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Afghanistan war is next Vietnam, poll suggests
Elimination of terrorists safe haven in Pakistan difficult: Pentagon
Pakistan behind US goal of Afghan peace: Haqqani
Arab FMs tells Assad to stop killing civilians
Gaddafi son in surrender talks as NATO ends Libya mission
Anti-Wall Street protesters arrested in San Diego
White House confirms US has drones in Ethiopia
Car bomb kills anti-terror chief in south Yemen
Magnitude-6.9 quake shakes Peru
Tsonga, Del Potro in Vienna semis
Tipsarevic and Cilic through at St Petersburg
Stosur routs Li to reach WTA Championships semis
Ramsay maintains lead at Andalucia Masters
Rooney looks to inspire United against former club
Jury to return Monday in Pakistan fixing trial

Afghanistan war is next Vietnam, poll suggests

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Most Americans say the conflict is turning into another Vietnam, according to a new poll. Ten years into the war, just 34 percent say they are in favour of it and a whopping 63 percent say they oppose American involvement. And over half — 58 percent — told pollsters the war has turned into a situation like the U.S. faced in the Vietnam War. Slightly less, or 39 percent, disagree and say they wouldn’t characterize Afghanistan as another Vietnam. Still, most Americans say it was not a mistake to send troops to Afghanistan. Only 41 percent of those polled think it was an error to send military forces into the country, while 57 percent say it they support the initial decision. The previous all-time low of support for the war was at 35 percent in December 2010. The 63 percent who oppose the war matches the all-time high, which was also hit in the Dec. 2010 poll. US forces invaded Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, and most troops are set to withdraw by the end of 2014. The poll was conducted from Oct. 14-16 and polled 1,007 adults. The sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Elimination of terrorists safe haven in Pakistan difficult: Pentagon

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In a briefing in the Pentagon, the senior US officials said the there is five percent decrease in attacks on forces in Afghanistan as compared with the last year. There are important gains in Afghanistan except alongside the border of Pakistan. Combination of military and civilian surge in Afghanistan will achieve the objective of drawdown by Dec 2014. The officials said we have put additional troops on eastern border but safe heavens in Pakistan remain a great challenge. Afghan security forces are increasing in number and quality, and taking lead in operation. ‘We are talking to Pakistanis about what needs to be done for eliminating safe heavens,” the officials said and added “We are trying to bring Taliban back in mainstream by reconciliation efforts.” Safe heavens are a problem for Pakistan itself as well as the world and more Pakistanis have died because of it than anywhere else. Message of new Afghan report to Pakistan and Taliban is that we are succeeding in this war. The US has told Pakistan off the record that we are not going to leave like 1989 so they should not hedge their bets against it. “Whether this message serves its purpose or not, we ll know in the next few months," they said. The insurgent camps in neighbouring Pakistan out of the reach of NATO forces, as well as the Afghan government s shortcomings, posed a risk to the overall progress, the report said. "Although security continues to improve, the insurgency s safe havens in Pakistan, as well as the limited capacity of the Afghan Government, remain the biggest risks to the process of turning security gains into a durable, stable Afghanistan," they said.

Pakistan behind US goal of Afghan peace: Haqqani

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The US goal of peace in Afghanistan is firmly shared by Pakistan, but the two nations face hurdles that include anti-American sentiments in Pakistan, the country s ambassador in the United States said. "Pakistan and the United States are agreed that reconciliation is something we need to work for," Ambassador Husain Haqqani told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "A lot of times the problem is a very small number of people, dedicated and violent, want to impose their will by arms," Haqqani said. As the Obama administration seeks to bring its troops home and put end to a decade of war in Afghanistan, its nascent efforts to broker a peace deal between insurgents and the Afghan government is playing an increasingly central role. Yet the bid to find a negotiated settlement highlights the deep fissures in the US-Pakistan relationship, as US officials accuse Pakistan of indirectly fueling violence in Afghanistan and often undermining Afghan stability. Pakistanis meanwhile complain they have suffered greatly at the hands of extremists and accuse the United States of overlooking their efforts to contain their militant threat. Haqqani praised comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a congressional committee on Thursday that the United States was seeking negotiations with Afghan insurgents, while at the same time fighting them on the battlefield. "Why can t we just talk to these people and get a settlement? Absolutely, we d love to do it. If you have Mullah Omar s address please send him a letter on our behalf to come to the table," Haqqani said. "The problem is you can t be half engaged in these negotiations. Do the Taliban have a vision of where they want to be? Are they willing to be part of a pluralist Afghanistan in the future?" He said Pakistan will "do everything to facilitate discussions between all elements of the Taliban that we can reach." Haqqani derided commentators in the region, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who last week made comments suggesting that his country would side with Pakistan if a military conflict broke out between Islamabad and Washington. "Pakistan and the United States are not going to war," he said. "Sometimes people forget there are unresolved issues in Pakistan," he said, citing a societal debate about the role of religion and the nation s decades-long struggle toward democratically elected governments. "My request to Americans is to be patient with Pakistan," he said.

Arab FMs tells Assad to stop killing civilians

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An Arab foreign ministers taskforce on Syria sent President Bashar al-Assad an urgent message on Friday denouncing "the continued killings of civilians" and called on him to protect them. "The Arab ministerial committee expressed its rejection of the continued killings of civilians in Syria and expressed its hope that the Syrian government will take the necessary measures to protect them," said the message, which it published in a statement. The statement came as a Syrian rights group said soldiers killed at least 35 people on Friday. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the deaths were in Hama, in the north, and Homs, in the centre, and that security forces encircled mosques to prevent protests after weekly Muslim Friday prayers. The ministerial committee, which met Assad in Damascus on Wednesday, said it would meet Syrian officials on Sunday in Qatar to try to reach "serious results and an exit to the Syrian crisis." The ministers said they had held "frank" talks with Assad on Wednesday in a bid to mediate with the opposition, as activists said at least 19 people were killed in violence that day. "The meeting with President Assad was frank and friendly and we are going to continue our talks on October 30," said Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani. Headed by Qatar, the League s current chair, the delegation is comprised of the foreign ministers of Algeria, Egypt, Oman and Sudan, in addition to Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi. Faced with a tough mission, Arabi has said he hopes "the Syrian regime will agree to this initiative, and begin with genuine reforms," in comments to pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

Gaddafi son in surrender talks as NATO ends Libya mission

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The International Criminal Court said Friday it was in contact with slain Libyan leader Moammwr Gaddafi s son Seif al-Islam over his surrender, as NATO decided to end its mission in Libya. Luis Moreno-Ocampo warned however the International Criminal Court (ICC) learnt that a group of mercenaries have offered to move Seif to an African country which was a non-party to the ICC s founding document, the Rome Statute. "Through intermediaries, we have informal contact with Seif," the prosecutor said in a statement, issued at the court s headquarters in The Hague. "The Office of the Prosecutor has made it clear that if he surrenders to the ICC, he has the right to be heard in court, he is innocent until proven guilty," Moreno-Ocampo said. "The judges will decide." He said after learning that a group of mercenaries offered to move Seif to an African state not bound to hand him over to the ICC, his office was "exploring the possibility to intercept any plane within the airspace of a state party in order to make an arrest." Seif, 39, and Gaddafi s security chief and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi, 62, are the most wanted fugitives from the slain despot s ousted circle. They are wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity, committed after the start of the uprising against Gaddafi s regime in mid-February. The ICC issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi, Seif and Senussi on June 27.  Meanwhile, NATO decided Friday to end its mission in Libya in three days, on October 31, declaring it fulfilled its "historic mandate" to protect civilians as it urged the new regime to build a democracy based on human rights. "We have fully complied with the historic mandate of the United Nations to protect the people of Libya, to enforce the no-fly zone and the arms embargo," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

Anti-Wall Street protesters arrested in San Diego

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Officers arrested 51 people in Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Diego, where protestors had been camped out for the last three weeks, and another 11 at a nearby park, said police Officer David Stafford. There were no reports of injuries in the operation, which started at 2:00 am and lasted 45 minutes, and came three days after riot police cracked down on a similar camp near San Francisco, leaving one person critically injured. Over the last three weeks, San Diego police said they had received "numerous complaints from facility staff about the unsanitary conditions created by human and animal feces, urination, drug use, littering and damage to city property. "We requested that all persons leave the Civic Center Plaza in order to allow a cleaning crew to conduct a thorough cleaning this morning," added a San Diego Police Department statement.  On Tuesday, police in Oakland, near San Francisco, launched a dawn raid to break up an anti-Wall Street camp, arresting some 97 people. Later that day officers fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse crowds who tried to return to the site of the camp in the evening, critically injuring one person, a former marine who had served two tours in Iraq. The victim, Scott Olsen, is reported to be recovering in hospital.

White House confirms US has drones in Ethiopia

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The White House is confirming that the U.S. military has unmanned drone aircraft in Ethiopia but says no strike missions are being launched from the east African country. Spokesman Jay Carney said Friday that the aircraft are in Ethiopia to promote stability in the horn of Africa and to counter terrorism. Drones are often called the weapon of choice in President Barack Obama s administration, which quadrupled drone strikes against al-Qaida targets in Pakistan s lawless tribal areas. The high-tech, unmanned planes are controlled from military bases that can be as far away as the U.S. They also can fly undetected at heights of up to 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) far above that of most manned aircraft. The existence of U.S. military drones in Ethiopia was first reported by The Washington Post.

Car bomb kills anti-terror chief in south Yemen

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The head of the anti-terror force in Yemen s restive southern Abyan province was killed Friday when a bomb planted in his car exploded, a Yemeni security official said. Three others, including two children, were wounded in the blast that killed Ali al-Haddi near the coastal city of Aden. Security has broken down across Yemen during the nine-month popular uprising seeking to oust longtime autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Demonstrations raged around the country on Friday. Al-Qaida linked militants have taken over a number of towns in Abyan, along the country s south coast, where they regularly engage in deadly clashes with security forces. Yemeni authorities also accuse them of targeting security officials. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorize to talk to reporters. Tens of thousands marched in anti-government demonstrations across Yemen Friday. Protesters have been on the streets practically every day since January, despite bloody government crackdowns. In the central city of Taiz, security forces opened fire on marchers carrying the bodies of protesters killed in recent days, injuring five people, activists said. Thousands also marched in the capital Sanaa, where government troops have been clashing with soldiers who have joined the protests and armed men loyal to Yemen s most powerful tribal chief, who supports the opposition.

Magnitude-6.9 quake shakes Peru

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An 6.9-magnitude earthquake centered off Peru s central coast has rattled Peru s capital but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the quake, which took place at 1854 GMT, was located about 288 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of Lima, the US Geological Survey reported. Thousands of people evacuated buildings in Lima and other cities, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a widespread tsunami warning, but cautioned that quakes of this magnitude "sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive." The epicenter was located 51 kilometers southwest of the city of Ica, capital of the province of the same name, at a depth of 35 kilometers, the USGS said.

Tsonga, Del Potro in Vienna semis

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Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame an error-prone start to beat Xavier Malisse 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Friday and reach his eighth semifinal of the season at the Erste Bank Open. Tsonga will play qualifier Daniel Brands of Germany, while No. 2 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and No. 6 Kevin Anderson of South Africa will meet in the other semifinal. The ninth-ranked Tsonga, who is chasing a place at next month s ATP finals, was broken in the opening game and produced a string of unusual mistakes before the Frenchman finally found his rhythm toward the end of the second set. Tsonga earned his first break points early in the third set and immediately used one for his only break of the Belgian s serve in the match. Earlier Friday, Anderson defeated two-time defending champion Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-3. Anderson, who is ranked 32nd, served 11 aces and broke the third-seeded Melzer three times. Anderson, who won his maiden title in his native Johannesburg in February, will play his third semifinal of the season. The 15th-ranked Del Potro beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-2, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal since winning his ninth career title in Estoril, Portugal, in April. Del Potro said that beating the experienced Haas, who won the event in 2001, was "important for my confidence ... The Davis Cup (final against Spain) is on my mind every day but the important thing now is this tournament and the next match." Brands beat Belgium s Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal of the season. The German double-faulted on match point and then was broken while leading 5-2 but closed out the match in his next service game.

Tipsarevic and Cilic through at St Petersburg

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Second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic will take on seventh-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. in the semifinals of the St Petersburg Open after both men maintained their good form in Russia on Friday. The other semifinal will feature fourth-seeded Marin Cilic against the 2004 winner Mikhail Youzhny, seeded fifth. In Friday s quarterfinals, Tipsarevic, who won his second title at the Kremlin Cup on Sunday, rallied to beat Potito Starace 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-1, while Bogomolov, who reached the quarterfinals in Moscow, beat Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-1. Later, Cilic advanced to his third semifinal this season after rallying to beat Andreas Seppi 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, and Youzhny made it into his fourth semifinal with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Adrian Mannarino. Youzhny won four consecutive games in the first set and was leading 5-2 in the second. Mannarino saved two match points on his serve before Youzhny served the match out with a winner on his first match point. Seppi, who won his first title in Eastbourne, England, in June, broke twice in the first set, but Cilic saved a match point on a second-set tiebreaker with an ace and converted a set point to stay in the match. The 22nd-ranked Croat broke decisively in the ninth game of the third set and fired his 13th ace of the match to finish it in the next game. Cilic advanced to the final three times from nine quarterfinals he has reached this season, but is yet to win. Starace won four straight points in the tiebreaker to take the first set but the 13th-ranked Tipsarevic reeled off four consecutive games in the second set and five more in the third to secure his eighth semifinal appearance this season. Tipsarevic landed 12 aces in the match and is 7-2 in quarterfinals this season. Bogomolov, still looking for his first ATP title, broke Lajovic twice in the first set and three times in the second for his second consecutive victory over the 228th-ranked Serb.

Stosur routs Li to reach WTA Championships semis

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Both players came into the match knowing a win would put them in the last four. Stosur, the U.S. Open champion, was in dominant form against the French Open winner, dropping only the fifth game of the first set as she extended her career record against Li to 6-0. Stosur joined Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in qualifying from the White Group. Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova had already sealed her place in the semifinals from the Red Group before she beat Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a later match on Friday. Radwanska s failure to win a set meant that Vera Zvonareva will join Kvitova in the semifinals. No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki was eliminated Thursday from the Red Group. Stosur said she wanted to redeem herself after losing 6-2, 6-2 to Azarenka on Wednesday. "This was a really good turnaround from the match two nights ago," she said. "I played really well from start to finish." Li reached the Australian Open final in January and became the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam title when she won the French Open in June. She has won only seven matches since then. "Was up, down, up, down," Li said of her season. "Beginning of the year was like fantastic and fantastic start. And after Roland Garros I think I didn t win many matches. "I mean, up and down all the year, so I wish I could do the same level for next year."

Ramsay maintains lead at Andalucia Masters

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Scotland s Richie Ramsay shot a 1-over 72 to preserve his two stroke lead after the second round of the Andalucia Masters on Friday, when only four players managed to complete the halfway point under par. Ramsay reached par after a birdie at No. 11 before a wayward drive led to a bogey at the 18th to drop him to a 5-under overall total of 137. "It was a really tough day and I hung in there," Ramsay said. "I hit so many fairways and so many greens, but couldn t get the ball to drop. But my ball-striking was good and I ve got to take the positives out of it." France s Gregory Havret had a mixed day recording a seven for the second straight day after losing his drive at the 11th but his 71 left him in second ahead of Sergio Garcia, who carded a second straight 70 to sit three strokes behind in third. Garcia, coming off his first victory for three years, needs a first victory at Valderrama to secure a spot at next week s HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez finished the back nine in 4-under for a 70 that left him the only other player to go around Valderrama s famed cork tree-lined course under par after two rounds at 1-under. David Lynn of England was even-par after a second straight 71, while defending champion Graeme McDowell (73) and Martin Kaymer (75) were in a group at 4 over. Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal (74) made his first cut in nine starts.

Rooney looks to inspire United against former club

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England striker Wayne Rooney will return to former club Everton on Saturday looking to help Manchester United revive its stuttering Premier League title challenge at a ground where the team has struggled in recent seasons. United has slipped five points off the fierce pace set by Manchester City following a humbling 6-1 home defeat to its rival last weekend, which came a week after needing a late equalizer to rescue a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Rooney missed last season s fixture at Everton as United manager Alex Ferguson spared the striker a return to Goodison Park to protect him from the vitriol of the home fans following tabloid revelations about his private life. But Rooney, the league s joint top scorer with nine goals, is unlikely to be missing this time around as United looks to recover from its first defeat of the season and claim a first win at Everton since 2007. "It s always a difficult game at Everton," Ferguson said. "They all put a shift in and are always committed. "It s been a tough week for everyone. It was a bad result but we have to get over it. The fans, players, employees, staff - everyone was involved in the disappointment. We must kick on." Rooney has been unable to maintain his sensational early season form, when he scored nine times in five games, and is without a league goal in his last four matches. The United striker s lapse has allowed City striker Sergio Aguero to join Rooney as top goalscorer and the Argentina international will be confident of adding to his tally when the free-scoring league leaders host struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. City followed up its rout of United by powering to a 5-2 victory over Wolves in the last 16 of the League Cup on Wednesday. Wolves head into the return match of its four-day double-header with Roberto Mancini s team without a win in six games and languishing in 16th place, two points above the relegation zone. "The United game is past, it s history. Now we must focus on Wolves," Mancini said. "I remember the Arsenal team that went unbeaten (in the 2003-04 season) were very strong, an incredible team. I don t think we can do that this year. "Last year we lost at Wolves and here we won 4-3 but they had chances for 4-4 before the end. If we think we can play 50 per cent, not like against United, then we have a problem."

Jury to return Monday in Pakistan fixing trial

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The jury in the spot-fixing trial of former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif will continue their deliberations for a third day on Monday after being sent home on Friday. They will return to ponder their verdict in the case, in which both men have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat at gambling. Prosecutors allege that Butt, 27, and Asif, 28, conspired with British agent Mazher Majeed and bowler Mohammad Aamer to deliver three intentional no-balls during the Lord s Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. Over three weeks of evidence at Southwark Crown Court, the jury of six men and six women has heard that there are huge sums to be made by fixing parts of matches, known as spot-fixing, for gambling syndicates. Butt and Asif were charged after allegations about their involvement in spot-fixing appeared in the now-defunct News of the World tabloid, owned by Australian-born media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, shortly after the Lord s Test. The trial judge, Jeremy Cooke, finished his summing-up of the case on Thursday before sending the jury out to start their deliberations. Majeed and Aamer are facing the same charges but are not standing trial alongside Butt and Asif.

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Friday 28 October 2011

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