Afghan airlines facing ban from EU air space: officials

KABUL: Afghanistan’s international airlines are facing a possible ban from European air space on safety grounds as early as next week, officials said Thursday.

Acting transport minister Daoud Ali Najafi said he would go to Brussels to present an action plan to the European Union’s air safety committee that was authorised by President Hamid Karzai earlier this week.

“I hope I can convince the Europeans not to ban Afghan airlines from flying into Europe,” he told AFP.

“President Karzai has authorised me to establish a civil aviation authority under the transport ministry with exclusive authority to regulate Afghan civilian airlines,” he said.

The EU’s air safety committee is set to meet on Tuesday to consider banning all Afghan airlines because of a lack of safety standards, a senior European official said.

“There’s no evidence that the

Afghan airlines facing ban from EU air space: officials

KABUL: Afghanistan’s international airlines are facing a possible ban from European air space on safety grounds as early as next week, officials said Thursday.

Acting transport minister Daoud Ali Najafi said he would go to Brussels to present an action plan to the European Union’s air safety committee that was authorised by President Hamid Karzai earlier this week.

“I hope I can convince the Europeans not to ban Afghan airlines from flying into Europe,” he told AFP.

“President Karzai has authorised me to establish a civil aviation authority under the transport ministry with exclusive authority to regulate Afghan civilian airlines,” he said.

The EU’s air safety committee is set to meet on Tuesday to consider banning all Afghan airlines because of a lack of safety standards, a senior European official said.

“There’s no evidence that the

EU suggests raising retirement age to 70

BRUSSELS: The European Union’s executive says Europeans should not retire before 70 to save cash-strapped state pension funds.

Original post: 
EU suggests raising retirement age to 70

Portugal rout North Korea 7-0 in 2nd round

CAPE TOWN: A merciless Portugal tore North Korea to shreds in a 7-0 rout on Monday, putting them within reach of the knockout rounds and eliminating the Asian nation from the World Cup.

With Brazil already qualified from Group G, Portugal now have four points to Ivory Coast”s one, leaving Didier Drogba”s team with only an outside chance of making the round of 16.

North Korea have lost both their games and will head home after their last match against the Africans.

A Raul Meireles strike put Portugal in front with the Porto midfielder pouncing in the 29th minute. But it wasn”t all one-way traffic, with North Korea creating their own chances as they powered forward on the
counter-attack.

The game changed though with three quick second-half goals from Simao, Hugo Almeida and Tiago that left North Korea shellshocked before substitute Liedson banged in the fifth.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo got the sixth, ending his two-year international goal drought, before Tiago made it seven.

North Korean coach Kim Jong Hun took responsibility for their collapse.

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz made four changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Ivory Coast, with Tiago replacing the injured Deco and Simao, Almeida and Miguel in for Danny, Liedson and Paulo Ferreira.

The revamped team started brightly on a slippery pitch after persistent rain.

Ronaldo signalled his intentions by unleashing a long-range strike on two minutes that goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk did well to collect.

Ricardo Carvalho also had an early chance, rattling the post with a header, as Portugal set about their task with vigour.

The opportunities were coming thick and fast as Portugal used wingers Simao on the right and Ronaldo on the left effectively

North Korea finally got a shot at goal on 10 minutes with defender Cha Jong-Hyok whipping a 30 yard piledriver just past the upright.

As the rain returned, the Koreans were starting to look handy and far more aggressive than when they lost 2-1 to Brazil, surging forward to threaten the Portgual goal.

The Cholima were certainly not intimidated and could have taken a shock lead when captain Hong Yong-Jo”s shot was parried by Eduardo, only for Mun In-Guk to head the rebound over the bar.

The Portuguese came out after the break pushing hard for the second goal which inevitably came on 53 minutes with Meireles slicing open the Korean defence with a pass to Athletic Madrid”s Simao who slotted the ball past Ri.

North Korea were in disarray and let their guard down again three minutes later when Fabio Coentrao beat his man on the left and sent a lovely cross to Hugo Almeida who made no mistake with a powerful header.

Portugal were rampant and the fourth goal came soon after when Ronaldo picked out Tiago in the box and he clinically side-footed home before Liedson volleyed in the fifth with nine minutes left.

Ronaldo made the most of a lucky bobble to get the sixth in the 87th minute before Tiago rubbed salt in the Korean wounds with a late deft header.

Chile beat 10-man Switzerland to close in on last 16

PORT ELIZABETH: Chile continued their dream World Cup run with a 1-0 defeat of 10-man Switzerland here on Monday to move within touching distance of the last 16.

The South Americans climbed to the top of Group H after second half substitute Mark Gonzalez finally broke down a steely Swiss defence in the 75th minute.

Chile, who had beaten Honduras 1-0 last week, will be assured qualification if Monday”s late game between Spain and Honduras ends in a draw.

Switzerland, stunning 1-0 winners over favourites Spain in their first match, were up against it after going a man down on 30 minutes when Valon Behrami was sent off.

The West Ham midfielder was given his marching orders by Saudi Arabian referee Khalil Al Ghamdi for a tangle with Arturo Vidal after he appeared to elbow the Bayer Leverkusen player in the face.

Hitzfeld, who is only one of three coaches to have won the Champions League with two different clubs, was scathing about the referee.

Chile, who had impressed with their attacking passion in their opening 1-0 win over Honduras, had the first shot on target when Italy-based Carlos Carmona fired in from 20m, the ball safely scooped up by Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio.

Carmona then ensured he would miss Chile”s closing Group H match with Spain on Friday by picking up a yellow card for a challenge on Behrami in the 21st minute to add to the one he received last week.

Four minutes before the interval Hitzfeld made a tactical switch, pulling off striker Alexander Frei and replacing the team captain with Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta.

After the break Chile”s Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa replaced midfielder Vidal with Gonzalez.

Alexis Sanchez thought he had scored in the 49th minute, celebrating ecstatically only to then see out of the corner of his eye the linesman”s flag raised for offside.

It was all Chile now as the ball rarely left the Swiss side of the Nelson Mandela Bay pitch.

On 55 minutes the Europeans were let off when Gonzalez jumped over the white wall only to head a corner high.

Trigger happy Al Ghamdi then dished out three yellow cards in the space of one minute to Swiss defender Reto Ziegler and Chilean duo Gary Medel and Matias Fernandez to take the tally to eight with one red and still 20 minutes on the clock.

Chile finally made the breakthrough they had been threatening for so long when Esteban Paredes, who had only entered the fray 10 minutes earlier as a replacement for Matias Fernandez, raced around Benaglio and found Gonzalez who headed into an empty goal.

Switzerland almost grabbed an unlikely last minute equaliser when substitute Eren Derdiyok shot just wide of Bravo”s left post.

Small consolation but the Swiss set a new World Cup record of 559 minutes played without scoring a goal, to overtake Italy”s mark of 550 minutes.

British Couple Win 56 Million Pounds In Euromillion Lottery

A British couple were revealed as the winners of the Euromillions lottery draw from Friday night.

Nigel Page and partner Justine Laycock won 56 million pounds (87.5 million USD) to become Britain’s biggest ever lottery winners. Justine Laycock told a press conference in Bath, England that they just laughed when they realised they had won. When asked by the interviewer what Nigel Page gave Justine for Valentines day he replied, well, I was planning on going out on Saturday to get some flowers and chocolates and a card but with one thing and another, I didn’t actually manage to get her anything. Mr Page and Ms Laycock are now considered to be richer than Oasis stars Noel and Liam Gallagher and film director Guy Richie and are placed 980th in Britain’s rich list

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British Couple Win 56 Million Pounds In Euromillion Lottery was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 12:19 pm.

Hillary Clinton:Iran Is Becoming Military Dictatorship

Iran is becoming military dictatorship: Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton has accused Iran of becoming a “military dictatorship” with a scathing attack on the growing influence of the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard.

In a clear signal Washington intends to make Iran’s military hierarchy the prime target of a new round of United Nations sanctions, the US Secretary of State warned the elite unit had effectively mounted a silent coup.

“We see that the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament [are] being supplanted and that Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship,” she said in a blunt assessment delivered to students in Qatar during a three-day tour of the Arabian peninsula. “I fear the rise of the influence and power of the Revolutionary Guard poses a very direct threat to everyone.”

The Revolutionary Guard is viewed by many as the dominant political, economic and military force in the country. With over 120,000 men under its command, it has become the bedrock of the Iranian regime, protecting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country’s president who was once a Guard officer himself.

Since Mr Ahmadinejad’s controversial re-election last June, it has further cemented its power by using its feared Basij paramilitary wing to lead the suppression of protests by the opposition’s so-called Green Movement.

So brutal were the Basij’s tactics that Britain and France yesterday led calls demanding an independent investigation into the post-election violence amid renewed allegations of widespread torture and even extrajudicial execution of political dissidents. Besides its political influence, the Revolutionary Guard has also caused international alarm because of its control over Iran’s missile programme.

More than half of the Iranian cabinet is filled with ex-Guard veterans, and US National Security Adviser James Jones has said sanctions against it could “well trigger regime change” in Iran.

But It is the Revolutionary Guard’s vast commercial empire that will be in America’s sights for sanctions.

Since it was founded to protect the regime in 1979, the Revolutionary Guard’s business empire has grown to such an extent that some believe it controls a third of the Iranian economy. With annual revenues of at least £8 billion, it is regularly awarded lucrative state tenders for oil and gas development and has interests ranging from construction, to car manufacturing and banking.

There are many targets to choose, and it is understood that Mr Obama is likely to seek a freeze on the international assets of more than 100 companies linked to the Guard.

By concentrating a fourth round of UN sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard, US officials believe a wedge will be driven between the Iranian people and what they call Iran’s “entitled class”. It is a risk strategy, however, as hundreds of thousands of Iranians are employed by firms linked to the guard.

International patience with Iran ran out last week when it resumed uranium enrichment, a move seen as an effective rejection of diplomatic efforts to end the impasse over the country’s nuclear programme.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has since claimed that Iran now has the capability of enriching uranium to a purity of 80 per cent, close to weapons-grade level.

As Mr Obama stepped up his efforts to win support to punish Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, travelled to Moscow to take up the sanctions cause with the Kremlin.

US officials say Russia’s patience with Iran has run out and predict that Moscow – which watered down the three previous rounds of sanctions – will support a new UN resolution.

With Russia on board, the United States hopes China, which also holds a Security Council veto, will follow suit.?

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Hillary Clinton:Iran Is Becoming Military Dictatorship was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 12:33 pm.

Five Men Jailed For Plotting A Terror Attack In Australia

Five Australian Muslim men convicted of plotting to terror attacks in Australia were sentenced by a court to jail terms ranging from 17 to 21 years.

The men were found guilty of conspiring to commit a terror attack, by stockpiling weapons and chemicals to make bombs, in retaliation at Australia’s involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ?

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Five Men Jailed For Plotting A Terror Attack In Australia was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm.

Warrents Are Going To Issue By Dubai For 11 Europians In Hmas Commander`s Murder

Dubai’s police chief says arrest warrants would be issued soon for 11 Europeans suspected of killing a top Hamas commander, and added that Israeli involvement cannot be ruled out.
Last month, Hamas military official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in a luxury hotel in Dubai. The city’s Police Chief vowed to seek justice for the murder. Dahi Khalfan Tamin, Dubai’s police chief, said, “This is the way of mobs not countries. And if any country in the world turns to following the path of the mobs, at that time, they will become wanted by justice.

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Warrents Are Going To Issue By Dubai For 11 Europians In Hmas Commander`s Murder was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 1:26 pm.

EU Leaders Want Details on China Emissions Plan

BEIJING: China should provide details on how it will implement its greenhouse gas limits and offer further proposals commensurate with its status as the world’s largest emitter, European leaders said Tuesday.

China promised Thursday to nearly halve the ratio of pollution to GDP over the next decade — a major voluntary step that came a day after President Barack Obama promised the U.S. would lay out plans at this month’s global warming conference in Copenhagen to substantially cut its own greenhouse gas emissions.

China’s plan does not commit it to an overall reduction in emissions, which will continue to increase, though at a slower rate.

Following a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said the Europeans wanted to analyze the figures and find out precisely what measures Beijing plans to put into place and “how it will differ from their business as usual pathway in regards to emissions.”

Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, credited China with pursuing renewable energy and nuclear power as a substitute for coal-burning plants that spew carbon.

However, China’s status as a major source of increase in global emissions means requires Beijing to do more, Reinfeldt said, citing a continuing rise in global temperatures.

Scientists believe a 2-degree Celsius (3.6-degree Fahrenheit) increase in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels would lead to destructively rising seas and climate shifts that would produce droughts, floods and other severe disruptions.

The announcements by Beijing and Washington add significant weight toward achieving a global agreement, though the Dec. 7-18 Copenhagen conference is unlikely to produce a binding deal as hoped.

Climate change was among the issues raised in sometimes contentious talks at Monday’s one-day summit between China and the 27-member European Union, China’s largest trading partner, with a market of more than 500 million people.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had earlier welcomed China’s emissions pledge and on Tuesday appeared to reference Beijing’s insistence that developed nations take the lead in reducing emissions.

“We only have one planet and there is a shared responsibility for the future, of course with different levels of contribution,” Barroso said.

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EU Leaders Want Details on China Emissions Plan was first posted on December 1, 2009 at 3:38 pm.