China :: Asia

Washington (CNN) -- The United States has seen what happens when it arms rebel forces against brutal regimes -- and how it can backfire. Libya could end up in that same category. Here are some frequently asked questions on the situation in Libya, what the options are and the debate over arming the rebels. What's at stake? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which the United States is a member, is working to take down Col. Moammar Gadhafi's brutal regime, which has reportedly killed thousands of Libyans since a revolt broke out over the past month. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that Gadhafi still wants to take back the city of Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, and that the dictator "will kill as many (people) as he must to crush the rebellion." France was the first nation to step in to enforce the no-fly zone directive. French fighter jets struck military targets in eastern Libya on March 19. B...

Permas dan Mantap kaitkan bantahan terhadap Interlok sebagai 'usaha gadai maruah pribumi'. Kontroversi berkenaan novel Interlok kini berterusan dengan kemasukan watak badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) baru seperti Majlis Penasihat Ayahanda Wilayah Persekutuan (Mantap) dan Pertubuhan Permuafakatan Majlis Ayahanda Malaysia (Permas). Lantas persoalan yang timbul; dari mana datangnya NGO baru seperti cendawan selepas hujan. Kedua-dua NGO ini dilaporkan menyelar sikap sikap mereka yang mempunyai kepentingan politik masih lagi mempermainkan isu yang sensitif ini dan cuba menangguk di air keruh, amat tidak senangi. Malahan sikap sebahagian daripada ahli parti komponen BN yang bersekongkol dalam mensensasikan isu ini juga amat biadap dan terpesong dari semangat keharmonian yang dilaungkan oleh kerajaan, petik kenyataan itu. Sehubungan itu, NGO Melayu turut mendesak kerajaan agar bertegas dan tidak mempedulikan tuntutan tersebut. Ingat! Pihak kami tidak sekali-kali akan membiarkan cacing naik ...

Libyan rebels are cheering the recent defection of two high-level envoys from leader Moammar Gadhafi's government, as authorities in Tripoli are reported to be tightening security to prevent more senior officials from leaving the country. Opposition spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said Thursday that anti-government forces believe the Gadhafi regime is beginning to crumble from within. He spoke in the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebel's de-facto capital. Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former foreign minister and U.N. General Assembly president, announced his departure Thursday on several opposition websites, and fled to Egypt. He said it is Libya's right to live in freedom, democracy and prosperity. Treki's defection follows that of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to Britain late Wednesday. Koussa was a long-standing confidante of Mr. Gadhafi and was described as one of the ...

Washington, Scientists have discovered active ingredients in a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for skin whitening. The ingredients are poised for clinical trials as a safer, more effective alternative to skin whitening creams and lotions that millions of women and some men use in Asia and elsewhere, they said. The finding, which caps an intense search for these natural skin lightening substances, could be a boon to women in Asian countries, said study leader Hui-Min Wang. Toxic skin whitening creams are a growing threat to womens health, especially in Asia. We hope that our product will improve lives and provide a safer, more natural way to lighten skin. A cream based on these herbal ingredients could be available on store shelves in as little as a year, Wang said. Wang and colleagues say that they have found a promising alternative in the form of an herbal cure-all used in trad...

KARACHI, Sindh High Court Thursday issued notice to Secretary Federal Interior Ministry & Chairman National Database & Registration Authority on petition seeking third column of guardianship for abandoned children in national registration forms. A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Mushir Alam & Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, was hearing petition filed by a woman entrepreneur, who sought introducing third column of guardian in NADRA registration forms for abandoned children adopted from welfare foundations. Petitioner, Ayesha Jalil, impleaded Secretary Interior Ministry & Chairman NADRA as respondents. She submitted she was entrepreneur working in public advertisement industry. She submitted contacted Edhi Foundation to adopt an abandoned child. Later, Edhi Foundation contacted her to inform if she wanted to adopt a female child abandoned at charity. She submitted ...

Islamabad , Foreign Office Thursday said that Mohali was a win-win for the Pakistan-India process of engagement and Islamabad looks forward to meaningful progress in the ongoing dialogue. Briefing newsmen , Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said they do not under-estimate the difficulties but have faith and confidence in a bright future for the people of the region. She said Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India. The dialogue is the only way forward to move towards the goal of establishing good neighbourly and cooperation relations. Pakistan want to move towards a comprehensive and broad-ranging engagement with India on the basis of equality, mutual trust, mutual interest and mutual respect. The spokesperson said Pakistan is looking foward to the series of meetings that are envisaged between now and July. These wi...

Lahore, Punjab University 64th Annual Girls Athletics Championship is scheduled to be held on 1st and 2nd April at Punjab Stadium, Lahore. Colleges from all over Punjab are expected to participate in the championship. Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mujahid Kamran will inaugurate the championship.

LAHORE, LESCO caught 149 persons for stealing electricity in City Muridkey Sub Divisional area. Power pilferers were fined Rs.17 Lac 50 thousand and charged 175000 units as detection bill. On the direction of Chief Executive LESCO Saleem Akhtar and Director Syed Saleem Shah, a team headed by Deputy Manager S&I Ghazanfar Abbas Rizwi raided in City Muridkey Sub Divisional LESCO and its adjoining area to check power pilferage. FIRs lodged in concerned police stations against 47 consumers who were stealing power from main line and 102 persons by other modes. Additional Manager Public Relations LESCO Javaid Ahmad Khan has requested electricity consumers that if they find any pilferage of electricity, report it on toll free number 0800-84338 (THEFT), their names and addresses will be kept confidential.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 An anti-graft officer watched pornography in his office after interviewing Teoh Beng Hock, the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) investigating Teohs death said today. RCI chairman Tan Sri James Foong said Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) assistant superintendent Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus had viewed pornography on his computer in the wee hours of July 16, 2009. After he interviewed Teoh Beng Hock, he viewed pornography on a website, said Foong at the inquiry today. An important operation is going on (and) an officer is viewing porn even though theres a government directive forbidding this, added the sitting Federal Court judge. Ashraf testified recently that the police had suspected him of killing Teoh. He has also admitted that nine MACC suspects had accused him of abusing them. Ashraf has said he and another MACC officer, Arman Alies, had interviewed Teoh from 10.30pm on July 15, 2009 to 12.30am the following day. Teohs body was found hours lat...

ISLAMABAD, The prices of essential commodities showed a mixed trend during March 2011 with the prices of 27 of 52 commodities monitored by FAFEN registering an increase, 16 a decrease and nine remaining unchanged as compared to the prices of these commodities in February 2011, according to FAFEN Retail Price Monitor for the month of March released here Thursday. The 27 commodities registered an overall price increase of 4.5% and a total of 16 commodities registered an average price decrease of 4%. While the prices of important food items like potato (5%) and wheat (2%) also increased in March 2011, the highest increase was observed in the price of kinnow that registered a further increase of 20% in its price in the observed month. The increase in the price of kinnow and potato can be attributable to the end of the harvesting seasons of their respective crops. FAFEN monitors collected th...

Srinagar, In occupied Kashmir, police authorities have seized the broadcast equipment during the screening of semi final played between Pakistan and India at the Kashmir University cafeteria, triggering protests by students over the unjustified action. According to Kashmir Media Service, a police posse arrived at the University cafeteria on Wednesday and seized the projector and other equipment used for screening the match, the students said. The police took away the equipment, which triggered massive protests from the students. The students raised slogans in favour of the Pakistani team. More than 150 students from various departments were watching the cricket match at the University cafeteria. The students condemned the brute and inhuman action of police and raised slogans against police and University authorities.

Karachi:Strongly condemning terror attacks on the convoys of JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman in Swabi and Charsadda, Home Minister Sindh Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza has directed the IGP to beef up security on the occasion of death anniversary of PPP founder chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 04 (Friday). Dr. Mirza has directed IGP Fayyaz Leghari to take extraordinary security measures for mosques, imambarghas, madaris, schools, and worship places of minorities. Regarding the administrative affairs for the commemoration on Aril 04, he has directed Leghari to chalk out a strategy, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies (LEAs), for intelligence to avoid any untoward situation. Furthermore the home minister directed regional police officers of Hyderabad and Sukkur, besides the CCPO Karachi, to enhance security checks at all entry points of Gharhi Khuda Buksh and also to keep a clos...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has established a committee to study the possibility of lifting the country's 50-year-old emergency law. The country's state-run news agency said Thursday a committee of legal experts would prepare anti-terrorism legislation that could pave the way for removing the emergency law. It said the committee would complete its study by April 25. The move seems to be an effort to appease angry demonstrators that have demanded the government lift the 50-year-old law, which restricts opposition gatherings. Mr. Assad gave no indication of a change to the emergency law in his Wednesday speech addressing the protests, which have been under way for more than a week. Instead, Mr. Assad said foreigners and social media have created a conspiracy to bring down his government. The opposition protests represent the most serious threat to Mr. Assad's 11-year rule, ...

Officials in Pakistan say a suicide bomber struck the convoy of a hardline Pakistan politician, killing at least 12 people in the second attack on the politician in two days. They say the politician, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was unharmed in Thursday's attack in the town of Charsadda. Rehman is the leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. At least 20 people were wounded in Thursday's blast. At least one of the dead was a police officer. Wednesday, a bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up near a police checkpoint just after Rehman had passed through the area. The incident took place in the town of Swabi, about 70 kilometers northwest of the capital, Islamabad. The bomb killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 15 others, although Rehman was not harmed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants launch almost daily attacks across nor...

NEAR BREGA, Libya - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi suffered a major blow with the defection of his foreign minister even as his forces bombarded a rag-tag rebel army seeking to topple him into disarray. A rebel fighter said Kadhafi's loyalists were riding through the streets of the oil town of Brega shooting randomly on Thursday, a day after pushing the insurgents back more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) along the coast. Awad Alurfi, a former army captain turned rebel fighter, said at least one rebel had been killed in the fight for Brega, 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital Tripoli. Experts said the opposition lacks anti-tank weapons, radios and other basics, but above all the disjointed, chaotic force needs some rudimentary training. The defection of Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa, the most senior figure to defect since the uprising against Kadhafi's iron-clad 41-year r...

BANGKOK, March 31 Thailands sole aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet carrying 753 tourists, including 551 foreign visitors from Tao Island in Surat Thani province to safety docked at the Sattahip naval base in the eastern province of Chonburi Thursday as Thailand's flood crisis took its toll on the southern provinces leaving at least 20 people dead. Meanwhile, HTMS Chao Phraya is enroute to Sattahip naval base carrying another 500 tourists from the southern island. The navys other frigates are continue on the high seas to help tourists left stranded on other southern islands. The Tourism Authority of Thailand helped locate accommodation for foreign tourists who cannot fly home at the moment and helped reschedule flights for some others. Thai Airways International and Bangkok Airways flights to Samui Island are again operational with good visibility at Samui Airport. Special flights are also being offered to collect stranded tourists. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, visi...

?The Singapore Management University (SMU) has received S$5 million from Indonesian business conglomerate Lippo Group to fund scholarships for students from China and Indonesia. The Mochtar Riady Scholarship, named after the founder and chairman of the group, will be awarded yearly to two needy SMU undergraduates from either country. Lippo Group Chairman Mochtar Riady, left, presents a scholarship endowment gift to the Singapore management University Tuesday. Also shown Senior Minister of State for Education S. Iswaran, center , and SMU president Arnoud De Meyer. (ST Photo) Tenable in any year and field of study, the S$15,000 bond-free scholarship will cover most of their tuition for a year. The scholarship holders may also be offered internships or jobs at the Lippo Group or its companies. SMU yesterday named an auditorium after Riady, who was present with his wife and two sons at the check presentation in the school. Senior Minister of State for Education S. Iswaran was also present....

BANGKOK, March 31 - Flood-related deaths in Thailand's South reportedly reached 20 today, according to the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (EMIT), while the search continues for missing persons in yesterdays Krabi mudslide. EMIT secretary-general Chatree Charoencheewakul said the 20 flood-related fatalities included 11 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, four each in Surat Thani and Krabi provinces and one in Phatthalung. In Krabi, four people were killed and 20 others are missing in a landslide in Khao Phanom district and some 300 people in the area have been evacuated to Banhuaykaew School now being used as a temporary shelter. Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday before flying to Krabis Khao Phanom district that the army sent 10,000 relief supply bags and a number of mobile medical teams to provide emergency help the flood-stricken local population. He also instructed the Fourth Army Region commander to dispatch teams with 15 sniffer dogs to expand search for missing persons. ...

NEW YORK, March 31 (Kyodo) -- American Airlines said Wednesday it will suspend a total of two daily flights between the United States and Japan from April 7 through 25 due to reduced demand following the massive earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan. American will suspend a service between New York and Tokyo's Haneda airport launched in February, and one of the two daily flights between Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas and Narita airport near Tokyo. The two services are scheduled to be suspended after flights from Japan on April 6 and to resume with flights departing the United States on April 26. Another major carrier, Delta Air Lines, has already decided to cut capacity on routes to Japan by a maximum of 20 percent, and it is possible that more carriers will follow suit. American plans to divert passengers who have already made reservations on the affected flights to other services, such as the route between New York and Narita. The schedule adjustment does not affect t...

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- CIA operatives are providing intelligence from Libya, where opposition forces are on the run and the defiant government suffered the embarrassing defection of its foreign minister Wednesday. The NATO-led coalition, which is enforcing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians from the intense fighting, got no help from the weather in its ongoing efforts to protect the fragile opposition movement. "The weather conditions did not allow close combat support by aircraft in the last couple of days," said Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Moammar Gadhafi's government, for its part, kept up the war of words. State-run Libyan TV late Wednesday quoted a military source as saying a "civilian location was shelled tonight in the city of Tripoli by the colonizing crusader aggression." Amid debate on whether the allies will arm the retreating and undertrained rebels, a U.S. intelligence sou...

MOHALI, India - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday that "permanent reconciliation" was required with Pakistan, after he met his counterpart at the nations' cricket World Cup semi-final. Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani held brief talks during the match, which India won, as the two leaders used the fixture to promote better ties between their rival countries. India and Pakistan "should be working together to find cooperative solutions and need permanent reconciliation to live together in dignity and honour," Singh said in a speech during the talks. "We should put our ancient animosities behind us to attend to the problems of our nations," he said. India's foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said that the match had "provided impetus" to efforts to re-build cross-border relations. India broke off official contacts with Islamabad in 2008...

Officials in Kyrgyzstan say inmates in the country's prisons have ended their mass hunger strike that started on March 25. The State Penitentiary Service reported Wednesday that the situation is under control and all the inmates are eating again. Last Friday, prisoners at several jails declared a hunger strike to protest living conditions and poor treatment. By Monday, the protest had spread to virtually all of the country's penitentiaries. But a top prisons official said the inmates were striking in support of organized crime boss Kamchi Kolbayev, who is being pursued by authorities. The inmates' relatives, who picketed the government and parliament buildings earlier this week, confirmed the end of the strike Wednesday after they said authorities promised to meet the prisoners' demands. Kyrgyzstan hosts an important U.S. air base serving as a key link supplying U.S. and c...

Washington, A new study has found that protein aggregation, which is generally associated with Alzheimer''s and mad cow disease, plays a significant role in cancer development. Frederic Rousseau and Joost Schymkowitz of VIB, K.U.Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussel describe that certain mutations of p53, an important tumour suppressor, cause the protein to misfold in a way that the proteins start to aggregate. This not only disrupts the protective function of normal p53, but of other related proteins as well. In the study, the focus was on the p53 protein, which plays a key role in protecting the body against cancer. If p53 works normally, it controls cell division. If p53 control ceases - e.g. when there is a mutation in the protein - the cells start to divide in an uncontrolled manner and this may result in a tumour. Mutations in p53 are observed in about half of cancer cases,...

Washington, Wondering how to lose weight without much effort? Dont stress and get some good sleep. A new Kaiser Permanente study has found that people with the lowest stress levels and who also got more than six hours, but not more than eight hours, of sleep were most likely to lose at least 10 pounds. Nearly 500 participants from Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Washington took part in the study, which measured whether sleep, stress, depression, television viewing, and computer screen time were correlated with weight loss. Several previous studies have found an association between these factors and obesity, but few have looked at whether these factors predict weight loss. "This study suggests that when people are trying to lose weight, they should try to get the right amount of sleep and reduce their stress," said lead author Charles Elder. "Some people may just need to cut...

Islamabad, Yasir and Nasir on Wednesday moved into the finals of PSF-CDA Pakistan International Squash Circuit-I, played here at Mushaf Squash Complex. In the 1st Semi Final Yasir Butt defeated Mansoor Zaman with a game score of 8/11, 7/11, 11/9, 13/11 and 11/9. The match lasted for 64 Minutes. In the 2nd Semi Final Nasir Iqbal defeated Waqar Mehboob with a game score of 7/11, 1{, 11/3, 11/5. The match lasted for 57 Minutes. Air Vice Marshal Syed Razi Nawab, Senior Vice President, Pakistan Squash Federation graced the Semi Finals as Chief Guest. The Final of tournament will be played on March 31.

Rome/ Islamabad, A large-scale distribution by UN Food & Agriculture Organization FAO of wheat seeds to victims of last year's floods in Pakistan is now ripe to yield enough food for half a million poor rural households. With an average family size of eight, this translates into a harvest large enough to feed four million people for next six months. FAO spent $54 million of international donor funding buying and distributing quality wheat seeds as part of its emergency intervention that began last August. Once harvest is completed, this donation will have produced a crop worth almost $190 million in wheat flour, the main staple, at current local retail prices. "The investment made by donors has been quadrupled," said Daniele Donati, Chief, FAO Emergency Operations Service. "Moreover, farmers will be able to save seeds from this year's harvest to plant again la...

QUETTA ,Lawyers should struggle for dispensation of cheap justice, end to corruption at judiciary, rule of law and establishment of Islamic justice system. Independent judiciary and sincere leadership along can provide cheap and quick justice to the nation. This was stated by Secretary General Jamaat Islami Pakistan Liaqat Baloch while addressing members of Balochistan Bar Association and lawyer leaders at District courts here Wednesday. President Balochistan Bar Association Baz Muhammad Kakar, Amir JI Balochistan Abdul Mateen Akhundzada and others were also present. He said lawlessness, disappearance of political workers and lawyers and instead of recovery of missing persons recovery of dead bodies, highway robberies and worst load shedding has crippled life and created fear. He said due to non recovery of missing persons and recovery of mutilated dead bodies a serious reaction prevails...

Bashar al-Assad,the Syrian president,blamed "conspirators" for two weeks of anti-government protests that have rocked the nation but failed to lift emergency rule or offer other concessions. In his first address to the nation sincethe start of a violent crackdown on protests demanding greater freedoms that erupted earlier this month, Assad said Syria was going through a "test of unity". "I belong to the Syrian people, and whoever belongs to the Syrian people will always keep his head high," he said inthe televised address before members of parliament in the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday. "I know that the Syrian people have been awaiting this speech since last week, but I was waiting to get the full picture ... to avoid giving an emotional address that would put the people at ease but have no real effect, at a time when our enemies are targeting Syria,"he said. Al Jazeera's Cal Perry travelled to Daraa to gauge reaction to PresidentAssad...

By batsman Prior to 2008, it is claimed that the non-Malays were too frightened to stand up for their own rights with the threat of genocidal massacre hanging over their heads. In fact PAS had to make a pledge to defend non-Malays with the lives of PAS members if ever UMNO makes good its threat of launching another May 13 style genocidal massacre. The best laid plans of mice and men gung go awry. Does PAS now rue the day it made this pledge? Are there people who now claim that PASs pledge had nothing to do with the non-Malays gaining enough courage to vote for the opposition during the 12th GE? Now that the non-Malays have stood up to fight for their rights, the question is how far and how independently should such a fight take? Many non-Malays now oppose PASs stand on beer, sexy concerts and gambling, although many still support it or at least refuse to be drawn into the debate. Hindraf has shown a disconcerting proclivity to choose an isolationist bugger off approach when their deman...

KARACHI, Qari Muhammad Usman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) Karachi chapter Wednesday condemned the bomb blast in a procession camp of their party in Swabi. In his statement, he said that incidents like this could not stop his party from its mission. Bomb blasts in all over the country are being carried out by America through its mercenary organizations like Blackwater, he said. Qari Usman said that provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had failed to protect masses from violence and terror. He demanded of protection of people and their political leaders.

PT Pertamina, Indonesia s state oil company, and PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara plan to build eight small-size liquefied natural gas receiving terminals with a combined capacity of 1.4 million metric tons a year. The facilities aim to guarantee supplies of the cleaner- burning fuel to Listrik Negaras power plants in eastern Indonesia, Daniel Purba, vice president of engineering and gas projects at Pertamina, told reporters today. Indonesia, Southeast Asia s biggest economy and the worlds third-largest LNG exporter, is increasing domestic use of gas to make up for falling crude output from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. Four receiving terminals are expected to be operational at end of next year, with the rest in 2013 and 2015, Purba said after the signing of an accord on the project in Jakarta today. He declined to give investment and financing details. The receiving terminals will be built in eastern Indo...

ISLAMABAD,A survey commissioned by Oxfam and carried out by Pakistani NGO Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) reveals that eight months after the floods began, survivors are struggling with huge challenges in rebuilding broken lives and communities. Neva Khan, Country Director of Oxfam in Pakistan and Fatima Naqvi, programme manager of the Land Rights and Economic Opportunities department, had announced to speak out a press conference during the launch of survey but the event has now been postponed. It was earlier scheduled to be held today (Thursday) March 31 here at a local hotel. As Pakistan begins the process of reconstruction following the floods, Oxfam is releasing the surveys results to put the voice of 18 million flood affectees at the centre of national and international efforts to rebuild the country. The survey polled over 2,000 people in Pakistans most seriously flood-hit ...

KRABI, March 30 -- At least four people were killed and more than 100 are missing in a mudslide at Krabi's Khao Phanom district, while rescue workers have halted their operations fearing further slides. After the hillside gave way, rescue workers found four victims--three men and one woman--while some 200 initially were reported missing, but rescue teams helped some 50 villagers from the scene of the incident are mostly staying at Hua Kaew School, Wat Tham Khao Din and Wat Tham Krok. The rescue team decided to halt operations as the water level continued to rise, bridges and roads are inaccessible, and fears of more mudslides. However, Krabi Governor Prasit Osathanond said the rescue operation would resume Thursday and that the authorities planned to ask for more assistance from the army for heavy equipment, food and drinking water. The military would also be asked to reconstruct damaged bridges and roads, he said, adding that if the weather permitted, helicopter may be used to hel...

Karachi, Sindh assembly will meet again on Thursday to continue its session which started on Tuesday. The Wednesday sitting of the provincial assembly was adjourned due to public holiday declared by Sindh government in view of Indo-Pak cricket match being played in Mohali, India. Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro issued the order of adjourning the Wednesday sitting late Tuesday night.

SYDNEY - Afghan asylum seekers who failed in their bids to remain in Australia should not be returned to their home country where they risked death, a leading expert said Wednesday. Professor William Maley, one of Australia's foremost experts on Afghanistan, called for a moratorium on the repatriation of Afghans. His comments follow a 20-year-old man from the Hazara ethnic minority, Afghanistan's most oppressed group, hanging himself at an Australian centre on Monday after reportedly waiting almost a year for a decision on his case. Maley, director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University, said most of the 50 Afghans Australia wanted to return were Hazaras -- a Shia Muslim group persecuted by the Taliban. He claimed the immigration department's processing of refugee claims "has become so haphazard there is a grave danger that people ...

India's PM Singh and Pakistan's PM Gilani meet with match official Bowden and Indian players ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final match between their countries in Mohali - Reuters ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday his visit to India to watch the World Cup cricket semi-final would help improve relations between the arch rivals. Gilani accepted an invitation from his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the weekend to attend the match, which was due to start at 0900 GMT and would result in one of the South Asian giants being knocked out. "There will be some progress and improvement in relations when we visit India," Gilani said before leaving for the match venue in India's northern city of Mohali. ...

TOKYO, March 30 (Kyodo) - The government is considering limiting the use of electricity by major firms to deal with anticipated power shortages this summer as Tokyo Electric Power Co. has lost some of its supply capacity following the giant March 11 earthquake and tsunami, government sources said Wednesday. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry have called on industry groups in their respective jurisdictions to voluntarily map out and implement energy-saving measures. But if such moves are not enough to cover the anticipated supply shortages in the summer, the government will start to restrict power consumption by large-lot energy users, such as companies operating factories during daytime peak hours, the sources said. The government will decide on whether to go through with the restrictions by the end of April, they added. If the plan is realized, it would be the first time for authorities to put a cap on power usage by i...

(CNN) -- On a day when opposition forces in Libya suffered battlefield losses, President Barack Obama made clear in interviews Tuesday with the three major U.S. television networks that he was open to arming the rebel fighters. "I'm not ruling it out, but I'm also not ruling it in," Obama told NBC in one of the separate interviews he gave the day after a nationally televised speech on the Libya situation. "I think it's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into Libya, we probably could," Obama told ABC. "We're looking at all our options at this point." The president also signaled a willingness to negotiate a settlement to the conflict with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but only based on the condition that Gadhafi would relinquish power as called for by the United States and its allies. Asked about the chances of Gadhafi fleeing or losing vital support from his family and top aides, Obama said that he believes those close to the Liby...