Afghanistan war 'lost cause,' says ex-Pakistan intelligence chief

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is a "lost cause," said a former Pakistani intelligence chief, and the United States needs to negotiate peace with Taliban leader Mullah Omar. "You have to talk to him, and I'm sure it will work out very well," Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

Gul was mentioned many times in U.S. intelligence documents that were published last week by WikiLeaks and implicate Pakistani intelligence as supporting the Taliban. Gul has repeatedly denied the allegations. "I'm quite a convenient scapegoat," he said.

Gul, a career military officer, called the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan "wrongful" and "unjust" and said he sees legitimacy in the Afghan insurgency. "This is a national resistance movement. It should be recognized as such," he said. CNN

Mexican Supreme Court upholds gay marriage law

(CNN) -- Mexico's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Mexico City law that legalized same-sex marriage. In an 8-2 vote, the high court found the law, which went into effect in March, constitutional.

The ruling comes a day after a court in the United States found a law banning gay marriage unconstitutional.

The justices upheld the law in Mexico City, but did not decide whether their decision affects jurisdictions in the rest of the country. The court will take up the issue again next week, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.

Mexico City's law also allows same-sex couples to adopt children. The constitutionality of that part of the law will be decided next week.

The lawsuit against the gay marriage law was presented by the federal attorney general's office, which challenged the legality of the measure. CNN

Pope wanted to be Vatican librarian

VATICAN CITY, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI asked his predecessor, John Paul II, to allow him to become the Vatican's librarian, but his request was denied, a Vatican official said.

Cardinal Raffaela Farina said the late pope refused 13 years ago to allow then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was the prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, to step down from his position to be the archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and a librarian of the Vatican Library, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Ratzinger, 83, was John Paul II's doctrinal enforcer, but he considered his job "burdensome" and wished to retire to study ancient documents for the remainder of this life, the Daily Telegraph said. UPI

Flood's estimated toll in Pakistan: 1,500 dead, 4 million affected

Chakdara, Pakistan (CNN) -- Floodwaters subsided Thursday in northern Pakistan's Swat Valley, where a fierce sun baked a thick carpet of mud into a brittle crust as officials expanded their estimate of the number of people affected.

The monsoon rains that had transformed the usually placid Kabul River into a raging torrent that swept away houses, restaurants and hotels have stopped.

But the estimated toll on people will leave lasting repercussions -- 1,500 dead and more than 4 million affected.

In some areas, towns that were inundated earlier this week were teeming with traffic and pedestrians on Thursday as evacuees returned to assess the damage. Many survivors expressed fury with the government for what they considered to be its slow response. They also were angry with President Asif Ali Zardari, who was in Britain during the worst of the floods.

Fifty-thousand Pakistan army troops who fought the Taliban last year have been deployed to help in the fight with nature. CNN

State Department report: Al Qaeda still top threat to U.S.

Washington (CNN) -- Despite some setbacks, al Qaeda's core leadership in Pakistan remains the biggest threat to the United States, and the group continues to expand and strengthen worldwide, according to a new State Department report.

Last year, al Qaeda's "core in Pakistan remained the most formidable terrorist organization targeting the U.S. homeland," says the report, "Country Reports on Terrorism".

"It has proven to be an adaptable and resilient terrorist group whose desire to attack the United States and U.S. interests abroad remains strong," the report says.

The annual report covers the terrorism landscape in countries around the world and governments' efforts to combat it.

Al Qaeda suffered leadership loses and faced pressure stemming from the Pakistani military campaign in the tribal areas, which limited the group's ability to carry out spectacular attacks. However, according to the report, al Qaeda was "actively engaged in operational plotting" against the United States and continued to recruit, train and deploy operatives, including some from Western Europe and the United States.

Al Qaeda also sought to expand its operational capabilities by partnering with other terrorist groups worldwide, the report says.

The overall picture of terrorism last year underscores new threats in Somalia and Yemen, where insurgents have gained strongholds in vast, lawless areas.

Al Qaeda affiliates in Africa -- including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al-Shabaab in Somalia -- are among al Qaeda's "most active" worldwide, the report says. Al-Shabaab, it says, presents a "serious terrorist threat to American and allied interests throughout the Horn of Africa". CNN

Naval authorities: Pirates hijack cargo ship in dangerous Gulf of Aden

(CNN) -- A distress call from a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden reported pirates firing upon the ship and boarding it Thursday afternoon, the European Naval Force Somalia -- Operation Atalanta said in a statement.

Upon receiving word of the attack from the ship, the force dispatched helicopters to the MV Syria Star. They found an abandoned skiff containing fuel and ammunition near the cargo ship, the statement said.

By the time warships arrived, the Syria Star -- carrying a cargo of sugar -- had reversed course and was heading southeast toward the Horn of Africa under the control of the pirates, who did not respond to radio contact.

The ship is flagged to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and has a crew of 22 Syrians and two Egyptians.

The primary tasks of EU NAVFOR Somalia are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean from pirate attacks. CNN

Cuba rejects inclusion on U.S. list of terror sponsors

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuba on Thursday denounced the U.S. decision to again include the island nation on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. State Department in its annual report on terrorism named four countries on its 2009 list: Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba.

"We categorically reject the decision," said Josefina Vidal, the head of the North America Department at Cuba's Foreign Ministry.

"Yet again, the United States questions the seriousness of our commitment to the fight against international terrorism and maintains one of the most irrational aspects that constitute its hostile policy on Cuba," she said in a statement.

The State Department accused Cuba of assisting members of Colombian rebel groups and Spain's ETA, who live on the island. CNN

As flood waters recede, fury in Pakistan grows

Chakdara, Pakistan (CNN) -- The waters are subsiding now in the Swat Valley, as a fierce sun bakes the thick carpet of mud into a brittle crust.

Monsoon rains turned the once idyllic Kabul River into a raging torrent, sweeping away houses, restaurants and hotels in its wake.

But in many places towns are already teeming with traffic and people again, as people start to return to their homes to assess the damage.

Many survivors are furious with the government for its perceived slow response. There is particular anger focused at the President Asif Ali Zardari, who is in the UK. Opposition politicians have lined up to condemn him for not being in the country at the time of the worst floods in 80 years. CNN

Leonardo DiCaprio attacker given restraining order

A Canadian woman accused of attacking Inception star Leonardo DiCaprio with a broken beer bottle in 2005 has been given a restraining order.

Aretha Wilson, 40, attacked the star at a private party in Hollywood, resulting in him needing about a dozen stitches to his face and neck.

After fleeing to Canada, Ms Wilson was extradited to Los Angeles to face a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

She was ordered to not to contact, or come within 500 yds (457m) of DiCaprio.

Ms Wilson is accused of sneaking into a party hosted by Paris Hilton's former boyfriend, Rick Salomon.

According to police, she mistook DiCaprio for an ex-boyfriend and attacked him with the bottle. BBC News

David Cameron accused by Labour of Iran nuclear 'gaffe'

Labour has accused David Cameron of committing a gaffe by mistakenly claiming Iran has a nuclear weapon.

Asked why he was backing Turkey to join the EU, he said it could help solve the world's problems, "like the Middle East peace process, like the fact that Iran has got a nuclear weapon".

A No 10 source said the PM "misspoke", later adding he had been talking about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

But Labour said he was becoming a "foreign policy klutz".

Shadow Europe Minister Chris Bryant said: "This is less of a hiccup, more of a dangerous habit.

"Considering Iran's nuclear ambitions constitute one of the most important foreign policy challenges facing us all, it is not just downright embarrassing that the prime minister has made this basic mistake, it's dangerous". BBC News

ABC to air new 'Nightlineprime' series

NEW YORK, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- ABC News says it is kicking off its new U.S. "Nightlineprime" program with a four-part series about the science of the brain.

"Secrets of Your Mind -- Why We Do What We Do" is to debut Aug. 19 and to continue for three successive Thursdays, concluding Sept. 9.

It marks "Nightline's" first foray into a prime-time series.

"In this series, 'Nightline' anchors and producers explore the mystery and the science of the brain through a range of extraordinary case studies," ABC said in a news release. "The series also features the work of world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Bailes, of West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, and his patients. Each installment of 'Secrets of Your Mind' will focus on a different research area, including love's impact on the brain, medical emergencies involving the brain, violence and the brain, and food and the brain". UPI

Fertility treatment now free in Quebec

QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The shortage of doctors is expected to become worse in Quebec now that fertility treatments are free in the Canadian province.

The new policy took effect Thursday.

Gaetan Barrette, president of the Quebec Association of Medical Specialists, said the province will not "be able to deliver" to the thousands of women already waiting for in vitro fertilization and other treatments, The Montreal Gazette reported. A midwives group said 1,500 pregnant women were unable to find a gynecologist or family practitioner.

"It's a diversion of medical practice to political issues," Barrette said.

The provincial government decided to provide fertility treatments, something that is expected to cost $69 million a year, because of concerns about the low birthrate. Women can get treatment, including up to three courses of in vitro fertilization, until they reach menopause.

Barrette said that with 3,000 women already on waiting lists the government should have provided more guidance on who should get treatment first. UPI

Opponents Appeal California Gay Marriage Ruling

Opponents of same-sex marriage in California have appealed a U.S. federal judge's ruling overturning the state's ban on the unions.

Lawyers on Thursday filed an appeal to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The appeal comes one day after U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker struck down a state ban on same sex marriage, saying the measure than bans gay marriage fails to provide a rational basis for outlawing it. 

Walker has scheduled a hearing for Friday.  

Some legal experts believe the California case could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether it is constitutional to treat same-sex unions differently from those between a man and a woman.

In November of 2008, California voters narrowly approved a measure known as Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman.  

The measure was approved just months after California's Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages.  Gay rights advocates said the ban violated the U.S. Constitution's provision on equal protection under the law.

In his 136-page decision, Judge Walker wrote that the ban prevents the state from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis. VOA News

Kingdom donates 100 tons of dates for Filipino Muslims

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s donation of 100 metric tons of dates for Muslims in the Philippines, especially for people in war-torn Mindanao, was delivered on Thursday.

“The donation worth SR530,000 was administered through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), and the United Nations-attached World Food Program (WFP),” according to statement from SPA.

The donation arrived in the Philippines early this week in four container vans for the observance of the holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to start on Aug. 11.

On Thursday at the Saudi Embassy in Makati City, Saudi Ambassador Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Hassan formally turned over the donation to representatives of three agencies, including NCMF Secretary Bai Omera Lucman, PNRC Manager Lucy Beltran and Stephen Anderson, WFP director and country representative.

Fahad Al-Munif, director at the Saudi Ministry of Finance, and embassy officials witnessed the turnover ceremony.

Last year, King Abdullah also donated 70 million pesos worth of assorted goods for the victims of tropical storm Ondoy. Arab News

Australia business weighs in on immigrants

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- An Australian businessman says the heated debate in the country over immigration is counterproductive and he's surprised the nation is having it.

Toll road operator ConnectEast Group Chairman Tony Shepherd said the debate about "boatpeople" entering the country missed the point that Australia had benefited from immigration, The Australian reported Thursday.

"We are all fundamentally, other than our indigenous population, and even they probably too, we are all fundamentally boatpeople," Shepherd said at a business conference on the country's infrastructure. "That's what we've grown from".

"If you've got the gumption to go across in a leaky boat across the Timor Sea and arrive here, it is almost a pre-qualification," Shepherd said.

Australian politicians were sending out a confusing message about the country's population ambitions, another business owner said. UPI

Senate approves Kagan for high court

Washington (CNN) -- Solicitor General Elena Kagan was easily confirmed Thursday as the next associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, completing the 50-year-old native New Yorker's climb to the peak of the American legal profession.

The 63-37 vote was mostly along party lines. Five GOP senators backed Kagan, and only one Democrat -- Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- opposed her. Republican leaders offered spirited floor opposition to the nominee, but were unable to muster a prolonged delay or filibuster of the vote.

Kagan is set to begin a lifetime position as the nation's 112th justice. She will be sworn into office Saturday afternoon, taking the traditional constitutional and judicial oaths. The newest justice will then be able to assume her court duties immediately.

Her brisk confirmation was a political victory for President Barack Obama -- who placed Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the high court last year -- and for Senate Democrats.

Obama after the vote predicted Kagan will be an "outstanding Supreme Court justice," and thanked senators for giving his nominee a fair and timely hearing. CNN

Bulgarian Prosecutor Dismisses Charges in Deadly Orphanage Blast

The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Bulgaria’s southern city of Kardzhali dismissed Thursday the case against four individuals over an explosion at an orphanage which resulted in the dead of three children.

The fatal explosion occurred on December 5, 2009 in the town of Krumovgrad. One of the boys died on the scene while the other has been taken to the Krumovgrad hospital where he later died. A third boy was listed in critical condition in the hospital in the regional center – the city of Kardzhali, and died during surgery.

The orphanage did not have security guards, which according to the mayor is a wide-spread practice, aiming to provide more serene environment for the children in the institution.

The four people, who until now were facing charges, are the Principal of the orpahanage “New Life,” Svetoslav Dayov, the children’s supervisors, Shengyul Hasan and Krasimir Terziev and Hamdi Ali, the heating attendant at the home. Ali later committed suicide by hanging himself inside the family house.

Ali was accused of having given the children what he and they thought was a loudspeaker, which turned to be a mine explosive. A fifth individual, Valentin Valkov, a former serviceman, has been turned to the Court Martial in Plovdiv on Thursday.

The probe did not lead to evidence that Dayov, Hasan and Terziev have violated their duties and any grounds to charge them with manslaughter. As far as Valkov, the prosecutor says he must be probed further because for a long time he took out from theKrumovgrad barracks military property and kept it at Ali’s house both when on active duty and in the reserves.

Krumovgrad is a small, dilapidated and impoverished town, with mostly ethnic Turkish population, located close to the border with Greece. The border region is known to have been once strewn with mines and many of them are still buried in the ground. Novinite

Agthia and Yoplait sign franchise deal

Agthia Group has signed a franchise agreement with Yoplait Group of France for exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute fresh dairy products under the Yoplait brand, starting in UAE and expanding eventually in the rest of GCC.

In line with Agthia's business diversification strategy, the partnership with Yoplait represents Agthia's entry strategy into the dairy segment with a leading global partner through a manufacturing and distribution franchise agreement.

Agthia will commence manufacturing and distribution of Yoplait branded products by the end of 2011.

Yoplait is the number two brand worldwide in the fresh dairy product category, with a number one position in key markets like the US and Australia, and a number two position in France, Canada, Korea, and Ireland.

Rashed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Chairman of the Agthia Board said: "With the goal of becoming UAE's leading food and beverage company, we believe Agthia's entry into the dairy business category is in line with its expansion and diversification strategy. We are happy to welcome the global brand of Yoplait to the Agthia Group as well as to Abu Dhabi and the region". Emirates Business

500 sheep infected with brucellosis culled

The Ministry of Environment and Water has culled 500 sheep infected with brucellosis, a common disease that can be contracted by humans and animals.

Legal action has been taken for violation of the import regulations in force in the UAE as per the ministerial resolution No 548 for the year 2008, in addition to the violation of procedures for quarantine in accordance with the Federal Law No 6 of year 1979.

The ministry asked wholesale livestock breeders and importers to log into its website or check with the ministry about the conditions required for the import of live animals and taking into account quarantine measures in the country of origin, comply with the requirements and health regulations and conduct laboratory tests of live animals.

The ministry is seeking to achieve its strategic objectives and establishment of bio-security to ensure application of the health standards for incoming shipments through the border crossing points in order to preserve the health of all animal from epidemics, and hence the safety and quality of food products.

It reiterated that it is working continuously to provide veterinary care at the border crossing points, whether air or land or sea. Emirates Business

Kyrgyzstan says coup attempt foiled

BISHKEK: Kyrgyz forces arrested an opposition party leader on suspicion of plotting the overthrow of the government on Thursday, after troops fired blank rounds into a crowd trying to join mass demonstrations near Parliament.

Acting President Roza Otunbayeva said security forces seized firearms and grenades from Urmat Baryktabasov and 26 supporters after a day of protests in the capital of the Central Asian state, which plans to hold parliamentary elections in October.

"All who attempt to destroy the peace of the citizens will be punished," said Otunbayeva.

Her interim government has struggled to impose its authority since an uprising in April toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Savage ethnic fighting followed in June, killing more than 350 people over several days and forcing thousands from their homes.

Baryktabasov, who staged a failed coup attempt in 2005, recently returned from exile. Early on Thursday, Kyrgyz troops stopped busloads of his supporters as they approached the capital from his hometown on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.

After a standoff lasting several hours on a main road into Bishkek, troops fired tear gas and blank rounds to disperse the crowd. Local news agencies said two women were injured by rubber bullets. Arab News

Raja cracks down on telemarketers after Pranab gets home loan call

NEW DELHI: It was a high-profile, highly sensitive meeting. Finance minister and chief UPA troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee was in the midst of talks with opposition leaders on Monday in an effort to break the logjam in Parliament. That's when his mobile phone rang. 

Expecting it to be an urgent call, Mukherjee answered his phone. However, within seconds, his expression changed. "No, no. Not now. I am in a meeting," he blurted and cut the call. "They don't even spare me," he murmured. "Who was it?" asked BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. It was a telemarketer offering a home loan, fumed Mukherjee. "I get four-five such calls everyday," he added. It's a nuisance that has become sadly routine for all mobile phone users, who haven't received any help from either the government or the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. But the intrusive call to Mukherjee finally seemed to have awakened telecom minister A Raja. He immediately dashed off a note to telecom secretary P J Thomas, asking him to convene a meeting and take steps to prohibit unsolicited calls immediately. 

"A wide range of products and services are nowadays offered through telemarketing which result in inconvenience and disturbance to telecom consumers," Raja wrote in the note. 

When contacted, Trai chairman J S Sarma said he had not been contacted by the minister but would be holding a meeting on Friday morning with Airtel and the Tatas. "We are having an open house on August 18 on moving to a `do call registry' as against the existing `do not call registry' and we will be advancing this open house, Sarma told TOI. However, the fact is that similar efforts in the past have failed to resolve the problem. 

Trai has made several attempts to curb unsolicited commercial calls, including creating a 'Do Not Call Registry' but without much success. Though voice calls have reduced to some extent, SMSs have increased manifold. The Times of India

Amazon launches UK Kindle Store

Amazon today launched its UK Kindle Store, with more than 400,000 ebooks now available to download. The price and scope of the digitised books marks a significant point in Amazon's move towards domination in the ebooks market.

Up against increasing competition in the market, Amazon last week unveiled two more advanced versions of its Kindle e-reader.

The company is looking to pick up consumers who cannot afford Apple's iPad. In the US, Amazon has slashed the price of its Kindle device to compete with the iPad, which uses the iBook store to sell ebooks.

More than 80 of the 100 Nielsen UK bestsellers are available to download from the new UK store, retailing at relatively low prices. One of the new bookstore's featured authors, the late Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson, last week became the first author to sell more than 1m ebooks through Amazon.

Larsson's novel The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is currently second in the Kindle store's bestsellers list and available for £2.70 to UK buyers.

"The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read at low prices," said Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content at Amazon.

In the US, digital books account for 6% of consumer sales. Many publishers now realise the need to follow the direction of the market.

Amazon's new Kindle devices are lighter, faster and smaller than the previous generation. The Wi-Fi model costs £109 in the UK, while the model supporting both Wi-Fi and 3G will retail at £149 – both around £25 more than the US retail price. The Guardian