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Edwards is new Cricket Australia chairman
Karachi: Four suspects arrested in search operation
Gilani to address Commonwealth moot today
Zardari to visit Turkey for trilateral meeting on Afghanistan
US cannot fight terror without Pakistan, says Clinton
Tunisia's moderate Islamists win landmark vote
Obama welcomes EU debt deal
Sarkozy confident Greece can emerge from cirsis
Global stock markets soar on EU debt deal, US data
Oil jumps 4 percent on positive US, European news
Metal prices surge on European bailout plan
Euro leaps to 7-week high vs dollar on crisis pan
Saudi Arabia names new crown prince
Scientists confirm fungus as US bat-killer
Cancer in high-risk patients reduced by aspirin

Edwards is new Cricket Australia chairman

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Cricket Australia s new chairman, Wally Edwards, has set the lofty goal of the national teams being ranked the world s best in all formats of the game. Edwards, a former West Australian opening batsman who played three Tests in 1974, was formally elected chairman at a CA board meeting on Friday. The 61-year-old replaced Jack Clarke, who stepped down after three years as chairman. Edwards was CA s deputy chairman and has been a director since 1999, as well as a WACA board member since 1987. He said his vision was for Australia to be ranked No.1 in the world in all formats of men s and women s cricket.

Karachi: Four suspects arrested in search operation

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According to police sources, the search operation was launched in the Godhra area on reports of presence of some wanted accused belonging to a religious organization. At least four suspects were arrested after police cordoned off the locality and conducted house-to-house search. Commandos and officials and of different police stations of District West took part in the search operation. Meanwhile, in another operation, CIA Jamshaid conducted a raid in Site area and arrested three accused wanted in several cases of murder, attempted murder and robbery. Police also recovered two repeaters and two 9MM pistols from the arrested persons. According to police, two of the arrested persons, Junaid Bukhari and Faisal Bukhari, are real brothers.

Gilani to address Commonwealth moot today

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Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, who arrived in Australia on Thursday, besides addressing the Forum will meet several world leaders on the sidelines of the moot. His interactions with the prime ministers of Australia, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia have been scheduled. Prime Minister Gilani is attending the international gathering of prestigious association for the first time after Pakistan’s election to the non-permanent berth for the United Nations General Security Council (UNSC) early this month. He will also join other dignitaries at the Leader’s Retreat to be held at the Kings Park. Chairman Board of Investment Tariq Puri and member of the National Assembly Ms Nafisa Shah will represent Pakistan at the parallel events including Commonwealth Business Forum 2011, Commonwealth Youth Forum and Commonwealth People’s Forum.

Zardari to visit Turkey for trilateral meeting on Afghanistan

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President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Turkey from Monday next at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul toattend the trilateral meeting on Afghanistan being held in Istanbul. The President will have an all-encompassing dialogue with the Turkish leadership on different aspects of bilateral relations and cooperation on regional and international issues. Giving details of the visit, foreign office spokesperson Ms Tehmina Janjua at weekly briefing said President Asif Ali Zardari would join President Abdullah Gul and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the trilateral summit on Afghanistan. The agenda of the summit, to be held in Istanbul, will include peace, stability and reconciliation in Afghanistan and economic cooperation among the three countries. She said Pakistan attaches importance to the trilateral and multilateral processes relating to Afghanistan and supports all endeavours and initiatives in this regard. Replying to a question she said Pakistan would raise the issue of attacks by militants from Afghanistan into Pakistani territory during trilateral summit. She said on Wednesday next, Turkey would host regional conference on Afghanistan and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar would lead Pakistan’s delegation at the moot. The conference would provide a platform to express solidarity and support for Afghanistan in its endeavours to establish peace and stability, she added.

US cannot fight terror without Pakistan, says Clinton

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US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton attempted to explain the US’s difficult alliance with Pakistan to the House foreign affairs committee. The committee has made $3 billion (€2.1 billion) in US military and development aid to Pakistan contingent on Islamabad co-operating with the US against extremist groups. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the committee, noted that US relations with Pakistan “continue to suffer from a cascading series of crises”. She cited the case of Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor who was freed by a Pakistani court last March. “The ultimate disgrace was the discovery of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan and living adjacent to a Pakistani military facility,” Ms Ros-Lehtinen added. “Our two countries are at a crossroads. We cannot sustain a partnership with Islamabad if it pursues policies that are hostile to US interests and jeopardise American lives.” On Wednesday, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf described relations between the US and Pakistan as “terrible”. Ms Clinton confirmed on October 21st that the US last summer held an exploratory meeting with the Haqqani network, an Afghan group that launches attacks on Americans in Afghanistan from Pakistan. The meeting was held at the urging of the Pakistanis, Ms Clinton said. Ms Ros-Lehtinen asked Ms Clinton to clarify whether the US was cracking down on the Haqqani network or negotiating with it. “Both,” Ms Clinton said. “We want to test whether these organisations have any willingness to negotiate in good faith.” She added that “a major military operation in Afghanistan rounded up more than 100 Haqqani leaders in the past week”. “Everyone agrees the Haqqani network has safe havens inside Pakistan that enable them to attack and kill Americans,” Ms Clinton said. “But we also agree that we cannot fight terrorism without Pakistan. We are balancing these two realities.” A truck bombing at a US base in Afghanistan wounded 77 US soldiers on September 10th. Three days later, the US embassy in Kabul was besieged for 19 hours. Adm Mike Mullen, the outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told the Senate armed service committee that the Haqqani network carried out both attacks and “acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency”. Ms Clinton was criticised for certifying last March that Pakistan was co-operating in the “fight against terrorism”. Representative Ed Royce noted that Pakistan also harboured Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan’s co-operation in pursuing radical groups “has to be broadened to the LeT”, he said.

Tunisia's moderate Islamists win landmark vote

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Authorities say the moderate Islamist Ennahda party has won Tunisia s first free elections, winning 90 of 217 seats in an assembly tasked with writing a new constitution for the fledgling democracy. Authorities said Thursday that the Congress for the Republic party, founded in 2001 by noted human rights activist Moncef Marzouki, had come second with 30 seats. The landmark voting took place Sunday. Tunisians overthrew their longtime dictator in January, a move that sparked similar movements in other Arab countries, including successful revolutions in Egypt and Libya. Ennahda, which was long suppressed by Tunisia s ousted dictator, emerged as the best organized party in the election.

Obama welcomes EU debt deal

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US President Barack Obama on Thursday welcomed "important" decisions taken by Europe at a marathon summit to fix its debt crisis partly by shoring up a trillion euro bailout fund. "We welcome the important decisions made last night by the European Union which lay a critical foundation for a comprehensive solution to the eurozone crisis," Obama said in a written statement. "We look forward to the full development and rapid implementation of their plan. We will continue to support the EU and our European allies in their efforts to address this crisis as we work together to sustain the global recovery and put our people back to work." The European deal will address the debt mountain in Greece, cutting it by 100 billion euros in an agreement between the eurozone and private creditor banks to take a 50 percent loss on their holdings. Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis held talks Thursday in Washington with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who welcomed both the European deal and a domestically controversial Greek austerity plan. "The Greek people are making major changes and big sacrifices to return their country to financial health and economic competitiveness," Clinton told reporters as she entered talks with Lambrinidis. "While those changes and sacrifices are certainly painful, they are necessary. And in the long run, they will benefit Greece and its partners, but most particularly the children and future generations of Greek citizens." Lambrinidis for his part praised the "extremely important and helpful role" by the United States during the crisis. White House officials meanwhile declined to predict whether the plan would forestall fears of a future global recession, following warnings that events in Europe could severely hamper America s sluggish recovery.

Sarkozy confident Greece can emerge from cirsis

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday it had been an error to admit Greece to the eurozone in 2001 but said he was confident the country could emerge from its debt crisis. "It was an error because Greece entered with false (economic) figures... it was not ready," he said during a nationally televised interview on the day European leaders clinched a deal to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. But asked if he had confidence that Greece can emerge from the crisis, Sarkozy said: "Yes... we have no other choice". The European deal will address the debt mountain in Greece, cutting it by 100 billion euros in an agreement between the eurozone and private creditor banks to take a 50 percent loss on their holdings. "We had to face up to all this. If the euro had exploded last night, all of Europe would have exploded," Sarkozy said. "If Greece had defaulted, there would have been a domino effect carrying everyone away." "If there had not been an agreement last night, it was not just Europe that would have sunk into catastrophe, it was the whole world," he said. "We took important decisions yesterday that avoided catastrophe."

Global stock markets soar on EU debt deal, US data

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Global stock markets soared in a massive relief rally Thursday after EU leaders agreed a deal to solve the eurozone debt crisis and data showed the US economy growing faster than expected. Dealers said there may be many reservations about the deal but the immediate reaction was one of relief that European leaders had finally come up with a coherent response to a crisis threatening to sink the euro and the world economy. The banks performed best, having been under intense pressure on concerns over their exposure to Greek government debt, with private sector creditors now agreeing to take losses of 50 percent on their holdings of Greek bonds. This is combined with more than 100 billion euros in funds to help the banks cover their losses, ensuring the European banking system escapes the worst of any fallout. Dealers said figures showing the US economy grew 2.5 percent in the third quarter, up sharply from the second and ahead of forecasts for around 2.3 percent, also gave sentiment a boost. In London, the FTSE-100 index of top companies closed up 2.89 percent to 5,713.82 points while in Paris, the CAC-40 jumped 6.28 percent to 3,368.62 points. In Frankfurt the DAX 30 gained 5.35 percent to 6,337.84 points. Other European markets posted similar sharp gains after months of turmoil driven by worries the eurozone debt crisis could torpedo the euro and push the global economy back into recession. In Asian trade earlier Thursday, Tokyo closed up 2.04 percent and Hong Kong rallied 3.26 percent, helping set up Europe for a positive day. "Overall, the agreement is welcome and addresses the fundamental issues underlying the eurozone debt crisis," said Barry Dixon, analyst at Davy stockbrokers. "Whether the detail of the agreement is sufficient to quell market concerns over the medium term remains to be seen," he cautioned, sharing the concerns of many investors. Despite the huge gains made on the markets, not all commentators were convinced.   "The plans announced by euro-zone policymakers ... look more like a peashooter than the  bazooka  previously promised to tackle the region s problems," sceptial Capital Economics analysts wrote in a note. "We have not altered our view that the crisis will deepen over the coming quarters, ultimately resulting in some form of break-up of the currency union."

Oil jumps 4 percent on positive US, European news

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Oil jumped more than 4 percent Thursday as the US economy grew and Europe appeared to turn the corner on its debt crisis. Benchmark crude rose $3.76, or 4.2 percent, to end the day at $93.96 per barrel in New York. That s the highest it s been since the first week of August. Brent crude, which is used to price oil that s imported into the U.S., rose $3.17, or 2.9 percent, to finish at $112.08 in London. Prices soared after European leaders announced an agreement to reduce Greece s debt and head off a default. After hours of intense negotiations, the Europeans unveiled a plan to cut Greek debt, bolster the continent s banks to handle losses on Greek bonds and reinforce a European bailout fund. In the US, the government said the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That s the strongest growth this year and quieted concerns that the country is headed for another recession. Stock markets also soared on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ all closed more than 3 percent higher. Oil hit a 2011 low earlier this month on concerns that Western nations might drop back into a second recession. Growing European debt problems threatened to plunge the entire region into a banking crisis, and the US economy was barely growing. The headlines on Thursday appeared to relieve those concerns, at least for now.

Metal prices surge on European bailout plan

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Some metal prices, like copper, were up as much as 6 percent. The rally happened after European officials announced they had crafted the broad outlines of a plan to shore up banks and indebted nations there. Traders have been anticipating news of a possible deal after European officials met Wednesday. News of the package was released early Thursday. The full programme is expected to be finalized by early December. The news also drove gold and silver prices higher because traders think the European bailout could create inflation. The plan calls for more money to be pumped into European banks and heavily indebted countries, which could lower currency values. Investors buy precious metals to protect against inflation. Gold for December delivery rose $24.20, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $1,747.70 an ounce Thursday. December silver was up $1.802, or 5.4 percent, to close at $35.112. Industrial metals like copper and palladium rose because traders think the bailout could help contain Europe s financial woes. That would boost economic growth, and increase demand for raw materials. Industrial metals prices also rose because of news that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the strongest growth in a year. Copper for December delivery gained 20.2 cents, or nearly 6 percent, to settle at $3.692 a pound. December palladium jumped $23.85, or almost 4 percent, to $669.90 an ounce. January platinum gained $44.20 to finish at $1,641.40 an ounce.

Euro leaps to 7-week high vs dollar on crisis pan

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The euro rose to $1.4168 at 11:20 a.m. (1520 GMT) Thursday from $1.3908 late Wednesday. That s the highest since Sept. 6. European leaders decided Thursday to expand their regional bailout fund. Banks holding Greek debt agreed to take bigger losses. The deal signals progress toward solving the two-year crisis before it can spread to bigger economies such as Spain and Italy. The dollar hit a record low against the Japanese yen for a third straight day. The dollar fell to 75.63 yen at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) from 76.2 yen late Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia names new crown prince

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Saudi state TV says the kingdom has named a new crown prince. Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz Al Saud, the kingdom s tough-talking interior minister, was named heir to the Saudi throne following the death of the previous crown prince late last week. Prince Nayef has led crackdowns on Islamic militants but has also shown favor to ultraconservative traditions, such as keeping the ban on women voting. He is set to assume the throne upon the death of King Abdullah, 87, who is recovering from his third operation to treat back problems in less than a year. Prince Nayef, 78, was also named prime minister in addition to keeping his job as interior minister. US Vice President Joe Biden led an American delegation in the Saudi capital to offer condolences to King Abdullah after the death of Prince Sultan, who was also Saudi Arabia s defense minister and is credited with modernizing his country s armed forces, largely through huge arms deals with the United States. On Thursday Biden met with members of the royal family. A White House statement said Biden noted Sultan s "lasting contributions to the enduring partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia

Scientists confirm fungus as US bat-killer

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Since the first known outbreak in a colony of bats in upstate New York, white-nose syndrome (WNS) -- named after the discoloration on infected animals  snouts -- has spread 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) across the United States and into Canada, killing at least a million of the winged mammals. WNS wipes out up to 97 percent of winter colonies of species that hibernate, including little brown bats, northern long-eared bats and the endangered Indiana bat, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGC). Some scientists suspected that the culprit behind the disease was a fungus called Geomyces destructans. But skeptics noted that bats in Europe have been colonised by the same fungus without any increase in deaths and argued that WNS was caused by some other agent. Probing further, USGS scientists led by David Blehert undertook three lab experiments. In the first, they exposed 29 healthy, hibernating little brown bats to G. destructans samples that had been harvested from a pure culture. All the bats tested positive for the fungus by the end of the 102-day experiment, whereas those in a non-infected control group remained healthy. Among the bats that died, all had lesions consistent with white-nose syndrome. In a second experiment, healthy bats were housed together with hibernating bats naturally infected with the fungus, a situation that arises in nature and could account for its rapid spread. Nearly 90 percent of the non-infected group developed WNS symptoms within the 102-day period, "demonstrating for the first time that WNS is transmissible," the researchers said. Finally, to see if the disease can be spread through the air without physical contact, the scientists placed healthy and infected bats in separate but nearby meshed cages. After 102 days, none of the animals exposed to possible airborne fungi from bats with WNS showed any signs of infection.. "Fungal pathogens have the unique capacity to drive host populations to extinction because of their ability to survive in host-free environments," the researchers said. "Given the high mortality rate and speed at which WNS has spread, the disease has the potential to decimate North American bat populations and cause species extinctions similar to those documented for amphibians." The researchers speculated that European bats had developed immunity to the fungus, which is why their populations have not been affected by it. Bats are in important natural pesticide worth at least 3.7 billion dollars per year to farmers, a recent study calculated.

Cancer in high-risk patients reduced by aspirin

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People with a genetic condition that puts them at increased risk of colon cancer may lower their chance of developing the disease by taking daily aspirin, a study suggests. The finding, however, doesn t apply to the general public, since aspirin can have side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding. The 861 people in the British study had Lynch syndrome, a rare, inherited disorder that puts them at high risk for cancers including those of the colon. The condition accounts for about 3 to 5 percent of colon cancer cases. Previous research had suggested that aspirin could help prevent colon cancer in that group. In the latest study, people were assigned to take 600 milligrams of aspirin daily about two regular strength aspirin or dummy pills. After more than four years of follow-up, the study didn t find a significant difference in how many people in each group developed their first colon cancer. But they did see one when they looked at long-term participants who regularly took their pills for at least two years. Among the 258 people on aspirin, there were 10 colon cancer cases. That compares to 23 cases in the 250 people on dummy pills. Rates of side effects like bleeding and ulcers in the stomach were similar in both groups. "This is good news for a very specific population," said Asad Umar, a cancer prevention expert at the U.S. National Cancer Institute who was not linked to the study. He said the finding could apply to about 15 percent of colon cancer patients who have genetic defects similar to Lynch syndrome. But Umar warned aspirin should only be recommended for people at high risk for colon cancer. "We re not ready to say aspirin is useful for the general public," he said. "There are still a lot of toxicity concerns." The paper was published Friday in the journal Lancet. It was paid for by groups including the European Union, Cancer Research U.K., Bayer Corporation, the original maker of aspirin, and others. Newcastle University s Dr. John Burn, the study s chief investigator, reported receiving a speaker s fee from Bayer last year.

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Thursday 27 October 2011

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