday, was met enthusiastically in this seaside town of 90,000 by residents who also were celebrating their country’s freedom from Spain 113 years ago.
Junrey broke the former record, held by Nepal’s Khagendra Thapa Magar, by nearly three inches. Magar was measured at 26.4 inches tall in 2010, according to Guinness World Records.

Glenday and Sindangan health officials conducted six sets of measurements over two days to confirm Junrey’s height. Three were carried out privately on Saturday, and three were done in public on Sunday.
Glenday said Junrey’s listed height was calculated from an average of measurements made while he was standing and lying down.
Although he is not the shortest man in history — that distinction belongs to India’s Gul Mohammed, who was only 22 inches tall and died in 1997 — it is unlikely that Junrey’s record will be broken anytime soon.
“I imagine it’ll be very hard to beat,” Glenday said. “I can’t imagine anyone else being quite so small.”
Although no monetary award accompanied the Guinness announcement, Junrey was given a plaque by the organization, and townspeople immediately began showering him with cash and other gifts, including a birthday cake that was almost as long as he is tall.
Glenday said it was very likely that Junrey would continue to receive gifts and other assistance from fans around the world.
He cited the case of 27-year-old Sultan Kosen of Turkey. After being confirmed as the world’s tallest man in 2009, Kosen received numerous gifts and free medical care in the United States and has since travelled widely.
“It basically changed his life,” said Glenday. “Maybe the same thing will happen for Junrey.”
The son of Reynaldo, 37, and Concepcion, 35, Junrey is the oldest of four children — two boys and two girls. Their other children are growing up normally.
Concepcion Balawing said she was happy that her son had been recognized as world’s shortest man.
“I’m so proud of my son,” she said.
It’s unclear exactly why Junrey stopped growing when he was a toddler, but Dr. Lolita Hamoy, Sindangan’s municipal health officer, said he lacked normal growth hormones and that an endocrine imbalance was probably to blame.
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Deadly suicide attack hits Pakistani capital

Pakistan: Bomber blew himself up in an Islamabad bank on Monday, killing a security guard in the first suicide attack in the Pakistani capital for nearly two years.

The attack comes with Pakistan on edge weeks after US Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad, two hours' drive from Islamabad, in a case that humiliated the seemingly all-powerful military.

Police said the bomber tried to enter a branch of the Silk Bank in the capital's I-8 sector, but detonated his explosives when the guard put up resistance.

"It seems to be a suicide attack, we have found the head and the body parts of the bomber," city police chief Wajid Durrani told reporters on the spot.

"One security guard is confirmed dead while two others are injured," he told AFP, estimating that the bomber was aged 24 to 25 years old.

The front of the bank was badly damaged and hoardings smashed. Pieces of human flesh were scattered on the floor and several cars parked outside were also damaged, said an AFP reporter.

"I was returning from lunch when I heard a deafening noise," said Chaudhry Yassir, who works in another bank nearby, told AFP.

"I saw the guard. It's difficult to describe his condition. He was being rushed to the hospital but there was no hope.

"The same building has a wedding hall in the basement but there was no function at the time of the blast," Yassir added.

Islamabad is the most heavily protected city in the country and Monday's suicide attack was the first in the capital since December 2009, when a bomber attacked Pakistan's navy headquarters, killing one person.

On Sunday, a roadside explosion wounded three men near Malpur village just outside Islamabad. Police said it the device had long been buried.

Although bombings in the past have targeted embassies, hotels and restaurants, the capital has been shielded in recent years from much of the Taliban- and Al-Qaeda-linked violence that affects the country's northwest.

Nearly 4,500 people have been killed across Pakistan in attacks blamed on Taliban and other Islamist extremist networks based in the tribal belt since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

Islamabad was the scene of two political killings earlier this year. In March, minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who opposed Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law, was shot dead in his car.

In January, Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, was assassinated by one of his guards outside a coffee shop, also for calling for amendments to the same blasphemy law.

source:timesofoman.com

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Obama says sorry to Karzai for civilian deaths

WASHINGTON: 
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday expressed his “sorrow” in a video-conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over recent civilian casualties in Afghanistan, his spokesman said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama spoke to Karzai for an hour and discussed a number of topics, including the implications of the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US special forces raid in May.
“The president expressed his sorrow over tragic civilian casualties, most recently in Helmand province,” Carney said. “Both leaders noted that the Taliban are responsible for the great majority of civilian losses, and agreed that every loss of civilian life is a tragedy and undermines our mission that focuses on protecting the population.”
Karzai last week issued a stern warning to the US military to avoid operations that kill civilians, after he said 14 people allegedly died in an airstrike in Helmand.
The International Security Assistance Force put the death toll at nine and apologised, while saying the strike was carried out after insurgents who had earlier killed a US marine hid in a compound and carried on firing.
Western military figures say that hiding among civilians is a regular Taliban tactic when they are being pursued by international forces.
Karzai’s angry reaction to the killings represented the latest sign of tension between Kabul and Washington, at a time when Obama is deliberating over the size of a troop drawdown he has promised for July this year.
Carney said Obama and Karzai also agreed on “their shared commitment to Afghan-led reconciliation, progress on forging an enduring US-Afghan strategic partnership, and transition to Afghan leadership for security.”
Obama has not yet decided on the “pace and the scope” of the drawdown, he said, though added the president would consult Karzai when he has reached a conclusion.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2011.

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Working with Pakistan key in al Qaeda fight: CIA boss

WASHINGTON: Cooperating with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism is essential to maintain pressure on al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden’s death, CIA chief Leon Panetta said ahead of a US Senate hearing Thursday.
“Continuing cooperation with Pakistan is critical to keep a tremendous amount of pressure on al Qaeda’s leadership and the networks that provide it support and safe haven at a time when it is most vulnerable,” Panetta said in written responses to US lawmakers.
But he warned that Pakistan, which is a large recipient of US aid, needed to do more to step up in the fight against terrorism.
“Future requests for security assistance will be informed by Pakistan’s response to the counter-terrorism steps we have proposed,” he said.
Panetta is to attend Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services committee as it considers his nomination to be the next secretary of defense to replace Robert Gates.
The current CIA chief acknowledged in his responses, a copy of which was obtained by AFP Wednesday, that “the relationship with Pakistan is not always easy and we have our differences.” But he said:
“One of the key lessons from this operation is that we have seen no clear evidence to indicate that senior Pakistani leaders were involved in harboring Osama bin Laden or knew of his whereabouts.”
The al Qaeda leader and mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks was killed by a US commando raid on his Pakistani hideout on May 2, after a decade-long manhunt to find him.”
If confirmed, I will continue to work with our partners in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to achieve our goal of eliminating terrorist networks that threaten the United States and our allies and partners,” Panetta wrote.
Pakistan has lost some 11,000 soldiers in its counter-terrorism operations in the lawless northwestern tribal areas and has suffered “more than 30,000 civilian casualties in recent years, most recently in significant attacks following the bin Laden operation,” he said.
But he stressed: “It is vital that Pakistan live up to its end of the bargain, cooperating more fully in counterterrorism matters and ceasing to provide sanctuary to Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups.”
source:tribune.com.pk

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India tests nuclear-capable missile

BHUBANESWAR: India tested a short-range nuclear-capable missile along its eastern coast on Thursday, an official said, as part of the country’s efforts to build up its atomic deterrent.
The surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile was fired from a range in the eastern state of Orissa and hit its target in the Bay of Bengal successfully, the defence ministry official said.
The Prithvi, which is domestically built and developed, can carry nuclear or conventional payloads and has already been inducted into the armed services.
India’s Defence Research Development Organisation is developing a series of missiles as part of the country’s deterrent strategy against neighbouring Pakistan and China which also have nuclear weapons.
The fourth test of the nine-metre (30-foot) Prithvi-II was a routine part of training exercises for the Indian armed forces, defence officials said.
With a striking range of 350 kilometres, the missile is capable of carrying a 1,000-kilogram warhead.
source
http://tribune.com.pk/

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Al-Qaida deputy: U.S. will regret killing Bin Laden

In a 30-minute video released Wednesday, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahiri says Arab revolts are united in their struggle against the U.S.
The United States will regret its killing of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a video that surfaced on the internet Wednesday.
In his first statement since bin Laden was killed on May 2, al-Zawahiri said, "Now you rejoice over the martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden, the holy warrior, but also you will regret it."
In the nearly 30-minute video, he said Washington was happy about the death of Saddam Hussein, but that Iraq then fell into the hands of mujahideen, or holy warriors.
Al-Zawahiri said that Muslims in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria share the same struggles against the United States. He urged Pakistan's youth to follow those in Arab nations in seeking to overthrow their government.
However, he called on al-Qaeda's followers to abstain from acts that would "cause risk to masses in mosques, markets or public spaces".
It is widely believed that al-Qaeda's deadly attacks in Iraq and Pakistan over the last several years led to fierce criticism of its tactics even in extremist circles.
more read
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/al-qaida-deputy-u-s-will-regret-killing-bin-laden-1.366645 

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Heavy rains and floods in Haiti leave 13 dead

Heavy rain hit southern Haiti for a seventh consecutive day yesterday, triggering floods and mudslides and causing houses and shanties to collapse.
The official death toll stands at 13 but is likely to rise.
Runoff from the rain sent rivers surging and flooded many homes. The storm felled trees across the country and debris has blocked streets throughout the capital.
In Petionville, a hillside neighbourhood south of Port-au-Prince, a concrete house slid down a ravine and crashed into several smaller houses.
'We are sure there are more bodies. We're waiting to see just how many bodies there are,' Petionville Mayor Claire Lydie Parent told Associated Press.
The storm has saturated much of the Caribbean in recent days.
Flooding has been reported in neighbouring Dominican Republic as well as in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Authorities have attributed one death in the Dominican Republic and one in Jamaica to the weather.
The week-long period of rain has worsened misery for tens of thousands of people living in tent-and-tarp settlements that sprung up after the devastating 2010 January earthquake in Haiti.
Aid workers have warned that the wet weather could worsen a cholera outbreak that has taken more than 5,300 lives since October.
Director of Haiti's Civil Protection Department, Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, said the 13 deaths recorded so far were people who either drowned or died in mudslides.
more detail
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0608/haitiflood.html

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Japan may have no nuclear reactors running by next April

Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which triggered a radiation crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo, concern among local authorities has kept nuclear generators from restarting at least four reactors that had been expected to come online after routine maintenance and inspection.
Several more reactors have since shut for regular maintenance, slashing Japan's nuclear generating capacity to just 7,580 megawatts, or only 36 percent of its registered nuclear capacity.
In May, Japan's average nuclear run rate fell to 40.9 percent, the lowest in at least a decade and well below 62.1 percent a year earlier.
Before the quake and tsunami, which forced the closure of three other power plants in addition to Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi facility, nuclear power supplied about 30 percent of Japan's electricity.
Although a reactor is legally cleared for restart once it receives approval from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), a trade ministry watchdog, nuclear operators always seek local government approvals as well, in recognition of the importance of support from the community around the plant.
If no reactors that shut for regular maintenance after the disaster are restarted, it would cost an extra 2.4 trillion yen ($30 billion) to make up lost power generation during the financial year to next March, a trade ministry estimate showed.
If all of Japan's reactors end up offline without any restarts, the extra cost would escalate to 3 trillion yen a year, reflecting the need to buy more fossil fuels from abroad while the use of renewable energy remains limited.
Among the 19 Japanese reactors that remain online, the last due to be shut for inspections -- on April 9, 2012 -- is the 1,356 megawatt No.6 reactor at Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in northwestern Japan a NISA official said. The reactor came out of its last maintenance period just two days before the March 11 disaster.
more read
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/us-japan-nuclear-reactors-idUSTRE7572P920110608

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Kate Middleton Hiring a Dresser?! Hello, Job of a Lifetime!

Now here's a help wanted sign sure to catch the eye: the Duchess of Cambridge is in the market for a dresser. Wait—what?!

Since when does Kate, the world's newly crowned fashion icon who has yet to misstep and is the de facto arbiter of everything sartorially savvy, need help getting dressed?! Well, since now.

But it's not exactly what you think. Put it this way: Rachel Zoe types need not apply.
Instead, the hired hands of Buckingham Palace were sent into a tizzy this week, as Prince William and his always immaculately turned-out bride began internally advertising for a combination housekeeper-dresser, who will enter into the couple's employ once they take up temporary residence in Kensington Palace.

Kate will reportedly personally interview the candidates—a wise move since they'll be spending pretty much every minute on the job in her presence—sometime prior to her trip to Canada and the U.S. next month. And you thought the interview you had with your employer was nerve-racking.
The servant—and yes, it is a servant position, not a stylist-in-the-making one—in addition to her housekeeping duties will occasionally provide valet services for Kate. In other words, the attendant's duties will include laying out Middleton's clothes, but not choosing or even shopping for them. Bottom line: Kate's sartorial choices will still be her own; she'll just leave the ironing to someone else.

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b245946_kate_middleton_hiring_dresser_hello_job.html#ixzz1Ok0Q9HOn

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ICC opens investigation after banned Pakistan player Mohammad Amir plays in minor English game

ICC opens investigation after banned Pakistan player Mohammad Amir plays in minor English game

By Rob Harris, The Associated Press – 37 minutes ago

LONDON — Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir is being investigated by the ICC after playing in a minor English league match last week despite being banned from the sport for corruption.
The 19-year-old Amir took part Saturday in an official Surrey Cricket League match for Addington 1743, a village team based in a south London suburb that didn't realize he breached his five-year ban by playing.
"The suspension clearly states that he cannot take part in any cricket-related activities," ICC spokesman Samiul Hasan told The Associated Press. "We are aware of the reports and are investigating the matter."
The Surrey Cricket League is under the jurisdiction of the England and Wales Cricket Board, which said it is "investigating and liaising with the ICC as appropriate."
The ICC tribunal that banned Amir in February for "spot-fixing" could impose a further sanction if it is proved he played in a competitive match.
"He has been at all times anxious not to violate his ban," said Gareth Peirce, Amir's lawyer. "He has seen today's news reports with alarm. He is making contact directly through his lawyers with the ICC.
"He was given the chance of joining in part of a game with a village cricket team as a way of keeping in practice. He was assured by the team that they had asked their league if he was permitted to play with them and had been told that he was. He did not stay for the whole match."
The left-arm fast bowler was introduced to Addington, which has less than 20 members, through captain Ijaz Raja and a team sponsor last week. Amir took four wickets and scored 60 runs in the match.
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Arnold hires divorce lawyer

Arnold Schwarzenegger has reportedly hired attorney Bob Kaufman to represent him. According to TMZ, Kaufman will handle all legal matters during Schwarzenegger’s upcoming divorce from estranged wife Maria Shriver.
Kaufman has already entered discussions with Shriver’s lawyer Laura Wasser and is “moving forward” with negotiations surrounding the split, the website also reports.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation earlier this month after 25 years of marriage following the revelation that the actor and former California governor had fathered a secret love child with a former housekeeper.
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Halle Berry and Fergie: The Smell of Success at the FiFi Awards

New York – Known as the 'Oscars of the fragrance industry,' nominees and stars gathered on Wednesday, May 25, in New York at the FiFi Awards hosted by The Fragrance Foundation to honor those that have contributed to creativity in the scent-producing industry. Halle Berry was awarded Fragrance Celebrity of the Year for "Reveal" and Fergie received the award for New Fragrance Celebrity of the Year for "Outspoken."
Comparing food to fragrance on the red carpet, Iron Chef Cat Cora said, "It's all about enticing the senses. It's got to be a fine balance between something that's got a nice fragrance and goes with my lifestyle." Cora, who later presented the Fragrance of the Year award to Berry, acknowledged the talented nominees in her category, especially the women. "I'm doing a category that's got Halle Berry, Shakira, Eva Longoria and for men's Antonio Banderas," said Cora. "I think the three women all have something really sexy to offer and that's why they're nominated against each other."
Berry is no stranger to this sensuous industry with currently three signature scents under her belt. She acknowledges the power of perfume in program notes saying, "I truly believe that fragrance makes women feel beautiful and confident." The Academy Award winning actress wore a black one-shoulder Halston dress with half cut-out midriff.
The night was full of many beautiful and confident women and all had different tips and hints on how to best enjoy the luxuries of fragrance. Kelli Bensimon, who presented last night, recommended spraying the mane. "I always spray my hair because we all have different DNA so the same scent will smell different on each person." Tiffani Thiessen, who admitted Giorgio Armani's Sensi used to be her pre-baby go-to scent, said that when spraying keep in mind that "the back of your neck is great and the middle of your back, but those are for the special people."
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'Camp Rock 2' actor recovering after crash

LOS ANGELES – "Camp Rock 2" actor Matthew "Mdot" Finley is recovering from a motorcycle accident.
Finley's manager, Eric Ortner, said the singer-actor is undergoing surgery Wednesday on his leg at UCLA Medical Center after he lost control of his motorcycle and plummeted off a cliff last Thursday.
Ortner said that Finley suffered multiple injuries to his face, head and legs and was expected to be in the hospital for several weeks. He said Finley hoped to fully recover and return to performing, including a possible stint on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
Finley played rival Luke Williams in the Disney Channel sequel starring the Jonas Brothers.
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Four killed in small plane crash in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Four people were killed on Wednesday when a single-engine plane crashed near a small airport on the Utah-Nevada border, officials said.
The plane went down on Wednesday afternoon near Wendover, Utah, when extreme wind conditions were reported in the area, Tooele County Emergency Management spokesman Wade Matthews said.
"We know the pilot in the Cessna 172 was on approach for landing at the Wendover airport when he ran into a weather situation and crashed into the dirt. All four people on board were killed," Matthews told Reuters.
"They called indicating they were going to land and once they got in and parked they wanted to be fueled up," said James Petersen, director of airports for Tooele County, Utah.
Petersen says a witness saw the plane having difficulty when it approached the airport runway.
"He saw a puff of dust when it hit the ground. It didn't catch fire it just hit the ground at a pretty steep angle," said Petersen.
The Wendover Airport remained open while emergency crews and investigators cordoned off the crash site north of the runway.
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Jobless claims fall as labor costs tepid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but not enough to assuage fears the labor market recovery has taken a step back.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 422,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, less than economists' expectations for a fall to 415,000.
The claims report falls outside the survey period for the government's closely watched data on nonfarm payrolls for May.
The government is expected to report on Friday that employers hired 150,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey, after increasing payrolls by 244,000 in April.
"Every indication we have had so far points to a slightly softer labor market in the U.S.," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
U.S. stock index futures held gains after the data, while U.S. bond prices extended losses. The dollar also extended losses against the euro.
There is a risk that May payrolls could come in below consensus after ADP, a payroll service company, reported private employers added only 38,000 last month, the smallest number since September.
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At least four dead in Massachusetts storms

CONWAY, Massachusetts (Reuters) – At least four people were killed when tornadoes and severe storms tore through heavily populated western and central Massachusetts on Wednesday, causing widespread damage in 19 communities.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and authorized 1,000 National Guard troops to be called up to provide support after at least two tornadoes touched down.
"It is early going yet, so those are not final numbers, although we are hoping and praying and working as hard as possible to keep the fatalities limited to those four," Patrick told a news conference.
Tornadoes are rare but not unheard of in the northeastern United States.
Southeastern states, especially Alabama, were hit hard in April and Joplin, Missouri, was devastated by a massive tornado in May that killed 134 people.
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At least 70 killed in 2-day battle on Pak-Afghan border

At least 70 people have been killed in two days of intense fighting between between Pakistani security forces and hundreds of militants who crossed from Afghanistan into northwest Pakistan, officials said.
Local officials and residents in Upper Dir, a remote valley that borders the Afghan province of Konar, said Pakistani troops regained control of the area after 36 hours of fierce clashes with heavily armed militants who attacked a police checkpoint on Wednesday.
At least 27 Pakistanis, including four civilians, were killed in the fighting, as were 45 insurgents, local police officials said. The dead included two women, a child and a prayer leader in the town of Shaltalo.
The insurgent fighters blew up at least two schools and stole weapons from the Pakistani checkpoint, according to local officials in the area, who said the militants were believed to be Afghans and Pakistanis.
Omar Hassan Ahravi, who identified himself as a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban in the nearby Malakand region, told some local reporters that his organization had carried out the attack “with Afghan friends.”
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Lady Gaga album sells 1.1 mn copies in first week

Flamboyant pop star Lady Gaga has sold more than one million copies of her new album to top the US pop chart for the first time, according to sales data published on Tuesday by Billboard magazine.
Fans scooped up 1.11 million copies of her much-hyped release "Born This Way" during the week ended May 29, with a bit of help from a hugely popular 99-cent promotion by online retailer Amazon.com Inc.
It marks the biggest first-week sales total since rapper 50 Cent's "The Massacre" debuted to 1.14 million copies in March 2005. The last album to break the million mark was country starlet Taylor Swift's "Speak Now," which started with 1.01 million copies last November. Boy band 'N Sync holds the first-week record with 2.4 million copies for its 2000 album "No Strings Attached."
Billboard estimated that Amazon downloads accounted for upward of 440,000 downloads of "Born This Way." Overall digital downloads totaled a record-breaking 662,000 copies, Billboard said.
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