Last UK forces set to leave Iraq

UK's eight-year military presence in Iraq to end on Sunday

 Britain's eight years of military commitment in Iraq will finally and formally come to an end on Sunday, when the remaining forces in the south of the country will withdraw.

In total, the UK still has about 170 mostly naval personnel in Iraq, helping to train the fledgling Iraqi navy from the port of Umm Qasr. The contingent includes a few Royal Marines.

UK combat forces, primarily based in the southern city of Basra, withdrew in July 2009 but since then the Royal Navy has continued working alongside US forces to train 1,800 Iraqis.
In his statement, Fox said that the UK-Iraq training and maritime support agreement "will conclude on 22 May".
"Having successfully completed their mission UK personnel deployed to Iraq under this agreement will now leave the country. This will mark the formal conclusion of Operation Telic."
Fox said that the UK would continue to train members of the Iraqi security forces in the UK, and contribute to the Nato training mission which remains in Iraq.
"I pay tribute to all UK service personnel who have served in Iraq over the last eight years and to the sacrifices made by so many for the benefit of the people of Iraq and our national security," the statement said.
Fox said that this was "also an opportunity to reflect on the wider contribution of Britain's armed forces to Iraq since 2003. Thanks to the sacrifice, commitment, and professionalism of thousands of British service men and women Southern Iraq is an area transformed".

In Japan Reactor Failings and Danger Signs for the U.S.

By KEITH BRADSHER, HIROKO TABUCHI,  and MATTHEW L. WALD

TOKYO — Emergency vents that American officials have said would prevent devastating hydrogen explosions at nuclear plants in the United States were put to the test in Japan and not success to work, according to experts and officials with the company that operates the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The failure of the vents calls into question the safety of similar nuclear power plants in the United States and Japan. After the venting failed at the Fukushima plant, the hydrogen gas fueled explosions that spewed radioactive materials into the atmosphere, reaching levels about 10 percent of estimated emissions at Chernobyl, according to Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency.

American officials had said early on that reactors in the United States would be safe from such disasters because they were equipped with new, stronger venting systems. But Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, now says that Fukushima Daiichi had installed the same vents years ago.

Government officials have also suggested that one of the primary causes of the explosions was a several-hour delay in a decision to use the vents, as Tokyo Electric managers agonized over whether to resort to emergency measures that would allow a substantial amount of radioactive materials to escape into the air.

“Japan is going to teach us lessons,” said David Lochbaum at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “If we’re in a situation where we can’t vent where we need to, we need to fix that.”
Officials from General Electric did not comment on Tuesday.
The seriousness of the crisis at the Fukushima plant became evident within hours of the quake and the tsunami that rushed over the plant’s sea wall.
Just 12 hours after the quake, the pressure inside Reactor No. 1 had reached roughly twice the maximum pressure the unit had been designed to withstand, raising fears that the vessels that house fuel rods would rupture, setting a possible meltdown in motion. With the pressure high, pumping in additional cooling water also was not possible.

 

Seniors seeking drug, alcohol treatment doubles

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – They go around this room at the Hanley Center telling of their struggles with alcohol and drugs. They tell of low points and lapses, brushes with death and pain caused to families. And silently, through the simple fact that each is in their 60s or beyond, they share one more secret: Addiction knows no age.
"I retired, I started drinking more," one man said. "I lost my father, my mother, my dog, and it gave me a good excuse," said another.
A remarkable shift in the number of older adults reporting substance abuse problems is making this scene more common. Between 1992 and 2008, treatment admissions for those 50 and older more than doubled in the U.S. That number will continue to grow, experts say, as the massive baby boom generation ages
"There is a level of societal denial around the issue," said Peter Provet, the head of Odyssey House in New York, another center offering specialized substance abuse treatment programs for seniors. "No one wants to look at their grandparent, no one wants to think about their grandparent or their elderly parent, and see that person as an addict."

Nawaz: Stop treating India as -'biggest enemy'

Karachi, May 17(ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said that the nation must stop treating India as its biggest enemy.
Talking to journalists in the  Karachi, the former Pakistan prime minister also known for a reappraisal of ties with New Delhi "if we want to go forward and progress."

Talking about the United States' 'Operation Geronimo' inside Pakistani territory, he said that if the government limited responsibility for the incident and punished those found guilty, a message would go out to the world at large that the people of Pakistan would not brook another Abbottabad-like embarrassment.

 "We need structural changes and this inquiry has provided an opportunity to move forward and put the country on the right track, correct its direction by putting our house in order, establish the rule of law and bring all institutions under civilian control," the Dawn quoted Nawaz, as saying.

Nawaz also demanded that the budget of the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) be placed before parliament for scrutiny in line with the practice in democracies. (ANI)

Bomb is found hours before Queen's visit

The Irish army blew up a makeshift bomb found in a bus outside Dublin ahead of a historic visit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday, amid the biggest security operation even mounted by the state .

The Queen is visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won independence from London in 1921, is designed to show how warm neighbourly relations have changed centuries of animosity.

Britain's Foreign Office said the Queen's visit would still go ahead despite the bomb's discovery.

The queen's arrival coincides with the 37th anniversary of bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, the single bloodiest day in a three-decade sectarian battle over Northern Ireland, and a day still mired in controversy.
Relatives will lay a wreath at the site of one of the bombings in Dublin shortly before Queen Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, land at around 1100 GMT.
A homemade bomb was found in the luggage compartment of a bus in Ireland on Tuesday and blown up by the army in a controlled detonation, the military said, hours before the first state visit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth.
Ireland has mounted its biggest security operation ahead of a visit steeped in symbolism and gestures designed to underline how warm neighbourly relations have replaced centuries of animosity.
 The lastly of the device were handed over to police for their investigations

Shakira: Venice Vacation!

Shakira soaks up the beautiful sun over the week-end in Venice, Italy.

The 35year-old singer is in the Italy to celebrate and perform at the wedding of Vinita, Indian Iron King's duaghter, who wed Muqui. The singer took time to see the sights while attending the nuptials.

 Shakira is currently in the middle of her world tour, The Sun Comes Out. Next stop: Poland!
The tour continues on to Russia, Spain, and Germany, to name a few, before ending in France mid June.

Thailand jungles mask surprise rise in tiger numbers

Expert film previously unknown group on hidden cameras – but loss of habitat and threat from poachers cloud newfound hope the tigers.
 Deep in the jungle, armed forest rangers trek through the palms on a mission to confirm some rare good news: the discovery of a wild tiger population in an area of Thap Lan national park previously written off by wildlife experts.
Thap Lan, with its spectacular forests of saw-bladed plan palms, is an oasis of biodiversity amid expanding human development. Elephants, clouded leopards, spotted linsang, boar and deer thrive below the canopy, which is filled with the song of myna, lapwings, laughing thrushes and other exotic birds.
The stakes are high. According to conservationists and police, poachers are paid 7,000 to 15,000 baht – £150 to £300 – per kg for a tiger carcass.
Middlemen then sell the animals on for about 10 times that amount, mostly to customers in China and Vietnam, where the animal's bones and penis are used in tonics and aphrodisiacs. Yet penalties for wildlife offences remain absurdly low, with fines ranging from 500 to 40,000 baht.
"I believe she may have been selling 100 tigers per year for 10 years," said Colonel Kittipong Khawsamang, deputy head of the wildlife crime division as he leafed through police photographs of tiger carcasses kept on ice.
"We know she is a big trader and have been collecting evidence, but we don't yet have enough for a prosecution."

Derek Pringle: Sri Lanka will have difficult introduction to life after Muttiah Muralitharan tour of England

The hieghest of Sri Lanka’s Test team arrive in London tonight, the captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan, and other senior players assembling in dribs and drabs over the coming week, once they have discharged their commitments to the IPL. 

Sri Lanka have never won a Test series in England which has involved more than a single Test and will surely find it impossible to rectify that record without their bowling colossus. 

One man does not a team make but in his lengthy, record-breaking career, Murali has come closer than most to disproving that old saw. 

Despite that gaping hole in Sri Lanka’s resources England’s batsmen cannot be entirely complacent, even if Murali and Lasith Malinga, another who recently called time on his Test career, won’t be around to torment them.

Nokia kills off Ovi mobile products

Nokia is stoped using the Ovi product to sell music, games and mobile applications.

The company said it planned to wind up the four-year-old project and would be offering services under the Nokia name in the future.
In this company early days, critics claimed that Ovi was an ill-conceived, rushed reaction to Apple's app store and iTunes brand.
owner says "The main reason for this change is so we can leverage the high-value of the Nokia master brand to better support future plans to deliver disruptive and compelling mobile experiences globally."

US reaches $14tn debt limit and cut investments

US has reached its debt limit of $14.3 trillion and is taking measures to cut spending to avoid breaching it.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that he will suspend investing into two large government pension funds.
This delays any breaching of the limit to 2 August.

Congress is currently negotiating an increase to the limit, without which the US risks defaulting on its debt.
"I have written to Congress on previous occasions regarding the importance of timely action to increase the debt limit in order to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for citizens," Mr Geithner said in a letter to Congress April, ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded its US credit rating outlook from stable to negative, increasing the likelihood that the rating could be cut within the next two years.

Rahul Gandhi take farmers to meet PM

New Delhi : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Monday took a delegation of farmers from Bhatta Parsaul village in Greater Noida Monday to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over controversial land acquisition and alleged atrocities were committed on the villagers by the Uttar Pradesh government. 
'The farmers wanted to meet the prime minister and I facilitated it. People are being killed, women raped, I am quite concerned about the situation and it is still pretty bad,' Gandhi told reporters outside the Prime Minister's Residence at 7 Race Course Road here.  
'The issues are more fundamental with regard to these villages. In large number of villages in Uttar Pradesh, all down the Agra highway where state oppression is being used, people are being murdered, women being raped, people have been thrashed and houses destroyed,' he said.

Gandhi also handed over pictures of burnt bodies, ashes with bones and ransacked houses to the prime minister and later to the media.

'What I am concerned about is that how are we treating our own people. Most of the people said that they are more than happy to give land for development. Most poor people wanted development in the country and they are ready to sacrifice. The question is how we treat them - do we treat them fairly or we brutalise the said.

Replying to questions about delay in passage of the Land Acquisition Act, Rahul Gandhi said: 'We are committed to the act and it is a complicate piece of legislation and we are working on it. We are confident that it will be passed in the next session.'  

Rajinikanth may go to abroad for treatmen

CHENNAI: Actor Rajinikath is back in hospital for pneumonia, renal and gastro-intestinal problems. Doctors at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre, Porur in Chennai, where the 61-year-old film icon was admitted on Saturday, said he was being treated for recurrent respiratory infection and a stomach ailment. His stressful schedules coupled with lifestyle habits, including smoking, could have worsened his health condition. 

Rajinikanth, who had returned home after two rounds of hospitalization, was rushed back to hospital on Saturday when his respiratory problems worsened. A series of investigations including a CT scan was done by a team of doctors, who concluded that he suffered from pneumonia.
They found he had fluid accumulation between the layers of the tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity. Blood test reports also showed elevated levels of creatinine in blood showing signs of kidney disorders and other gastrointestinal problems. He is being intermittently given oxygen support and is pumped in with antibiotics to clear infection of the lower respiratory tract. A medical bulletin from the hospital said he was ''not in the ICU and has been progressing well''. 

Pakistan: Former Test player and current umpire arrested for IPL betting

Lahore: Former Pakistan Test off-spinner and current umpire Akram Raza has been arrested after police conducted a raid to bust a gang of bookmakers taking illegal bets on the ongoing Indian Premier League matches.

"We arrested seven men from a plaza in Liberty area in Gulberg and one of them has been identified as Akram Raza a former Pakistan player," a senior police officer at the Gulberg police station said
.
He said the police had got a tip off that a gang of known bookmakers was running a book on the IPL in the liberty area and conducted the raid.

"We recovered cash, mobile phones and many telephone numbers in India," he said.

He said the arrested persons including Raza had been lodged at the Gulberg station but not charged as yet.

5 lessons for smartphone users

 The overworked modern day CEO and his Blackberry made an inseparable couple. Now, as this select tribe of BB addicts is joined by millions of smartphone junkies at all levels, India Inc's attention deficit is only likely to worsen.
We outline a few lessons from those who have figured out a 'smart' way to work their phones. 

West Ham United relegated

Chelsea's bid to finish second in the English Premier League suffered a setback after Steven Taylor's stoppage-time header secured a 2-2 draw for visitor Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

It went ahead as early as the second minute through defender Branislav Ivanovic. 

However, Newcastle equalised eight minutes later through Argentina midfielder Jonas Gutierrez. 

But defender Taylor punished Chelsea's inability to clear a corner by heading in from close range shortly before the final whistle. 

N'Zogbia then sealed Wigan's remarkable recovery in stoppage time when he slid a shot under the body of England goalkeeper Robert Green, who had previously made several fine saves.

Australia regains Azlan Shah Cup

Australian team poses for a group picture with the trophy after winning the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Sunday.

The teams were deadlocked 2-2 at the end of the regulation time. The Aussies had last won the trophy in 2007. 


The Pakistani fight-back was led by the indefatigable Shakeel Abbasi who tormented the rival defenders with his delightful sallies. Rizwan and Zubair contributed their share and were supported well in the mid-field by Waseem Ahmed.

Minutes after the break, Australia surged ahead from a brilliant move initiated Liem de Young which Glenn Turner completed with a fluent shot from the top of the circle. Even as Australia was mounting pressure, came the equaliser for Pakistan from Rehan Butt, who hooked on to an astute forward pass by Abbasi. 

Strong earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says there was no tsunami alert issued after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea on Monday.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.5 quake struck about 120 km west of Arawa, the capital of Bougainville province, at a depth of about 40 km. 


Bill Yomba, an official with Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Centre, says there were no reports of any tsunamis striking the coast or of any injuries or damage.