Hillary Clinton: China crackdown 'a fool's errand'

Mrs Clinton told visiting Chinese officials the US was concerned about the human rights situation there



US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticised China's crackdown on dissent as "a fool's errand", saying Beijing is trying to halt history.


In an interview with The Atlantic, Mrs Clinton also called the nation's human rights record "deplorable".
She defended US dealings with Beijing, saying: "We live in the real world."
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says Mrs Clinton seemed to suggest the Chinese system itself would collapse and that democracy was inevitable.
The article quotes Mrs Clinton as saying last month that China's leaders were "worried" that the wave of pro-democracy protests overtaking the Middle East would spread east to China.
"They're trying to stop history, which is a fool's errand," she said. "They cannot do it, but they're going to hold it off as long as possible."
China-US talks

Since February, China has detained hundreds of pro-democracy activists, lawyers and writers and has clamped down on news media reporting on the Middle East protests.
Mrs Clinton's remarks were published as US and Chinese officials held high-level strategic and economic talks in Washington.
At the opening of the meetings on Monday, Mrs Clinton said in a speech that the US remained concerned about the human rights situation in China.
"We know over the long arch of history that societies that work toward respecting human rights are going to be more prosperous, stable, and successful," she told Chinese officials.
"That has certainly been proven time and time again, but most particularly in the last months."
Criticism of China's human rights record had been muted at the beginning of the Obama administration but has become increasingly more vocal, our correspondent says.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13353199

China's trade surplus beats forecasts, as yuan in focus

China's currency, the renminbi, has been a point of dispute between China and other countries.




China's trade surplus in April was nearly four times bigger than expected, with exports far exceeding imports.



The trade surplus was $11.4bn (£6.9bn), according to the customs agency, whereas analysts had expected a figure of about $3bn.
In March, China reported an unexpected trade surplus of $140m.
The news comes during US-China talks on trade relations and will put the issue of the Chinese currency in the spotlight.
Many in the US, especially exporters, argue that China's currency is undervalued, making Chinese goods highly competitive in world markets.
China's exports grew 29.9% in April from a year earlier, while import growth slowed to 21.8% year on year.
"Today's trade data shows that Chinese exporters continue to benefit from a supportive exchange rate," said Brian Jackson from Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.
"This number will likely add to the pressure from Washington for Beijing to allow faster currency appreciation, but more importantly should persuade Chinese policy-makers that a stronger yuan can be tolerated by the economy and is warranted as part of their efforts to curb price pressures."
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China was making progress "towards a more flexible exchange rate".
Rebalancing trade?

China reported a trade deficit of $1.02bn for the first three months of the year.
Some analysts say that government efforts to rebalance the economy by boosting domestic demand could cut down the full-year surplus.
"I think the trade surplus will continue to shrink as a share of the country's [gross domestic product], and China is seeing a more balanced trade structure," said Du Zhengzheng from Bohai securities in Beijing.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13343309

Arnold Schwarzenegger and wife Maria Shriver separate

Mr Schwarzenegger and Ms Shriver have been married for 25 years



Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have said they are separating after 25 years of marriage.


"After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision," the two said in a statement.
They said they were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and would also continue to parent their four children together.
They did not provide further details.
"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," Mr Schwarzenegger and Ms Shriver said in the statement issued by Mr Schwarzenegger's spokesman.
Mr Schwarzenegger finished a seven-year run as California governor in January.
Ms Shriver, a member of the Kennedy dynasty, left her job as a TV reporter when her husband was elected.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13343348

Why Newt Gingrich is worth watching

Newt Gingrich is known for his intellect but also his messy past personal life

The life cycle of the newt has three distinct phases. Following the pattern of his namesake (more formally known as Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae), Mr Gingrich is about to enter a new incarnation. But can a new Newt burst free of all the negatives that have built up over his career and emerge as the man to take on President Barack Obama in 2012?

Consider.
Newt Gingrich's greatest triumph, his claim to fame, was a profound failure that damaged his party.
Social conservatives are suspicious about the messy end to two of his three marriages.
Critics say he's a hypocrite and his latest defence of his sexual behaviour has seemed risible.
He's by no means alone in his harsh attacks on Mr Obama, but some feel it is too calculated, too crude, for a one-time professor.
But in an uninspiring field, he is at least interesting.
Newt Gingrich became a public figure as leader of the "Republican Revolution" in Congress in 1994 when Bill Clinton was president. He was the main author of the initially highly successful Contract With America. The clashes between the president and the leader of the House over America's budget were full of personal invective and tumbled over the brink into a government shutdown. The public blamed Newt Gingrich and the Republicans suffered.
His pursuit of President Clinton over his relationship with Monica Lewinsky when he himself was having an extramarital affair with an aide followed an early, very messy divorce. Mr Gingrich has recently explained that overwork, and thus his passion for his country, were to blame.
His colourful past provokes commentators to use vivid language. One has observed "Gingrich has more luggage than Louis Vuitton", another that he has "more liabilities than the final Lehman Brothers balance sheet".
Now it seems certain he will stand. He writes on Facebook that he has been "humbled" by the encouragement he has received and urges followers to watch him on Fox. "Be sure to watch Hannity this Wednesday at 9pm ET/8pm CT. I will be on to talk about my run for President of the United States," he says.
It is perhaps typical of the hesitant Republican camp that that even what appears to be the first official announcement is oblique, even coy. But Mr Gingrich is not a shy man and he is a very serious candidate.
He's a Christian conservative intellectual with a populist instinct and a savage tongue, a former history teacher who is a cunning strategist. He is a brilliant organiser. He has built a chain of think tanks and fundraising organisations around himself and an invaluable data base of possible supporters.
He's a big figure in a potential field where other candidates are either exciting but lack credibility or serious but dull. Newt's third stage is worth watching.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13351055

Memphis flooding: Mississippi River reaches peak

Officials have diverted some of the Mississippi River's flow as the region prepares for river levels to reach near-record levels



The Mississippi River has peaked at just under 48ft (14.6m) in the southern US city of Memphis, the US national weather service has said.


The city is coping with flood levels not seen since the 1930s, which have forced people from some 1,300 homes.
Officials say they are confident flood control systems will prevent further harm, but warn it could take weeks for the floodwater to recede.
The flooding has been caused by melting snow and heavy rains.
"It's not going to get a lot better for a while," Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said.
Officials said the water was expected to remain at peak levels for the next day.
"Pretty much the damage has been done," National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff told the Associated Press.
Rising water levels

Officials said the system of levees protecting Memphis from worse damage appeared to have held, but Col Vernie Reichling Jr of the US Army Corps of Engineers said: "We'll breathe a sigh of relief once this crest has passed and is in the Gulf of Mexico."


Authorities have also warned residents to look out for snakes and rats which could seek shelter on higher ground.
Officials downstream in Louisiana have begun evacuating prisoners from one of the state's toughest prisons - the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola - and opened floodgates to relieve pressure on levees outside New Orleans.
Police in Memphis have gone door-to-door to 1,300 homes over the past few days to warn people about the rising water levels.
More than 300 people were staying in shelters on Monday, and police increased their presence in evacuated areas to prevent looting.
"I imagine that my trailer, if it's not covered, it's close," Aurelio Flores, an unemployed construction worker, told the Associated Press news agency.
Graceland safe

The record river height of 48.7ft was set in February 1937 during one of the worst Mississippi floods in US history.
In central Memphis, the river had swollen to three miles (4.8km) wide from its typical width of half a mile, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reported on Monday.
Further inland, Graceland, the famous home of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley, was out of harm's way, as was Beale Street, a tourist attraction known for Blues music.
"I want to say this: Graceland is safe. And we would charge hell with a water pistol to keep it that way and I'd be willing to lead the charge," director of the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency Bob Nations Jr said.
Engorged by the spring thaw, the Mississippi has caused significant flooding upstream in Illinois and Missouri.
Further downstream in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, the river has already reached flood stage.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13337548

Air India resumes normal services

Some pilots say that pay and conditions are unfair


India's state-run airline has begun operating half of its domestic flights, after 10 days of strikes by pilots, officials say.


Air India says it expects to resume full operations on Tuesday.
About 660 pilots went on strike demanding fairer pay and better conditions.
The strike was called off on Friday night following negotiations between the pilots and officials from India's aviation ministry.
The airline agreed to reinstate some of the striking pilots who had previously been dismissed, and to restore working relations with the pilots' union.
Air India management earlier said it no longer recognised the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (PICA) - to which many of the striking pilots belonged.
"The passenger load is gradually picking up after we opened bookings on Saturday," an airline spokesman said.
The striking pilots said they were being victimised. They claim their colleagues on international routes earn up to 200,000 rupees ($4,500; £2748) more a month than they do.
Indian Airlines merged with Air India in 2007 and since then its pilots have frequently complained about poor employment conditions.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13330347

Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype

Skype had previously planned a share flotation


Microsoft has confirmed that it has agreed to buy internet phone service Skype.


The deal will see Microsoft pay $8.5bn (£5.2bn) for Skype, making it Microsoft's largest acquisition.
Luxembourg-based Skype has 663 million global users. In August last year it announced plans for a share flotation, but this was subsequently put on hold.
Internet auction house eBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2006, before selling 70% of it in 2009 for $2bn.
This majority stake was bought by a group of investors led by private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowit.
Other major shareholders include tech-firm Joltid and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Shares in Microsoft were down 1.3% at $25.50 in early trading in New York.
'Defensive move'

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said: "Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world.

"Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."
Skype will now become a new division within Microsoft, and Skype chief executive Tony Bates will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Mr Ballmer.
"It's a strategic asset and a defensive move [for Microsoft]," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial.
"If they can put it on Windows 8, it gives them an advantage. It helps them in the tablet market."
Other analysts say Microsoft's aim in buying Skype is to improve its video conferencing services.
Price concerns

Although the price tag of $8.5bn will not stretch the US giant, some experts have questioned whether it is paying too much for a company that has struggled to turn a profit.
Michael Clendenin, managing director of consulting firm RedTech Advisors, said: "If you consider [Skype] was just valued at about $2.5bn 18 months ago when a chunk was sold off, then $8.5bn seems generous.
"[It] means Microsoft has a high wall to climb to prove to investors that Skype is a necessary linchpin for the company's online and mobile strategy."
This view was echoed by Ben Woods, head of research group CCS Insight.
"The big unanswered question is how do Skype assets work for Microsoft... how do you justify the price?" he said.
Skype was founded in 2003.
Calls to other Skype users are free, while the company charges for those made to both traditional landline phones and mobiles.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13343600

India batsman Virender Sehwag set for shoulder surgery

                                                       Stylish Sehwag inspires India victory

Key batsman Virender Sehwag is to undergo shoulder surgery, which will hamper his preparations for India's tour of England in July and August.


Sehwag, an explosive opener, will have an immediate operation having been troubled by pain in his right shoulder.
The 32-year-old was declared fit for the World Cup only after undergoing intensive rehabilitation in Bangalore.
He has topped the batting charts in the Indian Premier League, with 424 runs in 11 matches for the Delhi Daredevils.
Sehwag seems certain to miss India's tour of West Indies which precedes the trip to England. India begin with a tour match at Taunton on 15 July, before Lord's hosts the first of four Tests on 21 July.
India also play one Twenty20 international and five one-day internationals.
PB Vanchi, director of GMR Sports, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India had advised Sehwag to undergo surgery as soon as possible.
"He has a problem. The BCCI is making the arrangements for the surgery," said Vanchi.
Sehwag is a crucial component of India's Test side, with 7,694 runs at an excellent average of 53.43. In December 2008, he hit a remarkable 83 from 68 balls as India successfully chased a tough target of 387 to beat England in Chennai.
His aggressive style also lends itself well to the shorter formats. He has 7,456 runs at a strike rate of 104 runs per 100 balls in one-day internationals.

Source link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/13338926.stm

Britain criticises UN Pakistan flood response

                                                The UN raised more than $1bn for disaster relief


A British parliamentary committee has criticised the UN for poor leadership during last year's floods in Pakistan, which it said led to delays and left millions in need of assistance.


The International Development Committee said the UN used only two thirds of more than $1bn it raised for relief.
Confusion and organisational constraints were cited as the reasons.
The flooding affected nearly 20 million people and led to the largest appeal for money ever launched by the UN.
The International Development Committee said too many agencies and charities had been brought in, with some meetings attended by as many as 600 groups.
It also warned that climate change and population growth would mean increased need for disaster relief in the future.
But it said it did not want to discourage future donations to disasters. The committee also praised the generosity of ordinary people after the floods.
About 1,750 people died in last year's floods in Pakistan, and up to 20 million people were affected.
They started in the mountainous north and surged south, destroying 1.2m homes and damaging about 14% of Pakistan's land under cultivation.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13343378

Bangladesh must end killings by 'death squad' - report

                             The Rapid Action Battalion was set up in 2004 to combat crime and terrorism



The Bangladeshi government has failed to end extra-judicial killings carried out by a paramilitary force, Human Rights Watch says.


In a new report it catalogues a series of human rights violations blamed on the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the past few years.
The government has strongly denied the accusations.
In December British officials in Dhaka confirmed Wikileaks reports that the UK was training some RAB members.
The course, the British officials said, focused on improving interviewing techniques, investigations and the management of crime scenes.
The latest Human Rights Watch report says at least 200 people have allegedly been killed in RAB operations since the Awami League-led government took office in early 2009.
Despite various commitments by the government, the report says, no RAB officer or official has ever been prosecuted for any of the killings or other human rights abuses.
The government says the police force is only acting against criminals and most deaths occur during shoot-outs between law enforcers and criminals.
But Manzurul Alam, whose relative was killed in a shoot-out with the police unit in 2009, says his brother-in-law was innocent.
"No police station said he was a criminal, only the RAB personnel told us that he was a criminal. Until now they can't produce any evidence whatsoever... We are still waiting for justice. We are now hopeless," he said.
Dressed in black with bandannas tied around their heads, RAB officers are a familiar sight on Bangladesh's streets.
Over the years they have developed a fearsome reputation and are credited with reducing crime and acting against Islamist militancy.
But human rights groups allege that more than 700 people have been killed by the unit since its creation in 2004.
Human Rights Watch says the government should immediately reform the RAB and hold it accountable for the killings - or the force should be disbanded.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13341359

Indian fury over Australia swimwear images of Girls

                               Photos of the models have caused outrage among some Indian groups


Images of the Hindu goddess of wealth displayed on swimwear at an Australian fashion show have sparked a legal battle in India.


The Allahabad High Court has issued notices to the Hindustan Times group for publishing the photos that show female models wearing the swimwear.
Images of the goddess, Laxmi, were displayed on the garments.
The fashion show attracted worldwide media attention and was held in the Australian city of Sydney last week.
Pictures of the controversial swimwear were published in many newspapers, leading to protests in towns and cities across India.

Protesters belonging to radical Hindu groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal took to the streets of Delhi on Monday, shouting slogans against the Australian government and swimwear designer Lisa Blue.

Protester Jai Bhagwan Goyal told the Reuters news agency that those who organised the Australian event should be arrested.
"The sentiments of billions of Hindus have been hurt and this issue will not get resolved by presenting an apology. We feel this is a deliberate act to get cheap publicity."
Company's apology

The court on Tuesday issued notices to the Press Council of India and the state and central governments requiring them to explain their position over the issue.

It said that the Indian government should convey to the Australian government how the swimwear display had offended the feelings of the Hindu community.

Last week one of those petitioning the court wrote a letter complaining about the publication of the photos in newspapers.
The letter demanded action against the publisher of the newspaper and Ms Blue.
Lawyers have argued that the newspapers should not have published such offending photos and the Indian government should urge the Australian government to take action against Ms Blue.
The BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in Lucknow says that the matter will be addressed again in the courts within six weeks.
In the meantime some newspapers have published a statement by Ms Blue saying the production and sale of the swimwear had been stopped.
The company has apologised for hurting the feelings of the Hindu community.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13347763

Pakistan: Nowshera court bomb 'kills two'

Two people, including a policewoman, have been killed in a bomb explosion outside a district court in north-western Pakistan, police said.


Eight people were also wounded in the blast, which officials say was caused by an improvised explosive device triggered remotely.
The bomb was planted at a court gate in Nowshera district.
No group has said it carried out the attack.
Police have said they suspect the district court was the target of the attack.
Taliban militants have killed hundreds people in bombings and other attacks in recent years.
Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13343384

Wikileaks: Sri Lanka 'rejected rebel surrender offer'

                               The death of Velupillai Prabhakaran two years ago marked the end of the war

The Sri Lankan government rejected a surrender offer by Tamil Tiger rebels at the end of the war, reports released through the Wikileaks website say.

They say that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa dismissed US pressure to allow a mediated surrender with the words "we're beyond that now".

The leaked US cables suggest requests for the International Red Cross to go into the war zone were refused.
Sri Lanka's government has repeatedly denied all these accusations.
The Sri Lankan civil war came to an end in May 2009 with the death of their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran after the Tamil Tigers made a last stand in the north-east of the island.

The leaked US documents - which appeared in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten - say that on 16 May 2009 the Norwegian ambassador called his US counterpart to report that he had received a phone call from Selvarasa Padmanathan - known as "KP" - stating that the rebels were prepared to surrender without conditions to a neutral third party.

Correspondents say that although Padmanathan was abroad at the time, it would not have been unusual for him as rebel head of foreign relations to make the offer.
'Energetically refused'

The documents say that the US ambassador then called the International Red Cross (ICRC) who told him that their staff were prepared to go into the conflict zone by military helicopter to mediate a surrender.

ICRC head of delegation Paul Castella is quoted in the document as saying that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa initially agreed to the arrangement, but first wanted the names of the rebel leaders who were prepared to surrender.

But the documents say that "despite helpful efforts from Norway" the rebels failed to provide such a list.
The documents say the government rejected repeated US requests to allow the ICRC into the conflict zone to help many dead and wounded civilians there.
According to the US cables, presidential adviser Basil  Rajapaksa "energetically refused" to give the ICRC permission, accusing it of failing on "three consecutive days to evacuate the wounded, even though the Additional Government Agent had said it was safe to do so".

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13349034

Bin Laden raid: US team 'ready to use force'

Bin Laden reportedly lived undetected in the Abbottabad compound for years

President Barack Obama insisted that the team to hunt down Osama Bin Laden be large enough to fight its way out in case it met resistance from Pakistani forces, the New York Times reports.

The size of the assault team was expanded days before the operation, unnamed military and administration officials quoted by the paper say.
Pakistan has begun an investigation into how Bin Laden lived undetected.
But relations with the US have been severely strained by the raid.
US President Barack Obama had previously urged Pakistan to investigate how the al-Qaeda leader could live in the garrison city of Abbottabad undetected and to find out if any officials knew of his whereabouts.
But in a statement to parliament on Monday announcing the inquiry, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani insisted that allegations of Pakistani complicity and incompetence were "absurd".
He said that Pakistan was "determined" to examine the failures to detect Bin Laden and he mounted a robust defence of Pakistan's record in fighting terrorism.
He also added that the US raid was "a violation of sovereignty".
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that although there have always been questions over the level of Pakistan's commitment to demobilise the Taliban and certain elements of al-Qaeda, the raid on 2 May is the first clear proof of the Americans giving up hope that the Pakistanis would really ever deliver.
But the UK's Guardian newspaper reported that a deal struck between former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and former US President George W Bush in 2001, paved the way for the US to conduct a unilateral raid inside Pakistan if they knew of Bin Laden's whereabouts.
The paper quotes serving and retired Pakistani and US officials as saying that under the terms of the arrangement Pakistan would "vociferously protest the incursion" after it took place.

'Return fire'

But the latest details of the operation reveal the extent to which the US was prepared to go in order to capture or kill the al-Qaeda leader.
Continue reading the main story
Bin Laden's Abbottabad house

Built in 2005
No telephone or internet connections
Three-storey house surrounded by outbuildings and walls up to 5.5m (18 feet) high
Bin Laden's bedroom on top floor
Known locally as "Waziristan Haveli" or "mansion"
Plans of Bin Laden's house
"Their instructions were to avoid any confrontation if at all possible. But if they had to return fire to get out, they were authorised to do it," one senior Obama administration official is quoted by the New York Times as saying.
In the original plan, two helicopters were going to stay on the Afghan side of the border to be called upon for assistance should the need arise. They would have been about 90 minutes away from the Bin Laden compound.
But, the paper reports, just 10 days before the raid President Obama reviewed the operational plans and the decision was taken to send two more helicopters carrying additional troops, which followed the aircraft carrying the assault team.
"Some people may have assumed we could talk our way out of a jam, but given our difficult relationship with Pakistan right now, the president did not want to leave anything to chance," the New York Times quoted one unnamed senior administration official as saying.
"He wanted extra forces if they were necessary."
Interrogators on standby

US forces had been instructed to avoid engaging with Pakistani forces and if a confrontation appeared imminent, there were plans for senior US officials to call Pakistani counterparts to avert a clash, senior administration officials are quoted as saying
But the size of the US force was increased when the president expressed his concern that this was not enough to protect those on the ground, the paper reports.
Other details that emerged about the operation include:
Two specialist teams were on standby, probably on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea: one to bury Bin Laden if he was killed, and a second team of lawyers, interrogators and translators if he was taken alive
One of the back-up helicopter teams was actually used when one of the first team's helicopters was damaged
US surveillance aircraft were watching and listening to how Pakistan's security forces responded to the raid to determine how long the team could safely remain on the ground
Correspondents say that Pakistan plays a crucial role in America's war efforts in Afghanistan, and too much public pressure on Pakistan could jeopardise the relationship.
And despite strained relations, Pakistan's prime minister also reiterated that Washington remained a key ally of Islamabad, in Monday's speech to parliament.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13343497

Missing tourist Rita Chretien found alive in Nevada

A Canadian tourist missing in a remote wooded area of the US state of Nevada for seven weeks has been found alive near her stranded vehicle by hunters.

Rita Chretien, 56, told police her van had got stuck in mud in mid-March, and that her husband Albert, 59, had gone to get help on foot.

She said she had survived since then on "trail mix" snack food and water.

Police abandoned the search for the couple in April but have now resumed the hunt for Mr Chretien.

The couple were driving from their home in Penticton, British Columbia, to Las Vegas, when they decided to go off-road to see the landscape in Elko County, one of America's largest and most sparsely-populated counties.

One of their three sons, Raymond Chretien, said the family was "stunned" that their mother had been found alive.

"We haven't fully digested it. This is a miracle," he told the Portland Oregonian.

He said his mother, who lost 20-30lb (9-14kg) during her ordeal and is now recovering in hospital, doubted if she would have survived another three days in the woods.

She had apologised for the worry she had caused her relatives, he added.

Officials said weather over the past month in the area where the couple got lost had included snow, rain and chilly temperatures.

"I don't believe they were prepared for winter weather," Raymond Chretien said. "They don't go camping."

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13320977

Scottish election: SNP press Cameron on Scotland Bill

The SNP has urged the prime minister to improve plans on increasing Scotland's financial powers, after the party's landslide victory in the Scottish elections.


The Nationalists took 69 of the 129 seats to give them the parliament's first working majority.
SNP finance spokesman John Swinney said the result increased pressure to strengthen the Scotland Bill.
The bill is designed to create greater financial accountability at Holyrood.

Aside from indicating it will bring forward a referendum on independence in the second half of the parliament, the SNP has set a goal of the Scottish Parlaiment moving to full fiscal autonomy in the debate over increased powers for Holyrood.

The SNP's call came as the party gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to celebrate victory at the polls.
Mr Swinney, the Nationalist's finance spokesman, told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The first minister made clear yesterday his intention to discuss with the prime minister the importance of recognising the difference that yesterday's result produces for Scotland.

Click to play
AdvertisementAlex Salmond said further economic powers were necessary for Scotland's recovery
"The difference is the people of Scotland have made it very clear that they want to see progress made on the questions of economic opportunity in Scotland, and on constitutional progress.
"The short-term opportunity to do that is by improving and strengthening the Scotland Bill, currently going through the UK parliament, and that is the message that the first minister gave to the prime minister."

The Scotland Bill is being considered after the Calman Commission examined the progress of devolution.

Under the Bill, the Scottish Parliament will take charge of more of the income tax raised in Scotland.

The new powers would be combined with a cut in the block grant, currently about £31bn, which Scotland receives from the UK government.
But the SNP wants to reinforce the bill to give it more economic teeth.
Mr Swinney said the prime minister and the UK government have to reassess the legislation if they are serious about respecting the Scottish government and the Scottish people.
Mr Swinney, who led the SNP between 2000 and 2004, also rejected suggestions that Westminster could interfere with an independence referendum in Scotland.

He said: "We can legislate for there to be a referendum on independence within Scotland, and we will do that in the latter part of the parliament.

"But the early priority is to get the necessary economic and financial powers that will enable us to work our way out of the economic challenges that we face."

A meeting of the SNP's national executive committee is due to take place in Edinburgh as well as the first gathering of the party's 69 newly elected MSPs.

The first meeting of the new parliamentary session will take place on Wednesday when members are sworn in.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Tavish Scott quit as party leader, after his party slumped to just five seats.
He said: "Thursday's Scottish general election result was disastrous and I must and do take responsibility for the verdict of the electorate.
"The party needs a new direction, new thinking and new leadership to win back the trust of the Scottish people."
Mr Scott said his party's involvement in the UK government coalition had damaged its Holyrood election chances.

Elsewhere, Scottish Conservative deputy leader Murdo Fraser called on Mr Salmond to launch an immediate independence referendum.
He said: "Nothing would be more damaging for Scotland than to have four or five years of a long running debate over whether we will be independent or not."
Mr Fraser said the UK government should give "very serious consideration" to launching its own referendum on the UK's constitutional future.
He said: "If Alex Salmond is feart to bring forward his referendum to the Scottish people now, perhaps that is something that should be done for him."
Scottish Labour deputy leader Johann Lamont addressed the challenge to her party of choosing a new leader, now that Iain Gray plans to step down in the autumn, after the party was reduced to 37 MSPs.
She said: "Very often the world defines big hitters in whatever way but under pressure, with the challenges ahead, leadership will always emerge.
"But critically, although we will be diminished team, the first place to go will be to build the team itself and rebuild our confidence inside the parliament."
Ms Lamont also suggested that she could be up for the job. She said: "I'm a potential leader because I'm deputy leader, but I've barely slept since Thursday so I'm not going make that decision now."

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13321478

Pakistan: Eight killed in Quetta explosion

At least eight people belonging to Pakistan's minority Shia community have been killed in an explosion in the south-western city of Quetta.


Police said the cause of the blast, which wounded 10 others, was not clear.
One report said suspected militants had opened fire on a group of Shias and fled. Others said rockets were fired on the men.
Sunni and Shia extremists have frequently clashed and launched attacks on each other over the past 20 years.
Correspondents say attacks in Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and the north-west seem to be manifestations of the bitter split between Sunnis and Shias.
In January at least 10 people were killed when twin blasts targeted Shia processions in Lahore and Karachi.
And in September 2010 at least 50 people died in a suicide bombing at a Shia rally in Quetta.
The group accused of orchestrating the violence in recent years is Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, widely seen as the armed wing of the militant Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba group.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13305726

Colonial secret papers to be made public

A collection of sensitive documents from Britain's colonial past are to be made public through the National Archives for the first time.


The files were sent to the UK from various former territories, mostly at the time they achieved independence.
The documents emerged when four Mau Mau veterans sued the UK, saying they were tortured by Kenyan colonial government in the 1950s.
The British government says it cannot be held responsible.
It wants the claim thrown out by the High Court.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Foreign Office only became aware of the significance of the files in January because of research linked to the court case.
'Enormous significance'

He said: "I believe that it is the right thing to do for the information in these files now to be properly examined and recorded and made available to the public.

"It is my intention to release every part of every paper of interest, subject only to legal exemptions."

Mr Hague said the job of making the papers public would be done "rapidly", but that it might take some time to complete because of the size of the archive.
David Anderson, professor of African politics at Oxford University, told the BBC the files were of "enormous significance".
He said: "These are a set of selected documents withheld for their sensitivity. We will learn things the British government of the time didn't want us to know."
"They are likely to change our view of some key places", he said. "It will clarify the last days of Empire in ways that will be shocking for some people in Britain."
Rebellion
The Foreign Office says officials have briefed the governments of those former British territories which might be affected.
The four Kenyans suing the UK say they were assaulted between 1952 and 1961 by British colonial officers in detention camps during the Mau Mau rebellion.
Thousands of people involved in the rebellion, or suspected of supporting it, were sent to the camps for "screening", or interrogation.
Britain says it cannot be held responsible for the actions of a colonial government.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13317076

West Indies beat Pakistan again but lose 3-2 in series

West Indies secured a second successive victory with a 10-wicket rout in Guyana as Pakistan finished 3-2 winners in the one-day international series.


Pakistan chose to bat but were 139 all out in 41.2 overs, Ravi Rampaul taking two wickets in an over in his 4-45.

Only opener Mohammad Hafeez (55) defied with six fours in his 10th ODI fifty.

Lendl Simmons fired seven fours and three sixes in 77 from 73 balls, with Kirk Edwards on 40 from 71 as the Windies won with 159 balls remaining.
Hafeez pulled the first ball of the match from Rampaul for four and with two more off the seamer in the seventh over had 22 to his name with the score on 31-1.
Usman Salahuddin and Misbah-ul-Haq departed in successive overs before Umar Akmal struck the only six of the innings when he launched spinner Devendra Bishoo down the ground.

Hafeez was dismissed in the 29th over, the fourth Pakistan wicket to fall, when a delivery from Darren Sammy kept low, took the bottom edge and crashed into the stumps to give the West Indies captain his third wicket.

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi was out for nine to a brutal delivery from Rampaul that lifted from just short of a length and the innings ended when Junaid Khan fell over playing across the line to Dwayne Bravo and was lbw, giving the all-rounder a second wicket in as many overs.

Pakistan celebrate their series victory in the Caribbean

The Windies had six overs before the lunch break due because of the foreshortened first innings and calmly accumulated 34 without major alarm, Edwards surviving a difficult chance to wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman off the inside edge from the bowling of Afridi when on six.

Simmons, who also top-scored in the fourth match of the series, also gave a tough chance, this time to Hafeez at slip when on 31, but the flashing cut was struck so fiercely that it went for four.

He lofted Hafeez over square-leg for six, then in successive overs deposited Afridi over wide long-on for six more and hit a searing flat pull for six off left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz.
The talented opener from Trinidad & Tobago completed his sixth ODI half century as the Windies recorded their first 10-wicket success since July 2007.
The nephew of former West Indies opener Phil Simmons, he has struck half centuries in each of the last four games and said he was benefiting from the input of new West Indies batting consultant and former Test opener Desmond Haynes.
"I have been trying to focus more on my batting, working on fitness and working with Desmond Haynes. I have been out of the team for a while but I knew my chance would come again, so I had to capitalise," the 26-year-old said.
Skipper Sammy added: "This is the type of performance we have been looking for and it was good to see a total team effort."
The teams now move on to a two-match Test series beginning at the same Providence ground in Guyana on 12 May.

Source link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/9476447.stm

Who are the Taliban?

Recent years have seen the re-emergence of the hardline Islamic Taliban movement as a fighting force in Afghanistan and a major threat to its government.


They are also threatening to destabilise Pakistan, where they control areas in the north-west and are blamed for a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks.
The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
A predominantly Pashtun movement, the Taliban came to prominence in Afghanistan in the autumn of 1994.
It is commonly believed that they first appeared in religious seminaries - mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia - which preached a hard line form of Sunni Islam.
The Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.
In both countries they introduced or supported Islamic punishments - such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers and amputations of those found guilty of theft.
Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering burka.
The Taliban showed a similar disdain for television, music and cinema and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school.
Continue reading the main story
THE TALIBAN
Emerged in Afghanistan in 1994
Mainly supported by ethnic Pashtuns
Toppled after US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001
Fugitive leader Mullah Omar wanted, whereabouts unknown
Pakistan has repeatedly denied that it is the architect of the Taliban enterprise.
But there is little doubt that many Afghans who initially joined the movement were educated in madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan.
Pakistan was also one of only three countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which recognised the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s until 2001.
It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the Taliban.
But Pakistan has since adopted a harder line against Taliban militants carrying out attacks on its soil.
The attention of the world was drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001.
The Taliban in Afghanistan were accused of providing a sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda movement who were blamed for the attacks.
Soon after 9/11 the Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan by a US-led coalition, although their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was not captured - and neither was Osama Bin Laden.
In recent years the Taliban have re-emerged in Afghanistan and grown far stronger in Pakistan, where observers say there is loose co-ordination between different Taliban factions and militant groups.
The main Pakistani faction is led by Hakimullah Mehsud, whose Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.
Observers warn against over-stating the existence of one unified insurgency against the Pakistani state, however.
The Taliban in Afghanistan are still believed to be led by Mullah Omar, a village clergyman who lost his right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Afghans, weary of the mujahideen's excesses and infighting after the Soviets were driven out, generally welcomed the Taliban when they first appeared on the scene.
Their early popularity was largely due to their success in stamping out corruption, curbing lawlessness and making the roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish.
US onslaught

From south-western Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly extended their influence.
They captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, in September 1995.
Exactly one year later, they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, after overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Masood.
By 1998, they were in control of almost 90% of Afghanistan.
They were accused of various human rights and cultural abuses. One notorious example was in 2001, when the Taliban went ahead with the destruction of the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues in central Afghanistan, despite international outrage.
On October 7, 2001, a US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan and by the first week of December the Taliban regime had collapsed.
Mullah Omar and his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world
Mullah Omar and most of the other senior Taliban leaders, along with Bin Laden and some of his senior al-Qaeda associates, survived the American onslaught.
Mullah Omar and most of his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world and are believed to be guiding the resurgent Taliban.
Since then they have re-grouped in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, but are now under pressure in both countries, from the Pakistani army and Nato respectively.
Despite ever higher numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban have steadily extended their influence, rendering vast tracts of Afghanistan insecure, and violence in the country has returned to levels not seen since 2001.
Their retreat earlier this decade enabled them to limit their human and material losses and return with a vengeance.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11451718

Afghanistan: Fierce fighting follows Kandahar attack

Intense fighting is taking place in Afghanistan's second city of Kandahar amid co-ordinated militant attacks, including at least six suicide bombs.

The Taliban says it is behind the triple assault on the provincial governor's office, the Afghan spy agency and a police station.
About 23 people including three police have been injured in the fighting, which spread panic on the streets.

US helicopter gunships are reported to have been involved.

Gunmen in a four-storey shopping centre exchanged fire with security forces in Governor Tooryalai Wesa's compound.
Paralysed city
A spokesman for the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, told the BBC the attack on the governor's compound was now over and two Taliban fighters had died.
He added: "But they are still attacking my office from a nearby Kandahar hotel. Fighting is still intense.
"They are using heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and AKs [AK-47s].
"The Taliban could use the cover of darkness to launch more attacks.

"They planned this well in advance. They wanted to take control of government offices and take senior Afghan officials hostage.''

There have been at least seven explosions, paralysing the city, says the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul.
Two suicide bombers who tried to attack police were shot dead before they could reach their targets.
Witnesses described civilians running through the streets for safety and shopkeepers closing their stores in case of looting.
Military helicopters were hovering above the city.
"Forget human, even the birds have fled the city," a shopkeeper in Kandahar's Chowke Madad district told our correspondent.
Two schools and a municipal traffic office were also reported to have been attacked.

'One by one'

A witness quoted by Reuters news agency said earlier he saw black smoke rising near Mr Wesa's compound.

 Mr Wesa's spokesman, Zalmai Ayoubi, told Reuters from inside the compound that three civilians in the compound had been wounded, but the governor's staff were all fine.

The governor appeared on private Shamshad TV to say: ''I am alive and well, sitting with my friends here in my office.

"No matter how many fighters the Taliban have got in the city, they will be killed one by one.''

Afghan and US forces have launched a counter-operation. "The aim is to clear the shopping centre from Taliban," a local security official told our correspondent.
"We think there are 10 or more Taliban there - some of them suicide bombers. We want to clear the building.''
Nato said it was aware of the attack, and it was helping Afghans provide security, but that it was not aware of its helicopters taking part.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the militants were attacking civilians to hide their defeat, caused by the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
But Taliban spokesman Yusuf Ahmadi said the Kandahar attacks had been planned for some time as part of the insurgents' annual "spring offensive", announced last week, and had nothing to do with Bin Laden's death.
Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban and a hotbed of the insurgency, has been the focus of military operations by the Western-backed government over the past year.
A senior Kandahar police official blamed the attacks on last month's escape by about 500 prisoners, many of them Taliban, from the main jail in the city.
The official, who did not want to be named, told our correspondent: "If 106 Taliban field commanders - some of them the very backbone of the insurgency - had not escaped from the prison, attacks like this would have not occurred."
Also last month, Kandahar's police chief was killed by an attacker in a police uniform, while in January the provincial governor's deputy was killed.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13320972

Obama to visit Kentucky to meet Bin Laden raid team

US President Barack Obama is to visit Fort Campbell in Kentucky to meet and thank members of the special forces team that killed Osama Bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan five days ago.

Mr Obama is expected to express his gratitude to the raid team privately.

The news comes a day after the president visited New York City to lay a wreath at Ground Zero.
Meanwhile, documents found at Osama Bin Laden's compound suggest al-Qaeda was planning further attacks on the US.
Officials are examining computers, DVDs, hard-drives and documents seized from the Abbottabad home where Bin Laden may have hid for up to six years.
One planned attack targeted a US rail route, US officials revealed, although no imminent threat was detected.
Raid team meeting

President Obama is scheduled to arrive at the Fort Campbell military base on Friday afternoon.
The president "will have the opportunity to privately thank some of the special operators involved in the operation," a White House official said.
Mr Obama, who will be joined by Vice President Joe Biden, will also address soldiers who have returned from Afghanistan during his trip to the base.
He is also scheduled to make a stop in the state of Indianapolis on Friday to promote his energy policies and showcase a transmission plant that produces systems for hybrid cars.
During his trip to lay a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center on Thursday, the president also met with firefighters and police officers who responded to the 9/11 attacks.
"When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say," the president told firefighters.
He did not mentioned Bin Laden by name publicly during his trip on Thursday, and political analysts have said the White House is being cautious about overplaying its hand regarding the operation in Pakistan.
The president has received some criticism in the past several days for not releasing photographs of Bin Laden's corpse, but his opinion poll ratings have risen in the wake of his decision to authorise the raid.
Al-Qaeda death confirmation

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement attributed to the group and posted on jihadist internet forums.
The statement said his blood would not be "wasted" and that al-Qaeda would continue attacking the US and allies.
Bin Laden was shot dead on Monday when US commandos stormed his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad.
American officials say the CIA had been secretly watching for months the house in Pakistan where Bin Laden was killed.
From a safe house in Abbottabad, a surveillance team used telephoto lenses and sensitive eavesdropping equipment, US reports said.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13313422

Al-Qaeda 'confirms Bin Laden's death'

Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement attributed to the group and posted on jihadist internet forums.

The statement said his blood would not be "wasted" and al-Qaeda would continue to attack the US and its allies.

Bin Laden's death would be a "curse" for the US and urged an uprising in Pakistan, the statement added.

The militant was shot dead on Monday when US commandos stormed his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad.

The covert raid was carried out without the prior knowledge of the Pakistani authorities, increasing tension between the two countries.

Several rallies were held in Pakistan on Friday in protest.
'Revolt'

The statement published on jihadist web forums, signed by "the general leadership" of al-Qaeda, said an audiotape would be released of Bin Laden speaking a week before his death.
"[His blood] will remain, with permission from Allah, the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries," it warned.

"Their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears. We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt.

"Before the sheikh passed from this world and before he could share with the Islamic nation in its joys over its revolutions in the face of the oppressors, he recorded a voice recording of congratulations and advice which we will publish soon, God willing."

Although US forces buried Bin Laden's body at sea, the statement warned the US that "multiple gates of evil" would be opened on them if they failed to hand over the corpse to his family. It incited Muslims to take action should the Americans mistreat the body or any of his captive family members.

It acknowledged the US was responsible for his death, and also noted that he had been killed by "treacherous infidel bullets".
The statement attracted a high number of online comments, all of which seemed to accept the death of Bin Laden as fact.
Correspondents say this contrasts starkly with the scepticism that followed President Obama's announcement on Monday of the al-Qaeda leader's death.
Earlier, Pakistani Islamist groups, led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, denounced the covert US military operation in Abbotabad as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

They were also critical of Pakistan's government for allowing the commando operation to happen, although officials deny they were told.

Hundreds of people gathered in central Abbottabad following Friday prayers. They set fire to tyres, blocked a main road and shouted "down, down USA!" and "terrorist, terrorist, USA terrorist".
Anti-American sentiment also appeared to be high at a similar protest in the south-western city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.
However, a BBC correspondent in Rawalpindi says the anti-US protest there was much smaller than expected with about 50 people turning up.
Monday's helicopter-borne raid by US special forces has further strained relations between the US and Pakistan.
On Thursday, Pakistani military leaders warned they would review co-operation with the US if there were any more unilateral raids.
Officials also admitted "shortcomings" for failing to locate Bin Laden in a compound that was in a suburb of Abbottabad about a kilometre from the Pakistan Military Academy, and said an investigation would be launched.

The al-Qaeda statement said an audiotape of Bin Laden recorded before his death would be released

Meanwhile, reports from the US says documents found at Osama Bin Laden's compound suggest he was planning further attacks on the US, including on the 10th anniversary of 11 September 2001.

One plan was to target a US rail route, officials said, although no imminent threat was detected.

Officials are examining computers, DVDs, hard-drives and documents seized from the compound where Bin Laden is believed to have been hiding for about six years.

One of Bin Laden's wives being interrogated by Pakistani security officials said she had never left the upper floors of the compound the entire time she was there.

She and Bin Laden's other two wives were taken into custody following Monday's raid.

Pakistani authorities are also holding eight or nine children who were found there, but it is not clear how many of them are Bin Laden's.

Source link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13313201

Osama Bin Laden death 'leaves al-Qaeda irrelevant'

Al-Qaeda's failure to respond to the death of Osama Bin Laden is a key sign of the level of disarray currently permeating through its ranks, argues Rahimullah Yusufzai, a leading Pakistani journalist who met Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar several times before 9/11.


In practically all other cases where a senior member of the organisation has been killed, al-Qaeda has wasted no time in admitting the loss in a statement.
But this time reporters have heard nothing from them.
It has been left to the Taliban - al-Qaeda's allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan - to condemn the US attack against Osama Bin Laden, by threatening fresh attacks on Pakistani leaders, the army, and the US.
But even these threats have not come in an official statement.
The Taliban will nevertheless be sad to see Bin Laden's demise. They sacrificed a lot - including power in Afghanistan - to protect him in Afghanistan in the months immediately before and after the US invasion of that country in 2001.
Al-Qaeda's silence may be a sign that the US may is hot on the trail of Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.
There is little doubt however that Bin Laden's death will not make that much difference to al-Qaeda's level of operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It had already lost its base in Afghanistan and was on the run in Pakistan.
In fact the main priority of Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in recent months was not to fight jihad but to stay alive and avoid capture.
Al-Qaeda was struggling to stay relevant in the region, and was relying on the Taliban to provide it shelter and enable its handful of fighters to continue functioning.
Bin Laden's 'prestige'

Osama Bin Laden's importance in the last months of his life was purely symbolic - he was in effect living incommunicado and relied almost entirely on Taliban sympathisers for his well-being.

Bin Laden's location came as a surprise to many who thought he was in Pakistan's tribal region The fact that he was found in Abbottabad is something of a surprise. Most inhabitants of the city are not pro-Taliban and most experts would have expected him to be in a rural location where he would have had better access to stronger Taliban support.
It is because al-Qaeda had virtually no military power that Bin Laden's death is unlikely to have any impact at all on Nato's war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Despite this, it is almost certain that information on Ayman al-Zawahiri's whereabouts will be among the first questions US interrogators will want to direct at anyone who may have been captured in the Abbottabad operation.
Lke Bin Laden, his deputy has a $25m price on his head.
But even if he avoids capture, Ayman al-Zawahiri has nothing like the money or the prestige of Bin Laden.
He may be the natural choice to be come the next al-Qaeda leader, but he has inherited an organisation that is diminished in strength and which in recent months has frequently been involved in local disputes with different militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan - yet has not been able effectively to exert its authority.
However if al-Qaeda is no longer the force it once was, its ideology - and the image of Osama Bin Laden as a martyr - will remain among the host of anti-western hardline and like-minded Islamist groups in the Middle East and South Asia.

Source link: http://www.ten1.com/news/world13259710

Ricardo Louis latest UA All-American

Watch List athlete Ricardo Louis (Miami, Fla./Miami Beach) has a new title as he heads into the spring season: Under Armour All-American.

The 6-2, 200-pounder was invited and accepted an invitation to the January high school all-star game last week where he is expected to play wide receiver.

"I'm just very excited about the honor, it was something that I really never thought would happen," Louis said. "I've watched the games in the past; I know I'm going to be among the best competition in the country."

SOurce Link:http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/blog?name=long_corey&id=6466341&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2fblog%3fname%3dlong_corey%26id%3d6466341

THE LATEST ON PLAYSTATION NETWORK NEWS:

On Tuesday, April 26 we shared that some information that was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. Once again, we’d like to apologize to the many users who were inconvenienced and worried abut this situation.
We want to state this again given the increase in speculation about credit card information being used fraudulently. One report indicated that a group tried to sell millions of credit card numbers back to Sony. To my knowledge there is no truth to this report of a list, or that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list.
One other point to clarify is from this weekend’s press conference. While the passwords that were stored were not “encrypted,” they were transformed using a cryptographic hash function. There is a difference between these two types of security measures which is why we said the passwords had not been encrypted. But I want to be very clear that the passwords were not stored in our database in cleartext form. For a description of the difference between encryption and hashing, follow this link.
To reiterate a few other security measures for your information: Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well. To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports.
We continue to work with law enforcement and forensic experts to identify the criminals behind the attack. Once again, we apologize for causing users concern over this matter.
Our objective is to increase security so our customers can safely and confidently play games and use our network and media services. We will continue to provide updates as we have them.
SOURCE LINKhttp://terminalgamer.com/2011/05/02/the-latest-on-the-playstation-network-news/