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August 20, 2007 Monday Sha’aban 6, 1428


Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)


Latest News

Strong earthquake hits southern Philippines MANILA, Aug 20, (AFP) - A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit the southern Philippines on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake's epicenter was reported to be 209 kilometers south east of the town of Mati in Davao Oriental on Mindanao Island. Mylene Carols of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) told AFP the quake was felt along the east coast of the island but there were no reports of damage or injuries. (First Posted @ 20:50 PST Updated @ 23:30 PST)


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Nobody should even think of casting evil eye on Pakistan's nuclear assets: PM Aziz LAHORE, Aug 20 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Pakistan’s nuclear assets are in safe hands and nobody should even think of casting evil eye on them. “Pakistan has effective command and control system and we know how to defend our nuclear assets” said the premier while talking to editors of newspapers, columnists and senior journalists at Governor House here Monday evening. The Prime Minister said “ensuring security, integrity and sovereignty of the country is top priority of the government and we have categorically stated a number of times that Pakistan's nuclear assets are in safe hands and we are determined to ensure their protection at every cost.” Similarly, he said, nobody will be allowed to violate the country's territorial integrity. Regarding the problem of militancy, he said: “We are facing challenge of terrorism and extremism in some parts of NWFP and tribal area and are pursuing a comprehensive plan to root out these menaces but no other country can be allowed to send its forces or violate our space to fight militancy.” He said Pakistan's law enforcement agencies are fully capable to tackle the situation and fight the elements involved in terrorism and extremism. (Posted @ 21:36 PST)


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Director General FIA warned to produce Hafiz Basit or face detention ISLAMABAD, Aug 20 (APP) A four-member bench of the Supreme Court Monday warned the Director General Federal Investigation (FIA) to produce Hafiz Abdul Basit, who was taken into custody in 2004 for his alleged involvement in an explosion aimed against the President, or face detention in Adyiala jail till the production of the detainee before the court. The bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed heard the case in detail and summoned Director General FIA Tariq Pervez during the proceedings of the case for explanation about the arrest of Hafiz Abdul Basit. The Director General appeared before the court on notice and explained the matter about the arrest of Hafiz Abdul Basit who was handed over to Faisalabad Police and then to the Military Intelligence (MI). He requested the court for time to talk to the concerned agencies for locating Hafiz Abdul Basit, who was taken into custody in 2004 from Gulbarg in Lahore, The court did not accept the request, giving the FIA head option to produce the man or face detention. The bench said: “We do not say that all the persons should be released. But their custody should be regularized through courts. If they are involved in crimes then they must be tried in accordance with law.” (Posted @ 21:16 PST)


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Israeli strike kills six Hamas militants in Gaza GAZA CITY, Aug 20 (AFP) Six Hamas militants were killed Monday when an Israeli strike hit their jeep in the central Gaza Strip, officials said. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)


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Mob of 50 attacks Indians in east German town DRESDEN, Germany, Aug 20 (Reuters) A mob shouting racial insults attacked eight Indians at a town fair in east Germany, then chased them and besieged them inside a pizzeria until they were rescued by police, officials said Monday. Around 70 police were required to disperse the mob of 50 people, which gathered after revellers shouted abuse and threw bottles at the Indians during the town fair in Muegeln, east of Leipzig, Saturday night, police said. All of the Indians were injured, he said. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)


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Strong earthquake hits southern Philippines MANILA, Aug 20 (AFP) A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit the southern Philippines Monday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake's epicentre was reported to be 209 kilometres south east of the town of Mati in Davao Oriental on Mindanao Island. There were no reports of damage or injuries. (Posted @ 20:50 PST)


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Pakistan Cricket Board suspends disciplinary fine on Akhtar ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 20 (AP) The Pakistan Cricket Board's appellate committee suspended the US$5,000 fine imposed on fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. The PCB had fined Akhtar and deducted 1.5 points from the disciplinary clause of his contract for leaving a training camp without informing team management and not appearing before a disciplinary committee this month. Akhtar went to the appellate committee because he contended he had informed captain Shoaib Malik and received notice too late of the disciplinary hearing. ''Now the manager of the team (Talat Ali) will reassess the case,'' Moin Afzal, one of the members of the appellate committee, told reporters in Lahore Monday. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)


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Gunbattle between Afghan army and Taliban leaves 10 dead KANDAHAR, Aug 20 (PPI) Dozens of Taliban insurgents attacked an Afghan army compound in southern Afghanistan, and the ensuing gunbattle left 10 suspected militants dead and four others wounded, an official said Monday. The clash began late Sunday when the Taliban fired on the compound in the Sangin district of Helmand province, said Eizatullah Khan, the district chief. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)


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Three security personnel killed, 17 injured in suicide attack on check post in Hangu PESHAWAR, Aug 20 (APP) Three security officials were killed and 17 received injuries due to a suicide attack on a check post at Tall in Hangu district Monday morning. According to police officials, the incident occurred at around 9:15 a.m. on Bannu road in Tall about 65 kilometres away from Hangu city. The police officials informed that a suicide bomber driving an explosive laden jeep rammed his vehicle into the check post manned by officials of Frontier Corps (FC). The suicide bomber’s vehicle was totally damaged and his body torn to pieces, police informed. The injured were rushed to CMH hospital in Tall for treatment and their condition presently is declared as out of danger. (First Posted @ 11:45 PST Updated @ 19:00 PST)


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Mogadishu blast wounds four near peace talks venue MOGADISHU, Aug 20 (Reuters) A landmine blast wounded four civilians close to the venue of Somalia's peace meeting in Mogadishu Monday. The early morning attack occurred a few hours before the latest talks began at a refurbished police garage. Witnesses said the blast was aimed at government troops riding on a battlewagon. “Two women and children walking nearby were wounded,” a police officer told Reuters. “The landmine targeted troops in a vehicle.” Hours later, suspected insurgents hurled a grenade and opened fire at police patrolling around the SOS children's hospital in north Mogadishu's Horuwa district, residents said. At least seven people were wounded including five policemen. “The police responded by firing back. A man and a woman were wounded in the cross fire. I saw five wounded policeman but I don't know what hit them,” a witness said. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)


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Baghdad car bomb kills five people BAGHDAD, Aug 20 (Reuters) At least five people were killed when a bomb in a parked car exploded in Baghdad’s Sadr City district Monday, police said. Another 20 were wounded in the blast. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)


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Cricket-Inzamam, Yousuf, Klusener join Indian Cricket League MUMBAI, Aug 20 (Reuters) Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq and South African all-rounder Lance Klusener have signed to play in an unofficial Indian Twenty20 league to be launched in October, organisers said Monday. The Pakistani trio of batsman Mohammad Yousuf, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and batsman Imran Farhat plus South Africa spinner Nicky Boje have also joined the league. The Indian Cricket League (ICL) also named several former India players and domestic cricketers. Former India skipper Kapil Dev and Himanshu Mody, ICL's business head, said about 50 players had signed up so far. The boards of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have threatened to ban players if they join the league. (Posted @ 18:26 PST)


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Pakistan would consider nuclear test if India tests: FO ISLAMABAD, Aug 20 (Reuters) Pakistan would review a unilateral ban on testing nuclear weapons if India were to conduct a nuclear test, Pakistan said Monday. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan viewed seriously “assertions by the Indian leadership about the possibility of resuming nuclear tests”. “This should be a source of concern not just to Pakistan but to the international community as well,” she said. “Resumption of nuclear test by India would create a serious situation obliging Pakistan to review its position and to take action, appropriate and consistent with our supreme national interest,” she said. “Any development that can impinge on the strategic balance in South Asia is a vital concern to us,” Aslam said, in response to a question about the possibility of India acquiring Australian uranium. “Pakistan does not want a nuclear arms race in the region but at the same time we are committed to maintain a credible minimum deterrent,” she said. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)


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Jordan rules out handing over Saddam's daughter AMMAN, Aug 20 (AFP) Jordan on Monday ruled out any move to hand over Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter Raghad, who is wanted by the Iraqi government on suspicion of terrorism. “Handing over Mrs Raghad Saddam Hussein has not been raised,” government spokesman Nasser Jawdeh told a press briefing. “Her presence in Jordan is motivated by humanitarian considerations, and she does not practice any political or media-related activities.” Iraq on Saturday asked for Jordan's cooperation to arrest Raghad after Interpol issued a wanted “Red Notice” against Saddam's 38-year-old daughter. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)


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Seven inmates escape from Kosovo prison; NATO helicopters back police in manhunt PRISTINA, Serbia, Aug 20 (AP) Seven inmates escaped from a high-security prison over the weekend in western Kosovo, and police backed by NATO helicopters launched a manhunt throughout the province, authorities said Monday. The convicts, on a scheduled walk in a yard at Dubrava prison late Saturday, were supported by an armed group who shot at guards and at least one of the inmates participated in the gunbattle, a police spokesman said. They were able to jump over a surrounding wall and fence. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)


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Aziz says any power-sharing deal depends on forthcoming poll's results NEW YORK, Aug 20 (APP) - Commenting on the reported discussions between President Pervez Musharraf and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that any power-sharing deal would depend on the results of elections due toward the end of the year rather than any prior agreement. Aziz made that statement in an interview with The New York Times in which he also spurned American involvement in negotiating the deal, saying it could hurt the parties involved. “With due respect, it is for the people of Pakistan who would decide who gets elected,” Aziz was quoted as saying by The Times on Monday. “Naturally what these contacts result in, in terms of the impact on elections or post-elections is premature to say.” “Friendly countries are entitled to their views and we listen to them, but at the end of the day, Pakistanis are a very proud people and they want to manage things themselves,” said Aziz, who plans to stand for re-election. Aziz said the government was committed to holding free and fair elections and that only pending court cases were preventing Benazir and Nawaz Sharif from returning to Pakistan to take part in the elections. “There are a host of legal cases against both,” he said. “They have to consult their legal counsel and decide what is best for them, but the circumstances for each of them are driven by their legal situation.” He said Benazir was free to return, but that Sharif had entered an understanding with the government to go abroad in return for having charges against him dropped. Aziz said he was confident that the government’s record would bring it success in the elections. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)


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Death toll from China storms rises to at least 20 BEIJING, Aug 20 (AFP) The death toll from Typhoon Sepat in southeastern China rose to at least 20, the government said Monday, as the remnants of the storm continued to cause damage. In the southeastern province of Fujian, eight people were confirmed dead after torrential rain triggered flooding and mudslides, an official at the Ministry of Civil Affairs told AFP. Meanwhile, at least 12 were killed in the eastern province of Zhejiang, where a tornado that spun off from the typhoon ripped through Wenzhou city, said the official. The China News Service website reported that the death toll in Wenzhou had risen to 14, with more than 60 injured. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)


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Two more soldiers die as helicopters pound militants in north Lebanon camp BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 20 (AP) Army helicopters dropped at least three bombs at suspected underground bunkers of Fatah Islam militants in the north Lebanon refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared Monday, and two more soldiers were killed in the fighting, a senior military official said. After the bombs were dropped, plumes of gray smoke billowed from the camp, located near Tripoli. Close-range gunfire could also be heard. The military official, requesting anonymity, said one soldier was killed overnight and another died Monday. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)


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Five dead in Sri Lanka rebel attack COLOMBO, Aug 20 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire on a police bunker in northern Sri Lanka Monday, killing five people including three female paratroopers, a military official said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked a bunker in Vavuniya district, the official said. “Four guards were killed and three of them were women,” he said. “A civilian bus driver was also killed in the Tiger firing.” (Posted @ 16:55 PST)


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Cricket-Pakistan's Farhat joins Indian Cricket League series KARACHI, Aug 20 (Reuters) Discarded test opener Imran Farhat has become the first Pakistani player to sign up for the Indian Cricket League (ICL) series. “Yes I have formally signed a contract with the organisers of the Indian league but I would still love to play for my country,” the 25-year-old Farhat told Reuters Monday. “I am not happy at the way the selectors have treated me. They have not made selections on merit and I had no option but to think of my future,” added Farhat, who has played 27 tests for Pakistan. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)


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Cricket- Pakistan's Razzaq retires from international cricket KARACHI, Aug 20 (AFP) All-rounder Abdul Razzaq announced his retirement from international cricket Monday, saying he had taken his decision in protest at his omission from the Pakistan national team. “I have taken this decision under protest because I am mentally disturbed over the treatment meted out by the selectors who dropped me like a new player,” Razzaq told a private television channel from London. “I will see the response of the selectors and the Pakistan Cricket Board before reviewing my decision because this is taken under protest.” Razzaq, who was in England to sign a short contract with Worcestershire county Monday, was dropped from Pakistan's 15-man squad for next month's inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)


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25 killed in Azad Kashmir bus crash ISLAMABAD, Aug 20 (AFP) At least 25 people were killed and eight others injured Monday when a passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in Azad Kashmir, a security official said. The bus carrying around 40 people was on its way from Chura town in Neelum Valley to Muzaffarabad, Major Farooq Nasir told AFP. The vehicle fell some 1,000 feet into a deep ravine at Chiliana, he said. “The exact cause of the crash could not be immediately known, it could be negligent driving or some technical problem,” Nasir said. Army rescue teams and local volunteers recovered the bodies of three women and 22 men, Nasir said adding that the injured had been shifted to a military field hospital. “They are all in critical condition,” they said. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)


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Bus hurtles down gorge in Nepal, 22 killed KATHMANDU, Aug 20 (Reuters) A packed bus skidded off a mountainous road and fell into a gorge in western Nepal Monday, killing 22 people. Police said dozens of passengers were also hurt when the bus tumbled 250 metres off a narrow road about 200 km west of the capital, Kathmandu. (Posted @ 16:34 PST)


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US aircraft carrier will return to India despite protests HONG KONG, Aug 20(AFP): A nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier will return to India next month despite angry protests, its commander said on Monday. The USS Nimitz, will head back to the Bay of Bengal in the first week of September to participate in a joint exercise involving 25 ships from India, Australia and Singapore. This will be the carrier's second visit to India in two months, having been near the country's southern coast in Chennai in July. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)


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Iranian hostages freed in Pakistan TEHRAN, Aug 20(Reuters): Some 20 people who were taken hostage by gunmen in southeastern Iran were freed in Pakistan on Monday after a Pakistani police operation, Iranian media reported. “A surprise operation by Pakistani police helped to free 21 Iranian hostages, 15 bandits were arrested and two of them were killed or wounded,” Iran's state broadcaster quoted an Iranian deputy commander as saying. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)


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German hostage freed in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 20(AFP): Afghan police rescued a German aid worker in a pre-dawn swoop early on Monday. The interior ministry said a criminal gang motivated by money was behind the weekend kidnapping of Christina Meier in Kabul. Police surrounded the house in southwest Kabul where Meier was being held and forced her captors to surrender, officials said. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)


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Burundi politicians' homes attacked BUJUMBURA, Aug 20(Reuters): Gunmen threw hand grenades at the homes of five Burundian politicians opposed to the president, wounding three people. The houses hit in the capital Bujumbura on Sunday night in near simultaneous attacks belonged to four members of parliament, including one member of the ruling party and the deputy chairman of the main Hutu opposition party, FRODEBU. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)


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Three shot dead in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Aug 20(AFP): Three people were shot dead in Thailand's restive south on Monday, police said, a day after the region voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new constitution. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)


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10 killed in Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, Aug 20(Reuters): Sri Lankan soldiers killed nine Tamil Tiger rebels in two different clashes in the island's north, the military said on Monday. A spokesman at the Media Centre for National Security said seven rebels were killed and a large number were wounded in fighting west of Omanthai in Vavuniya. He said one soldier was killed and eight wounded in the fighting while another two rebels died in the second clash in the same district. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)


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Iraqi provincial governor killed in bomb attack BAGHDAD, Aug 20(AFP): Militants assassinated the governor of Iraq's Muthanna province, Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, in a roadside bomb attack in the provincial capital Samawa on Monday, police said. A police official said Hassani's convoy came under attack in a northern area of the city at around 0400 GMT. His two guards were also wounded, he added. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)


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Supreme Court grants bail to Sanjay Dutt NEW DELHI, Aug 20(Reuters): India's Supreme Court granted bail on Monday to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Dutt, 48, began serving his six year sentence on July 31 in a prison in western India. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)


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Three killed in Pakistan suicide attack PESHAWAR, Aug 20(AFP): A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing three soldiers and wounding a dozen others, officials said. The attack took place near the town of Hangu, chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said. A local police officer said the explosion was huge, and that the bomber was blown to pieces. (Posted @ 11:45 PST)


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China foundry blast kills 14 BEIJING, Aug 20 (AFP) Fourteen workers were killed and 59 other injured in an explosion that destroyed an aluminium foundry in eastern China, state media reported Monday. Molten aluminium heated to about 900 degrees Celsius (1,600 Fahrenheit) overflowed from a vat and triggered a massive blast that ripped the roof off the plant at Zouping, Shandong province, late Sunday, Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)


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Three die, several injured in road mishaps near Thatta THATTA, Aug 20 (APP): One person was killed and several others injured when their van turned turtle due to tyre burst and fell into a ditch on National Highway near Gujo on Sunday. In another accident a woman and her one-year-old child were killed when they fell out from the moving bus when the driver applied brakes on Thatta-Sujawal Road. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)


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Blaze at PNSC controlled KARACHI, Aug 20 (APP): The fire which broke-out at the fourth floor in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation building here Sunday afternoon and later escalated to higher floors was controlled after an eight-hour operation after mid-night. A fire brigade official said at about 0148 hours that firemen were still at work. The flames have vanished but the duration the burning objects inside the building will take to fully cool down can not be determined, he said. Four snorkels and a fleet of fire tenders participated in the operation while the helicopters of Pakistan Navy participated in the rescue work. The cause of fire has not yet been ascertained. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)


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Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan MONTREAL, Aug 20 (AFP) A Canadian soldier was killed in Afghanistan after the vehicle he was riding in struck a roadside bomb, the defence ministry said Sunday. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)


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Britons more suspicious of Muslims than Europeans or Americans: poll LONDON, Aug 20 (AFP) Britons view Muslims with more suspicion than their American or European counterparts, according to a poll published in the Financial Times on Monday.According to the Harris Interactive survey, only about 59 percent of Britons believed that it was possible to be both a Muslim and a British citizen, compared to more than 70 percent of Spanish and French voters. Some 52 percent of British respondents also said that they expected a “major terrorist attack” in their country within the next 12 months, the highest proportion of any of the countries surveyed -- Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United States. Harris Interactive questioned a total of 6,398 people in the six countries between August 1 and 13 for the survey. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)


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Sadr pledges to work with UN if it replaces US, Britain in Iraq LONDON, Aug 20 (AFP) Moqtada al-Sadr has pledged to commit his forces and followers to help the United Nations were it to replace American and British troops in Iraq. Speaking to The Independent newspaper from his movement's headquarters in Kufa, south of l Baghdad, Sadr Monday said he would “support the UN if it comes and replaces the American and British occupiers.”” “They must not just be another face of the American occupation.” He added. Sadr told the daily that the British army's downscaling in Iraq was a sign that it had given up and was defeated, saying: “They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt.” On domestic Iraqi politics, Sadr said that Maliki's days as Iraqi leader were coming to a close: “The prime minister is a tool for the Americans and people see that clearly.””It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation.” Sadr also denied American claims that he was being armed by Iran. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)


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Tennis: Henin defeats Jankovic to win Toronto title TORONTO, Aug 20 (AFP) World number one Justine Henin captured her 35th career title and sixth of the year, beating world number three Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 to win the Toronto hardcourt crown here Sunday. The Belgian top seed needed six match points, five in the final game, to subdue her third-seeded Serbian opponent and collect a 181,980-dollar top prize from the 1.34 million-dollar event, a tune-up for the US Open that begins August 27. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)


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Tennis: Federer hammers Blake to complete title half-century CINCINNATI, Ohio, 20 (AFP) Record-setting Roger Federer takes aim at a fourth US Open title after winning the 50th trophy of his career 6-1, 6-4 over James Blake on Sunday at the Cincinnati Masters. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)


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British troops fighting hard but on top: army chief CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan, Aug 20 (AFP) British troops in Afghanistan are under intense fire from a Taliban force that is determined but no match for them, General Richard Dannatt, the head of the British army said on a two-day visit to Afghanistan. “Of course tragically we take casualties from time to time ... but the Taliban have taken a lot more casualties than we have,” he said Saturday at Camp Bastion in the desert of the southern province of Helmand. British forces had “taken the fight to the Taliban” and had come to dominate the southern area of the province, Dannatt said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)


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Three killed in South Korea helicopter crash SEOUL, Aug 20 (AFP) A helicopter on a pest-control mission crashed in central South Korea early Monday, killing all three people aboard, officials said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)


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Taiwan's airline says all safe after plane fire TAIPEI, Aug 20 (AFP) - Taiwan's China Airlines said Monday that all 163 passengers and crew escaped safely after their plane burst into flames on landing at an airport on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.(Posted @ 09:30 PST)


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Jamaica declares state of emergency amid hurricane KINGSTON, Aug 20(AFP) - Jamaica declared a state of emergency late Sunday after devastating Hurricane Dean hit the island nation.(Posted @ 09:30 PST)


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German hostage freed in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 20 (AFP) - Afghan police rescued German aid worker Christina Meier in a pre-dawn swoop early Monday, providing some relief amid deadlock in efforts to free 19 South Koreans and another German abducted more than a month ago. Police surrounded the house in southwest Kabul where she was being held and forced her captors to surrender, officials said.“We successfully rescued her,” police colonel Ghulam Rasul, who took part in the operation, told AFP, adding that six kidnappers were arrested. German foreign ministry confirmed she had been rescued and was now at the German embassy in the Afghan capital. Ghulam Rasul said the kidnappers were not Taliban, and some had criminal backgrounds.(Posted @ 09:25 PST)


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