2011年6月26日星期日

BCCI adamant Indians will not play in Lanka T20 league (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League will go ahead next month without the Indian cricketers after talks failed with the Indian board (BCCI), Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Reuters on Friday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) denied permission to its players because it suspects the involvement of Lalit Modi, the former Indian Premier League commissioner who was sacked on financial irregularity charges, in the IPL-style tournament, Aluthgamage said.

"Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials requested BCCI to change their stand but they refused," Aluthgamage said by phone.

"They think Lalit Modi is involved in this tournament. I have checked company profile and everything... and he's not involved."

An SLC delegation was expected to travel to India this week to try and convince BCCI officials to allow Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and nine other Indian players to participate in the tournament.

"There is no use going to India to meet them. They said they don't want to change the decision. We are doing the tournament and there is no doubt about that," the minister said.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan were not available for comment.

On Sunday, Manohar said the players had been denied permission because the league was being organised by a "private party".

"The Board's policy is not to allow players to take part in private party-organised tournaments," Manohar told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi and Daniel Vettori are among the foreign recruits of the July 19-Aug 4 Twenty20 tournament.

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)


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Phone gives clues to bin Laden's Pakistan links - NYT (Reuters)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A cell phone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing senior U.S. officials briefed on the findings.

The discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan, the newspaper said, citing the officials and others sources it did not identify.

The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.

"We cannot confirm this account," a U.S. official in Washington said when asked about the report.

The United States kept Islamabad in the dark about the raid by Navy SEALs until after it was completed, humiliating Pakistan's armed forces and putting U.S. military and intelligence ties under serious strain.

In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.

The officials added the contacts were not necessarily about bin Laden and his protection and that there was no "smoking gun" showing that Pakistan's spy agency had protected bin Laden, the newspaper said.

The newspaper quoted one of the officials as saying the cell phone analysis was a "serious lead" in the hunt for answers about how bin Laden managed to evade notice by Pakistan's spy agency or military for years in the town, only 30 miles (50 km) from the capital.

The newspaper quoted analysts familiar with Harakat as saying it had deep roots in the area around Abbottabad. Its leaders have strong ties with both al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence, the Times said.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)


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Nepal shelter for ostracised gays a sign of change (Reuters)

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KATHMANDU (Reuters Life!) – The first ever shelter for ostracised gays has opened in Nepal -- a growing sign, say activists, that the impoverished, conservative Himalayan nation is becoming more aware of the rights of its gay population.

Homosexuality is taboo in this majority-Hindu country and while there are no specific laws against gays or same-sex marriages, "unnatural sex" can result in up to one year in jail.

Run by Nepal's leading gay rights group, the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), the home and adjoining hospice open to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders provides shelter to people who have HIV/Aids and have been abused and abandoned by their families.

"These people need care and are very late with the treatment. They need to be looked after in their last days of life and even to perform their last rites after death," said Sunil Babu Pant, BDS's founder.

"The families don't even (want to) receive their dead bodies. So the BDS organises their burial or cremation."

The shelter, tucked away in a quiet residential area in the outskirts of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, can accommodate up to 30 people who receive free medical care from doctors, as well as a place to stay.

There is no sign board outside the brick-walled compound -- a deliberate attempt, say caretakers, to avoid local attention in a country where many will not even rent their premises to homosexuals.

People who visit the shelter are reluctant to talk about their problems, but happy for the support.

"It is a good place for people like us and we get good treatment here," said 27-year-old Raju Baral, who tested positive for HIV in 2007 and left home then so he wouldn't be an embarrassment for his family.

Since coming to the shelter, he has gained weight and his health has improved, he added.

MORE GAY-FRIENDLY

Nepal, famous for being the home of Mount Everest, is emerging from a decade-long civil war which ended in 2006 and has become more gay-friendly in recent years.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the government to end discrimination against gays and guarantee sexual minorities the same rights as other citizens.

Gay beauty contests are held and same-sex marriages are now taking place. Earlier this week, two American women tied the knot as a Hindu priest chanted Vedic hymns in a public religious ceremony outside a major shrine near Kathmandu.

There is even a travel agency run by gay men in Nepal, which offers same-sex wedding packages to the world's tallest peak, as well as to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.

A specially elected assembly is now currently drafting the country's first constitution since the abolition of its monarchy in 2008, which is expected to guarantee the rights of marginalised groups, including gays and lesbians.

"I think after the restoration of democracy there is a big demand for inclusion of various groups, including the sexual minority," said lawyer Sabin Shrestha, who works on gay rights issues.

"Existence of sexual minorities is a reality and we are more and more positive towards their issues compared to earlier days."

(Reporting by TrustLaw, www.trust.org/trustlaw; editing by Nita Bhalla and Elaine Lies)


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At least 20 killed in suicide bombing in east Afghanistan (Reuters)

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PULE ALAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed at least 20 people, and possibly as many as 35, in an attack at a hospital in a remote district of eastern Afghanistan on Saturday that damaged its maternity ward, officials said.

Estimates of the casualties, which included patients and medical staff, varied widely in chaotic scenes outside the hospital in the remote Azra district of eastern Logar province, which is just south of Kabul.

Dozens more were wounded in one of the worst attacks this year.

Deen Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the Logar provincial government, said as many as 35 people were killed, although Afghanistan's Interior Ministry put the death toll at 20.

"The exact target is still not clear," Interior minister deputy spokesman Najib Nikzad said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied responsibility and said the Islamist insurgents never attack hospitals.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in which he said "tens of civilians" were killed. The United Nations said the maternity ward was hit in the bombing.

"This is a despicable attack against civilians who were seeking medical care, as well as visiting family members and health workers," Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. chief in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Tensions have flared over civilian casualties, with insurgents and the Afghan government alike criticising NATO-led forces for killing innocent Afghans while hunting for militants.

United Nations figures however show that insurgents are responsible for three-quarters of civilian deaths.

Military and civilian casualties hit record levels in 2010, the most violent year of the war since U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

This year is following a similar trend, with violence growing across Afghanistan since the Taliban announced a spring offensive at the beginning of May.

U.S. commanders had already said they expected a rise in attacks as insurgents hit back after U.S. and NATO forces made gains during operations in the Taliban heartland in the south over the past 18 months.

The United Nations said two weeks ago that May had been the deadliest month for civilians since it began compiling statistics four years ago.

It said it had documented 368 "conflict-related" civilian deaths, 82 percent of them caused by insurgents.

The latest violence comes as seven areas across the country prepare to take over security responsibilities from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) fighting an increasingly unpopular war that has dragged on for 10 years.

That will coincide with the start in July of a gradual drawdown of U.S. troops. U.S. and NATO troops plan to hand over security responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although critics warn the handover date is premature.

While most of the ISAF gains have been in Taliban strongholds in the south, the insurgency in eastern provinces like Logar and Kunar near the border with Pakistan is much more fragmented.

Taliban fighters often slip across the border from safe havens in Pakistan's largely lawless northwest but other groups like the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network also operate extensively in the area.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Editing by Sugita Katyal)


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Monsoon to enter lull phase next week - sources (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's monsoon rains are likely to ease next week, sources in the state-run weather office said on Friday, raising concerns there could be a slowdown in planting of crops such as cane, rice, cotton and oilseeds.

India, one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of grains and sugar, relies on the June to September rains for 60 percent of its farms and failure of the monsoon can force it to import, sending international prices higher.

The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday lowered its estimates for the seasonal rains to be just below normal from expectations of a normal monsoon in April.

So far the rains have been above normal and were 23 percent above average in the past week, helping to fill reservoirs higher than last year and encouraging early planting of crops.

"Decreased rainfall activity is expected next week over the central region," said one of the sources.

Industry bodies Soyabean Processors' Association of India and Solvent Extractors' Association of India said rains were already delayed in some soybean growing parts of central India.

Sowing of oilseed crops such as soybean and groundnut has lagged due to below average rains in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Oilseed acreage overall is 36 percent below last year currently, while lentils have been planted over 8 percent less area.

Any fall in oilseeds output could force India, the world's top cooking oil importer, to raise edible oil purchases, especially of cheaper palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Delay in soybean planting reduces the maturity period and hits prospects of higher production ," said A. S. Chandel, a New Delhi-based soybean expert.

Sugar cane has already been planted over 5 percent more acreage than last year but any prolonged halt to rains could damage plant growth.

A reduction in farm output could also hit domestic prices, pushing up food inflation, which is already around 9 percent.

"If the weak phase gets stretched beyond two weeks in the main planting month of July, there will be a negative trigger in the market," said D.K. Joshi, chief economist at Crisil Rating.

A U.S. forecaster said the south-west monsoon could be weak over western India this year.

"We expect lower rainfall over oilseeds and cotton growing areas of western India," said Drew Lerner, senior meteorologist at the Kansas-based World Weather Inc.

Lerner said patchy monsoon rains could hit rice output in eastern parts of the country.

"We are not expecting higher rice production from India this year," he added.

India, the world's second-biggest rice grower, produced 94 million tonnes of the grain in the 2010/11 crop year, up 6 percent from the previous year when output was hit by the driest season in over three decades.

But rice prices are unlikely to surge as the government is holding massive stocks. India's rice inventory was 27.64 million tonnes on June 1 against a target of 17.1 million tonnes.

(Editing by Jo Winterbottom)


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Men savvier networkers than women - study (Reuters)

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NEW YORK (Reuters Life) – When it comes to professional networking, men around the world are savvier than women, according to new data.

Business networking site LinkedIn, which analyzed information from members in 13 countries, found men were the overwhelming winners in networking.

"Men are broader and quicker at assessing if there is an opportunity," said Nicole Williams, the company's connection director. "They are quicker to makes moves."

The company, which has more than 100 members worldwide, defined online professional networking savviness in two ways: a ratio of the number of connections men and women have; and the ratio of male members on the site to female members.

They found that women, often seen as better communicators and relationship builders, are less likely to extend themselves for fear of rejection.

"Networking is seen as inherently risky," Williams explained. "We take rejection more personally when asking for a raise, promotion or connections."

Instead women are better at developing deeper networks, while men aim for a network with more breadth. With the U.S. job marketing still struggling, Williams said networking now is all about who you know in order to generate opportunities.

"Networking in an economy like this is key to finding opportunities," she said. "A qualified referral is so essential in the market place. You have to actively be looking for people to connect with."

When it came to making contacts among executives, women were savviest in Australia, the Netherlands and Britain, while men were ahead of the game in Italy.

The findings also showed that the minority sex in industries were often more aggressive and successful networkers. For example, women in Brazil and Canada in the assumedly male dominated ship building industry, make the most contacts.

"As the minority, you are using any in and every available resource," Williams explained. "You are looking at all opportunities."

She cited a similarly surprising example in the cosmetics industry in the U.S., where men are the most effective networkers. But women excelled in the ranching and tobacco industries.

The U.S., Canada, France, Germany, India, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Britain were included in the study.

(Reporting by Paula Rogo; Editing by Patricia Reaney)


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Sensex surges over 500 pts on global cues, Greece (Reuters)

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MUMBAI (Reuters) The BSE Sensex logged its first weekly gain in three weeks, rising 2.9 percent on Friday, with support from global markets that displayed some relief after Greece reached an agreement for an austerity plan to avoid a debt default.

Financials led the rise with State Bank of India , ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rising between 2.1 and 5.7 percent. The Bank Index gained 3.1 percent on the day.

Greece won the consent of international lenders on Thursday for a five-year austerity plan intended to avoid looming bankruptcy and its prime minister pledged to push radical economic reforms through parliament.

The benchmark 30-share BSE index ended the day 513.19 points higher at 18,240.68, with all but two of its components closing in the positive zone.

"The market is responding to overseas cues and positive developments on commodity inflation which is easing. There is definitely an expectation of moderation in oil prices," said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe

Capital.

Brent crude rebounded by more than $1 from a four-month low on Friday to $107, but oil prices are more than 20 percent off their early May peaks.

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs slashed forecasts for crude prices in the third quarter after the International Energy Agency announced the release of 60 million barrels of oil next month to shore up the economic recovery.

Investors, however, remained wary as India is expected to make a decision on raising state-controlled prices of fuel such as diesel and cooking gas at 1330 GMT, which could push up an already sticky inflation, which in May hovered over 9 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates last week for the 10th time in just over a year to combat stubbornly high inflation and signalled more increases to come even as growth in Asia's third-largest economy is slowing down.

Foreign funds have been dumping Indian stocks recently, on worries over rising inflation and a slowdown in economic growth in the world's second-fastest growing major economy after China.

They have sold a net $628 million of shares in a total of eight sessions to June 21.

State-run oil marketing companies Indian Oil , Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum , which would benefit from any increase in fuel prices, were up between 2.46 percent and 6.14 percent.

The 50-share NSE index closed up 2.84 percent at 5,471.25 points.

The index is down 11 percent year-to-date, and is the worst performer among major Asian markets. By comparison, MSCI's measure of Asian shares other than Japan is down 1.8 percent so far in 2011.

The Sensex is headed for its second annual decline in a decade as persistently high inflation, rising interest rates and slowing growth keep investors at bay, a Reuters poll showed.

In the broader market, 1,162 gainers outnumbered 278 losers on a volume of 648 million shares.

The MSCI world equity index was up 0.59 percent by 0740 GMT, while the emerging markets equities index rose 1.09 percent.

STOCKS THAT MOVED

* Unity Infraprojects Ltd rose 5.15 percent to 66.10 rupees, after a top company official told Reuters that the company was scouting for infrastructure building contracts abroad and mulling a foray into power and railways in the country.

* Sugar producers rose for the second day after the government on Thursday allowed another 500,000 tonnes of sugar exports. Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd was up 4.22 percent at 60.45 rupees, while Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd and Dhampur Sugar Mills gained 2.76 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

* SpiceJet gained 19.85 percent on the day, after the company said it has sought the central bank's approval to raise $270 million from Canada's export finance agency Export Development Canada (EDC) for aircraft purchases.

TOP THREE MAIN STOCKS BY VOLUME ON NSE

* Unitech on 34.2 million shares

* Lanco Infratech on 26.2 million shares

* GTL on 24.7 million shares

(Editing by Malini Menon)


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Sri Lanka's Tharanga gets three-month doping ban (Reuters)

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DUBAI (Reuters) – Sri Lankan opening batsman Upul Tharanga has been suspended for three months after failing a doping test, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.

An ICC statement said the 26-year-old left-hander's urine sample, taken after this year's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Colombo on March 29, contained prednisone and prednisolone which are on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list.

Tharanga pleaded guilty to the offence at an early stage in the proceedings, it added.

A three-member independent tribunal, chaired by Tim Kerr, accepted that the opener had ingested the substances when drinking a herbal remedy for a long-standing shoulder injury.

"It also found that Tharanga had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules," the statement said.

The tribunal used its discretion to back-date Tharanga's suspension, which started on May 9 and expires on Aug. 8, from all cricket-related activities.

"I apologise to the fans and followers of Sri Lanka cricket for inadvertently committing an offence," Tharanga was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I hope my fellow sportsmen will learn from my experience and be more vigilant when taking medical treatment, so that their careers do not suffer in the way that mine has."

Tharanga has 21 days to appeal against the decision.

"We recognise that Upul has not been found guilty of deliberately cheating, but the ICC maintains its zero-tolerance approach towards doping for the benefit of all its stakeholders," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

"Cases like this serve as a reminder to all players that they must take great care and personal responsibility at all times for the substances that they consume.

"I am satisfied with the tribunal's decision and pleased at the way the ICC has handled this case with both sensitivity and efficiency."


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Afghan MPs hit back over court ruling, crisis deepens (Reuters)

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KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan's political crisis worsened on Saturday with lawmakers voting to sack the five most senior judicial officials and international consternation growing after a presidential tribunal threw out a quarter of parliament.

The special court, set up by a decree by Afghan President Hamid Karzai after fraud-marred parliamentary elections last year, ruled on Thursday that 62 lawmakers would have to be replaced because of alleged poll fraud.

Karzai's critics have said the court was set up after the Sept. 18 election, in which Karzai's rivals made major gains, to further his own political agenda. Afghan and Western critics have questioned the legality of the court.

With anger growing over the decision, lawmakers voted on Saturday to fire the five most senior members of Afghanistan's Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi and his deputy Bahahuddin Baha, for failing to stop the special court's decision.

Fatima Aziz, a lawmaker from northern Kunduz province, said 183 MPs out of 190 who attended parliament on Saturday voted to impeach the five members of the Supreme Court's High Council.

Ahmad Humayoun, a lawmaker from eastern Khost province, said the vote was taken because the five had all advised Karzai to set up the special court to resolve the weeks of protests and infighting that followed the elections.

It was not immediately apparent if the five would indeed be fired, with no comment from the presidential palace. Karzai is in neighbouring Iran attending a security conference.

"RULE OF LAW"

The political uncertainty comes at a worrying time for Afghanistan, with violence at record levels and NATO-led forces preparing to hand over security to Afghans in several areas at the start of a gradual process that will end with all foreign combat troops leaving by the end of 2014.

Karzai's court announced its new election findings only hours after U.S. President Barack Obama detailed the beginning of a U.S. drawdown, with 10,000 U.S. troops to return home by the end of this year.

European Union Ambassador Vygaudas Usackas met a parliamentary delegation on Saturday, including Speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi and 35 other lawmakers, to discuss the crisis.

He said Afghanistan's "peaceful future lies in the building of robust democratic institutions based on the rule of law and the clear respect for the separation of powers".

He said in a statement the EU reconfirmed its commitment to work with the Afghan government and people to promote "the principles of a democratic state".

Privately, other Western officials in Kabul have expressed shock and anger at the court's ruling. Another Western diplomat said on Thursday he was "totally flabbergasted".

There has been no comment on the ruling yet from Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) or from the United Nations, which helped fund and organise the poll.

The IEC threw out nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast last year over fraud and technical concerns, and later clashed with the attorney general's office when the special court began recounting votes.

Karzai, re-elected after a similarly tainted presidential election in 2009, has often been criticised for treating parliament as a rubber stamp.

The latest assembly did not sit for the first time until Jan. 26 -- four months after the vote -- and bickered in public for weeks before it chose Ibrahimi as speaker.

Underlining the political paralysis, Karzai has still not been able to name a complete cabinet because of objections from parliament, with caretakers still in several key posts.

Karzai is known to be unhappy with the make-up of the new parliament after the September vote. While not united, the new assembly could have yielded a more vocal and coherent opposition to challenge him.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Sugita Katyal)


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Pakistan, India seek to lower nuclear fears (Reuters)

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan and India agreed on Friday to try to ease fears about their nuclear arsenals, in unexpectedly positive talks between the two countries' top diplomats.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir agreed to expand confidence-building measures in both their nuclear and conventional weapons.

A meeting of experts would be asked to "consider additional measures ... to build trust and confidence and promote peace and security," they said in a joint statement after a two-day meeting in Islamabad.

The outcome of the talks was better than expected, with both foreign secretaries holding an unscheduled joint news conference, and also agreeing to try to improve trade and travel across the ceasefire line dividing disputed Kashmir.

"The ideology of military conflict should have no place in the 21st century," Rao told the news conference.

India and Pakistan in February resumed a formal peace process broken off after the November 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants which killed 166 people.

But as in previous peace efforts, progress has been slow, and vulnerable to any attempts by Islamist militants to try to trigger a war between Pakistan and India by launching another Mumbai-style attack.

Both countries, which announced they had tested nuclear weapons in 1998, have fought three full-scale wars since winning independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

The foreign secretaries gave few details of how they expected to build confidence in their nuclear capabilities.

India and Pakistan already exchange information about missile tests and have an agreement not to attack each others' nuclear facilities.

But with India building its conventional capabilities and Pakistan reported to be developing battlefield nuclear weapons, security analysts say the risk of a conflict escalating into nuclear war is always present.

MISCALCULATIONS AND BATTLEFIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS

"Negative thinking exists on both sides so there are chances that either one of them could misread or miscalculate the other's movement and begin assembling and loading nuclear weapons," said Pakistan defence analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi.

The outcome of the talks was very good, he said. "They should talk more and more because this is how they can minimise the threat of war and particularly nuclear war."

Uday Bhaskar, director of the National Maritime Foundation think tank in New Delhi, also welcomed the inclusion of nuclear confidence-building measures in the talks.

"For the sake of regional security, we need an uninterrupted dialogue on the WMD issue," he told Reuters.

"At some point we have to talk about nuclear postures ... We need to have some more transparency about the respective inventories, a certain amount of transparency on capability and intent."

The foreign secretaries also agreed to convene a working group next month to improve trade and travel across the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised ceasefire line dividing Kashmir.

Split between India and Pakistan since independence, families on both sides of Kashmir have been cut off from each other and old trade routes suffocated.

"We must help the people of Jammu and Kashmir to connect with each other -- to travel, to trade," Rao said.

India and Pakistan came close to agreeing a roadmap for peace in Kashmir in 2007 which aimed to make the borders dividing the region between India and Pakistan irrelevant.

That agreement stalled when then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ran into political turmoil at home which eventually forced him out of office.

The people of Kashmir, who launched a separatist revolt against Indian rule in 1989, say they want the right to govern themselves.

"We welcome the efforts by the two countries to address the problem and also expand the trade across the border," said Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, chief of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, the moderate grouping of Kashmiri separatists.

"But they did not speak on the resolution of Kashmir. In the future we hope they would make some headway on the dispute and include the Kashmiri leadership to find a lasting solution," he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by C.J. Kuncheria in New Delhi, Sheikh Mushtaq in Srinagar and Kamran Haider in Islamabad; editing by Elizabeth Piper)


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2011年6月25日星期六

Vettel grabs another pole for Red Bull (Reuters)

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VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel chalked up his seventh pole position in eight races this season as Red Bull swept the front row in qualifying for the European Grand Prix on Saturday.

Australian team mate Mark Webber was second fastest with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton third and sharing the second row with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, racing in front of his home crowd.

Red Bull have now taken nine poles in a row dating back to the end of last year, the first team to do so since McLaren in 1998.

Their continued dominance seemed to make a mockery of suggestions that the champions could suffer from a clampdown by the governing body on the use of engine electronics and exhaust gases to influence performance.

"People expect us to lose more than others but that's where I disagree," grinned the 23-year-old German, who will be chasing his sixth win of the year around the Mediterranean port city's streets.

Vettel's fastest lap of one minute 36.975 seconds was the fastest ever in Valencia and made the pole a foregone conclusion with minutes still to run on a bright and breezy afternoon.

"I think, mate, we've said it enough. We've come here and we didn't expect any different," said Webber, whose sole pole of the season so far came in Barcelona in May when Red Bull also swept the front row, of the rule change.

"Some other teams spoke a lot about it, maybe even some people in our team spoke a bit that maybe technically are not completely on top of things, but in the end we've just got on with our job, basically."

Webber's time was 0.188 slower than his team mate's, with Hamilton's best effort a 1:37.380.

Brazilian Felipe Massa qualified fifth for Ferrari with McLaren's Jenson Button, the winner in Canada two weeks ago, lining up sixth.

"It's not very good. The car felt pretty good in Q2 (the second phase) but then in Q3 I had massive oversteer. I don't know why but I just couldn't get any rear grip," said 2009 world champion Button.

"The car was great this morning in practice but with the heat maybe our balance isn't working because of the track temperature. I just didn't expect it. It's not great but we'll still have a good race."

The second phase was red flagged and halted for four minutes after Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado's Williams was left stranded on the track with what looked like an engine failure with seven minutes and 59 seconds remaining.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by John Mehaffey; For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)


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ICC to discuss change in chief selection process (Reuters)

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MUMBAI (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) will discuss constitutional amendments to abolish the rotational policy of appointing its head and avoid "government interference" in the game's administration at next week's conference in Hong Kong.

"Under the new proposal, the executive board will decide the process and term of office from time to time, subject to certain qualifying criteria," the ICC said in a statement on Friday.

"This would remove the current rotational system of nomination and the fixed term of appointment as set out in the ICC Articles of Association."

Any such constitutional amendment would impact Pakistan the most as the South Asian country was supposed to nominate the administrator who would succeed New Zealander Alan Isaac, now a vice president, as the ICC chief in 2014.

Isaac will take over from incumbent Sharad Pawar of India next year.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have been quoted in the media as saying that they would vehemently oppose the amendments.

The ICC move to reduce government interference would also affect the PCB, the chairman of which is appointed directly by country's president, who is designated chief patron of the board.

Sri Lanka is not free from government interference either. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is an interim body and issues such as team selection have to be approved by their sports ministry.

"The full council of the ICC will consider a constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring free elections of member boards and avoiding undue government interference in the administration of cricket, in line with the regulations of other major sporting bodies," the statement said.

The five-day conference, which starts on Sunday, will also consider the recommendations made by the cricket committee that includes the Decision Review System (DRS) and day-night test matches.

Ireland, who recorded memorable victories over Pakistan and England in the past two editions of the World Cup, will have their fingers crossed when president Pawar asks the ICC executive board to reconsider its decision to restrict the 2015 edition to the 10 test-playing member nations.

The ICC initially decided to restrict the next edition of the 50-over World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand, to the 10 member nations but later proposed a qualifying tournament for associate nations.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John O'Brien; to query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)


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Pakistan army rejects report on bin Laden's cell-phone (Reuters)

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Pakistan army condemned on Friday a report in the New York Times that a cell phone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency.

The newspaper, citing senior U.S. officials briefed on the findings, reported on Thursday that the discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan.

The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.

Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said in a statement sent by text message that the military "rejects the insinuations made in the NYT story".

"It is part of a well orchestrated smear campaign against our security organisations," he said.

The army has been angered by media reports that elements in the Pakistani security establishment may have helped bin Laden hide in Pakistan.

"Pakistan, its security forces have suffered the most at the hands of al Qaeda and have delivered the most against al Qaeda; our actions on the ground speak louder than the words of the Times," Abbas said.

In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.

The officials added the contacts were not necessarily about bin Laden and his protection and that there was no "smoking gun" showing that Pakistan's spy agency had protected bin Laden.

(Reporting by Kamran Haider, writing by Myra MacDonald; editing by Elizabeth Piper)


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Govt raises diesel prices to ease subsidy burden (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India raised diesel prices about 9 percent on Friday after months of delay, a politically unpopular move that will add to inflationary pressure but also eases the government's subsidy burden and could bolster its image among wary investors.

"This is the only window they have for any cutting of subsidies. By the end of the year they will be in (state) election mode," political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said.

Since it was first elected in 2004, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has often refrained from pushing through tough reforms in favour of pleasing its predominantly rural voter base.

Persistently high inflation as well as the government's handling of a spate of corruption scandals has led to what many critics describe as policy paralysis in New Delhi.

With galloping spending and slowing growth, New Delhi must reassure investors fretting over political and bureaucratic delays for major projects that it can run the economy and keep voter support.

Diesel will now cost just over 41 rupees per litre in the capital after the government panel raised prices by a record 3.4 rupees (7.6 U.S. cents) per litre including local taxes. It also raised kerosene and cooking gas prices.

"The inflationary implications of the diesel price hike are unavoidable. Broadly, with inflation currently at around 9 percent, the hike in prices should take the WPI (wholesale price index) into double digits again and keep it there for a while," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.

The increases, announced by Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, were roughly in line with expectations.

Taken together, they will directly add about 55 basis points to headline inflation, said Yes Bank economist Shubhada Rao in Mumbai, who expects another 25-50 basis points of interest rate increases by the RBI, which has already raised rates 10 times since March 2010 despite the risk to growth.

PRICES AND POLITICS

Diesel accounts for 40 percent of petroleum product demand in India and is the most widely used transport fuel. It powers tractors and irrigation pumps for farmers in one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of grains and sugar.

Lifting prices is politically fraught.

"I am sandwiched between economists on the one hand and populists on the other hand," said Reddy, an advocate of price rises, following the meeting. "Political problems will always be there and economic problems do not wait for solution of so-called political crises."

Since the government agreed in principle to lift fuel costs a year ago, international crude prices have soared 33 percent, swelling the money spent on subsidising fuel prices to a country with 500 million people living in poverty.

However, world oil prices fell 6 percent on Thursday after major consuming countries announced an emergency release of stocks, only the third time ever, and dropped further on Friday.

With inflation in India above 9 percent and domestic fuel costs up nearly 13 percent on the year, raising fuel prices will immediately hit the fractious coalition's core voters among the poor who live on less than the cost of 2 litres of diesel a day.

"This is a completely inhuman gesture on the part of the government to increase prices with food and overall inflation being what it is," Nirmala Sitharaman, a spokeswoman for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, told Reuters.

Petrol prices, which largely affect more affluent Indians, have gone up about 23 percent since they were freed a year ago.

"This is quite a bold step on their part when the government is getting attacked from all directions," said N.R. Bhanumurthy, economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

"It makes a lot of economic sense. Ultimately, if you want to control inflation, stabilise growth, it is imperative you pass on the hike in international prices," he said.

FISCAL BURDEN

J.P. Morgan this week cut its forecast for benchmark Brent oil for the third quarter to $100 a barrel from $130 but on Friday global crude prices paused from losses.

"As this remains a one-off price hike we do not expect demand to take a major hit," said Praveen Kumar, senior consultant at FACTS Global Energy in Singapore.

The longer-term benefit to the country's finances comes from reducing massive spending on subsidies and boosting revenues for state-run fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

Private oil refiners Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, and Essar Oil could now find it attractive to sell in the local market instead of relying on exports.

Revenue losses for oil companies will shrink to about 1.2 trillion rupees ($26.7 billion) in the current financial year from 1.7 trillion rupees estimated before the hike, Reddy said.

Cutting customs duty on crude and petrol products and reducing excise duty on diesel will result in a total revenue loss to the government of about 490 billion rupees this year.

Ahead of the decision, shares in Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum rose 2.8 percent and 6.1 percent respectively in market that ended 2.9 percent higher.

($1 = 44.955 Rupees)

(Additional reporting by Swati Bhat and Shamik Paul in MUMBAI and C.J. Kuncheria)


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Govt likely to take political plunge, hike diesel prices (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government was expected to raise diesel prices on Friday, although a delay in a government meeting to decide on the politically unpopular decision raised questions as to whether or not officials were in full agreement.

Oil prices fell 6 percent on Thursday after major consuming countries announced an emergency release of stocks, pushing benchmark Brent crude to a four-month low and providing a window for the government to raise prices with less pain for consumers.

Since it was first elected in 2004, the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has more often than not refrained from pushing through tough reforms in favour of pleasing its predominantly rural voter base.

It has delayed a decision on increasing diesel and other fuel prices for months, even as its subsidy burden mounts.

Persistently high inflation, currently the highest among major Asian economies, as well as its handling of a spate of corruption scandals has added to the government's reluctance and led to what many critics say is a state of policy paralysis in New Delhi.

"We are working on more options, the final decision will be announced after the meeting," Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters, adding that the meeting had been rescheduled for 1900 local time (1330 GMT), a delay of 6 hours.

Sources familiar with the matter had said a price rise was likely. The government could also cut taxes and Reddy said more options were being considered.

Reddy told Reuters earlier on Friday the International Energy Agency's (IEA's) planned release of strategic stockpiles would give only temporary respite.

"I cannot speculate on the future trend but in the short run there is no hope. Even if there is a slight increase in production those gains will not be made available to us because of unbridled speculation in the financial markets," he said.

"We don't know whether this (softening in global prices) is a stable trend," he added.

J.P. Morgan cut its forecast for benchmark Brent oil for the third quarter to $100 a barrel from $130 after the IEA move but on Friday global crude prices were already rebounding.

Half of India's population are farmers, but the government needs to cut its massive subsidy bill on cooking gas and diesel in order meet its budget targets.

A year ago, New Delhi freed up petrol prices, which have risen about 23 percent since then, and said it could do the same with diesel. International oil prices are about 39 percent higher over the same period.

For a graphic on India fuel prices vs crude, click http://link.reuters.com/xyv32s

For a graphic on oil prices and IEA stock releases, click http://link.reuters.com/jev32s

PRICE RISES COULD ADD TO INFLATIONARY PRESSURES

With inflation above 9 percent and the domestic fuel price index up nearly 13 percent on the year, a fractious coalition government is wary of alienating its core voter base among India's 500 million poor, who live on less than the cost of 2 litres of diesel a day.

State-run fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp are losing 4.56 billion rupees ($101.4 million) a day on sales of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas at state-set cheaper prices.

"Obviously diesel and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which is being considered, will add to inflation, diesel particularly a bit more as compared to petrol and LPG because of transport costs," said Saugata Bhattacharya, an economist at Axis Bank in Mumbai.

A three rupee increase in the price of diesel from current levels of 38 rupees ($0.845) per litre would add 40-45 basis points to wholesale price inflation, according to Yes Bank, which expects annual headline inflation to top 10 percent in August, based in part on expected fuel price hikes.

Shares in Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum were up 2.84 percent and 4.35 percent respectively on Friday, outperforming the broader market.

($1 = 44.955 Indian Rupees)

(Additional reporting by Shamik Paul in Mumbai; Editing by Tony Munroe)


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Govt hikes diesel prices by 3 rupees/litre - sources (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has raised diesel prices by 3 Indian rupees ($0.07) per litre, two government sources said on Friday after a ministerial panel ended a meeting to decide on the hikes, a move that could stoke inflation that is already at uncomfortable levels.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Jo Winterbottom)


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ANALYSIS - Indian slowdown, high inflation likely to persist (Reuters)

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's growth story, which has excited many in recent years, is passing through a not-very-happy chapter that might last well into 2012.

While India should keep growing at rates many nations would envy, Asia's third-largest economy faces a period of reduced growth and stubbornly high inflation.

This is causing confidence in the growth story to wane while worries rise. Indian stocks, hit by inflation and high interest rates, are Asia's worst performers this year-- down nearly 14 percent -- resulting in a decline in portfolio flows. Weaker tax revenue can widen a yawning fiscal deficit.

Also, there's a possibility that India could lose out to China and smaller Asian economies in the battle to attract big foreign investment. China has cooled as it, too, battles inflation, but still might grow 10 percent this year.

Several years ago, annual Indian growth was about 9.5 percent. Then it fell to 6.8 percent during the global financial crisis but recovered to 8.5 percent in the last fiscal year, which ended March 31.

For the current fiscal year, private economists are slashing growth forecasts to below 8 percent and notching up inflation projections. In May, annual inflation was 9.06 percent -- compared with 5.5 percent in China.

For a GRAPHIC, click http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/11/05/IN_GDP0511_CC.gif

UNAVOIDABLE RESULT

Lower growth is an unavoidable result of the Reserve Bank of India's fight against inflation, which has featured 10 increases in interest rates since March 2010.

"It's going to be a difficult year," said Vishnu Varathan of Capital Economics.

Growth is likely to be less than 8 percent and will not pick up rapidly "especially with policy having to choose between price stability and growth," he said.

The government was hoping growth in gross domestic product, which was 8.5 percent in the year ended March 2011, could remain as high -- but it cannot, given the battle against inflation and other factors including weak political leadership.

Credit Suisse forecasts growth will be just 7.5 percent this fiscal year and the following one.

"We are only at the early stages of seeing the impact of the monetary tightening, the negative effects of which are likely to persist well into 2012/13," it said in a note this month.

In its latest move, the central bank on June 16 raised to 7.5 percent the rate at which it lends to banks.

Even after 10 increases, India's real interest rates remain negative, meaning the inflation pace remains above rates. That can drive consumption at a time the government is not succeeding in boosting supply, so inflation can be further fuelled, resulting in further tightening and economic pain.

"Inflation is entrenched in India, and now mostly reflects demand side pressures," said Frederic Neumann, managing director and co-head of Asian economics research at HSBC.

A slowing economy cuts tax revenue, widening the fiscal deficit. High oil prices have cut demand, swelled import bills and raised costs at corporates. Meantime, the global picture looks discouraging, clouding the outlook for exports -- which have been a bright spot.

India escaped the worst of the 2008 global downturn due to robust internal demand and high government spending. A large middle class flush with cash spent on everything from gold to cars, and factory capacity got pushed to limits. But then firms dithered on adding capacity, thanks to weak global recovery and domestic policy uncertainty amid a slew of corruption scandals.

Price pressures were emerging too. New Delhi's easy fiscal policy to cope with the global slowdown was not rolled back quickly enough and the central bank was widely seen as behind the curve. Drought in 2009 made caused food prices to spike.

But no one expected the level of India's slowdown in the January-March quarter. For the first time in five quarters, annual growth was below 8 percent. Growth in private investment slumped to 0.4 percent from 7.8 percent a quarter earlier, while annual gains in consumption demand slowed to 8 percent from 8.6 percent.

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW THE BOAT

Industrial output has risen in single digits the past six months. Car sales, a barometer of consumer demand, have slowed with May's total rising the least in two years. Manufacturing data show that firms' input costs have been rising faster than output costs since December.

"It looks like the manufacturing sector is going to see very subdued single digit growth. Continued interest rate hikes are going to hamper sustained high growth in consumer durables," said Varathan of Capital Economics.

"Robust growth in export is the only positive factor for manufacturing sector. But that will help only selective industries."

Exports posted record growth in the year ended in March. India exported $245.9 billion of goods during the year, far above the government's target of $200 billion.

A slowdown is evident in services, which account for about 58 percent of the economy. The sector has slipped twice in the last three months, with May's expansion being the slowest in 20 months.

The sector is grappling with higher costs. Aon Hewitt estimates Indian companies will have to pay 13 percent more to employees in 2011.

"Slowing manufacturing activity, rising input costs, tight liquidity, interest rate pressure and a government looking to tighten its fiscal belt don't make a very rosy outlook for the services sector," said Siddhartha Sanyal, an economist with Barclays Capital in Mumbai. He expects GDP growth of 7.7 percent in 2011/12.

NO SPENDING BOOST

The farm sector is expected to defy the slowdown on the forecast of a normal monsoon. It grew 6.6 percent in 2010/11, compared with 0.4 percent a year earlier.

A good harvest should help shore up rural demand, which should save the economy from any severe slowdown. But to what extent higher rural income can offset a slowdown in consumer spending is unclear.

The government is looking to keep a lid on spending to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent for this fiscal year.

Policy inertia in the wake of graft scandals is not helping the economy. The government is repeatedly deferring decisions on raising prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas, even as high global prices threaten its fiscal gap target.

Lack of policy as well as regulatory hurdles have held up investment in infrastructure and retail sectors. In 2010/11, India received 25 percent less foreign direct investment than the previous year.

"The near-term economic outlook will continue to be affected by the lack of positive policy activism on reforms, paralysis in decision-making, and ongoing fear about the unfolding corruption issues and investigations that have affected business confidence," said Rajeev Malik of CLSA.

(Editing by Richard Borsuk)


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ANALYSIS - Pakistan army chief shows no signs of quitting soon (Reuters)

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – At the height of the storm which swept Pakistan after the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani spoke for 1-1/2 hours, then told his officers they could ask whatever they wanted, and lit a cigarette.

"This is a very delicate situation," he said, in answer to a question about relations with the United States at the National Defence University on May 19. "It's not an easy one."

"If we come out of it, keep our relevance and show them we are part of the solution, not part of the problem, we will succeed," Kayani said in one of a series of "town hall" meetings he held to revive army morale.

Those meetings have since fuelled speculation - particularly in the United States - that the most powerful man in Pakistan, by opening himself up to questions, is fighting for survival.

Participants at the meeting, however, said Kayani showed no outward sign of being under pressure as he sat in full dress uniform at a table on the same level as his audience.

Equipped only with a file, ash tray and glass of water and facing rows of some 80 officers along with a few civilians, he patiently answered questions from all ranks.

"In uniform, we tend to see everything in black and white," Kayani said when a young colonel asked why Pakistan kept a relationship United States if Washington did not trust it.

"In the real world there are a lot of grey areas and you have to deal with it."

A Reuters correspondent attended the meeting, but since it was off-the-record did not report it until after participants themselves relayed to the media versions of what Kayani had said. Kayani's comments were reported by participants and verified by Reuters.

The Pakistan army, the last line of defence in a country battling a growing Islamist militant insurgency, has come under intense pressure since U.S. forces found and killed bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2.

Its inability to find the al Qaeda leader and to detect the U.S. helicopter-borne raid in which he was killed has left it facing its most severe crisis since its humiliating defeat by India in the 1971 war in which then East Pakistan won independence as Bangladesh.

In some ways it is even worse than 1971, when state-run media suppressed the worst of the news in a war happening far away from the traditional heartland of the country.

This time, U.S. forces carried out a raid undetected deep within the heart of Pakistan, not far from the prestigious Pakistan Military Academy.

That same month militants attacked a naval base in Karachi and blew up two maritime patrol aircraft.

Nobody knows what is going to happen next.

DRAWING OUT QUESTIONS

Yet no one expects Kayani to step down any time soon, or at least not until he has restored confidence within the army. And nor do they expect his most senior officers to turn against him.

"The army as an institution is under attack so if the Corps Commanders ask him to leave, that unleashes a very explosive dynamic," said Imtiaz Gul at the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad.

"That's why the Corps Commanders will never ask him to step down."

In inviting questions, Kayani was following a military tradition where officers encourage their men to express their doubts before going into battle, but after the orders are given, expect them to be followed without question.

"In the military, it is regarded as a reflection of loyalty if you are frank," said General (retired) Ehsan ul-Haq, when recalling meetings of the Corps Commanders, the army's top officers with command over troops across the country.

"There is a discussion (among the Corps Commanders), but there are no fireworks," said Haq, a former head of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"There is a lot of poise and dignity in how you address issues."

At the evening meeting at the National Defence University, Kayani, far from appearing on the defensive, actively encouraged questions.

When a young female student put up her hand to ask a question and the officer running the event said there was no more time - it was by then nearly midnight - Kayani insisted on answering it.

The student asked about the threats Pakistan faced. Kayani in response made no mention of Pakistan's traditional rival India -- the subject did not come at all in four-hour long session.

"What worries me is the indirect threat and that is the economy," he said. "If you want to be secure ... you have to address your internal situation and the economy is the major issue."

And rather than relying on the Americans for money, Pakistan should reform its economy and raise taxes domestically. "We have to stand up on our own feet and we cannot do this unless we have a strong economy," he said.

UNPRECEDENTED CRITICISM

U.S. media reports that Kayani is fighting for survival have infuriated the military which sees them as a deliberate attempt to malign the army.

Those have been accompanied by unprecedented domestic criticism of the army, which peaked after Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad was kidnapped in Islamabad and beaten to death at the end of May.

Shahzad had previously spoken of being threatened by the ISI over his reporting, and suspicion immediately fell on the powerful intelligence agency. It denied involvement.

And while the army still enjoys high approval ratings in Pakistan, its critics accuse it of sucking up scarce resources in military expenditure focused on India.

They also blame it for cultivating Islamist militants in the past for use against India, who are now increasingly slipping out of its control and turning on Pakistan.

There are, moreover, unquestionably strains within the military, a Muslim army which for 10 years has been asked to suppress the anti-Americanism which threads through society and fight in a campaign which many see as "America's war".

Some of those strains rose to the surface this week when the army said it had arrested a brigadier over links to the banned Hizb-ul-Tahrir, an Islamist political group seeking to overthrow the civilian government and establish an Islamic theocracy.

Kayani himself has also been the subject of private grumblings in the military after he obtained last year a three-year extension to his term of office to November 2013 - effectively strangling promotions further down the line.

But barring another big unexpected event which dents the army's credibility further, there appears to be little evidence to suggest that Kayani is about to be forced out.

Over tea, biscuits and sandwiches which followed the meeting at the National Defence University, he appeared relaxed and smiling as he chatted to participants.

"As long as you are in the (army chief's) seat, there is no threat to you," said Imtiaz Gul.

(Writing by Myra MacDonald; Editing by Robert Birsel)


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Welcome to POSCO country: India's fight for investors (Reuters)

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在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

DHINKIA, India (Reuters) – For eight-year-old Rakesh Bardhan, it is protest time.

Decked out in a black T-shirt and a matching handkerchief wrapped around his head, he is off to join hundreds of farmers, labourers and fishermen standing between a generations-old way of life and India's biggest single foreign direct investment.

Local people are protesting against the planned construction of a $12 billion steel mill by South Korea's POSCO in Orissa.

"If the company wants to set up its project, let them first kill us," Bardhan shouts over the speeches and slogans blaring out from loudspeakers to rows of protesters behind him. "If our land goes, everything will go. We will not get food, clothes or education."

The POSCO protests are another storm warning in an environment growing increasingly hostile to what many Indians see as a nexus of corrupt politicians and businessmen profiting from kickbacks and forced land acquisition as foreign firms vie for a place in the Indian market.

How the stand-off plays out will be closely watched at home and abroad for signs of how relations are changing between investors, the government, and Indians affected by big projects.

Farmers accuse the Orissa government of being in cahoots with big business to trick them out of land their families have held for generations. They believe their best shot at a decent life is holding on to their farm incomes, and accuse police of beating up villagers and burning crops to force them to leave.

"We will not sell at any cost or under any pressure," said Kabir Chandra Pradhan, a 46-year-old grower of betel -- a leaf used to wrap a sticky mix known as paan that lightens the heads and reddens the teeth of millions of Indians every day.

POSCO is the latest in a number of high-profile projects that have been held up by protests.

Tata Motors said on Wednesday it was challenging in court a decision by the newly elected government in West Bengal to reclaim land India's top vehicle maker owns but abandoned in 2008 due to violent protests.

Many say India urgently needs more POSCOs -- foreign companies pouring cash into one of the world's fastest-growing economies, revamping rusty infrastructure and providing thousands of new manufacturing jobs for a population of 1.2 billion people.

But the project has endured years of delays due to protests at the site as farmers, backed by activist groups and left-wing political parties, refuse to give up their land.

After weeks of agitation in which women and children like Rakesh formed human rings to block police, the state government was forced to suspend its land acquisition on Tuesday.

Only half of the 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) of land needed for the site have been acquired, though it was due to start pumping out 4 million tonnes of steel a year by 2011.

FDI BAROMETER

The project is a barometer for India's investment climate, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's federal government walks a tightrope between cultivating economic development and sustaining the livelihoods of the world's biggest number of poor, many of whom form his party's core vote.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is key to providing the billions of dollars worth of new highways, ports and industrial plants India needs to maintain economic growth as it grapples with high inflation, rising interest rates and dampened investor confidence.

FDI fell 28.5 percent to $19.4 billion in 2010/11, the last fiscal year that ended in March, as foreign investors shunned India over policy paralysis from a series of corruption cases, regulatory hurdles and lack of reform.

Rival emerging giant China, by contrast, has seen booming FDI, with inflows up 23.4 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2011 to $48 billion.

POSCO is only one of numerous high profile projects in the energy sector that have been held up by red tape, protests and fights between local and federal authorities. ArcelorMittal and Tata Steel too have faced delays.

Investors are also concerned by how long the government is taking to rule on Vedanta Resources' plan to buy Cairn Energy's Indian assets, a potential $9.6 billion deal the firms agreed last August but which has been held up by a dispute involving the state-run oil exploration firm.

Added to that are worries over the capacity of India's political class to implement reform, with a series of scandals, topped by allegations of kickbacks in the awarding of telecoms licences that may have cost the state up to $39 billion, sapping confidence in Singh's reformist credentials.

MONEY NEEDED

With a quarter of its 42 million people illiterate and 40 percent of infants malnourished, Orissa needs investment.

Its roads are bumpy, and power cuts are common. Though rich in minerals such as bauxite and iron ore, wealth has not trickled down enough to millions of poor and tribal people, fuelling a Maoist insurgency across the state.

"Everybody wants a foreign infusion of money," said Sahadeva Sahoo, the state's former top bureaucrat.

Orissa wants to use part of the land acquired from the landholders for POSCO to build a new port, but the protesters do not understand why it cannot be built elsewhere, or even done without.

Hundreds gathered at the protest site on Wednesday, sitting under a sea of black umbrellas to shield them from the baking sun as they listened to speeches. A man with a white beard, carrying a water container and a portable hose on his bare back, walked around spraying the crowd to cool them down.

Children shouted slogans such as "save our homeland" and "go back, POSCO" during the speeches, and the crowd wore black bands on their wrists, arms or heads to mark the "Black Day" anniversary of the mill agreement signing.

The state government says its compensation package is one of the best in India: thousands of dollars in cash and a job for at least one member of each displaced family. Pro-POSCO activists say the mill will tackle youth unemployment.

The protesters are not convinced. Sisir Mohapatra, secretary of one of the activist groups, says similar promises were made for other projects that never materialised.

"We don't have any faith in the government," he says, adding that the mill should be moved to less fertile land.

Police have played down the protest's scale. "Only a few people with mala fide (bad faith) intentions are protesting," said deputy superintendent G. Pradhani. He said talk of police issuing threats and burning vines was "one thousand percent false".

The state government, which alleges children were forced to lie on the baking hot ground to act as human shields, says the project will continue, and that construction work has started on already acquired land.

"The government is committed to do this peacefully," said Vikas Saran, POSCO's India vice president, who is based in Delhi. "We are committed to this project. No force, nothing is being used. That is what I have heard. So it is all politically motivated, nothing else."

A new central land acquisition law is due to be introduced in July's parliament session, but the activists have vowed to dig in until POSCO withdraws.

"We will fight the government until our last breath," said Somanath Samal, a protester who says police drove his family from his betel vines and then set them alight. "We will give up our lives but not our livelihood."

(Additional reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Annie Banerji in New Delhi; Editing by Paul de Bendern, Daniel Magnowski and Alex Richardson)


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Bollywood stars cast spell over Toronto (Reuters)

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在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

TORONTO (Reuters) – They may not be as familiar to North American movie fans as Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, but Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bipashu Basu, Celina Jaitley and other Bollywood stars are getting a lot of second looks in Toronto in recent days.

The actors dominate the world's biggest film industry in India, and are just a handful of the more than 200 performers who have been on hand in this Canadian city since Thursday for the 12th annual International Indian Film Awards, or IIFAs.

The show, which airs on Saturday night, provides the climax for three days of moviegoing, dancing, fashion, music and a business forum aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries -- something event organizers hope to do around the world, too.

"Toronto is definitely the gateway to North America and we hope to maintain a great relationship with this amazing country for many years to come," Sabbas Joseph, Director of Wizcraft International, a Mumbai based entertainment group who produced the IIFAs, said at a press conference this week.

With an expected worldwide TV audience of 700 million viewers tuning in to watch the show, tickets were scooped up in less than 10 minutes. Some 22,200 faithful, Bollywood fans hope to get a closer look at many of their favorite stars.

Debuting in 2000 in London, the IIFA's have been held on four continents in cities including Dubai, Bangkok, Colombo, Singapore, Macau and Johannesburg...but never in India.

The idea, organizers said, is to present Bollywood not in its home country, but on a global stage.

"We are building bridges through cinema across communities throughout the world," said Joseph.

Singer Jermaine Jackson is on hand to perform with Indian pop star, Sonu Nigam, and he feels that being a part of the IIFA celebrations is a fitting tribute to his brother pop superstar Michael Jackson, who died on June 25 two years ago.

"We are an entertainment family and we have been entertained by Bollywood movies from the early '70s when we first arrived in California and started the Jackson 5," said Jackson. "That was the connection we had with Bollywood, years and years ago."

FILM NOMINEES

Awards in 15 categories are up for grabs at Saturday's green carpet event.

The larger-than-life gangster film "Once Upon a Time in Mumbai" leads the pack of movie contenders with an impressive 12 nominations, including best film and best leading male role for Ajay Devgan, solidifying him as one of Bollywood's premier actors.

"Dabangg" (or "Fearless") is a close second with 11 nominations. The corrupt cop thriller broke box office records in its debut week in theaters and is the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, It earned a best male role nomination for on screen tough guy Salman Khan.

"My name is Khan" goes into the IIFAs with four nominations. The film looks into the struggles of a Muslim family in the U.S. following the September 11 attacks. The film earned Bollywood heavyweight, Shah Rukh Khan, a best actor nod in his role as a man with Asperger's Syndrome who travels across the country telling people he is not a terrorist.

Rounding out the category for best picture honors is "Ishqiya" (Love) nominated for nine IIFA awards while the romantic comedy "Band Baaja Baaraat" (The Wedding Planners) and the political thriller "Rajneeti" each have eight.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)


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Afghan MPs hit back over court ruling, crisis deepens (Reuters)

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan's political crisis worsened on Saturday with lawmakers voting to sack the five most senior judicial officials and international consternation growing after a presidential tribunal threw out a quarter of parliament.

The special court, set up by a decree by Afghan President Hamid Karzai after fraud-marred parliamentary elections last year, ruled on Thursday that 62 lawmakers would have to be replaced because of alleged poll fraud.

Karzai's critics have said the court was set up after the Sept. 18 election, in which Karzai's rivals made major gains, to further his own political agenda. Afghan and Western critics have questioned the legality of the court.

With anger growing over the decision, lawmakers voted on Saturday to fire the five most senior members of Afghanistan's Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi and his deputy Bahahuddin Baha, for failing to stop the special court's decision.

Fatima Aziz, a lawmaker from northern Kunduz province, said 183 MPs out of 190 who attended parliament on Saturday voted to impeach the five members of the Supreme Court's High Council.

Ahmad Humayoun, a lawmaker from eastern Khost province, said the vote was taken because the five had all advised Karzai to set up the special court to resolve the weeks of protests and infighting that followed the elections.

It was not immediately apparent if the five would indeed be fired, with no comment from the presidential palace. Karzai is in neighbouring Iran attending a security conference.

"RULE OF LAW"

The political uncertainty comes at a worrying time for Afghanistan, with violence at record levels and NATO-led forces preparing to hand over security to Afghans in several areas at the start of a gradual process that will end with all foreign combat troops leaving by the end of 2014.

Karzai's court announced its new election findings only hours after U.S. President Barack Obama detailed the beginning of a U.S. drawdown, with 10,000 U.S. troops to return home by the end of this year.

European Union Ambassador Vygaudas Usackas met a parliamentary delegation on Saturday, including Speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi and 35 other lawmakers, to discuss the crisis.

He said Afghanistan's "peaceful future lies in the building of robust democratic institutions based on the rule of law and the clear respect for the separation of powers".

He said in a statement the EU reconfirmed its commitment to work with the Afghan government and people to promote "the principles of a democratic state".

Privately, other Western officials in Kabul have expressed shock and anger at the court's ruling. Another Western diplomat said on Thursday he was "totally flabbergasted".

There has been no comment on the ruling yet from Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) or from the United Nations, which helped fund and organise the poll.

The IEC threw out nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast last year over fraud and technical concerns, and later clashed with the attorney general's office when the special court began recounting votes.

Karzai, re-elected after a similarly tainted presidential election in 2009, has often been criticised for treating parliament as a rubber stamp.

The latest assembly did not sit for the first time until Jan. 26 -- four months after the vote -- and bickered in public for weeks before it chose Ibrahimi as speaker.

Underlining the political paralysis, Karzai has still not been able to name a complete cabinet because of objections from parliament, with caretakers still in several key posts.

Karzai is known to be unhappy with the make-up of the new parliament after the September vote. While not united, the new assembly could have yielded a more vocal and coherent opposition to challenge him.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Sugita Katyal)


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