US to claim disputed dinosaur skeleton

NEW YORK: US authorities said they expect this week to seize a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton that was discovered in Mongolia more 65 years ago and now is stored in New York and at the center of an international legal dispute.
A federal judge in New York has signed a warrant that allows the US Department of Homeland Security to seize the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus bataar - an Asian cousin of the North American Tyrannosaurus rex - from Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

"We should have it by the end of the week," said Luis Martinez, a spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The seizure will be a "major step forward" for the government of Mongolia, which is claiming sovereign ownership and seeking the skeleton's return, said Robert Painter, a Houston attorney who represents Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia.

The skeleton - 8 feet (2.4m) tall and 24 feet (7.3m) long - has been stored in crates in New York City since Heritage sold it at auction to an unidentified buyer for more than $1 million on May 20.

At the request of the Mongolian government, a US District judge in Dallas issued a restraining order preventing the skeleton from being moved or the ownership transferred while the dispute is pending.

Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara filed a lawsuit seeking the forfeiture of the nearly intact skeleton and its return to the Mongolian government.

In New York, US District Judge Kevin Castel later issued an order to seize the fossil, ruling there was probable cause it was subject to forfeiture under federal laws.

"From a legal standpoint, the US government's lawsuit shifts the burden of proof from Mongolia to Heritage and others who might make a claim to its ownership," Painter said.

Heritage officials have said they will continue to cooperate with authorities. They say the skeleton was legally obtained and brought to auction by a reputable consignor.

"We believe our consignor purchased fossils in good faith, then spent a year of his life and considerable expense identifying, restoring, mounting and preparing what had previously been a much less valuable matrix of unassembled, underlying bones and bone fragments," Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, said in a statement. "We sincerely hope there is a just and fair outcome for all parties."

Federal officials said smugglers made false statements about the skeleton when it was imported into the United States from Britain in 2010. The skeleton did not originate in Britain nor was its value only $15,000 as claimed, they said.

The skeleton was discovered in 1946 during a joint Soviet-Mongolian expedition to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia's Omnogovi Province, Bharara said. Mongolia has had laws in place since 1924 prohibiting the export of dinosaur fossils that are considered national treasures and government property.

Heritage Auctions and the Mongolian government agreed in May to jointly investigate the ownership of the skeleton. Several paleontologists examined the skeleton several weeks ago and determined it was removed from the western Gobi Desert in Mongolia between 1995 and 2005. (Reuters)

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf elected PM

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party's Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. During the election for the prime minister in the National Assembly Ashraf secured 211 votes, whereas PML-N candidate Mehtab Abbasi received 89.

"Raja Pervez Ashraf is declared to be elected as prime minister of the Islamic republic of Pakistan," speaker Fehmida Mirza announced after the counting.

A total of 300 votes were cast in the election. 10 MNAs did not cast their votes.

Ashraf will take oath as the 25th prime minister of Pakistan later tonight (Friday) and was congratulated by President Asif Ali Zardari who said that Ashraf’s victory is an indication of the nation’s confidence in democracy.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is the fourth prime minister from the PPP succeeding Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani who was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

Earlier on Friday, Ashraf met with leaders of the PPP's coalition partners and secured their support for the election. Speaking to the media alongside PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervazi Elahi, Ashraf said that his main priority, if elected, would be to deal with and overcome the energy crisis.

As the National Assembly session began, JUI-F chief and PM candidate Maulana Fazlur Rehman appealed to the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings due to the demise of MNAs Fauzia Wahab and Zayed Khan. PPP leader Naveed Qamar rejected the suggestion saying this was not an ordinary session.
The Speaker, then decided to continue with the session.

Following this exchange, Fazlur Rehman announced to withdraw from the election adding that his party shall abstain from the process.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf Profile
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, born on December 26, 1950 in Sanghar is serving as Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian’s Secretary General. Ashraf is an agriculturist and businessman by profession. He obtained his undergraduate degree from University of Sindh and did his diploma from United Kingdom in Industrial Management.

Right after his graduation, Ashraf continued his profession in the agricultural sector until he joined center-left PPP. After being affiliated with largest political party of the country, Ashraf made Gujar Khan his new home. He has being elected twice as member of National Assembly from his Gujjar Khan. Furthermore, Ashraf served as the chairman of Social Action Program from 1994 to 1996.

Ashraf started his political drive in 1988 and participated in 1989 bye-elections. Ashraf made his appearance in the elections of 1990, 1993 and 1997. In national elections of 2002, Ashraf defeated PML (N)’s candidate Chaudhary Zaman by a huge margin. In 2008 elections, Ashraf defeated PML (Q)’s candidate Qasim Javed.

After PPP’s victory in 2008 elections, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf took the office as Minister of Water and Power. However, Ashraf was found accused in rental power corruption scam, on which he was reshuffled to the Ministry of Information and Technology. Court’s proceedings regarding the case are still in progress.

26 die in Kabul hotel attack

QARGHA LAKE: At least 15 civilians were killed when seven Taliban militants shot their way into a popular lakeside resort here and took scores of hostages, Afghan officials said on Friday. The seven attackers, a police officer and three private guards also died as Afghan security forces fought their way into the compound to end the siege.

The onslaught lasted nearly 11 hours as Afghan security forces tried to rescue hostages and the hotel’s other customers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Afghans drank alcohol there and that there was prostitution and dancing. “These acts are illegal and strictly prohibited in Islam,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman. He added that: “Women dancers were sexually misused there.”

Police officials described the sprawling resort at Qargha lake and the Spozhmai hotel, where the drama unfolded, as a daunting place to mount a rescue operation because it is wooded and easy for attackers to hide. In addition to the main hotel, there is at least one other hotel and numerous small cottages.

“The Afghan security forces managed to evacuate 250 to 300 customers at the hotel in the initial hours of the attack and in the morning we resumed our operation and so far we’ve managed to rescue 40 more hostages including women and children,” said General Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul police chief.

“We also rescued four men who were stuck in the water,” he said, referring to guests at the hotel who in the initial moments of the attack jumped into the lake. Because they could not swim, they had to cling to the stone sea wall, immersed in the chilly mountain waters until they were fished out by police in the morning.

This is not the first time the Taliban have attacked civilians. They stormed a branch of Kabul Bank in Jalalabad in early 2011, executing customers, and nearly a year ago they stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing at least eight people.

At least two of the attackers appear to have died when they detonated suicide vests they were wearing.

Beginning at dawn there was gunfire, and Afghan police officers were fighting with the attackers but trying to stage their counterattack, said Gen. Mohammed Zahir, head of the Kabul Criminal Investigation Division.

“The Spozhmai Hotel is not a military facility, it’s a civilian hotel,” General Zahir said. “We still do not know why the Taliban targeted the Spozhmai Hotel.”

General Zahir said that the attack began at 11:30 p.m. when the Taliban entered the hotel and “started shooting indiscriminately and injured a lot of civilians who were having a late dinner.”

“Some of the civilians managed to escape and some were taken hostage,” he said. By early morning, American helicopters were shooting flares and the area was swarming with Afghan National Police and army troops. More NATO forces were on the way, according to Afghan officials at the scene, and NATO officials confirmed that it was a joint operation.

The picturesque hotel is the centerpiece of the resort, which was once the property of Afghanistan’s royal family and is now owned by the government. About 10 miles from the capital, it is one of the few places in Kabul Province where people can go for a break from the crowded city streets. There are boats for rent and cottages for families, and the resort is popular with families on the weekly Friday holiday.

The lake is also a favorite spot for young Kabul residents who buy illegal alcohol and drink it in the picnic area

Play your tune as it's World Music Day

 

ISLAMABAD: Music lovers and those associated with music as a profession are celebrating World Music Day across the globe including Pakistan on Thursday to show respect for all forms of music.

Instrumentalists‚ singers‚ composers‚ ensembles‚ individual musicians‚ musicologists and others related to the field of music are marking the day with concerts‚ community events and other programs to highlight the value of music as part of life.

The 21st June has been designated as World Music Day‚ a day when world will celebrate the magical gift of music. To celebrate this day‚ local and amateur musicians are allowed and encouraged to perform their music in public spaces without any restriction in most parts of the world. The music lovers consider it as a fabulous day to celebrate the spirit of music in all its forms.

World Music Day began in France in 1982 and has since spread to Belgium‚ Britain‚ Luxembourg‚ Germany‚ Switzerland‚ Costa Rica‚ Israel‚ China‚ India‚ Lebanon‚ Malaysia‚ Morocco‚ Pakistan‚ Philippines‚ Romania‚ Colombia and other countries. (PPI)

Twitter sets off jitters due to ‘bug’

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter said a "cascading bug" caused outages Thursday affecting millions of users of the wildly popular site, and dismissed claims of a hacker attack.

The outage led to a barrage of complaints and comments, some serious and other ironic, which the company said underscored "how critical Twitter has become."

The on-again-off-again service led to a range of speculation and one claim of a denial of service attack, but Twitter said this was unfounded.

In a blog post, Twitter vice president of engineering Mazen Rawashdeh said the company learned around 1600 GMT "that Twitter was inaccessible for all Web users, and mobile clients were not showing new tweets."

He said an investigation "found that there was a cascading bug in one of our infrastructure components. This wasn't due to a hack or our new office or Euro 2012 or GIF avatars (animation which is banned by Twitter), as some have speculated today."

Rawashdeh said a cascading bug "isn't confined to a particular software element, but rather its effect 'cascades' into other elements as well. One of the characteristics of such a bug is that it can have a significant impact on all users, worldwide, which was the case today.

"As soon as we discovered it, we took corrective actions, which included rolling back to a previous stable version of Twitter."

He said a "full recovery" was made after about two hours and that a "comprehensive review" was underway.

But the outage nonetheless provoked users to vent on other social media sites, and to tweet about it when Twitter came back up.

"Twitters broke, my life has no meaning anymore," one user wrote on the social media website Tumblr during the outage.

Another wrote, "OMG TWITTER BROKE. I feel so alone right now."

The outage caused many users to tweet about the experience when the site became accessible.

"My boss shut down Twitter because he wanted me to get back to work. Feel free to kill him if you want," one tweet said.

Another said: "Twitter went down, I looked up & was like, who are these people in my house? Turns out I have a wife & a daughter."

And still another tweeted: "Unlike my ex-wife, Twitter came crawling back."

On Facebook, a member wrote: "Be honest. Did you spend most of Twitter being down desperately trying to tweet about Twitter being down?"

When word of the bug surfaced, one Twitter member said, "Oh great. Now I have to ask my exterminator whether he has a poison for 'cascaded bugs.'"

Twitter put a positive spin on this by boasting about how important the site has become in getting news and updates out quickly.

"We know how critical Twitter has become for you -- for many of us," said Rawashdeh.

"Every day, we bring people closer to their heroes, causes, political movements, and much more."

He reposted a tweet from user Arghya Roychowdhury which said, "OMG..twitter was down....closest thing to living without oxygen for most of us...."

"It's imperative that we remain available around the world, and today we stumbled. For that we offer our most sincere apologies and hope you'll be able to breathe easier now," Rawashdeh said.

Just after the outage, one tweet claimed credit for a so-called denial of service attack. (AFP)

Danish Kaneria to appeal lifetime ban

LONDON: Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said Friday he will appeal the lifetime ban handed down to him by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for his role in a spot-fixing scandal.

"I will definitely be doing an appeal. The people trust me. I'm an honest man. I've been playing cricket with passion and love. I have done nothing wrong," the 31-year-old told Sky Sports News.

Kaneria was given a life ban from English cricket on Friday for his involvement in the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing case.

Westfield was jailed for four months in February, but served two before being released in April, after admitting he accepted #6,000 ($9,346) to under-perform during a Pro40 match between Essex and Durham in 2009.

The now 24-year-old Westfield named Kaneria -- arrested with him in 2010 but released without charge -- as the link between bookmakers and players.

And an ECB panel disciplinary panel agreed Friday, saying: "We are left in no reasonable doubt that Danish Kaneria knowingly induced or encouraged Mervyn Westfield not to perform on his merits in the Durham match."

The panel said: "We regard Danish Kaneria as a grave danger to the game of cricket...Accordingly, we are unanimously of the view that the only appropriate sanction in relation to both charges is one of suspension for life and that is the sanction we impose."

In a damning indictment of 31-year-old Kaneria, the panel added his evidence "simply does not stand up to scrutiny and is plainly lies".

However, Kaneria, who has always maintained his innocence, said: "I'm very upset about this decision. For what reason they have convicted me I do not know.

"It is a very, very unfair decision against me. I've come all the way from Pakistan to say the truth.

"They (the ECB) don't have any proof against me. I don't know why they are saying this," he added after he, along with Westfield, was punished by a three-man panel chaired by lawyer Gerard Elias and featuring retired former England one-day international cricketer Jamie Dalrymple.

Westfield was given a five-year ban for bringing cricket into disrepute, a charge the seamer accepted, although he will be able to play club cricket in the final two years of his suspension. (AFP

26 die in Kabul hotel attack

QARGHA LAKE: At least 15 civilians were killed when seven Taliban militants shot their way into a popular lakeside resort here and took scores of hostages, Afghan officials said on Friday. The seven attackers, a police officer and three private guards also died as Afghan security forces fought their way into the compound to end the siege.

The onslaught lasted nearly 11 hours as Afghan security forces tried to rescue hostages and the hotel’s other customers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Afghans drank alcohol there and that there was prostitution and dancing. “These acts are illegal and strictly prohibited in Islam,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman. He added that: “Women dancers were sexually misused there.”

Police officials described the sprawling resort at Qargha lake and the Spozhmai hotel, where the drama unfolded, as a daunting place to mount a rescue operation because it is wooded and easy for attackers to hide. In addition to the main hotel, there is at least one other hotel and numerous small cottages.

“The Afghan security forces managed to evacuate 250 to 300 customers at the hotel in the initial hours of the attack and in the morning we resumed our operation and so far we’ve managed to rescue 40 more hostages including women and children,” said General Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul police chief.

“We also rescued four men who were stuck in the water,” he said, referring to guests at the hotel who in the initial moments of the attack jumped into the lake. Because they could not swim, they had to cling to the stone sea wall, immersed in the chilly mountain waters until they were fished out by police in the morning.

This is not the first time the Taliban have attacked civilians. They stormed a branch of Kabul Bank in Jalalabad in early 2011, executing customers, and nearly a year ago they stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing at least eight people.

At least two of the attackers appear to have died when they detonated suicide vests they were wearing.

Beginning at dawn there was gunfire, and Afghan police officers were fighting with the attackers but trying to stage their counterattack, said Gen. Mohammed Zahir, head of the Kabul Criminal Investigation Division.

“The Spozhmai Hotel is not a military facility, it’s a civilian hotel,” General Zahir said. “We still do not know why the Taliban targeted the Spozhmai Hotel.”

General Zahir said that the attack began at 11:30 p.m. when the Taliban entered the hotel and “started shooting indiscriminately and injured a lot of civilians who were having a late dinner.”

“Some of the civilians managed to escape and some were taken hostage,” he said. By early morning, American helicopters were shooting flares and the area was swarming with Afghan National Police and army troops. More NATO forces were on the way, according to Afghan officials at the scene, and NATO officials confirmed that it was a joint operation.

The picturesque hotel is the centerpiece of the resort, which was once the property of Afghanistan’s royal family and is now owned by the government. About 10 miles from the capital, it is one of the few places in Kabul Province where people can go for a break from the crowded city streets. There are boats for rent and cottages for families, and the resort is popular with families on the weekly Friday holiday.

The lake is also a favorite spot for young Kabul residents who buy illegal alcohol and drink it in the picnic area

Amsterdam has a 527-year-old house

AMSTERDAM: A 527-year-old home that is believed to be the oldest in Amsterdam has been discovered in the city's famous red-light district, officials said Saturday.

"We have discovered what is believed (to be) Amsterdam's oldest home, dating back to 1485," Boudewijn Oranje, an alderman for the city centre, told AFP.

The wooden structure of the historic house, situated in the Old Side district, lay hidden behind a facade built in the 1800s.

Two years ago, a fire broke out in the building used as a bar, causing extensive damage, Oranje said.

"A council inspector afterwards noticed that there was something special to the heavy wooden structure, which was barely damaged. Samples were taken and sent for testing in Germany," he said.

The tests revealed the home dated back to the 15th century.

Until now, Amsterdam's oldest home was believed to have dated from 1530, situated about a kilometre away.

Called the "wallen", the Dutch word for the banks of the city's old canals, the red-light district has been around since the 1400s, with prostitutes doing business with visiting sailors and tourists ever since. (AFP)

Alka sings late Mehdi Hassan's praises

KARACHI: Humbling herself down to an artiste who was still in the phase of learning, Bollywood singer Alka Yagnik Saturday said she was no one to comment on late Mehdi Hassan’s vocal excellence as she had herself grown up listening to his ballads, Geo News reported.

She said this while talking to Geo News after visiting Ghazal King Mehdi Hassan’s last resting place in Karachi along with Kaumar Sanu, another legendary voice from Indian music.

They said that Mehdi Hassan’s death marked an end of an epoch in the subcontinent’s music history.

“No one would ever be able to fill the vacuum created by his demise, he was one of his kind Ghazal singer”, said they in concert.

When asked about her favourite of Khan sabib's ghazals, Alka said she was in love with his "Dono Jahan Teri Mohabbat Main Har Kay, Woh Ja Raha Hay Koi Shab-e-Gham Guzar Kary" by famous poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Both the songsters had come to Pakistan to attend the last rites of Mehdi Hassan but could not get the security clearance for the same.

China to launch ambitious space mission

BEIJING: China is due to embark on its most ambitious space mission Saturday with the launch of a spacecraft that will propel three astronauts -- including the nation's first woman -- to the final frontier.

The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft is expected to take off on China's fourth manned space mission at 6:37 pm (1037 GMT) from the remote Gobi desert in the nation's northwest, in a bid to achieve its first manual space docking high above Earth.

The crew will be headed by Jing Haipeng, a veteran astronaut who has gone to space twice already. Liu Wang, who has been in the space programme for 14 years, is in charge of manual docking manoeuvres.

Liu Yang, 33, meanwhile, who has created a stir in the media and online for becoming China's first woman to travel to space, will be conducting aerospace medical experiments and other space tests.

The mission will last 10 days, during which the crew will perform experiments and the manual space docking -- a highly technical procedure that brings two vessels together in high speed orbit.

Successful completion of the space rendezvous -- which will see Shenzhou-9 attach itself to the Tiangong-1 module currently orbiting Earth -- will take China one step nearer to setting up its own space station in 2020.

The Asian powerhouse last year achieved a similar docking, but the mission in November was unmanned and the procedure was conducted remotely from Earth.

"The manual space rendezvous... is a huge test for astronauts' ability to judge spatial position, eye-hand coordination and psychological abilities," Jing told reporters ahead of the launch.

He added that the three would work well together after months of intense training that saw them rehearse the mission some 16 hours a day.

"One glance, one facial expression, one movement... we understand each other thoroughly," he said.

The crew has rehearsed the procedure more than 1,500 times in simulations, Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space programme, told reporters.

But more than the upcoming challenge, it is the inclusion in the crew of Liu Yang -- a trained pilot and major in the People's Liberation Army who began astronaut training two years ago -- that has captivated Chinese people.

China sent its first person into space in 2003 and has since conducted several manned missions, the latest in 2008, but has never yet included a woman.

6.4 quake hits off east coast of Japan

HONG KONG: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Monday jolted the sea area off the east coast of Honshu, the main island of Japan, US seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 31 kilometres (20 miles) and hit at 4:32 am (2032 GMT Sunday) some 140 kilometres east of the city of Sendai. (AFP)

France Socialists sweep parliament polls

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande's Socialists have won an absolute majority in Sunday's run-off parliamentary election, according to polling firm estimates obtained by AFP.

The Socialists' parliamentary bloc obtained between 312 and 326 seats -- far more than the 289 seats needed for a majority in the 577-seat National Assembly -- so will not need to rely on support from either the Greens or the far left. (AFP

Ronaldo double sends Dutch crashing out

KHARKIV: A double from captain Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Holland here on Sunday in their Euro 2012 Group B match, sending the 2010 World Cup finalists out of the tournament.

Ronaldo's goals - one in each half - saw the 2004 finalists progress to the last eight as they came from behind after Rafael van der Vaart had given the Dutch hope in the 11th minute with a stunning effort.

Ronaldo also laid to rest the criticism he had come under after failing to score in their opening two matches.

"This is for you my son," the 27-year-old Real Madrid star mouthed to the TV camera after his first goal.

It is the first time since the 1980 edition that the Dutch have gone out at the first hurdle - ironically also two years after they reached the World Cup final. (AFP)

UK: Ban lifted on 9-yr-old food critic

LONDON: A 9-year-old blogger won a food fight with authorities in her Scottish town Friday, after an online outcry prompted officials to lift a ban on posting photos of her school lunches.

Martha Payne's images of uninspiring school meals — one consisted of two croquettes, a plain cheeseburger, three slices of cucumber and a lollipop —drew international attention. The blog, set up about six weeks ago as a writing project and to help raise money for a school-meals charity, has drawn more than 2 million hits.

Martha, who lives in the coastal town of Lochgilphead, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) west of Edinburgh, gave each meal a "food-o-meter" rating, and offered an assessment of its contents.

"I'd really like to know where the chicken comes from," she wrote in an entry about chicken fajitas, "so I am going to write to the lady in charge to ask. I know it comes from a hen but I'd like to know where the hen lived."

Local officials weren't amused, and ordered the schoolgirl to stop taking pictures.

In a statement, Argyll and Bute Council said Payne's photos were misleading and had caused distress to cafeteria staff. The council was particularly irked by a report about the blog in Scotland's Daily Record newspaper headlined "Fire the Dinner Ladies."

The council complained of "unwarranted attacks on its schools catering service" and said the blog "misrepresented the options and choices available to pupils."

As a result, it said, "a decision has been made by the council to stop photos being taken in the school canteen."

Martha's father David Payne said the blog was never intended to make the food look unappetizing. It includes such positive assessments as "lunch was really nice today and it helped cheer me up."

"The last photograph of a meal at school that she blogged, she gave it 10 out of 10," Payne told the BBC.

The ban quickly became an online talking point Friday, with free speech group the Index on Censorship even weighing in on Payne's behalf. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted "Stay strong Martha" to his more than 2 million followers.

The Internet storm was quickly followed by an official U-turn. Council leader Roddy McCuish said he had ordered officials to lift the ban on cafeteria photos.

He praised Martha as "an enterprising and imaginative pupil."
"There is no place for censorship in this council and never will be whilst I am leader," McCuish said.

Amid the blaze of publicity, donations to Mary's Meals, the charity the blog had been promoting, climbed from 3,000 pounds ($4,700) to almost 20,000 pounds ($31,000) Friday.

Nokia launches 808 PureView for Rs 66900

Nokia launched Nokia 808 PureView, a 41 megapixel camera phone, in the Indian market priced at Rs 33,899. Nokia 808 PureView also features both Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Headphones technology, providing cinematic sound experience. In addition to superior still-imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and CD-like audio recording. The smartphone is also equipped with Nokia Belle operating system, 1.3 Ghz processor and an internal memory of 16GB.

Microsoft may talk tablets, TV on Monday

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft promised to make a "major" announcement on Monday that started the Internet buzzing with talk that it would involve taking on Apple iPad with tablets running on Windows software.

Speculation by technology news outlets ranged from Microsoft unveiling its own tablet computer to it beefing up online film, television or music offerings and using a partner's Windows-based tablet to demonstrate.

"This will be a major Microsoft announcement," the enigmatic invitation read. "You will not want to miss it."

The fact that the press event will be held at a yet-to-be disclosed venue in Los Angeles hinted heavily that entertainment industry content would be in the spotlight.

Microsoft might announce a deal to buy online video service Hulu and weave it into the Xbox Live online entertainment service linked to the Redmond, Washington-based company's leading Xbox 360 videogame consoles.

"It's in L.A., so they are going to talk about media," said independent Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle.

"It could be about hardware, but after the Kin failure and the Zune failure I can't picture the person at Microsoft who has the balls to pitch a Microsoft tablet."

Kin was a youth-oriented mobile phone from Microsoft that was pulled from the market after just weeks, while Zune was the longtime Apple rival's now-abandoned MP3 device that unsuccessfully challenged the iPod.

Enderle did expect some kind of hardware to be unveiled at the event, but thought it would most likely be related to Xbox or be made by partners -- with Samsung and Vizio high on the list of contenders.

News of the day could be an early release of Windows RT, the Microsoft operating system to power tablets or other mobile devices running on ARM chips, complete with gadget makers showing samples, according to the analyst.

"The lid on this event is extremely tight," Enderle said. "It clearly has a major hardware component to it."

Microsoft last week stepped up its quest to be at the heart of home entertainment by synching Xbox 360 videogame consoles to smartphones and tablets while adding more blockbuster content.

Microsoft introduced Xbox SmartGlass software for linking the consoles to iPhones, iPads, Android-powered gadgets and, of course, devices powered by the technology titan's new Windows 8 operating system. (AFP)

Another 'vampire' skeleton found in Bulgaria

Another centuries-old skeleton of a man who was subjected to a ritual to stop him from turning into a vampire was unearthed in central Bulgaria on June 12, archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov said.

Plight of Muslims perils Myanmar Spring

TAKEBI, Myanmar: This village in northwest Myanmar has the besieged air of a refugee camp. It is clogged with people living in wooden shacks laid out on a grid of trash-strewn lanes. Its children are pot-bellied with malnutrition.

But Takebi's residents are not refugees. They are Rohingya, a stateless Muslim people of South Asian descent now at the heart of Myanmar's worst sectarian violence in years. The United Nations has called them "virtually friendless" in Myanmar, the majority-Buddhist country that most Rohingya call home. Today, as Myanmar opens up, they appear to have more enemies than ever.

Armed with machetes and bamboo spears, rival mobs of Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists this month torched one another's houses and transformed nearby Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Rakhine, into a smoke-filled battleground. A torrent of Rohingyas has tried to flee Rakhine into impoverished Bangladesh, but most are being pushed back, a Bangladeshi Border Guard commander told Reuters on Thursday.

The fighting threatens to derail the democratic transition in Myanmar, a resource-rich nation of 60 million strategically positioned at Asia's crossroads between India and China, Bangladesh and Thailand. With scores feared dead, President Thein Sein announced a state of emergency on June 10 to prevent "vengeance and anarchy" spreading beyond Rakhine and jeopardizing his ambitious reform agenda.

Reuters visited the area just before the unrest broke out. The northern area of Rakhine state is off-limits to foreign reporters.

Until this month, Myanmar's transformation from global pariah to democratic start-up had seemed remarkably rapid and peaceful. Thein Sein released political prisoners, relaxed media controls, and forged peace with ethnic rebel groups along the country's war-torn borders. A new air of hope and bustle in Myanmar's towns and cities is palpable.

But not in Rakhine, also known as Arakan. It is home to about 800,000 mostly stateless Rohingya, who according to the United Nations are subject to many forms of "persecution, discrimination and exploitation." These include forced labor, land confiscations, restrictions on travel and limited access to jobs, education and healthcare.

Now, even as the state eases repression of the general populace and other minorities, long-simmering ethnic tensions here are on the boil - a dynamic that resembles what happened when multi-ethnic Yugoslavia fractured a generation ago after communism fell.

SUU KYI 'TIGHT-LIPPED'

Even the democracy movement in Myanmar is doing little to help the Muslim minority, Rohingya politicians say.

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi last week urged "all people in Burma to get along with each other regardless of their religion and authenticity." But she has remained "tight-lipped" about the Rohingya, said Kyaw Min, a Rohingya leader and one-time Suu Kyi ally who spent more than seven years as a political prisoner. "It is politically risky for her," he said.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win wouldn't comment on Suu Kyi's position, but said: "The Rohingya are not our citizens." Suu Kyi is now on a European tour that will take her to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 1991.

The violence could disrupt Myanmar's detente with the West, however. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 11 called for "Muslims, Buddhists, and ethnic representatives, including Rohingya . . . to begin a dialogue toward a peaceful resolution."

The United States suspended some sanctions on Myanmar, including those banning investment, in May as a reward for its democratic reforms. But the White House kept the framework of hard-hitting sanctions in place, with President Barack Obama expressing at the time concern about Myanmar's "treatment of minorities and detention of political prisoners."

The European Union, which also suspended its sanctions, said on Monday it was satisfied with Thein Sein's "measured" handling of the violence, which the president has said could threaten the transition to democracy if allowed to spiral out of control.

ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

Rohingya activists claim a centuries-old lineage in Rakhine, which like the rest of Burma is predominantly Buddhist. The government regards them as illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship. "There is no ethnic group named Rohingya in our country," immigration minister Khin Yi said in May.

Communal tensions had been rising in Myanmar since the gang rape and murder of a Buddhist woman last month that was blamed on Muslims. Six days later, apparently in retribution, a Buddhist mob dragged 10 Muslims from a bus and beat them to death.

Violence then erupted on June 9 in Maungdaw, one of the three Rohingya-majority districts bordering Bangladesh, before spreading to Sittwe, the biggest town in Rakhine. Scores are feared dead, and 1,600 houses burnt down.

One measure of the pressure the Rohingya are under is the growing number of boat people. During the so-called "sailing season" between monsoons, thousands of Rohingya attempt to cross the Bay of Bengal in small, ramshackle fishing boats. Their destination: Muslim-majority Malaysia, where thousands of Rohingya work, mostly illegally.

Last season, up to 8,000 Rohingya boat people - a record number - made the crossing, says Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, a Rohingya advocacy group based in Thailand. She has studied their migration patterns since 2006.

BANNED IN BANGLADESH

The violence in Rakhine could cause a surge in Rohingya boat people when the next sailing season begins in October, Rohingya leaders say. "The amount of boat people will increase and increase," said Abu Tahay, chairman of the National Democratic Party for Development, a Rohingya political party.

In what could be the start of a regional refugee crisis, many Rohingya are already attempting the shorter voyage to neighboring Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, like Myanmar, disowns the Rohingyas and has refused to grant them refugee status since 1992. Now, according to a Bangladeshi commander, hundreds have been turned away.

At Shah Pari, a Bangladeshi island on the Naf River dividing Bangladesh and Myanmar, Lieutenant Colonel Zahid Hassan of the Bangladesh Border Guard said the force has sent back 14 wooden country boats since the violence flared in early June, bearing a total of some 700 men, women and children.

Hassan said the boat people were given food, water and medicines before being turned back. His men are now holding back local Bangladeshi villagers and limiting how far fishermen can go out into the river to prevent them from helping would-be "illegal intruders." Peace has been restored since Myanmar imposed its state of emergency, he said, and his men are telling the boat people it is safe to return.

Asked to explain why majority-Muslim Bangladesh did not feel an obligation to take the Rohingyas in, he said: "This is an over-populated country. The country doesn't have the capacity to accommodate these additional people."

WAITING FOR DEMOCRACY

Government officials say they already harbor about 25,000 Rohingyas with refugee status, who receive food and other aid from the United Nations, housed in two camps in southeastern Bangladesh. Officials say there are also between 200,000 and 300,000 "undocumented" Rohingyas - with no refugee status and no legal rights. These people live outside the camps, dependent on local Bangladeshis in a poverty-plagued district for work and sustenance.

Among them is 48-year-old Kalim Ullah, a Rohingya father of three living in an unofficial camp where children bathe in a chocolate-brown pond. He fled here in 1992, after violence that followed the watershed 1990 vote won by Suu Kyi and overturned by the military. He holds up a hand to show a half-stump where his thumb had been before he says it was shot off by a Myanmar soldier.

"They tortured me and I was evicted from my house so we came to Bangladesh," he said. "Now I am waiting for repatriation, I am waiting for democracy in my own country."

Myanmar's neighbors have quietly pressed the country to improve conditions in Rakhine to stop the outflow of refugees. Perhaps as a result, Thein Sein's government this year began easing some travel restrictions, says Rohingya leader Kyaw Min. But these small gains look likely to be suspended or scrapped after the recent bloodshed.

The Rohingya in Myanmar are usually landless as well as stateless, and scratch a living from low-paid casual labor. Four in five households in northern Rakhine State were in debt, the World Food Program reported in 2011. Many families borrow money just to buy food.

Food insecurity had worsened since 2009, said the program, which called for urgent humanitarian assistance. A 2010 survey by the French group Action Against Hunger found a malnutrition rate of 20 percent, which is far above the emergency threshold set by the World Health Organization.

UNDER THE 'NASAKA'

The Rohingya are overseen by the Border Administration Force, better known as the Nasaka, a word derived from the initials of its Burmese name. Unique to the region, the Nasaka consists of officers from the police, military, customs and immigration. They control every aspect of Rohingya life.

"They have total power," says Abu Tahay, the Rohingya politician.

Documented human-rights abuses blamed on the Nasaka include rape, forced labor and extortion. Rohingya cannot travel or marry without the Nasaka's permission, which is never secured without paying bribes, activists say.

The former military government has in the past called these allegations "fabrications."

"There are hundreds of restrictions and extortions," says Rohingya leader Kyaw Min. "The Nasaka have a free hand because government policy is behind them. And that policy is to starve and impoverish the Rohingya."

Burmese officials say the tight controls on the borders are essential to national security. Speaking in Myanmar's parliament last September, immigration minister Khin Yi made no mention of alleged abuses, but said the Nasaka was vital for preventing "illegal Bengali migration" and cross-border crime.

'ANNIHILATE THEM'

At Takebi's market, an agitated crowd gathered before the violence erupted to tell a reporter of alleged abuses by the authorities and ethnic Rakhine: a Rohingya rickshaw driver robbed and murdered, extortion by state officials, random beatings by soldiers at a nearby army post. The stories couldn't be verified.

Some Burmese officials have betrayed bias against the Rohingya in public statements. Rohingya people are "dark brown" and "as ugly as ogres," said Ye Myint Aung, Myanmar's consul in Hong Kong, in a 2009 statement. He went on to extol the "fair and soft" complexions of Myanmar people like himself.

Last week, the state-run New Light of Myanmar published a correction after referring to Muslims as "kalar," a racial slur.

The sectarian hatred in Rakhine towns and villages is echoed online. "It would be so good if we can use this as an excuse to drive those Rohingyas from Myanmar," one reader of Myanmar's Weekly Eleven newspaper comments on the paper's website.

"Annihilate them," writes another.

A nationalist group has set up a Facebook page called the "Kalar Beheading Gang," which has almost 600 "likes."

Meanwhile, the Kaladan Press, a news agency set up by Rohingya exiles in the Bangladesh city of Chittagong, blamed the violence on "Rakhine racists and security personnel."

BOUND FOR MALAYSIA

Not far from Sittwe is Gollyadeil, a fishing village with a jetty of packed mud and a mosque that locals say dates back to the 1930s. The stateless Rohingya villagers here face fewer restrictions than their brethren in the sensitive border area to the north. They can marry without seeking official permission and travel freely around Sittwe district.

Even so, jobs are scarce and access to education limited, and every year up to 40 villagers head out to sea on Malaysia-bound boats. They each pay about 200,000 kyat, or $250, a small fortune by local standards. But the extended Rohingya families who raise the sum regard it as an investment.

"If they make it to Malaysia, they can send home a lot of money," says fishmonger Abdul Gafar, 35.

Many Rohingya in Myanmar depend upon remittances from Malaysia and Thailand. A Takebi elder with a white beard tinged red from betel-nut juice said he gets 100,000 kyat ($125) every four months from his son, a construction worker in Malaysia.

Remittances have lent a deceptive veneer of prosperity to Takebi, where a few houses have tin roofs or satellite dishes.

Ask shopkeeper Mohamad Ayub, 19, how many villagers want to leave Gollyadeil, and he replies, "All of us."

For every Rohingya who makes it to Malaysia, hundreds are blocked, or worse.

Many are arrested before even leaving Myanmar waters. Others are intercepted by the Thai authorities, who last year were still towing Rohingya boats back out to sea, Human Rights Watch reported, "despite allegations that such practices led to hundreds of deaths in 2008 and 2009."

"When someone tries to enter the country illegally, it's our job to send them back," says Major General Manas Kongpan, a regional director of Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command, which handles the boat people. "Thailand doesn't have the capacity to take them in, so people shouldn't criticize so much."

Sayadul Amin, 16, set sail in March 2012 in a fishing boat crammed with 63 people, a third of them boys and girls. The weather turned bad, and Sayudul's boat was pounded by waves.

"I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up," he said.

By day five, they ran out of water and his friend, also a teenager, died. They prayed over his body, he said, then tossed it overboard.

THE UNCOUNTED

The boat eventually ran aground somewhere on Myanmar's Andaman coast, where local villagers summoned the authorities to arrest the boat people.

The adults were jailed in the southern Myanmar town of Dawei, while immigration officials escorted Sayadul and the other minors back to Sittwe by bus. The journey took several days and he saw more of Myanmar than most Rohingya ever do. "There were satellite dishes on all the houses," he said with wonder.

On her historic visit to Myanmar last year, Hillary Clinton praised the country's leaders for trying to resolve decades-old wars between government troops and ethnic rebel armies. But the Rohingya stir far greater nationalist passions that could prove even more destabilizing and intractable than conflicts in Kachin State and other ethnic border regions.

Rohingya leaders have long called for the scrapping of the 1982 Citizenship Law, which was enacted by the former dictatorship and rendered stateless even Rohingya who had lived in Myanmar for generations.

"We are demanding full and equal citizenship," says Kyaw Min, the Rohingya leader.

Judging by the inflammatory rhetoric pervading Myanmar, that demand is unlikely to be met before next year's potentially controversial census.

The last one, in 1983, left the Rohingya uncounted.(Reuters)

Gaga in hot water over Bangkok concert

BANGKOK: First she made a joke about buying a fake rolex. Now Thailand's culture ministry has filed a complaint to police against Lady Gaga for misuse of the Thai flag during her show last month.

The ministry said the part of Lady Gaga's performance when she wore a traditional headdress and sat on a motorcycle in a skimpy outfit with a Thai flag trailing behind was "inappropriate and hurt Thai people's sentiment".

"We are not asking police to prosecute her but it's our normal procedure to file complaints to concerned agencies when we receive them," a senior ministry official, who declined to be named, said by telephone.

The ministry noted that the Thai national flag consisted of three colours -- red for the nation, blue for the revered monarchy and white for religion.

Gaga caused a stir soon after her arrival in Thailand last month by tweeting that "I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy fake Rolex," remarks that some Thais complained cast the kingdom in a negative light.

About 50,000 people attended her concert in Bangkok, which was part of a tour that sparked protests from religious hardliners in Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea.

England eliminate Sweden with 3-2 win

KIEV: England remained on course for a place in the knockout rounds of Euro 2012 after coming from behind to send Sweden crashing out of the tournament with a 3-2 victory here Friday.

Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck scored a well-taken winner for England in the 78th minute after the introduction of substitute Theo Walcott swung a see-saw Group D battle back in his side's favour.

England had got off to a dream start when recalled striker Andy Carroll headed them into a 23rd-minute lead.

But an own goal from Glen Johnson on 49 minutes followed by a header from Olof Mellberg in the 59th minute threatened to set up a disastrous night for Roy Hodgson's side.

However, the substitution of James Milner for Walcott changed the game. The Arsenal winger lashed in a 64th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 and then provided the run and pass which set up Welbeck's winner.

England's first ever competitive victory over the Swedes means they will qualify for the quarter-finals with only a point in their final group game against co-hosts Ukraine in Donetsk next Tuesday.

However, England manager Hodgson will want to see a marked improvement from his side if they are to secure the draw they need after a performance littered with errors and shaky defending.

England had started positively, Scott Parker forcing a fine save out of Andreas Isaksson after only seven minutes with a fine swerving effort from 20 yards that the Swedish keeper parried to safety.

Sweden meanwhile had to wait until 20 minutes before threatening the England goal, captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic letting fly with a long range shot that was blocked comfortably by Joe Hart.

For a while it looked as if England's familiar failings of conceding possession too cheaply and poor delivery would be costly.

After successive crosses from Ashley Young and Milner failed to meet their targets, captain Steven Gerrard had clearly seen enough on 23 minutes.

Seizing possession in midfield the England skipper looked up to curl in a pinpoint long-range diagonal ball which the twisting Carroll met with a thunderous header that gave Isaksson no chance.

England ought to have done better again on 36 minutes when Ashley Cole played in Young with a first-time pass only for the Manchester United man to miscontrol and lash a low shot wide.

Sweden were forced to look for openings on the break and threatened to score when Ibrahimovic dispossessed the careless Johnson and played in Kim Kallstrom whose shot flew over.

England's positive first half display came unstuck, however, within five minutes of the restart as a rejuvenated Sweden dominated play.

The equaliser came after an Ibrahimovic free-kick bounced back off the wall and was played back to an unmarked Mellberg being played onside by Johnson.

The bearded centre-half's shot beat Hart and Johnson was unable to scramble out of his own net. Mellberg claimed it, but the equaliser was ruled an own-goal by Johnson.

England were rocking and it got worse for Hodgson's men on 59 minutes as Sweden went 2-1 up. Sebastian Larsson swung in a curling free-kick and shambolic defending in the England defence allowed Mellberg to nod home Sweden's second.

Milner, who had capped a poor evening by conceding the free-kick which led to Sweden's second, was then promptly hauled off for Walcott.

The Arsenal winger made an immediate impact and within minutes England were level, Walcott's shot from just outside the area catching Isaksson off-balance to make it 2-2.

Sweden continued to cause England problems on the break and Ibrahimovic forced Hart to dive at full-stretch to turn around a 76th-minute effort.

But two minutes later Walcott rescued England again, darting into the box with an electrifying burst to cross for Welbeck, who flicked in a deft finish with the back of his heel to make it 3-2.(AFP)

Now, a two-wheeled, self-balancing car!

Described as a "motorbike-car" hybrid, the Lit C-1 two wheeler uses a set of futuristic electronic gyroscopes to ensure it remains upright and balanced, similar to the technology used by Seaway scooters and the recent Honda UNI-CUB.

Nokia axes10,000 more of its employees

PARIS: Nokia plans to cut 10,000 more jobs, bringing the total to one in three staff, as it loses market share to cellphone rivals Apple and Samsung and burns through cash, raising new fears over its future.

In a second profit warning in nine weeks, Nokia said on Thursday that its phone business would post a deeper-than-expected loss in the second quarter due to tougher competition, which it expected to continue.

Once the world's dominant mobile phone provider, Nokia was wrongfooted by the rise of smartphones and is struggling to keep up with Apple, Samsung and Google. It is also losing market share in cheaper, more basic phones.

Chief Executive Stephen Elop is placing hopes of a turnaround on a new range of smartphones called Lumia, which use largely untried Microsoft Corp software. But Lumia sales have so far been slow, exasperating investors who have seen its stock crash more than 70 percent since it announced the software switch in February 2011.

"The job cuts and profit warning underline the seriousness of the challenges Nokia is facing, particularly in light of the eye-watering competition from Apple and Samsung," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.

Nokia, whose cash position is increasingly scrutinized by investors, also said restructuring-related cash outflows would be around 650 million euros in the remaining three quarters of 2012 and around 600 million in 2013.

With the cost of Nokia's debt rising, the most bearish of analysts in a Reuters poll last month said the company could even be at risk of default if it fails to slow its cash burn.

Over the past five quarters, the onetime darling of mobile telcoms has eroded its cash pile by 2.1 billion euros - a rate that would wipe out its entire 4.9 billion reserves in a couple of years.

Analysts at JP Morgan said on Thursday they expect operating losses, combined with restructuring outflows, to leave Nokia with 1.63 billion euros cash at the end of next year.

"This is not a comfort zone for a company as large as Nokia," the analysts said.

Nokia's five-year credit default swaps (CDS) were at a new all-time high of 933 basis points on Thursday according to Markit. This means it costs $933,000 annually to buy $10 million of protection against a Nokia default using a five-year CDS contract and implies a default probability of 55 percent.

Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu said he expects the company to have minimal net cash position at the end of its restructuring.

"We therefore see continued potential downside to the recent stock price and maintain our underperform rating," Ferragu said.

Shares in Nokia were down 16 percent to 1.87 euros, below the psychologically important 2 euros mark, not seen since 1996.

Analysts have said that even with the dramatic fall in the share price, the worsening outlook made it hard to judge how much lower the shares could go.

"I won't comment on the stock price anymore, since it's been seen over and over, that there is no definitive bottom," said Evli analyst Mikko Ervasti.

"People are worried over Lumia sales. I think expectations for the third quarter will be cut," said Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies.

The 10,000 job cuts, which include the closure of Nokia's only plant in its homeland Finland, bring total planned cuts at the group since Elop took over as chief executive in 2010 to more than 40,000 staff, or every third worker.

Of the latest job cuts, 3,700 will take place in Finland, where the firm will also close its plant in Salo - the last major cellphone manufacturing site in western Europe, the cradle of the global industry.

"This is a major blow. This is due to the operational mistakes made already during the previous CEOs. Maybe the signs of success are running low for Elop too," said Antti Rinne, chairman of labor union Pro.

Nokia said it expects its operating margin in the second quarter to be below the negative 3 percent level reported in the first quarter due to pressure on its smartphone business. It previously forecast it would be similar to or below that level.

On average analysts forecast the second-quarter phone unit margin to be at -4.6 percent, narrowing to -2.2 percent in the third quarter.

Nokia also said it would sell luxury phone business Vertu to venture firm EQT and revamp its management team. (Reuters)

China hits back at US criticisms at WTO

GENEVA: China has rejected US criticisms during a review of its trade policies at the World Trade Organization and used the occasion to suggest many US accusations were not only groundless but in some areas hypocritical.

US Ambassador to the WTO Michael Punke levelled a wide-ranging salvo of criticisms during the two-day Trade Policy Review (TPR), which every WTO member has to undergo on a periodic basis, and said China was falling back into a "tighter embrace of state capitalism".

But China swatted aside many of the criticisms, which included complaints about its failure to disclose subsidies and a lack of transparency and intellectual property enforcement.

China's Assistant Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua said he regretted that during the TPR process some WTO members had deemed China was practising state capitalism.

"The term cannot be found in ... WTO documents. It has nothing to do with the TPR or WTO rules. We strongly believe TPR should not be abused for the purpose of domestic politics," he said.

Alongside the oral debate, China answered more than 1,720 written questions in a document running to 442 pages, on topics ranging from its plans to develop shale gas to a promise to set up a deposit insurance scheme as soon as possible.

In the internal WTO document seen by Reuters on Thursday, some questions submitted by the United States elicited barbed comments. Others, such as the US allegation that the state bodies overseeing China's economy provide economic support to national champions in key industries, prompted flat denials.

A US demand for more transparency fell on stony ground, with China saying the commitments to transparency cited by the United States were outside the WTO's remit.

"The US never fulfills any of the transparency commitments made to China," it said.

Quizzed about its apparent failure to provide ample time for other countries to comment on changes to food safety laws, China said: "The problems raised ... do not exist. In addition, China has noticed that the U.S. has failed to provide ample time ...
We hope that the US could give more attention to honoring its own transparency obligations."

US "MISTAKEN"

The United States challenged China in September last year to come clean on 200 subsidies that appeared to be prohibited by the WTO. On Tuesday, Ambassador Punke said WTO rules meant China should have responded by notifying the trade body of the subsidies promptly, but it had so far notified only 10.

But China's response to the US written question was dismissive, and said there were offering differing opinions about what constituted an illegal subsidy.

"On a lot of items in the U.S. submission, China actually has already notified in its submitted notifications, but it seems to China that the US has not been able to recognize those notified ones, in particular when they are implemented at the sub-central government level," it said.

"Rather, the US has mistaken such implementations by our sub-central governments of the notified central programs as locally-initiated subsidies."

Nevertheless, China pledged to accelerate its efforts to notify the WTO of local subsidies in future, having so far concentrated its efforts on notifying central subsidy programmes, an area where it had made "substantial progress".

In response to a US complaint about Chinese farmers getting unfair advantage over importers, because they do not have to pay value-added tax if they sell direct to consumers, China said other countries did the same thing.

Its policy only allowed small-scale exemptions, for "farmers who sell their own products like a kilogram of potatoes in an open air market", and VAT would be impossible to administer.

China did, however, promise that later this year it would raise its bid to gain entry to the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement, a subset of the WTO whose members open their state contracts to each other's companies, markets that are potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Bringing China on board would be a huge boost to the agreement, but it has so far underwhelmed the existing members with the amount of its spending it is willing to open up.

But it resisted a US call to include local governments, which account for 93 percent of procurement spending, saying it was up to those local governments to decide. (Reuters)

World's largest marine parks

By AFP SYDNEY: Australia on Thursday announced plans to create the world's largest network of marine parks to protect ocean life, with limits placed on fishing and oil and gas exploration off the coast.

The new reserves would cover 3.1 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles), or more than one-third of Australian waters, taking in significant breeding and feeding grounds.

The announcement, after years of planning and consultation, came ahead of the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development next week in Brazil, which Environment Minister Tony Burke and Prime Minister Julia Gillard will attend.

"It's time for the world to turn a corner on protection of our oceans," Burke said in the lead-up to the meeting, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit that declared the environment a priority. "And Australia today is leading that next step."

"This new network of marine reserves will help ensure that Australia's diverse marine environment, and the life it supports, remain healthy, productive and resilient for future generations."

The network will boost the number of reserves from 27 to 60, expanding protection of creatures such as the blue whale, green turtle, critically endangered populations of grey nurse sharks, and dugongs.

While some limits will be placed on where energy companies can work, tracts of coast off Western Australia, where Shell and Woodside Petroleum recently won permits, will still be open to oil and gas exploration.

It follows warnings from UNESCO that the heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef was at risk of being declared "in danger" due to an unprecedented resources boom which will see a massive increase in ship traffic and offshore industries.

The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed the reserves initiative, calling it "a historic achievement", but said it was concerned that some areas remained under threat.

"Although the reserve network bans oil and gas exploration in the Coral Sea, the north west region has been left vulnerable to these threats," said chief executive Don Henry.

The Wilderness Society called the announcement a first step, and said it was "clear that further marine sanctuaries will need to be put in place."

"Our oceans are under constant pressure from trawling, overfishing, oil and gas developments and seabed mining," said marine campaign manager Felicity Wishart.

But fishermen were up in arms, claiming coastal communities would be ruined, thousands of jobs lost and the Aus$2 billion aquaculture industry seriously impacted.

The Australian Marine Alliance, which has conducted a cost analysis, claim 60 regional communities will be affected, 36,000 jobs lost and 70-80 trawler operators displaced, while the cost of seafood imports will soar.

"This is devastating and those that will suffer most will be coastal communities," said Dean Logan, head of the alliance which represents commercial and recreational fishers.

Burke said around Aus$100 million in compensation would be available to the fishing industry.

"Over the coming months, the government will consult the fishing industry and fisheries management agencies on the design and implementation of a fisheries adjustment assistance package," he said.

A final consultation period of 60 days is now scheduled with the new reserves expected to be officially declared before the end of the year.

Nadal's winning return to grasscourts

HALLE, Germany: Newly-crowned French Open champion Rafael Nadal made a winning return to grass courts on Thursday, defeating

Slovakia's Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-1 in the second round of the Halle ATP tournament.

The Spanish world number two, playing at the German venue for the first time since 2005, will tackle German eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals.

Kohlschreiber, the defending champion, made the last eight with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3 win over Poland's Lukasz Kubot.

Nadal, who captured a record seventh Roland Garros title on Monday, has won all his eight career meetings with the German.

"In the second set, I served better, the forehand had more control, I played more aggressive. I'm happy to be through," said Nadal.

"I haven't played here for a long time. As I said, every hour I spend on the court works for me on the grass because I haven't had a lot of time to adapt. Tomorrow is a big challenge because Philipp is the defending champion.

"He's a very complete player. He does everything well."

Top-seeded Nadal last played this tournament seven years ago, fresh from his first French Open title but suffered a rude awakening on his debut on grass, losing in the first round to Alexander Waske.

Nadal took just 75 minutes to complete his fourth win against Lacko, who is one of the few players on tour to have won a set to love against the Spaniard, achieving the feat in Doha earlier this year. (AFP)

Khar persists on apology for Nato strike

KABUL: Pakistan on Thursday called again for an apology for a Nato cross-border strike that killed two dozen of its soldiers last year before it considers reopening supply routes to foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, speaking to reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul, also rejected reports that Pakistan was haggling with the United States over transportation fees for the supplies.

“Pakistan still wants an unconditional apology and the reassurance that the Salala type of incident does not happen again,” she said, referring to the border area where the incident took place.

The supply lines for goods shipped to the Pakistani port of Karachi and trucked to Afghanistan have been vital for US-led forces in their involvement in the landlocked country, a conflict now in its eleventh year.

Now, the routes are seen as important for the withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan before the end of 2014.

The United States has rebuffed Pakistan’s demands for an apology for the air strike in November and last week Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the United States was at the limits of its patience over the existence of safe havens for militants in Pakistan who were carrying out attacks in Afghanistan.

Khar said Pakistan was not supporting any militant group and that it was doing whatever it could to advance the peace process in Afghanistan which she said must be “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned.” (Reuters)

All 14 killed in Peru helicopter crash: official LIMA: All 14 people aboard a helicopter that went down in the mountains of southern Peru, including eight South Koreans, are dead, authorities said Saturday. "We are enroute to the accident site where the helicopter and the bodies are located," prosecutor Cesar Guevara, of the town of Urcos in the southern department of Cusco, told N television by phone. Earlier on Thuesday it was reported that a helicopter carrying 11 South Koreans, two Austrians and a Peruvian pilot had gone missing in the mountains of southern Peru, police. The helicopter left the city of Mazuco in the southeastern region of Madre de Dios late on Wednesday and set off across the Andes for the tourist hub of Cusco but never showed up at its destination. Officials voiced hoped that the helicopter, run by Heli Cusco, had made an emergency landing in the remote Hualla Hualla region, which is at an altitude of 4,725 meters (15,500 feet) some 140 kilometers (90 miles) from Cusco. "We have information from the company that the aircraft was carrying 11 South Koreans, two Austrians and a Peruvian," Cusco police chief General Hector Dulanto told AFP. "We hope the helicopter was able to make an emergency landing." The Interior Ministry denied reports that the passengers had died. "No national police official has provided such information, as the search and rescue teams have not yet reached the area where the helicopter is believed to be located," it said in a statement. A snow storm in the area was slowing down the rescue effort, the interior ministry said, highlighting "particular weather and geographic conditions that present challenges for the operation." The interior ministry said a national police mountain patrol was waiting at Cusco airport for the storm to clear before setting off. "Operations from the air have not been possible so far due to weather conditions preventing the departure of the helicopter that will carry the crew," said Heli Cusco. Dulanto said "snowfall at dawn hampered the progress of the patrols," adding that a police helicopter would join the rescue effort once the storm had passed. Local media said the South Korean and Austrian passengers were tourists likely headed for Machu Picchu, the fabled 15th century Incan city perched on a mountain high above the town of Aguas Caliente in the Cusco region. Hundreds of thousands of tourists descend on the Cusco region every year to visit Machu Picchu. A small plane crashed in February 2010 during an aerial tour of the famed Nazca Lines archeological site in southern Peru, killing the Peruvian pilot and all six tourists on board. Five French tourists were killed in April 2008 when their plane crashed near the Nazca Lines, prompting the French government to warn tourists against flying in the country -- a recommendation criticized at the time by Lima.

China's manned space launch this month

BEIJING: China will launch three astronauts this month to dock with an orbiting experimental module, and the crew might include its first female space traveler, a government news agency said Saturday.

A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft was moved to a launch pad in China's desert northwest on Saturday for the mid-June flight, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing an space program spokesman.

The three-member crew will dock with and live in the Tiangong 1 orbital module launched last year, Xinhua said. The government has not said how long the mission will last.

Xinhua cited Niu Hongguang, deputy commander in chief of the manned space program, as saying the crew "might include female astronauts."

The government said in 2010 that two female air force pilots had joined the astronaut program but has disclosed no other details.

China's space program has made steady progress since a 2003 launch that made it only the third nation to put a man in space on its own. Two more manned missions have followed, one including a space walk.

China completed its first space rendezvous in November when the unmanned Shenzhou 8 docked with the Tiangong 1 by remote control. Tiangong 1 was launched on Sept. 29.

Over the next few days, scientists will test the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, the Long March 2F rocket and ground systems, Xinhua said, citing the spokesman.

During the flight, one crew member will remain aboard the Shenzhou 9 "as a precautionary measure in case of emergency" while the others enter Tiangong 1, Xinhua said.

China has scheduled two space docking missions for this year and plans to complete a manned space station around 2020 to replace Tiangong 1. At about 60 tons, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the 16-nation International Space Station.

Beijing launched its independent space station program after being turned away from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections. Washington is wary of the Chinese program's military links and of sharing technology with an economic and political rival.

Thief steals 400,000 toothpicks in US

ATHENS, Georgia: Who says toothpicks are not valuable?

Police in Georgia are trying to figure out who stole about 400,000 toothpicks worth nearly $3,000 from a manufacturer in Athens.

Police tell the Athens Banner-Herald (http://bit.ly/KGnzJJ ) someone took six cases from Armond's Manufacturing Company Inc. about two weeks ago, and another seven cases disappeared last weekend.
Each case contains 288 packages of 100 toothpicks.

Police say there were no signs of forced entry. The owner believes a current or former employee might be responsible.

Two employees told the owner they saw a man selling containers of Armond's toothpicks at a flea market last weekend.

Pakistan outplayed by S Lanka in 2nd ODI

PALLEKELE: Paceman Thisara Perera bagged a career-best 6-44 and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a century as Sri Lanka posted an easy 76-run win over Pakistan in the second one-day international here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts, who scored a challenging 280-4, bowled Pakistan out for 204 in the day-night match despite an impressive 96 by opener Azhar Ali to level the five-match series 1-1

Opener Dilshan top-scored with an unbeaten 119 for his 13th one-day hundred, hitting one six and 11 fours in his brilliant 139-ball knock to help his team set a stiff target.

Azhar, playing only his sixth one-dayer, looked set to complete his maiden one-day hundred before he was bowled by paceman Nuwan Kulasekara. He cracked 12 fours in his 119-ball knock.

Man-of-the-match Perera got his first wicket when he held a superb one-handed return catch to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez (14) before removing Younis Khan (four) and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (27) to reduce Pakistan to 127-3.

He took three more wickets to complete his third haul of five or more wickets in an innings.

Sri Lanka earlier rejigged their batting order after losing the opening one-dayer by six wickets on Thursday, with Upul Tharanga returning as an opener and skipper Mahela Jayawardene coming in at number five.

The hosts batted steadily after winning the toss as Dilshan added 70 runs for the third wicket with Dinesh Chandimal (32) and 86 for the next with Jayawardene (53), who opened in the last game.

Dilshan reached his century in the 43rd over when he pulled paceman Umar Gul for a single and then hit fast bowler Sohail Tanvir over mid-wicket for the first six of the match.

Sri Lanka scored 56 runs in the last six overs, with Perera smashing two sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 24 off just 14 balls.

Jayawardene was bowled by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal soon after completing his half-century, hitting eight fours in his brisk 45-ball knock.

Off-spinner Hafeez, Tanvir and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi were the other wicket-takers for Pakistan.

Tanvir struck in his fourth over when he had Tharanga (18) caught behind and then Hafeez held a return catch to remove Kumar Sangakkara (18) with his first delivery.

But there was no stopping Dilshan, who continued to gather runs comfortably and completed his half-century with a four off Afridi.

Pakistan made one change from the team which won the first match as they brought in debutant paceman Rahat Ali in place of injured Mohammad Sami, while Sri Lanka retained the side.

The third one-dayer will be played in Colombo on Wednesday. (AFP)

New diabetes drug tops older therapiesom

NEW YORK: An experimental treatment for type 2 diabetes developed by Johnson & Johnson demonstrated greater reduction in blood sugar than Merck & Co's Januvia and an older common treatment, glimepiride, according to data from a pair of late stage clinical trials.

The J&J drug, canagliflozin, also led to significantly greater weight loss than both of the other drugs and far fewer incidents of hypoglycemia, or potentially dangerous drops in blood sugar levels, than glimepiride, a member of the sulfonylurea class of medicines.

Weight loss is an especially attractive effect as obesity is a leading cause of type 2 diabetes and some older medicines cause weight gain.

Canagliflozin, belongs to a new class of diabetes treatments called SGLT2 inhibitors that work by blocking reabsorption of glucose by the kidney and increases glucose excretion in the urine to lower blood sugar.

The data from the two 52-week studies, presented on Saturday at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) meeting in Philadelphia, are part of a massive approval application J&J submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week that comprised nine separate Phase III trials involving more than 10,000 patients. If approved it would be the giant healthcare conglomerate's first diabetes medicine.

"There are clearly some unmet needs in diabetes to get glucose control. Hypoglycemia is a big limitation and right now we don't have effective weight loss therapy, so this class of drugs clearly provides clinical benefits," said Dr. William Cefalu, the primary researcher on the glimepiride study.

"This would be another viable option, another tool in the tool box," Cefalu said of canagliflozin.

In the 755-patient study comparing 300 milligram once-daily canagliflozin to Januvia, the J&J drug provided statistically significant reductions in A1C levels -- a commonly used measure of blood sugar over time.

Canagliflozin led an average drop in A1C levels of 1 percent compared with a drop of 0.6 percent for Januvia, a DPP4 inhibitor known chemically as sitagliptin. Some 47 percent of canagliflozin patients got A1C down to the ADA guideline of 7 or less compared with 35 percent of Januvia patients, J&J said.

The J&J drug led to an average weight loss of 2.5 percent, or about 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) compared with virtually no impact on weight for the Merck drug. The weight loss for canagliflozin was even more pronounced in the other study.

Patients in the study were already taking metformin -- the most common first treatment option after diet and exercise fails -- and a sulfonylurea.

The rate of hypoglycemia was similar and over 40 percent for both groups, likely largely due to the solfonylureas, which have been associated with high rates of hypoglycemia.

More patients dropped out of the study due to loss of glycemic control in the Januvia group -- 22.5 percent versus 10.6 percent. The rate of serious side effects was low and similar for both drugs, but discontinuation due to serious side effects was higher for canagliflozin -- 5.3 percent vs 2.9 percent.

STRIKING WEIGHT LOSS

The 1,450-patient canagliflozin versus glimepiride trial studied two doses of the J&J drug -- 100 mg and 300 mg -- in subjects already on maximally effective doses of metformin.

A1C reductions were nearly identical for glimepiride and the lower dose of the J&J drug. The 300 mg dose proved to be statistically superior with an average A1C reduction of 0.93 pct compared with 0.81 for glimepiride.

Glimepiride patients on average added about 1 percent to their weight after 52 weeks. The 100 mg canagliflozin led to a 4.2 percent weight reduction and there was a 4.7 percent weight reduction for 300 mg patients, or a difference of about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) versus the older drug.

There was also a big difference in incidence of hypoglycemia in the study. The percentage of patients with at least one episode of hypoglycemia was 4.9 for 300 mg dapagliflozin, 5.6 percent for 300 mg and 34.2 percent for glimepiride.

Aside from glucose control, "the other striking thing was the weight loss and the lack of hypoglycemia," said Cefalu, head of diabetes at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.

In both studies, the J&J drug led to increases in both good and bad cholesterol and a small but favorable decrease in blood pressure.

Canagliflozin was also associated with higher rates of genital infections, urinary tract infections and need for increased urination.

Researchers, however, did not run into concerns over liver damage that contributed to the FDA rejection of dapagliflozin, a drug from AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb that belongs to the same class as the J&J drug.

"We reported some favorable reduction in liver enzymes," Cefalu said.