ICC announces Cricket World Cup 2015 schedule

MELBOURNE/WELLINGTON: Cricket World Cup will kick start on February 14, 2015, the International Cricket Council (ICC) launched the schedule of the tournament being jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

The announcement was made by the ICC official twitter account just as two simultaneous launch events took place at Melbourne in Australia and Wellington in New Zealand.

The tournament will kick off on February 14, with New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka in Christchurch, and Australia taking on England at the MCG in Melbourne. The final match of the world cup will be played in Melbourne on March 29.

Pakistan, placed in pool B, will get their campaign underway in Adelaide on February 15 against defending champions India in a day and night encounter.

The ICC chose to host two simultaneous events to mark the launch of the world cup. The one in Melbourne was attended by the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd who voiced hope that the tournament will bring tourism and trade along with the fans.

“It will attract cricket fans from around the globe and also promote Australia and our close friend New Zealand internationally -especially in India and other parts of south Asia,” the Australian cricket board website reported him as saying.

Rudd was accompanied by former captains Ian Chappell (Australia), Kapil Dev (India) and Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) and cricketing legend Dennis Lillee.

In Wellington, the New Zealand prime minister John Key attended along with former great Sir Richard Hadlee and former captains Waqar Younis (Pakistan), Glenn Turner (New Zealand) and Stephen Fleming (New Zealand).

The 14 venues for matches have been distributed among Australia and New Zealand, with both countries hosting matches in seven of their cities.

Australian hosting cities include: Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane. While the New Zealand cities which will be hosting matches include: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington.

While the pool matches have been evenly divided, Australia gets the big final and bulk of the quarter finals, but New Zealand gets to host one quarter final and one semi final.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, who attended the event launch in Melbourne, said “The ICC Cricket World Cup is the flagship tournament of the 50-over game. The 2015 tournament will mark 40 years since the first World Cup in 1975 and that history of great contests and heroes helps make the tournament what it is – the most sought after prize in our increasingly global game.”

The world cup is returning to Australia and New Zealand after 23 years. Then, an Imran Khan led Pakistan won the final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Pools

Pool A: England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Qualifier 2 and Qualifier 3.

Pool B: South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies Zimbabwe, Ireland and Qualifier 4

Exploding Samsung Galaxy S4 Allegedly Starts Fire, Destroys House

Samsung’s hottest smartphone got a little too hot for one man in Hong Kong.
The man, known only as Du, says a flaming Samsung Galaxy S4 torched his entire house.
Du claims that while playing the game “Love Machine” he was startled by a loud pop from the phone’s battery. He says he reacted quickly and threw the phone onto a nearby sofa, which promptly caught fire. The flames spread and caused serious damage to the house. He and his wife were able to escape without injuries.
The news follows a report earlier this month of 18-year-old Swiss woman who received third degree burns on her leg after her Samsung Galaxy S3 exploded in  her pocket. In 2012, a man in Dublin said that his Galaxy S3 caught fire while on his car’s dashboard.
Unofficial products have been fingered as the culprit in some of these incidents, including the case of an 18-year-old Swiss woman, whose phone exploded. She was using discount replacement battery at the time.
Mr. Du has said that his phone, charger and battery were all authentic Samsung products.
Samsung Hong Kong said it is looking into the matter.
Scary, freak phone accidents aren’t limited to Samsung. In the past month a Chinese woman was reportedly killed by an electric shock from her iPhone5 when she answered a call as the phone was charging, while a Chinese man fell into a coma under similar circumstances.
Apple’s response to these stories has been to advise people to use only official Apple chargers.

LPG to be promoted as alternate fuel to ease energy crisis: Association

ISLAMABAD: The Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Distributors Association underlined the need for the government to take solid measures for promoting LPG as alternate fuel to overcome energy shortage in the country.
Talking to APP on Tuesday, the association’s Chairman Irfan Khokhar was of the view since it took time to build infrastructure in short period for import of the Liquified Natural Gas(LNG), thus the government could promote the LPG as alternate fuel to immediately ease energy crisis, confronting the country.
He said the LPG association would be fully co-operating with the government by providing workable proposals to it to resolve issues for promotning LPG to extend immediate relief to consumers who were already faced with high prices of daily-use commodities.
Replying to a question, he said efforts were under way to inaugurate the first LPG as gift to the nation on August 14 in Mandra, Rawalpindi in order to provide environment-friendly and safe fuel to consumers.
He said the construction work had been started on the facility, which would be inaugurated by a high official of the government, adding the measure would go a long way to provide relief to the motorists.
Answering another  question, he added, in total, the Cress LPG, Private Company Limited has planed to establish as many as 1000 Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) auto gas stations, across the country.
He hoped the initiative would be encouraged at government level as it could not afford for long to supply gas to the CNG sector which had no future in the country where power shortage was badly hitting the masses.
“We have high hopes from government to take effective steps for provision of relief to common people by promoting the LPG and opening its filling stations, across the country,” he observed.
He also called upon the government to take notice of frequent raises in prices of the commodity to extend relief to consumers in the holy month of Ramazan.
“Everywhere in the world, price of commodities comes down on the occasion of religious festivals but, here, we see things otherwise, the government is needed to provide subsidy on LPG which was mainly used by poor people of the far-flung areas.
He said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) should play its role by taking action against the unethical forces in the LPG sector, that were extracting money through unjustified raises.

Jolie is now the highest earning US actress

big screen in the film “Maleficent,” is Hollywood’s highest paid actress with estimated earnings of $33 million in the last year, according to Forbes.
She easily surpassed this year’s Best Actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, who came in second with $26 million, and pushed Kristen Stewart of the “Twilight” series, who topped the list last year, into third place with earnings of $22 million.
“Hollywood hasn’t shied away from Jolie. She’s still one of the few actresses who can demand a paycheck north of $15 million for the right movie — like Disney’s retelling of the old Sleeping Beauty story, Maleficent,” reporter Dorothy Pomerantz, wrote on Forbes.com.
Jolie, 38, made headlines earlier this year when she revealed she had a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer. “Maleficent” will be released next summer.
The celebrity mother, who has three biological and three adopted children with her fiancé, actor Brad Pitt, rose from third place on 2012′s list.
Jennifer Aniston, whose newest movie “We’re the Millers” will be released in U.S. theaters next week, captured fourth place with earnings of $20 million and Emma Stone, who appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man” with real-life boyfriend Andrew Garfield was No. 5 with $16 million.
Forbes talked to agents, managers and other people with knowledge of the film industry to compile the ranking based on estimated earnings from June 2012 to June 2013.
Sandra Bullock, who was third in last year’s list, dropped to No. 7 with estimated earnings of $14 million and Julia Roberts slipped from sixth to 10th place this year, taking home $11 million.
Oscar-winner Bullock wowed audiences with the female buddy comedy “The Heat.” Her 2009 film “The Blind Side,” who which she won a best actress Academy Award, earned $309 million on a budget of $30 million, according to Forbes.
Mila Kunis, at No. 9, was a newcomer to the ranking this year with earnings of $11 million. Two films she starred in, “Ted” and “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” earned a combined $1 billion at the global box office.

The Wolverine slashes his way to top of US box office

Hugh Jackman’s latest incarnation as The Wolverine has topped the US box office with $55m (£35m) in ticket sales, according to studio estimates.

The film earned another $86m (£55m) overseas, which means it has made more than the $120m it cost to make in its opening weekend.
It is the sixth film in the X-Men franchise -which has now made $1.9bn ( £1.2bn) worldwide.
The Wolverine is set in Japan and features an international cast.
Chris Aronson, Fox’s head of domestic distribution said “it played equally well from Maine to Maui”.
Low-budget horror movie The Conjuring slipped into second place, taking another $22.1m (£14.3m).
Despicable Me 2 was in third place with $16m (£10.3m) – it has now made more than $600m (£389.5m) since its release four weeks ago.
Animated film Turbo and Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups 2 made up the rest of top five.

Grown Ups 2 took $11.5 (£7.4m) for its third weekend. It has now made $100m (£64.9m).

Woody Allen’s latest film Blue Jasmine had a strong opening, despite only being shown in six cinemas. The film, which stars Cate Blanchett, made $612,767 (£397,832.65) from the six cinemas.
Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Hollywood.com said it was “one of the biggest opening per-theatre averages ever for a non-animated film”.
He also noted that ticket sales over the weekend were up almost 30% from the same time last year.
Just making it into the top ten is Sundance festival winner Fruitvale Station. The film, which is generating Oscar buzz, made $4.65m (£3m).

Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar debut as West Indies bat first

West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan in the first T20 International at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent on Saturday.
Unbeaten since lifting the World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka last October, the home side were forced to leave out batsman Darren Bravo, who is unwell, while all-rounder Christopher Barnwell was also omitted from the final eleven for this first of back-to-back matches this weekend.
Fresh from a 3-1 triumph in the one-day international series that ended last Wednesday in St Lucia, Pakistan are giving senior international debuts to batsman Umar Amin and all-rounder Zulfiqar Babar.
Of the three Twenty20 specialists brought in for the two matches, only seamer Sohail Tanvir is not playing in this opening encounter.
Teams:
West Indies: D. Sammy (captain), C. Gayle, J. Charles, M. Samuels, L. Simmons, D.J. Bravo, K. Pollard, D. Sammy, S. Narine, T. Best, S. Gabriel.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Hammad Azam, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan.
Umpires: G Brathwaite and P Nero TV umpire: J Wilson Match referee: D Boon Reserve umpire: D Butler

Pakistan and India in same World Cup 2015 group

MELBOURNE: Cricket World Cup co-hosts Australia and New Zealand have been drawn in the same group for the 2015 tournament, while title-holders India will face off against long-time rival Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.
The first match of the prestigious one-day tournament will be held in Christchurch, the New Zealand city devastated by an earthquake in 2011, when the locals take on Sri Lanka on February 14.
Later that day, Australia will face Ashes foes England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — also the venue for the day-night final match of the flagship tournament of the 50-over game on March 29.
“The 2015 tournament will mark 40 years since the first World Cup in 1975 and that history of great contests and heroes helps make the tournament what it is – the most sought-after prize in our increasingly global game,” said ICC chief executive David Richardson.
“I’m absolutely confident that the success of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will further strengthen the status of 50-over cricket as a successful and viable format alongside Tests and Twenty20 Internationals.”
Australia and New Zealand, whose prime ministers attended launches at simultaneous events in Melbourne and Wellington, are grouped with England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and two qualifiers in the contest, held once every four years.
Title-holders India are pooled with Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and one other qualifying team.
“This is one of the biggest events in world sport,” Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said of the tournament, which is expected to draw a global television audience of close to one billion people.
“It will attract cricket fans from around the globe and also promote Australia and our close friend New Zealand internationally — especially in India and other parts of south Asia.”
Forty-nine matches will be played in 14 venues across the two host nations, with Australia staging 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
New Zealand will host 23 games in seven cities, including Christchurch where international cricket is set to return for the first time since the 6.3-magnitude quake which killed 185 people in 2011.
The tournament, which was last staged in Australia and New Zealand in 1992, will also visit the cities of Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington.
The top four sides from each pool will go through to the knockout stage.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he was encouraged by the draw.
“We’ve had recent success over both Sri Lanka and England in one-dayers, so to face them and a qualifying team in the first three matches is certainly an encouraging draw for us,” he said.
Ireland has already qualified but the other three other teams will be determined by the ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-2013 in October and a qualifier to be hosted in New Zealand in January and February 2014.
Pool A
England, Australia (co-host), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand (co-host), Qualifier 2 (TBD), Qualifier 3 (TBD)
Pool B
South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Qualifier 1 (Ireland), Qualifier 4 (TBD)
Matches scheduled for February and March 2015

Britain losing battle against internet crime, lawmakers say

LONDON: Britain is losing the battle against cyber crime and needs a new crack crime unit to fight the growing problem in cooperation with its global partners, particularly the European Union, a panel of lawmakers said in a report on Tuesday.

The Home Affairs Committee, which scrutinizes the government’s domestic policy, said the “state-of-the-art espionage response team” would encourage companies , banks and institutions to report hacking attempts to uncover the full extent of online crime and halt its rise.
“We are very concerned that there appears to be a ‘black hole’ where low-level e-crime is committed with impunity,” the report said.
The government has said it will consolidate cyber crime policing into a new unified structure as part of a shakeup of the country’s policing structure, but the report said this did not go far enough.
Other government efforts to rein in Internet crime include a partnership with the defense industry  and telecoms companies, announced earlier this month, which aims to safeguard the country’s defense supply chain against cyber attacks.
Prime Minister David Cameron last week also tightened up online pornography laws and demanded that Internet firms block access to child abuse images.
The committee said these efforts did not go far enough, however, and said the government was still too complacent when it came to cyber crime, ranging from identity fraud and data theft to the spreading of illegal images and extremist material.
Last week, five men were charged in the United States in connection with the largest cyber crime case in U.S. history. Major multi-national corporations such as Visa and French retailer Carrefour were among the victims.
“We are not winning the war on online criminal activity,” said opposition MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the bipartisan committee, which heard evidence from police, industry bodies and security experts over the course of a 10-month investigation.
“You can steal more on the Internet than you can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target.”
The committee expressed concern that Britain was isolating itself by deciding to opt out of many EU-wide justice measures, but also criticized individual EU members for not doing enough to stop attacks.
“We are deeply concerned that EU partner countries are not doing enough to prevent cyber attacks from criminals within their countries on the UK,” the report said.

Four survive after landslide engulfs car

BEIJING: Extraordinary video footage captured during torrential storms that hit northwest China this month shows four men making a miraculous escape when a landslide engulfs their car as they travel along a mountain road.
The vehicle is making its way steadily along the road, its hazard lights flashing in the rain, when it is suddenly battered by huge quantities of mud, stones and trees crashing down from above.
The impact was so heavy that even the camera, mounted on the roadside some distance away, shakes.
When the torrent finally stops the car is covered in debris, but two passengers quickly emerge, followed by another man, and the three then help a fourth person out of the vehicle.
A pedestrian walking under an umbrella ahead of the car appears to have been just outside the impact zone, although he cannot be seen after the landslide.
The footage was recorded in the northwest Chinese city of Yan’an earlier this month when destructive storms hit Shaanxi province.
Parts of China are hit by heavy rain every summer.
Floods and landslides have killed 50 people so far this month in Shaanxi, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

EU’s Ashton in two-hour meeting with ousted Egypt leader

CAIRO, July 30, 2013 – The EU foreign policy chief held two hours of talks with the ousted Egyptian president as she pressed efforts on Tuesday to broker an end to an increasingly bloody crisis.
Catherine Ashton’s intensive talks with leaders of both the army-installed interim government and the Islamist opposition came as supporters of Mohamed Morsi vowed no let-up in their demonstrations for his reinstatement despite weekend clashes that left 82 people dead.
Ashton’s spokeswoman did not say where the EU envoy met Morsi, who has been in custody since just hours after his overthrow in a July 3 coup.
She met him “for two hours,” spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said, without elaborating on the content of the talks.
Sources told AFP that Ashton had left Cairo in a military helicopter late on Monday for the undisclosed location where Morsi is being held.
On her last visit on July 17, Ashton unsuccessfully requested to meet the ousted president and urged his release.
Morsi is being held on suspicion of crimes relating to his escape from prison during the 2011 uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak.
His supporters have rallied daily for his reinstatement and on Monday marched from a key Cairo sit-in to several security headquarters.
The marches raised fears of fresh clashes, but protesters kept their distance from security forces and headed back to their protest tent city after the demonstrations.
In the eastern city of Ismailia, however, a security source said clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents broke out, injuring 18.
The Anti-Coup Alliance called for a million-man march later on Tuesday under the banner of “Martyrs of the Coup” to commemorate its dead at a rally in Cairo on Saturday.
It urged Egyptians “to go out into the streets and squares, to regain their freedom and dignity — that are being usurped by the bloody coup — and for the rights of the martyrs assassinated by its bullets”.
Khaled al-Khateeb, the head of the central administration of Egypt’s emergency services, revised Saturday’s death toll up to 82, including a police officer who died of his wounds.
The White House “strongly” condemned the bloodshed, and urged the military-backed interim government to respect the rights of demonstrators.
The interim National Defence Council has urged protesters “not to exceed their rights to peaceful, responsible expression of their opinions,” warning that they would face “decisive and firm decisions and actions in response to any violations”.
Ashton, who arrived in Cairo late Sunday, held intensive meetings throughout Monday, including with army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and army-installed interim president Adly Mansour.
She also met representatives of the pro-Morsi coalition, which said that “no initiatives” to resolve the crisis had been discussed.
“The coalition affirmed the Egyptian people will not leave streets and squares until constitutional legitimacy returns,” the Islamist bloc said in a statement on Tuesday.
The persistent standoff has sparked mounting international concern and growing domestic criticism of the interim authorities.
A group of Egyptian NGOs called on Monday for Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim to be sacked for what it called Saturday’s “massacre”.
In its first comments on the bloodshed, the interim presidency said Sunday that it was “saddened” by the deaths, but dubbed the protest area where they occurred a “terror-originating spot”.
A crackdown on Morsi supporters continued on Monday, with the arrest of the president and vice president of the moderate Islamist Wasat party, which has protested the July 3 coup.
In the Sinai Peninsula meanwhile, a security source said two policemen were killed in separate shooting attacks in El-Arish.
And in Cairo, 15 people were killed in a brawl between street vendors and shop owners over space — including 13 who died in a fire.

India central bank keeps interest rates on hold

MUMBAI, July 30, 2013 – India’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged on Tuesday, ignoring demands for a cut as it seeks to defend the ailing rupee from a further devaluation.
After meeting in the financial capital Mumbai, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, would stay at 7.25 percent as expected by most economists.
Governor Duvvuri Subbarao admitted that the RBI was unable to stimulate growth — which it would normally do by cutting rates in a downturn — because it was having to support the plunging currency.
“India is currently caught in a classic ‘impossible trinity’ trilemma whereby we are having to forfeit some monetary policy discretion to address external sector concerns,” Subbarao said.
The RBI has been pushed into crisis mode to protect the rupee, which has depreciated nearly 12 percent against the dollar this year and hit a record low of 61.21 this month.
The Indian unit sat at 59.83 against the dollar after the rate decision, from a previous close of 59.11, while Indian shares fell 0.58 percent to 19,479.65 points.
A rate cut would have hurt the currency more, pushing up the cost of imports and risking a further widening of the current account deficit, which hit a record 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year to March.
But business leaders and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram are clamouring for lower rates to boost economic growth, which slumped to a decade-low of 5.0 percent in the financial year to March.
The RBI lowered its forecast for economic growth for the current financial year to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent.
“While the onset of the monsoon and its spread have been robust, the persisting weakness in industrial activity has heightened the risks to growth,” it said in a statement.
“Moreover, global growth has been tepid.”
Last week, the central bank raised two short-term lending rates to ease pressure on the rupee, which is the worst performing currency among major Asian nations.
Subbarao said these measures “will be rolled back in a calibrated manner as stability is restored to the foreign exchange market, enabling monetary policy to revert to supporting growth with continuing vigil on inflation”.
The RBI had kept rates unchanged when it met last in June — after three successive rate cuts in 2013 — citing concerns about stubbornly high consumer price inflation and the soft rupee.
The bank kept the cash reserve ratio — the percentage of deposits banks must keep with the central bank — at 4.0 percent on Tuesday.
India’s economic woes have led to increased speculation that it could be headed for a serious economic crisis of the sort it suffered in 1991, which required a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
In comments published in The Indian Express on Tuesday, top economist Arvind Panagariya warned of India’s dependence on foreign capital and said its foreign exchange reserves were too low.
Panagariya, a world expert on the economy and former chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, said he had been upbeat that India would weather its difficulties “but today I am a little worried”.
“I feel shaky. Now there is 10-20 percent chance that we might see 1991 again,” he said.
Bank governor Subbarao also called for “structural measures” to bring the current account deficit, which is the broadest measure of trade, down to “sustainable levels”.
The Congress party-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has been criticised for its slow pace of reform and has struggled to improve the investment climate to boost the economy ahead a general election due by May.
While ministers have relaxed foreign investment rules in recent months, the axing of two mega steel projects by giant foreign firms earlier this month underlined the difficulties of doing business in India, which is riddled with corruption and red tape.
Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital, said the RBI decision to hold rates was expected, but that he foresaw a further 75-basis-point cut by the end of the fiscal year next March.
“The fact that the governor is talking about concerns for growth is an encouraging sign,” Sanyal told AFP.

Who am I to judge’ gays?: Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis reached out to gays on Monday, declaring that it is not his place to judge them, while also condemning the Vatican’s reported gay lobby as a “serious problem”.
The remarks to journalists as he flew back to Rome from a high-profile trip to Brazil appeared to be more conciliatory towards homosexuals than his predecessor Benedict XVI.
“If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” the pope asked.
“The problem is not having this orientation, it is lobbying. That’s the most serious problem.”
The pope had admitted in June that there was a “gay lobby” in the Vatican’s secretive administration, the Roman Curia, according to a Latin American Catholic website.
It followed earlier Italian media reports claiming that a secret report by cardinals investigating Vatican leaks included allegations of corruption and blackmail attempts against gay clergymen, and on the other hand, favouritism based on gay relationships.
Francis also fielded questions about Battista Ricca, who was appointed by the pontiff to a key position at the troubled Vatican bank but is embroiled in allegations that he had gay relationships with male prostitutes.
The pope said he had ordered a “brief investigation but we found nothing on him”.
“I have not seen anyone at the Vatican who is registered as gay on his identity card,” he said, adding however: “We acknowledge that there are (gays).”
Nevertheless, “the catechism of the Catholic Church says clearly that we must not marginalise these people who should be integrated in the society,” he added.
The Italian weekly L’Espresso this month reported that Ricca had gay relationships during his time at the Vatican embassy of Montevideo in Uruguay as well as an affair with a Swiss guard which ultimately saw him sent back to Rome in disgrace in 2010.
Because of an internal bid to cover up Ricca’s activities, Francis apparently was unaware of his past before appointing him as his personal representative at the scandal-hit bank this year.
Gay rights groups had voiced hope on Francis’s appointment that the Argentinian pope would be friendlier to homosexuals than his predecessor.
Benedict had angered the gay community with his suggestion in 2008 that homosexuality was as much of a threat to the survival of the human race as climate change.
Francis also said Monday he was moving forward with reforms of the Vatican adminstration, or Curia, saying he faced no “resistance” while recognising that the Holy See was embroiled in scandals.
“There are saints in the Curia, loyal people,” he said. “And if there’s resistance, I haven’t seen it yet.”
As Latin America’s first pontiff, he was given a rock star’s welcome on Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Copacabana beach, with a sea of faithful waving flags, dancing and chanting “long live the pope!” on the crescent-shaped shoreline.
Wrapping up his first trip abroad since his election in March, the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics hammered home his plea for young believers gathered for World Youth Day to “go and make disciples of all nations”.
He waved away security concerns, saying: “A bishop and his people cannot be separated by an armoured vehicle.”
“I prefer taking a risk,” he said.
Brazil is the world’s biggest Catholic country but its flock has dwindled while Evangelical churches have boomed. Almost 65 percent of the population was Catholic in 2010, sharply down from 92 percent in 1970, according to the census.

Mamnoon Hussain of PML-N secures 309 votes in PA

LAHORE: PML-N Presidential candidate Mamnoon Hussain secured 309 votes in the Punjab Assembly against his opponent from PTI Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmed who could get 23 votes while 6 votes were rejected during the polling held at the Punjab Assembly chamber on Tuesday.
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial was the presiding officer for the presidential election.
Polling for the Presidential Election 2013 started at 10:00 am and continued till 3:00 pm without any break. The members inside the assembly chamber were allowed to cast their
votes after 03:00 pm while the gates were locked for the other aspiring voters after 03:00 pm.
A special session of the Punjab Assembly was convened by the Acting Speaker PA Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani to hold Presidential Election 2013 which was presided over by LHC CJ Umer Ata Bandial.
Provincial Election Commissioner Mehboob Anwar and Punjab Assembly Acting Secretary Rai Mumtaz Babar served as polling officers.
PML-N members Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan and Malik Nadeem Kamran were the polling agents for Mamnoon Hussain while PTI  MPAs Sadia Sohail Rana and Asif Mehmood served as the polling agents for Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmed.
Members of Provincial Assembly cast their votes to elect Pakistan’s new president in alphabetical order and PML-N MPA Amir Talal Gopang was the first to cast vote.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakharuddin G Ibrahim would announce the official results as the provincial assemblies results have been dispatched to the CEC by the
presiding officers in all provincial assemblies.

At least 15 dead in Karak bus accident

KARAK: At least 15 people were killed and many others sustained injuries when a Peshawar-bound passenger bus, which started its journey from Dera Ismael Khan ran into a truck near Karak on Indus Highway.
According to initial reports the tragedy struck after the coach collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction, however most of the deaths were caused after three compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders, fitted on the top of the bus, exploded.
According to eyewitnesses the accident triggered an explosive fire, which left the bus completely burnt out.
Rescue teams are busy shifting the dead and the injured to nearby hospitals.

Gunmen attack polio team in Pishin, 2 cops killed

QUETTA (world-letest-news) - Gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in Pishin district of restive Balochistan province on Tuesday, killing two policemen who were providing security.

The attackers opened fire as the team was going to administer polio drops in the Kona bazaar area.

The campaign involved two male health worker to inoculate children under five years of age against the crippling disease.

No female worker is participating in the vaccination campaign after attacks on polio teams across the country over the past few months killed more than 20 people.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killings. But last year Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella Taliban faction, banned polio vaccinations in the tribal region of Waziristan, alleging the campaign was a cover for espionage.

Last year many polio workers were killed when armed militants attacked polio-eradication teams in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country's southern port city of Karachi.

Following the repeated attacks on the health workers, the World Health Organization and Unicef that were funding the drive in Pakistan, withdrew field workers owing to security threats on December 19. However, polio workers from national health bodies continued to serve despite the danger.

This is unclear whether the polio-eradication drive would continue in the province after the latest attack.

Pakistan is one of the world's three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio still exists. In 2011, an estimated 173 cases of polio were registered across the country. According to official statistics, only 56 cases have been registered across the country in 2012, thanks to anti-polio vaccination.

Rangers arrest six alleged terrorists in Karachi

KARACHI (world-letest-news) - Six suspected terrorists were arrested and two suicide jackets along with arms were recovered on Tuesday following raid by Rangers on a house in Landhi.

As per details, Rangers raided a house in Muzaffarabad Colony in Landhi and arrested six suspects.

The detainees were shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation.

According to sources, the suspects were planning an attack at an office of the Rangers in Landhi.

Thousands of people have died so far in Karachi since 2008, as sectarian, political and ethnic based violence is going unchecked.

Government, police and Rangers are unable to make any reliable strategy and fail to take stern actions for combating crime and terrorism, especially target killings.

In Karachi alone, about 1,800 people have become victim of targeted killings and sectarian violence during the last six months, whereas, in the previous year this figure was 1,205 during the same period of time.

As per Human Right Commission of Pakistan and media reports, 291 people were killed in January, 271 in February, 311 in March, 262 in April, 278 in May and 313 in June.

Mamnoon elected new president with thumping majority

ISLAMABAD world-letest-news - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N ) candidate Mamnoon Hussain  secured 746 votes out of total 878 valid votes  as compared to his opponent Justice (retd) Wajihuddin of PTI who managed to get only 132 votes.

According to unofficial results‚ Mamnoon Hussain secured 277 votes and Wajihuddin bagged 34 votes in the National Assembly.

Mamnoon Hussain secured 64 votes whereas retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad got five votes in Sindh Assembly.

In Balochistan Assembly‚ Mamnoon Hussain got 55 votes and Wajihuddin secured only one vote.

In Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa Assembly‚ Wajihuddin secured 69 votes whereas Mamnoon Hussain bagged 41 votes.

The electoral college of Presidential Election was allowed to cast their votes between 10 am. to 3 pm.

PPP‚ ANP and BNP Awami did not participate in the election in protest against the Supreme Court s decision of advancing the polling date. PML-Q also bocotted the process at the centre but its members took part in voting in Balochistan Assembly and supported PML-N candidate.

Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court and chief Justices of concerned High Courts conducted the polling process at all five polling stations.

It is expected that the Commission will announce official results by this evening and the new President will take oath of his office on the 9th of September on the completion of five years term by incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari.

Nawaz termed MQM a terrorist party in past: Imran

Chief of Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf Imran Tuesday said that PML- N has fallen in love with MQM for Presidential election.

Taking to media persons outside Parliament House, Khan said Nawaz Sharif had termed MQM as a terrorist party but now for its interest, PML-N is flirting with MQM.

He said Nawaz Sharif presented a written point in 2007 APC that no party would make alliance with MQM until it disband its militant wing.

On presidential election, PTI chief said his party decided to participate in polls as they did not want to leave an open ground for PML-N.

He said these elections have become controversial by Supreme Court’s decision which was given without hearing other parties.

Khan said they were not given enough time for lobbing for their candidate.

He asserted that May 11 election were most controversial polls in country’s history as every political party complaining for rigging.

Khan said his party accepted so called mandate of PML-N but wishes next election should be fair and transparent.

PTI chief once again demanded finger print verification in four constituencies adding that their government in KPK would conduct local body elections with Biometric system and no party would complain of rigging in the province.

Cricketer turned politician said degree of Ayla Malik was not fake but there were some technical faults in it added that Sarwar Khan’s disqualification was also unlawful as his case was still in High Court.

To a query on D.I.Khan jail attack, Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has been bearing the brunt of debris of two previous regimes on their participation in United States war. “Police of the province has given sacrifices the most”, Imran Khan said.

“There is no intelligence in province. We have been revamping the police structure and have been bringing reforms”, he added.

“We have decided to set up an intelligence agency at the provincial level so that instead of bearing the cost of terrorism, police could get advance tips about attacks”, Khan said.

He appealed to the masses that “Give us one or two months and you will see the difference yourself”

India releases 23 Pakistani prisoners

The prisoners were logged in various jails of India and were released after the completion of the sentences as per the Indian law.

Most of them were arrested in India on the charges of inadvertent crossing. The prisoners were released and handed over to Pakistan Rangers at Wagah checkpost by BSF .

The Rangers have handed the prisoners over to Edhi authorities to be taken to Edhi centre.

PML-N candidate Mamnoon wins presidential poll with thumping majority

Chief Election Commissioner Fakhuddun G Ibrahiem Tuesday offcialy declared PML-N candidate successful in the presidential elections 2013.
According to the official results by PEC, Mamnoon Hussain secured 432 Electoral College votes and his competitor PTI’s Justice rtd Wajihuddin could manage only 77.

According to the breakup of votes, Mamnoon Hussain clinched 277 votes from Parliament; 54.14 from Punjab Assembly, 24.76 from Sindh Assembly; 21.49 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and; 55 from Balochistan Assembly.
Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed clinched 34 votes from Parliament; 4 from Punjab Assembly; 1.9 from Sindh Assembly; 36.17 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 01 from Balochistan Assembly.

Members of National Assembly, Senate and four provincial assemblies voted in the election

887 votes were cast in total in the parliament and provincial assemblies out of which 09 votes were declared invalid by the presiding officers.

Out of the 878 valid votes Mamnoon Hussain bagged 746 and Wajih got 132.

The total vote count in the parliament and four provincial assemblies was as under:

NA and Senate: Mamnoon 277 votes and Wajih 34

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Mamnoon 22, and Wajih 36

Balochistan: Mamnoon 55 and Wajih 01

Sindh: Mamnoon: 25, Wajih 02

Punjab: Mamnoon 309 and Wajih 23

51 seats in NA and provincial assemblies are vacant awaiting by-elections

Three votes in NA and 6 votes in Punjab Assembly declared invalid.

It may be mentioned here that Mian Raza Rabbani, the presidential candidate of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), had boycotted the polls following its rescheduling by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in compliance with the orders issued by the Supreme Court on PML-N’s petition.

PPP’s candidate Rabbani was of the view that the new schedule would not leave sufficient time for campaigning in the four provincial capitals and in Islamabad.

The Constitutional tenure of the incumbent President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, is set to expire on September 8, 2013.

Mamnoon Hussain’s profile

Originally a businessman, Mamnoon Hussain started his politics as a Muslim Leaguer in 1969.

At the time, he was made joint secretary of the Karachi chapter of the League when former minister of state for foreign affairs Zain Noorani was its president.

He has done MBA from the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi as well as Darse Nizami course. Mamnoon Hussain originally hails from Agra (India).

Mamnoon Hussain has his textile business and office in Allahwali Market Karachi.

He was seen actively involved in the PML-N since 1993 when Nawaz Sharif was in the opposition.

Before Mamnoon Hussain was appointed governor of Sindh by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 to serve in this position for less than six months, he worked as advisor to the provincial chief minister (Liaquat Ali Jatoi) for an insignificant portfolio.

After the promulgation of military rule in October 1999, Mamnoon Hussain firmly stood with Nawaz Sharif when multitudes of PML-N leaders simply abandoned their party.

During all this period starting in 1993, Mamnoon Hussain has held different positions in the Sindh branch of the party. However, he would leave the PML-N post after his election as president. His son holds a senior executive post in the Citibank.

Ayela Malik to challenge disqualification

ISLAMABAD (Online) - The leader of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Ayela Malik has decided to challenge the decision of her disqualification by Election Tribunal in the high court.

Aiyla Malik, who is also the candidate from NA-71, said in her statement that her disqualification is conspiracy against the people of the constituency.

She said that elements are behind her disqualification those always deprived people of their rights in the history of the country. As a matter of fact they do not want that Pakistan may progress.

“The privileged classes of Mianwali wish to confiscate the rights of poor people,” she said.

She said that Election Tribunal disqualified all the candidate from the constituency but kept the membership of PML(N)’s Ubaid Ullah Shadikhel intact.

“On my application , Election Tribunal sought the record against Shadikhel from NAB , but no reply was received yet, which proved that some powerful elements want to sideline PTI, but the party would continue its fight against those exploiting forces and never let the ground open for them”, she added.

Railways Minister orders to check black-marketing of tickets

LAHORE  (Web Desk) - Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has directed the authorities concerned to check black-marketing of tickets.

Presiding over a meeting in Lahore, the minister said that additional police and booking staff would be deployed to facilitate commuters.

The meeting decided to introduce more freight trains.

The meeting was informed that a special operation has been launched to clear encroachments from railways' property.

Over the years, a lack of attention, poor policies, increasing expenditures and poor financial controls, as well as 2010’s devastating floods, have left PR with billions of rupees in deficits.

Now, PML-N led government is trying to restructure the Pakistan Railways.

On July 27, Pakistan Railways slashed fare of all passengers’ trains by over 45 percent except Karakoram Express initially for the period of three months to attract more passengers.

The PR had also received Rs 1.57 billion of funds used in opening of Letter of Credit (LC) for import of 75 locomotives from China as the deal was terminated by the rail authorities, said Khawaja Saad Rafique.

The fares were slashed owing to low occupancy and to competing the road transport because the rail fares were more as compared to the road transport and passengers preferred to travel on later mode. Now the fares of trains became low as compared to the road transports. PR had increased number of freight trains from one to three and it would be five till the end of December.

Efforts were being made to remove the annual deficit of Rs 35 billion till the end of current financial year, Rafique said.

The minister said there was dispute of Rs 3 billion between Punjab government and rail authorities and I thanked to Punjab government for cooperation and payment of Rs.300 million in first tranche Rafique said.

About punctually of arrival and departure, the minister assured that it would be redressed 80 percent during the current financial year and more locomotives had been inducted in operation. There was on freight train in operation when I took this ministry but now it touched to three with the induction of repaired locomotives fleet in the system.

The maintenance cost on each locomotive was US$ 50 which was very low as compared to the international standard. One freight train approximately earn Rs.1.15 billion annually and was the major source of revenue for the authority, minister added.

The management had also decided to run Eid special trains on the religious festivity to facilitate the passengers to visit their natives’ towns to celebrate it with their dear one, he said.

230 prisoners escape in TTP’s DI Khan jail attack

PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-e-Taliban insurgents armed with mortars and grenades launched a major attack on the Central Prison in Dera Ismail Khan, escaping with 230 prisoners including suspected militants after a gunbattle with security forces, officials said Tuesday.
At least 12 people including four policemen were killed and seven others wounded in the brazen assault late Monday staged by militants disguised in police uniforms, they said.
“A total of 243 prisoners have escaped, six of them were later arrested by police,” DI Khan Commissioner Mushtaq Jadoon told ARY News, adding that “30 among the escaped prisoners were hardcore militants”.
A security official said the jail held up to 5,000 prisoners including some 300 militants involved in attacks on security forces and sectarian killings.
Jadoon said the fighters had planted dozens of explosive devices in the jail and 14 of them had so far been defused.
“Police and other law enforcing agencies are busy in clearing the jail,” he said, adding authorities have imposed a curfew in the city and asked residents to stay at home.
“Through media, we appeal to the people to stay at home. It is to avoid any damage if army, police and paramilitary take any action,” he added.
Jadoon said around 50 to 60 militants managed to enter the jail as others fired rockets from outside.
“First they destroyed a police armoured vehicle parked at the front gate,” he said, adding that two policemen were killed in the initial rocket attack.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the jail attack.
“Some 150 Taliban, including 60 suicide bombers, attacked the Central Prison and managed to free about 300 prisoners,” Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told AFP by telephone.
K-P prisons chief Khalid Abbas said the gunfight raged for three hours, with militants wearing police uniforms entering the facility after bombing its outer wall and throwing hand grenades at prison guards.
After the battle abated, security forces searched the prison which was plunged into darkness with an electricity outage, and counted inmates by flashlight to determine how many had escaped, he said.
Residents in Dera Ismail Khan reported hearing loud blasts and gunfire, and said the electricity supply to several parts of the city had also been suspended.
A local police official said he saw militants carrying rocket launchers and firing at the jail.
“Militants were firing rockets at the jail and I also heard gunfire from inside the building,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Spokesperson for the K-P government Shaukat Yousafzai confirmed the army had been called in to quell the militant attack.

PPP should not have boycotted presidential polls: Arbab Rahim

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) following the policy of reconciliation and democracy should not have boycotted the presidential election.
This was stated by a former chief minister of Sindh and leader of PML-N, Arbab Ghulam Rahim.
He was talking to reporters at the Sindh Assembly premises here on Tuesday.
Arbab Rahim was of the view that the success of the PML-N presidential candidate, Mamnoon Hussain would augur well for the country and the continuity of democracy.

PM Nawaz to visit Karachi on Aug 1

LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Karachi on August 1, media reported on Monday.

This will be his first tour of the metropolis since he took office in June. The one-day tour was earlier scheduled for July 31.
PM Nawaz will meet Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, while a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League – Functional’s (PML-F) head Pir Pagara is also a possibility.
The premier will meet his party members during the trip, and listen to their Sindh-related concerns.
The PML-N leadership in Sindh has expressed its reservations over a possible alliance of their party with the MQM.
The recent visit of a PML N delegation, led by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, to the MQM headquarters Nine Zero has sparked a debate within the PML –N’s provincial leadership.
Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid did however clarify that the PML-N has not yet invited the MQM to join the federal government.

Presidential election completes in KPK, counting starts

PESHAWAR: The voting process in Khyber Pakthunkhwa Assembly to elect President of Pakistan for five years term was completed here on Tuesday.
A total of 110 votes were polled by the lawmakers of the KP Assembly in a free and transparent manner under secret balloting procedure. The counting of votes is continued and results would be announced shortly.
Chief Justice PHC Justice Dost Muhammad Khan is presiding officer for the polling, whereas Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch, Register PHC and Secretary KP Assembly are polling officers. The ANP and PPP lawmakers have boycotted the session and did not cast their votes.

Karachi: Rangers arrest six suspected terrorists from Landhi

KARACHI: Six suspected terrorists were arrested and two suicide jackets along with arms were recovered on Tuesday following raid by Rangers on a house in Landhi.

According to details, Rangers raided a house in Muzaffarabad Colony in Landhi and arrested six people, who were shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation.
According to the security sources, arrested criminals were also involved in attacks on the polio vaccination workers in the area.

Mamnoon Hussain elected 12th President of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Mamnoon Hussain, the candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was elected on Tuesday as the 12th President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the next five-year term.
According to Electoral College results announced by the Chief Election Commissioner, Hussain secured 432 Electoral College votes from Parliament, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, while his opponent PTI candidate Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed secured 77 votes.
According to the breakup of votes, Mamnoon Hussain clinched 277 votes from Parliament; 54.14 from Punjab Assembly, 24.76 from Sindh Assembly; 21.49 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and; 55 from Balochistan Assembly.
Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed clinched 34 votes from Parliament; 4 from Punjab Assembly; 1.9 from Sindh Assembly; 36.17 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 01 from Balochistan Assembly.
The Constitutional tenure of the incumbent President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, is set to expire on September 8, 2013.
The polling for the presidential election was held simultaneously in the Parliament and provincial assemblies which were pronounced polling stations at the outset of their respective proceedings today.
It may be mentioned here that Mian Raza Rabbani, the presidential candidate of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), had boycotted the polls following its rescheduling by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in compliance with the orders issued by the Supreme Court on PML-N’s petition.
PPP’s candidate Rabbani was of the view that the new schedule would not leave sufficient time for campaigning in the four provincial capitals and in Islamabad.
Mamnoon Hussain’s profile
Originally a businessman, Mamnoon Hussain started his politics as a Muslim Leaguer in 1969.
At the time, he was made joint secretary of the Karachi chapter of the League when former minister of state for foreign affairs Zain Noorani was its president.
He has done MBA from the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi as well as Darse Nizami course. Mamnoon Hussain originally hails from Agra (India).
Mamnoon Hussain has his textile business and office in Allahwali Market Karachi.
He was seen actively involved in the PML-N since 1993 when Nawaz Sharif was in the opposition.
Before Mamnoon Hussain was appointed governor of Sindh by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 to serve in this position for less than six months, he worked as advisor to the provincial chief minister (Liaquat Ali Jatoi) for an insignificant portfolio.
After the promulgation of military rule in October 1999, Mamnoon Hussain firmly stood with Nawaz Sharif when multitudes of PML-N leaders simply abandoned their party.
During all this period starting in 1993, Mamnoon Hussain has held different positions in the Sindh branch of the party. However, he would leave the PML-N post after his election as president. His son holds a senior executive post in the Citibank.
Chronological list of Pakistan's heads of state with tenures:
1. Iskander Mirza (23 March 1956 to 27 October 1958)
2. Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 to 25 March 1969) (two terms)
3. Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 to 20 December 1971)
4. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (20 December 1971 to 13 August 1973)
5. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (14 August 1973 to 16 September 1978)
6. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (16 September 1978 to 17 August 1988)
7. Ghulam Ishaq Khan (17 August 1988 to 18 July 1993)
8. Farooq Leghari (14 November 1993 to 2 December 1997)
9. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (1 January 1998 to 20 June 2001)
10. Pervez Musharraf (20 June 2001 to 18 August 2008) (two terms)
11. Asif Ali Zardari (9 September 2008) (Incumbent)

BB murder case: Musharraf to be indicted on August 6

RAWALPINDI: Former President, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf will be indicted in the murder case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on August 6.
Musharraf appeared before the anti-terrorism Court (ATC) here on Tuesday and was provided a copy of the case and after his signature a date was fixed for the indictment. The ATC directed MUsharraf to appear before it during the next hearing.

The ATC also reinstated the former president’s frozen bank accounts and assets.

Earlier, Musharraf had filed a petition for the recovery of his assets and bank accounts in the ATC, on which the court had reserved the judgment.

Violence feared as India moves to approve new state

NEW DELHI: India's ruling party was expected Tuesday to approve the creation of a new state in the southeast amid fears the decision will spark violence in the region which includes IT hub Hyderabad.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders were set to hold talks later Tuesday over longstanding demands for the state of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh state.

"The Telangana issue will be discussed today. We have to bring all our political allies on board before we can take any decision on this matter," a senior source in the Congress party in New Delhi told.

Newspapers and television channels widely forecast that the state would be approved.

The issue, the source of frequent clashes between protesters and police since 2009, has led security forces to be put on alert in Hyderabad, which is home to tech firms including Facebook and Google.

The proposed new state, which would be the 29th in India, would be created out of an impoverished, drought-prone area inhabited mostly by tribal groups which supporters say has been neglected by the Andhra Pradesh government.

In 2009, the then-home minister P. Chidambaram promised Telangana supporters that the government would finally bow to their decades-long campaign after a hunger strike by a regional leader and violent protests by students.

Andhra Pradesh, formed in 1956, is India's fifth largest state in terms of territory and sends 42 MPs to India's 543-member parliament. The Congress party won 33 out of these in 2009 national elections.

Experts say the division of the region, with Hyderabad set to serve as joint capital, is a gamble by Congress as it tries to boost its electoral returns from a crucial state in national polls next year.

They also say it creates the risk of spurring demands for statehood elsewhere in India, particularly in a tea-growing area of West Bengal where ethnic Nepalis have long campaigned for a state called Gorkhaland.

The Indian Express newspaper said the creation of Telangana would take time and "it is likely to come into existence only around May next year".

Teen star Meilutyte sets new world record

BARCELONA: Lithuania's teenage Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte broke the women's 100m breaststroke world record with a new mark of 1min 04.35secs on Monday in the semi-finals at the swimming world championships.

The 16-year-old, who pulled off a shock win in the Olympic final in London last year, blazed into Tuesday's final in Barcelona and punched the water repeatedly with delight when her record was confirmed. "The world record means more than the gold medal, I've achieved my main target," she said.

She broke the four-year-old mark of 1min 04.45secs, set by Jessica Hardy of the USA during the era when the high-tech swim suits were legal and the petite Lithuanian burst into tears as her achievement sank in.

Meilutyte faces Hardy in Tuesday's final and the Lithuanian said adding world gold to her Olympic title would be the stuff of daydreams. "The world record was always a dream for me, but yes, obviously a gold medal at the world championships would be like the cherry on top of the ice cream," said the teenager.

Meilutyte, who trains in Plymouth, England, is the hot favourite in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke in Barcelona, an unusual position for the blonde schoolgirl, who was little known outside swimming circles just a year ago.

Meilutyte was voted best Lithuanian athlete of 2012 in her home country after her Olympic triumph.

The Lithuanian sent warning signals to opponents in June when she became the first woman to go under 30 seconds in the 50m breaststroke in a textile suit with a European record of 29.96 sec.

Last month, she also beat her own European record in the 100m breaststroke with 1min 05.20 sec before she tore up the world record in Barcelona. (AFP)

Initial report of D.I. Khan jailbreak

PESHAWAR: The initial report of the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak has been sent to Khyber Pkahtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

The report prepared by the advisor for prisons and Inspector General (IG) prisons states that police backup arrived over four hours late and intelligence agencies warned of the attack three days prior. According to the report, weapons of guards at the prison were old.

Earlier, Chief Minister Khattck had called the jailbreak a failure of intelligence agencies and directed concerned authorities to launch a probe into the incident.

As many as 243 prisoners escaped as militants carrying heavy weapons stormed Dera Ismail Khan’s Central Jail. The attack on the hundred-year-old detention facility was blamed on weak security arrangements where inmates belonging to various banned organizations were held.

Nine people including six policemen were killed and 14 others injured in the audacious attack while four prisoners were also killed by security forces.

Ecuador striker dies suddenly in Qatar - agent

QUITO: Ecuador striker Christian Benitez has died suddenly in Qatar at the age of 27, his agent Jose Chamorro said Monday.

Speaking to Ecuadorian Gama TV, Chamorro claimed Benitez, known as "Chucho", had suffered a heart-attack.

He had complained of abdominal pains and was transferred to a hospital, where he died on Monday, Chamorro said.

Benitez, who was top scorer in the Mexican league last season with Club America, had just signed for Qatari outfit El-Jaish and had travelled to the club to undergo a medical before completing his move.

Ecuador's interior minister Jose Serrano took to Twitter to pay tribute to the player, who also turned out for English side Birmingham City for one season. "Dear Chucho thank you for your goals and your happiness," said the minister. "A hug to your family and especially to your father."
Benitez was considered a key part of Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda's Ecuador team that is hoping to qualify for next year's World Cup in Brazil, sitting third in the South American qualifying group. (AFP)

Imran Khan demands probe into poll rigging

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan has demanded Supreme Court to investigate rigging in general elections at least in four constituencies through thumb impression.

He stated this while talking to media persons outside the parliament house on Tuesday.

Khan said that presidential election has turned controversial as several political forces have boycotted it. He said PTI contested this election after party consultation because it did not want to give open ground to PML-N.

He said the apex court has yet not responded to the petition in which PTI demanded to hold investigations against rigging in Election 2013.

Imran Khan claimed that 11th May election was massively rigged as all political forces except PML-N blamed so.

Responding a question Imran Khan said that in All Parties Conference 2007‚ PML-N agreed not to hold hands with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) unless it disbands its militant wing. He said PML-N deviated from its commitment. (PPI)

IPL fixing: Sreesanth, 38 others charged

NEW DELHI: Indian prosecutors charged fast bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth and 38 others on Tuesday with links to organised crime and cheating over their alleged involvement in spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League, a lawyer said.

Special public prosecutor Rajesh Mohan told AFP that Sreesanth and 38 others had been formally charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act over alleged offences in the last edition of the tournament.

"The players and others have also been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty," Mohan told AFP. (AFP)

Mid-East peace talks to resume in Washington

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will resume peace talks in Washington on Monday, the US State Department has announced.

The talks, stalled since 2010, follow months of shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The statement came hours after Israel approved the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners.
The release - which split the Israeli cabinet - is to take place in stages over several months.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the initial talks would begin on Monday evening and continue on Tuesday.
She said Mr Kerry had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday and they had agreed that the talks would "serve as an opportunity to develop a procedural work plan for how the parties can proceed with the negotiations in the coming months".
Ms Psaki suggested the initial talks would be to chart a way forward rather than try to tackle the thorny issues between the two sides.
Major sticking points include the future of Israeli settlements on the West Bank, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
The issue of settlement-building halted the last direct talks in September 2010.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

The mother of a Palestinian prisoner, right, was overwhelmed by news of his possible release

Mr Kerry said in a statement: "Both leaders have demonstrated a willingness to make difficult decisions that have been instrumental in getting to this point. We are grateful for their leadership."
The BBC's Katy Watson in Washington says that in the five months that Mr Kerry has been secretary of state he has visited the region six times in an effort to restart talks, so today's statement is seen as a big step forward.
However, these are talks about talks and although a welcome development it is still very early days, she adds.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved the release of Palestinian prisoners by 13 votes to seven.
Some 104 long-term prisoners will be released in four stages over a number of months, linked to progress in the peace process.
Sunday's cabinet meeting was delayed by an hour as Mr Netanyahu sought support for his proposal.
"This moment is not easy for me, is not easy for the cabinet ministers, and is not easy especially for the bereaved families, whose feelings I understand," he said shortly before the meeting.
"But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the nation and this is one of those moments."
The cabinet also approved a draft bill requiring a referendum for any peace agreement with the Palestinians that involves territorial concessions.
Mr Netanyahu's office said it was important that every citizen voted directly on such historic decisions.

Energy Watchdog 'Failing Consumers', Say MPs

The energy watchdog, Ofgem, is failing consumers and undermining trust in the market, a group of MPs have said - urging it to "use its teeth a bit more".

A report by the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee has said there is a "lack of transparency" about profits made by the Big Six energy providers.
Committee member and Lib Dem MP Sir Robert Smith said: "At a time when many people are struggling with the rising costs of energy, consumers need reassurance that the profits being made by the Big Six are not excessive.
"Unfortunately, the complex vertically integrated structure of these companies means that working out exactly how their profits are made requires forensic accountants."
Labour MP John Robertson added: "Ofgem needs to use its teeth a bit more and force the energy companies to do everything they can to prove that they are squeaky clean when it comes to making and reporting their profits."
There has been long standing criticism of the UK energy market in which six major competitors show little evidence of competing with each other on price.
Rising prices for consumers in recent years has been blamed on higher wholesale prices for energy providers however the Committee notes in its report that many of Britain's major providers are generators of energy and therefore profit from higher wholesale prices too.
The Big Six have also been criticised for offering a confusing range of tariffs which give the impression of greater consumer choice but offer little in the way of discounts.
British Gas and EDF customer Mary Phillips told Sky News that in the winter she frequently has to choose between spending on food or fuel, and that competition in the energy market has done nothing to help.
She said: "I keep getting notes from all these different energy companies saying that they're making their bills much easier to understand. You're joking!
"Every single different supplier says that they're going to give me a much better deal than all the other suppliers. I don't believe it really. I think they might do it for about three months and then it will all go up suddenly."
As the industry's watchdog, Ofgem has the power to order an inquiry into competition in the energy market but has chosen not to do so.  Instead it hopes that the threat of such a forensic analysis of the Big Six's energy practices will encourage them to clean up their acts.
Ofgem's Rachel Fletcher said: "We share the committee's goal of restoring consumers' trust.
"We agree with the committee that suppliers have been poor at communicating with their customers.
"Ofgem has made energy companies produce yearly financial statements, which have been reviewed twice by independent accountants and found to be fit for purpose."
The report also criticises the Government for not doing enough to help millions of low-income families living in poorly insulated homes and who struggle with fuel poverty.
The MPs argue that programmes to help protect the most vulnerable should be funded through direct taxation rather than levies on the bills of those who can afford it.
Sir Robert said: "Fuel poverty is getting worse as energy prices rise making it all the more critical that the Government must respond to the Hills Review as a matter of urgency.
"Tax-funded public spending is a less regressive mechanism than levies on energy bills, which can hit some of the poorest hardest. Shifting the emphasis from levies to taxation would help protect vulnerable households."

Target killler killed in alleged standoff with Karachi police

KARACHI: A notorious outlaw wanted for multiple counts of violent crimes ranging from murder, extortion, kidnapping for ransom etc was killed in an alleged encounter with police here on Sunday night, Geo News reported.

According to SSP West, Asif Ijaz, a shootout between the police and Mehfoozullah Khan, also known as Bhaloo --which means bear-- near Kati Pahari area of Qasba Colony resulted in the death of this prolaimed offender.

More details are awaited.

The poison pill in India's search for cheap food

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Nearly a decade ago, the Indian government ruled out a ban on the production and use of monocrotophos, the highly toxic pesticide that killed 23 children this month in a village school providing free lunches under a government-sponsored program.

Despite being labeled highly hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO), a panel of government experts was persuaded by manufacturers that monocrotophos was cheaper than alternatives and more effective in controlling pests that decimate crop output.

India, which has more hungry mouths to feed than any other country in the world, continues to use monocrotophos and other highly toxic pesticides that rich and poor nations alike, including China, are banning on health grounds.

Although the government argues the benefits of strong pesticides outweigh the hazards if properly managed, the school food poisoning tragedy underlined criticism such controls are virtually ignored on the ground.

According to the minutes, the 2004 meeting conducted by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee, the Indian government body that regulates pesticide use, concluded that: "The data submitted by the industry satisfies the concerns raised...Therefore, there is no need to recommend the ban of this product."

The minutes of the meeting can be read here: cibrc.nic.in/248rc.doc

Government scientists continue to defend the pesticide, and insist the decision to not ban it remains good.

Just weeks before the school tragedy in Bihar state, the Indian government advised farmers via text message to use monocrotophos to kill borer pests in mandarin fruits and rice, records on the agricultural meteorology division's web site show.

"It is cost effective and it is known for its efficacy ... some even call it a benevolent pesticide," said T. P. Rajendran, assistant director general for plant protection at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

"I can say that pesticides currently permitted in the country are safe provided they are used as per specifications and guidelines. We have exhaustive and detailed guidelines. They need to be followed."

A senior official directly involved in the decision-making on pesticide use said: "You have got to understand that all pesticides are toxic but they are essential for maintaining or increasing agricultural production.

"Can we afford to lose 15-25 percent of output? One cannot afford to lose such a large percentage of agricultural produce. The answer lies in judicious use."

The official declined to be identified.

The WHO has cited a 2007 study that about 76,000 people die each year in India from pesticide poisoning. Many of the deaths are suicides made easy by the wide availability of toxic pesticides.

15 PAGES OF REGULATIONS

In the school tragedy, police suspect the children's lunch was cooked in oil that was stored in a used container of monocrotophos.

The Indian government has issued 15 pages of regulations that need to be followed when handling pesticides - including wearing protective clothing and using a respirator when spraying. Pesticide containers should be broken when empty and not left outside in order to prevent them being re-used.

But in a nation where a quarter of the 1.2 billion population is illiterate and vast numbers live in far-flung rural districts, implementation is almost impossible. For instance, monocrotophos is banned for use on vegetable crops, but there is no way to ensure the rule is followed.

According to the WHO, swallowing 1,200 milligrams - less than a teaspoon - of monocrotophos can be fatal to humans. In 2009, it called for India to ban the product because of its extreme toxicity.

"It is imperative to consider banning the use of monocrotophos," it said in a 60-page report. "The perception that monocrotophos is cheap and necessary, have prevented the product from being taken off the market" in India.

WHO officials say the school tragedy reinforces the dangers of the pesticide.

"We would advocate that countries restrict, ban, or phase out...those chemicals for which they can't ensure that all aspects of use are safe," said Lesley Onyon, WHO's South-East Asia regional adviser for chemical safety. "If they can't ensure safety, it's our policy to say that these chemical or pesticides shouldn't be used."

Indian government officials refuse to address the WHO's findings directly.

"We have to take decisions depending on our need, our priorities, and our requirements. No one knows these things better than us," said the government source.

NATIONAL PRIORITY

For India, providing more food to its people is a national priority. According to the World Bank, nearly 400 million people in the country live on less than $1.25 per day.

Nearly half its children under five are malnourished.

The Bihar school where the children died was participating in the government's midday meal program, aimed at giving 120 million school pupils a free lunch - both providing nutrition and encouraging education. India is also close to implementing an ambitious plan to provide cheap food to 800 million people.

Central to these efforts will be higher crop yields and managing costs.

According to government officials and manufacturers, monocrotophos is cheap and is also a broad spectrum pesticide that can only be replaced by four or five crop- or pest-specific pesticides. Even similar pesticides are much more expensive.

A 500 ml monocrotophos bottle sold by Godrej Agrovet, a subsidiary of Godrej Industries, is priced at 225 rupees ($3.75), while an alternative, Imidacloprid, in a bottle of 500 ml produced by Bayer, costs 1,271 rupees.

Monocrotophos is banned by many countries, including the United States, the European Union nations, China, and, among India's neighbors, Pakistan. Sri Lanka only allows monocrotophos use for coconut cultivation.

One of the two companies that argued against the ban on monocrotophos in 2004 halted production five years later under pressure from the public in its home country, Denmark.

Cheminova, a unit of Auriga Industries, said it stopped producing monocrotophos in India in 2009 and converted its plant to produce a low-toxic fungicide.

"We decided to phase out monocrotophos because with many alternative products, we could not see any reason to have such a toxic product in a country like India," Lars-Erik Pedersen, vice-president of Auriga Industries, told Reuters in Copenhagen.

"It was a big decision because it is one of the best-selling products in India," he added.

The other manufacturer that made a presentation at the 2004 meeting was United Phosphorus, currently the biggest producer of the pesticide in the country.

Managing Director Rajju D. Shroff told Reuters that monocrotophos was "very harmless," and hinted calls for a ban were aimed at helping multinationals sell more costly alternatives.

"Companies want to sell new pesticides. If they have monocrotophos, farmers will not change to new, expensive ones," said Shroff, who attended the meeting as the head of the Crop Care Federation of India, a position he still holds.

NOT MOST TOXIC

Historically, India appears reluctant to ban pesticides. Monocrotophos isn't the most toxic pesticide used in the country, according to the WHO's classifications. Phorate, methyl parathion, bromadiolone and phosphamidon, all classified as extremely hazardous, are likewise registered for use.

And endosulfan - a substance so nasty the United Nations wants it eliminated worldwide - was banned only by a Supreme Court order in 2011. The decision came a few months after the chief minister of the southern state of Kerala, the top elected official, went on a day-long hunger fast to demand the ban.

According to media reports, over 1,000 people were killed and hundreds born deformed because of indiscriminate aerial spraying of endosulfan in Kasargod, a Kerala district.

Both production of monocrotophos and demand in India was higher in 2009/10 than in 2005/06, according to latest available government data. It accounted for about 4 percent of total pesticide use in 2009/10 and 7 percent of production.

Its share in total sales is about 2-3 percent now, according to the Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association, which says it represents the industry on a national basis with over 250 members.

The Centre for Science and Environment, a leading environmental NGO in India, says the state of pesticide control in the country is deplorable and companies have great influence.

"The story on the ground is abysmal, it's very disappointing," said Amit Khurana, program manager in the CSE's food safety and toxins unit.

"People still do not know how much of pesticide is to be used, which pesticide is to be used for which crop. The biggest influence for a farmer is the sales representative of the company ... so there's this sense of gross mismanagement at that level."

The government has tried to introduce legislation for "more effective regulation of import, manufacture, export, sale, transport, distribution and use of pesticides" but the bill has languished in parliament since 2008.

India is no stranger to the dangers of pesticides. Besides the thousands killed each year, the country suffered the world's worst industrial disaster when lethal methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal in 1984, killing nearly 4,500 people.

But in the fields of rural India, pesticides like monocrotophos continue to be widely used.

"I have been using it for the last 10 years, I have a very good experience," said Gaiyabhu Patil, a 56-year-old farmer who has just finished spraying monocrotophos on his 15-acre cotton crop in the western state of Maharashtra. "It is cheap and effective."

Anil Dhole, a pesticide vendor in Koregaon, a district town southeast of Mumbai at the center of a sugarcane and cotton growing region, said few of his customers took health warnings seriously.

"Many farmers don't take the necessary precautions while applying the pesticide. We do inform them about its toxic nature, but they take it casually," he said "Farmers don't even bother to cover their noses." (Reuters)

Electricity, gas thieves deserve no mercy: Shahbaz

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif Sunday said that electricity and gas theft was a great menace in which some big fish are also involved and they are being made accountable, Geo News reported.

Punjab CM said that these anti-social elements robbing the nation and the country in billions deserve no mercy.

Talking to Lahore district assembly members, Shahbaz Sharif said that actions are being taken on war footing for bringing the energy crisis under control and the government would soon succeed in steering the country out of darkness and putting it on the road to progress.

Punjab CM said that along with the factory owners involved in electricity and gas theft corrupt government officers are also being taken to task. He advised the lawmakers to take the lead in the campaign against electricity and gas thieves.

Imran says he wanted to boycott presidential polls

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan Sunday said he himself wanted to boycott presidential elections, however, he added that on the request of the party’s candidate Justice (retd) Wajihuddin, he decided not to leave the field empty for the PML-N's candidate.

Addressing a news conference here‚ Imran Khan said he sympathizes with the stand of opposition for boycotting the presidential elections but in his view taking part in elections is important.

He said democracy can move forward only if the presidency is neutral.

The PTI chief said that the party’s presidential nominee retired justice Wajihuddin is very competent and his integrity is beyond any doubt.

He said “We have serious reservations on the rigging in May 11 elections and we will keep raising our voice against it.”

He demanded to recheck the thumb impressions in four constituencies.

Referring to local bodies’ elections, he said PTI will ensure transparent elections in the province without using any state machinery and make it an example.