Mumbai Police restores security to Shah Rukh Khan

MUMBAI: The Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s security, which had been withdrawn over a month ago, has been restored by Mumbai Police on Sunday, sources said.

After reviewing the threats to Shah Rukh Khan, police in Mumbai has provided him non-categorised security cover
The statements related to film actor Shah Rukh Khan’s security, created uproar in the media.
The actor’s security cover was withdrawn in the beginning of this month after a routine security review but has been restored now, Mumbai Police told.
The actor’s statement to a foreign media house about alleged victimisation for belonging to the minority community has sparked controversy in the country and neighbouring Pakistan.

Women seek their place in sun at World Cup

MUMBAI: The women's World Cup opens in Mumbai on Thursday with the cricketers hoping to put aside memories of an unsettling build-up and gain recognition in a country where the men's game reigns supreme.

Barely a week before the start, the International Cricket Council was forced to revise the schedule because of security concerns surrounding Pakistan's participation in Mumbai where the entire tournament was to be played.
All group B matches, featuring Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, were shunted to the cricketing backwaters of Cuttack following threats from the right-wing nationalist Shiv Sena party to disrupt matches in Mumbai.
Pakistan will remain in Cuttack if they qualify for the second round, but will still have to travel to Mumbai if they make the final at the Braboure stadium on February 17.
Indian captain Mithali Raj said she was disappointed that the Pakistani team had attracted protests.
"I personally feel that politics should not be involved in sport," Raj told.
"Sport is more about entertainment and a fun-loving atmosphere. So we should not be getting too many political issues into it."
Preparations were also disrupted when the hosts made Mumbai's Wankhede stadium, venue of the men's World Cup final in 2011, unavailable at the last minute.
Three grounds in Mumbai will host group A, involving defending champions England, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and hosts India.
The players have taken the disruption in their stride and are excited about the tournament, which was first played in 1973, two years before the men's World Cup was inaugurated in 1975.
"I think it is safe to say that the women's game today is unrecognisable from when I started in 1997," said England's captain Charlotte Edwards, set to appear in her fifth World Cup.
"We are attracting loads of young girls who want to play the game. We have changed people's perceptions about women's cricket a lot. Hopefully this tournament will be another step in hammering that message home."
One of the players to watch in the 10th edition of the tournament will be England wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor, who reports say could play alongside the men in Sussex county's second XI this year.
India's Raj, preparing for her fourth World Cup, hopes women's cricket will finally take off in her country where some of her male counterparts are national icons.
"Indian society is still is not forthcoming when it comes to women's cricket," Raj said.
"Parents are still more interested in putting their girls into more feminine sports like tennis or table-tennis."
Australia go into the tournament as favourites to win their sixth title, following victory in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last October.
The Australian side includes Ellyse Perry, a pace bowler who also plays football for her country, the Indian-born Lisa Sthalekar, and Alyssa Healy, niece of former Australian men's wicket-keeper Ian Healy.
Pakistan are more worried about adapting to the new one-day rules than about their security in Cuttack, where they are staying in the club house of the Barabati stadium for security reasons.
"We have not played under the new rules where five players have to be inside the circle at all times and the use of new balls from both ends," captain Sana Mir said.
"We must get used to them before the tournament starts."
Three teams from the two groups will advance to the Super Sixes round, from where the top two will qualify for the final.

Broad's England not taking New Zealand lightly

AUCKLAND: England will not allow New Zealand's recent woes to lull them into a false sense of security, the tourists' Twenty 20 captain Stuart Broad insisted Wednesday.
England head into the tour as firm favourites over the Black Caps, who lost two recent Test matches in South Africa by an innings and have been destabilised by Ross Taylor's axeing as captain in favour of Brendon McCullum.

But Broad pointed to New Zealand's face-saving one-day series win over the Proteas after their Test losses as proof the Black Caps will still pose a threat on the tour, particularly as they will be playing on home soil.
"We know New Zealand have just beaten South Africa in the one-day format and having played a lot of Twenty20 cricket against them, we know they're very dangerous," Broad told reporters.
"We'll have to prepare for that and get used to the conditions as much as we can. We know New Zealand have some fantastic Twenty20 players and that's who we'll concentrate on... we'll have to be at the top of our game."
England arrived Tuesday night in New Zealand after winning their recent four-Test series in India 2-1 but losing the subsequent one-day series 3-2.
The tour begins with three T20s, followed by three one-dayers then three Tests.
Broad was reluctant to comment on New Zealand's Test prospects, a format in which the hosts are ranked eighth in the world and England second, saying his side would approach each section of the tour separately.
"If we focus on New Zealand cricket and what is going to happen ahead we'll lose sight of what we need to do," he said.
The Blacks Caps appear set to be without veteran spinner Daniel Vettori in the Test series as he continues to struggle with an Achilles injury.
"The Test matches against England may be a stretch for me," he told Fairfax Media, saying he hoped to be back for New Zealand's tour of England in May.
The first T20 international will be at Auckland's Eden Park on February 9.

Israel partially unfreezes Palestinian fund

JERUSALEM: Israel announced on Wednesday it has unfrozen $100 million of the Palestinian Authority's funds, which it blocked last November after it won observer status at the United Nations.
"This decision was taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of the Palestinian Authority's very difficult financial situation," said a spokesman for his office.

Yen slips on Japan finance minister comments

TOKYO: The yen slipped further Wednesday after Japan's finance minister issued a stern denial over claims Tokyo was manipulating the unit, as traders keep an eye on a Fed meeting that wraps up later in the day.
In morning Tokyo trade, the dollar gained to 90.97 yen, from 90.72 yen in New York on Tuesday, while the euro fetched 122.75 yen, from 122.42 yen.

The single currency also bought $1.3491 from $1.3493.
Japan's currency resumed its months-long slide as Finance Minister Taro Aso said the unit was in a "correction phase" after soaring to record highs around 75 to the dollar in late 2011.
"The comment is nothing new so it can't push up the (dollar/yen) pair like a rocket anymore, but it still has some power left," a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo told Dow Jones Newswires.
On Tuesday Japan's economic revitalisation minister Akira Amari said the currency's slide was a product of Japan's new government trying to boost the deflation-plagued economy with big spending and a pressure campaign on the Bank of Japan for aggressive easing.
That has stoked criticism -- including from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- that Tokyo is manipulating its exchange rate policy.
Forex markets were looking to the US central bank as it wraps up a two-day meeting later in the day, hoping for more clues to the state of the economy.

Shahrukh denies being unsafe in India

MUMBAI: Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan has said that he and his family are completely safe and secure in India and denied saying that he had faced any security problems there.
Addressing a gathering at an event in Mumbai, the super Khan said that he is an Indian Muslim and the entire controversy created by his article was uncalled for.
However, the Bollywood mega star admitted writing the article but said that the people criticizing it are the ones who have not even read his piece. He advised these people to at least read it before passing any comments on it.
The leading Bollywood actor further said that he would not have achieved what he has without the love and support of the Indian people.

Mantel wins Costa award for 'Bring Up The Bodies'

LONDON: Hilary Mantel won Britain's Costa Book Award on Tuesday for her novel "Bring Up The Bodies", which has now done the double having claimed the Booker Prize.
The judges described the book, the second part of a planned trilogy about king Henry VIII's adviser Thomas Cromwell, as "head and shoulders" above the other contenders.
Mantel, 60, scooped the #30,000 ($47,000, 35,000 euro) prize, while the other writers on the shortlist, made up from the other four category winners, received #5,000 each.
"I'm happy and I shall make it my business to try to write more books that will be worth more prizes," she said.
"Sometimes it feels like it's getting away from me, yet at the same time I'm still contained within it because I have the third book to write.
"I'm excited about it I want to know what happens, I want to know what I'll say."
Mantel made literary history in October 2012 by becoming the first woman and the first British author to be a two-time winner of the Booker Prize for fiction, one of the highest profile awards in English-language literature.
The Costa Book Award, formerly the Whitbread Literary Awards, was established in 1971 to celebrate contemporary British and Irish writing. A panel of writers, actors and broadcasters choose the most enjoyable books from the past year.
Broadcaster Jenni Murray, who chaired the nine-strong judging panel, said they had made a unanimous decision.
"This is a very difficult prize to judge because there are five categories and they are so different: poetry, children's, biography, first novel and novel," she said.
"One book simply stood head and shoulders, more than head and shoulders -- on stilts -- above the rest.
"We couldn't allow the number of times it has already been lauded to affect our decision; it was quite simply the best book."

Australia to go to the polls on September 14: PM

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday broke with tradition and announced the nation would go to the polls on September 14, saying she wanted to give "shape and order" to the year.

Australians usually know only weeks before when an election will be held, but the Labor leader, whose minority government holds power by only a narrow margin, surprised pundits by ending speculation and giving a date.
"I do so not to start the nation's longest election campaign, quite the opposite," Gillard told the National Press Club in Canberra during a speech setting out the priorities for Labor in the year ahead.
"It should be clear to all which are the days of governing, and which are the days of campaigning."
Opinion polls suggest Gillard, who made global headlines last year with a fiery speech about misogyny on the floor of parliament, will lose the election to conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott.
She said announcing the date of the polls would give individuals, businesses and investors the ability to plan ahead.
"It gives shape and order to the year, and enables it to be one not of fevered campaigning, but of cool and reasoned deliberation," she said.
Parliament will be dissolved on August 12.
Gillard, the nation's first female prime minister, last went to the polls in 2010, just weeks after she staged an overnight party room coup against her former leader and then prime minister Kevin Rudd.
But the Welsh-born ex-lawyer failed to win over an electorate still stunned by her ousting of the popular Rudd, and the elections resulted in a hung parliament which forced her into a coalition with independents to retain power.
Gillard said even when the "hysteria" regarding the 2010 election was at its peak, she had always said parliament would serve a full three-year term and she did not think it was right there was a "guessing game" on the poll date.
"So in the interest of certainty, in the interest of transparency, in the interest of good government I have made the date clear today," said Gillard, wearing glasses for the first time in fronting the media.
The 51-year-old has struggled in opinion polls, particularly after she introduced a pollution tax for industry to combat climate change despite promising there would be no carbon tax if she was elected.
The latest Newspoll published in The Australian earlier this month found that Labor had about 49 percent of the vote compared with 51 percent for the Abbott-led opposition.
Flame-haired Gillard, who is unmarried and an atheist, has also survived speculation about her leadership within Labor -- trouncing Rudd 71 to 31 in February 2012 when he challenged her for the top job.
Australian prime ministers traditionally name the election at a date to their political advantage, but Gillard said by announcing the schedule early the opposition would have time to develop and cost its policies.

Democracy in India is a farce: Dr Amarjit Singh

DALLAS: The leader of the Sikhs of America & keynote speaker Dr. Amarjit Singh has said that India called itself a ‘biggest democracy’ which is a farce, adding that even today member of American organization are not allowed to go to Punjab and Kashmir so that their brutality could not be exposed.
Singh was addressing a conference held under the auspicious of America Together Foundation which was organized in the memory of 1984 genocide of Sikh followers.
Dr. Amarjit Singh said that the same treatment, which was given to them in India, is now being given to followers of Buddhism and people of Kashmir.
He said that the wounds they received in 1984 are still fresh because the culprits were not brought to justice.
He said that in 2000 there were circular issued by Indian Army in which it was said the radicals (AmritDharis) should be identified because the people were ‘Antakwadi’ and ‘agarwadi’. However, the Sikh followers are continuing their peaceful struggle even today, he added.
Singh said they do not accept a clause of Indian constitution in which Jain religion has been described as part of Hindu religion.
He also said that Russian secret agency KGB keeps training the Indian RAW. The dirty works are being done in India by RAW and they put blame on ISI
He said that those scenes are still in front of their eyes when in 20 states of India, the Sikhs followers are picked up one by one and burnt alive by hanging the tire around their necks.
He further said that our fight is not with Hindus but the state.
The Sikh nation is waiting for the justice from the International Court because hundreds of people are disappeared whose whereabouts are still unknown, he added.
Gr. Harbans Lal also spoke on the occasion and thanked each participant.
In the meantime, the Bangladeshi speaker Hassan Mahmod said in his address that 41 years ago the Pakistan Army treated the Bengalis in more shameful manner for which officially no apology was extended.
In response to the speech, Shah Alam Siddiqui, a well-known Journalist, said that while we condemn massacre wherever it takes place, yet all the facts should be laid bare fully.
He said that non-Bengalis were killed indiscriminately by Mukti Bahini and also by the Indian forces. Despite this when former President Peevez Musharraf went to Bangladesh he publicly extended apology on that. What else the Banglesdeshi speaker wanted, asked Siddiqui.
Dallas Peace Center Executive Director, Kelly Obazee, reflected on current massacre around the world And Dr. Petra Weldes talked about stereotyping and its effects on the society.
The Chairman of the conference Dr. Harbans laal thanked the speakers and the audience and also media besides the administration of the Gurduwarsa (Sikh temples), situated in and around Dallas who played a major role in making the conference a success. Also the President of the Karakoram Thinker Forum Siraj Butt and other important people belonging to different walk of life participated in the conference.

Two Iraqis living in US sentenced in terrorism case

WASHINGTON: A US judge Tuesday sentenced two Iraqi men living in Kentucky to federal prison for their role in a plot to ship weapons to Iraqi insurgents and raise money for the Al-Qaeda terror network.
Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 25, was sentenced to life in federal prison while his accomplice Waad Ramadan Alwan, 31, was sentenced to 40 years in prison followed by supervised release, the US Justice Department said.
Both had pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges, but were not charged with plotting attacks within the United States.
The two Iraqis who were living in Bowling Green, in the southern state of Kentucky, "participated in terrorist activities overseas and attempted to continue providing material support to terrorists while they lived here in the United States," said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
"With today's sentences, both men are being held accountable," Monaco said.
Authorities arrested Hammadi and Alwan in an FBI sting involving an undercover agent posing as part of a group sending money and weapons to insurgents in Iraq.
Alwan, whose fingerprints were found on an unexploded roadside bomb found in Iraq, pleaded guilty in December 2011 to all counts of a 23-count federal indictment that included conspiracy to kill US nationals abroad and export Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.
In August 2012 Hammadi pleaded guilty to a 12-count indictment that included similar charges.
Alwan however received a reduced sentence because he cooperated with authorities, the Justice Department said.
An undercover FBI agent posing as an Al-Qaeda agent met with Alwan and recorded their meetings starting in August 2010.
"From September 2010 through May 2011, Alwan participated in ten separate operations to send weapons and money that he believed were destined for terrorists in Iraq," the Justice Department said.
In January 2011 Alwan recruited Hammadi, and until May 2011 the two helped ship money and weapons -- including rocket-propelled grenade launchers, machine guns, and Stinger missiles -- that they believed were destined "for terrorists in Iraq."
All of the weapons had been rendered inert, the statement read.
Hammadi entered the United States in July 2009 and had initially lived in Las Vegas before settling in Kentucky, while his accomplice Alwan arrived three months earlier.

Cairo court awards death for 7 Copts over anti-Islam film

CAIRO: A Cairo tribunal on Tuesday upheld death sentences passed on seven Egyptian Coptic Christians in absentia for their involvement in an anti-Islam film, a judicial source said.
The accused, including the director of the movie that triggered outrage across the Muslim world when it surfaced last September, are currently living in the United States.
Terry Jones, an American pastor based in Florida who is said to have promoted the film and who had also been sentenced to death in absentia, had his sentence reduced to five years in jail by the tribunal.
Egyptian courts usually hand out the maximum punishment -- execution in this case for a blasphemy verdict -- and send the decision to the state's top Islamic scholar to get his approval.
Tuesday's confirmation of the sentences occurred after his opinions were taken.
If the defendants do return to Egypt, they could get a new trial, according to legal experts.

Massacre plunges Syria deeper into 'horror' spiral

UNITED NATIONS: The Syrian war has reached "unprecedented levels of horror", UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Tuesday after dozens of men were killed in a grim new massacre.
Brahimi told the divided UN Security Council that it must now act to halt the carnage epitomized by the nearly 80 young men, each killed with a single bullet and dumped in a river in the battlefront city of Aleppo.
Syrian rebels blamed President Bashar al-Assad's government for the killings, but state media said an opposition faction was to blame.
Syria "is breaking up before everyone's eyes. Only the international community can help, and first and foremost the Security Council," Brahimi told the council's 15 ambassadors.
Twenty-two months of conflict have now left well over 60,000 dead, according to the United Nations, which on Wednesday will seek $1.5 billion in humanitarian funding for beleaguered Syrians at a conference in Kuwait.
"The tragedy does not have an end," Brahimi said.
The Assad government's legitimacy has been "irreparably damaged," Brahimi said, warning however that it could still cling to power.
Assad's forces have become more repressive, the former Algerian foreign minister was quoted as telling the closed meeting, but he added that both the state and the rebel opposition were committing "equally atrocious crimes."
He also warned of the conflict spilling over into neighboring countries.
"Syria is becoming a playground for competing forces," Brahimi declared. "None of the neighbors is immune to the fallout consequences of the conflict."
The Security Council has been paralyzed on Syria for more than a year. Russia and China have vetoed three Western-drafted resolutions which would simply have threatened sanctions.
Russia accuses the West of seeking regime change through force and insists it cannot make Assad stand down. The United States and its allies back the opposition stance that there can be no talks with Assad.
Brahimi went from the meeting to dinner with the ambassadors of the five permanent council members but US ambassador Susan Rice said "the same issues that have stymied the council to date remain unresolved, so there is no obvious way forward."
In Aleppo, rebel fighter Abu Seif said 78 bodies had been retrieved from the Quweiq River and that 30 more were still in the water but could not be reached because of the threat of Assad snipers.
Hundreds of distressed people watched as muddied corpses were dredged from the Quweiq.
"The regime threw them into the river so that they would arrive in an area under our control, so the people would think we killed them," Abu Seif said.
Volunteers heaped bodies on a truck, which drove them to a school, where they were laid out and covered.
"We do not know who they are," one volunteer said. "They were not carrying papers."
A government security official blamed "terrorists" -- the regime term for the rebels -- for the carnage. The official SANA news agency said the Al-Nusra Front was responsible.

Tyler Hamilton to testify at doping trial

MADRID: Lance Armstrong's former cycling teammate, Tyler Hamilton will testify at the trial in the "Operation Puerto" doping scandal under way in Spain, a court official said on Tuesday.

The court has agreed to a request by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is a civil party in the case, for US rider Hamilton to testify in the trial which opened on Monday, the official in the Madrid court told AFP.Hamilton, 42, rode alongside Armstrong in the US Postal Service team in the late 1990s and testified against him in the investigation that led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year.
In the separate Spanish affair, sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and four others are charged with public health offences over a blood-doping scheme that has implicated dozens of cyclists.
The court had yet to set a date for Hamilton's appearance.
Police busted a network led by Fuentes in 2006 when they seized 200 bags of blood and other evidence of performance-enhancing transfusions, in an investigation dubbed "Operation Puerto".
The court official said Tuesday the doping agency and other civil parties had demanded access to some of the blood and that the judge had given them three days to make that demand in writing.

Women’s World Cup: Pakistan win warm-up against Odisha XI

CUTTACK: Pakistan defeated Arissa Eleven by a big margin of 95 runs in their warm-up match in the Women’s Cricket World Cup here on Tuesday.
Batting first after winning the toss at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Pakistan made 240 in 48.4 overs
Nain Abidi and Bismah Maroof added 148 for the third wicket partnership to strengthen the team’s position.
Nain scored 73 with seven fours and a six while Bismah made 76 with twelve boundaries.
Javeria Khan and Qanita Jalil also made useful contributions of 33 and 25, respectively.
Madhusmita Behera top scored with 53, followed by her sister Gangotra (31).
Asmavia Iqbal captured three wickets for 20 runs while Saadia Yousuf and captain Sana Mir took two wickets each.
The World Cup begins on January 31 with the first match to be played between hosts India and the West Indies at Mumbai.
Pakistan will play their first match in the tournament against Australia at Cuttack on February 1.

At least 65 bodies found 'executed' in Syria river

ALEPPO: The bodies of at least 65 young men and boys, all executed with a single gunshot to the head or neck, were found on Tuesday in a river in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a watchdog and rebels said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 65 bodies were found in the Quweiq River, which separates the Bustan al-Qasr district from Ansari in the southwest of the city, but that the toll could rise significantly. A Free Syrian Army officer at the scene said at least 68 bodies had been recovered and that many more were still being dragged from the water, in a rebel-held area."Until now we have recovered 68 bodies, some of them just teens," said Captain Abu Sada, adding that all of them had been "executed by the regime.""But there must be more than 100. There are still many in the water, and we are trying to recover them."A senior government security source said many of the victims were from Bustan al-Qasr and had been reported kidnapped earlier.He accused "terrorists," the standard regime term for people fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, of carrying out the executions and spreading propaganda to deflect responsibility."They were kidnapped by terrorist groups, who some are accusing of being pro-regime, and executed last night in a park in Bustan al-Qasr under their control," the source told AFP by telephone."Now these terrorist groups are creating a media campaign, showing the bodies being recovered from the Quweiq River in an area under their control."It has been confirmed that a number of the victims had been abducted by armed terrorist groups and their families had made repeated attempts to negotiate their releases. "We will disclose the identities of those killed as soon as we are able to secure the bodies, which is a difficult process since the area is in the hands of terrorist groups," the source said. A volunteer said as he helped load one of the bodies on a truck: "We don't know who they are because there was no ID on themAt least 15 bodies could already be seen on the truck, an AFP correspondent said, with other continuing to arrive.Abu Sada said they would be taken to the hospital at Zarzur where relatives could seek to identify them."Those who are not identified will be buried in a common grave," noting that some were unrecognisable because of the impact of the bullet."Meanwhile, people were gathering at the bank seeking lost relatives."My brother disappeared weeks ago when he was crossing (through) the regime-held zone, and we don't know where he is or what has become of him," said Mohammed Abdel Aziz, as he looked at the mud-covered bodies one by one."They could have been executed a couple of days ago and the current brought the bodies this far," an FSA fighter, Abu Anas, told AFP. The 129-kilometre (80 mile) river originates in Turkey to the north and flows to the southwest of Aleppo, traversing both regime and rebel-held areas."This is not the first time that we have found the bodies of people executed, but so many, never," he says numbly, as he examines the body of a boy of about 12 with a gunshot wound to the back of the neck.The shabiha (pro-government militia) seize people crossing the checkpoint ... and they torture and execute many of them," said Abu Anas.In video filmed by activists and published by the Observatory on YouTube, the cameraman walks along the river, less than two metres (yards) wide, and films some 50 bodies that have been pulled onto the concrete path.Most have their hands are tied behind their backs and pools of blood trail from their heads. Their faces are white and bodies bloated. All look to be young men, some teens, wearing jeans, button-up shirts and sneakers. The cameraman films them one-by-one as he walks slowly down the path, then starts running towards more ahead of him.

US Senate committee okays Kerry nomination

WASHINGTON: The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved Tuesday Senator John Kerry's nomination as secretary of state, succeeding Hillary Clinton, a senator said.
Senator Barbara Boxer told reporters that Kerry, who is the committee's chairman but did not vote, received the unanimous vote of his colleagues. His appointment must still be confirmed by the full Senate.

All 20 on board Kazakh jet killed in crash: company

ALMATY: All 20 people on board a domestic flight in Kazakhstan operated by the SCAT airline died Tuesday when their Canadian-made jet crashed on approach to Almaty airport in thick fog, the airline said.
"Twenty people were on board -- five crew members and 15 passengers," the airline said in a statement quoted by the Interfax news agency."According to preliminary information there are no survivors," the statement added, saying the aircraft was a CRJ-200 made by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.Officials said the victims included one child. SCAT said the plane went down about five kilometres (three miles) short of the financial centre's main airport on a flight from the northern steppe city of Kokshetau.Commercial KTK television said the plane crashed into an Almaty suburb but gave no information of possible casualties or damage on the ground.The airline itself said the Bombardier had made one approach to the airport and was about to rise again for a second approach when it suddenly veered off course and ploughed to the ground."We are forming a commission. We are going to provide help to the relatives of those who died," regional administration chief Kosman Aitmukhametov told Interfax.The Kazinform news agency reported that officials from both the interior and transportation ministry had travelled to the site of the crash.Interfax said the plane itself was produced in 2000 and had last undergone scheduled repairs in June 2011. It added that the jet was then certified to fly until its next scheduled maintenance in September this year.It was the second deadly winter accident to strike the fast-developing Central Asian nation in just a month, underlining the need for careful checks of ageing aircraft.The accident came just a month after another crash that killed 27, wiping out much of the top echelon of the Kazakh state border service.That jet also went down in bad weather. Aviation disasters remain a scourge across the former Soviet Union due to ageing hardware that often has not been replaced since the fall of the Soviet regime, as well as human error.

Cambodia reports two new bird flu deaths

PHNOM PENH: Two Cambodian girls have died from bird flu, health authorities said Tuesday, raising the toll from the deadly infection in the kingdom to four so far this year.
The victims, a 17-month-old girl and a nine-year-old girl, from the southern provinces of Kampot and Kampong Speu, died Monday in hospital, the World Health Organization said in a joint statement with the Cambodian health ministry.

Tests on the girls, whose villages had recorded recent deaths among poultry, confirmed they had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the statement added.

Last week Cambodia said two people -- a 15-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man, had died from the H5N1 strain contracted while preparing infected chicken.
Cambodia has recorded 26 cases of H5N1 since 2003 with all but three of the victims dying.
The virus has killed 364 people worldwide since a major outbreak in 2003, according to WHO statistics.
It typically spreads from birds to humans through direct contact, but experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

Djokovic sets sights on career Grand Slam

MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic set his sights on completing the elusive career Grand Slam at this year's French Open after confirming his mastery of men's tennis at the Australian Open.
With six Grand Slam titles at the age of 25, the Serbian world number one could be forgiven for taking it easy but immediately after clinching his fourth Melbourne win, his mind was on Roland Garros in May.
Djokovic has gone from the Paris quarter-finals to the semi-finals and the title match in successive seasons, falling to seven-time winner Rafael Nadal last year, and now he wants to take the last step.
"I want to go all the way in the French Open. I went to the finals last year and had a great match against Rafa, but he's always the favourite on that surface and he's the ultimate player to beat on clay," Djokovic said.
"But I think if I continue on playing well, stay healthy, I can have a chance."
It all seemed routine for Djokovic as he beat Andy Murray in four sets, picked up the trophy and US$2.5 million winner's cheque, and then headed straight to the airport, eschewing parties and the usual day-after media commitments.
Djokovic was anxious to hurry home in good time for this week's Davis Cup tie with Belgium. The surface? Clay.
"It's going to be a lot of fun next weekend to see how I can adjust to a clay court in indoor conditions, playing away Davis Cup, which is always tricky," he said.
"But, look, right now my thoughts are on this trophy, enjoying it as much as I can. Hopefully I'm going to have time to recover and get ready for that tie."
Australian Open victories in 2011 and 2012 proved a springboard for Djokovic, who put together 145 wins against just 18 losses over the two seasons and finished both years as the world number one.
With Nadal's physical state unknown, following his long break with knee problems, victory in Paris does not look a long shot for Djokovic, who would surely then target the hallowed calendar-year Grand Slam.
Djokovic received the trophy from Andre Agassi, another four-time Australian winner who managed to lift all four Grand Slam titles during his career. (AFP)

Jayasuriya named Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors

COLOMBO: Former Sri Lanka cricketer turned politician Sanath Jayasuriya was appointed chairman of selectors in a new-look five-member committee named by sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage on Monday.
Jayasuriya, 43, is joined by 1996 World Cup winning team mate Pramodya Wickramasinghe.

Former Sri Lanka players Hemantha Wickramaratne, Eric Upashantha and Chaminda Mendis were the other selectors appointed.

Wickramaratne is the only surviving member of the previous committee headed by Ashantha de Mel whose extended term ends on Jan. 31.
A destructive left-handed opener, Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka in 110 Tests and 445 one-day internationals in a 22-year career before quitting in 2011 and taking to politics.
He is a Member of Parliament of the ruling party United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in his hometown Matara. (Reuters)

Tiger takes charge at Torrey Pines

LA JOLLA, California: Tiger Woods strengthened his hold on the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday, carving out a six-shot lead with 11 holes to play at the Torrey Pines course where he has won seven titles.
Seeking the 75th victory of his legendary career, Woods fired a three-under par 69 in a third-round that was wiped out Saturday by fog, then birdied three of the first seven holes in his fourth round before darkness halted play.
Woods was on 14-under par 202 after 54 holes, then birdied the par-3 third, par-four fourth and par-5 sixth before a par at the seventh at dusk left him on 17-under at a course where he has won six PGA events and the 2008 US Open.
Americans Nick Watney and Brandt Snedeker shared second at 11-under with Canada's Brad Fritsch fourth two shots further back. Snedeker had five holes to play. Watney had twice as many. Fritsch had 11 to finish.
No other rivals were within nine strokes of Woods, who could beat his record victory margin at the $6.1 million event, an eight-stroke triumph in 2008.
Woods has been the sole leader of an event 41 times after 54 holes and won 39 of those tournaments.
Past success at Torrey Pines has been a precursor to strong seasons from Woods, a 14-time major champion who at age 37 hopes to close the gap on the career record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus after seasons diminished by injuries and the aftermath of an infamous sex scandal.
A victory Monday would put Woods seven shy of Sam Snead's all-time PGA title mark of 82. The Farmers would be the third event Woods has won seven times in his career, joining tournaments at Bay Hill and Firestone and all one shy of Snead's PGA record eight career wins at Greensboro.
Defending champion Snedeker, who rallied from seven strokes down to win the event last year, birdied three of the first six holes to charge again, but was only one-under over the next seven holes while Woods pulled away.
Watney's charge fizzled as well. He birdied three of the first four holes and then scored four pars before darkness fell. (AFP)

Bartoli craving success on home soil in Paris

PARIS: French number one Marion Bartoli is aiming to go one step further at this week's Paris Open in her quest for a maiden title on home soil.
Bartoli was defeated by Angelique Kerber in last year's final -- a result that served as a catalyst for the German's breakthrough 2012 campaign.

But even with Kerber not defending her crown this year, Bartoli, whose last of seven WTA titles came in Osaka in October 2011, was guarded in her expectations.

The world number 10, who suffered a disappointing third-round exit against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova at this month's Australian Open, insisted the Grand Slam tournaments remained the focal points of her season but admitted success in the French capital also rated highly among her priorities.
Bartoli, who has a first-round bye, will face the winner between American Christina McHale and fellow Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier in her opening match.
Meanwhile, the event's top seed Sara Errani of Italy will be seeking to ignite her 2013 campaign after crashing out at the first hurdle in Melbourne.
The world's seventh ranked player, a finalist at the 2012 French Open, faces a qualifier in her first match.
The 2011 champion Petra Kvitova is the tournament's second seed.
The 22-year-old Czech has achieved middling success since her maiden Wimbledon crown two years ago, a second-round defeat in Australia to Britain's Laura Robson a fortnight ago offering an insight into her inconsistency of late.
Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams -- a winner at the Paris Open 11 years ago -- was a late withdrawal from the competition due to a back injury with 2010 Roland Garros queen Francesca Schiavone handed a wild-card entry as a replacement.
On Monday, eighth seed Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic came from a set behind to oust Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 2-6, 7-5, 6-0, while Mona Barthel of Germany beat Poland's Urszula Radwanska 7-6 (7/1), 6-0 in her first-round match. (AFP)

Ontong leads fightback to hold Pakistanis to draw

EAST LONDON: The touring Pakistanis were held to a draw when bad light brought an early end to their four-day match against a South African Invitation XI at Buffalo Park on Monday.

The Invitation XI, set 323 to win, were 190 for five in their second innings when the match was called off. Home team captain Justin Ontong made an unbeaten 51 after his side had seemed in danger of defeat when he went in to bat with his team on 101 for four.

Opening bowlers Umar Gul and Junaid Khan both struck early in the second innings. The tall Mohammad Irfan took two wickets and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed one.

Earlier, the Invitation XI opening bowler Kyle Abbott took three quick wickets - one with the old ball and two with the second new ball - before the tourists declared on 250 for nine. They lost four wickets for ten runs on Monday.
The Pakistanis travel to Johannesburg on Tuesday to prepare for the first Test against South Africa starting at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday. (AFP)

Military called in as deadly floods batter Australia

BRISBANE: Australia ramped up its military response to deadly floodwaters rising in the country's sodden northeast Tuesday which have killed four people and displaced or isolated tens of thousands.

Storms triggered by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald have claimed four lives -- the most recent a three-year-old boy killed by a falling tree -- as heavy rains have brought flooding to the states of Queensland and New South Wales.

The sugar farming town of Bundaberg waited anxiously for the swollen Burnett River to peak at a record 9.6 metres (32 feet), with officials saying some 2,000 homes and 300 businesses were already flooded.
Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said about 7,500 residents had been displaced by the floodwaters, with 1,000 people plucked from the roofs of their homes in daring evening rescues after the river broke its banks late Monday.
Premier Campbell Newman toured Bundaberg from the air and said it was an "extraordinary" scene, paying tribute to military rescue teams who toiled until midnight using night vision equipment.
"I think the bravery of the air crew and the helicopters, both civilian and defence force who worked all yesterday afternoon and into the night evacuating people in quite difficult circumstances is what saved the day," said Newman.
"We did have a situation of fast-rising floodwaters and people being very rapidly isolated on ever-diminishing islands of ground."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said four military helicopters, 100 troops and two Hercules transport aircraft had been deployed to the emergency, with the evacuation of patients from Bundaberg's hospital to Brisbane a priority.
"We'll also be making available one of the huge aircraft, the C17, to transport equipment that is needed to Bundaberg for the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and for the Queensland Ambulance Service," Gillard said.
There was some flooding in the state capital Brisbane, home to about two million people, which was brought to a standstill for several days by a huge inundation in 2011 that swamped 30,000 homes and killed more than 30 people.
Brisbane mayor Graham Quirk said some city businesses had been swamped for a second time but there were no reports of homes flooding inside, with the Brisbane River peaking lower than had been forecast.
Insurers had already received some 6,100 claims from Queensland worth Aus$72 million (US$75 million), according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Oswald brought wild storms to neighbouring New South Wales overnight, with floodwaters isolating 23,000 people and prompting authorities to order 2,100 people to evacuate from the town of Grafton. Another 7,000 were put on notice that they may have to follow suit.
"We are faced today with an unprecedented rise in the Clarence River in Grafton and no doubt downstream," mayor Richie Williamson told reporters at a briefing in Grafton.
"On Thursday and Friday we were nearly in drought conditions. Here we are on Tuesday morning talking about the biggest flood on the history books."
Wild weather ripped up trees up and brought dangerous surf conditions in Sydney, with waves of up to 10 metres reported.

Six dead in suicide attack outside Somali PM's office: army

MOGADISHU: At least six people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up amongst a group of security officials outside the Somali prime minister's office on Tuesday, army officials said.

"I saw the dead bodies of six people and several others were injured," said Abdukadir Ali, a Somali military official who stayed near the scene of the attack in central Mogadishu. It is believed that many of those killed or wounded were soldiers or police.

"The bomber was sitting near a perimeter wall and detonated himself in the midst of a group of security forces," Ali added. "There was chaos, smoke and pieces of human flesh."

Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Said was in his office at the time when the attacker struck, officials in his office said, but he was not harmed by the blast. "The area was closed down by the security forces... I saw several dead soldiers and others injured being rushed to hospital," said Mohamed Hussein, a witness.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but the Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents have conducted a series of guerrilla style attacks in the capital. The insurgents have vowed to topple newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office in September after being chosen by the country's new parliament, bringing an end to eight years of transitional rule.
Shebab fighters are on the back foot, having fled a string of key towns ahead of a 17,000-strong African Union force, which is fighting alongside Somali government troops to wrest territory off the Islamists.
Ethiopian troops are also battling the Shebab in the southwest of Somalia. But the Shebab remain a potent threat, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks -- including suicide bombings -- in areas apparently under government control.
War-ravaged Mogadishu was hit last year by a string of bloody bomb attacks, although it has been more calm in recent weeks. A car bomb in December killed three people, while in November a suicide bomber attacked a restaurant.

International donor conference for war-torn Mali opens

ADDIS ABABA: An international donor conference to drum up funds and troops to help the military operation against Islamist militants in Mali opened on Tuesday at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia's capital.
"The whole world has gathered here, it's very good for Mali," Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said.

India's top court rejects bid to move gang-rape trial

NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday an application to move the trial of five men accused of the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi.
A three-judge bench dismissed the petition, which argued that the men could not get a fair trial in the capital, because the lawyer who filed it had ceased to represent one of the defendants.

Legal experts have raised concerns over the public pressure on the judge in New Delhi hearing the case of the men accused of abducting the woman and repeatedly raping her on a moving bus on December 16.

The incident has sparked violent protests and a bout of soul-searching in India about the treatment of women. The victim's family have led calls for prompt verdicts and the death penalty.

The case is being held in a new "fast-track" court set up after the gang-rape, which is designed to deliver justice more quickly than the rest of the system where cases often take years to come to trial.

The petition to move the trial out of New Delhi was filed by lawyer M.L. Sharma, who said he was acting on behalf of defendant Mukesh Singh.

The three-judge bench hearing the petition on Tuesday said Singh had since appointed V.K. Anand as his counsel, meaning the original petition was void.

Kazakh airliner crash, all onboard feared dead

ALMATY: A passenger jet with 15 passengers and five crew members on board crashed on Tuesday in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, Interfax quoted sources and aviation officials as saying.
The jet, whose make or operator was not immediately made clear, went down in the southeast of the ex-Soviet nation not far from the financial capital Almaty and near the border with Kyrgyzstan, the news agency said.

Nearby lightning may be linked to migraines

NEW YORK: Weather has long been considered one of many potential migraine triggers, but a new study links lightning, specifically, to the onset of the severe headaches that plague more than 28 million Americans.
Based on headache logs and weather data for Ohio and Missouri, researchers found that people were 28 percent more likely to experience a migraine on days when lightning struck within 25 miles of their home.

"We're very surprised and very happy with the results in that this is the first study to link lightning to migraines," said Dr. Vincent Martin, the study's senior author from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio.

Migraines are severe headaches - sometimes accompanied by light sensitivity, visual hallucinations or nausea - that can disable a person for hours or even days at a time. The majority of migraine sufferers are women.
Martin told Reuters Health that a migraine may result from a person experiencing certain "triggers," such as stress, lack of sleep and dehydration.
Previous research has also found links between the onset of migraines and high barometric pressure, high temperatures and high humidity.
Most of the past studies looking at weather and migraines, however, relied on an individual's observations and did not always account for other, possibly unseen, local weather conditions, the researchers write in the journal Cephalalgia.
For the new study, they used information collected from three sensors that track lightning near Cincinnati, Ohio, and five sensors near St. Louis, Missouri. Those sensors allowed the researchers to know where and when lightning struck and the intensity of each strike.
They also used the headache diaries from two previous studies of 90 migraine sufferers in those areas who were between 18 and 65 years old. In those diaries, the participants recorded their headaches for three to six months.
After comparing the weather data with the headache journals, the researchers found that a lightning strike within 25 miles of a person's house was linked to a 31 percent increased risk of any kind of headache, and a 28 percent increased risk of the more severe migraine headache.
Martin said that could mean an extra one to three migraines per month for an individual, but he added that it depends on the person and the weather.
As for how lightning might affect migraine occurrences, Martin said it could be that the electromagnetic waves and ozone created by the lightning have something to do with it.
"The other theory is that when these thunderstorms roll in they can create more allergy spores in the environment," he said, which could create a problem for some people.
But the researchers cannot say for certain that lightning causes migraines, even though they used a computer model to account for other meteorological changes that occur during a thunderstorm.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Hayrunnisa Bolay of Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey, cautioned that the study had limitations, including its failure to account for the participants' own individual risk factors.
"In brief, one can only conclude that weather conditions associated with lightning have the potential to induce headache in migraine patients," she wrote. (Reuters)

2-Witch-hunting 'Hansel & Gretel' wins box office

A grown-up "Hansel & Gretel" grabbed the weekend box office title, pulling in $19 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales with its reinvention of the fairy tale characters as fierce bounty hunters. "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" knocked last weekend's winner, low-budget horror flick "Mama," into second place."Mama" earned $12.8 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates, followed by "Silver Linings Playbook" with $10 million. CIA drama "Zero Dark Thirty" came in fourth with $9.8 million. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in "Hansel & Gretel" as crossbow-wielding adult siblings who travel the world taking out evil witches. MGM and Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures produced the action comedy for about $50 million. Paramount had predicted opening weekend sales in the high-teens or low $20 million range. Don Harris, Paramount's president of distribution, said the film performed well despite the very cold temperatures and snow that hit the eastern United States. "We are pleased that we were on our number on a worldwide basis. It looks like we are on or exceeding our numbers but we did get dinged with the weather on Friday," he said in an interview. "The impact of the weather was certainly more than I had predicted." "Mama" features Jessica Chastain as a woman forced to take care of two orphaned nieces who have been living in the woods.
The $15 million production has now earned $48.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters through two weekends. Chastain also stars in "Zero Dark Thirty" in an Oscar-nominated role as a dogged CIA agent searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The best picture nominee, which has sparked debate over depictions of torture, has grossed $69.9 million since its release in late December. "Silver Linings Playbook" stars Bradley Cooper as a former mental patient trying to rebuild his life with the help of a young widow played by Jennifer Lawrence. Total sales for "Silver Linings" reached $69.46 million. The movie, Cooper, Lawrence and co-star Robert De Niro are all nominated for Oscars. New crime thriller "Parker" finished in fifth place, taking in $7 million at domestic theaters. The film is based on a series of novels by Donald E. Westlake and stars Jason Statham as a thief seeking revenge against a crew that double-crossed him. Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who helps with his mission. "Movie 43," a film with an ensemble of Hollywood directors and stars, was in seventh place, according to Hollywood.com,very close behind "Django Unchained." The film is a series of interconnected short movies following a washed-up producer as he pitches hilarious and insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Hugh Jackman, Seth MacFarlane, Kate Winslet and Dennis Quaid. Privately held Relativity Media produced the film for about $6 million. "Mama" was distributed by Universal Studios, a division of Comcast Corp. Sony Corp's movie studio released "Zero Dark Thirty." "Parker" was released by independent studio FilmDistrict. The Weinstein Co distributed "Silver Linings Playbook."

Yale invites Ranbir Kapoor to speak

MUMBAI: Ranbir Kapoor will be the second Bollywood actor to speak at Yale University in the US, a year after Shah Rukh Khan addressed a packed house at the prestigious Ivy League school.

Ranbir, who is shooting for Abhinav Kashyap's Besharam currently, has been invited by Yale to be guest lecturer in April and is juggling his dates and shoot schedule to fit in the trip. Ranbir, considered one of Bollywood's finest young actors, has had praise and awards heaped on him for his last two film performances in Rockstar and Barfi!

Last year, Yale named Shah Rukh Khan a Chubb Fellow, but his visit to the US began on a controversial note when he was detained and questioned for an hour and a half by immigration authorities at a New York airport. SRK was the only member of his travelling group, which included Nita Ambani, to be detained. They flew in by private plane.
SRK had also been detained in Newark Airport in 2009. When SRK finally arrived for his lecture at Yale, he joked: "We were detained at the airport as always. For one and a half hour. It was nice. It always happens when I come to America. Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself I take a trip to America".

Injured Garcia postpones fight with Judah

NEW YORK: A rib injury sustained during training has forced undefeated champion Danny Garcia to postpone his scheduled February 9 title defense against Zab Judah to April 27, promoters announced on Sunday.

Garcia, 25-0 with 16 knockouts, was to have defended his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association junior welterweight crowns against 35-year-old Judah, 42-7 with 29 knockouts, in an all-American showdown.

The fight card will remain at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Judah's hometown.
Garcia beat Mexico's Erik Morales in a unanimous 12-round decision last March to claim the WBC crown, then took the WBA title from England's Amir Khan with a fourth-round stoppage last July.
In November, Garcia knocked out Morales in the fourth round in a rematch in the first boxing card at the new Brooklyn arena to keep both his titles and set up the Judah bout.

Bangladesh to tour Sri Lanka in March

COLOMBO: Bangladesh will play two Tests, three one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match on their month-long tour of Sri Lanka in March, the Sri Lankan board announced on Monday.
Itinerary: March 3-5: Three-day match, Matara March 8-12: First Test, Galle March 16-20: Second Test, Colombo March 23: First ODI, Hambantota March 25: Second ODI, Hambantota March 28: Third ODI, Pallekele March 31: T20 international, Pallekele

Australia put Sri Lanka in to bat

MELBOURNE: Australia won the toss and asked Sri Lanka to bat in the final Twenty20 international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.

Sri Lanka, the top-ranked side in the 20-over game, won the opening match by five wickets at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on Saturday night.

Teams

Australia: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Sean Marsh, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty, Ben Laughlin

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Kushal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal, Mahela Jayawardene, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Akila Dannajaya
Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS), John Ward (AUS) TV Umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

Three dead, dramatic rescues in Australia floods

SYDNEY: Three people were dead and dozens plucked from roofs and marooned cars in dramatic air rescues in northeastern Australia Monday as severe floods swept through two states, inundating thousands of homes.
The bodies of two men swept away by floodwaters were found Monday, one in the Queensland state capital Brisbane and another further north at Gympie, following the earlier discovery of an elderly man's body near the city of Bundaberg.

A pregnant woman and her three-year-old son were rushed to hospital after a large tree fell on them as they were walking Monday morning in Brisbane. They were reported to have head injuries, with the child in a critical condition.

There were dozens of dramatic rescues as rapidly rising waters left people suddenly stranded, including one family who had to zip their infant son into a waterproof bag to be winched to safety by helicopter as floods surrounded their car.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said there was an acute emergency unfolding in Bundaberg, home to about 50,000 people 360 kilometres (220 miles) north of Brisbane, with many people scrambling to get out as the river hit a record peak.
Newman said authorities were now in "uncharted territory", with debris-laden floodwaters roaring through the town at such speeds water evacuations were no longer viable and there were fears homes could be ripped from their foundations.
More than 2,000 homes had flooded and "many thousands" of people were affected, he said, with a "significant number" of people expected to be trapped in their homes.
Some 60 patients at the local hospital were being shifted to its upper floors.
Fourteen helicopters including two army Black Hawks would fly rescue missions until nightfall and Newman said the government was scrambling to find extra aircraft to boost efforts.
"We've got to pull all stops out to do this before it gets dark," he said.
Thousands of people have evacuated their homes across Queensland with flood warnings for the majority of the state's rivers as ex-tropical cyclone Oswald sweeps into neighbouring New South Wales bringing high winds and heavy rains.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the "wild weather had broken a lot of hearts", with some Queensland residents experiencing their third flood in two years, including the devastating 2011 inundation which killed 35 people.

Egypt's Morsi declares state of emergency in riot-hit towns

CAIRO: President Mohamed Morsi Sunday declared a state of emergency in three towns hit by rioting which has left dozens dead, warning that if needed he would take further steps to confront threats to Egypt's security. Enmergency measures, which would include curfews, would come into effect in the towns as Port Said, Suez and Ismailia "for 30 days starting at midnight (2200 GMT Sunday)," Morsi said in an address on state television.

Venezuela lowers prison riot death toll to 58

CARACAS: Venezuelan Prisons Minister Iris Varela said Sunday that 58 people were killed during a riot at a jail in the country's northwest, lowering an earlier given death toll by three. "The toll of unfortunate people who lost their lives, both here at the prison and from injuries suffered here, stands at 57 people. Painfully, we must add to this one more person whose body was found burned," Varela said during a press conference from the Uribana jail in Lara state.

US senators unveil immigration reform deal

WASHINGTON: Eight US lawmakers crossed party lines to unveil a plan Monday that would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the shadows in the United States.
"We recognize that our immigration system is broken," the senators said in their bipartisan framework, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

It promises a "tough but fair" path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, reform that would build the US economy, an "effective" employment verification system and an improved process to admit future workers.

The proposed legislation also increases the number of drones and other surveillance equipment, as well as the number of agents at and between ports of entry in a bid to better secure the long borders the United States shares with Canada to the north and especially Mexico to the south.
Although the bill seeks to boost security measures, it also vows to "strengthen prohibitions against racial profiling and inappropriate use of force," as well as improve training for border patrol agents and increase oversight. In a bid to combat visa overstays, the lawmakers offered a requirement for those in the country illegally to register with the government.
Around 40 percent of the illegal immigrants now in the United States entered the country legally but then let their visa expire, according to official estimates. But under the plan, they would also be able to earn "probationary" legal status -- to live and work legally in the US -- after passing a background check and paying a fine and back taxes.
Those with a "serious" criminal background or who otherwise threaten US national security would not be eligible for legal status and would face deportation, according to the framework document. "Individuals with probationary legal status will be required to go to the back of the line of prospective immigrants" and pass an additional background check, among other requirements, the document said.
Under the plan, individuals who fulfill the requirements could eventually obtain a green card for permanent residency.
Senators backing the measure are Republicans John McCain, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake, along with Democrats Robert Menendez, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and Michael Bennet.

Deadly nightclub inferno leaves Brazil in mourning

SANTA MARIA: Brazilians on Monday were mourning the victims of a nightclub blaze in a small college town that left more than 230 people dead and over 100 injured, with many still fighting for their lives.
Shocked survivors, mostly science students in Santa Maria, described how scores of revelers were trampled to death or succumbed to smoke inhalation as blocked exits and rising flames caused panic.

Officials said 233 people had been killed, with 116 more injured. Health Minister Alexandre Padilha told reporters the government's priority was "saving the lives that we still can save."

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, visibly shaken by the news, cut short her visit to the Europe-Latin America summit in Chile to fly to the town.
Brazil cancelled an event Monday launching a 500-day countdown to next year's World Cup tournament, and the disaster will raise concerns about public safety as Brazil also prepares to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
The fire broke out around 2:00 am (0400 GMT) Sunday when the nightclub was hosting a university party.
Survivor Michelle Pereira said a member of the band had lifted a flare into the air, which set the ceiling on fire. Flames quickly engulfed the entire room.
"Everyone was pushing and shoving," another survivor, Taynne Vendruscolo, told reporters.
"The fire started out small, but within seconds it exploded. Those who were close to the stage could not get out."
Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said many people were trampled in the rush to get out. Others were suffocated by the smoke.
Club security had blocked people from leaving, sparking a stampede, he added.
Customers said guards at the club had kept the fire exit locked to prevent people from leaving without paying for their drinks.
Firefighters doused the blackened shell of a red brick building with water and used sledgehammers to punch holes in the walls to get people out faster.
But for many, it was already too late.
Victims' bodies were taken to a sports stadium, which police cordoned off to keep sobbing relatives from streaming in.
Left outside, they waited for news of missing loved ones.
Federal and local authorities were mobilizing "all resources, so that we do not just recover the bodies but also support families at this time and provide very efficient care to the injured”.
In the wake of the disaster, the authorities called off an event dubbed "500 Days until World Cup-2014," planned for Monday in the federal capital Brasilia.
This is the deadliest such blaze in more than a decade, since a fire at a shopping center and discotheque in the central Chinese city of Luoyang killed more than 300 people in 2000.

Supreme Djokovic grinds down Murray for three-peat

MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic wore down Andy Murray in a gruelling four-set final to clinch the professional era's first hat-trick of Australian Open titles in attritional style on Sunday. The Serbian world number one lost the opening set in a tiebreaker but got progressively stronger to dominate the suffering Murray and win 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-2 in 3hr 40min. It was Djokovic's fourth Australian crown and his sixth Grand Slam title overall, and confirmed him as the game's premier player. Djokovic, 25, became the first man in the Open Era and only the third man ever to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, joining Australians Jack Crawford (1931-33) and five-time winner Roy Emerson (1963-67). "What a joy, it's an incredible feeling winning this trophy once more and it's definitely my favourite Grand Slam, my most successful Grand Slam, I love this court," Djokovic said. Murray, the British world number three, began strongly but he battled a left hamstring injury and blistered feet as Djokovic stepped up, winning the important points and most of the lung-busting long rallies. "I congratulate Novak. His record here is absolutely incredible and there are very few people who have managed to do what he's done here. He's a very deserved champion," Murray said. It was Djokovic's second win over Murray in a Grand Slam final after the 2011 Australian final, and ended the Scot's unbeaten 13-match run in the majors since his victory over the Serb in last September's US Open decider. Djokovic, who was handed the trophy by four-time winner Andre Agassi, reaffirmed his standing as the number one ranked player while Murray will remain in the third position behind Roger Federer. It continued Djokovic's dominance on the Melbourne hardcourt surface and capped an impressive fortnight where he recovered from a draining five-setter over five hours with Stanislas Wawrinka to score emphatic wins over Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer to reach the final. In a tight opening set, Murray saved five break points over two service games before it was decided by a tiebreaker. The Scot played virtually the perfect tiebreaker with three mini-breaks against the wavering Djokovic to go one set up after 68 hard-fought minutes. And the Serb had to fight off three break points on his opening service in the second set as Murray remained in control. Yet again both players held their serve and the final went into a second tiebreaker, but this time Djokovic was the steadier player winning 7/3 to level the match at the 2hr 13min mark. The turning point came in the eighth game of the third set when Djokovic won a psychologically important point off an exhausting 36-stroke rally, leaving the Serb smiling and the Scot gasping. Djokovic turned up the heat and got the first service break of the final, after 2hr 51min, on his third break point and then served out for a two sets to one lead. Murray was having problems with his left hamstring and was troubled going to his forehand side as Djokovic began to take the ascendancy early in the fourth set. He got two break points in Murray's second service game and the top seed again came out on top after a sapping 26-stroke rally, breaking the Scot's serve a second time and consolidated for a 3-1 lead. The end approached as Murray double-faulted on break point in his next service game, handing Djokovic a 4-1 with the finish line in sight. Djokovic served out for the championship and clinched it on his first match point when Murray netted a backhand.

England beat India by seven wickets in final ODI

DHARAMSALA: Ian Bell smashed a fine unbeaten century to guide England to victory over India who had already won the five-match One-day International series here at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium on Sunday.
Bell remained not out on 113 as England completed their chase on a seven-wicket win note with 16 balls remaining
England first dismissed the hosts for a modest 226 and then relied on Bell’s third ODI hundred to win the fifth and final ODI at the picturesque HPCA which hosted its first international match.

Brazil nightclub fire kills more than 200: police

SAO PAULO: At least 200 people were killed in a nightclub fire in southern Brazil on Sunday after a band's pyrotechnics show set the establishment ablaze, local officials said.
Bodies were still being removed from the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, told Reuters.

Ferreira said 159 bodies had been removed from the club, and the death toll was likely to rise above 200. He said the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled, and there were as many as 500 people inside the club when the fire broke out. FREE GUIDES AND REPORTS FROM DIANOMI ADVERTISEMENT Investing in Asia How to invest in Asia – free magazine Request Magazine
Luiza Sousa, a civil police official in Santa Maria, told Reuters the blaze started when a member of the band or its production team ignited a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling. The fire spread "in seconds", Sousa said.
Rio Grande do Sul state Health Secretary Ciro Simoni said respirators from all over the state were being sent to the scene.
Santa Maria is some 187 miles (300 km) west of the state capital of Porto Alegre. "A sad Sunday!" tweeted Rio Grande do Sul Governor Tarso Genro. He said "all possible measures" were being taken in response and that he was on his way to the scene. (Reuters)

First Steve Jobs movie gets red carpet premiere

PARK CITY, Utah: The first movie about Apple's legendary co-founder got a warm reception at its world premiere on Friday, just 15 months after Steve Jobs' death.
"jOBS," starring "Two and a Half Men" actor Ashton Kutcher as the tech and computer entrepreneur who revolutionized the way people listen to music and built Apple Inc into an international powerhouse, got a red carpet roll-out at the Sundance Film Festival ahead of hitting U.S. theaters on April 19.
"jOBS" chronicles 30 defining years of the late Apple chairman, from an experimental youth to the man in charge of one of the world's most recognized brands. It is the first of two U.S. feature films about Jobs, who died in 2011 at age 56.
"Everybody has their own opinion about Steve Jobs, and they have something invested in a different part of his story. So the challenge is to decide what part of his story to tell, and not disenfranchise anybody," director Josh Stern told Reuters ahead of the screening.
"Hazarding a guess and venturing into too much speculation is always dangerous, especially with a character who is so well-known," Stern added.
The film, co-starring Josh Gad and Dermot Mulroney, begins with Jobs the dreamer, the poet and the occasional drug user in college, and his initial ideas for Apple Computers, before his vision took on a life of its own.
Much of the drama is based around the early 1980s, and Jobs' ideologies for the Apple Lisa and Macintosh computers, which ended up performing poorly for the company and led to Jobs being fired.
Kutcher's Jobs is seen as the rock star of the tech world, admired but misunderstood in his early days as he constantly tried to think outside of the box and bring a notion of "cool" to his brand.
The audience on Friday warmly applauded the film following the screening.
In a question-and-answer session after the screening, Kutcher took to the stage to talk about his preparations of mastering Jobs' posture, hand gestures and eccentricities, saying his "painstaking research" included watching more than 100 hours of footage of the Apple innovator. Notably missing from the film are details about Jobs' personal life - his court settlement with the mother of his first child features only in the backdrop of the 1980s, a time when he struggled to gain support from the Apple board for his visions.
Stern told the audience that he deliberately stayed away from the CEO's personal life, saying the film was "not about getting mired in some of the soap opera" of Jobs' life.
Kutcher, 34, told Reuters on the red carpet before the screening that he was honored to play Jobs but also terrified because of the former Apple chairman's iconic status.
"To be playing a guy who so freshly is in people's minds, where everywhere you go you can run into people who met him or knew him or had seen a video of him ... that's terrifying because everyone is an appropriate critic," Kutcher told Reuters.

Gritty drama 'Fruitvale' wins top Sundance prize

LOS ANGELES: "Fruitvale," about a young black man shot by police in a gritty California neighborhood, won the top prize Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, America's premier independent movie showcase.
The movie by first-time writer and director Ryan Coogler won the US drama Grand Jury award, as well as the US drama audience award at the end of the 11-day film fest in the snowy Utah mountains.
In the non-US categories, winners included a film about Russia's Pussy Riot feminist group -- whose makers used their acceptance speech to hail the group's cause -- as well as South Korean director O Meul's "Jiseul."
"Fruitvale" -- named after the San Francisco Bay-area neighborhood where the action takes place -- tells the real-life story of Oscar Grant, shot dead by police in the early hours of New Year's Day 2009.
It's co-stars include Octavia Spencer, who won best supporting actress Oscar last year for her role in civil rights drama "The Help."
The Grand Jury Prize for a US documentary went to "Blood Brother," an American's work on behalf of an AIDS-afflicted community in India. It also took the audience award for US documentary.
Best US drama director went to Jill Soloway for "Afternoon Delight," while Zachary Heinzerling won best documentary director for "Cutie and the Boxer" in the prizes, handed out on the last night of the Sundance festival.
In the world cinema categories, "Pussy Riot: a Punk Prayer," about the group whose three female members were jailed last year in Moscow, won the Special Jury Prize for a documentary.
"This is an incredible honor and a great prize... Masha, Nadia and Katya started a feminist revolution that we hope continues throughout the world. Let's make it happen," said co-director Mike Lerner. (AFP)