Protesters condemn Quran burning by US pastor

KABUL: Protesters in Afghanistan held a peaceful demonstration on Thursday in the capital Kabul, to further condemn the burning of a Quran at a small Florida church last month.

The desecration of Islam’s holy book has inflamed days of protests across Afghanistan.

There have been almost daily protests across Afghanistan against the act last month at a small church in Gainesville, Florida.

Most have not turned violent, but 10 people were killed in two days of protests in the southern city of Kandahar.

Protesters on Thursday held banners reading “We strongly condemn the act of burning Quran”. AGENCIES

Kandahar offensive against Taliban ‘to end soon’

KABUL: The Afghan defence ministry said Wednesday that a major military operation against the Taliban in their southern stronghold was coming to an end, claiming that victory was in sight.

The insurgency in Afghanistan is fiercest in the southern province of Kandahar, where thousands of US-led troops and Afghan forces have stepped up operations since the spring in a bid to reclaim the Taliban stronghold.

General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Afghan defence ministry spokesman, said Wednesday that the assault was set to be wrapped up “in weeks.”

“The Kandahar operation is in its last stages,” Azimi told a news conference in Kabul, saying that rebels had left most areas without fighting.

“The enemy preferred not to fight. Mostly we were cleaning the area of mines,” he added.

Asked whether the Taliban were defeated in the area, he said: “Well, when

3 dead in Philippines school attack

Three people are killed after a man goes on a stabbing spree in an elementary school attack in the southern Philippines.
Relatives mourn a victim of an elementary school attack in the southern Philippines. An ex convict went on a stabbing spree at the school, killing a 12 year old student, a teacher, and a 64 year old guardian before himself dying at the hands of an angry mob. A schoolgirl witness described the terrifying scenes in her classroom.A survivor, Liza said, Our teacher was stabbed. She suddenly fell over and vomited blood. The assailant went up to the washroom. I was there and he was bedside me. He was holding a knife. He told town officials that if they did not leave, he would kill us inside.
Police said the suspect casually entered the school campus and barged into this classroom and stabbed the teacher in the chest. The attacker – recently released from jail after serving over 25 years for rape – was reported to be mentally unstable.
Villagers responded to the attack before police arrived at scene, stoning the assailant to death.

Chitrangda Singh features with SRK in Airtel commercial

After having signed leading FMCG brands like Aviva, Taj Mahal tea and likes, Chitrangda Singh has now been chosen as the brand ambassador for the telecom major Airtel. Speaking about this association exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, she said “The ad is going to be dubbed in 11 languages, but have been shot in two languages, Hindi and Tamil. While in Hindi ad, I’ll be seen with Shah Rukh Khan, in Tamil, there’s the southern superstar Karthik. The association with the Airtel brand has been really great, as it extends that kind of credibility to me as well.”

Talking about her co-star SRK, a super excited Chitrangda says, “It was just fabulous. I was totally in awe of him. During the shoot, I was just mum initially, then, it was all cool. SRK is an extremely nice, modest and cool person.” The said ad has been directed by Uzer Khan.

On the professional front, this PYT is super excited about her forthcoming film Yeh Saali Zindagi. Way to go, girl!

Asin to be brand ambassador of Lux

In Bollywood, if an actress gets to star in a Yash Raj or a Rajshri film, that puts her straight into the top league. Well, in the ad world, some brands do the same trick. For Bollywood actresses through the ages, Lux has been a brand which they take pride in endorsing.

After the top league actresses like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, the latest one to join the Lux family is the Ghajini girl Asin. Bollywood Hungama’s sources have confirmed that Asin is now all set to become the brand ambassador of Lux, which is popularly called as ‘filmi sitaaron ka saundarya saabun’.

Our source also added that the southern sensation has already shot the TVC for the brand, which has been directed by Vinod P Vijay. Looks like Asin, the new ‘Lux’ babe, has all the ‘lucks’ in the world!

Pak deficit to rise to 6-7pc due to floods: PM

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s budget deficit is expected to climb to 6-7 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year 2010/2011 as a result of floods, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

“The budget deficit before the flood crisis was estimated to reach 4.5 percent of GDP. Now it is estimated to be as much as 6-7 percent of the GDP,” Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told the cabinet.

Gilani said the disaster would hit the economy hard.

“The floods have inflicted damage to the economy which may by some estimates reach $43 billion, while affecting 30 percent of all agricultural land,” he said.

Pakistan’s budget deficit for the fiscal year 2009/10 (July-June) was 6.3 percent of GDP, the Finance Ministry said on its website on Tuesday.

This compared with a deficit of 5.2 percent in fiscal year 2008/09.

The monsoon floods have affected

Cricket no-ball drama set to cost Asif film role

MUMBAI: Mohammad Asif may be dropped from an Indian film in which he was supposed to play a cricket coach after it emerged he was one of the three Pakistani players embroiled in a spot-fixing scandal.

The 27-year-old pace bowler was due to star in a Malayalam-language film about a Pakistani cricketer who travels to the southern Indian state of Kerala to teach students.

However, director Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri is having second thoughts in the wake of a scandal that erupted after a British newspaper alleged Asif and Mohammad Amir bowled no-balls by arrangement in last week’s fourth test against England.

Captain Salman Butt was the third player named in the report.

“If he (Asif) is guilty, I cannot take him in the film as it will impact public sentiment and the success of the film,” Namboothiri told Reuters by telephone on

Iran to open 1st N-reactor in Sept

TEHRAN: Iran’s nuclear point man says the country’s first nuclear power plant will be inaugurated in the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr by September.

Excerpt from:
Iran to open 1st N-reactor in Sept

Iran successfully contains oil leak

TEHRAN: Authorities in Iran’s say they have managed to fully contain a leak in a key pipeline in the southern province of Khuzestan and clean the resulted slick in a neighboring river.

Read more from the original source: 
Iran successfully contains oil leak

At least 150 trapped in China landslide: state media

BEIJING: At least 150 people have been buried or trapped in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in southwest China on Monday, state media reported.

Rescue work was under way in the affected village of Dazhai in Guizhou province, a local news agency said, citing a statement from local authorities. The number of casualties was not immediately known.

Calls to local authorities were not immediately answered.

Parts of eastern, central and southern China have been doused with torrential rain for days. On Sunday, authorities said nearly 69 million people had been affected.

So far this month, at least 235 people have died and more than 100 others have gone missing in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains, according to China”s civil affairs ministry.

The floods are among the worst in the southern part of the country since 1998, when more than 3,600 people were killed and more than 20 million displaced, the news agency said.

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