After Kampala attack, Somali militants promise more operations

(CNN) -- Al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group that claimed responsibility for Sunday's deadly attacks in Uganda, is promising to "unleash a new tide of terror," but Uganda's leader has vowed to "deal with the authors of this crime and fight back".

"This is only the beginning," Al-Shabaab warned Thursday in a statement on the internet.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombings that killed 76 people in two locations in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. The attackers struck an Ethiopian restaurant in a neighborhood dotted with bars and popular among expatriates. Two other bombs exploded at a rugby center.

Colombia says it has proof that FARC leaders are in Venezuela

(CNN) -- Colombian authorities have proof that high-ranking leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, live in Venezuela, the Colombian government said Thursday.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe issued a statement listing their names.

Among them is one with the alias "Ivan Marquez;" Rodrigo Granda, whose alias is "Ricardo;" Timoleon Jimenez, whose alias is "Timochenko;" German Briceno, whose alias is "Grannobles;" and Carlos Marin Guarin, whose alias is "Pablito." The president said there are other "integral members" of the group in Venezuela.

Green energy market 'resilient' to downturn in 2009, according to U.N.

London, England (CNN) -- The creation of new power capacity from renewable energy has exceeded new fossil fuel power generation in the United States and Europe for the second year running, according to two United Nations reports published Thursday.

Renewables accounted for over 50 percent of new capacity in the U.S. in 2009 while in Europe the figure was 60 percent, leading the U.N. to predict that the world as a whole will add more capacity to the electricity supply from renewables than non-renewables this year or by 2011.

Globally, nearly 80 giga-watts (GW) of new renewable power capacity was added in 2009, the U.N. reported.

Afghanistan's 'Oprah' helping to heal country's wounds

(CNN) -- She's a sexy celebrity with millions of fans, including U.S. President Barack Obama.

With flashy music videos and a performance at the White House this past March, Mozhdah is a singing sensation and a model. And her latest achievement is becoming the host of a popular -- though controversial -- television talk show.

But if you don't know who she is, you're probably not an Afghan.

Mozhdah Jamalzadah is an Afghan superstar in a country still struggling with war and a battle between ideologies and cultures.

Born in Kabul, Mozhdah was only five when her family fled to Canada.

Mulayam offers apology to Muslims for shaking hands with Kalyan

Shaken over continued Muslims’ hostility towards the party, the Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday apologised to the Muslim community for alliance with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh during 2009 Lok Sabha election. Yadav in a signed statement issued in Lucknow on Thursday said that in order to defeat communal forces he had taken support of some “wrong elements”, which hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community.

“ I accept my mistake”, Yadav said.

The move, in political circle, is being seen as a desperate attempt by Yadav to win over the community, which had been feeling disenchanted with the Samajwadi Party. The party’s Muslim dilemma further worsened after it was pushed to fourth place in recent assembly by-election in Dumariaganj.

While, Yadav believed that alliance would bring formidable backward class votes to the party, enraged Muslim community moved away from once nicked named “Maulana Mulayam”.

Reiterating his commitment to secularism and fight against communal forces, Yadav said “I assure the Muslim community that I will keep their interest supreme and protect for their honour with full loyalty”.

BJP slams Digvijay Singh for attack on RSS

New Delhi: BJP today reacted strongly to Congress leader Digvijay Singh's allegations that RSS leaders were supporting terror, saying the CBI had given a clean chit to the organisation and this was only a ploy of the ruling party to divert attention from the issue of price rise.

"It seems that after a very successful nation-wide strike against price rise and revival of the non-Congress opposition parties, Congress is disturbed and worried about its future".

Hence, it is engaging in a selective but malicious and baseless campaign against the RSS," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

Singh had reportedly stated in Indore earlier today that RSS could be involved in terror activities, forcing the BJP to come to the defence of the Sangh fountainhead.

"This is a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the issue of price rise. We warn the Congress to stop this nonsense or they will have to face the music," he said.

Reports on Faryal Talpur’s degree malafide: adviser

KARACHI: Taking notice of media reports regarding Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s MNA Faryal Talpur’s “suspicious” graduation degree, the Sindh government on Wednesday termed the reports malafide.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Sindh Chief Minister’s Information Adviser Jameel Soomro, CM’s Political Affairs Adviser Rashid Rabbani and CM’s Special Assistant Waqar Mehdi advised the media not to run the report without confirmation or seeking Talpur’s comments.

Condemning the report, they termed it part of a defamation move against Talpur.

Irsa re-opens Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal

The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) re-opened the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal on Thursday.

Sources in Irsa said Punjab is now getting an additional 15,000 cusecs of water after opening the canal. Overall, Punjab will get 135,000 cusecs, while Sindh will receive 240,000 cusecs of water.

Sources revealed that the Irsa session, held Wednesday, discussed how to compensate Sindh for the water released into Punjab when it re-opened. It was also decided in the meeting that the canal will be opened when water level in the Guddu Barrage reaches 1,150,000 cusecs.

SC seeks record of suggestions over 18th Amendment

ISLAMABAD, Jul 15 (APP): The Supreme Court directed Attorney General (AG) for Pakistan Molvi Anwar-ul-Haq on Thursday to secure record of all the suggestions submitted with the Constitutional Reforms Committee over 18th Amendment and place it before the court.A 17-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued the directive while hearing arguments of Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, a petitioner who challenged certain provisions of the 18th Amendment.

The Chief Justice asked the AG whether open suggestions were invited on the issue or any debate made in public or media. If so he should bring the record of such material.

“In such matters people are the master, and the amendments should reflect their will,” he added.

Justice Jawwad S. Khawja remarked that the process spanned over two months and about 102 articles were amended. There should be some reasons and consensus for doing so. “When the Constitution is changed, it is not a child’s play. It’s a serious business,” he added. 

He also told the CJ that the committee had floated an advertizement   over this issue and in response, according to the committee, received 980 suggestions. 

Punjabi generals plan to turn Balochistan into second Afghanistan. Ahmar Mustikhan

Washington DC: July 15, 2010. (PCP) "It's a civil war," journalist Malik Siraj Akbar declared on phone from Quetta.

And the thought crossed my mind : may the Punjabi generals never covet your homeland; if they do Balochistan might become a second Afghanistan.

As I pen these lines, I share the pall of gloom and massive anguish that has descended over Balochistan in the wake of the killing of two seasoned political activists, who jointly had more than six decades of struggle behind them: Habib Jalib Baloch and Maula Bakhsh Dashti. Even if the two slain leaders had serious political differences with organizations that are closest to my heart, like for instance the Baloch Students Organization [Azad] of Baloch folk heroine Banuk Karima Baloch -- the first-ever female to be charged with sedition in Pakistan --, or for that matter the two party of martyrs, Baloch National Movement and Baloch Republican Party, that does not mean I shall stop short from condemning their murders in the strongest possible terms.

Let me go in the time tunnel more than three decades back.

"Revolution in the Revolution?" by Regis Debray was once his favorite book more than 30 years ago and he highly recommended the book to others. He was reputed to be so enthusiastic about political polemics and debate, that according to his own token he could talk non-stop on Balochistan liberation for four days in a row.

IRSA reopens Chashma-Jhelum canal

ISLAMABAD, July 15 (APP): Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Thursday reopened Chashma-Jhelum (C-J) link canal before its earlier announced schedule to meet water requirement of the provinces. With the opening of C-J Canal, additional 15,000 cusecs water will be provided to Punjab, informed sources told this news agency. To resolve and address reservations of Punjab and Sindh over the opening of CJ canal, an urgent IRSA meeting held here on Wednesday with newly appointed chairman Engineer Abdur Raqeeb Khan in the chair. 

    
It was decided in the meeting that C-J Canal would be opened after three days, once 155,000 cusecs water start discharging at Guddu down stream.

Under the new plan, Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa will receive 240,000 cusecs water, 120,000 cusecs, 13,000 cusecs and 3,000 cusecs respectively.

Indians barred from taking test for US practice

MUMBAI: Tens of thousands of Indians who went to the United States to cash in on the health industry boom have been served a blow as the federal government has decided against allowing Indians to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), a licentiate test without which students cannot practice in the US. 

The decision was taken by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, a national body, reasoning that it found "systematic and methodical sharing and distribution of recalled questions by significant numbers of graduates of programmes in the affected countries as well as several exam preparation companies specifically targeted to these graduates". Apart from Indians, students from Pakistan, the Philippines and Egypt have also been barred from taking the exam.

Krishna-Qureshi meet: Pak 'vows' serious action on 26/11 leads

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said he and his Indian counterpart S M Krishna had "frank, candid and honest discussions" on "where we stand" and "how to move forward". 

"We had frank, candid and honest discussions on terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen, said Qureshi. 

India and Pakistan discussed ways to hasten trial process happening here (on Mumbai attacks). Pakistan would take seriously the leads given by home minister P Chidambaram, said Qureshi. 

Lamhaa banned in Gulf countries

First the J&K government had problems with Lamhaa being shot in Kashmir. Then the release of the film didn’t see the light of day in Srinagar

To top it all, the film has now been banned completely in the Gulf countries. 

Producer Bunty Walia said, “Yes Lamhaa has been banned all over the Gulf countries, in Iran, Iraq, Dubai Kuwait everywhere. They felt that the movie was controversial and objected strongly against it.

Sonam Kapoor tweets an apology to Shobhaa De

Bollywood's 'Massakali' girl Sonam Kapoor has tendered an apology to writer Shobhaa De after calling her a "fossil" on micro blogging site Twitter

"Mrs de I owe you an apology for getting personal. I'm ashamed for my momentary lapse in judgement. And apologetic.. Every writer and journalist and audience are entitled to their opinion and I respect that," Sonam wrote on her Twitter account. 

Sonam, had retweeted a statement made by Punit Malhotra, director of her latest film 'I Hate Luv Storys', who was upset by Shobhaa's review of his directorial debut. 

Vaseline's Facebook app for India termed racial

NEW DELHI: A Vaseline face-whitening application for Facebook in India has sparked an online controversy and pushed the racially-loaded issue of skin colour out into the spotlight. 

Anglo-Dutch skincare group Vaseline launched the application "Transform Your Face On Facebook" to promote its range of skin-lightening products for men, advertised by Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor. 

It enables users to digitally whiten their profile pictures and remove dark spots -- an idea that has evoked a largely negative response in the blogosphere since news broke earlier this week. 

Indian rupee gets a symbol, joins elite currency club

NEW DELHI: The Indian rupee will soon have a unique symbol — a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' — joining elite currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity. 

The new symbol, designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved by the cabinet today — reflecting that the Indian currency, backed by an over-trillion dollar economy, was finally making its presence felt on the international scene. 

"It's a big statement on the Indian currency... The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

Ordination of women priests a crime against faith: Vatican

VATICAN CITY: The ordination of women as Roman Catholic priests is a "crime against the faith," the Vatican said Thursday as it issued a raft of new disciplinary rules. 

Cases of "attempted ordination of women" will henceforth be handled by the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a Vatican statement said. 

The new rules put attempts at ordination of women among the "most serious crimes," along with paedophilia, updating a 2007 CDF decree according to which those who attempt to ordain women — and the women concerned — are subject to automatic excommunication.

Krishna meets Zardari, discusses terror, intelligence sharing

ISLAMABAD: External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today called on Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the issue of terrorism, with the Pakistani President stressing for timely intelligence sharing between the two countries to prevent acts of terror. 

Krishna, who arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit to hold parleys with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, met Zardari and discussed issues of bilateral concern. 

Zardari said that "destinies of the people of both Pakistan and India and development of the entire region lies in friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations between the two countries". 

Conductor Sir Charles Mackerras dies aged 84

World renowned Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras has died in London at the age of 84.

Sir Charles joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as an oboist during World War II, before becoming its principal oboe in 1946.

He was chosen to conduct the orchestra on the opening night of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.

Sir Charles was due to perform at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival this summer.

Doctor who killed UK patient could lose license

A doctor who killed an English patient with a massive morphine overdose is to face a “fit for practice” hearing that could mean he is finally stripped of his German licence, medical authorities confirmed Thursday.

The medical association of Westfalen-Lippe in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia wants Dr. Daniel Ubani to be de-registered and is making moves to have him declared unfit, spokesman Volker Heiliger told The Local, confirming a report by British broadcaster BBC.

Ubani, a cosmetic surgeon in the Rhineland city of Witten, has continued to practice despite being found responsible for the accidental death of David Gray, 70, and receiving a nine-month suspended sentence and €5,000 fine.

The medical association alone does not have the power to de-register Ubani. Instead they will pass the results of the hearing to the local authorities in the city of Arnsberg who actually employ Ubani, Heiliger said.

“We hope that any outcome of the hearing will have an influence on their decision,” he said.

Naked bodies and bright colours a big draw in Austria!

The champions of the World Bodypainting Festival 2010 will be crowned this weekend in Seeboden, Austria – and the multi-coloured event is shaping up to be pretty damn sexy.

Artists from 40 countries will be swishing their paintbrushes, sponges and airbrush pistols to create vibrant works of art on naked bodies.

The colourful contest has been taking place at Lake Millstatt since 1998 and has become the world's largest bodypainting event, attracting thousands of visitors every year.

Authorities missed a chance to catch Grim Sleeper suspect

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was on probation when voters passed Prop. 69 requiring offenders to submit DNA samples. By the time L.A. County got the equipment, he was no longer being supervised

By Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times

Authorities missed an opportunity years ago to catch the suspected Grim Sleeper serial killer before a final victim was slain, because his DNA was never collected as required under a 2004 law, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Times.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr.'s genetic profile was supposed to be added to the state's DNA databank of offenders because he was on probation for a felony when voters approved Proposition 69, a sweeping expansion of the state's DNA collection.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department was given the task of obtaining DNA samples from tens of thousands of local offenders who were on probation when the law went into effect in November 2004.

Major decline seen in illegal logging

llegal logging in the world's forests has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2002, according to what claims to be the most thorough analysis yet.

The London-based thinktank Chatham House says consumer pressure, legal restrictions by importing countries and media attention have all contributed.

Some important forest countries such as Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia have seen much larger cuts, its report says.

But further improvements will be harder to make, it concludes.

The biggest documented falls in illegal timber production have been in Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia, three of the world's most heavily forested countries.

Indonesia has seen a drop of 75% in a decade. Cameroon's figure is 50%, and Brazil is between the two.

Globally, the figure is 22% since 2002.

Sam Lawson, the report's lead author, made plain that illegal logging remains a major problem despite these impressive gains.

Double amputee takes charge of Wounded Warrior Program

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 14, 2010) -- The U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program gained a new director Tuesday -- one who has a lot in common with those he'll be leading.

Lt. Col. Gregory D. Gadson, a West Point graduate, lost both of his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. Despite nearly losing his life, Gadson went on to complete two graduate degrees and recovered with assistance from the Wounded Warrior Program, which he is now responsible for.

The Wounded Warrior Program, nicknamed AW2, is the official Army program that assists and advocates for the most severely wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, veterans, and their families.

"It's all about the Army making good on its promise to never leave a fallen comrade," said Brig. Gen. Gary H. Cheek, commanding general for the Warrior Transition Command, which AW2 falls under.

Gadson replaced AW2 director Col. James S. Rice, who spent three years at the post. Jokingly, Rice handed Gadson his Blackberry smartphone during the handover ceremony. 

Russia to start testing new Angara rocket in 2013

Test launches of Russia's new booster rocket, the Angara, are to start in 2013, the rocket designer said on Thursday.

Vladimir Nesterov, head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, said the rocket assembly would be completed in the first quarter of 2011, adding that the first-stage engine was "99% ready" and the second-stage engine had already been tested three times.

He said the only problem that could affect the schedule of tests was delays in the purchase of ground-based equipment that the center was unable to order due to underfunding.