News Updates

Syria unrest: 'At least 27 dead' in protests

2012-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Syria unrest: 'At least 27 dead' in protests

Qatar leader says Arab troops should go to Syria

2012-01-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

The leader of Qatar says Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop a deadly crackdown that has claimed the lives of thousands of people over the past 10 months.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani's comments to CBS "60 Minutes," which will be aired today, are the first statements by an Arab leader calling for the deployment of troops inside Syria. They come amid growing claims that a team of Arab observers dispatched to the country to curb the bloodshed has failed in its mission.

Asked whether he is in favor of Arab nations intervening in Syria, Sheikh Hamad said that "for such a situation to stop the killing some troops should go to stop the killing." Excerpts of the interview were released by CBS on Saturday.

Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of the 10-month crackdown by President Bashar Assad.

Arab League observers began work in Syria on Dec. 27, to verify whether the government is abiding by its agreement to end the military crackdown on dissent.

But far from bringing a halt to the violence, the mission has coincided with an apparent increase in killings. A U.N. official said Tuesday that about 400 people have been killed in the past three weeks alone, on top of an earlier estimate of more than 5,000 killed since March.

Opposition and army defectors meanwhile have increasingly been taking up arms to fight back against government forces.

On Saturday, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported that terrorists detonated an explosive device that derailed a fuel train, setting it ablaze in the northwestern province of Idlib. SANA said three people who were in the train were wounded.

Pakistan army chief visits president amid rift

2012-01-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

Islamabad --

Pakistan's army chief paid a visit to the country's president Saturday in a meeting that may signal a willingness for reconciliation between the military and the civilian government after a week of escalating tensions and rumors of an impending coup.

Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the "current security situation," according to the state-run news agency.

Friction between the military and the government has spiked after an unsigned memo was sent to Washington last year asking for its help in heading off a supposed coup. The note enraged the army, which was still smarting from the humiliation of last year's covert U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden north of Islamabad.

Zardari's office welcomed the meeting with Kayani and said it should help relations.

The army has staged at least three coups in Pakistan's six-decade history and still considers itself the true custodian of the country's interests. On Wednesday, it warned of "grievous consequences" for the country in an unusual statement, raising fear it might try again to oust the government.

The nuclear-armed country is facing a host of problems, among them near economic collapse, a virulent al Qaeda- and Taliban-led insurgency, and a crisis in its relations with its key ally, the United States, after NATO air strikes in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border.

That attack has prompted Islamabad to review its coordination with U.S. and NATO forces, and on Saturday Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani vowed to protect Pakistani sovereignty in new rules being drawn up to regulate such coordination.

"Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity are not negotiable," Gilani said at the opening of a special committee to discuss the fallout over the air strikes.

United knock City out of FA Cup in derby thriller

2012-01-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

LONDON: Manchester United knocked holders Manchester City out of the FA Cup with a 3-2 third round win in an incident-packed derby at Eastlands on Sunday.

Wayne Rooney scored twice, netting either side of the controversial sending off of City captain Vincent Kompany, with Danny Welbeck also on target to make it 3-0 before the break for the visitors

But City pulled a goal back early in the second half when Aleksandar Kolarov bent a free-kick round the wall from the edge of the box.

And 10-man City struck again when Sergio Aguero made it 3-2 in the 65th minute following a mistake by 37-year-old United substitute Paul Scholes, summoned out of retirement by manager Sir Alex Ferguson following an injury crisis.

Premier League leaders City, three points in front of champions United at the top of the table, pressed for an equaliser, with Kolarov going close from a second free-kick in stoppage time, but Ferguson's men held on.

United were later handed another difficult tie in the fourth round, a trip to bitter rivals Liverpool where the fall-out from the Luia Suarez-Patrice Evra race row will dominate the build-up.

City boss Roberto Mancini, clearly unhappy with the red card shown to Kompany by referee Chris Foy, praised his team's character after going 3-0 down.

Rooney gave United the lead against the run of the play in the 10th minute when, after spreading play wide to Antonio Valencia, he powered in a header off the crossbar from the winger's cross.

And, two minutes later, City -- three points in front of champions United at the top of the table -- were down to 10 men.

Kompany appeared to win the ball cleanly from Nani, who played on, after sliding in on a wet pitch but the City defender had gone in two-footed and Foy produced a red card.

Welbeck made it 2-0 with a brilliant volley from the edge of the box in the 30th minute and 10 minutes later he forced a penalty after he was brought down in the box by Kolarov.

Rooney's spot-kick was well saved by Costel Pantilimon, only for the England striker to head in from the rebound as United look to avenge their 6-1 league defeat by City at Old Trafford in October.

Wings dump rival Blackhawks and take division lead

2012-01-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES: Pavel Datsyuk scored the overtime winner from a tough angle as the Detroit Red Wings handed the reeling Chicago Blackhawks a fourth straight loss and moved into first place in the National Hockey League's Central division.

Datsyuk gathered a rebound and lifted a wrist shot from the goal line into the Chicago net with under two minutes to play as the Red Wings rallied for a 3-2 win over their division rival.

Chicago led 2-0 on goals from Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp early in the first period but they could not hold on and are now stuck in their longest losing skid since dropping five straight in 2009.

Detroit's Valtteri Filppula cut the deficit to 2-1 in the first, where the score stood until Daniel Cleary tied the game with just under five minutes left in regulation.

With the win, Detroit (26-14-1) moved into a three-way tie atop the division with St. Louis and Chicago. (Reuters)

China to host Snooker World Open

2012-01-09T17:59:00.002-08:00

LONDON: The Chinese city of Haikou will stage the World Open for the next five years, World Snooker announced Monday.

The event, which will be known as the Haikou World Open, will become the third major snooker tournament after the China Open and the Shanghai Masters to be staged in the country -- a sign of the sport's rising popularity in China where players such as Ding Junhui now have a huge following.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn told the governing body's official website: "We are delighted to announce the staging of the World Open in Haikou for the next five years.

"The popularity of snooker in China continues to grow at a phenomenal rate and we have capitalised on that by establishing a third full ranking event, alongside the China Open and Shanghai Masters.

"We expect to make more announcements about events in China in the coming weeks," added Hearn, who made his name in snooker as the manager of former world champion Steve Davis, the sport's leading player in the 1980s.

Haikou is on Hainan Island in south China and Hearn said: "Hainan Island is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and an ideal place to stage one of our world ranking tournaments.

This season the event will run from February 27 to March 4. All the world's top 16 players are automatically seeded into the event, to be joined by 16 players who come through the qualifying rounds.

There will also be eight wild cards at the final venue.

All matches up to and including the quarter-finals will be best of nine frames. Total prize money is #400,000 ($617,962) with the winner to collect #75,000 ($115,879).

The World Open, formerly known as the Grand Prix and LG Cup, adopted its current name in 2010, when Australia's Neil Robertson won the title in Glasgow. (AFP)

Son gets ticket to Mirza vacated seat

2012-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to grant a party ticket to Zulfikar Ali Mirza’s son Barrister Husnain Mirza for the seat lying vacant after the resignation of the former, Geo News reported.

According to sources party’s top brass has selected Dr Mirza’s son to succeed him after due deliberation.

Since Zulfiqar Mirza’s opting out of electoral politics, speculation were already rife that his dashing young son would replace his father in the upcoming by-polls to the Badin provincial assembly seat which fell vacant after Mirza’s resignation as an MPA.

China warns U.S. to be "careful" in military refocus

2012-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

BEIJING: China's Ministry of Defence warned the United States on Monday to be "careful in its words and actions" after announcing a defence rethink that stresses responding to China's rise by shoring up U.S. alliances and bases across Asia.

The statement from the ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng was Beijing's fullest reaction so far to the new U.S. strategy unveiled last week. It echoed the mix of wariness and outward restraint that has marked China's response to the Obama administration's "pivot" to Asia since late last year.

"We have noted that the United States issued this guide to its defence strategy, and we will closely observe the impact that U.S. military strategic adjustment has on the Asia-Pacific region and on global security developments," Geng said in a statement issued on the ministry's website (www.mod.gov.cn).

"The accusations leveled at China by the U.S. side in this document are totally baseless," said Geng.

"We hope that the United States will flow with the tide of the era, and deal with China and the Chinese military in an objective and rational way, will be careful in its words and actions, and do more that is beneficial to the development of relations between the two countries and their militaries."

The new U.S. strategy promises to boost strength in Asia in an attempt to counter China's growing ability to check U.S. power in the region, even as U.S. forces draw back elsewhere across the globe.

Under the new strategy, the United States will maintain large bases in Japan and South Korea and deploy U.S. Marines, navy ships and aircraft to Australia's Northern Territory.

The strategy calls for countering potential attempts by China and Iran to block U.S. capabilities in areas like the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

China has sought to balance voicing its wariness about the U.S. moves with its desire for steady relations with Washington, especially as both sides grapple with domestic politics this year, when President Barack Obama faces a re-election fight and China's ruling Communist Party undergoes a leadership handover.

So far, Beijing officials have avoided the usual high-pitched assertions that Washington is bent on encircling China, a view widely echoed by popular Chinese newspapers and websites.

GROWING CONCERN

The expanded U.S. military presence in Asia is based on a miscalculation of Beijing's intent to modernize its military defenses, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"The accusation targeting China in the document has no basis, and is fundamentally unrealistic," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news conference, in response to a question from state media about whether China poses a threat to U.S. security.

"China adheres to the path of peaceful development, an independent and peaceful foreign policy and a defensive national defence policy," Liu added.

Still, there is growing concern in the United States and Asia about China's military developments in recent years.

China has been expanding its naval might, with submarines and a maiden aircraft carrier, and has also increased its missile and surveillance capabilities, extending its offensive reach in the region and unnerving its neighbors.

The disputed ownership of oil-rich reefs and islands in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion dollars in trade sails annually, is one of the biggest security threats in Asia.

China is seen by many neighbors as increasingly assertive on the high seas, with several incidents in the past year in the South China Sea, waters claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

But Chinese President Hu Jintao has made clear he wants to avoid repeating the rifts that soured ties with Washington in the first half of 2011. Hu retires from power late in 2012 and his almost-certain successor, Vice President Xi Jinping, is likely to visit the United States in coming months. (Reuters)

Angry Birds, Facebook most downloaded apps in 2011

2012-01-09T17:55:00.001-08:00

TORONTO: Angry Birds and Facebook were the most downloaded iPhone apps of 2011, according to Apple, but some less predictable apps also made their lists.

Craig Palli, a vice president at Fiksu, a marketing company for app developers, explained that this year's top apps incorporate three main trends: the ability to connect with friends, discovery and games that let users past the time and pick up where they left off.

The top app in the social networking category was Facebook. But Palli said the trend of connecting with friends extends further.

"It also encompasses Skype, all the free texting apps and even Bump. These are all apps that lend themselves to enriching our lives through an easier and greater amount of communication and connections with friends," Palli explained.

In the music category, Pandora, which generates personalized radio stations for its users based on their music preferences, was the top app.

"Pandora is such a good app that they don't really need to spend money in marketing. They just get user after user because it's such a compelling experience," Palli said.

TuneIn Radio Pro, which provides access to over 50,000 local and global stations, was another popular music app.

In the games category, Words with Friends, a multi-player game, and Angry Birds were the most downloaded apps. Games captured nine of the top ten spots on the paid apps list.

"They fill those five minutes of time that we were otherwise waiting for a train or appointment," explained Palli.

He added that phones are beginning to replace cameras, which explains the success of apps in the photo and video category.

"First it was the Polaroid camera, then it was the in-the-pocket digital camera. It's now just your phone."

Instagram, also named Apple's iPhone app of the year, topped the camera category. It allows users to take photos, add filters and share them with friends. Camera+, which extends the iPhone's camera with features like zoom, also made the list.

In the health and fitness category, Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker and Nike+ GPS, an app for tracking runs and workouts, were winners. But Palli said the category has fewer downloads than others.

"The volume of downloads that occur in this category is less than one tenth of the other categories," he said, but he predicts that this category will grow in 2012 as people become more health-conscious and apps "augment the actual device itself with something physical."

Groupon, the daily deal service, and Pimp Your Screen, which lets users customize their device with backgrounds and other visual features, were the top apps in the lifestyle category.

Netflix, the video streaming service, was the top app in the entertainment category, along with FatBooth, which lets users visualize how they might look with a few extra pounds.

Palli said free apps generally receive more downloads, and many more developers are starting to offer free versions.

"During 2011, we saw a big shift in strategy from a lot of paid app developers, which was to migrate from a straight paid app experience where you pay for the app up front to an in-app purchase or upgrade experience," he explained.

"This way it's really compelling for the consumer because you can get started with the app and when they experience how good the app is, they can take the wallet out of their pocket and make the extra two taps to get the full features." (Reuters)

Magpies and bears mourn North Korea's "Dear Leader"

2012-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

SEOUL: The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.

Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.

"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

Kim's death was announced on December 19, although he was reported by official media to have died on December 17 on a train journey to give guidance to his subjects.

He has been succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who will become the third of his line to head the world's only hereditary totalitarian Stalinist state. Mythmaking is a key part of the personality cult that surrounds the family of founding father Kim Il-sung.

KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.

"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said.

Mythmaking for Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has already started. He is portrayed as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the "genius of geniuses" in military affairs despite having no known military experience. (Reuters)

To optimize exercise, heed your heart rate training zone

2012-01-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: Whether you're interested in running a marathon or staving off the chronic diseases of ageing, to reap the rewards of your efforts getting into the zone is essential.

Experts say knowing and staying within your heart rate training zone is an easy way to pace the intensity of your workout.

"Exercisers need to get to at least a moderate level of physical activity in order to reap the benefits," said Dr. Adrian Hutber of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Your goal is to get to a stage where you're fit enough to exercise within your heart rate training zone."

Your heart rate training zone, or target heart rate, is based on your maximum heart rate (MHR), which is roughly calculated as 220 minus your age.

"It's not exact but it doesn't need to be," said Hutber. "It's a really good indicator."

For moderate-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 50 to 70 percent of MHR, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vigorous exercisers should aim for 70 to 85 percent.

A 62-year-old woman has an estimated target heart rate zone of 111-134 beats per minute. An 18-year-old boy has a range of 141-172.

Science tells us you need at least 150 minutes of moderate-level physical activity per week to be healthy, said Hutber, quoting U.S. government guidelines.

Heart rate is a user-friendly way to track intensity level, according to Hutber. METS (Metabolic Equivalent of Task), which measures energy consumption, is another and VO2, which measures oxygen uptake, is a third.

"But for the public it's easier to talk about percentage of maximum heart rate," he said.

So short of wearing a heart monitor, how can you be sure you're training in the zone? Most modern treadmills, elliptical trainers, and other cardio machines will tell you if you feed it your correct age. And experts say you should.

"For the beginner who wants the most benefits and results, getting in that range is more important than worrying about calories burned," said Deborah Plitt, a trainer with Life Fitness, the equipment manufacturer.

She said the training zone is tied to age because as the heart gets older and becomes less efficient, it beats faster.

But as you become more fit your heart muscle recovers from exercise more quickly, returning sooner to the resting heart rate.

"Your resting heart rate becomes lower than it was because the same workout is getting easier," she explained. "The heart is a muscle and as it gets stronger it doesn't have to pump as many times ... It becomes more efficient."

People can check their heart rate any time simply by taking their pulse for 15 seconds and multiplying that number by four to calculate beats per minute.

A less disruptive way to check the intensity of your workout is the sing-talk test.

"It's a very approximate but very good litmus test for moderate physical activity," Hutber said. "If you're exercising hard enough that you can still carry on a conversation but you couldn't sing, that's moderate intensity. If you can't talk you're moving into vigorous."

And if you're able to both chat and carry a tune?

"Then you haven't brought your activity up to a moderate level," he said. "That shouldn't be your goal." (Reuters)

PPP MNA Azeem Khan dies in road accident

2012-01-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

VEHARI: Pakistan People’s Party’s MNA, Mian Azeem Khan Daultana, Monday night met with a fatal accident on his way to Vehari, Geo News reported.

According to sources Azeem Khan’s car ran off the road and turned upside down on Kot Wali Bridge near Luddan.

His driver died on the spot, while, Daultana succumbed to his injuries while he was being rushed to the hospital.

Daultana was a nephew to Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Tehmina Daultana.

He was also serving as federal parliamentary secretary for information & broadcast.

According to sources in the family, he was due to get married in two weeks.

Top Obama aide Daley steps down, budget chief takes over

2012-01-09T17:43:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama announced an election year shake-up at the White House on Monday, choosing budget director Jack Lew to replace chief of staff Bill Daley, who resigned after a troubled one-year tenure.

The switch at the top of the White House power chain comes as Obama prepares for a tough re-election battle that will require support from his left-leaning base.

Daley, who as chief of staff was Obama's top aide, was unpopular with that base, which saw him as too close to big business and too soft on Republicans.

Lew, director of the White House budget office since November 2010, is well-versed in congressional politics and has stronger relations with Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Obama told reporters that Daley had approached him about resigning last week. The president said he did not accept the offer at first, asking Daley to think it over.

Daley decided it was time to return to his native Chicago. He will take on a volunteer role as one of several co-chairs of Obama's re-election campaign, which is based there.

"There is no question I'm going to miss having Bill at my side at the White House," Obama said. "I plan to continue to seek Bill's counsel in the months and years to come."

Daley's departure reflects a shift in White House strategy that has been months in the making.

The former commerce secretary came in last year with a mandate to improve relations with the business community and with congressional Republicans.

Relations with both groups remained rocky, however, and Obama adopted a harder edge against Republicans in the fall after acrimonious negotiations to increase the U.S. debt ceiling brought the country to the brink of default.

The new White House strategy casts Obama as a champion of the middle class running for re-election in November against obstructionist Republicans in Congress. It leaves little room for the kind of conciliation that was part of Daley's original mandate.

"Daley was brought in part to preside over a strategy that I think was very well intentioned but that simply didn't pan out," said Brookings Institution fellow William Galston.

"If the name of the game from ... now through the election is executing a sharply partisan strategy, then you could argue that someone who doesn't have rich and up-to-date relationships with senior Democrats in Congress might not be the best person to execute the strategy," Galston said.

WORKING WITH DEMOCRATS

Lew, who served as budget director under President Bill Clinton and was a deputy to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is well liked on Capitol Hill. He was instrumental in negotiating a debt ceiling deal with Republicans last year.

"Lew has great relationships on the Hill and it's virtually impossible to see him making the same mistakes his predecessor did," said one senior Democratic congressional aide.

The aide said many Democratic lawmakers had felt Daley was more interested in cutting deals with Republicans than protecting their concerns.

Daley handed over day-to-day White House management duties in November to another Obama aide, Pete Rouse, setting the stage for his resignation two months later. He was in the job for roughly a year.

Lew's management skills and calm demeanor are prized within the Obama administration. The soft-spoken 56-year-old manager fits in with the "No Drama Obama" attitude the White House and Obama's presidential campaign like to project.

Daley will stay in his job through Obama's State of the Union address on January 24, an official said. The White House declined to name possible replacements for Lew, whose successor will need congressional confirmation.

That could be tricky.

The president's decision last week to bypass Congress and install Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau riled Senate Republicans, who could make it hard for Obama to win Senate approval of a new budget chief.

One analyst said the timing of Obama's announcement on Monday was convenient while the public remained focused on the Republican presidential nominating battle.

"This is a good time for a shake-up, since public attention is focused on the GOP, thereby diminishing the chances this will become a story about unrest in the White House," said Princeton University history professor Julian Zelizer. (Reuters)

Afghan leaders cast doubt on US-Taliban talks

2012-01-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

BERLIN: A group of Afghan political leaders on Monday cast doubt on the outcome of U.S. talks with the Taliban, which have become a key focus of Washington's efforts to leave Afghanistan as planned by 2014.

Abdul Rashid Dostum, army chief of staff and leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, said the talks could win the Taliban time, allowing them to make gains after the departure of international troops.

Senior U.S. officials told Reuters last month that, after 10 months, talks with the Taliban had reached a critical juncture and they would soon know if a breakthrough was possible.

Dostum and three other Northern Alliance leaders met four members of the United States congress in Berlin on Monday, where they issued a joint statement urging a decentralisation of power in Afghanistan and criticising the peace talks.

"There is an assumption that the Taliban may be using the negotiation process as a cover, as a means of calming the United States, and then ... gaining time by 2014 to resurge," Dostum said at a news conference in Berlin.

"We cannot afford to be naive and exclude the possibility of a negative turn of the situation."

The statement described the talks as flawed because they exclude anti-Taliban Afghans, and risk betraying those Afghans who fought to remove the Taliban from power a decade ago.

The Taliban said in a surprise announcement last week they had reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in Qatar and asked for the release of prisoners held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay.

Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher said he and three fellow congress members joined the talks because they fear the United States government might be about to make unacceptable compromises.

Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People's Unity Party of Afghanistan and an influential power broker in the country, said: "we are not against achieving peace through negotiation, our doubts are about the quality and mechanism of the negotiations." (Reuters)

Swiss central bank chief quits over wife's currency deal

2012-01-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

BERNE: Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand resigned with immediate effect on Monday, saying he could not prove he had been unaware of a currency trade made by his wife and wanted to protect the integrity of the central bank.

Hildebrand's decision to relinquish one of the world's top central banking jobs after just two years came as Swiss parliamentarians met to discuss the scandal, which erupted last week after Sarasin bank sacked an employee who leaked details of the trade to a political opponent of the central banker.

Hildebrand's wife Kashya, a former hedge fund trader who now runs a Zurich art gallery, bought 400,000 Swiss francs ($418,000) worth of dollars on August 15, three weeks before her husband oversaw steps to cap the rise of the safe-haven franc. She later sold the dollars at a higher rate.

At a news conference four days ago, Hildebrand had resisted calls to step down, saying he only learned of his wife's trade the day after she made it and rejecting claims that he had personally authorized the currency deal.

But he told reporters on Monday he could not provide final evidence that he had been unaware of the trade and had decided to step down as he realized the intense public scrutiny over the affair was compromising his credibility.

"I have come to the conclusion that it is not possible to provide conclusive and final evidence that my wife did indeed initiate the foreign exchange transaction on the 15th August without my knowledge," he said.

"The fact is: my word is my bond. I had no knowledge of my wife's transaction on that day," he said.

Christoph Blocher, a leading figure in the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) who had long called for Hildebrand's head and who handed over documents on the currency trades to the government, welcomed his resignation.

"There is no central bank in Europe where the board president can do something like that," he told a news conference. "In the whole of Europe a central bank with a president like Hildebrand would have been written off."

It has been a roller coaster career for the 48-year-old who joined the SNB in 2003 after working for U.S. hedge fund Moore Capital, winning praise for helping rescue big Swiss bank UBS in 2008 but then criticism when the central bank ran up a record loss as it tried to weaken the safe-haven franc in 2010.

Until the trading scandal erupted, Hildebrand's star had been in the ascendant again after the SNB managed to cap the soaring franc without big new interventions and as parliament approved tough new bank capital rules he had championed.

He was also appointed vice chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global regulator, in November, a position he similarly relinquished on Monday.

FSB chairman and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who studied with Hildebrand in Oxford, said his departure was a loss.

"Philipp has been instrumental in helping to manage the response to the global financial crisis and in developing major reforms to strengthen the resiliency and stability of the international financial system," Carney said.

FOUGHT LIKE A LION

Hildebrand said he had decided the mounting pressure might hurt his ability to take tough decisions to address what he called "probably the most threatening economic and financial situation since the Second World War."

"I am sad to take this step, I loved this job, I fought like a lion for it," he said, adding that he had realized that it was probably time to go after Swiss media examined his every move, including where he ate and what his wife was wearing.

In a statement, his wife Kashya apologized to the Swiss people and to her husband for costing him his job.

"I failed my husband by not considering the perception of a 'conflict of interest' created by my purchase of dollars," she said. "My husband is a man of the utmost integrity, and I deeply regret that my actions might have led anyone to question this."

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, who chairs a regular global meeting of central bankers, said he and his colleagues were saddened by the Hildebrand's resignation.

"We all know that he is a man of total integrity, extraordinary ability and, most important of all, courage. Such people are rare. His country will miss him," King said.

The SNB's supervisory council said Vice Chairman Thomas Jordan, who joined the SNB in 1997, would take over as chairman for the time being and it would discuss on Tuesday how to proceed on filling the free position on the three-member governing board.

Jordan stressed his determination to enforce the cap on the franc at 1.20 per euro the SNB imposed on September 6.

The Swiss franc, which Hildebrand has fought to stop soaring on safe-haven buying driven by the euro zone debt crisis, rose slightly on the announcement, trading up 0.2 percent at 1.2132 per euro and 0.5 percent higher against the dollar.

"The market can distinguish between the Hildebrand case and the monetary policy case. I don't see any big implications for Swiss monetary policy, and I think they'll be able to defend the cap," said ZKB economist David Marmet.

The Swiss government said it hoped the SNB would be able to turn its full attention back to monetary policy. "The stability and credibility of the SNB are essential for the economy and for the good of the country," it said in a statement.

After his announcement, Hildebrand appeared before the parliamentary economics committee alongside the head of the SNB's supervisory council, Hansueli Raggenbass, who said it would be good to have a personnel reshuffle in the council.

The SVP's Blocher said Raggenbass would also have to go.

SNB RULES SCRUTINISED

The SNB council said on Saturday it would overhaul its internal rules concerning own trading by board members and examine all transactions they made over the past three years.

Hildebrand admitted the scandal had revealed shortcomings in the SNB's internal regulations and code of conduct.

"The focus now should be on resolutely eliminating these weaknesses. This will allow the SNB to retain its credibility, which is its greatest asset," he said.

Christoph Darbellay, the Christian Democrat chairman of parliament's economic committee that Hildebrand addressed, said it would push the SNB to tighten its rules.

"People who can have an influence on the currency should keep their hands off," he said.

Darbellay said the committee would also look into the breach by the whistleblower and the SVP of Switzerland's cherished banking secrecy, already under global fire in recent years for helping wealthy foreigners hide their assets from the taxman.

"The breach of bank secrecy and using it for political goals, that was grave," he said.

The former Bank Sarasin employee accused of leaking the data is called Reto Tarnutzer, Reuters has learned.

Tarnutzer, who leaked details of the trade to Blocher's lawyer, was quoted on Monday before Hildebrand's announcement saying he had never wanted the private bank details made public.

"I wanted to achieve clarification and not an issuing of data," he wrote in a letter sent to several Swiss dailies.

He described the SVP's decision to hand over the information to the media as "ruthless," saying that the breach of bank secrecy endangered his future: "Here a potentially only small crime was fought with a bigger crime."

The psychiatric clinic where Tarnutzer was reportedly admitted after an apparent suicide attempt declined to comment. (Reuters)

US ex-officials fear for Haqqani's life

2012-01-09T17:36:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON: An American think tank has feared for the life of former envoy to US, Husain Haqqani, who is neck-deep in the 'memogate scandal' these days, Geo News reported.

Details have it that, retired functionaries of US administration, who now work a think tank, have written to US secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Haqqani was under loads of pressure in Pakistan with his life in danger.

In the same letter, they have also urged the US government must step in to ensure Haqqani’s corporal safety and go as far as talking to authorities in Pakistan in this regard.

Copies of the letter have also been sent to US vice president as well as the heads of defence department and CIA.

Memogate: Gilani terms Kayani, Pasha SC replies unconstitutional

2012-01-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday termed the responses given by the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the Director General ISI, Lt General Shuja Pasha to the Supreme Court in the Memogate case as unconstitutional and illegal since it lacked the the approval of the competent authority.
Gilani, in an interview to a Chinese publication, the People’s Daily Online, said that any official action by a government functionary without the prior approval from relevant government authority is unconstitutional and illegal.
He referred to the observation of the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan that any act of a government functionary without the government’s nod was unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
The Prime Minister stated that in two simultaneous issues, one relating to the NATO attack on Pakistani check-post and the other relating to a letter written by one American national to another American, the civil and military leadership of Pakistan had held detailed meetings and took immediate decisions on the forum of DCC (Defence Committee of the Cabinet).
In case of the attack by NATO, the Prime Minister said it was decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
In the second case it was also decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, besides accepting the resignation of Mr Hussain Haqqani, he added.
The Prime Minister further pointed out that responses filed by the Army Chief and the DG (ISI) to the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged Memo controversy did not have prior approval of the relevant competent authority.

Liverpool investigate abuse aimed at Oldham's Tom Adeyemi

2012-01-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Liverpool and Merseyside Police are investigating an incident of alleged abuse from fans towards Oldham Athletic defender Tom Adeyemi.

The 20-year-old was visibly upset late in his side's 5-1 FA Cup third round defeat at Anfield on Friday.

The game was stopped briefly while Adeyemi alerted referee Neil Swarbrick to the incident.

However, Merseyside Police confirmed that no arrests were made for "racially aggravated behaviour".

On Saturday evening, Liverpool issued a further statement, saying: "Liverpool Football Club continue to work closely with Merseyside Police to establish all the facts surrounding the incident that occurred during last night's game.

"We take this matter extremely seriously and have today provided the police with the evidence we currently have available to us.

"This includes CCTV coverage and still photography of what we believe to be the relevant part of the stadium, statements from match-day stewards in that area and full access to all the footage captured by the cameras filming the match for our in-house TV operation.

"In addition, we have examined records of the tickets purchased in that part of the ground to see if they provide any additional information and have passed that on to the police.

"Finally, we would also urge any of our supporters who witnessed this incident or saw the individual involved and who have not already done so, to contact either the club or the police."

WHO IS TOM ADEYEMI?
Continue reading the main story
Born 24 October 1991 in Norwich
Makes Norwich debut in 7-1 defeat to Colchester in August 2009 - Bryan Gunn's last game in charge
Spends the 2010-11 season on loan at Bradford, where he scores five goals and makes 34 league appearances
Joins Oldham on loan on 31 August 2011
Oldham captain Dean Furman urged authorities to take "heavy action" against fans found to be abusive.

"He was abused and I'll leave it to Tom and the police to investigate that," said Furman. "What happened should not happen in the game.

"It has been highlighted over the last few months and it is an absolute disgrace."

Oldham manager Paul Dickov revealed he had not spoken to Adeyemi, who is on loan from Norwich, about the incident after the match, but accepted something had upset him.

"From my point of view I have not spoken to Tom about it but I know the kid and something has been said," said Dickov.

"He is a placid boy, a kid who has been well educated with a fantastic temperament and has been with us since the end of August and I've never seen him raise his voice.

"For him to react like that it is obvious something has been said but what has been said I don't know because I've not had a chance to ask - I was too busy praising my players.

"He is fine now. He has calmed down. He is a laid-back kid who just gets on with business.

"Our players went and calmed him down and the Liverpool players did as well, which was fantastic and is why they are top professionals."

The incident involving Adeyemi compounds a difficult few weeks for Liverpool, who were without Luis Suarez for the match against the Latics as the striker serves an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra at Anfield in October.

Nigerians flee Boko Haram sectarian attacks

2012-01-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of people have been fleeing areas of north-eastern Nigeria, after a 24-hour wave of violence apparently targeting Christian communities.

At least 29 people have died in four attacks in Adamawa state, prompting the state governor to impose a curfew.

The Islamist Boko Haram group has said it carried out several attacks.

One Boko Haram faction has warned all southerners - who are mostly Christian and animist - to leave the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.

Last week President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe and Borno states, as well as Plateau state in central Nigeria and Niger state in the west, following a surge in ethnic and sectarian violence.

Adamawa, which borders Borno state where Boko Haram emerged, was not included.

More than 500 people have been killed by the group over the past year.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who is a Christian, said security forces would enforce the law "without fear or favour".

"I urge all Nigerians to eschew bitterness and acrimony to live together in harmony and peace," he said on Saturday in a televised address.

RuPaul in New Hampshire: ‘This country was founded by a bunch of men wearing wigs’

2012-01-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- "I am not Ron Paul!" shouted RuPaul, the famous drag queen (wearing men's street clothes), at the top of his lungs inside a cramped diner here, a picturesque little restaurant that presidential candidates have visited for years. "And I am not running for president of the United States!," he added.
Sleepy locals sipping their coffee looked up from their cups. What the hell?
And what was RuPaul doing in chilly New Hampshire just days before the state's first-in-the-nation primary? The back story: When Ron Paul first ran for president as a Republican in 2008, a picture posted online of a Ron Paul campaign sign altered to say "RuPaul for President 2008" spawned a viral joke that the septuagenarian statesman from Texas was actually RuPaul, the black drag queen. Now that Ron Paul is ranking at the top of the polls, after placing third in the Iowa caucuses, RuPaul is here to capitalize. Leaving Los Angeles behind for a few days, he's traveling the state "campaign-style" with television cameras in tow to prove once and for all that he is definitely not Ron Paul. The tour will feature in his reality TV show, "RuPaul's Drag Race," which airs on Logo.
The Red Arrow Diner, where RuPaul made his declaration on Saturday, is a must-stop on the presidential campaign trail, so there's nothing particularly strange about people gathering there, anticipating a glimpse of a candidate or a handshake. Yet Saturday morning brought a different mix of patrons: drag queens, RuPaul fanatics, gay activists, and rowdy high school students jostled amidst the regulars, including one angry local who was just trying to enjoy his breakfast in peace. ("Don't bump me!" he grunted after absorbing an elbow in the ribs from a over-excited tween.) Earlier in the morning, a C-SPAN crew rolled up next to the diner in a deluxe campaign bus with the hope of talking to some Regular Americans. When all they could find were freaky and fabulous ones, C-SPAN split.
RuPaul greeted each person in the crowd, inside and outside the diner commenting on and complimenting various personal attributes. (One girl asked for a picture. "I'm short," she said, standing next to him. "You're not short. You're perfect," he replied.) Every few minutes he'd utter his "I am not running for president!" line. As he made his way down the counter, extending his hand to every patron, he reminded them, of course, that he is RuPaul, not, Ron Paul.
Standing along the wall, a 19-year-old boy from Boston wearing rhinestone-studded stilettos, a pearl necklace and earrings and a mink stole waited patiently to see his hero. His name? "Gee-Gee Louise," he said, the "world's only drag burlesque dancer."
"I'm technically a drag queen," he said before getting his picture taken with RuPaul. "But I take my clothes off."
Several feet away, an old man stood alone, watching the scene unfold from a safe distance.
"I came to catch the flavor of the campaign," he said. "I was thinking more along the lines of Rick Santorum."
Eventually, RuPaul wrapped up inside and stepped back out into the frosty morning.
"You betta vote!" he whoopsed at the cheering crowd. "Remember, this country was founded by a bunch of men wearing wigs!"
"And heels!" a voice hollers from the scrum.
Somewhat surprisingly, RuPaul seems to have been made for the campaign trail. He's warm, great with eye contact and liberal with compliments.
But politics, of course, isn't really his game. Since the 1980s, RuPaul--which is his real name--has built a career around his flamboyant female alter ego. He's written music; he became the first drag queen super model; he hosted his own day time talk show; and is now the star of a reality show where transvestite competitors battle for his approval to become "America's next drag superstar."
Yet, for entertainment's sake, I planned a little test to verify that RuPaul is definitely not Ron Paul. He agreed to meet with me in Manchester's Palace Theater, just a few blocks from the diner.
How do you feel about the printing of fiat money?
"Fiat? I do love that new J-LO car! I do love that."
Where do you stand on the merits of lowering the marginal tax rate to boost growth?
"I usually stand on six-inch platforms. It's actually not as tall as it looks."
Who is more fabulous? The economist John Maynard Keynes or Frederich Hayek?
"You better work!"
What does that mean?
"That's drag for no comment," a camera guy said.
Any predictions for the New Hampshire primaries or the general election?
"I'm not really a psychic...I'm more of a psycho, really."
We talked about the possibility of him endorsing a candidate.
"Well I do have a line of shoes coming out if that's what you mean," he says. "They're called Iron Fist shoes and the platform is amazing."
I also listed the names of candidates and asked RuPaul to say what first popped into his head.
Ron Paul
"Hotness!"
Rick Perry
"Feeeeeverrrrr!"
Newt Gingrich
"Uh-huh! That's right!"

Guns on campus? Expect tragedy

2011-03-10T03:32:00.003-08:00

Editor's note: Amitai Etzioni is a sociologist and professor of international relations at George Washington University and the author of several books, including "Security First" and "New Common Ground." He was a senior adviser to the Carter administration and has taught at Columbia and Harvard universities and the University of California, Berkeley. Expect tragedy

American government is totally dysfunctional

2011-03-10T03:32:00.001-08:00

Joe Nye is one of the smartest people I know. He is also a mentor, from my graduate school days at Harvard. So I was worried when I saw that he disagreed with my Time cover. But then I read his article in Foreign Policy today and discovered that we don’t really disagree that much at all.totally dysfunctional.

What exactly does Obama want?

2011-03-10T03:31:00.001-08:00

Editor's note: Gloria Borger is a senior political analyst for CNN, appearing regularly on CNN's "The Situation Room," "AC360°," "John King, USA" and "State of the Union."
What exactly does Obama want?

Terror's power failure in the Mideast

2011-03-10T03:30:00.001-08:00

Editor's note:
Terror's power failure in the Mideast.Kristin Wood is a former CIA counterterrorism officer.(CNN) -- As we watch, fixated, on events in Tunisia, in Egypt and now in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere, we must be aware that equally riveted -- and sitting on the sidelines -- are the terrorists the Western world has spent 20 years chasing. And they are fearful their time has come and gone.

Mosques are a positive force in America

2011-03-10T03:29:00.001-08:00

Editor's note: Karam Dana, Ph.D. is a Dubai Initiative Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a faculty member at Tufts University, where he teaches courses on Middle East history and politics. Matt A. Barreto, Ph.D. is associate professor of political science and director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity & Race at the University of Washington, Seattle. Together, they are the co-principal investigators of the MAPOS study of American Muslims.